A Thief in the Night

A Thief in the Night

Translated from a sermon by Fr Boulos George

Life is the greatest sermon. If I cannot learn the lesson of sin leading to death, I will not be affected by any sermon given throughout the whole world. If I cannot understand a teaching about death, no other sermon will make sense to me. For the lesson of death during our own lives teaches us that so many people had power, so many people had voices that were heard. We hear of people that were among the richest in this life, but where are they now? Who is their king? Where is there power? Where did the man go whose voice was heard in all his authority?

Learn from this lesson of life. Some people went to work and never came home. One person had a pain in his shoulder and wasn’t quick enough. Learn from this even. The first lesson I learnt is that I observe the events of life that happen around me. I learn from others’ lives and I learn from my own personal experience.

I learn from the simple and poor family that radiates joyous laughter from within. I learn that people might have three or four households, and still force a smile. Learn from these. Learn from the sermon of life.

We all know and we all preach to others that if someone loses money, we tell them that money isn’t everything. Money is not the source of joy. Joy obviously comes from within, and if they knew this, they would not be upset by the loss of money. Little do they know that in my own heart, I get saddened if I don’t have money. I don’t practice what I preach. If I want to get ahead, I need to take my own advice before I start preaching to others. We don’t need to wait for someone to say to us, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (2 Peter 3:10).

This verse should be my own personal daily reminder, and not something that comes as a shock. I must learn to preach to myself before I attempt to preach to anyone around me. So many people will say that a certain person was with us all day, laughing, joking, and later they were taken away. It is morbid and we don’t like to talk about it, but this is reality. Nothing in this life is for certain, but we look to the One who is above certainty.

I learn to chastise and hold myself accountable for my own actions. If I know I have a problem with anger, then I must learn to be accountable to myself. I say to myself, “When? When am I going to change?” Repent and pray for change, for the time is now.

How long will I have the disease of expecting the worst in those around me? How long will I have the disease of being unable to trust those around me? How long will I get so defensive and unable to learn from my previous mistakes? How long will my judgement of those around me be flawed? I need to learn from these mistakes.

The Bible tell us that we don’t need to preach to anyone, but we preach to ourselves, from what we have seen and experienced.

The first step is to learn from the events of life, and then to learn to be accountable. There is another way the church teaches us to chastise and be accountable for our own thoughts and action. The prayers of the Agpia teach us. These are greater than any sermon we can preach to anyone else.

What does it mean to pray the Agpia as a means of chastisement? We pray, “Behold, I am about to stand before the just judge in fear because of my numerous sins for the life spent in pleasures deserves condemnation. Repent therefore, O my soul…” (twelfth hour litany).

Here we learn to chastise ourselves. If the faithful must strive to be saved, what must I do as a sinner to be saved? When we pray that in death no one remembers, this is the Apgia teaching us. “Rise up from your laziness and implore the Saviour in repentance.”

Through the Apgia, we teach ourselves the means of accountability. We teach ourselves to be ready and to chastise ourselves. For in the final hours, it is I who will stand before the Just Judge, and give account for the life I lived. We must live like each day could be our last, and this is the path to internal joy day by day.

Why Can’t I Bear Fruits?

Why Can’t I Bear Fruits?

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Elijah Iskander

Luke 8:4-15

What does my Lord want me to be? The Lord wants me to be fruitful. Time and time again we read in the Gospels Christ referring to bearing fruits. We must bear fruits worthy of repentance, we strive to attain the fruits of the Spirit and the famous parable of the seeds. The Lord wants to throw seeds of blessing so that we may bear fruit.

Bearing fruit is not a theoretical or conceptual idea. Our fruits are tangible, real, and sweet. A Christian is identified by their fruit. Sometimes we may think, “Lord, I want to be fruitful, but I don’t see the fruit within me.” Or sometimes we think, “I want to bear more fruit.”

There are three reasons why I may not be as fruitful as I would like and the Lord uses the parable of the seeds to help us overcome these obstacles.

The Wayside

I might not be fruitful if I lack flexibility. I am rigid. The seed, that is the Word of God, first falls upon the wayside. The road is unyielding, unforgiving and cannot be moved by the seeds that fall upon it.

Those people are those with minds hard and unyielding and are so pressed together that they cannot receive the Divine Seed

St Cyril of Alexandria

Sometimes the seed is thrown, it lands on my mind but my mind is like a rock; unyielding and unforgiving. Too rigid in its thinking, too rigid to be swayed. We see this in the interaction between Christ and the rich young ruler;

If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.

