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Two days ago North America was gripped by the wonder of the solar eclipse. Thousands of people took the opportunity to witness one of the great astronomical events in our solar system – the moon passing between earth and the sun, plunging locations experiencing a total eclipse into complete darkness.

In Vancouver, we were on the outer edge of the eclipse’s path – so we experienced barely 17% of a total eclipse, which, because I am filming this on Monday morning, will occur in just a few minutes.

An eclipse is amazing. It’s also dangerous. I’m careful not to point my camera directly at the sun – the intensity of the light can irreparably damage the camera sensor. And it’s not just the camera. Special protective eye wear must be worn if we are to look directly at the sun. I have a welding mask, though with the rain and cloud in Vancouver today, I doubt I’ll need it.

So what has an eclipse to do with today's devotion?

Did you know that each of the Gospels is symbolized by a creature – the four living creatures in Revelation 4:6-8? Matthew’s symbol is a man because Matthew begins by highlighting Jesus’ entry into the world – he presents Jesus’ human family lineage. Mark’s is a lion because Mark opens with “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” It’s a royal announcement – and the lion symbolizes royalty. Luke’s is an ox. Luke begins with Zechariah in the Temple, the place of sacrifice. And Jesus will be the greatest sacrifice for our sin – just as an ox was used for sacrifice in the Old Testament.

And John?

His gospel is symbolized by an eagle. Why? This is where a connection with looking directly at the sun is made. John opens with the most stunning statement: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

Scholars put it like this: the other Gospels begin in history whereas John begins before history. From the outset, John tells us that Jesus is fully God. What we witness in the rest of his Gospel is the Son of God in all his glory – his miracles, his teaching, his unity with the Father, and his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. It’s as if John invites us to look directly into the blinding light of the sun. As he says in John 1:14, “we have seen his – Jesus’ – glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” So, why the eagle? Because not only can the eagle see astonishing detail from a great distance, it can look directly at the sun and not blink.

An eclipse is glorious. But to look directly at it is dangerous. To look upon Jesus is dangerous. In John’s Gospel Jesus exposes sin, confronts human stubbornness, and divides people into those who love the darkness and those who will walk in his light. There’s no middle ground with Jesus.

At the same time, to look upon Jesus is glorious. In John’s Gospel he reveals his true nature as the Son of God, displaying God’s love to any who truly seek him. Most of all, the brilliance and brightness of God’s grace are found at the cross and the empty tomb.

As a follower of Jesus, God has shown you his glory in the face of Jesus. Humbly and gratefully bow in his presence today, be in awe of his majesty, and be full of thanks that you can look upon Jesus because he has given you true sight. Just like the blind man Jesus healed in John 9 says, “I was blind, but now I see.” As a follower of Jesus, you gaze upon his glory – and for you, by his grace, no eye protection is needed.

I’ll be taking a break for three weeks. The weekly devotions will return on May 8th. Thank you.

視頻大意翻譯 (video Chinese translation):

嗨!

兩天前，北美大部分地區都沉浸在日蝕的奇觀中。數以千計的人趁機目睹了我們太陽系中的一個偉大天文事件之一 ─ 月球從地球和太陽之間經過，使得那些經歷全食的地點陷入完全黑暗約三分鐘。

在溫哥華，我們處於日蝕路徑的外緣，因此我們只經歷了全食的17％。因為我是在星期一早上錄製這段影片，所以全食將在幾分鐘後發生。

日蝕是令人驚嘆的，但也很危險。這就是為什麼我小心不要把相機直接對準太陽 ─ 那光線的強度可能會對相機感光器造成無法修復的損壞。而且不僅僅是相機的問題。為了直視太陽，我們必須戴上特殊的保護眼鏡。我有一個焊接面罩，但由於今天溫哥華下雨和多雲，我懷疑我是否會有機會使用它。

日蝕與靈修有什麼關係？

你知道每卷福音書中都有一種生來物象徵嗎？這四種生物出現在啟示錄4:6-8中。馬太福音的象徵是人，因為馬太福音以彰顯耶穌進入世界為開始 ─ 他呈現了耶穌的人類家族譜。馬可福音的象徵是獅子，因為馬可福音以「耶穌基督的福音開端」開頭，這是一個關於耶穌基督作為上帝之子的皇家宣告 ─ 獅子象徵著王權。路加福音的象徵是牛。路加福音以司祭撒迦利亞在聖殿中的場景開始，聖殿是祭祀的地方。耶穌將成為我們罪的最大贖罪祭 ─ 正如在舊約中牛被用於祭祀一樣。約翰福音的象徵是鷹。為什麼呢？

這裡與直視太陽的聯繫就呈現出來了。約翰福音以最令人震驚的陳述開始：“太初有道，道與神同在，道就是神。” 學者這樣解釋：其他福音書是從歷史開始，而約翰福音是在歷史之前開始的。因此，從一開始，約翰告訴我們耶穌完全是神，我們在他福音的其餘部分所見的是神的兒子以他所有的榮耀 ─ 他的神蹟，他的教導，他與父的一致，以及他在十字架上的死亡和從死裡復活。就像約翰在約翰福音1:14中所說的： “我們見過他的榮光，正是父獨生子的榮光，滿有恩典和真理。” 那麼，為什麼是鷹呢？因為鷹不僅可以從遠處看到驚人的細節，而且它是唯一能夠直視太陽而不眨眼的動物。

日蝕是壯觀的。但直視它是危險的。直視耶穌也是危險的。在約翰福音中，耶穌揭露罪惡，面對人類的固執，將人分為愛黑暗和願意行在他光明中的人。耶穌沒有中間地帶。同時，直視耶穌也是光榮的。在約翰福音中，他展示了自己作為上帝之子的真實本性，向任何真心尋求他的人展示了上帝的愛。最重要的是，上帝恩典的光輝和明亮在十字架和墳墓中被找到。

如果你是耶穌的追隨者，上帝已在耶穌的臉上向你顯現了他的榮光。今天謙卑和感恩地在他面前跪拜，敬畏他的威嚴，並感恩，因為你可以直視耶穌，因為他賜給了你真正的視力。就像約翰福音9章中耶穌醫治的瞎子所說的那樣： “我曾是瞎子，如今我能看見了。” 如果你是耶穌的追隨者，你可以凝視他的榮耀 ─ 因為在他的恩典中，你無需保護眼睛的器具。

讓我們禱告…

接下來的三週週三線上靈修將暫停一下，我和我的妻子須完成我們公寓的一些工作，然後再將它出售。週三靈修將於5月8日恢復。

Grace and peace

Pastor Callum