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Rage Against the Dying of the Light

Rage Against the Dying of the Light

By Bethany Kaldas

Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour,” for we are members of one another. ²⁶“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, ²⁷nor give place to the devil.
Ephesians 4:25-27

Anger is a very complicated emotion. As a Christian, it is often quite difficult to see exactly where it should fit into life—if it has any place in Christian life at all. It’s such an ugly feeling after all—the sudden heat, the thunder of the heart, the racing of the mind, the tightening of muscles ready to push against some opposing force. Anger feels aggressive, it feels unkind.

And sometimes—perhaps most of the time, it is. Anger against those who provoke our anger is indeed a dangerous thing. Any anger directed to another creature or even an inanimate object should be restrained, any anger provoked by a sense of self-importance or the preservation of our own dignity or rights should be kept in check. Anger is a dangerous emotion when left to its own devices.

But this does not mean that it is without purpose. Jesus Himself felt anger.

Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
Matthew 21:12-13

The anger Christ felt in the temple was not a blind rage, it was not untempered aggression—it was not for His own sake or because His own sensibilities had been offended. And perhaps most importantly, His anger was not for the purpose of hurting anyone. Christ’s anger in the temple was a rage at an injustice—it was a reaction against the suppression, the corruption of something that was beautiful and precious. Anger is a prompt to fight for something that matters—to fight against something that is unjust.

Be at enmity, but be so with the devil, and not with a member of your own. For this purpose it is that God has armed us with anger, not that we should thrust the sword against our own bodies, but that we should baptize the whole blade in the devil’s breast. There bury the sword up to the hilt; yea, if you will, hilt and all, and never draw it out again, but add yet another and another. And this actually comes to pass when we are merciful to those of our own spiritual family and peaceably disposed one towards another. Perish money, perish glory and reputation; my own member is dearer to me than they all.
John Chrysostom, Homily 14 on Ephesians

A man named Dylan Thomas once wrote a poem called Do not go gentle into that goodnight. The poem speaks of how we must not simply let death take us—we must fight for our lives, we must fight against the death that threatens to take away something so precious and valuable.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas, Do not go gentle into that goodnight

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. This is what our anger is meant for—we are to rage against death, just as Christ did on His cross. But biological death was not the only kind of death that Christ fought against—and it is not the only kind of death we face.

As long as we ourselves are real, as long as we are truly ourselves, God can be present and can do something with us. But the moment we try to be what we are not, there is nothing left to say or have; we become a fictitious personality, an unreal presence, and this unreal presence cannot be approached by God.
Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, Beginning to Pray

What about the death of self? Not in the sense of sacrificing ourselves for others or devoting our lives to something we believe in. I mean the slow, degrading death that occurs when we sacrifice our unique individuality for the sake of adhering to a standard set by others. The disease of mindless, fretful conformity, the illness that makes us too afraid to stand out, too weary to stand up for what we know in our hearts to be right, too afraid to show our true selves to others for fear of being rejected or shamed. We have a particular light in each of us—Divine breath formed and moulded into your exact shape, your exact heart. There is only one of you—and there will never be another. Do we rage, rage against the fading of that unique light God has put in our hearts?

Hope makes you see God’s guiding hand not only in the gentle and pleasant moments but also in the shadows of disappointment and darkness. No one can truly say with certainty where he or she will be ten or twenty years from now. You do not know if you will be free or in captivity, if you will be honored or despised, if you will have many friends or few, if you will be liked or rejected. But when you hold lightly these dreams and fears, you can be open to receive every day as a new day and to live your life as a unique expression of God’s love for humankind. There is an old expression that says, “As long as there is life there is hope.” As Christians we also say, “As long as there is hope there is life.”
Henri J.M. Nouwen, Turn My Mourning into Dancing: Finding Hope in Hard Times

What about the death of hope? When our lives become heavy, the burden strains on our shoulders and we spend so much time with our heads bent beneath it that we can no longer see a way forward. We no longer see a point, we no longer see our worth, we no longer hear that voice that calls us Beloved, the voice that screams that you are never alone and that there is a plan for your life. We cannot hear that voice because it gets drowned out by so many others that say there’s no use. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be what they want you to be, you’ll never make anything of your life. All to easily, without cry or shout, we sink into a despair that infects every aspect of our world and drains it of life or colour like a parasite. Do we rage, rage against the dying light in our souls, the lantern we keep to illuminate our own way and bring hope to others around us?

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ²And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3

What about the death of love? When we become consumed with our own needs, our own desires. When we become myopic, unable to see beyond our own points of view; when we become deaf, unable to hear the cries of the impoverished, the abandoned, the desperate. When we become so frail of self that we can no longer muster the courage to reach out to those who stumble down dark paths on their own. When people become tools to be used or obstacles to overcome rather than human beings. When our hearts solidify into stone and we no longer shed tears for the weeping, when we cannot bring ourselves to grieve with the grieving. Do we rage, rage against the darkness that threatens to devour those around us, the shadows of persecution, loneliness and distress?

Perhaps you don’t think you face death very often. Perhaps you think your life is relatively tame. Perhaps you don’t. In either case, I can assure you—you see death every day. Maybe not physical death, but all these other kinds of death that are no less dangerous. They prowls like a hungry beast, just waiting for someone to trip, to stagger, to be left behind and left alone.

And when we are faced with those deaths, what do we do? Do we lay down and die? Or do we fight?

Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Do we wage these battles with our integrity, our faith, our compassion? Do we fight to keep our souls whole? Do we fight to stay afloat in the wildest storms of our life? Do we fight to remind each other that we are precious? Do we fight for the lives of our neighbours when the deaths of despair, isolation and oppression surround them?

