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Dear mission partners,
親愛的宣教夥伴們,
On 16 March, eight people, including six Asian women, were killed in shootings at three spas in the Atlanta area. I was quite shaken when I saw the breaking news on TV, as my daughter lived really close to where the shootings took place. Even though the shooter told police that his actions were not racially motivated, when so many victims were of Asian descent, we have to consider race as a possible reason why they were targeted.
三月16日在美國的亞特蘭大發生了一起槍擊案，共有八人死亡，其中有六位是亞裔女士。收看這條新聞的現場報道那一刻，我受到很大的沖擊，因為我女兒就住在這次槍殺案發生的地區附近。雖然目前還不能清楚知道這個事件的起因是不是出於種族歧視，但是當有這麽多的亞裔人士成為兇手的槍擊對象，我們不能不反省這個可能性。
This mass shooting incident just shows us the tip of the iceberg, violent crimes are not merely isolated and accidental events, they reflect the sinful nature deeply hidden in our society and in the entire human race. Sin provokes hatred between individuals which leads to hostility between races and then escalates to conflicts between nations. Human history is a vicious cycle with these recurring problems, there are too much pain and suffering among us.
其實這起槍擊案只不過是冰山的一角，反映出來的不是偶然發生的一件事，而是在我們的社會中、在整個人類的骨子裏所深藏的罪性。罪使人與人之間產生憎恨，並且擴大到種族與種族之間的仇視，再上升為國家與國家之間的爭競。這些在人類歷史中重復出現的問題，導致太多的傷痛和苦難在我們當中。
The last week of March was Passion Week according to the traditional Christian calendar. During this week, many Christians set aside time to meditate on our Lord Jesus Christ and His suffering. It was a time to remember God’s unfathomable love for us.
三月最後一周是傳統基督教的受難周（Passion Week）。許多基督徒在這一周裏都預備心去默想我們的主耶穌基督，他所要經歷的痛苦。在這段時間，我們紀念主的愛是何等的深厚。
A friend once asked why Jesus had to suffer so much. He was betrayed, arrested, beaten, humiliated, and ultimately crucified. Why?
曾經有朋友問我，為什麽耶穌要受這麽大的苦，他被出賣、被捆綁、被鞭打、被辱罵，更要被釘死在十字架上。為什麽？
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah gave us this explanation: “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, …… We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. …… Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, … the Lord makes his life an offering for sin” (Isaiah 53:3-10).
在舊約聖經裏，先知以賽亞給我們這樣的解釋：“他被藐視，被人厭棄；多受痛苦，常經憂患。他被藐視，好像被人掩面不看的一樣；我們也不尊重他。他誠然擔當我們的憂患， 背負我們的痛苦；…… 我們都如羊走迷；各人偏行己路；耶和華使我們眾人的罪孽都歸在他身上。…… 耶和華卻定意將他壓傷，使他受痛苦。耶和華以他為贖罪祭”（以賽亞書53:3-10）。
The violence and suffering we see in the world today, are they not telling us the dire consequences of sin? Personal hatred, racial hostility, and international conflicts are all caused by the fact that we always try to make sure we can get what we want, and we want to have more rights and benefits than others. The result is we are constantly at war and hurting one another.
我們今天所看見世界上的苦難與罪惡，豈不是在告訴我們，罪的代價有多麽的大？我們人與人之間的憎恨，種族與種族之間的仇視，國與國之間的爭競，都是因為要想方設法得到比別人更多的權利和利益，要讓自己隨心所欲，到頭來的結果就是最終帶來彼此的爭鬥和傷害。
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