Author: ramez

Ask In My Name

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

Passage John 16:23-33

“Ask in My Name” – a phrase repeated by Christ throughout this passage. This is a promise from our Lord – Christ is saying, “I promise if you ask the Father in My Name, you will receive.”

That’s a very bold promise. This is a huge commitment to make.

“Until now, you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” – John 16:24.

What does this actually mean? What are we allowed to ask for? Can I ask for materialistic things, a car, a phone? What is the Lord promising us today?

The four key words He says are, “Ask in My Name.” If we take each of those words individually, we understand His promise.

ASK

He wants us to ask! We shouldn’t assume that He knows what we want already. He knows what we need but He still wants us to ask for it. When we ask for it, we are admitting that we need Him. We ask and when we receive, we are thankful for we know it came from Him. If I don’t ask, I will never realise that He is the source. I will never truly realise that I need Him. The important step that He asks first, is to ask. This is not a burden, but a privilege. We are given the opportunity to ask of God.

I remember a time when one of our students was going through hardship and he came to me and asked me to speak with the Dean of his university to explain his situation. I called the secretary of the dean and she told me I couldn’t speak to him without an appointment. I asked to make an appointment, she came back and told me that he wouldn’t speak with me, but I could write him a letter. I wrote him a letter and never heard back from him. It was unlikely that he even read my letter.

This made me realise that if the Dean of a University was too important that he couldn’t make time to speak to me, let alone read my letter, but where does he stand in comparison to God? Today, Christ is telling us to just come to Him! Come talk to Me, I’m here, I’m ready, you don’t need an appointment. This is our God. He is the King of all kings but He humbles Himself to hear MY prayers. When Christ says, ask, it is an honour, a blessing, a gift, to ask the Creator of the Universe, and we should take full advantage of this.

IN

What are we in? We are in Christ. When we ask, we belong to Christ. When we belong to Him, we stand before the Father, in Christ. Imagine Christ is the One asking, and we are in Him. Could the Father say no to Christ? Never, so we ask IN Christ. When we belong to Him and are a part of Him, there is nothing that we cannot ask of the Father.

MY

My kids have been asking for a Nintendo Switch. I don’t want them to become addicted to games and screens. They beg and plead but I know this is not good for them. I explained to them saying, “I want you to understand that if you ask for something that is good for you, I will always say yes. Ask me for something that is bad for you, I will say no. If you want a book to read, I will go to the bookshop for you right now and get it for you. If you want a soccer ball, that’s good for your fitness, we’ll go get a soccer ball. If you want a new bike, that good for you to exercise, we’ll go get a new bike. Ask me things that are good for you.” Now, they ask according to what is good for them. My will for them, to be good and well-rounded children. God has a will for us, and He wants us to ask according to His will, and not our will.

If I ask God to give me the strength to fight temptation, what will He answer? His answer will be yes, it’s a given. If I ask for peace, His answer will be yes, given. If I ask God for holiness, yes here it is.

We ask according to His Name and according to His will for our lives. When we are in Him, we begin to know His word. When we are in Christ, we know Him, we know His will for us, we know if the answer will be yes or no, this is good for you or this is not good for you.

NAME

The name of Jesus is powerful. In Jewish tradition, the name of somebody held significance. It was not just a nice sounding name. The name held significant meaning, and God changed a person’s name based on significant events. Abram to Abraham. Sarai to Sarah. Jacob to Israel. God has changed people’s name for a reason. The Jews would not refer to God as YHWH. The Hebrew word was too holy to utter, so they used Adonai (which meant Lord). They used this as a substitute. So, we know that just the name of Jesus Christ is powerful.

We say not to use the Lord’s name in vain for it is powerful. There is a beautiful prayer called the Jesus prayer that goes like this, “My Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.”

It’s a simple prayer that has come from the repetition. The monks of the early church would repeat this. They called it the Arrow Prayer, because in uttering the name of Jesus Christ, we invoke the power of the name of Jesus Christ to have mercy upon us.

This is a reminder of the gift of asking, anytime, anywhere, anything. All we need to do is to be in Him, to know Him, to belong to Him, to know His will. When we ask in His name, we ask according to His will, and His will becomes ours.

The Sword of the Spirit

The Armour of God Part 5

By Andrew Gad

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” – John 15:7  

A priest tells the following story regarding the value of reading the Bible.

A student received an offer to study interstate, accepted it and left his whole family behind to pursue his dream course. His father missed him very much, and would write him letters every week, checking up on him, updating him and most importantly, letting him know how much he was missed. Initially, the son would eagerly wait for his father’ letters, replying almost instantly and cherishing each and every word written in these letters. However, as time passed and life’s distractions got the better of him, the son began to neglect reading his father’s letters. At first, he would read one letter and skip the next one, but eventually, he would not even open the letters- leaving them to pile up on his desk.