Matthew 19:21

The rich young ruler went away sorrowful, unmoved by the Word of God because of his possessions. Like us, he came to the Lord to listen, the Lord throws the seed but it fell on a hardened, unyielding heart.

When I come to listen to the Word of God but I’m not ready to make a change, I begin to justify myself and my sins. If this is me, then the desert fathers propose a simple solution – this kind of rigid thinking and unwillingness to change is like a serpent deep in a cave. As soon as the snake is exposed to the bright sun, it slithers away. The same applies to our thoughts. If we expose our thoughts to our spiritual father, then sometimes that is all that is required for that thought to be dismissed.

If I want to bear fruit, I must be willing to yield, or at the very least, willing to expose my unyielding soul to my spiritual father.

The Stony Ground

Sometimes I cannot bear fruit because I am frustrated by my past efforts that have not produced any result. This was not a ground mixed with rock and soil, where the roots could grow deeper, underneath the rocks. There was a layer of soil, but underneath the soil, was hard rock. When the sun hits the rock, it makes the soil look vibrant and yielding. It seems to sprout up quickly, but it is short lived. When the roots reach the soil, the growth stops and there is no depth to the fruit.

I’m trying, I might be seeing some early changes, but nothing substantial, nothing changes. I become frustrated by the lack of result and I stop.

Sometimes it is not to our advantage to be healed quickly, especially if the disease by this means becomes more enclosed into our organs where it rages more rapidly.

Origen

Quick healing is superficial healing and interferes with true, deeper healing. God heals some by not healing them. The Lord wants to prevent the unready from healing too quickly, and only achieving the appearance of fruit. If the forgiveness of sins is too easily obtained, they would soon fall again into the disorder of sin.

All that is acquired with labour is guarded with caution.

St Isaac the Syrian

We become frustrated by the lack of result. Sometimes it is by the design of the Lord to strive for a slower process over rapid, superficial healing.

Even in medicine, it seems obvious to remove a cancer as soon as it is diagnosed. This is a natural and reasonable response. The doctor may advise not just yet. To undergo treatment to shrink the tumour and then remove it completely. Healing that is rapid is often superficial and incomplete. We should not become despondent if we are trying to acquire virtue and are beginning to overcome sin, and just as we hit a sprout, that is the end to our growth. We must keep going, and trust in the Lord’s timing of complete healing.

The Thorns

We become choked with cares of this world, our reliance on riches. We are choked with pleasures and desires. This stops us from attaining fruits. If I struggled with this, then the Lord invites us to try Him.

He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

2 Corinthians 9:6

If I pursue my own pleasures and my only luxuries and I find it so hard to give, then I miss the rewards of the Lord. The more that I give to the Lord, the more the Lord gives to me in return. It is a clear promise.

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:7-8

We say this same phrase in every Liturgy. If I am choked with pleasures and luxury then the solution is simple- give. If I do not want to give a lot, then I give a little.

Someone said to me once, “I’m so upset with God! Really upset! He doesn’t listen to me!”

So I said, “What happened?”

“By God’s grace, I have what I need, even more so. Work is good, family is well. I found out of someone in need, so I gave. Not because I wanted anything, I have everything, I just wanted to give for the sake of giving, and God just doesn’t listen!”

It was so enjoyable to witness this. Just give. If I am choked with pleasures and riches, then I try to let them go a little, and the Lord will give more so that I can loosen my tightened hands and give more and more.

But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

Luke 8:15

Mustard Seeds

Mustard Seeds

Quote

Faith gives wings to prayer, and without it we cannot fly up to Heaven. 

St. John Climacus, “The Ladder of Divine Ascent,” (Boston: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 1978), Step28: On Holy and Blessed Prayer, the Mother of Virtues, and on the Attitude of Mind and Body in Prayer

Challenge

Enhance your quiet time in the same way as Bob from the story before- set up an empty chair beside and speak to God in faith that He is beside you and listening

Prayer

Father God, when my strength is gone, I am unable—but Your Word says I can do all thing through Christ who strengthens me. Give me Your strength, not physical strength but the power to move mountains that flows from faith in You. Help me to depend on You to do what I think I cannot do. Let your strength alone sustain me. Help me to renew my faith in You day by day so I am ever blessed with your presence.

Mustard Seeds

Mustard Seeds

Old Testament Passage

7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:7-10

Question

  1. When we are weak, we find strength through faith in God that is the source of all strength. How can we practically apply our faith when we doubt ourselves?
  2. Let us presume that we have assurance that we can do a task on our own, how can we have faith that even then, God is our source of strength?

