Author: ramez

The Rewards of Humility

The Rewards of Humility

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Elijah Iskander

Passage: Luke 1: 39-56

The theme of the month of Kiahk is humility. The passage of today is another example of this. St Elizabeth, St Mary and St John the Baptist are all great examples of humility.

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” – 1 Peter 5:5-6.

This is the roadmap to humility. If I want to be humble, let me start with the first natural opportunities I have every day. I can submit to my elders. For the children, be humble before your parents. We all must remember that we never stop being children to our parents, even to our 40s, 50s and beyond!

If you are a student, it is natural for you to be humble before your teacher. If you are a staff member, it is natural to be humble before those in authority. If you are a husband, it is natural for you to be humble before your wife. I can never really be humble unless I start with the natural opportunities I am given.

If as a student, I am arrogant when dealing with my teachers, or if as a child, I am arrogant with my parents, then how am I supposed to go beyond that and be humble with someone at the same place as me? More still, how could I be humble before those below me, as the Lord was?

If I want to be humble, do I first make the most of those natural opportunities? Do I shout back at my parents? Do I disregard the opinion of my boss?

Only when I learn to be humble to those above me, can I move on to the next stages of humility. St Peter then writes to be humble to one another. If  I can’t be humble to my mum, how am I supposed to be humble to my sister? Make the most of the natural opportunities and then I will be empowered, by God’s grace, to be humble when it’s a bit harder to be humble to my sister who is older than me, and then even harder still to be humble to my brother who is perhaps younger than me.

If I can’t be humble to my parents then it is impossible to be humble to my siblings!

St Peter writes that we ALL be submissive to one another. We see that when St Mary went with HASTE to visit and take care of her cousin Elizabeth. Because St Mary was humble when she received the message from the archangel Gabriel, it was easy for her to be humble and rush to serve her cousin in her time of need.

If I am not humble, then I am less inclined to take opportunities to serve. St Peter then says to be CLOTHED with humility.

The depth of this lies when we consider the One that was clothed with humility? This was Jesus Himself at the Incarnation. The Creator, the Divine, God Himself, is clothed in humility when He comes down to earth to serve those whom He created. He came as an infant, lower than all. That is to be clothed with humility.

If I cannot submit myself before my elders, if I cannot submit myself to my siblings or co-workers, then how am I supposed to cloth myself with humility? How can I make myself of no reputation, as Christ did (Philippians 2)?

God was clothed with humility, He emptied Himself. He could have said, “I am the Creator, it is impossible for me to come as the created.” Yet He went beyond this and came as the created, and accepted mocking, whipping, slapping, all from whom He had created. How could He accept to born in a manger? How could He accept to run from the earthly king,  Herod? He was clothed with humility and does not insist on His rights.

What about me? Do I question how others treat me? Do I question being kept waiting or the manner in which others speak to me? Or, am I clothed with humility?

Even though God is the Creator, He came, as a Man, and accepted, and was obedient till the point of death. If I want to accept this injustice patiently, as Christ did, I have to start with the natural opportunities to be humble. Then I can move on to be humble to those at the same level as me, from there, only then can I be humble where it seems impossible to humble. I can be humble when I am treated unfairly or when I am disrespected.

Why should we do this when it seems so difficult to achieve? For God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble. When I don’t want to be humble because it is not fair, I remember that God gives grace to the humble, and resists the one that would react in pride.

St Mary also says, “He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.” – Luke 1:51-52.

The proud are scattered, they are put down. It’s not as a punishment, but a wake-up call, an important lesson to return to the Lord. Some of the church fathers says that they must humble themselves, before God humbles them.

The promise of humility comes next- God will exalt the humble in due time. Nobody that has ever humbled themselves for the sake of the Lord has been left regretting their decision. If it is truly for the sake of the Lord that you humble yourself, that you accept ridicule or criticism, that you stay silent in the face of adversity, the promise remains- God will exalt you in due time.

St Mary continues, “He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.” – Luke 1:53.

If I come to the Lord hungry, then I know that He will fill me. If I come to the Lord thinking I am rich, I am already full then I leave empty. Not as a punishment, but because God cannot fill what is already full.

WHO IS YOUR SAUL/PAUL?

September 15, 2017

Originally seen on Fr Anthony’s blog (15 Sept. 2017)

Today’s guest post comes from Bradley – a graduate of George Mason University’s School of Conflict Analysis & Resolution, who currently works for the government and volunteers in his community.   Bradley is also a proud member of St. Timothy & St. Athanasius church in Arlington, VA who has guest posted before. You can follow him on Facebook as well.   If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

“By day the banished sun circles the earth like a grieving mother with a lamp.”

