Some Thoughts on the In-flight Worship Case 关于飞行中敬拜的随想

Back in April, there was a piece of news going around of a certain Jonathon Neo who led worship on a plane with one worship song, “How Great Is Our God”.

Jonathon and his team had spent 3 weeks in Ukraine giving out humanitarian aid since the second day of the Ukraine war as part of their gospel mission work there. This flight was their journey back. They got the permission of the pilot/ captain of the airplane before singing.

As the worship was captured on video and posted on social media which went viral, there was a lot of hate and negative comments being generated. Surely, there were many who were encouraged, but the majority of the online comments were negative. We sure could understand why non-Christians would find it distasteful but there were a whole lot of commentators who identified themselves as Christians who condemned Jonathon’s act of worship and even assassinated his character which was totally uncalled for.

The big question mark is: should Jonathon have gone ahead with the worship?

In answering that question, definitely context matters. With a lot of misinformation going around, I am sure none of us have 100% knowledge with regards to the entirety of the context surrounding the situation.

Generally, we are all agreed that with regards to public display of devotion to God, sensitivity to the people around us must be one of the key considerations. One extreme view is for Christians to just worship the way they deem fit and be totally unconcerned with the people and culture around. The other extreme view is to totally confine our spiritual affections within private spaces and refuse to venture out no matter how much the Holy Spirit nudge us to go forth.

As we navigate between these two extremes, let us bear in mind that sometimes, the tasks that God entrusts to us may possibly be culturally and politically unacceptable.

Take Titus 1:12-13 as an example. “One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,”

In the wake of our super woke culture, such a remark would be condemned as racist and labeled as hate speech on social media and yet this is the word of God; endorsed by God; receiving God’s stamp of approval.

Ultimately, it is not public opinion, but God’s stamp of approval that counts for eternity.

Was God’s stamp of approval on that in-flight worship? Did God intend for that in-flight worship to accomplish certain purposes that He had in mind? I do not know for sure. I believe most people also do not know, regardless of how sure they sound on social media. All I can say is, from what I can see from Scriptures, there is definitely a chance that the God of the Bible appreciates the worship and is somehow using it to accomplish His unfathomable kingdom purposes. Again, Iet me emphasize on the phrase “a chance.” I believe even the harshest critic cannot deny such a possibility no matter how slim this chance is.

I do not know Jonathon personally. But as I read more about this young man, and hear testimonies of friends who have heard him speak in public settings, I cannot help but feel that the spiritual fervour and sacrifices he had made for the gospel seriously put a lot of Christians to shame including myself.

早在 4 月，就有一条消息传遍了社交媒体：一名叫乔纳森·梁（Jonathon Neo）的新加坡青年，在飞机上用一首敬拜歌曲“我们的上帝多么伟大”带领敬拜。

自乌克兰战争开始的第二天起，乔纳森和他的团队已经在乌克兰度过了 3 周的时间。他们在那里提供人道主义援助，作为他们福音宣教工作的一部分。这次飞行是他们返回的旅程。他们在唱歌之前得到了飞机机师及机长的许可。

崇拜过程被拍成视频上载到社交媒体上传播开来，产生了很多仇恨和负面评论。当然，有很多人受到鼓励，但大多数在线评论都是负面的。我们当然可以理解为什么非基督徒会觉得它令人反感，但有很多评论者自称是基督徒，他们谴责乔纳森的敬拜行为，甚至对他进行人身攻击，这是完全没有必要的。

最大的问号是：乔纳森应该在机上带领敬拜吗？

回答这个问题时，考虑当时的处境很重要。由于大量错误信息的传播，我敢肯定我们中间没有人百分百了解有关情况的全部背景。

一般来说，我们都同意，公开展示对上帝的虔诚的时候，对周围人的敏感性必须是关键考虑因素之一。一种极端的观点是，基督徒只以他们认为合适的方式敬拜，完全不关心周围的人和文化。另一个极端的观点是将我们的属灵情感完全限制在私人空间内，无论圣灵如何催促我们出去，都拒绝冒险。

当我们在这两个极端之间导航时，让我们记住，有时，上帝托付给我们的任务可能在文化和政治上是不可接受的。

提多书 1:12-13 为例。 “有一个克里特本地的先知说过：“克里特人是常常说谎的，是恶兽，好吃懒作。” 这见证是真的。为了这缘故，你要严厉地责备他们，好使他们在信仰上健全，”

我们目前所处的“超级觉醒”文化之中，这样的言论会被谴责为种族主义，并在社交媒体上被贴上仇恨言论的标签。但这是上帝的话；得到上帝的认可；得到上帝认可的印记。

归根结底，不是公众舆论，而是上帝的认可印记，决定什么在永恒才是重要的。

飞行中的敬拜是上帝认可的印记吗？上帝是否打算让飞行中的敬拜达到他心中的某些目的？我不确定。我相信大多数人也不知道，无论他们在社交媒体上语气多么确定。我只能说，我从圣经中可以看出，圣经中的上帝大有可能欣赏这次崇拜并可能用这起事件成就祂的旨意。再次强调一下“可能”这个短语。我相信即使是最严厉的批评者也无法否认这种可能性，无论这种可能性多么渺茫。

我个人不认识乔纳森。但当我读到更多关于这个年轻人的事迹，以及听过他在公共场合演讲的朋友的见证时，我认为他为了福音的缘故所表现的属灵热忱及付出的牺牲，足以让很多基督徒，包括我，感到羞耻。