Our anger was never meant for our neighbour. Our rage was designed to fight death—in whatever form it takes.

If we care nothing when we realise that we are changing to conform to the standards of others and losing ourselves, then something is wrong. If we lay down and accept the feeling that we are hopeless and our lives have no purpose, then we have lost something precious. If we see the pain of our brothers and sisters and sit back and let them suffer, without help, without even a hand to hold, then we are not being what we are meant to be.

We cannot see these deaths and do nothing. We were called to fight. Our anger yearns to fix what is broken. We cannot go gentle into that goodnight. We cannot let the darkness win—whatever that darkness looks like in your life or the lives of those around you.

Feel the anger. Let it surge through you. Let it prompt you into action. Let it be your fuel to fight. Do not go gentle into that goodnight. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor;
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.
(Isaiah 1:17)

A Comfortable Life

A Comfortable Life

By Shery Shehata

“Work hard now so you don’t have to work hard later.”

I know I’m not the only one that had this drilled into my brain from a young age. If you have first generation parents in particular, this is so important to them. They didn’t travel half-way around the world for you to struggle in life.

The simple goal is that we struggle up until the point where our output is no longer greater than our input. Beyond this point, you can live fairly comfortably. There is peace in being content – in not living beyond your means. I think this is an okay goal to have, to be peaceful and content after working hard and in turn, reap the rewards.

But then I get stuck on, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). It stumps me, because this comes after anxiety and distress. You give your anxiety and distress to God and He gives you peace in return, but what if I’m already comfortable, can’t I still have peace from God, too?

There is a type of peace that comes from God alone, when everything around me is falling apart, and there is an unexplainable peace within me. I can’t have that from being content in the world. If I think I am at peace when everything around me is good, then I am deceived. St John Chrysostom contemplates on this verse;

For who could have expected and who could have hoped for such benefits? It transcends every human intellect and all speech. For his enemies, for those who hated him, for the apostates—for all these he did not refuse to give his only begotten Son, so as to make peace with them…. The peace which will preserve us is the one of which Christ says, “My peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” For this “peace surpasses all human understanding.” How? When he sees that we should be at peace with enemies, with the unrighteous, with those who display contentiousness and hostility toward us, how does this not pass human understanding?
St John Chrysostom

When St John Chrysostom speaks of peace, he links back to the life of Christ. That was not a comfortable life. Christ was confrontational, but nowadays, we don’t really like confrontation either, we like to, “keep the peace” instead.

The line, “keep the peace” is moreso, to keep us and everyone around us comfortable. To look outwardly peaceful is important in our modern Western world. But I can’t let that outward display be the only thing that is inside my heart. When I come to my Father, I come to Him in all honesty, so that the peace that surpasses all understanding guards my heart, and not the fake comfortable peace I think I have from the world.

While the world values comfort and being amicable with everyone around you, the goal of Love is different. When it comes to prayer, I cannot be deceived by a, “good day” that ends without prayer;

There are no good days or bad days. There are days with prayer and days without prayer.
St Pope Kyrillos VI

If a comfortable day becomes my definition of a good day, then I lose sight of what matters. My prayers become sporadic and centred on my own comfort and worldly goals, I miss the point of this life and the hereafter;

We are not to entreat God that our interests may thrive, or that our responsibilities and work may grow and flourish, thereby giving us earthly fame and glory, carnal peace and comfort. Rather, we should ask Him to root out all our affairs in the spirit of selfishness, which glorifies the human ego, and to inspire in us uprightness of mind and heart that we may not use guile, deceit, covetousness, falsehood, theft or lying in our work.
Fr Matthew the Poor, Guidelines for Prayer

In prayer, we re-centre our minds and our intentions toward Christ. In the world, everyone around me might be chasing fame, glory and carnal peace, but in my prayers, I seek uprightness of heart and mind. I pursue the love of Christ so that His glory and His peace are my foundations. This is where I find my true comfort.

God’s warning to us was always, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”( John 16:33).

Maybe our greatest tribulation is in the unseen – in our comfort, in our apathy, in our pursuits and our pleasures that draw us away from the Kingdom. When things are bad, at least this draws me to prayer. When things are good, what Cross do I feel then need to carry?

When the devil looked at Job, he saw a happy and righteous man that had all the comfort of the world. But I wonder what the devil could not see, if he never actually saw Job’s prayers. I wonder when Job got home, shut the door to his room, when no one else was around, did he wrestle with God in prayer for his soul even though by all worldly standards, he was comfortable?

Job continuously gave glory to God, which must have come from a genuine relationship with God. In wealth or in poverty, the relationship did stay the same. Job didn’t “see” God in his comfort, but in his tribulation (Job 42:5). Job would have heard from many about their tribulations that God delivered them from, but it was only after his own tribulation and loss that his eyes saw the work of God, too.

If we want to know our spiritual lives, we have to reflect on our consistency. When even a little bit of comfort is taken from me, what does my prayer life look like? If it’s a relationship I have, and I value that relationship, nothing will change. I might be upset, but my love for God is still there. Job received twice as much as before, for Job knew how to prioritise his relationship with the Father above all possessions he had.

If all I know is this world, then it makes sense but that I strive to get comfortable where I am, but if I read, if I pray, if I look to the saints who suffered before me, then I know I need to strive and push for the greater Kingdom that is to come. Glory be to God, Amen.

Heart of a Lamb

Heart of a Lamb

By Bethany Kaldas

‘The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.’
Isaiah 11:6

The phrase heart of a lion is used as praise—it means someone demonstrated courage and strength in the face of adversity. That’s fair enough—there is certainly something to be said for those who fight for justice, those who stand up for the helpless and actively defy oppressors. But there is another form of courage and strength in the face of danger that is far more underrated…and is often mistaken for the exact opposite.

