Tuesday, December 16, 2008

"WHEN GOD ANSWERS": a reasonable response. 神様が答えを下さるとき

If we were in the mood to be honest and not trying to be more spiritual than the next person, we would all probably admit that there is a little unbeliever living inside every one of us.
他人よりも霊的になろうとせず、正直になってみると、不信仰な思いが私たちの中にあると認めざるをえません。

Given the sudden onset of a difficult situation in our lives, prayer may not be our first thought; trust in God may not always be our default position.
突然、人生に困難がやってきたとき、神様に信頼し、直ぐに祈ることはあまりないと思います。

When we are in church or when we are with other believers, we have learned exactly what words to say and how to frame a conversation so we always look good. We believe we believe all the right doctrines.
教会に居るとき、また他のクリスチャンの前で何を言えば霊的に見えるか私たちは知っています。何が正しいかを知っているのです。

We probably know how to pray in a way that exemplifies a mature spirituality, but if we are presented with an opportunity to take a step of faith, we will likely take a step back. All this comes from years of training in which we learned how to act Christian, without living Christian.
霊的に成長した祈りの方も知っています。しかし、信仰によって一歩踏み出すことになったら、後すがりしてしまうでしょう。それは私たちがクリスチャンの生き方ではなく、心得だけを学んだからそうなってしまうのです。

If the Christian life were only a short sprint, if it were possible for us to "git ‘er done" quickly and easily, we might be able to fake our way through to the end. But the Christian life is neither quick nor easy. The Christian life is a long haul. We've been told this before. It's a distance run, a marathon, in which the prize goes to the one who lasts all the way to the finish line.
もし、クリスチャン生活が短距離走だったら、適当にごまかしながら生きることは出来ます. しかし、クリスチャン生活は簡単なものではありません。それは長く続くものです。聞いたことがあるかもしれませんが、それはゴールまで走り続けたものだけが認められる長距離マラソンのようなものなのです。

While we all want to win this race, the fact is that we all stumble around quite a bit. If the Christian life is a marathon, by the time we get to Heartbreak Hill, we are running on fumes!
レースに勝ちたいと思っても、転んでしまうこともあるでしょう。もしクリスチャン生活をマラソンに例えるなら私たちは心臓破りの坂で力尽きてしまうでしょう。

We are running on empty. We have very little spiritual energy left. There is no disgrace in that – this is simply the truth about life as we are living it. The wonderful thing is that we have a relationship with this God who has revealed Himself here in His Word. Our Father God is compassionate and merciful.
そしてへとへとになり、霊的な力は少ししか残っていません。そのことを恥じ無くてもいいのです。生きるということはそういうことなのです。しかし素晴らしいことに私たちは神さまと関わりが持てるのです。私たちの父なる神は同情深く、憐れみ深いお方です。

In truth, it is God who picks us up and carries us across that finish line at the end.
神様が私たちをゴールまで運んでいってくださるのです。

Today we are going to look at the account of Zechariah and the announcement he received from God, which came near the end of his marathon run, concerning the upcoming birth of a son that God named John.
今日はザカリヤに焦点を当てていきます。ザカリヤは人生のマラソンを終えようとしているときに神さまからお言葉を頂いたのです。それは生まれてくる息子ヨハネのことでした。

Luke 1: 5 - 25
Like many people in those days as well as today, Zechariah and his wife experienced barrenness in their life together. Although they were believing and faithful people, the reality was for them as it is for us, that life does not always work out to our liking. Though they tried, they never had a baby.
当時も今日も多くの人が経験していると思いますが、ゼカリヤ夫妻には子供が居ませんでした。彼らは信仰的でしたが、現実は彼らにも私たちにもおなじです。人生は私たちの思うようにはいかないのです。彼らは努力しましたが子供は出来ませんでした。

