保羅再訪問馬其頓和希臘
1亂定之後，保羅請門徒來，勸勉他們，就辭別起行，往馬其頓去。 2走遍了那一帶地方，用許多話勸勉門徒，然後來到希臘。 3在那裏住了三個月，將要坐船往敘利亞去，猶太人設計要害他，他就定意從馬其頓回去。 4同他到亞細亞去的，有庇哩亞人畢羅斯的兒子所巴特，帖撒羅尼迦人亞里達古和西公都，還有特庇人該猶，並提摩太，又有亞細亞人推基古和特羅非摩。 5這些人先走，在特羅亞等候我們。 6過了除酵的日子，我們從腓立比開船，五天到了特羅亞，和他們相會，在那裏住了七天。
保羅最後一次訪問特羅亞
7七日的第一日，我們聚會擘餅的時候，保羅因為要次日起行，就與他們講論，直講到半夜。 8我們聚會的那座樓上，有好些燈燭。 9有一個少年人，名叫猶推古，坐在窗臺上，困倦沉睡。保羅講了多時，少年人睡熟了，就從三層樓上掉下去；扶起他來，已經死了。 10保羅下去，伏在他身上，抱着他，說：「你們不要發慌，他的靈魂還在身上。」 11保羅又上去，擘餅，吃了，談論許久，直到天亮，這才走了。 12有人把那童子活活地領來，得的安慰不小。
從特羅亞到米利都
13我們先上船，開往亞朔去，意思要在那裏接保羅；因為他是這樣安排的，他自己打算要步行。 14他既在亞朔與我們相會，我們就接他上船，來到米推利尼。 15從那裏開船，次日到了基阿的對面；又次日，在撒摩靠岸；又次日，來到米利都。 16乃因保羅早已定意越過以弗所，免得在亞細亞躭延，他急忙前走，巴不得趕五旬節能到耶路撒冷。
我們從《使徒行傳》20章一開始就看到，保羅從各教會收集了捐款，準備送給耶路撒冷教會。他為了這些捐款，去了馬其頓。保羅從希臘坐船前往敘利亞，但得知猶太人打算害他，因此他改變了路線，選擇步行而不是坐船。在這段經文中，我們也看到保羅不再是獨自一人，在過去這多年的宣教旅程裡，他收穫了一大群夥伴，他們與他一同出發。
英文中有一個重要的字叫做 "fellowship"，即團契的概念，特別用於基督教團體，後來也被用於“為同一個目標組成的團隊”。像是著名小說魔戒首部曲的英文原文就是 “Fellowship of the ring”。我們看到保羅從一個人，成為了一個團隊，上帝不斷在預備與我們同工的夥伴。
我們接下來看到，保羅非常珍惜與一路上的門徒們相聚的時間。因此，他們開始聚會並擘餅。這個時候的聚會應該就是一個家庭的團契，大家可以一起吃飯，一同在家裡聚會，就像我們今天的家庭團契一樣。家庭團契最棒的地方就是有許多美食，大家一同分享食物、唱歌敬拜、並分享聖經的話語。這樣的聚會是最美好的，也是最讓人感到親近的一種家庭團契。
保羅因為隔天就要出發，他珍惜這最後一次機會能夠與大家講道，因此他一直講，不停地講，甚至講到了半夜。聚會的時候，大家也都願意聽，因為接下來什麼時候能再見到保羅還不知道。所以這個聚會可能從下午開始，一直持續到半夜，甚至到了第二天的清晨。保羅整夜都沒有睡覺。
中間發生了一件事情，有一個少年人叫做猶推古，可能因為白天工作太累了，他在聚會中睡著了。當時的窗戶不像我們今天的玻璃窗那樣封閉得很好，他可能是為了取一點晚上的涼風，把窗戶打開了。結果不小心睡著了，就從三樓窗戶掉下去摔死了。
想像一下，如果今天的教會聚會或者家庭團契中發生這樣的事情，本來美好的一個聚會不就變成一場悲劇了嗎？這時候，傳道人該怎麼做呢？我們看到保羅非常冷靜，他立刻下去查看猶推古的情況。知道上帝的大能。因此，他告訴眾人不要慌張，說猶推古的靈魂還在。保羅甚至回到樓上，繼續吃了一些餅，一直講到天亮才離開。而由推古也奇蹟般地活過來了。
在接下來的經文中，我們也看到保羅非常重視他作為猶太人的身份，也非常看重猶太人的傳統。雖然他已經明白福音不再看重律法的規條，但他本人仍然非常願意遵守並且跟隨這樣的傳統。逾越節和五旬節仍然是猶太人重要的傳統節日，而保羅仍然很珍惜這些與他同胞一同歡慶的日子。
這也是我們身為基督徒可以思考的事情。在文化上，我們來自不同的背景和國家，但這並不意味著我們在接受基督教後就要完全放棄自己的身份和文化背景。
這段經文提醒我們，儘管我們的信仰可能會跨越文化和傳統，但我們仍然可以尊重並保留自己的文化身份，這樣可以使我們的信仰生活更加豐富和有意義。
當我們掌握了真理以後，我們就知道什麼事情應該做，什麼事情不應該做。我們可以保留文化傳統中的美好部分。
舉例來說，對中國人而言，美食是非常重要的。我們並不需要因為成為基督徒而放棄一些美好的傳統，如家庭聚餐、中國新年等等。比如，祭祖的行為可以改變成為懷念祖先，而不再需要使用香或者其他傳統信仰的方式。
當我們紀念祖先時，我們依然可以懷念他們，向他們感恩，但不應該再把他們當成神來拜。我們可以把他們當成親人來懷念。這樣，我們既能尊重和保留文化傳統，又能遵循基督教的信仰原則。
我們明天繼續讀保羅出發前所說的一段信仰告白，從中我們可以體會到他對傳福音深沈的感動和對同胞的愛。感謝各位的聆聽。
Through Macedonia and Greece
1When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. 2He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 3where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. 6But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
Eutychus Raised From the Dead at Troas
7On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders
13We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. 16Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
We see from the beginning of Acts 20 that Paul collected donations from various churches to deliver to the church in Jerusalem. For these donations, he went to Macedonia. Paul initially planned to sail from Greece to Syria, but upon learning that the Jews intended to harm him, he changed his route and chose to travel by land instead of by sea. In this passage, we also see that Paul is no longer alone; over the years of his missionary journeys, he has gathered a large group of companions who set out with him.
In English, there is an important word called "fellowship," which refers to the concept of community, especially used within Christian groups. It has also come to mean "a team formed for a common goal," as seen in the title of the first book of the famous novel "The Lord of the Rings," originally "The Fellowship of the Ring." We see that Paul, who started alone, eventually formed a team. God continuously prepares partners to work alongside us.
