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.

Our Mother Mary

Translated from HH Pope Shenouda III

There is no woman about whom the prophets prophesied or whom the Bible cared about like the Virgin St Mary. There are numerous symbols about her in both the Old and New Testament. There are many glorifying expressions and contemplations cited about the Virgin in the books of the church fathers. How full of praise are the names by which the Church calls her, and which are inspired from the Spirit of the Holy Bible. The mother of us all, the lady of us all, the pride us all, the Queen at the right hand of the King, the Virgin, the pure, the full of grace, the powerful and compassionate mother, the mother of Light, the mother of mercy and salvation, the true vine.
She is the one whom the Church elevates over the rank of archangels as we say about her in hymns:


“O Mary, you have been raised above the cherubims, and have become higher than the seraphims.”


The Virgin Mary was bred up in the temple, lived a life of prayer and contemplation since her childhood and was the sacred vessel whom the Lord has chosen to come inside her.

Long generations waited for the birth of this Virgin, so that the fullness of the time would become complete by her (Gal.4:4)

She has removed the shame of Eve.

She is the Mother of God.

She is the Virgin who came to our country (Egypt) during the childhood of Christ and inhabited our land for years, during which she sanctified it and blessed it.

She is the Virgin who appeared in Zeitoun 32 years ago and attracted crowds with her light, her appearance, and her visit to us.

She is the Virgin who makes miracles in numerous places where we celebrate feasts for her. The stories of her miracles are innumerable.

The Virgin is not a stranger to us. What a great honour it is for our church to be visited in past times by our Lady the Virgin!

There is not a human being whom Christians have loved so much
as our Lady the Virgin Mary.

Why Should I Love My Enemies?

Why Should I Love My Enemies?

adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

Reading: Matthew 5 

Love your enemies – the commandment that is so synonymous with Christianity. We all know this verse well and love to hear it. What a high moral standard; to love an enemy. 

Although we love it for its beauty and its poetic nature, we often relegate it to the irrationality in a practical sense. We don’t really take it seriously. When the Bible says, “if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.” We don’t then go and actually pluck it out. We treat this verse in a similar fashion. I can’t really love my enemies.

It doesn’t even make sense. If someone is an enemy, how can you love them?

As a priest, we have the honour and privilege to be invited into the lives of those whom we serve. We share in their life journey and their challenges. One of the most common struggles, is the struggle to love someone that has hurt you, someone that you cannot stand to be around. 

As a priest, we try to challenge and stretch people to love; to love the unlovable and to love our enemies. The response is always similar. HOW can I love them after they have hurt me so deeply? I cannot even bare to be around them, let alone love them, or trust them even. 

This response comes from the way we interpret love. Particularly in the English language, “love” has become a word that is wrapped up in emotions and feelings. When we hear the word, “love,” we think of warm and fuzzy feelings. I delight to be in the presence of the ones I love. It is something I look forward to.

When Christ gives us the commandment to love our enemies, it is more than just a feeling or emotion. After Christ gives this command, He unpacks and explains how you can love your enemies. There are three concrete methods to love an enemy or someone who has hurt you.

1. do good to those who hate you

Christ is not saying you have to have good feelings toward them. This is not about emotions. He is saying to do good actions. Do good to those who hate you. Take action. Do something good for them. Doesn’t matter if you can’t stand them, doesn’t matter if cannot bare to be in the same room as them. You may never lose the hurt, you may never forget what they did. Despite all of this, do good actions toward them. This is the first way we can love our enemies. 

2. Bless those who curse you

Blessings come from the mouth. We bless others with our words. Give them a good word. I can say nice things, and this is how I show love to my enemies.

3. Pray for those who spitefully use you.

It is so important that we remember to pray for those who have hurt us. We pray for our enemies. This is the most critical. To do good and to bless our enemies requires interaction, but to pray for them does not require interaction. This is only between you and our Lord. You open your heart to the Lord to wish them well. To pray an hour of the Agpia dedicated to that one person. To do metanias to that person that has hurt you. 

I am confident that if we follow Christ’s three methods of loving our enemies, then the emotions will follow. The heart will follow and we will love our enemies. 