Though they prayed – and we are given to understand that they prayed for years – they never had a baby. Though they had believed God for a miracle, they never had a baby. Now in their old age, Zechariah had come to the place where he knew that this was one prayer God was not going to answer. So, Zechariah and Elizabeth stopped praying for a child.
彼らは何年も祈りましたが、子供は出来ませんでした。彼らは神さまの奇跡を信じましたが子供は出来ませんでした。ついに彼らは年を取り、神さまは自分たちの祈りを聞いて下さらなかったと結論を出しました。

They began to believe that if God was ever going to answer that prayer, He would have answered it by now. That was not an unreasonable conclusion. Luke tells us that they were both old: "Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years." What a nice way to put it: they were older than dirt! They were all used up. They had nothing left to offer.
今になって答えがないのだから、神様はその祈りには答えてくださらなかったと彼らは信じました。そう信じてしまうのは無理もありません。ルカ書には彼らは年をとっていたと書いてあります。「エリザベスは不妊の女だった、二人とも年を取っていた。」と・・・彼らは疲れ果て、彼らには何も残っていませんでした。

Some questions to think about: How many prayers have you stopped praying because the answer has not yet come? How many reasonable conclusions have you reached because if God were to answer your prayer, it would have been answered by now?
ここで考えて見ましょう:祈りの答えがないので祈るのをやめてしまった祈りはいくつありますか?もう、祈りが聞かれていい時期なのに祈りが答えられないから自分で答えを出してしまったことは何回ありますか?

How many of us believe that because we have reached the end of our endurance, that God has also come to the end of His resources? How many of us believe that answered prayer is what happens to the other guy?
自分はもう耐えるのに限界だから、神さまも限界があると信じている人は居ますか?他の人の祈りは聞かれると信じている人は居ますか?

Zechariah and his wife were both descended from priestly families. He took his place among the priests at every special day and performed the rituals of the faith, along with the other priests. In verse 9 we are told that Zechariah was chosen by lot to enter the Holy Place and burn incense before the Lord.
ゼカリヤもその妻も祭司の家系に生まれました。ゼカリヤは祭司として勤めを果たしていました。9節では「祭司職の習慣によって、くじを引いたところ、主の神殿にはいって香をたくことになった」とあります。

This was a great honor for a priest, and since there were many thousands of priests, it is quite possible that one could live his whole life as a priest and never have that honor. So, this was a very special day for Zechariah.
これは何千人もの祭司の中から選ばれたのはとても名誉なことでした。一生祭司をしていたも選ばれない人も多かったと思います。この日はザカリヤにとってとても特別な日となりました。

The faithful were outside praying and devoutly seeking God while Zechariah the priest entered the Holy Place to light the incense before the Lord. When the angel of the Lord appeared to him, Zechariah responded the way anyone would: he was full of fear. Fear in the presence of God is a very reasonable response.
ゼカリヤが主の神殿に入って香をたいている間、信仰的な人々は外で神を求め祈りを捧げていました。主の御使いが現れたときゼカリヤは普通の人と同じ反応をしました。彼は恐怖に襲われました。神さまの前で恐れるのは当然の反応です。

Some Christians have come to believe that God is their cosmic buddy, that hanging around with Him would be a hoot. But that is a false belief. The manifest presence of God always produces fear.
あるクリスチャンは神さまを遊び友達だ信じています。それは間違っています。神様のご臨在の間ではいつも恐れが生まれます。

That fear is not the fear you experience when faced with a bully in the schoolyard; rather, it is the fear you feel when you, in your sin, are confronted by TOTAL AND COMPLETE HOLINESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and UTTER PERFECTION. God is so "other," so beyond us in holiness, in the revelation of His might, in the opening our eyes to His deeply personal love for us – that knowledge cuts us to the very core of our beings.
この恐れはは学校でいじめられる恐怖とは違います。それは皆さんが罪を犯したときに完全に清く、正しく、完璧な方に直面する恐怖なのです。神様は清さ、力、愛、全てにおいて私たちより勝っておられます。それにより私たちは神さまを恐れるのです。