‘…giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.’
Ephesians 5:20-21

Submission is, in modern use, a term quite strongly associated with weakness and fear and helplessness. The lamb is a common symbol of submission—people even use the label as an insult—you’re a lamb, I’m a lion—I’m bigger and stronger, you’re weak, you have nothing.

But let’s take a look at the story of Abraham and Isaac.

We talk a lot about Abraham’s decision to sacrifice his only and precious son, and throughout the whole ordeal, Isaac almost seems like a prop. We don’t tend to talk about him making any decisions here. But think about it—at this point, Isaac was a strong young man (strong enough to carry wood up a mountain) and his father was very, very old. Isaac also isn’t stupid. He realises that they don’t have a sacrificial animal as they’re going up the mountain. There were very few ways this could go in his favour. By the time he’s being laid on the firewood, he understands exactly what’s happening. He could’ve said something or done something to stop it

And yet, he says nothing.

Personally, I’d never given that much thought to Isaac’s silence. I’d always just assumed that since the story seemed primarily about Abraham that Isaac just wasn’t given much of a character arc, if you will. But although Isaac’s silence seems like mere weak character, a lack of personality or opinion, perhaps even stupidity, I believe it is just as much a decision as Abraham’s choice to sacrifice his son in the first place.

We don’t seem to make nearly as big a deal about it as we do about Abraham, but in his silence, in his submission, Isaac is showing his willingness to be sacrificed—for God, for his father, for whatever purpose this sacrifice served. Unlike Abraham, we’re given no indication that Isaac thought he would be resurrected after this. This was it, the final battle—and it was not a battle to save his life, but to lose it. Because submission (of this sort) is not passive, submission is a choice.

I know I said that Isaac was strong enough to stop this from happening if he chose, but I’d argue that’s not the point. It’s not really about whether he could’ve done otherwise—whether he had the power to resist but decided not to use it. That’s not the question—the important question is: was he willing?

We can tell he was willing, because he could’ve done otherwise—but that’s merely the external reassurance of is inner condition. He could’ve submitted just as easily if he had been a frail child who really couldn’t have stopped this from happening.

This is important. Because sometimes, our circumstances are genuinely inescapable. Sometimes, we’re not young and strong and capable of resisting the sacrifice. Sometimes the ropes are too tight and there is nowhere for us to go. The question is not whether we are able to leave or not—the question is whether I will go quietly, with the assurance that our circumstances are in greater hands, or whether I will go kicking and screaming.

‘We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.’
C. S. Lewis

Clearly, Isaac was going willingly. But I could imagine that it wasn’t easy for him. I could imagine he was having wars inside his mind before he made the decision to lay down his life.

We can see this clearly when Christ is in Gethsemane praying not to have to die. Jesus Himself fought a battle against fear and suffering and injustice—but it was not by dominating his oppressors, it was not by defeating those who hurt Him. He didn’t beat fear by removing its source—He won His battle by trusting His Father’s will for Him. And that is no easy thing for any human to do.

‘And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”’
Luke 22:40-42

We think that standing up and taking action against an external enemy is challenging—it is, that is true, and it is often necessary. There are many circumstances where the right thing to do is to stand firm and fight, especially for the wellbeing of others. Jesus turned the other cheek, but He turned over tables too.

But this is not always the case. Sometimes, the impulse to fight comes not from a sense of love and justice, but from fear, from pride, from a wounded ego. And in those instances, to submit is to let go. And to let go…is scary.

Do not underestimate or misinterpret the act of submission—submission to God’s will takes just as much courage and strength as any battle does. And submission is itself a battle.

We battle all those instincts that tell us to fight or flee, all those self-preservation methods we keep stored up to save us from any kind of peril. When you’re hanging off the edge of a cliff, uncertain of what lies beneath you, it takes a lot of strength to hold on. But it takes more strength—a different kind, but strength nonetheless—to let go. It takes the strength of trust—and even when we’ve seen God save us before, it can still be hard to believe He’ll get us through our present struggles.

‘Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.’
C.S. Lewis

Lambs are different. Lambs are trusting. A lamb will follow their shepherd wherever he takes them, even if it is to places the lamb has never been before. We might think them naive or silly, but they will not follow just anyone. This was a decision they made. The flock follows because they know their shepherd will not lead them astray. It is not weakness that they follow him into the unknown. It is the power to lay down their own fears, their own will, and trust the one who knows the way. And we must remember that although Christ is the Lion of Judah, He is also the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

‘He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.’
Isaiah 53:7

Submission and love go hand in hand—and neither is a form of weakness. On the contrary, real submission that comes from love requires more strength and courage than we tend to realise. If Christ had fought the soldiers who came to arrest Him, it probably would’ve been a bit challenging—but I can guarantee that letting them arrest Him—knowing exactly what He was about to go through—that was far harder. In the same way, it might take guts to punch someone who offended you, but it takes a much deeper, quieter strength to let it go. It might take power to take revenge on someone who hurt you, to make sure they never dare do it again, but it takes a much stronger character to forgive, to empathise, and to show compassion on those who have wronged you.

These things look like weakness to the world, but this is just one of the many forms that real love takes. Love is indeed a roaring Lion, but Love is also the silent Lamb, willing to give up its life for even those who have wronged Him.

