聖誕節的真正意義The Real Meaning of Christmas
作者：Stephen Nichols 譯者: 駱鴻銘
在現代歷史中最黑暗的時刻出現了一個非常特別的聖誕節故事。第一次世界大戰蹂躪了歐洲大陸，這場戰爭留下的盡是破壞與殘骸。犧牲的人數多達數百萬，令人震驚。但就在這黑暗的衝突中，1914年出現了這個聖誕節休戰的故事。在戰爭結束前僅僅幾個月的時間裏，西線是一個悲慘破壞的場面。彷彿是給士兵再次喘息的日子，有人提出休戰協定，從聖誕節前夕到聖誕節當天。
One
of the most remarkable stories of Christmas comes from one of the darkest
moments of modern history. World War I ravaged a continent, leaving destruction
and debris in its wake. The human cost, well in the millions, staggers us. But
from the midst of this dark conflict comes the story of the Christmas Truce of
1914. The Western Front, only a few months into the war, was a deplorable scene
of devastation. Perhaps as if to give the combatants one day to breathe again,
a truce was called from Christmas Eve through Christmas Day.
夜幕低垂，如毯子般覆蓋大地時，砲彈的爆炸聲和此起彼落的炮火掃射聲也逐漸消失。微弱的聖誕頌歌，一邊是法語或英語，另一邊是德語，漸漸升起，充滿了寂靜的夜空。
As
darkness settled over the front like a blanket, the sound of exploding shells
and the rat-tat-tat of gunfire faded. Faint carols, in French or English voices
on one side and in German voices on the other, rose to fill the silence of the
night.
到了早晨，起初猶豫不決的士兵們，開始從迷宮般的戰壕中魚貫而出，走到可怕的「三不管地帶」（No Man’s Land；註 ）的焦土上。歌聲越來越響亮。雙方交換口糧和香煙等禮物。家人的照片四處瘋傳。足球出現了。在西方戰線的前後，幾個小時之前還在作殊死戰的士兵們，如今在足球場上互相對抗。
By
morning, soldiers, at first hesitantly, began filing out of the maze of
trenches into the dreaded and parched soil of No Man’s Land. There was more
singing. Gifts of rations and cigarettes were exchanged. Family photos were
passed around. Soccer balls appeared. Up and down the Western Front, soldiers,
who only hours before had been locked in deathly combat, now faced off in
soccer games.
在這麼一個短暫又非常引人注目的日子裏，地上有了和平。有些人稱1914年聖誕節停戰是「西線奇蹟」（the Miracle on the Western
Front）。
For
one brief but entirely remarkable day, there was peace on earth. Some have
called the Christmas Truce of 1914 “the Miracle on the Western Front.”
急於發行好消息的倫敦泰晤士報，報導了聖誕節的休戰事件。士兵們用家信和日記記錄了這一天。其中幾行話出現在報紙中，而其他的話直到以後才被曝光，為人所知。以下是德國步兵日記中的一行：
Anxious
to print some good news, The Times of London reported on the events of the
Christmas Truce. Soldiers recorded the day in letters home and in diaries. Some
of those lines made it to newspapers, while others remained unknown until later
brought to light. Here’s one such line from the diary of a German infantryman:
英國人從戰壕中帶來一個足球，很快就開始了一場熱鬧的比賽。多麼美妙，卻又多麼怪異。英國軍官對此也有同感。因此，聖誕節，愛的慶典，將敵人暫時當作朋友聚集在一起。
The
English brought a soccer ball from the trenches, and pretty soon a lively game
ensued. How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers
felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to
bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.
「暫時作朋友」，「愛的慶典」，「地上的和平」 ——這就是聖誕節的意義。但這些慶祝活動，這些停戰，並沒有持續下去。聖誕節過後，足球和士兵們又回到了戰壕。聖誕頌歌漸漸平息，戰爭繼續進行。第一次世界大戰即使最終結束了，幾十年後，歐洲的鄉村和城市卻又再次成為戰場，第二次世界大戰期間，非洲和太平洋也無法倖免。
“Friends
for a time,” “the celebration of love,” “peace on earth”—this is the meaning of
Christmas. But these celebrations, these truces, don’t last. After Christmas
Day, the soccer balls and the soldiers went back into the trenches. The
Christmas carols subsided and the war carried on. And even though World War I
eventually ended, a few decades later, Europe’s countryside and cities became
the field of battle once again, as did Africa and the Pacific, during World War
II.
