Attaining Godly Love

Attaining Godly love

Sermon: Fr Michael Fanous
Blog: Anthony Bebawi

Bible reference- Luke 14: 25-35

“Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Continue reading “Attaining Godly Love”

Being Restored by Christ

Being Restored by Christ

By David Ibrahim

Somebody once told me that in the Old Testament there is only one character; and that character is Christ. For the first time however, I read a part of the Old Testament where I found Christ in every verse and in fact He asks us a question in almost every verse. Today’s passage, 2 Kings 4:8-35, is all about our relationship with Christ. With that lens, let’s read this text verse by verse.

v8: The notable woman from Shenum invited Elisha into her house for food every time he passed by. Like Elisha, Christ is always passing by in my life. The first question is, am I like the woman eagerly inviting Him in or do I just allow Him to pass by me.

v9-11: Now we see the woman’s invitation becoming more eager. Rather than just invite him for food, she has now reserved “an upper room” for every time Elisha passes by Shenum. Actually the upper room of a house was the place where people would go to cool down and even that she sacrificed. The second question is; do I go out of my way to make Christ feel welcome in my heart or again am I relaxed when it comes to welcoming Christ.

v12-17: When asked “Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?” the woman replied “I dwell among my own people.” What a remarkable response! She is pretty much telling Elisha it’s enough that a holy man is residing in my house. A lot of times we will serve God and even expect something in return. However this woman portrays to us a quality that is sweeter; seeking God’s holy men just for God. So the third question Christ asks us is do you seek me for who I am or for a reward?

v18-20: Is this fair what happened to the woman? Is it fair that she loses the gift she didn’t even ask for? It said at the beginning of the verse that the child grew. In this context, the Hebrew word implies that he was just learning how to walk. From now on, let us view the child as the gift of spirituality that is a result of our relationship with Christ. If we reflect on our own spirituality, we will find that as it starts to grow, sin enters and it dies out. So the question that is asked to us now is, what do I do if I am spiritually dead?

v21: This is the first response. Here we see the woman laying her dead child on Elisha’s bed. If Elisha is a type of Christ, then the bed is symbolic of the altar. So the first response is that I present myself to Christ’s altar.

v22-25: The woman told her husband to send a donkey and servants so that she can meet Elisha. Immediately, the husband asked why, today is not a holy day? Of course the husband said this because he was grieving over his son but doesn’t Satan try to do this to us as well? Whenever we are trying to resurrect our spiritual life, doesn’t the devil come in asking why? In fact, he often tells us to either delay repentance or he puts thoughts in our minds that we are not worthy of forgiveness. What is my response when I am spiritually dead? Do I seek after holiness in meeting holy men of God (the priest) like the woman or do I listen to Satan’s attempt to prohibit me from meeting Christ?

v26-30: We see here a very strong parallel between the sinner woman of the New Testament and this Shunamite woman. Both were in deep distress, clinged to the feet of a holy man of God and in both instances there was a person that was trying to prohibit them from meeting Christ (Elisha was a type of Christ). The Shunamite woman’s response is remarkable. She says to Elisha in verse 30 As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. Is this my attitude in repentance? If Satan tries to stop me, do I give in or do I hold onto Christ for dear life? This is the third response, to stick to Christ like glue.

v31-35: St Augustine has a really nice commentary on this verse. He says Elisha came in person; he was a type of our Lord who had sent His servant ahead of Him with a staff that represents the law… The dead child arose when the living man had fitted himself to him; the Lord accomplished what the staff had failed to do; grace achieved what the Law could not. It’s in these verses that we begin to see Christ’s response to my repentance. The first thing Elisha did was he stretched himself out on the child, mouth on mouth, eye on eye, etc. The fathers say that in the same way that the big man Elisha tried to fit himself on the child’s body, so also Christ the Divine, incarnated and “fit” Himself in the human flesh. The second step was that Elisha rose walked back and forth in the house. Again the fathers say that this was symbolic of Christ walking to the different cities preaching the Gospel. The third step was that Elisha went out again and stretched himself on the child again and of course this alludes to the crucifixion. After all of this, the child who was once dead sneezed seven times and his eyes were opened. Elisha’s actions resulted in the complete rising of the child (seven representing completion). What does this mean for me? When I am truly repentant, the power of Christ’s incarnation, death and resurrection is manifested and I am once again raised from spiritual death. Not only that, but I become a part of Him, “his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands” verse 34. This is the victory Christ gives us when we turn back to Him in repentance.