‘Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”And they divided His garments and cast lots.’
Luke 23:34

A Reason for Hope

A Reason for Hope

By Mora Tiab

It is no secret that life lacks consistency. A day in itself can have highs and lows. The truth is that consistency is as synthetic as plastic. Everyone experiences difficulties and joys in their lives. More often than not, these difficulties cannot be controlled, but what can be controlled is my outlook on life and the experiences that come with it. For me, I find it easier to take on a negative outlook because that involves accepting what is and letting go of whatever control can be taken.

However, according to WebMD, a positive outlook on life has been attributed to several health benefits including lower blood pressure and better stress management. These effects are directly correlated to McGill’s Office for Science and Society’s article on the cardiovascular effects of anger.

Throughout the wild rollercoaster of life, we all have moments when we feel as though the whole world is against us; when we feel as though we are running on a treadmill and getting nowhere, when we feel we are doing everything we can yet still drowning. It is in these moments that a positive mindset seems to be a shield made of glass in a tumultuous hurricane – naive and useless.

Verywellmind calls it “toxic positivity.” Simply put, it is when negative feelings are ignored for the sake of “remaining positive.” Despite the beneficial effects of a positive mindset, toxic positivity takes it to an extreme and can induce feelings of guilt or sadness. Essentially, it’s nothing more than a façade meant to allow one to avoid confronting any difficult emotions. Since it is only possible to maintain a front for so long, the problem grows within over time and eventually comes out when we would least like it to. Seeing as how toxic positivity is not a better option than a negative outlook on life, there must be another option when life becomes difficult.

It is clear that too much of anything is detrimental, even positivity. In life, we need to remain grounded. But what can I do when I feel like there is nothing left to be positive about? This is where hope comes in. Christ warned us, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). I don’t live my life thinking that everything will be okay. If I just stay positive, it will all work out. I can’t even live life just bracing for the next bad thing to happen to me. I live with hope. I live knowing that there will be struggle, there will be tribulation, but I have hope that the One that overcame the world will deliver me and will be my Salvation.

Hope is the reason that I continue to work hard and do what is right. It is the driving force that allows me to face difficulties head-on, rather than running away. Without hope, the best thing that I can do is chase the next high or whatever makes me feel good at the moment. Whatever consequences this has on the future does not seem to matter when I lack any kind of hope for a good future.

Unlike positivity, hope is not a mindset. Hope is trust in a solid foundation. A foundation that is strong enough to withstand all difficulties that come to pass. It is reliable and supportive of my hope without ulterior motives. My foundation is in Christ – the One that will never fail me.

The Christian belief is that God created each and every person out of His immense love for each person. As the Father, He creates each person in His image; with intelligence and talents. Even an individual’s physical traits, personality, and the people placed in their lives are placed there intentionally. Everyone has hopes and dreams, but God has a purpose for us all that is greater than we can imagine. His greatest desire is that we fulfil our purpose by using our talents to learn and make an impact on the world around us.

My God is my hope and saviour that cannot be compared to any man. He is omniscient and omnipotent. He is eternal; without beginning or end, He is constant and unchanging. God’s character is undeniably and unwaveringly reliable.

These characteristics of God places mankind in a very advantageous position. No matter what I experience and no matter what I face, I know that an omnipotent God is taking care of me the way that a father cares for his child. Nothing can overcome a love like this. The history of the world is littered with people who struggled and held onto hope in God. Not only were they saved, they accomplished great things because their hope in God was not in vain.

As St. Paul puts it in Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” There were generations upon generations before us that took a leap of faith and God delivered them. When we take that leap, we know that we are not doing so blindly. The same God that delivered those that came before us through their hope, will deliver me too. Every leap of faith is a risk, but when considering Pascal’s wager about God from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, one can acknowledge the fact that there is little to lose but so much to gain by placing my hope in God.

This hope in difficulties, this light in the darkness, is the reason Christmas is celebrated every year. Christmas itself is simply the celebration of the day that the Saviour was born, however, it’s not just any birthday that is celebrated every year. It is the reminder that there is hope – that I have hope. It reminds me that no one has to endure their difficulties alone. It is the reminder that God was incarnated and became man out of His immense love for each one of us His immense love is what saves me. My hope in God is the reason for the joy of Christmas.

References

Sherwood, Alison. “What is Positive Thinking?” WebMD, Jan. 16, 2022, https://www.webmd.co m/mental-health/positive-thinking-overview

Schwarcz, Joe. “Is it true that getting angry can affect the heart?” McGill Office for Science and Society, Feb. 20, 2017, https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-you-asked/it-true-getting- angry-can-affect-heart#:~:text=That’s%20because%20anger%20causes%20an,stress%20hormones%20adrenaline%20and%20cortisol.&text=Indeed%2C%20the%20risk%20of%20a,stroke%20is%20four%20times%20higher.

Cherry, Kendra. “What is Toxic Positivity?” verywellmind, Sept. 28, 2022, https://www.verywell mind.com/what-is-toxic-positivity-5093958

The Bible. New King James Version. Bible Gateway, version 42, Bible Gateway / Zondervan, 2016

Saka, Paul. “Pascal’s Wager about God” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://iep.utm.edu /pasc-wag/

God’s Gift of Himself

It is ironic that the feast which celebrates the greatest gift ever given to man, both collectively and individually, is also marked by the theatrical exchange of relatively petty and unneeded things designated as “gifts”. There was once a Sunday School class in which the teacher (unwisely) asked each child in turn to tell what they were “getting for Christmas”. Each child stated his expected prize, brimming with excitement, until the last child, who dipped his eyes to the floor and said, “Nothing”. His family was too poor for leisure gift-giving, and his lack was accentuated by the abundance of his friends. His downcast heart, however, was the greater poverty; for underneath the false and tasteless crust of our materialist “Christmas season” lies a wondrous fact. It is a fact almost too extraordinary to believe: that God gave Himself as a gift to the world.