Even for those of us that seek to avoid it, these days it seems the brokenness of the world is inescapable. We are divided in our nations, our communities, and even our families. Old wounds reopen, buried grievances resurface, hidden tragedies are revealed. The way we communicate and engage with each other is changing faster than we can process. 

Every debate seems like a matter of survival, everyone who sees the world differently can seem like the enemy, every fight must be won decisively and in an instant, and we feel tasked with defending what is good, just, and right. And often, in the momentum and noise of such things, I don’t stop to ask, “Lord, what would You have me do?”

Cormac McCarthy, writer of the words above, is known for imagining beautiful, but bleak landscapes. The quote is pulled from a book depicting a father and son trying to survive in an American wasteland after some catastrophic event. McCarthy is known for trying to capture our most dark parts, but often leaves his readers with little hope when his narratives end. We as Christians are called to see this darkness, and, armed with justice and mercy, to walk into real stories like these, humbly, beside our God (Micah 6:8). 

When God writes, like McCarthy, He doesn’t ignore brokenness; but instead, using ordinary and broken, He finishes the story with redemption. When God writes the story the sun is not banished, it is His rejoicing champion (Psalm 19:5). When God writes the story he reminds us our grieving mother is not only holding a lamp, but interceding for us, each day. And more than that, he reminds us that we too are His champions; we too are given light (Matthew 5:14-16). 

It is easy to live like Saul’s trip to Damascus was just a nice story. I consider how few times I have prayed for individuals, candidates, neighbors I like—much less those I find myself in conflict with—I wonder, “Do I really believe God changed Saul or can change me? Do I really believe that Christ was light at the beginning, that light humbled Saul, and that light was entrusted to him and to me?” Do I really believe 22 verses: a flash of light, a question, and a second chance, the world forever changed (Acts 9:1-22). 

This change does not come easy. We need only look to the Apostles themselves to see that, even full of the Spirit, they still faced disagreements, still had to confront each other’s humanness. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to listen to Saul—because I can’t bring myself to call him Paul—as he tells me how I should live when I know he gave the blessing for my cousin to be murdered.

As a black man, I imagine it would be similar to hearing a homily on stewardship from a former Neo-Nazi—why should I, have to listen to him. But as the Body of Christ, we are not given a choice in believing in the redemptive power of God’s love or new creations (Ephesians 4:20-24). 

I lose sight of the big, world changing—often less tangible, less visible—miracles God has given us. I take for granted Christ calling us the Body (1 Corinthians 12:12);  that among all the gifts, miracles, God has entrusted us with, the greatest is love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). I read love is patient and kind, and imagine how romantic this is to hear recited at engagements or in Nicholas Sparks novels, and I lose sight of its power. 

But it is powerful. As a black man that has spent much of his life in parts of the world and country where being a black man is not always a great thing, I have learned to love—and be loved—by those I once thought were my enemies. It is scary, because it does not always “work” predictably. If I only curse someone, I know how that will turn out. But love opens up an entire universe of possibilities that can end in heartbreak, pain, or things more beautiful than we can imagine. 

To conclude, a challenge and question to myself and the reader: Who is your “Saul/Paul?” 

Pick someone from Facebook, someone delusional, someone hate-filled, someone your dumb neighbor voted for, and pray for them. Don’t pray for their worldview, but pray for them. For their child with cancer, for their dog they have to put down, for their anxiety and depression, for their abusive father,  for them to see the light—not as you see it, but as God would have them see it; and then, if we’re feeling really bold: how can we be love and light to them?

(c) Fr Anthony Messeh (2018). WHO IS YOUR SAUL/PAUL? by Bradley. Available at http://www.franthony.com/blog/who-is-your-saulpaul?rq=who%20is%20your%20saul.

A Subtle Snare

A Subtle Snare

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Originally seen on Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site, 11 June 2012

“There have been men before now who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself … as if the good Lord had nothing to do but exist! There have been some who were so occupied in spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ. Man! Ye see it in small matters. Did ye never know a lover of books that with all his first editions and signed copies has lost the power to read them? Or an organiser of charities that had lost all love for the poor? It is the subtlest of all the snares.”

CS Lewis. The Great Divorce.

We live in an age of knowledge and of great power, and the individual citizen today can do things that the most powerful of heads of state could only dream of fifty years ago. This power brings with it opportunities unimagined, but also a raft of new temptations, or rather old temptations adapted to new situations (is there ever anything new under the sun?)