The father missed his son very much, and was extremely worried, wondering why his son stopped replying to his letters. Filled with immense love for his son, he took time off work and decided that his son was due for a visit. The son woke up one morning to loud knocking on the door- to his surprise, it was his father! “Dad I’ve missed you so much!” the son exclaimed, as the pair embraced upon their reunion. The father then sat down in his son’s room, and saw a pile of unopened letters sitting there on his desk. Immediately, he was extremely saddened and taken aback, with tears in his eyes- “Son, for months I’ve been writing to you with no response. I was extremely worried about you. Have you not even been opening my letters?”. The son was greatly humiliated, and sat their speechless, unable to justify or explain himself to his father. The father had spent a great amount of time writing these letters, and the son could not even find five minutes every week to read them?

Now replace the son with yourself, the father with God and the letters with the Bible. Isn’t this a story which sounds all too familiar?

How many times have we come back home after a long day of lectures or study and thought to ourselves…“I’ll probably just give the Bible a miss today” or “I already read the Bible yesterday, I’ll read it again tomorrow”.

Why do we often complain that we have no direction in life? That our prayers aren’t being answered? That we feel anxious, worried or distressed? That we haven’t overcome that annoying, repeated sin, no matter how much we try? Why does God always comforts and reveals things to other people, yet never to me?

Maybe the answer is simple? Perhaps we have the key in our hands, but we refuse to use it? Just like our body needs food in order to survive and function, so too do our souls need the word of God in order to survive and thrive throughout the dilemmas, decisions and hardships that we face each and every day.

When a woman from the crowd saw Jesus walking through the streets, she cried out, glorifying St. Mary and exclaiming: “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You” (Lk 11: 27).  Jesus, instead of agreeing with her, turned around and corrected her, saying: “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28). That’s right! Even though St. Mary was considered blessed enough to be the Mother of God, Jesus Himself says that there is an even greater blessing available to those who hear the word of God (which is the Bible) and keep it!

To be as blessed as St. Mary? This alone should be enough encouragement for us to read the word of God, study it diligently and transform our lives!

Now that we know the great blessings available to those who read the Bible diligently, let’s talk about some of the ways in which the Bible can genuinely transform our lives.

  1. The Bible is a “light to our path”:

In life, we are all faced with big decisions- what university course to study, what job offer to accept, whether it’s really worth moving away from home- and the list goes on and on. Many people make decisions based on fear, others based on advice they’ve heard, and others just leave it all up to chance! But in Psalm 119: 105, David the psalmist teaches us that the word of God can and should be used to direct our steps and guide each and every decision that we make.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”

But how can the Bible be used to guide such decisions- it just doesn’t seem to make any sense? The word of God is just like a lamp- it won’t show you the whole path all at once, but it will provide you with enough light to see one step, and then the next step, and then the next step. The Bible tells you to “Love your enemy”- that’s the first step. Take it, then the Bible will tell you to “watch and pray”- that’s the second step. Then the Bible will tell you: “The lamp of the body is the eye”. That’s the third step, and so on. And so, by following the words of the Bible step by step, you’ll find that God has just directed you along the entire path.

  • The Bible cleanses our thoughts:

The Paradise of the Fathers tells a story of a monk who was struggling with a particular sin, and went to his confession father asking for guidance. His confession father listened to his complaint, gave him a bucket with a small hole in it, and asked him to go fill it up at the well and report back to him. The younger monk was confused at this request, but out of obedience did exactly what was asked of him. By the time he went back  to his confession father, all the water had seeped out through the hole and the bucket was empty.

His confession father asked him to do the same thing again, and out of obedience, the younger monk did exactly that. After the third or fourth time, the younger monk became frustrated at the waste of time, complaining to his confession father: “Father, can’t you see that there is a hole in the bucket, and every time I fill the water, it seeps out!”. The confession father replied: “My son, even though the water has seeped out, can’t you see that the bucket is now much more clean than it was when I first gave it to you?”. This is exactly what happens when we read the Bible- even if we feel that it is not having a strong effect- it cleanses and purifies our heart, allowing for God to reside and dwell inside us. We just have to persist and keep on reading.

The word of God is your adversary if you want to live in ungodliness, but if you are an adversary to ungodliness, the word of God is your friend.

  • The Bible is an answer to our prayers:

The word prayer in Arabic is extremely powerful, and means “connection” or “relationship”. Now for any relationship to be successful, it needs input from both parties. Often we talk to God through prayer, and then wonder…why isn’t God answering me? Is He not listening to my prayer? Is He really there? Does He really listen? Now even though God can communicate with us in mysterious ways, 99% of the time, God will use the Bible to respond to our prayers.

Feeling worried?

The answer is in the Bible: “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”- Mat 11: 30

Feeling depressed?

The answer is in the Bible: “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears. And delivers them out of all their troubles” – Psalm 34: 17

Needing guidance?

The answer is in the Bible: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” – James 1: 5

Feeling alone? Read the story of the Samaritan woman.