In our relationship with Christ, we will often encounter moments where we are spiritually dead. Like the child we become immovable and paralysed by our sin. However, when we come to Christ in true repentance, clinging onto Him, an immense Divine power is manifested and we are once again made alive in the body of Christ. May we always return back to the source of life and healing so that we may be eternally united with Him in the Paradise of Joy.

Glory be to God Amen.

Spiritual

Conferences (John Cassian)
The Crucified Jesus (Fr. Manasseh Youhanna)
On Marriage and Family life (St. John Chrysostom)
On Wealth and Poverty (St. John Chrysostom)
The Arena (Bishop Ignatius)
The Ladder of divine ascent (John Climacus)
The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis)
Jesus a dialogue with the Savious (Lev Gillet)
Practical Spirituality (Fr. Athanasius Iskander)
The Burning Bush (Fr. Lev Gillet)
The Way of a Pilgrim
Orthodox Prayer Life – the Interior way (Fr. Matthew the Poor)
Our Father (Fr. Alexander Schmemann)
Practicing the presence of God (Brother Lawrence)
Spiritual world (St. Isaac the Syrian)
Books by Fr Anthony Corianis
Acquisition of the Holy Spirit (St. Seraphim of Sarov)

Biblical

Ancient Christian Commentary of Scripture Series (Inter Varsity Press)
The Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series (Fr. Lawrence Farley)
Bible Character Series (F.B. Meyer)
Bible Commentary Series (Fr. Tadros Malaty)
Taught by God – Making sense of the difficult sayings of Jesus (Daniel Fanous)
Christ in His Saints (Fr. Patrick Reardon)
Christ in The Psalms (Fr. Patrick Reardon)
Jesus of Nazareth (Pope Benedict)
Person of the Christ (Daniel Fanous)
Life of Paul (John Pollock)

Christian Faith

Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis)
The Case for Christ (Lee Strobel)
The Case for Faith (Lee Strobel)

Orthodox Faith

The Orthodox Way (Bishop Kalistos Ware)
Becoming Orthodox (Peter Gillquist)
The Orthodox Church (Timothy Ware)
Eastern Orthodox Christianity – a Western Perspective (Daniel Clendenin)

Coptic Church

Introduction to the Coptic Orthodox Church (Fr. Tadros Malaty)
The Story of the Copts (Iris Habib El Masri)
The Coptic Orthodox Church – A Lily Among Thorns (Dr. Raafat Gindi)
Journey Back to Eden (Mark Gruber)

Church History

Four Witnesses – The Early Church in her own words (Rod Bennett)
A short history of the Early Church (Harry Boer)

Saints

Father Arseny (Bouteneff)
The Holy Fire (Robert Payne)
The life of Anthony (St. Athanasius)
St. Seraphim of Sarov (Valentine Zander)
Mother Teresa – Come be my light (Brian Kolodiejchuk)
Lev Gillet – A monk of the Eastern Church (Elisabeth Behr-Sigel)
Champion of Truth – the life of St. Athanasius (Michael E. Molloy)
A song for Nagasaki (Paul Glynn)

Church & Sacraments

The forgotten Medicine – The mystery of Repentance (Fr. Seraphim Aleksiev)
Sacramental Life (H.G. Bishop Youanis)
Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist (Brant Pitre)
Bread & Water, Wine & Oil (Fr. Meletios Webber)
Understanding the Liturgy (Fr. Athanasius Iskander)
Christ in the Eucharist (Fr. Tadros Malaty)
For the Life of the World (Fr. Alexander Schmemann)
Church Cycle Reading with the Fathers (St. Paul brotherhood)

