Author: matthew

The Nativity – God’s invitation: Will we accept?

By Fr Yacoub Magdy

When I first came to Australia and lived in Wollongong, an interview was televised during the Christmas period asking children the meaning of Christmas. I watched intently to gauge my new found home’s understanding of the true meaning of Christmas. To my disappointment the typical answers of presents and family gatherings came up, but there was no mention of Christ and of the salvation He offers us.

Thankfully, after asking some kids within our church I received more informed responses. It went along the lines that on Christmas a child was born called Jesus. He came to invite us because He wants us to be with Him. He wants us to be with Him because He enjoys our company, but that some won’t go who don’t believe in Him. As is sometimes the case, children in their simplicity can pierce to the truth of a matter and have such clarity in understanding what’s around them.

Christmas is exactly that. It’s an invitation from God Himself. This invitation was not something cheap, or something haphazard. This invitation required the Father to send His only begotten Son whom He loves, to take all the people who will accept Him to live with Him eternally in heaven. This invitation required the Son to empty Himself of His glory and to humbly and lovingly submit in obedience to the Father (Philippians 2). This love is truly a divine mystery and a revelation of God’s love to us, but it demands a response.

I have a question. If you knew of a medicine that would prolong your life for five years, but knew that that medicine would require you to sell your house. What would you do?

We have to understand that the gift of eternal life is extremely valuable. It is not in our nature to live eternally. This is a fact and a reality that we see and deal with every day. But our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to the world and accepted the mission of His Father for one purpose, which is to invite us to be with Him.

But why? It is because God is love and all His desire is to love, and all His nature is to love. His enjoyment is in creating us free and it is in this freedom that we are able to show love, where we can choose between life and death, good and evil, God or the world. We have been created to practice this love, we have been given a mind and the qualities so that we can either accept or reject Him.

So this moves us on to the third question. Will everybody accept this invitation? Unfortunately not. All have been invited, but the reality is that as we look at the world around us, some will accept the invitation while others will reject it. What will happen to those who reject we don’t know for certain, but what is known with certainty through the experience of the Church, is that those who accept the invitation, and who appreciate it and follow it, the end for them will be that they will have eternal life with God.

The job of the Church, the priest and the servants is nothing other than to clarify this concept and this choice for the people. Its role is nothing more than to prepare the people to go with Him into eternal life, to live forever.

But I’ll ask another question, if you’re invited to a house and it seems a bit strange or foreign to you, let’s say it’s in a different country or it has a different culture, wouldn’t you enquire as to the dress code or the required etiquette before you went? Jesus Christ came to give us a model to emulate so that we can accept this invitation. So not only does He invite us, but He also shows us the way to accept this invitation. And in showing us this model, the Father has revealed to us that He would like us to be like His Son and to imitate Him.

During His three year ministry He showed us many things. He showed us how to love, how to show mercy and compassion. He showed us how we should react in different situations. We study these years thoroughly and every time we read the Bible we focus intently to see what Jesus did. How did He react? What did He say? How did He understand the situation? How did He comment?

Why do we do this? It’s simple. We want to be like Him. We would like to have the qualities of Jesus, such that the Father will see us as His adopted sons. And in those three years He truly did some amazing things. We know that He spent three years openly in His public ministry. We know that He chose twelve people who were with Him all the time and who observed all His dealings and interactions. He preached with them, He ate with them and He celebrated feasts with them. We know that they had money, because Judas was the treasurer, but that He didn’t have a house and that He didn’t live in luxury.

But before He left us He said and revealed something truly amazing in the gospel according to St John in chapter 17. He spoke at length, and the Holy Spirit made St John remember this long talk. It records what Our Lord said in His last hours before He willingly went to His death. I will paraphrase what He said in that lengthy prayer, He said “Father, I want them to be with Me, to behold Your glory. I want the love that I have towards You, my Father, and which You have towards Me to be in them. I want them to love Me, as You love Me and I love them.” So what He has done for us shows His absolute and unconditional love for us. He has come and invited us, He has given us a model to emulate to accept this invitation, and He has also vouched for us and prepared the way for us to enter into heaven.

We live on this earth for a number of years. And the job of the devil in these years is to destroy this love. The purpose of the devil is that we don’t experience this love. And if we don’t experience this love we won’t look like His Son and we won’t live forever. We can’t live forever. It’s not in our nature.