Feeling guilty beyond the point of repentance- Why not give the story of the prodigal son ago?

And the list goes on and on.

A final thought- imagine an extremely poor man. Now imagine a rich man who sees him, has compassion upon him and hands him an envelope with one million dollars. Now imagine that the poor man takes this envelope, puts it in his drawer at home, and continues living the rest of his life in poverty! What a great loss! How foolish would this man be! We too, have been given an envelope of much more value than a million dollars. Will we open it or keep it closed till it’s too late?

Many Mansions

Many Mansions

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Samuel Fanous

The Gospel provides us with a lovely image of death. Christ says “In my Father’s house there are many mansions.” This imagery is sometimes lost because he said this to poor fisherman, rather than the rich. Thus, it was something glorious for the people present. He gave them the perfect image of death. He said that everything that you longed for in life will be received at death. You will have it in the Father’s kingdom.

 If we reflect on Christ’s references to death, most of them are joyful and positive. Very few are negative. The Kingdom of Heaven will be a glorious place. Christ attempts to inform the people that the Kingdom of God is a happy experience.

When people think about John’s Revelation, people think of the apocalypse and horror. But that in fact was not John’s focus. Rather, he aimed to provide a message of comfort to those who were in persecution. Upon close analysis, although it has scary imagery and judgements towards Rome and evildoers, it was a message of comfort to the believers.

“God will wipe away every tear.”

These are all messages of comfort. The messages of fear are those opposed to God. They are told to be fearful, the persecutors, the Jews. To His own people, he provides a message of hope, that there will be many mansions and will live comfort. Christ was portraying the perfect image for the people present during His sermon.

However, nowadays there is a changed perception towards death. One filled with fear and anxiety. Perhaps this is due to the ambiguity surrounding death. The unbelievers fear this greatly as they have no clue what to expect. What will happen after death? Where do we go? Thus, they choose to spend life not thinking about death, to focus on the present and ignore what is to inevitably come. However, we should not follow in this train of thought. We should be prepared. We must think of death often to come to the realisation that we should not fear death. What are we truly afraid of? Death is the gateway to Heaven. Why should we fear entering Christ’s Kingdom?

The day is coming for all of us. No one is exempt from encountering death. No matter a day from now or 50 years from now, it will come. To encounter that day in tranquillity and joy, we must change how we live today. If today was your last day on earth, what would you do? You must continually prepare yourself. That day will come, but will you be prepared?

? Full sermon ?

The Goods of God and Man

The Goods of God and Man

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Original post by Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site

 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, Cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9
I gave a talk on this verse yesterday at Sydney Uni Coptic Society and it made me think. Allow me to share some thoughts with you.

The thing that struck me most was the command for us to be ONE, to be whole. I am not speaking about a congregation or a family being united here, I am speaking about the individual not being divided against him/herself.

The words are very strong: ABHOR … CLING – there is no wavering here! My interpretation is that St Paul is asking us, “Who are you?” What kind of a person are you? What motivates you, and what moves you? What repels you and what sets your heart on fire?

One of the main ways we define ourselves, or think about who we are, is by what we believe, what we value, or what we think to be important or true. If I try to make up a list of these values I personally hold, I wonder what they would be? Would they all fall under the category of “good”? 

Of course they would! I wouldn’t hold those values unless I thought they were good … good for ME, that is. But that’s not necessarily ‘good’ in the sense St Paul was talking about. For him, ‘good’ is not what any individual thinks to be good, but what God thinks to be good, and there can be a very big difference between the two, and often is.

So to fulfil this verse, I have to find out what God thinks is good. That’s not so hard – it’s all in the Bible. What is hard is to let go of my own concept of good. A simple example: Someone annoys me really badly. My good: teach the idiot a lesson he’ll never forget – he deserves it, and it will make me feel so much better. God’s good: Blessed are you when men revile and persecute you … and if he strikes you on the cheek, turn to him the other … do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Which one I choose out of those two determines who I am. To CLING to what is good is not easy. There are many, many forces, both within and without me, that are trying to prise me away from what is good. This verse informs me what it takes to hang on: CLING!!! Hang on tight! Never let go! Never give up! If your grip slips, clamber it back on again quick!

And on the other side of the coin: ABHOR!!! Hate! (yes, hate!) This is what hatred was made for – for things that are evil. We are not only allowed to hate evil, we are commanded to hate evil. We must hate evil. We must shun evil, and fight it and escape it with all our mind, strength, heart and soul.

To do anything less than this is to allow oneself to be a divided person. You can’t go for two goals at the same time, when they are at opposite ends of the field! You’ve got to make up your mind whose side you’re on, and then play for that side, aim for that goal.

Only then can love truly be without hypocrisy. Hypocrisy comes from a divided soul. One part of me wants to say and teach nice things. Another part of me wants to practice sins. The two cannot be in harmony. I find I have become a hypocrite.