Contemporary Issues

The Sacred Gift of Life – Orthodox Christianity and Bioethics (John Breck)
The Sword of the Prophet – Islam (Serge Trifkovic)
O Death, where is thy sting? (Fr. Alexander Schmemann)
Many years with the problems of people (H.H. Pope Shenouda)
Four Loves (C.S. Lewis)
Problem of Pain (C.S. Lewis)
Till we have faces (C.S. Lewis)

Theology

On the incarnation (St. Athanasius)
Comparative Theology (H.H. Pope Shenouda)

Service

The Paradise of Service (H.G. Bishop Youanis)
Serve the Lord with Gladness (Fr. Lev Gillet)

The Missing Prayer (Part THREE of THREE)

The Missing Prayer (Pt 3)

By: George Iskander

+ Spiritual sacrifice (Sacrificial worship)

– Hebrews 13:15 “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise…”

– In the liturgy we sing a response, “Through the pleadings…the gift of peace, the sacrifice of praise.”

This is a very interesting concept; praise is considered to be a sacrifice that we offer to our Maker.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem says,

Take courage, toil and strive zealously, for nothing will be lost. Every prayer you make, every Psalm you sing, is recorded; every alm, every fast is recorded

+ Keeps us PURE!

Imagine you are home alone, bored and lustful temptation enters your heart. One of the most powerful ways to obliterate the temptation, if running away isn’t an option, is to kneel and praise the Lord.

St. John Saba said:

The passion of adultery is extinguished by the songs of the Psalms, and the beauty of the tunes. By the pouring of the heart before God…

+ Official introduction to serve the Church sacraments

– Prepare us

– Cleanse us

– Educate us

Helps us to raise our minds out of the plaguing thoughts of the world and redirects it to God and Heaven

It also actually teaches us about theology, God’s attributes.

+ Fellowship between the believers (corporate prayer)

With prayer it is very important to have the private secret prayer in your room with the door closed, but it is equally as important to have communal prayer which establishes fellowship between your brothers and sisters in Christ. Praise, such as the Holy Psalmody achieves this.

+ Take the Psalms as our example

David the Psalmist was big on praise, his psalms are all coloured by singing God praises.

O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! Ps 8:1

Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful. Ps 147:1

How can we include praise in our prayers?

A few types of praise:

Personal
Praise of God centred wholly upon God and His eternal characteristics.
For example: His majesty, glory, power, beauty, lavish love, mercy, grace…

This is open to your own personal contemplation

Biblical
Psalms
Those who neglect the prayers of the Psalms with mediation, lose the chance of prayer according to God’s will – Father Bishoy Kamel.

– David’s Praise to God (1 Chronicles 29:10-13)

– Exodus Ch 15 – Israelites praise God for dividing the red sea and giving them freedom from the Egyptians

Physical

Prostrations before the lord, C.S Lewis comments in his book: The Screwtape Letters, that “Whatever their bodies do affects their souls” speaking about how if we kneel before the Lord with outstretched arms then our soul will be in the ideal state for prayer.

Signing

The Holy Psalmody & Hymns.

The month of Kiahk, in our Church this month is a very powerful month of revival of our spirits as we raise our hearts in beautiful, selfless praise before our Lord. Weekly Tasbeha is offered at church.

Singing psalms is a medicine for healing the soul (St. Athanasius)

May God teach us to unlock the secret of praise in our prayer life and reap the rewards as it transforms us and gives us a taste of the joy of heaven.

Glory be to God forever, Amen.

The Missing Prayer (Part TWO of THREE)

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The Missing Prayer

By George Iskander

Why is praise so important?

By God’s grace, after reading this, we can all endeavor to make praise a part of our daily prayer.

+ Praise in the most selfless form of prayer

It has nothing to do with asking, or taking, it’s all about giving and offering. Classed by many of the church fathers as the highest level of prayer.