Christ gives us more specific examples. To do good to those who hate you, is to turn to the other cheek to the one that strikes you. To do good is to offer your jumper to the one that steals your cloak. If someone takes from you, do not ask for it back. A whole collection of irrational actions. No one in this world could function in this way.

Christ is teaching us that it is not irrational, but super rational. These are commandments that do not follow the logic of this world but the logic of the Kingdom to come. The logic of Christ.

Where did Christ speak these words? This was part of the Sermon on the Mount. Just before this commandment came the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes is a collection of illogical statements. Since when is it good to be poor? But Christ is saying, “blessed are the poor” and “blessed are you when you weep” and “blessed are you when men hate you.”

Then even, “woe to you who are rich,” “woe to you who laugh” and “woe to you when men speak well of you.”

When Christ teaches, He shocks and surprises. He turns the world upside down. The logic that you function with is not the logic of My Kingdom. When Christ speaks a collection of illogical statement and continues with further irrationality to love our enemies. This is not the logic of this world but the logic of Christ Himself. 

What did Christ do when He was struck on the cheek? He did not fight back. He is the One who was rich and became poor for us. He is One who gave up everything for us, expecting nothing in return. He is the One that gave His life for us, knowing He would be rejected. This is logic of Jesus. This is the logic of the Cross. Christ is calling us to live our life according to the logic of the Cross. We are challenged, we are stretched so that we do not follow the logic of this world but the life hereafter. We are pushed to love, to seek peace, to seek forgiveness with all people.

It is not okay to hate somebody and be a Christian. It is not okay to hold a grudge. It is not okay to not forgive. 

One of the scary things of priesthood is that you are expected to teach others. If there is another priest around, the fear is compounded because you don’t want to say something wrong in their presence. In the last ten years, I know I have said many things wrong in the presence of Fr Yacoub. In his love, he resists to correct me. There was only one time when he corrected me publicly. 

There was a question about what Romans 12:18 really meant – “as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

I answered, “if you have done all that you can do to live in peace with somebody and they refuse to forgive, and they hold the grudge then that is on them. You had done your part; you can be at peace.”

Fr Yacoub stepped in and said, “We can never stop trying to be at peace with others. Till your last breath, try and live at peace with others.”

Our part never ends. Do good when you can do good. Say good things when you can say good things. And always remember to pray for them. Life is too short to hold grudges, to not forgive, to have enemies, and to hate.

Life is snatched away. It is so fragile. We will all stand before the Lord in our last days. We want to be blameless before Him. The way to stand blameless is by having a heart full of love for all people. Love must be in all that we do. In your last days, God will not measure your good deeds but the the love that compelled you to do good. The weight of your love is what will make you blameless before the Lord. It is our super rational love that will be measured. The irrational love that we are called to. Glory be to God, Amen.

Healing Nations

Healing Nations

adapted from a sermon by Fr Daniel Fanous

Passage: Luke 5:17-26

17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. 19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

There are a number of things in this passage that are fascinating that we can easily overlook. The first is, “And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.”

It does not say, “He was there to heal him.” The word used is, “them.” Sometimes, in certain translations it may mean, “the power of the Lord was there to heal the sick.” But that is not what we read here. We read the word, “them.” The healing was for all those present before our Lord.

Christ was not only there to heal the sick but to heal them- all of them. That means that even the friends that carried the man, were present before the Lord for their own healing too. 

You can imagine the scene- a small house in a small village that was filled to the brim with people all around. No one could enter. The only entry way they found was through the roof, carried by four men. They had to make their own way to see Jesus and the only way they say fit was by making a hole through the roof to let the man down. You can imagine the scene, the embarrassment, the height of disturbance that was caused in the process. They had utter compassion for their friend, they took on his suffering as their own. They are embarrassed with him, and now, somehow, they are healed too. 