The Teaching of the 12 Apostles (Didache) (2nd century AD) begins with the famous words: There are two ways, one of life and one of death: but a great difference between the two ways.

And we will give the last word to Joshua: choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve … But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Original blog found at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2007/10/11/17/

The Proposal of Christ

The Proposal of Christ

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

One of the most unforgettable days in someone’s life is the day they either proposed or were proposed to. Whether good or bad, yes or no, it’s still unforgettable. The words used on the day are ingrained in your mind.

The reason why it is such a significant day is that it is a transitionary point in your life. It marks the official transition from a relationship heading preparation for a wedding and on to marriage.

On that day, there is so much love, so much hope for what it will become, and so much faith in each other.

The Jews had a different process, they didn’t get down on one knee. The process would begin when the man would bring a gift to the girl which would mark the covenant. If she accepted the gift, it was done. He then says, “I’m going to go prepare a place for you. When it’s ready I will come back and take you with me to that place and we will be there together.”

After he said this, he would leave to build an extension to his father’s house for him and his new bride. This would take approximately one year to prepare and build. The father would then determine the right time and he would go in a procession to bring his bride back to his father’s home.

What we read in the gospel of John in the last supper discourse sounds, Christ frames His departure in very similar fashion;

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know” – John 14:2-3.

In essence, this was a Jewish proposal – a transition point in the relationship of Christ and the disciples. This was now heading toward a marriage.

He stays on earth for 40 days after His resurrection, until the Ascension. The ascension we celebrate this coming week. The Ascension is major event that gets overlooked midweek, between the Resurrection and the Pentecost.

Why did Christ stay for 40 days? Why this particular number of days, why couldn’t He remain of Earth forever? If you read through scripture, every time the number 40 is used, it is a transitionary moment.

During the time of Noah, they remained in the Arc for 40 days and 40 nights. When Moses takes the Israelites out of Egypt, they wonder in the desert for 40 years searching for the Promised Land. A transitionary point in the history of Israel from being in the bondage of slavery to being heirs of God’s people in their own land.

Before Jesus begins His ministry, He spends 40 days and 40 nights in the desert where He was tempted by the devil. A transitionary point from which He would begin His public ministry and miracles.

Here, we have the Ascension that takes place 40 days after the Crucifixion. This was a transitionary moment for the disciples. From fear to courage, from not understanding who Christ was or what He was saying to being able to fully comprehend His divinity and preparing for the marriage feast that was to come.

After His ascension, we read, “And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke 24:52)

This is a strange reaction to a loved one leaving. If you really loved someone, you would not be joyful at their departure. Why were the disciples so joyful at the ascension of Christ? Because the proposal is now coming into effect.

They remembered the words of Christ, I will go to prepare a place and when it’s ready, I will take you with Me.

They were joyful to see Him leave so that when He returned, they would be going with Him. Just like the bride is joyful when her groom leaves to prepare a place for her, the disciples can say goodbye to Christ with joy. It was joy in anticipation of what is to come. They spend the next nine days waiting for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. How did they spend those nine days?

“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication” – Acts 1:14

In prayer and supplication, they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

We today, hear these words of Christ as though Christ is on one knee proposing to you, and saying, “I am going to My Father house to prepare a place for you and then I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am, you may be also.”

On the day of Ascension, we celebrate the day He leaves to prepare that place as a transitionary moment in our lives, looking toward eternity. We ought to return to our lives with joy for we wait in hope of His return when we will be with Him. We live joyful in prayer, preparing for wedding that is to come. We live in this hope, in this faith, and in this love.

? Full sermon ?

The Helmet of Salvation

The Armour of God: Part 4

By Faisal Dean

 A life ever so changing with uncertainty, regret, anxiety and unanswered questions. While seemingly negative, this brings about the basic moral ingredients taught from birth, manifested through maturity and ultimately, in preparation for tribulation.

Just as no soldier would go into battle without a helmet, we must always enter into tribulation with salvation protecting our minds. Those that wear the helmet of salvation remain steadfast in their ways and dwell within the fountain of salvation.

These compelling words of, “Take the helmet of salvation,” leave us with a great challenge. Where do we attain this helmet? If it is so essential to life, how could I have walked into tribulations without it?

 Let us start by reflecting upon the author. A life of complete surrender towards Christ saw St. Paul’s faithfulness toward Christ as he spoke to the Ephesians, “Put on the whole Armour of God.” Be bold! For in the final days, I would love that God could look upon me and say, “you have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith.”

During this time of uncertainty, anxiety and imbalance, we can only hope that we walk with the helmet of salvation. If I wear the helmet of salvation then I reject the vanities of this world and “thirst” for Christ. Is the Lord, the source of purity, balance and chastity, the source of my vision?