Mustard Seeds

Mustard Seeds

Story

Mandy Marie asked her pastor, James Lettinger, to come and pray with her father Bob. When the minister arrived, he found Bob lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. And there was an empty chair sitting beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. “I guess you were expecting me Bob,” he said.

“No. I was not expecting you,” said Bob. “Who are you?”.
“I’m the new minister at your church,” he replied. “When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up.”
“Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?”

Puzzled, Pastor James shut the door.

“I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man. “But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head. I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” the old man continued, “until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, ‘Bob, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus.’

‘Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because he promised, ‘I’ll be with you always.’ Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now.’

So, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I’m careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.”

James was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with Bob, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her daddy had died that afternoon.

“Did he die in peace?” he asked.

“Yes, when I left the house about two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later I found him dead. But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?”

Pastor James wiped a tear from his eye and said, “I wish we all could go like that.”

Question

  1. For Bob, prayer was simply talking to God and trusting that He was listening. How can we have faith like this?

Mustard Seeds

Mustard Seeds

New Testament Passage

20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

Matthew 17:20-21

Questions

  1. What does it mean to have faith like a mustard seed?
  2. Something so small, almost insignificant, is what Christ urges us to strive for. How can we practically attain a small yet tangible faith that moves mountains?

Never Lose Hope

Never Lose Hope

Translated from a sermon by HH Pope Shenouda III

What is hope? Hope is wishing for the best, no matter how difficult or complicated the situation is before them. No matter how long it takes, the person with hope never gives up. They do not fall into despair.

The opposite of hope is despair. Hope is accepting tribulation with an open heart. Joy in all tribulation. Wishing for the best at all times. We remember the key phrases from John;

I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

Revelation 3:8

Behold, a door standing open in heaven

Revelation 4:1

Hope is have an optimistic view, to put off all pessimistic thoughts. In this way, nothing can harm; not anxiety, not sadness, not depression or despair. Always looking toward a brighter future and a happier day.

You constantly reiterate that all is repairable, all the bad of today can be healed tomorrow. Every problem will come to an end. When you have hope, any lost opportunity is preparation for the next. A lack of hope diminishes our mood and motivation to keep going. It makes us feel sadness and despair. A loss of hope in its final stages, leads to even suicide.

When we speak about hope, we don’t speak about hope alone, but hope in God. God who is the hope of the hopeless and the helper of the helpless.

The hope of those who have no hope and the help of those who have no helper

the Litany of the Sick

Hope is waiting on the Lord. We wait for God to solve our problems. Not waiting anxiously, but waiting in hope, with confidence and joy.

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart

Psalm 27:14

Know that God will come, even if it is the final watch.

But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

To also have hope in your prayers answered. The first example of hope was Eve’s hope in God’s promise that her seed will bruise the head of the serpent;

He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.

Genesis 3:15.

After that, there was the hope of Noah. After the waters covered all the land, and all the mountains, he found himself in an ark filled with animals. There was no sign of land. He had hope that the waters would be dispersed and he would see the land once more.

Abraham had hope that Isaac would return alive even if he had been sacrificed. God told him that through Isaac he would have more descendants than the stars in the sky. And more than the grains of sand in the sea. Yet he would be sacrificed. Abraham had hope in God’s promise.

Moses the prophet had hope when he was standing before the Red Sea with Pharaoh and his armies were behind him. All the people lost hope but Moses said to them; “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace” – Exodus 14:13-14.

David the prophet had hope when he fought Goliath. He had a giant before him that was bigger and stronger than him. David came to him with a few stones and his hope in God. With those few stones and his slingshot, he would defeat the giant before him. He said to him, “this day the Lord will deliver you into my hand.” – 1 Samuel 17:46. He had hope that the Lord would help him.

Joseph had hope that his dreams would come true. Maybe he forgot about it for a while, but there was no doubt that he thought about it from time to time.

Esther had hope that God would accept her fasting. Her hope was that the king would hear her petition and save her people. This was all in the Old Testament.

Hope continues in the New Testament. The right hand thief had hope that Jesus could save him even while he hung on the Cross. He was a sinner, deserving of death but he had hope in eternity and forgiveness. As he pleaded, “remember me O Lord when come into Your Kingdom.”

Zacharias erred when he had lost hope, thinking it was too late for his prayers for a child to be answered. God chastised him for his loss of faith.

There is another type of hope- hope in healing. Many people have hope of being healed. One was the man that had spent 38 years by the Poolgate waiting for someone to take him into the waters. He hoped throughout this time until Christ came to heal him.