A. Russel in his book, The Power of Praise, says:

Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory. By praise, the Spirit is joined to our spirits to bear witness that we are children of God, testifying to the only Son in whom we are adopted and by whom we glorify the Father. Praise embraces the other forms of prayer and carries them toward him who is its source and goal: the “one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist (1 Cor 8:6)

+ Praise is a source of blessing, reward and comfort

God loves His creation to praise Him, to acknowledge Him, to appreciate Him…consider this, if you are not a parent, try and picture yourself as one; nothing would make you happier and feel more loved than hearing your child telling you, you are the best dad/mum in in world, and knowing they see you as the strongest person in the world, and that they feel safe that you’re in control of their lives.

Try see the rewards and blessings that come with attending the Holy Psalmody (Tasbeha), which is a strong source of praise.

Praise allows you to have God’s greatest resound in your heart and mind. If you find yourself in a scary, stressful situation, one thing that will calm you down and comfort you is praise.

One time, a friend and I found ourselves caught in a rip and we were 100s of metres from the shoreline but managed to stay together, we tried to swim back, but our efforts were futile and exhausted us. Eventually being so far out and realizing the waters depth, we began to think of the concept of sharks and other sea creatures which made us increasingly more nervous. After exhausting all physical and practical effort, my friend and I turned to God and decided to start praying. We tried thanking God for our situation but it was a bit tough and really hard to mean it due to our rising fears, so we didn’t get much comfort from that. Finally some verses of the Holy psalmody came to me where we sing “Praise the lord the O Seas and Rivers” “Bless the Lord all the winds” “Bless the Lord all things that move in the waters” We lined our boards together and started praising God saying that He was the powerful creator of the universe and everything is under His control, even the weird shadows we saw moving below us. Before we knew it we were both calm and found ourselves back at shore.

+ Praise helps you truly love God and teaches humility

What helps us to love our parents, spouses or friends? Usually when we think of their kindness, selflessness or other great qualities, it reminds us of why we love them

If we keep reminding ourselves of God’s great characteristics as the powerful architect of the universe that sent His Son to save us, it makes us love Him more, and in turn grants us humility by realizing how small we are in comparison.

+ It is the language of heaven

What is heaven but continual praising of God – in fact angels exist in heaven for this very purpose. If we do not enjoy the praise of God on earth, how can we enjoy it in heaven? There is a pure joy that comes with true praise, which gives us a taste of heaven on earth.

St Basil the great says:

The work of praising attracts the service of the Angels because this is a function of their existence. Thus they come closer to those who imitate in their ways.

St. Basil also goes on to say that liturgical music in particular essential because the liturgy is an imitation of heavenly glory and praise.

Next week, we’ll explore praise in a different light!

The Missing Prayer (Part ONE of THREE)

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The Missing Prayer

By George Iskander

What component of prayer would you say you lacks most in your prayer life?

What surrounds us in all church services, that perhaps doesn’t make its way to the quiet prayer corner of our rooms?

What’s the common theme that resonates through the psalms?

Lets start by identifying the essential building blocks of a structured personal prayer. If we could summarize prayer into 5 components, what would they be? This is not an exhaustive list but rather 5 umbrella categories. Before you read ahead, try and think of what your personal prayers are comprised of.

Thanksgiving
We are taught from a young age to always give thanks. If you were to ask a child to pray, you will notice that this is how many start their prayers. Thanking God for health, for food, shelter, loved ones, the opportunity to know Him and stand before Him…etc. Thanksgiving is usually what defines the beginning of our prayer and is also illustrated as such in liturgical services and the Agpeya prayer book.

Supplication
Naturally what follows is our human nature to ask and entreat the Lord the requests of our heart. God please help me in this exam, help me to get this job, help me find a partner…

Repentance
Repentance is a very important element that we should include daily in our prayer life and is included in the Lord’s prayer; “Our Father…” Asking God to forgive our trespasses is an essential part of a Christian’s daily routine.

Intercession
Asking for the prayers of the saints, or praying for each other. This is commonly how we are taught to conclude our prayers.

These 4 categories seem to cover it all. Often there is one aspect of prayer that is missing, kind of like the top piece of toast, it’s neglected, a lot of people don’t eat it, but in fact it’s what holds the bread together.

