becoming

A parable on Friendship
(in response to Hilda’s post)

A collector found a faded manuscript of music.

The collector calls a friend who is a musician. When he sees the manuscript his eyes light up for the handwriting is Mozart’s. But then he seems confused, so the collector asks what he is thinking.

“Well it looks like Mozart, but I am not familiar with the piece.” So they sit down at a piano and he begins to play it. It begins beautifully and sounds like just the sort of thing Mozart would have composed, but then as he continues to play there are places where not much happens. The piano is simply keeping time and further along there are periods of rest.

And it begins to dawn on them that what they have found is indeed a previously undiscovered Mozart piece, but piano accompaniment. The other parts are no where to be found and there is no way they can be recreated. So while what they have is quite remarkable it is also frustratingly incomplete.

The piano music only makes sense when its incompleteness is acknowledged.*

While the original parable was told to help us realize that we see our faith only in part, it is just as true to reveal our need for one another in true Friendship and Fellowship.

————
* A story told by NT Wright in his book Simply Christian (New York: Harper Collins, 2006) pp. 39-40.

話說，某弟兄一日走進我的辦公室，尷尷尬尬，兼吞吞吐吐地說他們夫妻因要遠行，希望問我借些書，可以「解機悶」。

但因他早前看過我的「借書十不」，思前想後，總覺得「這條似在說我，那條又好像犯了…」，總不敢開口…

看見他一臉無奈之情，真不知好嬲抑或好笑！

還是叫他會去等消息，我自有「心水書」給他們。

心想：世上竟然有人如此尊重小生筆下之言，理應重重有獎！

說真，讀書人遇見想讀書之人，怎可能無動於衷？於是送上兩本好書，以澄清本人除了「借書十不」外，還有另一原則：

「向討教讀書者，送書絕不手軟」！

只望你們，認真地讀——讀明作者的心意、讀明贈者的心思。

做多D掌上壓，第日抱B都輕鬆D！

慢慢啦！

在我的朋友和家人中，寫過blog的有：

Anson, Charis, Cecilia, Fanny, Horace, Ivon, Jenny W, Jessica, Joanna W, Kan, Karen, Karen X, Kevin, Margaret, Peggy, Tammy,
Tim, Vincent, Winnie…

現在，還繼續的，就剩下：

• Anson (once a month?)
• Fanny (twice a week)
• Joanna W (every 2 weeks?)
• Karen (every 2 weeks)
• Karen X (once a week?)
• Peggy (once a week)
• Vincent (as mentioned below) …

我想，大部份人不是完全放棄，就是轉到facebook之類的social network。

這樣的損失

我總覺得，

很可惜。

Last night we had dinner with mom’s long-time friend auntie Grace. Can you imagine to have a friend for over 60 years?! Also great is that my sister came back from Shanghai as well. And Jocelyn was so happy “test-driving” Gu Ma’s new “mighty machine”!!

Jocelyn says:

Hello everybody! We went tree-planting today after worship. Leighton and I planted 2 trees today, even though they looked more like sticks to me. The place is really close to my house, and Daddy said we might be able to come visit our little trees from time to time!

This is our Heavenly Father’s world.  We need to take care of it and that means planting lots of trees!

[scroll down for English…]

同工離開，事實上，我衷心為他高興。

三十不到，但已經清楚看見自己一生召命的人，我未曾見過幾個。能不顧一切而踏上的，就更少。

你卻是從一而終的專注於宣講和教導。其他的，你知道都不是你去費神的；不理，是因為你知道自己的位置是甚麼，並從不敢在那裡怠惰。

從頭一天聽見你對我說，我就堅持相信這是一個對你最好的決定，同時也是神給教會的一個真實要把握（亦可以把握）的機會。

神帶領的離開，是為著祂的國度更能在世上彰顯的原故—

我是選擇如此的相信。

這樣，人的離開，就是祂要興起更多人去事奉的序曲。看不見這個契機，就是抹殺了神所賜，給我們的機會。

弟兄姊妹的不捨和焦慮是必然的，但我們（包括你自己）卻要相信和堅持，在前頭是神更豐富的恩惠。不然，我們就不是真心相信神是教會的主，而不是任何人。

包括你。

情感的不捨是重要的，這說出我們的關係是如何真實和真摯。或者你的離開，會有如離世一樣纏繞我們的心堪，這是因為我們需要如此的同路人。

這是因為祂賜下了你，讓我們看見同路人是可以如此的。

聖徒相通（communio sanctorum）。

謝謝你。

————————–

My co-worker has decided to leave. I am truly happy for him.

I only know a handful of people who can see so clearly about their vocation. It is more rare to know anyone who follows such vocation so fearlessly before he reaches thirty.

Yet right from the start, you put all your energy on nothing but the kergyma and teaching. You don’t waste time on anything else. That’s because you are clear about your role, and you dare not to slack off from it.

Since the day you told me your decision, I have choose to believe that it is the best decision for you, as well as a genuine opportunity that we, as a church, should (and can) grasp on to.

When God leads someone to leave, it is for the sake of manifesting His Kingdom on earth more fully —

That’s what I choose to believe.

Hence, when someone leaves, it is only a prelude of God raising up more people to serve Him. To overlook that, is to ignore this God-given opportunity for us.

The concerns and worries from brothers and sisters are only natural. But we (including yourself) must insist and believe that the best is yet to come. Or else, we are not truly professing that God alone is the Lord of the church, not us,

Not you.

It is important to acknowledge our reluctance and sadness to part. It is so because our relationship is genuine and sincere. To some, it may feel like death, only because we long for such companionship.

And God has given you to us, so that we know just want kind of companion we can have in this faith journey.

Communio Sanctorum.

Thank you!