The hope of the man born blind. This was the first time that someone was born without eyes and received new sight. There is hope in the Resurrection. On this hope all will die knowing that after death there is another life. We pray for this second life.

 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13

There is also hope in forgiveness. No matter the sins that we have committed, we remain hopeful in God’s forgiveness. St Peter who denied Jesus three times, and Judas that betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. The outcome was different because one had hope and the other did not. His lack of hope led to despair and his ultimate demise.

St Monica spent years praying for her son St Augustine in hope that he could change his life around. She wept for his salvation for twenty years until St Ambrose told her that the son of those tears could not be unmoved.

No matter how many times they fall, there is always hope that they will rise again. Even if you fall in sin, have hope that God will save you. He will save you from sin, from thoughts of sin.

One might say that God will save them from a difficult habit. One might be smoking for years and years, and if they lose hope then they can never stop. If they have hope, then they know that the long years mean nothing compared to hope in the Lord. Even if they fall into addiction, they have hope that they will rise again. They have hope that God will save them. If one loses hope that they will continue to fall into sin and become lost in it as the Bible says about the fig tree that was filled with leaves and had no fruit. There was a suggestion that it should be cut down. The saying was said to leave it another year that it might bring forth fruit.

Choose Your Friends Wisely

Choose Your Friends Wisely

Adapted from a sermon by Adel Magdy

Mark 2:1-12

One of the most interesting stories in the Gospels is the story of the paralytic man that was lowered through the roof by his friends seeking his healing. Typically when Jesus heals someone, it’s through the personal faith of the one being healed. For the man born blind, Jesus said to him, “do you want to made well?”

In this story we hear a very different sentence. We read of a man being lowered through a roof by his friends and then Jesus says something quite different to him than in the other miracles of healing.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

Mark 2:5

It was because of the faith of the four friends that this paralytic man was able to walk again. Not because of his own personal faith. His healing came from the faith of his friends.

There is Biblical basis for the concept of receiving healing from the faith of those we surround ourselves with. When St Paul visits the town of Lystra, he begins preaching and is loved by the people. The Jews from other surrounding towns come and they turn the crowds against St Paul. They compelled them to stone him almost to death.

However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city.

Acts 14:20

St Paul rose when the disciples gathered around him. Similar to the story we read about the paralytic man, for it wasn’t his faith that made him well, but the faith of his friends that brought him to Christ.

We can rely on the faith of others when we feel weak. At times when I have felt distant from God and in extreme need, I have confided in my father of confession and as soon as I go home to pray, I pray not for my sake, but for the sake of the faith of my confession father who I know is praying for me. Almost always, this is a prayer that is answered.

What these four men did for their friend was incredible. They had every reason to give up; the crowd was huge, they couldn’t reach the Lord, they could have said it was too hard to lift the man above the roof, they could have said this is not our house to remove the roof.

Yet, none of this stopped them from seeing the Lord. These are the kind of friends that I need in my life. The ones that will do whatever it takes and come to the Lord no matter what it takes. These are the people I know will always look out for me.

Sometimes, even in a non-spiritual sense. In my second year of university, I got really sick and I missed the majority of the semester. I was constantly going back and forth from the doctors.

When I finally got back to my studies toward the end of the semester, I had an assignment due the next day. I had missed so much that I barely knew anything about the subject. I didn’t know what to do. I spoke to a good friend of mine and he said do what you can when you get home. This didn’t work very well for me so I was planning to explain my situation to the Dean the next morning.

As I walked into the office, I got a call from my friend who asked me where I was. I told him I was at the Dean’s office to make an appointment. He told me to meet him outside. I walked outside and saw him there holding an assignment that he had spent the whole night writing. He told me that he made mine very different to his and to submit it as my own. When we got our results, the assignment he had done on my behalf received a higher mark than the one he did for himself.

Imagine this on a spiritual level. Who did I consider to be my closest friends? Are they the ones that draw me away from the Lord? Or the ones willing to carry me to meet the Lord? These are the friends that I need.

Learning to be Content

Learning to be Content

adapted from a sermon by Fr Michael Fanous

John 6:5-14

When we read the story of the feeding of the 5000 with five loaves and two fish, we see an abundance of blessing and fulfilment. They left filled and satisfied.

How do we get this same fulfilment in a spiritual sense?

We can strive to be content. The kind of contentment that St Paul speaks about;

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.

Philippians 4:11

St Paul says that he has learned. This is to say that being content is not something that comes naturally, or something is subject to what he has. He learned to be content by putting away selfishness and desires of the body.