In heaven there is no place for hatred. There’s no place for bitter feelings towards others. Our sole purpose and duty for the number of years we live on earth, whether it be 50, 60, 70, 80 or even 100 years, or as we have seen many times in our own parish that it can be a lot less, our sole aim is to gradually have the image of the Son of God in us. And the main quality of this image is to have love towards people.

So at the start of the New Year as the late Pope Shenouda always used to tell us, we must choose a virtue and try to concentrate on acquiring it by the grace of God throughout that year. Let this virtue be to look like and to imitate Christ. And we should continually ask and examine ourselves to see if I’m trying my best to achieve this goal of looking like Christ. Do I have the same qualities and attributes as Christ? Will I really try my best to be as forgiving as Him?

Sometimes we don’t like someone. We tell ourselves that we just can’t help it, this person is silly, how can I possibly love him? But it’s important to understand what love really means. Many people understand the word in different ways. But Christ understood love to mean action and not just a feeling. Love in the Bible is action. For us, I can do an action of love towards someone even if I don’t like them. So I may not like someone, but I can show them love in a Christian fashion where I do my best to make them happy. I go out of my way to make them happy. I will serve them. I will invite them with me in the same procession towards heaven in spite of the fact that some of their attributes or qualities aren’t attractive or agreeable to me. We can even ask did Jesus like the Pharisees and their actions? I don’t think so, they were not likeable. But did He love them? Of course. Did He die for them? Of course.

I remember a very practical example of this love many years ago when we had a monk serving with us at St Mark’s called Fr Moussa El Souriany who is now Bishop Athanasius of Beni-Mazar. I observed that whenever he got annoyed with someone he would give them a present. I eventually asked him why he does it. He told me that even though he might not be able to stand that person, at least in front of God he had done his best, and that his best involved giving the person a present. And here we see that love is an action. And it is a very sweet action, because that other person may respond to that nice gesture and because of it they might even change. It says in Proverbs 25:21-22 “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.” So when we love someone we serve them. We don’t hate them, we don’t criticise them, on the contrary we do good things and we love them, and then gradually we may like them after that. But the initiative must come from us, following the model of Christ in that “God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

So on this marvellous day of Christmas we remember what happened two thousand years ago. The Father from heaven invited us and continues to invite us, He wants us to come to Him because He finds us enjoyable and because He wants us to enjoy His glory and His love. He sent His Son who offered Himself to us, and who revealed to us the mystery of who the Holy Trinity is and has invited us to share in Their glory.

All that’s needed from us is to imitate His Son, and to gradually grow in His image. May He always help us to accept His glorious invitation.

Glory be to God forever. Amen.

 

By Martina Bastawrous

The youth from our church have been blessed with the opportunity to visit and serve in Kenya multiple times. They are led by the encouragement of Bishop Paul, serving and living in Kenya for over 20 years, as well as the leadership of Father Augustinous, giving up his time to look after the youth.

From previous trips, Kenya has been known to fill our youth and give them a fire to serve and praise our glorious God. From the moment they stepped off the plane and into the monastery in Maseno, they were sent off to serve; proving just how active and constant the service is.

Services in Kenya that the youth were involved in included home visitations, Sunday school, youth meeting, visiting prisons, building a church, and visiting orphanages. These services are accompanied by a number of talks, Bible studies and prayer meetings lead by Bishop Paul and other blessed Kenyan Fathers. The youth spend a couple of hours each day in solitude, giving them an experience like no other. Bishop Paul, seeing that many of the youth have come a number of times, decided to give an unusual experience of sending out groups to live in the villages of Africa and really experience “true service”, spending 3 nights in mud-built houses and serving different churches to get the community ready for the new year.

Anyone that goes to Africa would say they felt God’s presence and saw God working in everything they do. Christ’s love is evident in the children as they come to you and cling to you willingly. You can see the humility of Christ in the Mamas that serve the youth and priests tirelessly – they bring out feasts for the youth to eat just for visiting them. The light that Bishop Paul shines on each person he comes into contact with enlightens your understanding of who Christ really is. It is safe to say that spending time in Kenya is not just an experience, but rather a revival.

By: Fr Mark Basily

“The true fast is that in which sins, anger, tongue, and instincts are under control”
– St Basil the Great

During these most holy days of Lent, one of the most common questions asked when deciding what to purchase from the supermarket is: “Is it syami (is it fasting)”? You quickly turn the item around and start to read the ingredients to ensure that the product does not contain any animal products. Every now and then you get really excited when you discover a product that is enjoyable to eat and still conforms to the requirements of the Coptic Orthodox fast (just like the day when I discovered Oreos were syami!).