Christmas is a celebration, not only of our Lord’s nativity, but of our Lord Himself. We may call it the Feast of Jesus Christ. For the central fact we rejoice in is God’s dwelling among us. St. John in his unique phraseology says that Christ “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14); the tabernacle was the Old Testament tent which represented God’s presence among His people. But now, God Himself comes to us—not as a symbolic representation, not as tablets of Law, not even as the voice of a prophet—but in the flesh. How long had the weary world waited (in the words of an old carol), and yonder breaks a new and glorious morning!

So we celebrate the full 33 years of God’s coming in the flesh—His Advent. All of the priceless blessings He bestowed on our tired world during His stay were begun by His birth in Bethlehem and were foretold by the angels’ praise: “Peace on earth, and goodwill to men.” The healings, the teachings, the pardoning of sin, the spiritual enlightenment, the sufferings, the Cross, the Resurrection—all the things written in the Gospels which alone give us redemption and strength and joy and make life worthwhile—were made possible by the humble birth. The person who has truly found His hope in Christ, who cannot imagine living a day without Him, will rejoice in Christmas as much as a farmer dancing in the rain after years of drought. If the ancient Egyptians worshipped the Nile because it was the source of their existence, much more will the Christian rejoice in Christmas, the birth and beginning of his own present and eternal life.

Each soul that finds itself downcast, restless, and discontented during the Christmas season must pause for a few silent moments and lean its thoughts toward this great truth: God gave Himself. What more could He do? What other example could He give us? If God so completely emptied Himself for my sake, how could I ever again be displeased or discontented with my portion in life? The essence of God’s being is self-emptying. Self-emptying or self-sacrifice is a divine “attribute” no less than His omnipotence or holiness. On Christmas Day, in other words, God revealed for the first time a side of His nature which man had never known. Who would have thought that the God who we always knew as Creator, Judge, King, Master, and Lawgiver—was also Servant? But He was pleased to reveal on Christmas day, and forevermore, the sacrificial nature of His Being. And since His nature determines ours—for we are made in His image—we discover that the abandonment and forgetting of our own wants and comforts is an essential requisite to a complete and joyful life. We will never be happy, we will never be fulfilled, until we develop this necessary attribute. It has become an inevitable attribute of existence, and of the whole universe, because it is an attribute of God.

How meaningless is life without Christ! The person who makes his way from life to death without the incarnate God within him floats like a ship without direction in stormy waters. A person might be rich and prosperous; but that is only as good as a luxurious ship without direction in stormy waters. Jesus reveals the good things in life; He alone shows the way to joy, and peace, and love, and all such things which men really desire but seek in vain through worldly indulgences. There is really not a spark of genuine happiness elsewhere; and non-believers can only achieve as much happiness as there is in following the teachings of Christ without following Him personally. Satan knows this; and he apparently attempts to suffocate Christmas of all its life through money, through raucous parties, and through sin.

Finally we may return to our original message: the astonishing fact that God came down to us. We may choose one of two paths in life. The first is of the Sunday School boy who sat gloomily because he could not expect to receive a trivial present for Christmas, which unbeknownst to him would do him no good, and which he would throw out one day as rubbish. The other is to thank God for the good things He has given us, to be content and happy with what one has, and to forget self to the point that the needs of others become one’s main concern. And in so doing we “put on Christ”. At that moment, the world is transformed; dark areas suddenly become light; dry deserts become joyful pastures. The act of expelling the poisonous dissatisfaction that resides within us and allowing the joyful peace of God to be poured into our hearts can be done in a day, or even in an hour, even in a moment of time. It involves the raising of the first heart-bursting prayer to God, in faith and patience, and God begins His good work in us. All of this is contained, and so much more, in the story of Christ’s birth to the world.

Sayings of the Fathers

When you see the Child wrapped in swaddling clothes, do not limit your thoughts to His birth in the flesh, but mount up to the contemplation of His godlike glory…You will see Him set upon a throne high and lifted up; you will hear the Seraphim extolling Him in hymns, saying that heaven and earth are full of His glory. Yes! Even upon earth this has come to pass; for the glory of God shone upon the shepherds, and there was a multitude of heavenly hosts telling of Christ’s glory.
St Cyril of Alexandria
Commentary on the Gospel of St Luke

Do not think that it is a small thing when you hear about that birth, but rouse up your mind and tremble, being told that God has come upon earth. For this was such a marvelous and unexpected thing that the very angels formed a choir and offered up praise on behalf of the world. The prophets also from the first were amazed at this, that “He was seen upon earth and conversed with men” (Baruch 3:37). Yes, for it is far beyond all thought to hear that the Unspeakable, Unutterable, Incomprehensible—who is equal to the Father—has passed through the Virgin’s womb, and has deigned to be born of a woman, and to have Abraham and David for His forefathers.
St John Chrysostom
Commentary on the Gospel of St Matthew

For the birth of Christ is the source of life for all Christian people, and the birthday of the Head is the birthday of the body. Although every individual that is called has his own order, and all the sons of the Church are separated from one another by intervals of time, yet as the entire body of the faithful being born in the font of baptism is crucified with Christ in His passion, raised again in His resurrection, and placed at the Father’s right hand in His ascension, so with Him are they born in this nativity. For any believer in whatever part of the world that is re-born in Christ, quits the old paths of his original nature and passes into a new man by being re-born; and no longer is he reckoned of his earthly father’s stock but among the seed of the Saviour, Who became the Son of man in order that we might have the power to be the sons of God.