God's knowledge of us, from our greatest joys to our darkest secrets, lays bare our hearts. The revelation of God brings us to a place where we are undone. We are toast. As one who is completely unworthy, as one who deserves to be crumpled up and thrown into the flames, Zechariah was, just as you and I would be, "gripped with fear."
神さまは私たちの喜び、隠し、嘘など、心にあることを全てご存知です。神さまからの啓示により自分がどんなに未熟であるかわかります。また、価値がなく、裁かれて当然の者であるとわかります。ザカリヤも私たちと同じで恐怖に襲われたのでした。

Before Zechariah stood God's messenger, who later identified himself as Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. Just now, Gabriel's desire is to bring peace to Zechariah's heart, and to encourage him not to be afraid, which was no small task.
神の御使い、ガブリエルの前にゼカリヤは経ちました。ガブリエルの願いはゼカリヤを平安にすることでした。そしてゼカリヤに「こわがることはない。」といいました。

Some peace! – he tells Zechariah, "Your prayer has been heard." What prayer? Which prayer, of the thousands of prayers he has prayed? Oh, that prayer! That prayer which he had stopped praying... for which he had given up hope... which no longer was possible to be answered. ZECHARIAH WAS TOLD THAT PRAYER WILL BE ANSWERED BY GOD.
また、ガブリエルは「あなたの願いが聞かれたのです。」とゼカリヤに言いました。「どの祈り?何千回も祈ってきたけど。あ、あの祈り・・・祈るのをやめてしまった祈り。もう答えられないとあきらめてしまった・・・。」しかし神さまはあの祈りは聞かれたとゼカリヤに言いました。

Now would probably be the right time to tell you what the name Zechariah means. The name Zechariah means "The Lord remembers." Our short term memory has just about fizzled, but God remembers. That cry of your heart is not forgotten by God; GOD REMEMBERS. That prayer you prayed for years on end, and finally gave up praying; GOD REMEMBERS.
ではここでゼカリヤの名前の意味を教えましょう。ゼカリヤは「主は覚えておられる」という意味なのです。私たちの記憶が消えそうになっても神様は覚えておられます。あなたの心の嘆きを神さまは忘れません。神さまは覚えています。何年も祈ったのにあきらめてしまったあの祈りを神さまは覚えています。

Your age is not a problem to God. Your barrenness is not a problem to God. Your physical ability, your financial situation, the state of your health, your family situation – none of that is a problem to God. This is the God whose messenger spoke to Zachariah and promised him a son in his old age.
神さまにとってみなさんの年など問題ではありません。また、不妊も問題ではありません
皆さんの体力経済力健康状態家庭環境、これら全て神さまにとって全く問題ではないのです。これが年老いたゼカリヤに息子を与えると約束された神様です。

Not only a son is promised, but Zechariah was told that this son that Elizabeth would bear will be named John. He will be a man of destiny. John will be a man of great faith, who will be the forerunner of the Kingdom of God . John "will be great in the sight of the Lord." He will preach so that many people will repent... will turn toward God... will come home to God, be converted... turn away from sin.
息子を与える約束だけではありませんでした。妻エリザベスが子供を生み、生まれた子供をヨハネと名づけなさいといわれました。ヨハネは優れた者となり、神の国の道備えをする者となると約束されました。

It was at that moment Zechariah found, when it came to faith, he was running on empty. While he was a man of faith on the outside, he was a blatant unbeliever on the inside. When God spoke, Zechariah doubted. He looked up at that angel, at that messenger of the Most High God, and doubt sprayed out of his mouth, right in the face of the angel who stands in the presence of God.
ザカリヤは信仰を持たずに走っていました。外から見たら信仰の人のように見えましたが、心の中は明らかに不信仰でした。神様が語られたことをザカリヤは疑いました。ザカリヤはいと高き神の御使いを見たとき疑いの言葉を口にしました。

This could hardly have been more of a definite Word from God. Yet, Zechariah was not certain. He was not sure. He could not understand how it could possibly happen that way.
神さまの言葉以外の何ものでもなかったのにゼカリヤは確信できませんでした。なぜそのようなことが自分の身に起きるか理解できませんでした。