Sharing in the burdens of others transforms us. It happens both practically and mystically. Years ago I spent a few months living with nuns that had consecrated their lives to serving others. One of the things that I observed in all of them was that like all humans, they have weaknesses. Even as nuns, they each had a set of weaknesses. But the other thing that I observed in all of them was that there was so little focus on themselves. There was so little time to even dwell on themselves. Their entire being was consumed by other people. Everything that they did was for somebody else. Every meal that they had was after a meal that they shared with somebody else. Every moment of rest that they had was after consuming themselves all day in the service of others. 

This made them free. Unlike others who are so obsessed with their problems, so focused on what is happening in their own hearts and so disturbed by their own circumstances. It was as if they had no time for these things. The same applies to anyone that dedicates their life for others. Whether clergy of layman – those who are aware of the problems and sufferings of others and are living for them, do not have time to be entrapped in by their own problems. Somehow, this heals them. By living for others, we can be healed through the healing of others. 

Our life and our death is with our neighbour. If we gain our brother, we have gained God

St Anthony the Great

Somehow, sharing in the healing and in the lifting of the burdens of the person next to me, helps me gain God. The power of God was present to heal him. It was not one man healed in this story, but five.

Once they enter through the roof and cause a huge disturbance, scattering hay and mud throughout the house, our Lord looks upon their face and says, “your sins are forgiven you.” It does not say, “when He saw his faith” but “when He saw their faith.”

When He saw the faith of the four men that were carrying him, He forgave the sins of the paralytic man and healed him. 

Healing is communal. We lift each other up with healing and repentance. It also means that my healing affects those around me. The Lord saw the faith and the love of those four men, He healed their friend. It wasn’t only about the paralytic man, but his friends also. Healing, forgiveness and restoration are all communal. This is why we do it as an act, as a church, when we pray the Liturgy. Repentance, although it is personal and something that I do on my own behalf, is communal in that it affects those around me. 

Our repentance goes beyond us in ways we cannot see. If you are cold, you put your hands together and you become warm, and in turn, brings warmth to your whole body. The same applies to our repentance. When someone around us repents and shows us love, this increases our own repentance. 

If you find peace, thousands around you will be saved

St Seraphim of Sarov

When we share in the healing of someone else, there is transformation within us as well. My own healing can go beyond me, goes beyond my family, and the walls of the church.

Yet ANOTHER Fast

Yet ANOTHER Fast

I have a good friend I have grown up with, who is incredibly close to God. Like super, super close to God. The kind of friend you ask to pray for you when you have an exam; the one who ends up moving God to give you a High Distinction when you really deserve to fail. The kind who would attend an overnight prayer vigil and then go home to read the Bible. He never wants to miss a Church service, and everyone is just waiting for him to make his way to the monastery to become a monk. In all the years I’ve known him, he has always followed the Church’s rules and guidance to the letter! If the church so much as even hinted that something should be done, he did it.

All of this made it all the more shocking one day, when I heard him whinge about something in the Church: the Apostles’ fast! I remember him asking, “Yet another fast? What is it about this fast that makes it so hard!” (It didn’t help that Easter had come really early that year, which meant that the Apostle’s fast was extra-long, even longer than Nativity fast that year!) But what was amazing was that one week later, he was beaming and genuinely excited about the Apostles’ fast!

I was really confused by his change in attitude. He told me that he had attended a sermon where someone had explained the Apostles’ fast to him, and it had changed his perspective completely. The Apostles’ fast is our chance to actually do something for the spread of the Gospel and for our church. When we fast most fasts, we are focusing on ourselves, our repentance, our relationship with God. But when we fast the Apostles’ fast, we are really focusing on the spread of the Gospel to others. We are fasting so that God would use our Church to reach those do not yet know Him, exactly like the early Apostles fasted and were used to preach His name all over the Earth. We are fasting so that the Lord prepares our hearts to go out and reveal Him to the world! When we look at it this way, all of a sudden it doesn’t seem such a burden to fast!

When I stop myself from reaching for that chocolate this fast, let my heart lift to God and say, “Lord, I am happy to stop myself enjoying this temporary sweetness, so that others may come to enjoy the sweetness of knowing You”.

When my mouth waters with longing for the latest McDonalds burger that has been released on day 1 of the fast as usual, let my heart lift to God and say, “Lord, my longing is that people would taste and see that You are good!”