Today, I can sit in my living room and order a rare book from London or read a paper written by a scholar in Zurich at the click of a button. I have access to a marketplace of ideas that is so huge its very size smothers me if I stop to think about it. For the curious mind, this is intoxicating! How easy to lose oneself in an ocean of stimulating knowledge and new ideas! How wonderful to acquire new understanding, to see old things in new ways, to penetrate the depths of ignorance and shine the light of comprehension upon their previously dark treasures!

Apologetics is a marvellous revelation for those whose mind is so inclined. We drink the heady mead of rationality and find that the logic of this world points to its Creator! How wonderful! How sweet! And yet, apologetics is only medicine for the doubting soul; and no one can live on medicine alone. One needs heavenly bread and living water. Apologetics points the way, it heals the wounds of confusion, but then it is time for the daily bread of communion with the existent to carry out the process of nourishment.

Service in the house of the Lord is honourable and fulfilling. It provides the servant with a deep sense of belonging and achievement, whatever the nature of that service may be. I am doing something good for the Lord! Yet it is so easy for that “for the Lord” to turn quietly into “for me”. The very satisfaction and fulfillment one derives from service can become in itself an end, usurping its proper role as a means for the crucifixion of the ego and the losing of the self in the ocean of love that is God. And soon, God Himself is forgotten.

Intoxication is a dangerous thing. It has a life of its own, and unless it is tamed and subdued to the will, it will take over in its own right. It is so easy for us to fall into the trap of mistaking the means for the end. So simple is this trap that one wonders how anyone could ever fall into it all, and yet, it daily claims its thousands and ten thousands of victims. The quote above from CS Lewis’ imaginative little classic describes this temptation perfectly. If the devil cannot keep you away from doing good, he will engross you in it and turn it into a lust. Yes, even serving God can become a sinful lust.

We are all susceptible. The priest and the deacon are susceptible to being so caught up in the beauty of the tunes of the service that they forget the One whom those tunes honour. The Sunday School or Youth servant can be so engrossed in lessons and activities that they lose sight of the Friend to whom they are supposed to introduce those they serve. The person praying in her room behind a closed door can become so concerned with fulfilling her duty to pray this prayer and that prayer that she can no longer see the Lord listening to her empty words with sadness.

And the subtleness of this pernicious trap is that it doesn’t look like a trap. From the outside, it looks for all the world as though you are doing everything right; more than right in fact. How many empty vessels like this are praised constantly in our churches for all the wonderful work they are doing? Which only goes to reinforce this cycle of emptiness.

“From the outside” – that’s where the illusion lives. The solution, on the other hand, is to be found on the inside. In the solitude of one’s heart, in that place where the heart is laid mercilessly bare and naked before God, where truth can no longer be hidden and pride has no substance to give it form, there is where a person awakes from his false dream to the reality of God.

And there, one discovers the true purpose for which intoxication was invented by God. Here is the addiction that truly adds life instead of taking it away. It is the intoxication with the Lord of Joy and Love, of which all earthly intoxications are just shadows and corruptions, cheap and nasty imitations that take away life rather than bestowing it. When one is intoxicated with the love and joy of God, every ‘drug’ loses its attraction. There is no longer any danger of mistaking the means for the end.

Original blog available at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2012/06/11/a-subtle-snare/

That They May Be Saved, Even if I Perish

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Daniel Fanous

Passage: Mark 10:17-31

Perhaps the most famous words in this gospel are the words that Christ teaches. He says, “For with God, nothing will be impossible.” But these words are misplaced, misinterpreted, taken out of context, and then used for everyone to put on the walls. I remember when I was studying for my HSC, my mum put these words all over my desk: with God, all things are possible – as if God’s intent and purpose was for me to get the highest possible mark. People say it when they’re going through tough times: with God, all things are possible. And even though it’s beautiful, the problem is that Christ is speaking those words in a very particular context.


Laying down my life for others – that is impossible. It is possible, perhaps, to lay down your life for friends and family, but for people you don’t know, even enemies, it is impossible. That is the context of Christ saying that with God all things are possible. And it’s really important we understand it like that. This entire gospel is a response to a question – a man who is wealthy comes to our Lord and asks: “what shall I do that I might inherit eternal life?” After Christ tells him the commandments, the man says: “all these things I’ve done since my youth” – I have done everything commanded of me. I’ve obeyed the scriptures. But Christ says there is one thing he lacks – Christ says “take up your cross and follow me”. And it says that he was sad and sorrowful… because he couldn’t lay down his life for others. He couldn’t follow Christ to the cross. All that he was doing was good and righteous. But unless it was tied and directed to that last command, it is fruitless.