Pope Shenouda teaches us about persistence by begging the Lord for His blessings. For us to receive the blessings of Christ we must obtain the virtues of purity and humility: “I shall not get up from here unless I have received Your special blessing and feel that You have taken me back and counted me among your children. I do not just want You to forgive my sin, I want You to remove from my heart any love of sin, once and for all.”

When I wear the helmet of salvation, the lusts of the flesh are repelled from my thoughts. In Christ, I have power. King David writes “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow”. (Ps. 51:7).

We cannot leave Christ’s presence unless we leave armed with the helmet of salvation that protects our minds and our thoughts through faith in our Lord Christ.

When you spend time with Christ, make sure you are enterring into the greatest love story ever told. Make sure you do not leave until it seems that Christ could not possibly love anyone more than He loves you. Do not deprive yourself of this love that is freely given to the one that accepts it.

Just as any relationship, we endure times of dryness and uncertainty, but this should not cause us to walk without the helmet of salvation. Even in these times, we must remember that salvation is more than mere feelings, but is as important as oxygen is to breathe.

The remembrance of Christ helps us remains steadfast in the faith. At each remembrance, we slowly build our relationship with Christ. If I recall that Christ is the pathway to salvation and stop doubting, nothing can stand against me and I will rest in the “Shadow of the Almighty.” We are called to walk with Christ, we are called to walk by faith, we are called to be like Christ, we are called to wear the “Helmet of Salvation.”

God Does Not Want You To Be Comfortable

God Does Not Want You To Be Comfortable

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Original post by Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site

“A completely prosperous person walking in the fullness of God has it all.”

That single sentence from Houston’s book captures beautifully the heart of the Health and Wealth Gospel. This distortion of the true Christian Gospel is just the extreme expression of a very human tendency that lies in the hearts of us all, the tendency to use God as a tool for getting what we want. We think in terms of what satisfies our basic human instincts: physical safety and health; avoidance of poverty, disease, humiliation, failure; etc. That is what we want God for: to make us comfortable.

But quite often, God doesn’t want us to be comfortable. He wants us to be comforted. Let me explain this very important difference.

To make us comfortable, God must change our circumstances. Are you suffering the discomfort of being poor? Then God makes you comfortably rich. Are you sick? Then God makes you comfortably healthy. Are you feeling like a failure? Then God makes you comfortably successful. You get the point. Being comfortable means having things around you—objects, circumstances, people—that make you comfortable, because they are what you want or what you need. In short, for God to make you comfortable, He must mould the world around you to your personal wishes.

But God often does the exact opposite of that. Who is to say that what I want is actually what is good—not just good in itself, but even good for me? It is often said that the most loving thing God can give us is not what we want, but what we actually need. And often, in this broken world and for us broken people, the road to what we truly need involves re-making us. That re-making—like breaking a badly healed bone in order to re-set it properly—is often quite uncomfortable.

We all know the mournful cries of the psalms, pleading for salvation from horrible, uncomfortable situations (e.g., Psalm 13). And Jesus Himself said that He came not to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34). Far more people felt uncomfortable with Him and stopped following Him than those who stayed—just think of the crowds who left Him when His words about eating His body and drinking His blood made them too uncomfortable (John 6). Or the rich young man who felt so uncomfortable when Jesus called him to sell all he had and follow Him that he turned and walked away (Mark 10). Not to mention the scribes and the lawyers and the Pharisees and the priests who were so uncomfortable with Jesus that they ended up crucifying Him. I could go on.

All this discomfort is the result of Light and Goodness coming face to face with darkness and brokenness. The darkness hates the Light. But it doesn’t end there.

Christ did not come just to make us uncomfortable. He came to save us. When His Light and Goodness invade our lives, we are transformed by them. Then—and here is that crucial distinction—we are not necessarily made more comfortable: our outer circumstances often do not change. Rather, we are comforted: our inner circumstances change by being illuminated by His Light and purified by His Goodness.

A beautiful image of this is found in Psalm 131:

 ‘Surely, I have calmed and quieted my soul.

Like a weaned child with his mother,

Like a weaned child is my soul within me.’

 I read that and think of St Irenaeus’ tender description of the Son and the Holy Spirit as the two hands of the Father. They reach out to me and lift me into His comforting lap, hugging me and holding me close till all the fear and anxiety have seeped away from my soul. The Father knows what good parenting is. He does not trample in anger over the world that hurts us in order to fix every little problem we have for us. God is no ‘helicopter parent.’ Rather, He encourages us, teaches us, and supports us so that we can go out and face the world ourselves. Only thus can we actually grow as human beings. Without doing everything for us, He comforts us, working inside us much more than He works on what is outside of us.

This is what it means when Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “the Comforter.” And Jesus Himself—the other hand of the Father—is also our Comforter:

 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

 Notice where exactly our peace is to be found? Is it in a world that has been fixed by God and re-moulded to make us comfortable? No! In the world you will have tribulation. Where then do we find comfort and good cheer? “In Me you may have peace.”