When I ask the barista to make my coffee without milk next time, let my heart lift to God and say, “Lord, use this fast to lead people to the Heavenly promised land, that flows with milk and honey”.

Let us all pray that this Apostles’ fast is different to every one we have fasted so far. Let us pray that God uses it for the spread of His message to all the ends of the world, so that we can all one day join the eternal glory (where fasting ends forever 😊).

No Doubt in the Ascension

No Doubt in the Ascension

The Feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ is celebrated by the Church forty days after His Glorious Resurrection, during which time the Lord taught the Holy Apostles, before leaving them and sending them the Holy Spirit after ten more days (Acts 1:8). While these are celebrated as
separate Feasts in the Church, these — like so many others — are intrinsically connected, and so must be understood as a continuous action by the Godhead.

The Ascension was not in any way an abandonment of humanity by the Lord, but was rather, as H.H. Pope Shenouda III expresses, the Lord “weaning” the disciples: “The Ascension was a declaration that the training period has ended, and the ministry has started.” Throughout Christ’s
complete ministry, the disciples relied on Him to teach, work miracles (although they did work their own), and refute opponents. Indeed, they were ill equipped to undertake their own spiritual ministries while in the shadow of Christ’s earthly incarnation. Through Christ’s Ascension, he
declared to them that they were of sufficient spiritual growth and maturity to complete the Lord’s ministry. It was in this mind that the Lord instructed,“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15); and also, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

His Ascension acted as the answer to those who doubted His glory and divinity following the crucifixion. They mocked our Lord, saying, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross…let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him” (Matthew 27: 40-43). It was not only the sinners, scorners and opposers who stumbled at the Lord’s resurrection, but even the Holy Apostles showed a lack of faith, and even fear. They spent the time between the Lord’s death and His resurrection huddled together in one place, afraid to leave for fear of persecution. The glory of Christ in His resurrection thus acts to strengthen the faith of His followers. As St. Paul
writes, “…but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).

The Ascension is thus an answer to both the Jews and Greeks; a demonstration of His glory, so that we may boast in the power of the cross.
We as Christians view Christ not in His separate glories, but rather as one whole; in His birth, crucifixion, transfiguration, resurrection and ascension. We hope that contemplating on the glory of the Lord during this joyous period implants in us awe, fear and obedience, so that we might feel
contrite and humbled before Him, remembering that we are but the dust of His footstool (Psalm 110:1).

Living with Open Hands

Living with Open Hands

By Bethany Kaldas

The traditional pose of prayer is to kneel or stand with eyes closed and hands open. But we tend to pay more attention to what we’re praying for than how we’re praying for it. That’s because, usually, we’re praying for the things we want in our lives, and these things are very important to us. After all, we spend much of our lives trying to attain certain things—a good job, education, monetary security, friends, a family— even things like improving our services, bringing more people into the church, and so on. Most of our activity is geared towards achieving our goals and averting disaster.

Because I think each of us, when we think about it, has a picture of what we want our lives to look like. It’s only natural—it’s very hard to go anywhere if you don’t know where you’d like to be. And it can be very fulfilling when we strive for something and eventually achieve it. But sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we fail to reach the goals we’ve dreamed of. Sometimes we just don’t get that job we really wanted, we can’t get the grades we’ve been working so hard for, the relationship we had our heart set on doesn’t work out, that service we’ve been putting all our energy into still hasn’t gotten on its feet, that illness we’ve been fighting so fiercely keeps coming back. And when our dreams are broken, it often feels like they break a bit of us with them.

Let’s be honest here—one of the reasons these kinds of situations are so difficult is because, although we may never dare to say it out loud, we feel that we were owed these things that we worked for. There’s at least a small part of us that feels ripped off because we were denied something we saw as rightfully ours. This can even apply to the things we haven’t worked for—what we do with our time, for instance. Everyone’s felt that deep sense of frustration when we’re caught in traffic on a given afternoon. We think, ‘There are so many better ways I could be spending my time than just sitting here!’. The feeling that we possess our time is so prominent that C. S. Lewis even notes it as one of the tools used by tempters.

