• 诗篇 122

大卫上行之诗。

耶路撒冷颂

1我喜乐，因人对我说：“我们到耶和华的殿去。”

2耶路撒冷啊，我们的脚站在你门内。

3耶路撒冷被建造，如同连结整齐的一座城。

4众支派就是耶和华的支派，上那里去，按以色列的法度颂扬耶和华的名。

5他们在那里设立审判的宝座，就是大卫家的宝座。

6你们要为耶路撒冷求平安：“愿爱你的人兴旺！

7愿你城中有平安！愿你宫内得平静！”

8为我弟兄和同伴的缘故，我要说：“愿你平安！”

9为耶和华－我们上帝殿的缘故，我要为你求福！

你能想象如果没有现代科技的进步，居家隔离将会是怎样的情形吗？

这个星期，我收看了我们教会礼拜的在线直播——用好几台摄像机拍摄，有才华横溢的音乐人参与，还有围绕基督展开的讲道。随后我又点开我喜欢的亚马逊频道（"Shane & Shane Hymns Live"，假如你想知道），与太太和孩子们一起歌唱敬拜主耶稣。一整天里，我给多位主内弟兄姊妹发了短讯，还在 Facebook 和 Instagram 上分享鼓励的话语。

我不由想到，当年那些经受过黑死病煎熬的基督徒，绝无可能约几个好朋友一起看场 Netflix 电影……

然而……我却并不满足。

因为我极度怀念可以亲身前往教会的时光。和太太女儿们跟着现场直播一起唱诗虽说不错，但是远远没有许许多多人身处一室齐声颂赞那么荣耀美好；坐在沙发上一边听道一边记笔记虽说聊胜于无，但是怎么也比不上坐在教堂里面对面地听道。

我明白，正如你们也清楚，地方教会有点复杂：有的讲道内容东拉西扯，不得要领；有些音乐人制造出声响，却不是喜乐之音；至于会众……唉，终归是人。

尽管如此，新冠病毒还是在教给我要爱我的教会。我都等不及各种限制令取消的那天，到时我们大家可以齐聚礼拜堂。我预感到，那时我们的欢声笑语恐怕是要把鼓点都淹没了吧！

三千年前，每周一次礼拜并不是常规。难怪那时的一位诗人热切吟唱：“人对我说：我们往耶和华的殿去，我就欢喜。”（诗篇122:1） 如潮水般涌向耶路撒冷耶和华的殿（圣殿），这种习俗把成千上万的家庭凝聚在一起。与加利利小村庄的日常生活相比，这是多么截然不同啊！

新科技算得锦上添花，为我们的属灵生活带来了趣味和风味。每天的讲道播客和基督徒电台虽能在周一到周六使我饱足，却无法——也不会——替代上帝的子民亲身到场，相聚一堂的那种美好。

如果这次的疫情教会我们，要比以往任何时候都更加喜爱主日，那么这将再一次证明，基督＞新冠病毒。

• 花点时间向神献上感恩与祈求

• PSALM 122

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

2 Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!

3 Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together,

4 to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

5 There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you!

7 Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!”

8 For my brothers and companions’ sake I will say, “Peace be within you!”

9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

Can you imagine this isolation without modern advances in technology?

This week, I watched the live stream of our church’s worship service, complete with multiple cameras, gifted musicians, and a Christ-centered message. Later, I pushed play on my favorite Amazon station (Shane & Shane Hymns Live, FYI) and sang to Jesus with my wife and children. Throughout the day, I texted brothers and sisters in Christ and shared encouragement via Facebook and Instagram.

I have a hunch that the Christians who endured the black plague didn’t enjoy a Netflix party with their best friends...

Yet... I am not content.

Because I deeply miss being in church. Singing with my wife and daughters through a live stream is nice but nowhere near as glorious as joining hundreds of voices gathered in the same space. Taking sermon notes as I sit on the couch is better than nothing, but it’s not better than sitting in church.

I realize, like you do, that the local church is complicated. Some sermons are a meandering path of disconnected passages that lack a clear point. Some musicians make a noise, but not a joyful one. And people are . . . well, people.

Nevertheless, Coronavirus is teaching me to love my Christian church. I can’t wait for the day when the restrictions are lifted and we occupy the same GPS location. I have a hunch that the joy will drown out the drums!

Three thousand years ago, weekly worship wasn’t the norm. No wonder a psalm writer from that time gushed, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” (Psalm 122:1) Streaming to the Lord’s house in Jerusalem (the temple) brought thousands upon thousands of God’s family together. What a difference from the day-to-day life in a small Galilean village!

Technology provides a wonderful icing for our spiritual cake. Daily sermon podcasts and Christian radio fill me up from Monday through Saturday. But nothing can or will replace the physical gathering of God’s people.

If this pandemic teaches us to love Sundays more than ever before, it will prove, once again, that Christ > Corona.

• Take a moment to give thanks and prayers to God