像聖誕節休戰這樣的活動值得慶祝。但它們缺少一些東西。它們缺乏永恆性。這種暫時的和平是我們在尋求聖誕節真正意義時經常發現的。如果我們想要尋求永恆和最終的善意、愛與和平，我們必須到互相送禮、聚會和公司派對以外的地方尋找。我們只能到馬槽那裏去找。
Events
like the Christmas Truce are worth celebrating. But they lack something. They
lack permanence. Such impermanent peace is what we often find in our quest for
the real meaning of Christmas. If we are looking for permanent and ultimate
goodwill, love, and peace, we must look beyond our gift-giving, get-togethers,
and office parties. We must look to no other place than to a manger.
我們必須留意出生時那位沒有炫耀、沒有排場，也沒有隆重儀式的嬰兒，祂是在絕望的日子裏由一對貧窮的父母所生的。在這方面，約瑟和馬利亞，以及小小耶穌都是真正的歷史人物。但在某種程度上，約瑟和馬利亞都超越了自己，超越了他們特定的地點和時間。他們代表著我們所有的人。我們都是窮乏人，生活在絕望的時代。我們中的一些人比其他人更會掩飾。儘管如此，我們都是窮乏人和絕望的人，因此我們都需要那個嬰孩的應許。
We
must look to a baby born not with fanfare, pomp, and circumstance, but to poor
parents in desperate times. Joseph and Mary, and the Baby Jesus for that
matter, were real historical figures. But in a way, Joseph and Mary extend
beyond themselves, beyond their particular place and time. They represent all
of us. We are all poor and living in desperate times. Some of us are better
than others at camouflaging it. Nevertheless, we are all poor and desperate, so
we all need the promise bound up in that baby.
我們需要擺脫靈魂的貧困和人類景況的絕望狀態。這嬰孩躺在馬槽裏，我們在其中找到了盼望，祂是耶穌基督，是長久應許給人的彌賽亞、女人的後裔、救主、君王。
We
are in need of a way out of our poverty of soul and the desperate state of our
human condition. We find it in this child lying in a manger, who was and is
Jesus Christ, the long-promised Messiah, Seed, Redeemer, and King.
許多世紀以前，耶穌的誕生或許與尋常的出生略有不同。即使在遠古時代，馬廄通常也不會又作分娩室，而馬槽通常也不會同時作為新生嬰孩的嬰兒床。那個剛出生的嬰兒非常特殊。當然，在某些方面，祂是十分平凡的。祂是一個人，一個嬰孩。祂會餓，會渴，會累。祂出生時，被襁褓衣包裹著——相當於古代的尿布。
The
birth of Jesus so many centuries ago might have been a slightly-out-of-the-ordinary
birth. Even in ancient times, stalls didn’t typically double as birthing rooms
and mangers didn’t typically double as cribs for new-born babies. And that
newborn baby was very much out of the ordinary. Of course, in some respects, He
was perfectly ordinary. He was a human being, a baby. He got hungry. He got
thirsty. He got tired. When He was born, He was wrapped in swaddling
clothes—the ancient equivalent of Pampers.
一個嬰兒。無助、飢餓、冷漠、疲憊。
An
infant. Helpless, hungry, cold, and tired.
然而，這個孩子是神的兒子，道成肉身。祂是以馬內利，翻出來的意思是「上帝與我們同在」。根據使徒保羅的說法，這位嬰孩創造了萬有。這位嬰孩創造了自己的馬槽。而這位嬰孩，這位君王，帶來了地上的和平，最終且永久的和平。
Yet,
this child was the Son of God incarnate. He was Immanuel, which translated
means “God with us.” According to the Apostle Paul’s account, this infant
created all things. This infant created His own manger. And this infant, this
King, brings peace on earth, ultimate and permanent peace.