The question: “Is it syami”? stems from the desire to offer to God an acceptable and honourable fast. As soon as milk solids is read out on the list of ingredients, the item is immediately returned to its rightful place on the shelf. After purchasing all our syami products, we proceed to the checkout with our conscience at ease that we are fulfilling our desire to offer God an acceptable and honourable fast. But are we really? Is this all that is required? Let us look at the how the Lord explained the acceptable fast to the prophet Isaiah:

“Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter” (Is 58:4-7).

Upon reading the lives of our saintly desert fathers, you will quickly notice two very common trends, they all lived their lives in the quest for spiritual perfection and they practiced extreme forms of physical asceticism. I believe these two simple observations, shed light on the perspective and purpose of fasting. One is the aim, and the other is the means. Although, this may seem to be obvious, we often lose perspective forgetting the aim (spiritual perfection) while aiming at the means (fasting).

St. John Chrysostom explains it as follows:

“Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works. If you see a poor man, take pity on him. If you see a friend being honoured, do not envy him. Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye and the ear and the feet and the hands and all the members of our bodies.

Let the hands fast, by being free of greed.
Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin.
Let the eyes fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful.
Let the ear fast, by not listening to evil talk and gossip.
Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticism.
For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes, but bite and devour our brothers”?

So if we would like to offer an acceptable fast to the Lord, let us not only offer the fasting of food, but moreover the fasting of the soul, as John Cassian teaches us saying: “We should not be confident that the outside fasting of food is enough alone for the purity of the heart and body, unless it is accompanied by the fasting of the soul”.

“Is it syami”? Let us not only ask ourselves this question before deciding what food to purchase, but let us ask this question before we refuse a brother a helping hand, let us ask this question before passing judgment on another, let us ask this question before gazing our eyes on a lustful scene, let us ask this question before losing our temper, let us ask this question before deciding not to pray at night and let us ask this question before every action and reaction we may take.

By Stephanie Khalil and Ustina Boules

Psalm 130 is a psalm of redemption and hope. We are all sinners and it is often that we find ourselves entangled in the web of sins that we commit. We tend to look to other worldly comforts to heal the wounds these sins have left. However, this would be like one sick patient seeking treatment from another sick patient rather than the physician, who is equipped with the knowledge, skill, and means to heal them. Similarly, the only way to heal the scars left by our sins is by submitting to God the real Physician. But how does one ask for help if they don’t know that there is a problem? We first must acknowledge that we are weak and broken and will remain in this state without divine intervention. Through the struggle with prayer – crying out to God, we grow in desire and longing for the One who can make all things whole.

King David understood this and in his cries to the Lord, he places his hope in God also. It is for the Lord that our soul waits, for the gifts of His grace, the power of His works and for His promises to be fulfilled as He said. Many times we feel that the Lord fails to answer us because we do not receive an answer within a ‘reasonable’ time. But in His infinite wisdom, He finds the most perfect time to answer our prayers and reveal Himself to us. In waiting on the Lord we are waiting for Him to work and be glorified in the circumstances. We wait with expectant hope that His promise to give when we ask will be fulfilled. In receiving, after all this waiting, with trust in the promises God has made (“Ask, and it will be given to you…” Matthew 7:7), we are lifted to praise our Lord for all His amazing works.

To hear Stephanie and Ustina Sing Psalm 130 please visit: www.stmark.com.au/sermons/music

By Daniel Mawad

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

St John Chrysostom ( 347-407) Feast day November 13

St. John was born to a high ranked military officer who died soon after his birth and was left to be raised by a single mother. By the age of 18 he began his studies in law and oration which were mentored by Libanius who was a pagan philosopher. This is when his brilliance became apparent. St. John’s intellect was so remarkable that when Libanius was on his deathbed, they asked who would succeed him, he replied, “John, if the Christians haven’t stolen him yet”. St. John was then baptised and studied theology under Diodore of Tarsus. His zeal for reading and studying the scriptures was so great that he desired to become a hermit so that he may do this without distraction from the world. But his mother prevented him saying “do not make me a widow for the second time”. So he postponed this till after her death. His asceticism was so severe that he was forced to return to the city to receive treatment for his failing kidneys. As he was grieving for his return to the world, St. John the evangelist and St. Peter appeared to him with scrolls and said to him that his ministry is not only in monasticism, but it is in the Church. His ministry is to preach to the people and to offer them Christ. After this he resumed his ministry as a preacher and delivered sermons so famous that his words still echo till today and he received the title “Chrysostom” which translated to “Golden Mouth”. His sermons are said to have gone for as long as 2 hours. This may seem exhausting for the congregation, but when he would finish his sermons the crowds would applaud and cheer to the extent that he delivered a sermon against their applause.