Christ says to take up your cross and follow Him. Follow him there to lay down His life for others, for us. And unless I have that feeling in my heart that my life is worthless in comparison to those around me, and I am willing to lay it down for others, everything else I do has no purpose, and no fruit. It’s as St Paul says: even if we give our bodies to be burnt, martyred, and I don’t have love, it is fruitless. It us useless. It is senseless noise, like a clanging cymbal, making noise with no direction. (1 Corinthians 13:1). Christ said to us: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you.” (John 13:34)


There’s nothing new in the commandment to love one another. This was taught in the Old Testament. The difference here is to “love one another; as I have loved you”, by laying down my life for you. Even those who I don’t know, who aren’t family or friends, for those who abuse me – I lay down my life for them.


So when Christ says that with God things all things are possible, He means to love and lay down ones life. There’s a remarkable story of the desert fathers in the fourth century, about St Anthony the Great (who was called this not only because he was one of the first, but because he was considered the greatest one). When monks and other people would see him, they’d all go silent, and say that the great one was among them – someone who was transfigured with the light of Christ. When people would see him, the monks would see him they would all go silent. And they would say the great one is among them, someone that was transfigured with the light of Christ. St Anthony therefore prayed to God and said, “Lord, I love you to such a degree that I cannot imagine that anyone would love you as much as I do.”


God then directed St Anthony to a certain cobbler living in Alexandria. St Anthony left the desert to find this cobbler and asks: are you the one the Lord showed me when I prayed asking if anyone loved the Lord more than I did? I expected a monk, an ascetic, a hermit, but he showed me a cobbler. What is it that you do?” The man then explained that there was nothing he did particularly: he gave a third of his income to the church, a third to the poor, and a third he kept. St Anthony looked at him and laughed. This man had sacrificed some, St Anthony had sacrificed everything to go live in poverty in the desert. Surely there was more to it. So he asked the cobbler again: “what do you do in your heart?”


The man responded with these words: “I do nothing special. Only as I work, I look at those who pass by me and and pray that they may be saved and that only I will perish.” That was it. Not a feeling or emotional reaction or empty words. They were the prayers of his heart each and every day. Let these pagans who don’t know God be saved, and let me perish.


Jesus says: “One thing you lack: take up your cross and follow me.” He says: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

For the cobbler, that lead his heart in one direction, to pray that everyone around him would be saved, even if that would mean that he would perish. It was that which made him greater than St Anthony, the greatest ascetic who gave up everything to live in the middle of the desert, in celibacy, in poverty, in obedience and in daily struggle. Because his heart became like Christ’s heart, aching with the love that Christ’s heart aches with for those around us, that he was ready to lay down his life for those he didn’t even know.


This is not something foreign to us. Moses prays when the Lord was about to destroy his people (Exodus 32). He says: “Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” (verse 32) He begs the Lord to blot out the sins of the people around him, and if not, to take his name out of the Book of Life.


St Paul writes to the Romans: “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:3). St Paul’s whole life was for Christ, but even then, he was willing to be cursed and separated from Christ for his brethren to be saved. Their hearts, like the hearts of the cobbler, ached with the love of Christ for everyone, even the haters, the abusers and the spiteful. This is what Christ meant when He said that with God all things are possible.


Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, who was a an incredible Russian Bishop in England, some years ago once told this story: after World War Two, in the Jewish concentration camps, a piece of paper was found. It had a man’s last words, before seeing his friends and family die and dying himself, which said:

Lord, when you come to this earth to judge, do not condemn the people that have done these atrocities to us. Do not hold against them the cruelty of our suffering and the violence in our despair. But look at the fruits which we have borne: patience, humility, fortitude, forgiveness, loyalty, solidarity. May these fruits be accounted in their salvation.


He doesn’t asked the Lord to remember how they harmed and killed and murdered for no reason but their ethnicity. He says, look at our fruits and account that to them. It’s a remarkable attitude. I don’t know who wrote that piece of paper, whether they were a Jew or not, but it was someone regardless in whom Christ dwelt, because this is the heart of Christ – that He lays down his life for all. He says like the cobbler: “that they may be saved, let me perish”. He says like Moses: “if you can’t save them, blot me out from the Book of Life.” He says like Paul: “let me be accursed from Christ if only my countrymen would come to know Him”.