The 5^th component is:

Praise
What is praise? Accurately defined:
Praise: an expression of approval or admiration, of gratitude and devotion for blessings received.
Praise of God: Acknowledging of His perfections, works and benefits.
(M. F. Unger 1988, The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary)

Why is praise so important?

By God’s grace, after reading this, we can all endeavour to make praise a part of our daily prayer.

Tune in for part TWO next week!

Lamb of God

Lamb of God

By Monica Gerges

Although we celebrate the birth of Christ during the Feast of the Nativity, we can’t overlook the implications and ultimate purpose of Christ’s incarnation and birth because, just like many of the other major feasts, Christmas should serve to remind us of God’s humility, sacrifice and love for us. Christ comes as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) and unsurprisingly the scripture is riddled with imagery likening the Messiah to the perfect sacrificial lamb.

The sacrifice of lambs plays a very important role in Judaism, of particular importance to us is the Passover sacrifice and the sin/purification offering. The Feast of the Passover is one of the main Jewish holidays and a celebration in remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. In fact, the slaughter of the Passover lamb and the application of its blood to the doorposts of the houses (so that the Angel of Death would pass over that house) is mimicked when Christ’s blood is shed on the wood of the Cross to save us from the Angel of (spiritual) Death – Christ is our Passover lamb. During the sin/purification offering, an individual’s sins were ‘transferred’ to the lamb which was then killed for the forgiveness of their sins; similarly, the sin of all humanity was placed on Christ who was then crucified so that we could be saved.

When faced with conditions of stress or pain, most animals vocalise their trauma and do everything in their limited power to escape such circumstances, however lambs which are simply small, weak animals are instead, silent and submissive. Similarly, Christ was “oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter…” (Isaiah 53:7)

It is through Christ’s death on the cross as God’s perfect sacrificial lamb that we can now attain eternal life. The fact that God Himself has provided the offering that atones for our sins is part of the glorious good news of the gospel and may this season always remind us of God’s infinite love for us.

Glory be to God forever. Amen.

Hebrews 12:14 – A Contemplation

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”

Hebrews 12:14

By: Christine Azer

As I was contemplating this verse, I was struck by the specific use of the word “pursue” which implies an active decision rather than a passive action. As Christians, we aim “if it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” –Romans 12:18. Contrary to the belief that a person must first be peaceful to show peace to others, pursuing peace helps us attain this sense of calmness. We are responsible for taking the first step in mending a damaged relationship.

The consequences of showing peace to others are not only self-beneficial but critical for the salvation of others, as expressed through the end of the verse. Evangelising can occur unnoticed to the evangeliser; mainly when others observe the lifestyle of a Christian and admire it. They seek the peace that we show to others.

A perfect of example of this active pursuit of peace is seen in Genesis 33, where Jacob attempts to mend his relationship with his brother, Esau. To pursue peace, firstly, we must pray fervently to have peace with someone; this is necessary because Satan makes it difficult for us to be united in Christ as he promotes division. Jacob “wrestled” with the Lord because the lack of peace between him and his brother troubled him. Secondly, pursuing peace requires humility, as seen through Jacob when he “bowed himself to the ground seven times”. Thirdly, he offered physical gifts, “receive my present from my hand”, which was his way of pursuing peace.

We also see this in the character Ibrahim El-Gohary, the Egyptian prime minister during the late 18th century, who acted as the peacemaker between his brother and his brother’s abuser. From his actions, we too are called to act as peacemakers not only to mend our own relationships with others but to promote peace between all people.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”- Matt 5:9

Glory be to God. Amen.

The Greatness of John the Baptist

The Greatness of John the Baptist

By Fr Mark Basily

Imagine Fr Yacoub told you that you were the greatest person in St Mark’s Church. Now imagine Bishop Daniel told you that you were the greatest person in the diocese of Sydney. Now imagine Pope Tawadros said that you were the greatest person in the Coptic Orthodox Church. Well here we have, in Luke7:28, Christ Himself saying that John the Baptist was the greatest person to ever live! Why is that though?