St. John was focused on being relevant to his congregation. He addressed many social issues in his sermon such as poverty and rebellion against the government. He was so focused on the congregation that he edited the liturgy of St. Basil to be shorter since its length either prevented people from coming, or the attending congregation were restless. This is now referred to as the liturgy of “St. John Chrysostom”, which is prayed today in many Orthodox Churches including the Greek Orthodox Church.

His skills and talents which where develop from his pagan studies and experience in the courtroom as a lawyer proved to be of tremendous value for him as a preacher. St. John offered even pagan philosophy and secular education to God. When one learns of St. John, they cannot but be moved to offer up any and every gift (even ones which are seeming triviality) given to them from God by God (as is prayed in the liturgy). We also learn from St. John the importance of reading the Holy Scriptures, which he refers to constantly as the “medicine cabinet for any ailment”.

I also always entreat you, and do not cease entreating you, not only to pay attention here to what I say, but also when you are at home, to persevere continually in reading the divine Scriptures.

When I have been with each of you in private, I have not stopped giving you the same advice. Do not let anyone say to me those vain words, worthy of heavy condemnation, “I cannot leave the courthouse, I administer the business of the city, I practice a craft, I have a wife, I am raising children, I am in charge of a household, I am a man of the world; reading the Scriptures is not for me, but for those who have been set apart, who have settled on the mountaintops, who keep this way of life continuously.”

What are you saying, man? That attending to the Scriptures is not for you, since you are surrounded by a multitude of cares? Rather it is for you more than for them. They do not need the help of the divine Scriptures as much as those do who are involved in many occupations. The monks, who are released from the clamor of the marketplace and have fixed their huts in the wilderness, who own nothing in common with anyone, but practice wisdom without fear in the calm of the quiet life, as if resting in a harbor, enjoy great security; but we, as if tossing in the midst of the sea, driven by a multitude of sins, always need continuous and ceaseless aid of the Scriptures. They rest far from the battle, and so they do not receive many wounds; but you stand continuously in the front rank, and you receive continual blows. So you need more remedies.

St. John teaches us through his life that we ought to deny our own will for God’s. St. John’s will was extremely noble and pious. He desired to become a hermit, a lifestyle which has no worldly appeal or reward but is rather counterintuitive. But that was St. John’s will, not God’s. When it was revealed to him that he should go into the world and use his gifts to offer Christ to all people, he was obedient.

It seems appropriate to end this with St. John’s most famous homily which was delivered on Easter and is still read till today in many Orthodox Churches on Easter.

Through the prayers of the Holy Theotokos and St. John Chrysostom, may God have mercy upon us and save us.

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in nowise be deprived thereof. If any have delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near, fearing nothing. If any have tarried even until the eleventh hour, let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness; for the Lord, who is jealous of his honor, will accept the last even as the first; he gives rest unto him who comes at the eleventh hour, even as unto him who has wrought from the first hour.

And he shows mercy upon the last, and cares for the first; and to the one he gives, and upon the other he bestows gifts. And he both accepts the deeds, and welcomes the intention, and honors the acts and praises the offering. Wherefore, enter you all into the joy of your Lord; and receive your reward, both the first, and likewise the second. You rich and poor together, hold high festival. You sober and you heedless, honor the day. Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away.

Enjoy ye all the feast of faith: Receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness. let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: Hell, said he, was embittered, when it encountered Thee in the lower regions. It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages.

Amen.

Gentleness
by Father Yacoub

A requirement of Christianity! Have you ever heard of a Saint who was not gentle? Surely not! How about our Lord Jesus Christ, was he gentle? Most definitely!

Christs Gentleness:

The Bible is full of examples of Christs Gentle nature:

When the Paralysed man was lowered from the roof by his friends. Christ stopped His sermon to heal him! Can you imagine the same scenario with a Bishop or Priest?

The adulteress: Not only did Christ prevent her from being stoned but He also sat next to her. Why? To give her full assurance, comforting her, telling her
that they can’t stone you while you are with Me!