Jesus says: “One thing you lack: take up your cross and follow me.” He says: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you.” This feeling must be mine if I follow Christ. I must lay down my life for those around me, even those who pass me by and my enemies. This is the thing that weighs my heart. If I care only for my family, only for my friends, only for my own, in my heart is not Christ’s heart.


So let us turn to Him in our hearts that we may feel His love for the world. That is the centre of prayers in our religion, the centre of the Eucharist in the Orthodox Church. During the institution in the mass, we say: “He instituted for us this great mystery of godliness – the Eucharist – being determined to give Himself up to death for the life of the world.” May we give ourselves to the life of the world. Glory be to God forever, Amen.

Listen to the sermon here!

Who Is My Enemy?

Who Is My Enemy?

By Monica

Originally seen on Becoming Fully Alive blog site, 26 Nov 2015.

I believe in a common humanity. Practically, that means that we are not individuals, but persons who are in relationship with each other. Most importantly, it means that there is a common thread that is stitched through the bone and sinew of us all; a knot anywhere, affects us all. As Martin Luther King once said,“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Beyond race, culture and religion, we are all made in the image and likeness of God. We all possess frail hearts, we all desire to love and be loved. We all long to find safety and belonging in the world. We all hurt and we fear, we stumble into awkward moments, into our own chaos and anger. We are the same beneath these beautiful layers of skin and confusion. We are all the same kind of broken. And in our broken, common humanity, redemption desires to tell the tale of us all, because there is no one beyond grace.

Yet how many people have we deemed unworthy of grace? How many souls have we too easily condemned?

“Enemy” is a strong word. Strong enough to make us distance ourselves from it and deny that it plays a part in our lives. But when Christ spoke of enemies, he spoke simply; an enemy is someone who stands in the way of our freedom, dignity, our capacity to grow and love, someone who attacks us or our country. An enemy most commonly exists within the person whom we are avoiding.

When the lawyer spoke to Jesus asking how he was to enter the kingdom of heaven, He answered him simply; “love your neighbour as yourself.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29). Though the words of the Bible are clear and simple, just like the lawyer, we seek justification. Love my enemy? Who is my enemy? Surely Jesus didn’t mean ISIS, surely He didn’t mean the human responsible for my deepest hurts?

But what if the ones we name offenders can be freed to love?

‘They are people who, if loved, helped, and trusted, can in some small way recognize their faults and their brokenness and can grow in humanity and in inner freedom.” -Jean Vanier

What if humanity rose up to forgive? Like the sacred hearts of Katja Rosenberg, Antoine Leiris and Arturo Martinez. What if we extended forgiveness regardless of our hurts and our rights, and followed the sacred Word that brings all healing? For us to forgive, we must yearn for unity and peace, yearn for the oneness to be united in mind, in heart and in spirit. If we love and desire for all to be free to bear fruit, we will be a people heavy for forgiveness. We will live full and whole that we are no longer driven by our desire to be filled and prove ourselves worthy but we will yearn for the growth of all people in peace and in unity. To be a peacemaker, we must make peace with ourselves and we must make peace with those around us. We must believe that we are all a part of the suffering. We have all hurt and been hurt. When we point out darkness, we must remember to point back at our own souls. It is not easy to see beyond our own suffering, sometimes it is blinding. It is not easy to accept forgiveness or to forgive; it is a struggle.

‘ When we dare to care, then we discover that nothing human is foreign to us, but that all the hatred and love, cruelty and compassion, fear and joy can be found in our own hearts. When we dare to care, we have to confess that when others kill, I could have killed too. When others torture, I could have done the same. When others heal, I could have healed too.’ -Henri Nouwen

The truth is our enemies can often tell us a lot more about us than our friends can. The way we respond to our enemies will tell us the true state of our hearts; if we are hearts walking in forgiveness or if we walk in resentment.

Prayer for my Enemies

“Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless and do not curse them. They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world. They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself. They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments. They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish. Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a fly. Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background. Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand. Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep. Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out. Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment. Bless my enemies, O Lord.

Even I bless them and do not curse them. Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me: So that my fleeing will have no return; So that all my hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs; So that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul; So that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger; So that I might amass all my treasure in heaven; Ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life. Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.

One hates his enemies only when he fails to realise that they are not enemies, but cruel friends. It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies. Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and my enemies. A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands. For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.”

–Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic

Original blog post available at- https://becomingfullyalive.com/who-is-my-enemy/

Discipleship through words

St Luke’s transcribed sermon by Anthony Sharkawi.

One of the major themes of today’s Gospel is discipleship as the Lord said;

“Whoever of who does not forsake all that he has, cannot be My disciple.”

Discipleship, very simply, just means to be a follower of someone. Over time, discipleship has been done in different ways over time. One example is Pope Kyrillos; Pope Kyrillos was a disciple in a unique way to a man who lives centuries before he did, St Isaac the Syrian. Pope Kyrillos would do this by reading his teachings and absorbing them daily.
Recently, upon talking to a servant at St Mark’s, she was telling me how she was a disciple. The way she did it was through listening to a certain priest’s sermons while in the car. In a way, by absorbing the teachings of this priest, she becomes his disciple.

Another way that people become disciples is by physically following them, and this was the way it was done in Jesus’ time. Jesus was physically followed by the twelve, and that is how they became His disciples. One of the modern ways this is done is with the army. Just like Jesus says, “Whoever of who does not forsake all that he has, cannot be My disciple”, the people in the army actually do that. They leave their family and go follow a commander who essentially tells them what to do.

There is a very interesting account from WW2, where a certain group was told what to do that really could have got them killed but did it anyway. They were known as ‘the ghost army’ and their assignment in the war was to hold a line of battle with inflatable toys. They had inflatable tanks and inflatable soldiers to deceive enemies regarding the number of people they have. This is discipleship in an extreme way because they listened to something that didn’t make any sense, but in the end, it worked out.

The one common thread between all these disciples though, is that they heeded word. Whether it was Pope Kyrillos that heeded St Isaac’s word, the servant at St Mark’s listening to the priest’s word, or a person at the army listening to the commander’s words. So, words are a big way in which we can become disciples.

Take notice of something in all these verses;

“Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”

“The word of God is truth who effectively works in those who believe.”

“For the word of God is living and powerful.”

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

So, the word of God is a weapon for when Satan attacks us. So, when I feel down, I use the word of God to bring me back up, remembering that Jesus came to save the world and all sinners of whom I am chief. Then we are told that the word of God effectively works in those who believe, so it does something in us. Then in Hebrews it says that it is living and powerful, so it’s not like a book that we open, and it has no effect on our lives. Then Colossians tells us to use the word of in us, telling us to let it dwell in us.

When we were children, in Sunday school we had to learn a verse from the bible before we leave the lesson that day. We may think that this is childish, but the truth is that we are the kids if we think this is too childish for us. When was the last time that we deliberately took this sword, this effective, living, and powerful thing, and let it dwell in our minds?

Recently, I had a lot of work to do and generally, my wife noticed that I’d fall sometimes asleep while we pray together at night. And so, she told me that whatever I got to do I could do it just make sure you pray first then do it. Generally, we go through the midnight prayer from the Agbeya together. So, I listened, and I really learned this;

I discovered what the secret was to David’s prayers. In the midnight prayer, the longest psalm, 119, is there and it’s broken into 22 parts. I just want you to focus on what David mentions in every single part of this Psalm;

Part 1;

“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.”

Part 2;

“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”

Part 3;

“Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word.”

Part 4;

“My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your word.”

Part 5;

“Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You.”

Part 6;

“Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord – Your salvation according to Your word.”

Part 7;

“Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope.”

Part 8;

“You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words.”

Part 9;

“You have dealt well with Your servant, O Lord, according to Your word.”

Part 10;

“Those who fear You will be glad when they see me Because I have hoped in Your word.”

Part 11;

 “My soul faints for Your salvation, But I hope in Your word.”

Every single part of that Psalm that isn’t even written in parts has to refer to the word of God. And something even scarier is that every single sentence has reference to the word of God. This is seen in part 22;

“Let my cry come before You, O Lord;
Give me understanding according to Your word.
Let my supplication come before You;
Deliver me according to Your word.
My lips shall utter praise,
For You teach me Your statutes.
My tongue shall speak of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteousness.
Let Your hand become my help,
For I have chosen Your precepts.
I long for Your salvation, O Lord,
And Your law is my delight.
Let my soul live, and it shall praise You;
And let Your judgments help me.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
Seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.”

Imagine writing something and every single word is based on the word of God. The bottom line is that discipleship can really be done by words. In every single sentence, Kind David somehow speaks about precepts, judgments, statutes, law, or word of God. Practically for us, sometimes we ignore the most powerful thing God has given us; His word. A lot of times, circumstances bring us down but how often do we let the word of God bring us back up?