Light of Light

“…We believe in One Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not created, of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made: Who for us, men, and for our salvation, came down from Heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”
(Excerpt from the Agpeya, the Orthodox Creed)

We as Christians attribute our heritage to the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah. Our faith is experienced and celebrated through the revelation and birth of a prophesied newborn Child, God’s plan for our achievement of salvation. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is mysterious and yet glorious. It is of One Divine Nature. A Divinity older than the Creation that has no beginning and no end. It is full of awe and yet full of reverence to those present at His Holy birth and today in the hearts of the faithful believers. Yes, we believe, the Lord Jesus Christ is begotten of the Father beyond time and without change.

“You, Lord in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the Heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will remain; and they will all grow old like a garment, like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail” (Hebrews 1:10-12).

Clement of Alexandria proclaimed to the world concerning the Light of the Glorious Nativity, “Oh, the Great God! O the perfect Child! The Son in the Father and the Father in the Son…God the Word, who became man for our sakes.”

When we think of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ we should think of extraordinary, unprecedented humility. God the Word humbled Himself by becoming man, but…there was no change in His Divinity.

Light of Divinity

The Son of God is begotten from the Father and likewise as the sun does not exist without bearing light so neither does the Father exists without the Son. He is of the Divine One and called the Son of the Most High God. He came down from the Heaven and assumed flesh. He clothed Himself with it from St. Mary.

Aristides c. 125 said, “…And the son of God lived in the daughter of man.”

The Holy New Testament Book of Hebrews further explains the brightness of the light of Divinity…

“Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High” (Hebrews 1:3).

In the “Letter to Diognetus” c. 125, it is written, about the Divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ…

“Truly God Himself, who is Almighty, the Creator of all things, and invisible has sent from Heaven and placed among men, the One who is the truth, and the holy and incomprehensible Word…God did not as one might have imagined, send to men any servant, angel, or ruler…Rather, He sent the very Creator and Fashioner of all things—by whom He made the Heavens…As a king sends his son, who is also a king so God sent Him. He sent Him as God.”

In worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ, in faithfully following His teachings, we enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the light of the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ and the intention of His Holy birth.

Light of Incarnation

Incarnate is becoming of flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ became incarnate when He took upon Himself the human nature of man. By this action the light of the Incarnation reunited all men to God. God is perfect and in His perfection through the Incarnation made perfect Man.

“The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth; while as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, or the primal dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him as a master craftsman;and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him” (Proverbs 8:22-30).

Redemption for all man is approachable and given through the Incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).

The Person of God the Son was well explained by the early church fathers…

“He is God in the form of man, stainless, the minister of His Father’s will, the Word who is God, who is in the Father who is at the Father’s right hand. And with the form of God, He is God.” (St. Clement of Alexandria, c. 195)

“God by His own Word and Wisdom made all things.” (Theophilus c. 180)

King David in his song proclaimed the light of the Incarnation to come…

“The Lord said to Me, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You” (Psalm 2:7).

Light of the World

“So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’ As He also says in another place: ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’” (Hebrews 5:5-6).

During the time of honoring the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ we are called to remember He came to be born and live among the worldly not a select few of nobility. Yet, He came as both priest and king. He came not for a scant few but for all who would gather together in His Name. The Lord Jesus Christ did not sin therefore he was truly the light of the world.

The Lord Jesus Christ from birth forward to this day would become the light of the world by His example. A light before the time of man, during the time of man, and will follow all time of man.

A Psalm of David would reveal, “Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58).

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). A confirmation of faith, a prophecy of the light to come, was within his song.

It is accepted among the faithful that the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ ranks higher than any earthly event, without this event no other miraculous events performed by our Lord could have occurred…

“The best thing on earth is the most pious man. The best thing in Heaven the nearer in place and purer, is an angel, the partaker of the eternal and blessed life. But the nature of the Son, which is nearest to Him who is alone the Almighty One, is the most perfect, most holy, most potent, most princely, most kingly, and most beneficent. This is the highest excellence, who orders all things in accordance with the Father’s will and holds the helm of the universe in the best way…The Son of God is never displaced…being always everywhere and being contained nowhere. He is complete seeing all things, hearing all things, knowing all things…All the host of angels and gods are placed in subjection to Him. He, the paternal Word, exhibits the holy administration for Him who put all things in subjection to Him.” (St. Clement of Alexandria, c. 195)

Dionysius of Alexandria c. 262 as quoted by St. Athanasius, wrote…

“There certainly was not a time when God was not the Father…Because the Son has existence from the Father, not from Himself, it does not mean that God afterwards begot the Son…Being the brightness of the eternal Light, He Himself also is absolutely eternal. If the light is always in existence, it is manifest that its brightness also exists…God is the eternal Light, which hasn’t a beginning nor will it ever fail. Therefore, the eternal brightness shines forth before Him and co-exists with Him. Existing without a beginning and always begotten. He always shines before Him. His is that Wisdom that says, ‘I was that in with He delighted and I was daily his delight, before His face a all times.”

The mission of the church today and throughout the centuries of its existence has been to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ to the world. Wise men and women still seek Him, shepherds still adore Him, and Christians around the world celebrate the day upon which He was born unto the virgin St. Mary.

As we light candles on the Feast of the Glorious Nativity let us remember they are symbolizations of the light of our Lord Jesus Christ, the light of those candles which symbolizes newness, goodness, and from the inception of His Holy Birth lead the way to our salvation.

Underappreciated By Today’s World

As Christians, we are used to abstaining from a vast array of worldly things. We are called to be different, and we are hyper-aware of it. We know that modern society is deviating further and further away from the message of Christ. Whether it be through the rise of the LBGTQ+ movement or things like puberty blockers and gender reassignment therapy being pushed on today’s children and youth, we can see the devil slowly imprinting himself everywhere.