The children which Christ did not allow to be turned away! They would have been afraid of the crowds and Christ, knowing that, hugged them in all Gentleness!

Why did Christ heal the sick? Is it not salvation and eternal life which is most important? Yes, however what better way to show his love and gentle Spirit, than to heal those who are sick!?

Our Gentleness:

Harsh acts can turn people away from Christ! The act of road rage, or acting harshly with your family and friends, or bursting in anger. Perhaps why many do not accept Christ, is because of the bad image which we portray of him!

It is our responsibility to show our neighbours gentleness so that they may know the true nature of Christianity. Through this gentleness we can change the hearts of many and allow them to taste the sweet aroma of Christ and fall in love with Christianity.

‘God loves a cheerful giver’

In the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we see that one of the beautiful virtues that he constantly displays is giving. It is in His nature to constantly give and expect nothing in return. This is clear from the beginning of time, where God created the Earth and it’s beautiful nature, so that we may enjoy all things and seek comfort in it. We also see this throughout the life of Christ (such as in the parable of the five loaves and two fish), and even until his death (where he gives us the ultimate gift-His life). However, as Christians we are not called to admire Christ at a distance, but rather to imitate him in all that He does and learn how to also be givers.

In Corinthian’s 2, St Paul teaches us to let ‘each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver’. It is obvious then, that the way to touch God’s heart, and to move his hand is to be a cheerful giver! This concept is clearly pictured in the parable of the widow who donated two mites in the churches treasury (Mark 12). This act of generosity attracted Jesus’ attention, despite it being a much lesser amount than the Pharisees donation. Our Lord here teaches us that he never looks at the amount that is given, but rather it is the heart in which a good deed is done that is pleasing to Him.

With my last visit to Kenya, I was so happy to find that the concept of giving is a ritual that is highly regarded in their church and culture. After every mass, the people all sing lively and heavenly hymns, and each person puts their donation in a basket on the altar. The whole ritual is filled with joy and happiness, despite them giving from the little that they have. There is never a time when a priest or a bishop would come to visit them, and not be overwhelmed with gifts, from the best of what they have. Whether it is a bag of fruit, eggs or even a live chicken or goat, it is always a big part of their livelihood and source of sustenance. They have learned from Christ, that the materialistic things of the world will all pass away, but they would rather build treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust can destroy. Christ is the true giver of life who grants us with the ultimate joy and peace.

If we learn how to give just as Christ, this may lead us to developing many more virtues. One of the greatest advantages of giving is that it helps us come out of our self centeredness and ego. Whenever I part with what is mine and instead give it to one who is in more need, I no longer consider myself but rather he to whom I am helping. Whenever I consider the poor, the needy, the lonely, those in pain… I am practicing self denial, leaving my self centeredness aside and instead serving Christ.

By giving we are also alerting Christ of our intention to return to Him in repentance. A way to measure the sincerity of one’s repentance is to assess how happy he is to give (God love’s a cheerful giver). God comes close to us when we serve our brother’s and sisters. This doesn’t have to be money- but we give what is nearest to our heart such as: time, effort, riches, emotions, creativity… By giving to the Lord we open the doors of heaven and become very deer to Him.

Many characters in the bible, and the history of the church have recognized this idea. When Zacheus met with Jesus, the act of him selling all that he had, gave him something much more valuable- salvation entering into the home. The sinner women did not say a word, but wept and poured the expensive fragrant oil at the feet of Christ. This was acceptable to The Lord and was used as ointments for his burial. No one has ever sacrificed, without the Lord pouring down blessings upon him.

The beautiful story of St John the poor shows us that whatever we give is never forgotten before God. John was a rich tax collector who was despised in the land due to his greed and lack of charity. Every day a certain poor man would come to his door and beg for a slice of bread, but every day John would shoo him away empty handed. One day however after much persistence by the poor man, John frustratingly threw a piece of bread at his head and went inside his home. That night he saw a vision of the judgement day. As the angel was adjusting the scale of justice- there were plenty of bad deeds on the left side, but there were no good deeds on the right side. After the angel searched frantically, he found that the only good deed John had was the piece of bread that he angrily threw at the poor man. John woke up very disturbed from his vision, so he sold all that he had and went to the monastery. After a long life of devotion to Christ and acetism he passed away, and was named St John the poor.

May we all together practice the virtue of giving in our lives, just as if we are giving to Chris himself so that we may reap the blessings of this great virtue! Glory be to God forever amen.