Next, we see that Paul cherished the time spent with the disciples along the way. Therefore, they began to meet and break bread together. This meeting was likely a family fellowship, where everyone could eat together and gather in a home, similar to our family fellowships today. The best part of family fellowship is having a lot of delicious food, sharing meals, singing praises, and sharing the Word of God. Such gatherings are the most beautiful and the most intimate form of family fellowship.
Since Paul was set to depart the next day, he cherished this last opportunity to preach to everyone. He kept preaching, even into the night. During the meeting, everyone was willing to listen, knowing they might not see Paul again soon. Thus, the gathering could have started in the afternoon and continued until midnight, or even until the next morning. Paul did not sleep the whole night.
In the midst of this, a young man named Eutychus, likely tired from working during the day, fell asleep during the meeting. The windows at the time were not sealed like the glass windows we have today. Eutychus might have opened the window to get some cool night air and accidentally fell asleep, then fell from the third-story window to his death.
Imagine if such an incident occurred during a church gathering or family fellowship today. What was a beautiful meeting could turn into a tragedy. What should the preacher do in such a situation? We see that Paul remained very calm. He immediately went down to check on Eutychus. Knowing the power of God, he told the people not to worry, saying that Eutychus’s spirit was still in him. Paul then went back upstairs, continued to break bread, and preached until dawn before leaving. Eutychus miraculously came back to life.
In the subsequent passages, we also see that Paul highly valued his identity as a Jew and cherished Jewish traditions. Although he understood that the gospel no longer emphasized the legalistic rules, he himself was still very willing to observe and follow these traditions. Passover and Pentecost were still important Jewish festivals, and Paul cherished these days of celebration with his fellow Jews.
This is something we, as Christians, can reflect upon. Culturally, we come from different backgrounds and countries, but this does not mean we have to completely abandon our identity and cultural background upon accepting Christianity.
This passage reminds us that while our faith may transcend cultures and traditions, we can still respect and retain our cultural identity. This enriches and adds meaning to our faith life.
When we have grasped the truth, we understand what should and should not be done. We can retain the beautiful aspects of our cultural traditions.
For example, for Chinese people, food is very important. We do not need to abandon some of our wonderful traditions, such as family gatherings and Chinese New Year, just because we become Christians. For instance, the practice of ancestor worship can be transformed into a way of remembering ancestors without using incense or other traditional religious methods.
When we commemorate our ancestors, we can still remember them and be grateful to them, but we should not worship them as gods. We can remember them as our loved ones. In this way, we can respect and preserve our cultural traditions while adhering to Christian principles.
Tomorrow, we will continue to read a passage where Paul makes a statement of faith before his departure. From it, we can feel his profound passion for preaching the gospel and his love for his fellow Jews. Thank you all for listening.
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