“‘看哪，我站在门外叩门， … 我要进到他那里去，我与他，他与我一同坐席。’” - 启 3:20
在2019新冠状病毒大流行期间，很多人比平时陷入更严重的孤单和隔离的挣扎。由于不能与朋友和家人相聚和吃饭，世界各地的人都遭遇心情沉重。
然而，对很多人来说，出于不同的原因，早在还没有新冠状病毒带来的限制时，独自吃饭已经司空见惯；在那些情况下，解除限制并不表示突然间有人与他们作伴一起吃饭。所以，对那些渴望与爱他们的人一起吃饭的人来说，他们也许会格外欢迎耶稣在这里发出的邀请。
耶稣在这段经文所说的话，是圣经中另一卷书其中某段话的回应，这是一卷令人联想起温馨、亲密之爱的书卷 － 雅歌。在雅歌 5:2，新妇说：“这是我良人的声音，他敲门 …。”他的良人说：“求你给我开门 …。”
雅歌中的景象和启示录在这里的景象相仿，都是非常温馨的，希腊文译本这里用的“爱”字是phileo，是指温柔亲切的爱，像亲密朋友的爱，又像爱人贴心的爱。所以，神对衪子民的爱情故事的盛宴，以羔羊 － 我们的救主耶稣基督 － 的婚筵作为高潮，是合情合理的。
听啊，衪正站在门外叩门，你会不会开门让耶稣进来呢？
祷告
主耶稣，我听到你在门外叩门。主啊！感谢你，请你进来与我一同坐席。阿们。
启示录 3:19-22
19凡我所疼爱的，我就责备管教他，所以你要发热心，也要悔改。
20看哪，我站在门外叩门；若有听见我声音就开门的，我要进到他那里去，我与他、他与我一同坐席。
21得胜的，我要赐他在我宝座上与我同坐，就如我得了胜，在我父的宝座上与他同坐一般。
22圣灵向众教会所说的话，凡有耳的，就应当听！’”
I Will Come And Eat With You
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. . . . I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." - Revelation 3:20
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people struggled even more than usual with loneliness and isolation. Not being able to meet and eat with friends and family weighed heavily on populations worldwide.
For many people and for many different reasons, though, eating alone was a reality long before COVID restrictions came along, and in those cases the lifting of restrictions won't mean there will suddenly be people to eat with. So Jesus' words of invitation here may be especially welcome for people who yearn to eat with someone who loves them.
Jesus' words in this passage echo some of the lines in another book of the Bible, which is associated with tender, intimate love: the Song of Songs. In Song of Songs 5:2, the woman says, "Listen! My beloved is knocking." And her beloved says: "Open to me. . . ."
Both the scene in Song of Songs and this scene in Revelation are very tender, and the word for "love" here is phileo, referring to love that is affectionate, as warmhearted as a close friend, and as near to one's heart as a lover. It makes sense, then, that the great feast that culminates the entire story of God's love for his people is the wedding supper of the Lamb, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Listen, he stands at the door and knocks. Will you open the door and let Jesus in?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I hear you at the door, knocking. Thank you! Lord, please come in and eat with me. Amen.
