“他们正看的时候，他就被取上升，有一朵云彩把他接去，便看不见他了。” - 徒 1:9
让我问你一个问题: “天堂在哪里?”
这是一个不容易回答的问题。不过，你的第一反应可能是往上望，又或许用手指向上面指。这是古人对天堂的看法，然而在今天，我们人类已经到过外太空，我们知道它向外伸展的范围远超过我们所能想像的 － 但是我们却看不到神的宝座在那里浮游。
在受死和复活之后，耶稣升到天上。衪从地上“被提上升”，又“有一朵云彩把他接去”，跟从衪的人便看不见衪了。耶稣升到上面、隐藏在某些东西后面、去某一个不可见的地方。所以，天堂可能是在上面，但它也显然是一个存在于我们这个三维世界以外的维度中。或许天堂其实距离我们不远，它只不过是隔在我们三维世界的一幅面纱或窗帘以外而已。
然而，更重要的是，每当神引领我们靠近衪时，我们便能够经历到一部份的天堂了。教会会友聚集一起敬拜时，就是一个经历天堂的机会，我认为当我们参与衪赐给我们的主餐时，基督便使我们特别靠近衪。藉着领受和施与饼和葡萄酒（或葡萄汁）的行动，基督告诉我们饼和酒代表衪的身体和血、使我们的灵命得到喂养，在这个时刻，天和地连接在一起，我们便因此蒙主赐福和靠主得力了。
祷告
基督我们的主，感谢你引领我们靠近你，当我们聚集在你桌前领受主餐时，你让我们再次经历了一小部份的天堂。阿们。
使徒行传 1:6-11
6他们聚集的时候，问耶稣说：“主啊，你复兴以色列国就在这时候吗？”
7耶稣对他们说：“父凭着自己的权柄所定的时候、日期，不是你们可以知道的。
8但圣灵降临在你们身上，你们就必得着能力，并要在耶路撒冷、犹太全地和撒马利亚，直到地极，作我的见证。”
9说了这话，他们正看的时候，他就被取上升，有一朵云彩把他接去，便看不见他了。
10当他往上去，他们定睛望天的时候，忽然有两个人身穿白衣站在旁边，说：
11“加利利人哪，你们为什么站着望天呢？这离开你们被接升天的耶稣，你们见他怎样往天上去，他还要怎样来。”
Where Is Heaven?
"He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight." - Acts 1:9
Let me ask you a question: Where is heaven?
This is not an easy question to answer. But perhaps your first reaction is to look up, or maybe to point up with your finger. This is how the ancients thought about heaven. But we humans today have been to outer space, and we know it stretches farther than we can imagine—and we have not found God's throne floating around out there.
After his death and resurrection Jesus ascended into heaven. He was "taken up" from the ground, and "a cloud hid him" from the sight of his followers. Jesus went up and behind something to somewhere. So while heaven may be up, it is also apparently a dimension that exists behind or beyond our three-dimensional world. Perhaps heaven is actually quite near to us, just beyond a veil or curtain in our 3-D world.
Even more important, though, we can experience a bit of heaven whenever God draws us close. One of the ways this can happen is when the church gathers for worship. And I think Christ draws us especially close when we take part in the meal he has given us. In the actions of receiving and giving bread and wine (or juice), when Christ tells us that these elements are his body and blood and we are spiritually nourished, heaven and earth intersect, and we are blessed and strengthened.
Prayer
Christ our Lord, thank you for drawing us close and allowing us to experience a bit of heaven when gather to eat at your table. Amen.