Despite us knowing the absolute evil in our world today, we still have to fit in society somehow. And it’s a real struggle. However, we have latched onto the notion of New Year’s resolutions. Every December, we devise for ourselves a ridiculous set of goals and aspirations for the new year and inevitably fail most of them. But then next December comes, and we do the same again, promising ourselves that next year will be different. Regardless of our successes or failures, the idea of New Year’s resolutions is a positive. Improving yourself as a person is always beneficial. Recognising one’s shortcomings shows a high level of emotional maturity.

A few weeks ago, we celebrated the Coptic New Year. And I didn’t make any resolutions. El Nayrouz is one of the most beautiful events in the church calendar, where we celebrate the martyrs of the church. The remembrance of the saints provides us with courage, knowing that these men and women endured atrocities that the human body was not designed to withstand. We often perceive the saints, especially the martyrs, to have an unattainable degree of holiness, but in reality, they were merely human. Saint Moses the Black was a murderer and Saint Paul had made it his mission to eradicate all Christians at one point. Even Peter denied Christ three times. These people went on to become some of the most revered saints in our church. This highlights to us one simple thing- it is never too late to turn to Christ.

So, let’s make our New Year’s resolutions. Let’s all work on ourselves like we are inevitably going to do in 2-3 months. But this time, let’s change it slightly. With the help of our confession fathers, let’s do something our priests mention every other sermon. Let’s develop a spiritual canon. Pray. Read the Bible. Serve. Listen to sermons. None of these things are new. We all know that we should do them, but sometimes we don’t. Laziness, forgetfulness, business, whatever. It honestly doesn’t matter.

I’ll leave off with a quote from Saint Paul (as you do):

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17)

Walking in the Light

Walking in the Light

By Sherry Mohr

Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
Ephesians 5:14

We are called to “walk as children of light” in a world permeated by darkness. A prayer I give to my children involves asking our Lord to shine His light through us, so that when others look upon us, they really see Him. This is a prayer my seven year old recites when called to prayer and I wonder if he comprehends its meaning.

What does it mean to walk as children of light?

I read the Synaxarium daily to my children in attempts to provide them with various examples of Christian testimony. When I read about the life of a martyr, I edit the gory and painful parts of the martyr’s tortures. I do this for two reasons – age and comprehension levels.

However, in spite of this specific editing, I stress the pain the martyr experienced and the joy felt during these tribulations. One day after I started this daily practice, my son exclaimed that he wishes to become a martyr but he does not know how. To some, this proclamation may be confusing – does this little boy understand the weight of martyrdom? Truly he cannot know what it means to die for Christ.

As I write this, the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates the Blessed Feast of Nayrouz and the veneration of the Coptic martyrs during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Our ancestors endured mental and physical tortures beyond our comprehension. They were slaughtered for their steadfast love for Christ, our Savior. And yet, these witnesses knew what it meant to walk as children of light and did not falter.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

Our world works endlessly to extinguish our light. It is argued that Christian values are archaic and patriarchal, claiming they support a system unfit for the evolution of society. As Christians, we are accused of being the ones walking in the darkness – a reversal of roles. This is clearly an attempt at disillusionment. The scriptures reveal that Christ is the light of the world. When we walk in the light, we walk towards Christ Himself. We walk a path on which we cannot journey in darkness – it is virtually impossible since Christ is our light.

As we see through the examples of the martyrs and saints before us, Christianity does not allow passiveness. We cannot “coast through” our lives with foot in the darkness and one in the light. We are called to testify and witness to Christ, to walk completely and entirely in His light. We called to emanate that light and shine brightly on that hill (Matthew 5:14 – 16).

When my son asked how he can become a martyr, I admit I was taken aback. It was not a question I anticipated. However, it reflected to me the importance of testifying Christ in this society, one that is worlds apart from the one of our ancestors, and yet still one that is not afraid to slaughter us for our faith and love for Christ.

Our Lord prepared us for this narrow path, for this testimony that would set us apart. He warned that we will need to endure emotional, mental, physical, and psychological torment in this world – torture that would attempt to have us question our faith, love, and hope in Christ. He prepared us and He encouraged us, for great is our reward when we suffer for our love; when we take on the cross and follow Him to Golgotha.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:10-12

This weekend, I reflected on the sermons I heard concerning Nayrouz, and I filled with determination and perseverance. My priest discussed the ways in which we can witness to Christ in this world and to whom we testify His name. For the sake of vulnerability, I will confess that I needed that sermon more than I realized in the moment.

Recently, I have encountered adversity regarding my faith – more specifically, how I have changed because of my increasing faith. While the adversity is not severe, it comes from a person I love, and it wounds deeply. His Grace Bishop Youssef of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern Diocese of the United States writes, “[t]estifying to the Lord Jesus Christ is the responsibility of every believer. We are all called to stand for our beliefs before our families (Jerusalem), friends (Judea), and to every one we come across (the ends of the earth).” He continues that we testify through our evangelism, prayer life and worship, communal life and fellowship, behavior, service, and witness through suffering. We testify by living our lives completely and wholly as Christians, serving as living icons of Christ in the world.

I can imagine how in awe and astounded the family and friends of our beloved martyrs and saints felt concerning the profession of their faith. The faith emanating God’s glory and light drawing thousands to salvation. It rejuvenates me and makes me joyful for my small and tender wounds. Wounds that I pray will continue to humble me and draw me ever so close to my Beloved. Christ does not leave us in our affliction. He sends us tendrils of love, preserving us, strengthening the Holy Spirit within us, so that we can rise and continue our pursuit toward Him.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
1 Peter 3:9

As we embark on this new Coptic year, let us remain steadfast in our faith, walking the path of righteousness, shining Christ’s light to all around us. Let us continue to testify to Jerusalem, Judea, and to the end of the earth. Let us remain vigilant, strengthening the Holy Spirit within us, reflecting Christ’s light with the same unabashed manner as the martyrs, drawing all to the glory of God.