We all aspire to be great in our endeavours, whether it be at work or in various services. So what can we learn about St John the Baptist that made our Lord turn to him and say “you are the greatest”; it was his humility as displayed by his words. Often from someone’s words you can tell what he or she was about. It illustrates the principles that person stood for. So today we will look at five comments from the mouth of this great saint to try to understand why Christ said “among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he”. Luke 7:28

“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him by Heaven” – John 3:27
Here we see that St John the Baptist believes that everything he has and everything he owns has been given to him by God. This is a beautiful principle to live by. We become relieved when we realise that everything I have, even my possessions belong to God. Recently the fathers went to visit a family who built a nice big house. When the fathers went to visit, the family said “This house is not ours, it belongs to God and His Church. Whatever you need that’s in this house, it’s yours.” So I decided to take them up on their offer and half jokingly I said that we need a studio in your house. Now we permanently have one of their rooms as a studio for when the Church needs to record music. So this idea that everything of mine is God’s is one of the reasons why St John the Baptist is so great.
“I am not the Christ” – John 3:28
At that time, St John the Baptist was baptizing and he had a large following and so it was very easy for him to accept it when people asked him whether he was Christ or not. St John Chrysostom says that St John the Baptist could’ve taken all the glory for himself. Rather, he referred the glory to someone else; Christ. So the second principle we learn is to refer all glory to Christ. When Anba Antonious Morkos, bishop of South Africa, came to a youth meeting he spoke extensively about the achievements in his diocese. A youth put up their hand and asked ‘How can you not feel a sense of pride when you speak about these things?’ For Sayedna he was very clear, he said ‘all the achievements are God’s work, I just happened to be used in the process’. So in my life, if I live attributing all success to the Lord, then I’m on the path to greatness that St John the Baptist was.
“I have been sent before Him” – John 3:28
St John the Baptist understood very well that his mission in life was to prepare the path of glory for Christ. This is another quality of greatness, if I am able to prepare a path for people. Often we prepare pathways for ourselves and make decisions to please us, but what if I could live like John the Baptist, preparing others for glory. Fr Daniel Fanous is currently doing a PHD about Pope Kirollos; a man who we all know barely gave sermons and didn’t write many books. Due to this, people concluded that he wasn’t good at giving talks, that’s why he never did it. However, Fr Daniel found in his research proof that Pope Kirollos was a brilliant writer and an excellent speaker. One of his sermons was distributed to thousand of churches; but then Pope Kirollos just stopped. He did this to create pathways for other people. He ordained Bishop Gregarious to be the official spokesperson for the Church and Bishop Shenouda to be bishop of education, who later became pope. This is the way John the Baptist lived and hence he said, “I have been sent before Him”.
“Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled” – John 3:29
In this verse, St John the Baptist likens himself to a best man who is joyful to see the bridegroom married to his bride. In our lives we always pursue what will make us happy. For this great saint, his joy was extracted from others and from seeing Christ. Imagine if I am joyful by seeing others’ lives going well, if I share in the joy of someone else. Before I became a priest, I saw how God worked in my own life. After I became a priest, I saw how God worked in others’ lives. This is one of things I love about priesthood that I am continuously sharing in the joy of others. If we partake in the joy of others, then surely we are on the path to greatness.
“He must increase, but I must decrease” – John 3:30
This comment stands against everything society and the whole world teaches. The world teaches that if need be, trample over others to attain success. However, here we have the greatest prophet on Earth saying that someone else must increase and I must decrease. This principle is one to be lived out not only in service but also in our own homes. Imagine this idea being implemented between a husband and a wife or between co-workers. To humble yourself to allow others to be glorified is a step on the pathway to greatness

These five statements give us an insight into why Jesus calls St John the Baptist the greatest. It is St John the Baptist’s humility, shown by his statements, that constitutes to his greatness. So today I pray that we all aspire to this kind of spiritual greatness and not after worldly greatness so that the Lord may likewise look to us and say, “you are great”.