Faith was five months pregnant with twin boys. We were to leave JP in two weeks. We were excited…have twins in the US . That eve, she felt pain and soon we were in the car driving to a hospital in Fusa. As driving out down the road, we realized that this was not going to end well. Boys were too young and most likely will die.
私の妻、フェイスが双子の男の子を妊娠して5ヶ月目でした。二週間後にアメリカで双子を産む予定でした。ある晩、お腹が痛くなり私たちは福生にある病院に向かいました。運転しているときに悪い予感がしました。胎児は小さすぎるから死んでしまうかも知れない・・・

We DECIDED to give it to the Lord…in prayer, scripture and song, we kept driving. Within a few miles of the hospital, our first son came out and Faith laid him on her lap. Between the street lamps, I could see him. Then #2 came. Both boys were beautiful yet way too small. At the hospital, they tried to keep them alive. I held their hands and felt their hearts beating fast.
私たちは主にゆだねる決心をしました。病院の数キロ手前で、一人目の子どもが出てきました。フェイスは膝の上に子どもを乗せました。そして二人目が出てきました。二人はとても可愛かったけど小さすぎました。病院は必死で手当をしてくれました。子どもたちの手を取ったとき脈が早いのを感じました。

Later that night, Son #1 died. A few hours later, #2 went to the Lord. I otld Faith, we both cried but they were not tears of anger. I drove home and laid on the floor. I felt the Eternal Arms of my Go d holding me. I thought, when He lets me go, what will my feelings be.
その晩遅くに、一人目が召されました。その数時間後、二人目も主のもとに行きました。私たちは怒りの涙を流しました。家に帰り床の上で横になりました。そのとき主が私を抱きしめてくれているように感じました。主が居なかったらどうなっていただろうと思いました。

He said to my heart: “I will never let you go, nor forsake you.” I KNEW His Peace that passes understanding. Anna was born to us during our US stay and a number years later, Joseph and John came to us. Quiver is full. His Peace still holds us. Our prayers for boy children was heard…years later. just when we were finished with the dream.
主は私に語りかけました。「わたしは決してあなたを離れず、見捨てない。」神さまの平安が友にあることを知りました。アメリカ滞在中にアンナが生まれました。数年後にジョンとジョセフが私たちのもとに来ました。私は震えました。神さまの平安は私たちを支えてくれました。双子の息子たちに対する私たちの祈りは何年も経ってから答えられました。まさにあきらめようとしたときに答えられたのです。

When God answers prayer, we need to be ready to receive His answer, don't we? Zechariah was not ready, he was not prepared for the answer of God to the prayer of his life. His life's prayer was not some trivial thing. He and his wife had prayed for a son. But when God moved, he did not recognize the handiwork of God. As a result, Zechariah was made unable to speak.
私たちは祈りが答えられたときのために準備が必要ではないでしょうか?ゼカリヤは祈りが答えられたときの準備が出来ていませんでした。彼の祈りは些細なことではなかったのです。妻と一緒に息子を与えてくれるように祈ったのです。しかし、神様が答えられたときにゼカリヤは気が付きませんでいた。その結果、ゼカリヤはものが言えなくなったのです。

If you look ahead to Luke 1: 62, you see there that after John was born, people "made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child." It appears Zechariah was not only unable to speak, but he was also unable to hear. He was made deaf and dumb for nearly a year.
ルカ1:62ではヨハネが生まれたときに「身振りで父親に合図して、幼子に何と言う名をつけるつもりかとたずねた。」とあります。ここでゼカリヤはものが言えなくなっただけではなく、耳も聞こえなくなったようです。彼は約一年間この状態で過ごしました。

Even though Luke says they were both well along in years, they must have still enjoyed their marriage relationship, because in due course, Elizabeth became pregnant, just as God said.
ゼカリヤとエリザベスは長い間一緒に生活しましたが、結婚生活を楽しんでいたと思われます。神さまの約束どおりエリザベスが身ごもったからです。

