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I’m sure you’ve heard of Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan and the grandson of King Saul. We first read about him in 2 Samuel 4:4. It’s a sad verse. You see, Israel and the Philistines are locked in battle. Israel is losing. During the battle, Mephibosheth’s grandfather King Saul, his father Jonathan, and two of his uncles are killed. Mephibosheth is just five years old. When news of their deaths reaches Mephibosheth, 2 Samuel 4:4 says, his carer grabs him and flees, but as she does, he falls and seriously injures both legs. From that moment on, he is disabled.

Some time later, King Saul’s successor, King David, a man who had been hunted by Saul when Saul was King, asks if any descendants of Jonathan, King Saul’s son, are still alive. That’s when Mephibosheth’s name is mentioned. King David demands that he is brought to him.

How do you think Mephibosheth felt when he hears that King David wants to see him? Many of King David’s enemies had died. Would Mephibosheth meet the same fate? When he meets King David, David instantly sees he is afraid. In 2 Samuel 9:8, Mephibosheth says, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

What place has this story in a devotion immediately after Easter and the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus? Mephibosheth’s story is not unlike Thomas’. Thomas was the one disciple who did not see the risen Jesus on that first Easter Sunday. And how did he feel? The other disciples were overjoyed, excited, full of praise – but not Thomas. He famously says that he will not believe Jesus is alive until he can see and touch Jesus’ wounds. I imagine Thomas was sad, depressed, angry. “Why didn’t Jesus appear to me?” he might have thought. “Has God forgotten me?”

And what of Mephibosheth? He’d suffered a life-changing injury at 5 years old. He’s spent most of his life in seclusion. Had he been forgotten too? Would he live the rest of his life ignored? What future is there for him?

Mephibosheth discovers that he’s not been forgotten, and he has no reason to be afraid. King David wants to bless him. David commands that all that belonged to Saul be allocated to provide for Mephibosheth for the rest of his life. What’s more, just like David’s own sons, David grants Mephibosheth the privilege of eating at his table for the rest of his life. (2 Samuel 9:7)

And Thomas? One week later, Jesus appears to Thomas. Jesus invites Thomas to see and touch his wounds. Then Thomas makes one of the most profound declarations in the Bible. He says, “My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28)

Maybe you feel like Mephibosheth or Thomas. The Easter announcement, "Jesus is alive," continues to ring out, but a gap in your life remains – something inside aches and you wonder if God has forgotten you, or you are unsure what the future holds, or you feel the rest of your life will always be “broken”. Mephibosheth and Thomas felt the same way – but they were not forgotten. The blessing of God came to them.

God’s blessing will come to you – we can't always know how or when, but we can be sure God has not forgotten you. So hold on, remember Mephibosheth and Thomas. And one day, looking into the face of Jesus, we will say together, “My Lord and my God.”

視頻大意翻譯 (video Chinese translation):

米非波設。我相信你聽過米非波設。米非波設是約拿單的兒子，也是掃羅王的孫子。我們第一次在撒母耳記下4:4中讀到他的故事。這是一個悲傷的經節。你看，以色列和非利士人正處於戰鬥之中。以色列正在失利。在戰鬥中，米非波設的祖父掃羅王、他的父親約拿單以及他的兩個叔叔被殺。米非波設只有五歲。當米非波設聽到他們的死訊時，他的保姆抓起他逃跑，但在逃跑時，他摔倒了，雙腿嚴重受傷。從那一刻起，他就成了殘疾人。

然後，有一天，掃羅王的繼承者、大衛王，一個在掃羅王統治時期曾被追捕的人，詢問約拿單的後裔是否還活著。這時米非波設的名字被提到。大衛王要求將他帶到自己面前。

那麼，當米非波設聽到大衛王想見他時，他會有什麼感受呢？他感到害怕和羞愧。許多大衛王的敵人都已經死去。米非波設會不會遭遇同樣的命運呢？當他見到大衛王時，大衛立即察覺到他感到害怕。在《撒母耳記下》9:8中，米非波設說：“你的僕人算什麼，你竟顧念像我這樣的死狗呢？”

或許你會想知道，在復活節和耶穌復活慶典之後，這個故事在靈修中有什麼地位。我認為，米非波設的故事和多馬的故事有些相似。多馬是唯一一個在那個第一個復活節星期天沒有看到復活的耶穌的門徒。他感受如何呢？其他門徒可能會歡欣鼓舞，興奮洋溢，讚美不已，但多馬不是。他以後來人所知的方式說，除非他能看到並觸摸到耶穌的傷口，否則他不會相信耶穌是活著的。我想多馬可能感到難過、沮喪、憤怒。“為什麼耶穌不顯現給我？”他可能會想。“上帝忘記了我嗎？”

那麼，米非波設又如何呢？他在五歲時遭受了一場改變生命的傷害。他的大部分生活都在隱居中度過。他也被遺忘了嗎？他會過著被忽視的餘生嗎？對他來說未來會是什麼樣子？將會發生什麼事呢？

米非波設發現他並沒有被遺忘，也沒有理由感到害怕。大衛王想要祝福他。大衛下令將掃羅所有的一切都分配出來，供給米非波設終身所需。而且，就像大衛自己的兒子一樣，大衛讓米非波設有幸終身在他的桌子上進食。(《撒母耳記下》9:7)

那麼，多馬又如何呢？一周後，耶穌顯現給了多馬。耶穌邀請多馬看看並觸摸他的傷口。然後，多馬做出了聖經中最深刻的宣言之一。他說：“我的主，我的神！”(《約翰福音》20:28)

也許你感覺像米非波設或多馬一樣。親朋好友都因耶穌復活而歡欣鼓舞，但是你的生命中仍然存在一個空白—內心某處總是在痛苦，你會想知道上帝是否已經忘記了你，或者你不確定未來會是什麼樣子，或者你覺得餘生將永遠是“殘缺”的。米非波設和多馬也有相同的感受—但是他們並沒有被遺忘。上帝的祝福降臨在他們身上。上帝的祝福也會臨到你身上—我不知道是如何，也不知道何時，但我知道上帝並沒有忘記你。讓我們繼續堅持下去，記得米非波設和多馬。總有一天，當我們朝見耶穌時，我們將一起說：“我的主，我的神！”

Grace and peace

Pastor Callum