Glory be to God

Extra! Extra! Read All About It

Extra! Extra! Read All About It

By: St Mark’s Youth

I don’t consider myself an avid reader of the daily newspaper, but like a lot of people, I’ll pick it up every so often so long as it’s nearby or I’m having my breakfast at Maccas. Usually I would just flip to the back and glance over the sports section, reading up on everything from the football to golf just to pass time while I wait for my order to come out. On this one particular occasion however, I noticed the Pope of Rome on the front page smiling infectiously whilst passing through the crowd swarming around him. The best part though? The title read – “Christ is coming!” From what I understood, the piece was declaring the Pope’s upcoming visit to the US at the time, perhaps the title suggesting he was a figure of Christ on earth. I didn’t get time to read the whole way through, my bacon & egg roll came out before I could finish the article but still – talk about good news!

It’s not every day that we hear or read about good news. Unfortunately, we live in a world that is getting significantly darker each passing day, so anything that shines even the slightest of lights in our lives should be met with joy. That’s not really the case though is it? Each passing day we read about another shooting, another killing somewhere in the world, another terrorist attack, more hurt, more pain, more and more darkness. So where will the good news come from, if there is any left at all? Fortunately, by the grace of God we have been given the ultimate Good News, readily available to us every moment of every day – the Gospel.

So then, it begs the question, what is Gospel? The word “Gospel” comes from old English “God spell” meaning “glad tidings” or “good news,” and is a direct translation of the Greek word “Evangelion.” This is why we call the writers of the 4 Gospels “evangelists,” because they spread the good news. And what was the good news that they were spreading? Salvation!! It’s the ultimate Good News. Christ conquering death by the power of His own death, breaking the gates of Hades and opening up Paradise for us to enter into eternal life with Him. That’s some pretty great news.

But hang on, does that mean the 4 books we call “The Gospels” are the only ones that talk about the Good News of Salvation? What about the salvation of the Israelites in the Exodus from Egypt? Or the salvation offered to Rahab in the battle for Jericho? And surely the three youth rescued from the fire got a taste of this salvation? The truth is, the entire bible is filled with good news! The pinnacle of this good news being the life and works of our Lord Jesus Christ written by evangelists – Christ died, rose again and ascended to Heaven to prepare a place for us!

Okay, so we have this Good News, sweet, what next? Well, like we said, the world is in need of some good news, it is a dark place, and when you’re in a dark room and you want to see, what do you do? You turn on a bit of light.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” (Matt 5:16)

This light that is in us is the Good News of Salvation and if we are called to be the light of the world then ultimately we are called to be the Gospel. How? Are we supposed to walk around yelling on the streets “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”? Sure, but these days that would warrant a trip to the mental health department. The key is in the verse above spoken by our Lord Himself, “that they may see your good works,” He said, not “words” but “works.” Our Lord Christ knew that actions spoke louder than words. St. Francis of Assisi used to reiterate this sentiment when he taught his own disciples saying, “preach at all times, and only use words if you have to.” It is not enough to talk about giving – I must give. It is not enough to talk about loving – I must love. People don’t want to hear about Christ, they want to see Him!

There is a beautiful story about a missionary who travelled to a country in Africa to serve in the villages there. The problem was, he didn’t know the language. So he made a conscious decision to serve them, heal their wounds, feed them and above all, love them as best as he could until one day many years later, he died. The organization or church that he was a part of decided to send another missionary but this time, someone who knew the language in order that they may preach to the villagers also. When the new missionary arrived in the country, the first thing he did was assemble the villagers in one place, and he began to preach to them about our Lord Jesus Christ. He told them of all the wonderful things Christ did when He was on earth – how He cared for the children, how He healed the broken, how He loved everyone, until one villager stood up and said, “What are you talking about? We know this story already.” The man, taken aback responded, “How? No ones ever told it to you.” The villager confidently replied, “No we know this man you’re talking about – we just buried him last week.”

We have been given the only gift capable of healing the world, the only news that has the capacity to bring light to this slowly dimming planet. Because of this gift, I am no longer brought under the darkness of this earth – for I am light. Because of this gift, many around me, myself included, no longer have to live in captivity to pain and hurt – for I am encouragement. And because of this gift, many around me can finally see the beautiful and precious face of our Friend Jesus Christ – for I am the Good News.

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