Health and wealth will make you comfortable, sure. But that is settling for a poor imitation. Rising above your circumstances—however uncomfortable they may be—and finding true peace in the Father, through Christ, by the Holy Spirit, now that is something worth having.

Original blog found at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2020/04/21/god-does-not-want-you-to-be-comfortable/

Finding the Light

Finding the Light

Adapted from a sermon by Fr David Shehata

Passage: John 12:35-50

Many years ago, I wanted to get a great present for my household to make life easier. I thought a robotic vacuum would be the perfect solution. The sales man described it as a miracle solution, the entire house would be clean at the push of a button. It would take it a while to navigate and get around everything but in a few weeks, it would know exactly where to go.

I took it home and tried to turn it on. I came back 30 minutes later and found it spinning in circles. I called the sales man and told him the issue and he said to give it a bit more time to adjust. I tried it in a different room, turned it on and came back after 30 minutes to find it spinning in circles.

I took it back to the sales man and he asked if I had been using it in day or the night, if I had the left the blinds closed or open. Turns out that because I had been leaving it in the dark, it didn’t know where to go.

This reminds me of the Gospel of today. Sometimes in our lives we act robotically, we only walk into areas where there are light. Have you ever tried to walk in area that is completely dark? Our lives are full of unseen territory, we don’t always know what will happen next year, next month or tomorrow even. Although we can predict certain things, there is a good chance we may stumble if we cannot see clearly.

But Christ tells us, “I am the light of the world.”

Unless you are walking in the light, then there is a good chance that you will stumble. You might just be going around in circles, and getting frustrated that you’re not moving forward. Walking in the light is something that the Lord stresses for He knows the importance of seeing for our own progress.

It makes sense, where the light is on, you can see where you’re going. We are not fearful when we walk in the light, but fear begins when we are in darkness and we cannot predict what is coming next. When we are in darkness, we are likely to fall into trouble. In the light, even if something bad is coming, it helps and it reassuring to see it first. Christ is telling us, “I know life can have tribulation, but I am the light. Stay close to Me and I will guide you.”

When we say, “Life is too hard” – It is true, being Christian doesn’t mean you won’t be exposed to trouble and the tribulation of the world. Christ even said, “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.” He acknowledges the problem, and gives us the solution, Yes, you will have hardship, but He is with you. He is the light of the world.

The devil may try to mimic the light by giving us assurance in the temporal. Our current times are the proof of that. So many that once relied on health, on riches, on success, may have found that this is now in jeopardy. God is always with us, and He is the light that remains constant in our lives. Nothing can diminish this light.

In other parts of the Gospel we hear Christ say, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16

The Lord is the source of light. If I am His son/daughter, then I can’t sit back and think that my salvation is secured. There is no such thing as a passive Christian. When Christ resides in us, we reflect His light, His glory and the way, truth and life to rest of the world. The purpose of life is to be close to God, enter into salvation and to to bring as many people with us as possible.

The beauty of our church is in the 2000 years of history of pillars of light. Both early saints and modern day saints that have walking along a path. Every path is different but the destination is the same – to be with Christ.

St Pope Kyrillos VI lived as an ascetic monk for three years in the mill. In that time, he says that he, “saw the light,” and was transformed into the hero of our church. He saw the light and then became the light.

The martyrs were being convinced to renounce their faith but they were so filled with the light that they would not let anything materialistic be taken away from them. On any Coptic icon, there is a gold metallic background. When you put a candle in front of them it reflects the light. They don’t emanate light but they reflect the light.

When we ask ourselves if we are truly Christian, a good test is to see how much we reflect Christ’s light? My responsibility as a Christian is to reflect the light of Christ. Am I fulfilling that responsibility?

There can be detrimental outcomes, like we see with St Augustine. His mother tried to bring him to Christ but when he would go to church and see how the Christians of the church acted, he wanted nothing to do with Christianity. This was until he saw St Basil – a true example of Christianity. He was transformed from the moment he saw the reflection of Christ’s light in St Basil.

This is our responsibility. What I say, what I do and the way I behave reflect my Christianity. Yes, I will fall, but how long does it take me to get back up again?

We see an example of what stopped the Pharisees from spreading Christ’s light when St John recounts, “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” – John 12:42-43.

Isn’t it incredible that I can believe in something, have faith, but because of what other people say and other worldly consequences I am stopped? How many opportunities have I had to preach, to follow the commandments and to spread the light of Christ? How many times do I second guess myself because of concerns I had for the perception of others? This is easier said than done, but we can grow in courage by spending time with Christ. When I spend time with Him, I grow in love for Him and He becomes everything beautiful in life and all else becomes meaningless in comparison.

The Lord says, “Seek ye first the kingdom and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). The things of the world will pass, they can never give us peace. Christ tells us, “I am not coming to judge, but to bring you to the Father.” Time spent with God is never regretted but in the last days, we will regret not taking the opportunity to spend time with Him. We pray and beg the Lord to help in joyful times that we see Him as the true light and we remain unmoved about the opinions of others.