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:12-13

St Paul can do all things only through Christ who gives him strength. This state of being content is vital and we see the end result.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 23:1

I shall not want the love of another, for I am content with the love of my spouse. I shall not want the mansion that my friend has, for I am content with the house I live in. I shall not want the beautiful cars that I see, for mine is sufficient.

We see that through being content, we can find happiness. Even with nothing, no matter the situation, we are content.

The next level up after remaining content is an obedience to our Lord, giving thanks for all things. Our Lord Jesus Christ was obedient to His Father, and He was glorified. He was obedient and also gave thanks. He was happy to endure the crucifixion.

When the angel Gabriel came to St Mary, she said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:28). She was obedient and thankful.

When the Lord told Abraham to leave his people and his country and go to a far country, Abraham was obedient and thankful. This is how he became the Patriarch of all patriarchs. Obedience with thanks is very important.

Fr Tadros Malaty once told us a story about obedience and thankfulness. A holy man was going to see our Lord. On his way, he saw a poor man and told him, “Would you like me to say anything to Jesus Christ for you?”


He replied, “Yes! Please ask Him why He left the world to live in luxuries while I remain in misery?”

The man continues along his way and comes across a rich man and asks him the same; “Would you like me to say anything to Jesus Christ for you?”

He replied, “Yes! Tell Him, Your grace is more than sufficient for me. You have given me more than enough. Too much even. Please, what can I do with my riches?”

On his way back, he came past the rich man again who asked him what the Lord had said. The man replied, “Christ cannot stop giving you because of your thankfulness.”

He went along his way and came past the poor man and said to him, “Because you are not thankful, even the little that you have will be taken away from you. The wind came and blew away the tent that he lived in.”

This story tells us that the Lord will pour on us and give us complete fulfillment if we are thankful. If we are obedient with thankfulness.

Through prayers, reading the Bible, attending liturgies, praises and reading spiritual books, we remain close to God. When we practice these things, we grow closer to God and gain fulfilment. When David the King fell, he was able to come back, and his sin was lifted from him, for David was a man of prayer.

I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Matthew 25:37-40

The one that takes their love for God and applies this to service will ask these questions. When were they ever able to help the Lord? Only by helping the least of these. Once we serve, we get served, for we receive fulfillment from the Lord. We become content in the Lord. Completely happy and fulfilled, not seeking a thing. The devil cannot tempt me for I have everything.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

Better than New

Better than New

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Elijah Iskander

Luke 7:36-50

[She] stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

Luke 7:38

This was an act of complete adoration. Think of a time when you have broken something, or when your car is dented, or if you’ve ripped a piece of clothing. How have you tried to fix it? The most reassuring thing you can say to someone next is – as good as new! Like it was never broken. I can’t even see where the dent used to be.

This is our standard, but when the Lord fixes, He does not make things as good as new, He makes them better than new. We see this clearly in the story of the woman that wiped Jesus feet with her tears and anointed them with fragrant oil.

The act of anointing His feet with fragrant oil is significant as the oil was a tool of her trade. An attractive smell that would lure people. Her long hair to attract attention. In those times, hair was not left untied out of modesty. The very things that were the source of her weakness – the smell of perfume and her long flowing hair – that invited men into sin also became the source of her honour. These became tools her adoration.

The Lord transformed these tools to be better than ever before. When the Lord transforms He does not make things as good as new, He makes them better than new.

Similarly, Zacchaeus had a weakness of money. If the Lord was going to make Zacchaeus as good as new, He would have told him to return any money that was stolen. This would be as good as new. When the Lord enters Zacchaeus’ house, he is moved to give so much more. He is not as good as new, but better than new.

St Moses the Strong was living a holy man in the monastery. One night, four thieves came into his cell. St Moses single-handedly overpowers all four of the thieves, ties them up, carries them and brought them before the other fathers that were in church. He says to the fathers, “In my past life, I know exactly what I would have done with them, but now I don’t know what to do next.”

The fathers were stunned and said, “let them go.” The four thieves later realised who St Moses was, recognising him from his past life. They were so moved by his transformation that they became monks themselves. If the Lord would make things as good as new for St Moses, he would have gone from life as a thug to a holy life, but our Lord makes things better than new. He makes him a person that inspires others because of his past life.

Even on the Cross. What was once a symbol of death and a punishment for the unrighteousness was completely transformed to life. When our Lord transforms He does not make things as good as new, but better than new.

We pray that the Lord does the same with us. We pray for transformation to be better than new. If I am angry, I pray that the Lord breaks my anger and replaces it with peace. Even if I am broken with shame, with lust, with hypocrisy, for whatever it takes to transform me, and make me better than new.

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31