阅读经文 

在戏剧《修女的安魂曲》中，作者威廉·福克纳藉着其中一个角色说：神创造万物以后就无法掌管了。事情完全失去了控制，祂也无能为力。

神真的不再掌管一切了吗？有时候我们会如此怀疑。我们听新闻，看着周围发生的一切，可能会问：“有人在掌管吗？”我们听到暴力和贫穷，听到无休止的战争，自然灾害以及种种个人悲剧，我们可能会问：“福克纳说神失控了，难道是说对了吗？”

让我们来看看今天所读的经文怎么说。先知问道：“你岂不曾知道吗？你岂不曾听见吗？永在的神耶和华……”（参赛 40:28）神指引着宇宙中所有的行动——从宇宙中的星辰到这世上君王和列国的兴衰。我们可能不理解祂究竟怎样掌管，但神确实稳固地掌管着。

我们的每日新闻并不是全部。我们的神作王，祂掌管一切。祂再来之前，必有战争和打仗的风声，贫穷和逼迫。但在那以前，这位救主，就是在这个月我们要为祂庆祝降生的这一位，也说：“天上地下所有的权柄都赐给我了……我就常与你们同在。”（参太 28:18-20）

In the play Requiem for a Nun, the author, William Faulkner, says through one of the characters that after God created everything, he lost control. Things simply got out of hand, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Did God lose control? Sometimes we might wonder. We listen to the news and watch what’s happening around us, and we may wonder, “Is anyone in charge?” We read about violence and poverty, about wars without end, about natural disasters and personal tragedies, and we might ask, “Did Faulkner have it right when he said that God lost control?”

Let’s see what the Bible says in our reading for today. The prophet asks, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God. . . .” God directs all the action in the universe—from the stars and planets in space to the rise and fall of rulers and nations in this world. We may not understand how, but God is firmly in control.

Our daily news doesn’t tell the whole story. Our God reigns; he is in charge. And until he comes again, there will be wars and rumors of wars and poverty and persecution. But until then, the Savior, whose birth we celebrate this month, also says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. . . . And . . . I am with you always” (Matthew 28:18-20).