?Full sermon?

Shield of Faith

Armour of God: Part 3

By Ereeny Mikhail

Each day, when we wake up, we don’t know what to expect. As humans, we can’t predict the future and the reality is, life is never going to run smoothly. Life throws many obstacles, tribulations and trials. With this we are confronted with one question; what do I do in the face of war? St Paul, in Ephesians 6:13, instructs us to take up the ‘armour of God’. There are many parts of an armour made to protect each part of the human body. However, logically, the impact of an arrow or bullet will still do some damage to the body through an armour. Thus, an essential part of armour is a shield. The shield that St Paul instructs us to take up, as soldier’s in the battlefield that we call life, is the ‘shield of faith’ (Ephesians 6:16).

According to the Cambridge Dictionary the definition of the word shield is “something or someone used as protection.” To need protection, one must face an attack or tribulation. We face these every day, whether it be disease, spiritual warfare, or problems we face in our daily life. It is inevitable that we come face to face with a bullet or an arrow. But as we said, when a solider is faced with a bullet or arrow, they hold up their shield to prevent extreme impact. Our shield is our faith. Hebrews 11:1 says this about faith; “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We may not see God, but God is present in all things. We must have faith that He will protect us.

St Paul emphasises the importance of the ‘shield of faith’ by saying ‘above all’ we should take it up to conquer in battle. But again, I ask the question, what do I do in the face of war? When all seems lost, how do I hold up my Shield of Faith? Honestly, the answer is quite simple. It is the only way. There is no worldly solution. Things cannot be controlled by worldly means. Therefore, they need to be controlled by our faith in God. I say this with confidence from my own experiences.

I reflect on an experience I had a few years ago, during my years of studying Optometry. I was an organised student who downloaded all my assessment notifications at the beginning of semester. We had a group research assignment that my group had written up together. The assignment consisted of 2 portions to submit; the first was the main assignment and the second was signatures of all the group members saying they acknowledge that everyone did an equal amount of work. The semester before we also had a group assignment with the same 2 portions. That semester one person submitted the signatures on behalf of the group, but each group member had to submit the main assignment separately onto a portal. The notification for this semester also instructed us to do the same thing. So, I submitted the main assignment whilst a friend of mine submitted the document with the signatures. 2 weeks later all my friends got their result. My portal had 0% written next to the assignment. I was very confused considering I had done a huge chunk of the assignment for my group. Approaching my friends, I said it looks like there’s a glitch in my system. Then one of them pointed out that only one of us was supposed to submit the main assignment and everyone to submit the signatures document. I was sure we did the opposite the semester before and quickly, finding the notification of assessment document, I pointed out that it said the opposite as well. I went back to the place I downloaded it at the beginning of semester and to my dismay, this document had actually been updated but since I had downloaded it very early on it said I had already viewed this and didn’t notify me of updates. Additionally, the unit chair had written a status to tell us of this change which I missed as I was on placement and very tired that week. Very upset, I approached the unit chair, to ask her what had happened. She confirmed my suspicions. I misread it all.

Angrily, I went and drafted an email to challenge this. I didn’t think it was fair, seeing I had submitted the main assignment which is where all the marks were allocated, and seeing that I had provided my signature. I then went and spoke to my spiritual guide; someone I was quite close to who for most of my life provided me with wise spiritual advice; before I sent the email. They told me to plead with the lecturer persistently but with kind words. Thinking about this, I knew this was the right thing to do. Our faith teaches us, in Mathew 7:14, to enter from the ‘narrow gate’, “because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” It is easy to tell someone off, to be angry, to use harsh words but to be kind in the face of tribulation is holding up the Shield of Faith. King Solomon teaches us in Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” I rewrote my response to my lecturer again, this time approaching her with kind words. Again, she rejected my request. I reminded myself of what my spiritual advisor said. Be persistent. Perhaps, if I was like the ‘Persistent Widow’ in Luke 18:1-8; “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily,” she will be merciful. In the end, she still rejected my request. Defeated, I let it go.

A few years later I came to apply for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), where the cut off was based on the average marks throughout my Optometry degree. On calculating my mark, I noticed I was 0.075% below the cut off. I didn’t think much of it, thinking such a small percentage below the cut off was insignificant, until I asked my supervisors if I could round up my mark in my application. They looked at me blankly, telling me it was impossible for someone to get in below the cut off and the cut off was extremely strict. This was not like an undergraduate degree where some leniency is given. On hearing this, I broke down in tears. I said, “If only I had got that 5% in that assignment that my Optometry lecturer gave me 0%, I would have got in.” I drove home from work that day with tears in my eyes. It felt as though there was no hope. I went home and read the same gospel and Luke 18:27 says; “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Although I was told it was not possible, I chose to apply. With a small bit of faith, I carried on working for the next few months. Until one day an email popped up on my browser. I got accepted. The lesson I learnt, is in the face of a problem, I held up my Shield of Faith. I was kind, persistent and had faith. God, no matter, the arrows and bullets that attacked me, protected me and because I held up the Shield of Faith, he manifested His power and made the impossible, very possible. God fights for us.