But Zechariah could not speak, which was probably a great blessing to his wife, and his loss of speech continued until the promise of God to him was completely kept, which was another great blessing. Even as his wife grew more and more visibly pregnant, Zechariah could not testify that this was God's goodness, THIS WAS GOD'S HAND OF FAITHFULNESS TO HIM and his wife.
ゼカリヤが話せなくなったのはおそらく妻にとっては祝福だったでしょう。またゼカリヤは主の約束が完全に成就するまで離せませんでした。それも祝福だったと思います。妻のお腹が大きくなっていくにも関わらず、ゼカリヤはその神さまの素晴らしさを証しすることが出来ませんでした。神さまはゼカリヤと妻に対する約束を忠実に守ってくださいました。

But Elizabeth could speak, and she did, verse 25. Even though she was just as well along in years as her husband, SHE HAD NOT LOST HOPE. She had not lost her faith that the will and purpose of God was a living and driving force in her life.
しかしエリザベスは話せました。25節:何年もの間、夫と仲良くしてきましたが彼女は希望を失いませんでした。神様は生きて働いてくださるお方だと信じて、信仰を失うことはありませんでした。

During that whole time, Zechariah was unable to speak and apparently unable to hear. As he had a great deal of time on his hands, A LONG PERIOD OF SILENCE ENVELOPED HIM. This was time God designed into the life of Zechariah for him to reflect on the Word of God and the work of God in his life.
約束が成就するまでずっとゼカリヤは話せず、聞くこともできませんでした。彼は長い間、静けさに包まれました。神様の言葉と御業がゼカリヤの人生で表されるようにと神さまはこのようにされたのです。

From that moment until his newborn baby was to be presented in the temple after his birth, Zechariah was silent. He could not preach. He could not converse with his wife or with their friends. He was able to speak only to God. His was a year-long enforced quiet time!
神殿で語られたときから息子が生まれるまで彼はものが言えませんでした。妻や友だちとも会話ができませんでした。会話が出来たのは神様とだけでした。強制的でしたが一年間、主と静まるときが持てました。

Zechariah had lost his ability to testify to God's goodness and His faithfulness. When we doubt God's word to us, we lose our joy, and the song of our heart is silenced. We live in a day, probably not unlike any other day, but today hope is dried up for many.
ゼカリヤは神さまの良さ、忠実さを証することが出来ませんでした。私たちが神さまの言葉を疑うとき、喜びを失い心から歌えなくなります。私たちは昔と違って望みがない時代に生きています。

The heart is only an organ that pumps blood. Joy is more than just a dish washing detergent. A relationship with God is something very dry and religious.
心臓は血液を循環するだけです。ジョイ(喜び)は食器用洗剤になってしまいました。神さまとの関係は冷たく宗教的です。


The song of many hearts is silenced-because when God gave us an opportunity to trust Him, we doubted, even in the face of His promise. Even when God was about to answer, we ran out of faith just we reached Heartbreak Hill.
人々の心から歌は消えてしまいました。神様が信頼するようにチャンスと約束を下さったのに私たちが疑ったからです。神様が答えてくれようとしているのに、心臓破りの坂にで信仰を失ってしまったからです。

Are you ready for God to answer your prayer? Are you thinking that God has passed you by and that it is no longer possible for God to answer your prayer? God has not forgotten you, just as He did not forget old man Zechariah and old lady Elizabeth. God's heart is for you. His will for your life is always good. His purpose is always to build you up and not to tear you down. Even in pain and difficulty, God is working our lives out for our good and His purpose.
皆さん、祈りの答えを受け取る準備は出来ていますか?神様は私のもとを去ってしまったから祈りはもう聞かれないと思っていますか?神様はあなたのことを忘れてはいません。年老いたゼカリヤと妻を忘れなかったと同じように!神様はみなさんのことを思っています。神様の御心は人生に良いものをもたらしてくれます。神様の目的は皆さんを立てあげるためであり、傷つけるためではありません。たとえ痛み、苦しみの中にあっても神さまは私たちに良いものを与えるために働いておられるのです。

Much thanks goes to Ed and Cheiko for their hard work and time spent getting this ready for print.