This is King David’s secret, he used to word of God every day.

I remember something that Abouna Anthony from the monastery taught me. When King David says in the Psalms the “all day I meditate on Your word”, this does not just mean that he would just meditate or think on God’s word but rather he would repeat the word through the day. How beautiful if we opened the word of God every morning and took a promise from God every day and repeat it throughout the day.

So, just to finish; discipleship we learn through words. In these words, we find salvation and we find our hope, our peace, our life, and our joy.

Glory be to God forever. Amen.

Discontentment with Prayer

Discontentment with Prayer

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Originally seen on Fr Antonios Kaldas blogsite, 27 June 2012

It strikes me that many people in the Coptic tradition spend a lot of their lives being discontented with their prayer life. “I don’t pray enough”; “I don’t focus”; “I don’t feel much”.

Now there’s nothing wrong with desiring a deeper, more genuine dialogue with God. What is more important to our being than this? But it is also true that human nature is to shy away from things with which we are discontented. They make us feel bad, and so we avoid them if we can. Hence the struggle that many face to pray. It is not that they do not wish to be with God – it is that in their minds, prayer has become solidly attached to an uncomfortable feeling of failure or guilt or vague restlessness, a tone that makes them avoid prayer whenever possible.

This has to be one of the cleverer tricks of the devil to keep those who sincerely desire the presence of God away from experiencing it. Imagine the opposite. Imagine if prayer were instead attached to feelings of joy, peace and love. Who in their right minds would avoid that?

The question then becomes how one is to rescue prayer from the muddy negative attitudes that so easily encrust it and hide its true beauty. Here are some musings from a fellow struggler…

  • Don’t think of prayer as a duty. Duties are things we just have to do, whether we like it or not. Prayer just shouldn’t be like that in a relationship of love. Imagine how a wife would feel if her husband felt that spending time with her was a duty.
  • Don’t watch the clock. Don’t count the words.  Let it be a natural thing. Here I am, and here is God. Let us meet. He is in me and surrounds me. God is here. Who needs a clock?
  • Enjoy your prayers. Sweeten them with your favourite tunes. Pray with a smile on your face. Rejoice that you have the opportunity to connect with your Creator.
  • Focus on God, not yourself. Who do you think about when praying? It is so easy to be focused on oneself – God help ME. God forgive ME. God change ME. These are not bad prayers, it’s just that if these are the only prayers you pray, that’s a pretty one-sided relationship. Try to forget the ME sometimes and just focus on HIM. It is in losing ourselves that we find our true selves.  The best way to see yourself is reflected in the loving eyes of Christ.
  • Don’t get bogged down in repeating the same things mechanically every day. Sure, there are some things we need to share with God every day, like expressing our gratitude and confessing our sins. But every day brings new things to be grateful for, and new sins to confess. Your own inner life is constantly changing every day, so share that dynamic life with Him who never changes. He is your rock, your immovable point of reference in a confusingly liquid world.
  • Study the formal prayers. Many people go through their whole life having only ever encountered the formal prayers like the tasbeha, the Agbia and the liturgy in “quick mode”.  In other words, they only ever use their words in praying them at normal speed. But you can’t really get into the deep meaning of those prayers at this speed. You remember your English lessons at school (with at least some fondness, I hope)? Reading a poem the first time often only gave you a vague sense of what it was about, but it was only when you read through again more carefully, stopped to think about individual phrases and how the whole thing hangs together, discussed it with teacher and classmates, and wrote your interpretations of it that your really discovered its profound meaning and beauty. Formal prayers are no different. If you want to enjoy them, then study them, think about them, discuss them and write about them. Then every time you pray them at normal speed, they will mean so much more.
  • Every thought is a prayer. Remember that God is He “in whom we live and move and have our being”. Every thought you think is visible before God, and therefore every thought you think is a kind of prayer, if only you realised it. Realise it! The person who constantly shares their inner life with God throughout the day finds it so much easier to pray when they shut off all distractions to focus solely on that dialogue with God. Indeed, prayer becomes something you crave, for you find the distractions annoying and rejoice when you can escape them and be focused. (Of course, that may just be my male brain talking – women are so much better at multi-tasking!)

I genuinely believe that there is nothing sweeter in this life than those times when we connect with the Infinite, Eternal, All-loving I AM; the sole and perfect Truth from which all reality flows. Or on another level, we connect with the loving Father who cares for us with such minute care that He even counts the hairs of our heads. How could we ever allow negative feelings attach to such a beautiful experience?

