by Rev. Benjamin Chung (鍾立恆牧師)
Last week’s pastor’s page is titled, “When Wrong is Right.” Wrong should never be right. In fact, it can’t be. A wrong can appear to be right, but the two are mutually exclusive. And when a wrong replaces what is right, an injustice has been done.
I’ve been more involved in the Racial Reconciliation conversation recently. I chose to grab a seat at the table when invited because I want to hear and listen to the cries of the Black ministers and pastors and what they have to say. I want to understand even more their point of view. They do not condone the violence of rioting and looting, but are addressing the grievous sin of slavery upon their ancestors and the derived racism that still persists today. I know it is a difficult conversation for us as Chinese-Americans or Asian-Americans to understand at times because we can only partially relate to the pain and hurt many Blacks feel. At the same time, by attending these meetings and taking a seat at the table, I too am able to speak out about the similar injustices that we see and experience in the Chinese community.
As believers, we need to come together in unity with a common voice and purpose. This means there needs to be conversation so that the message of our purpose is clear. Wrongs/injustices must be clearly defined, as much as what is right/just. This means that what is wrong must be exposed and acknowledged as wrong. I am speaking both of the greater Church and also down to the individual church/congregation. A wrong cannot be swept under the carpet or ignored because another wrong is more heinous in comparison. When we do this, we show that we do not clearly strive for justice and what is right but we are accepting of what is wrong because it is “less wrong” in comparison to another wrong.
Lord have mercy! We must always stand for what is right and be humble enough to acknowledge our own faults. Likewise, we must have the meekness to address our brother or sister who is also in sin. In turn, we must also be willing to listen and seek to understand if we are in sin (or even the appearance of sin) and whether a change is to be made in our lives. James, the brother of Jesus says this, “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20). As Christ followers, our goal is for truth to reign supreme. This is a high bar that we are to attain to. That said, there needs to be both: grace and truth. If we say, “Why don’t you have grace for the wrong-doer?” and ignore truth, Christ is not glorified. Likewise, if we speak the truth without grace, Christ’s teaching is not followed. Let us hear and understand what is right. Let us also adhere to righteous ways and thus reveal the real nature of the Heavenly “Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), to all people. Amen.
Translation:
上星期牧者心聲的題目是「當錯誤變為正確」。錯誤永遠不會是對的。事實上它不可能成為正確的事。錯誤可以看似正確，但兩者是互相排斥的。當錯誤的事代替了正確的事之時，就意味著有不公正出現。
最近我參與較多有關種族和解的對話活動。通常我被邀的時候，我會選擇坐在會議桌的位子，因為我想留心聽那些黑人牧師們的呼聲以及他們的說話。我想進一步了解他們的觀點。他們並沒有縱容暴動和搶劫帶來的暴力，他們反而想解決其祖先遭受令人悲痛的奴隸制度之罪與及處理今天仍然存在的種族主義。我知道作為華裔美國人或亞裔美國人的我們有時會很難理解他們，因為我們只能認同到部分這些黑人感受到的痛苦和傷害。透過參加這些會議並且坐在會議桌發言，我與此同時便能夠和他們分享我們在華人社區中看到和經歷的類似不公平現象。
作為信徒，我們必需團結一致，擁有共同的聲音和意志。這意味著我們需要進行對話，好讓我們信息之目的能以清晰可見。錯誤或不公正之處必須明確定義，盡力達至正確或公正。這意味著我們必須指出錯誤所在，並確認該事為錯。我在這裡不單是論及整個教會的大群體，我也是指着個別的教會和會眾。我們不能把錯誤掃到地毯底下以為眼不見為淨，我們若選擇忽視這些錯誤時，另一些出現的過錯可能更令人髮指。當我們如此行時，我們只是表露出我們並沒有去清楚地爭取公義和做正確的事情。這樣做反而只表達出我們原來接受到一些錯誤的事情，是因它們與其他錯誤相比只是「較少錯誤」而已。
求主憐憫！我們必須堅持正確的立場，並要謙卑地承認自己的錯誤。同樣，我們需要以溫柔的態度來面對同樣身陷罪中的弟兄姊妹。反過來說，我們還必須以樂意的心去傾聽，並了解我們自己是否也同樣落在罪裡（甚至罪已出現），以及我們的生活是否需要改變。耶穌的兄弟雅各曾說：「我的弟兄們，你們中間若有失迷真道的，有人使他回轉，這人該知道：叫一個罪人從迷路上轉回便是救一個靈魂不死，並且遮蓋許多的罪。」（雅各書5：19-20）作為跟隨基督的人，對真理的追求，我們目標要做到最好，因有主有高標準給我們達至。與此同時，恩典與真理要共存。如果我們只去問：「為何你對做錯事的人不寬容？」而忽略了真理，我們就榮耀不到基督。同樣，如果我們在對人沒有恩慈的情況下去講真理，我們其實並沒有遵守基督的教導。讓我們细聽並了解什麼才是正確的。讓我們堅守行公義的生活方式，從而向所有人揭示天上「充充滿滿的有恩典有真理的」父親的真實本質（約翰福音1:14）。阿們。
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