Like my seven year old son, let us say without hesitation, “I wish to become a martyr for Christ.”

Glory be to God Forever.

The Beautiful Dove

Personally, I’m not sure I’d like being called a dove…I guess beautiful dove does make it a little better. So why do we call St Mary the beautiful dove. Surely it has to mean something.

Referring to St Mary as the beautiful dove is not common in other Christian denominations but it is very common in the Coptic church. Many of our hymns that speak about St Mary mention her as being the beautiful dove. So why do the Copts use this term more than other Christian denominations. What does this term “beautiful dove” refer to?

Across history and cultures, the dove is recognised as an image of peace and hope. Christ tells His followers to be as “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” – Matthew 10:16. There is something about seeing an image of a dove that makes you feel like everything will be ok. Which brings us to the reason why St Mary, the beautiful dove, is so often used in the Coptic Church. The Copts for many years have been under persecution, and while martyrdom is seen as an honour, it is easy to understand that the desire for peace is in the hearts of the Copts. It is in those same Coptic hearts that a huge love for St Mary, the mother of the King of Peace, resides. St Mary feels the heartbreak of her persecuted children and takes these broken hearted prayers to the Lord who cannot refuse His mother. St Mary is the beautiful dove that brings prayers of peace for her children to the throne of the Lord.

Perhaps more fittingly, the term refers to the dove that Noah released from the ark. The dove flew out of the ark and came back with a branch to let Noah know that the flood waters had receded. Likewise St Mary takes the prayers from the ark of the Church and brings them to the Lord who answers her prayers with a message that the floods of the world will not triumph over the Church. It is an amazing thought, that those of us who are in the Church, surrounded by the floods of the world, not only have a messenger to take our requests to God, but also to send us peaceful comfort from God. A hope of something better.

It is here the beautiful dove takes on another, more modern meaning. In a time where the world is facing new and difficult challenges, a world where man and woman may mean different things to different people. Where wars are becoming more accepted. Where standing up for what is right or wrong is classified as bigotry or outdated thinking, we now more than ever need to cling on to a hope that transcends our world. A hope that good can still overcome evil. A hope that the heavenly is still valued among the earthly. A hope that is seen in the beautiful dove, the bearer of the source of peace and hope. St Mary the beautiful dove. It is very important to note though, that although we are safe in the Ark, the embrace of the Church, we are to pray for the receding of the harmful waters in the world; not just for the salvation of the Church, but of the whole world, even those that may bring the most harm to us.

The last thing I wanted to speak about is the term beauty. I wonder if St Mary in this modern day would be considered beautiful by our society? Would she be fully dressed in designer? Would she pay thousands on her image? I can confidently say no, because even in her time she dressed simply, as a temple servant, and was of such a selfless nature that she spent more of her time worrying about others than herself. Of course there is nothing wrong with taking care of yourself, but if that is our only definition of beauty, then we only need to look at St Mary. What made her beautiful was not just her appearance but how she made others feel around her. She carried herself as a faithful servant of God who always put others above herself. This humility is what we as a Church call beauty! This love St Mary can’t help but show for everyone is the truest kind of beauty.

Beauty for our hearts, peace for our spirits, hope for our minds, St Mary truly is the beautiful dove.

She Chose Him

By Mirette Abraham

Of all the virtues of St Mary, her purity feels a little understated.

We know of her purity.

We recite hymn lyrics and read books about her purity.

We wish to emulate and embody her purity.

But I think we tend to glance over words without truly understanding the fervency in her commitment.

Mary was pure in her sacrifice of both her body and soul, bringing them into complete submission before God. What is even more beautiful about her submission is that her chastity was a choice she had made as a young girl; a young girl with her entire life before her. While girls her age were busy planning their futures and preparing themselves for marriage, she had set her eyes on eternity and consecrated her heart to God.

Think about the magnitude of this sacrifice for a moment!

By choice, she spent her childhood serving in the temple, rather than playing with girls her age and running around the neighbourhood.

By choice, she spent her evenings in the presence of God, rather than drinking and dining with her friends.

By choice, she committed her mind to learning about God, her body to kneeling before Him and her heart to being completely taken over by His love.

Looking at her life through this lens-seeing her life as the complete embodiment of sacrifice and the purest of offerings-we can finally appreciate her response to Gabriel:

“How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (Luke 1:34 NKJV)

Giving her heart and body to somebody else wasn’t ever on her agenda. She wanted God alone. She gave her heart to God alone. Her purity, though, was more than simply a vow of celibacy. A vow to keep her body untouched and sanctified.

It was more.

She set aside her whole self-mind, body, spirit. Everything she had, she gave to God. She knew that all the happiness and wealth this world could offer, “could not be compared to the glory” (Romans 8:18 NKJV) that was to be found with God alone.

She lived for more.

She lived in God’s grace.

She lived for Him alone.

She chose Him.

And because of her purity, “all generations shall call [her] blessed.” (Luke 1:48 NKJV)

So, may we learn how to become sanctified for God alone, letting go of all the treasures we are so desperately trying to hold onto here, in this impermanent, imperfect world. Instead, we need to lay down the foundation for our forever-home in heaven, offering up our hearts, bodies, minds, our entire selves, brick by brick. And may we esteem the virtue of purity and learn, from our mother Mary, how to make it a way of life.