Original blog available at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2012/06/27/discontentment-with-prayer/#more-648

FOR ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST

April 20, 2018

to live is christ.jpg

Originally seen on Fr Anthony’s blog (20 April. 2020),

This is a guest post from Marco Attia, an Orthodox Christian blogger from Melbourne, Australia whose goal in writing is to “inspire you to live a life of faith, purpose and spiritual growth”.  You can read more of Marco’s work on his blog, Spiritually Grounded, or by following him on Twitter or Facebook.  If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

(c) Fr Anthony Messeh (2018). For Me, to Live is Christ. Available at http://www.franthony.com/blog/for-me-to-live-is-christ.

We’ve all heard St Paul’s famous words in Philippians 1:21 in which he boldly declares: “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Powerful words aren’t they!? But have you ever stopped to think about the implications of such words? After all this isn’t just catchy slogan found on printed mugs and tees for the hipster Christian to wear loud and proud – are they? Certainly not!

These powerful words could have a huge impact on our lives, and have the potential to turn the world upside down if we are to take them more seriously.

LIFE IS CHRIST

What’s interesting is that Paul did not write these words in an attempt to be an eloquent writer, nor was he anticipating his message to make the final cut of the New Testament. Rather he meant every word he penned because his letter to the Philippians was written as he was awaiting his imminent fate… death. More so, Paul wrote to the Philippian community to strengthen them through their own struggles and persecution. So for Paul dying was imminent and likely, and would finally unite him with His beloved Lord, but if he were to go on living, then his Life is grounded in Christ. Either way, Paul’s life is Christ’s. 

GROUNDED IN CHRIST

But what does being grounded in Christ look like? The answer to that is apparent when we look at Christ’s earthly ministry. When we examine how Christ lived His life, we quickly come to realize that St Paul is referring to Christ’s love. The Lord taught in love, lived in love, rebuked in love and ultimately died in love. Ultimately, through His incarnation, Christ showed us who God is…And God is LOVE!

Christ did all this, in love, for you and I!

IT’S ALL ABOUT LOVE

The fundamentals of the faith and of all Orthodox theology can be summed up in only three words… God is LOVE. The Gospel is a message of Love. The Holy Trinity is a communion of love between three persons of one divine essence. And because man is created in the image and likeness of God, we are created to share and live in love. It is therefore love that makes us Christ-like, the more I love, the more I imitate the Lord who is Love.

LOVE IN ACTION

Unfortunately, today’s society has greatly skewed our understanding of love. We have been led to believe that love is that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you meet that nice girl on the train, or the sensation you feel upon receiving your brand new iPhone X. But this is far from the truth, this is not love!

Love is an action not an emotion. Paul shows us precisely what love is by personifying it for us in 1 Corinthians 13. If love were a person, they would be characterized by the following traits. 

In a nutshell, love gives of itself! Love is sacrificial. So much so that the Lord Himself testifies that ‘Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends’ – John 15:13. And this is precisely what Christ did for us, His love was ultimately manifested by his sacrifice on the Cross.

SACRIFICE IS THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE

So we too in order to manifest our love for God and for others must learn to speak the language of love – sacrifice! And this is no easy feat. Love is challenging because it requires that we put to death something that means so much to us…our ego.

This idea has become so foreign to us due to the influence of the secular society in which we live. We live in a self-absorbed culture, where we are told to ‘look out for number 1’, and phrases such as ‘self-image’, ‘self-esteem’, and ‘self-respect’ show just how ‘self-ish’ we are becoming.

We have become the ‘selfie’ generation, and that makes it hard to look beyond ourselves. Whilst there is nothing inherently wrong with looking out for ourselves, there are countless opportunities to experience love that is out of this world when we lay down our ego for God and for others.

It is precisely the giving of ourselves that leads us to experience the insurmountable joy that St Paul alludes to when he affirms: ‘Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice…’ – Philippians 2:17-18.

Do you want to be glad and rejoice? You can do so through your good works and acts of kindness towards others. And through the sacrifices you make for the sake of God and those around you. You can truly light up the world by living for others, and that’s what it means to live for Christ.

Using Your Talents

Prayer

My dearest Father,

You have blessed me with so many talents at my disposal. When I think of how little I have used them for Your glory, I am deeply embarrassed. Teach me to dig in the ground to retrieve my talent, and work tirelessly to use it for Your service.

Help me fight off laziness and fear, so that I may hear those Joyful words – Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.