‘You must therefore zealously guard in his mind the curious assumption ‘My time is my own’. Let him have the feeling that he starts each day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours. Let him feel as a grievous tax that portion of this property which he has to make over to him employers, and as a generous donation that further portion which he allows to religious duties. But what he must never be permitted to doubt is that the total from which these deductions have been made was, in some mysterious sense, his own personal birthright.’

C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

It feels unjust when these things have been stolen from us, and sometimes it really breaks our hearts. It can leave us wondering, if God really loves us like a Father, if He really wants us to be happy, why does He let our dearest dreams be shattered? When we are in our darkest hour, and we pray for this cup to be taken away from us, we cry to the heavens for this ache to stop, why does the sky feel so painfully empty?

‘You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.’

James 4:3

This frustration is natural, it is worth expressing. It is not wrong to feel it and it is certainly not wrong to tell God exactly how you feel about it. You should. But perhaps this frustration comes from a misunderstanding—a misunderstanding about who exactly our lives belong to and what our role is in the whole thing. And perhaps, if we understood a little better, that ache of injustice wouldn’t have such a strong grip on us.

Because the truth is—the truth that we all say to others but often forget when it comes to our own circumstances—is that our lives were never our own, not really. From the very start, we were given our lives as a gift. You did not earn your existence—you literally couldn’t. And when we fall into the death of sin, we do not earn our return to life. That too is a gift. When He died on the cross for you, it was not because you had done all the right things to deserve your salvation. Nobody has—nobody could. We were given a chance to live not as a prize for all our good work, but as an opportunity to live with Him and for Him. And He is the one who knows the best road for us to walk, not us.

‘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, God in the Dock

To become the creatures we were always meant to be—to accept what God deems best for us—we must learn to let go. Let go of the creature that you were, let go of the things you believe you should have, of the way you believe your life should look. Because you are not your own creator, you are not your own teacher, you are not your own saviour. So, what makes you think that you truly know what you need to become what you are meant to be?

To think that you possibly could is such a great burden anyway. One of the reasons mishaps give us so much stress is because we, for some reason, believe that we are the ultimate masters of our own destinies—that our role is to carve our own path in our lives and that we have somehow failed in that mission. But to be able to put all of this into the hands of Another—that is perhaps the greatest freedom of all. To be able entrust your future to the God who knows you better than you know yourself is to truly be able to live.

And once you do that, you start to see things differently. Perhaps you might have felt God’s love when He gave you what you desired—and that is a wonderful thing. But once you loosen your grasp on your own desires and start to trust God’s plan for you, you realise that everything He has done for you is an expression of His infinite love.

‘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.’

Henri Nouwen, Turn My Mourning Into Dancing

Uncertainty about your future is a disastrously painful thing if you are alone, if you feel that you are the one who is meant to be in charge of your fate. The realisation that God is always with you, that He has not forgotten you at any point and that at every moment He is working all things for good—that is when such uncertainty becomes not a terror, but a joy. The great martyrs and saints of our church could only endure so much because they knew that God was with them every step of the way, and they could only possess such courage because they knew that no matter what happened, God would use it for something, even if they never saw the results themselves.

‘We cannot live a life of prayer, we cannot go ahead Godwards, unless we are free form possession in order to have two hands to offer and a heart absolutely open – not like a purse which we are afraid of keeping open because our money will drop out of it, but like an open and empty purse – and an intelligence completely open to the unknown and the unexpected. This is the way in which we are rich and yet totally free from richness. And this is the point at which we can speak of being outside the Kingdom and yet be so rich inside and yet also so free.’
(Anthony Bloom, Beginning to Pray)

He has plans for you. I promise. Even if things haven’t been going your way so far, even if you’ve been trying your best and nothing has worked out. Even if you’ve lost so much more than you thought you would, and the pain is crippling. He is not oblivious to your hurt, He is taking every broken step alongside you. Nothing that has happened to you has taken Him by surprise—He knew of it all before you were even born, and He knows that all of it can be used for your good—if you would just give it to Him. Just close your eyes. Open your hands. And let Him take you on the journey He knows is best for you.

‘Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.’

Ephesians 3:20-21