I recall another experience where I learnt that the Shield of Faith was the only option. I met the Bishop of Kenya, Bishop Paul, at the age of 18, before I entered university. I remember being in awe of this man. Listening to his faith in times of tribulation was just amazing. He talked about how he went to communities affected by Ebola to pray for them and had faith that the Lord will protect him. He told us more amazing stories, and all I could think was, I want to go to Kenya. I want to learn from this man. I want to experience the work of God. With this in mind, 3 years later, a few months prior to finishing my Optometry degree I booked my flights. I finished my final exams and with a month to go, the anxiety kicked in. What if I get Malaria? What if I drink the water and get Cholera? What if I eat the food and get some random disease? I spent the whole month before flying to Kenya with these thoughts running through my mind. They built up so much to the point that I almost cancelled my flights. I then remembered the faith that Bishop Paul had in the face of Ebola and with that faith I decided to go. During my time there, I learnt that no matter what you fear; whether it be disease, or violence, you must face it with the Shield of Faith. Every time I ate, I signed the cross, and had faith nothing would happen. Every time I entered a place where I felt in danger, I prayed. ‘Above all’, I had faith that God is the one who protects us. God is our Shield.

I’d like to end with this note; no matter how difficult a situation is, no matter how afraid you are, and no matter what obstacle, tribulation or trial you are faced with, hold up your Shield of Faith. Love as Christ taught us, and Pray as Christ taught us. He will fight for you.

“He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.” – Psalm 18:16-18

Eternal Joys

Eternal Joys

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Samuel Fanous

Whenever I’ve had a big meal before I sleep, I tend to have a reoccurring dream that night where I’m drinking a lot of water because I’m so thirsty that I’m half asleep, half awake. Funnily enough, the more I drink the less satisfied I am.

This is similar to what Christ is talking about to the Samaritan woman at the well. He speaks to her about living water rather than the water within the well. This seems to be a metaphor for something so much more profound than simple H2O. I think this is a metaphor for the restlessness of the human soul and its constant search for satisfaction. And I don’t think it is a bad thing that humans are never satisfied, it is, in fact, a beautiful thing that leads to the success of the human race. This woman worked hard to come to the well every day, knowing that the water wouldn’t satisfy her for very long. So, this offer of living water from Christ makes her recognise the need in her soul for something that would satisfy her for longer than 5-10 minutes. And the whole purpose of this restlessness of the soul is for us to find God.

Eating, drinking, lust, success, and all else are all temporary satisfactions. That doesn’t mean they are bad things in and of itself but rather they are hints from God that there is something beyond the here and the now. He lays the seeds for us to recognise that if this temporary satisfaction is so good, how much better is the eternal satisfaction of God. The joys and satisfaction of foods or praise of the world are only to whet our appetite for the eternal joys of above. When you finally move into a new house and you finally feel at home and are satisfied, that is only a foretaste of the rest we will feel in our eternal home when our souls rest in God. All these things should increase our desire for the One that can be the fulfillment of all of these joys and needs.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, we take the good that God has given us, and we do it to death until it is not good anymore. We take food for gluttony, we take our nice cozy houses and we turn them into an obsession with mansions, our praise from others becomes an obsession and a desire to always be the best, even the intimacy between our spouses becomes an uncontrollable drive that is never satisfied. We tend to want to stay in these temporary joys forgetting that there are eternal joys waiting for us if we just continue to the source of all peace.

St Augustine famously prays;

“Lord, You have made us for Yourself and our heart in restless until it finds rest in You.”

God has given all these good and simple things, let us go to the source of that goodness. Our hearts will never be restless and ever searching until it finds rest in God. It is good to be restless and always want more, but every good feeling on earth exists to remind us that God who gives these feelings can give us so much more.

C.S. Lewis says a very beautiful quote;

“if we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

If you find you are never satisfied, it is a reminder that this place is just temporary and is only a foretaste of the glory to come. Let us not mistake God for something much less than He is. Let’s not mistake Him for our success, comfort, happiness, and family; let’s not make these things our God as He is much greater than these.

Even when we find God we should not be satisfied; we should continue searching as God is like an infinite sea and the more, we search in him the more we find. When God is found by us, He fills us completely but there is still more, and we can search for more. This is how we utilise our restlessness. God satisfies us completely but leaves us panting for more.

Psalm 42 says, “As the dear pants for the water, as so my soul pants after You Oh God.”

The aching in our hearts that is always there is God telling us is that all of these joys can be found in Him. So, I think this is the call for us to not look for satisfaction in these temporary joys, so let’s try to start to go deeper into God to taste the living waters that all these things point to.

? Full sermon ?