Author: ramez

Written in Heaven

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Elijah Iskander

---

Reading Luke 10:1-20

The Lord prepares the seventy to go out, and gives them a series of key instructions. These are pivotal to the Christian that wants to see the Hand of God in their life.

Go Two by Two

This may seem like an insufficient way to deliver a message across a large area. To go two by two would half the amount of people reached. In Ecclesiastes 4:9, we read, “Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.”

Two are better than one for if I fall, the one that is by my side will lift me up again. The apostles had these instructions in their mind very clearly. Even when St Paul and St Barnabas served together and had a disagreement and wanted to part ways, they still did not go alone. St Paul took Silas, and St Barnabas took St Mark, as a matter of necessity.

The Lord loves our unity. We learn that in the liturgy as well. The Liturgy cannot happen without a priest, a deacon and a congregation – at least three gathered together. The Lord loves us to be united with each other, so that we are united in Him also.

In the prayer of reconciliation, we exchange a holy kiss and the Lord reminds us that if you have a problem with another, you must reconcile with that person before you come to the altar.

During the liturgy, we know that the priest will say, “Pray,” and the deacon will respond, “Stand up for prayer.” There is a slight variation in Coptic to this, where the priest will say, “Esh-leel eflogison.” This is say, “pray, and you bless,” directed toward the other priest. If there are multiple priests present, the priest praying may say, “Esh-leel eflogite,” which is, “pray and they bless.” It’s a very subtle but very blessed difference.

In the Spirituality of the Rites of the Holy Liturgy by Bishop Matteous, he writes about the “secret handshake” the priests do when one of them is offering incense around the church. One priest is taking all the prayers of the congregation when he goes around the church but he sees another priest and offers him the fellowship of incense, as if to say, “pray with me, Abouna.”

The aim of offering incense to clergymen, in general, is to involve them all in the offering of incense and in raising their prayers and supplications to the Lord. This intention can be seen in the incensing priest’s request of his associate which asks the associate to pray for him, while they offer incense to the Lord together, coupled with a supplication for the Lord’s assistance. This is known as the ‘Fellowship of Incense’.

The Lord loves us to be united two by two. Another key reason why the Lord would want us to be in fellowship is the very next reason.

Lamb among wolves

“Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves” – Luke 10:3.

Not because we are weaker than those around us, but alluding to the prophecy in Isaiah; “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together” – Isaiah 65:25.

The wolves will be converted into lambs, so as these lambs go out two by two and face harshness, they need to overcome that with the gentleness of lambs. I might need somebody to support me, correct me, ensure my ways do not reflect the wolves around me but the gentleness of the Lord.

Sent to the Gentiles

There are a few interesting instructions that could not be directed toward the Jews. Food is mentioned twice – “And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give” (Luke 10:7) and “Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you” (Luke 10:8).

Why does the Lord seem preoccupied with what they eat? Not just this, but another interesting instruction is given to greet no one on the road. The Lord was preparing them for a mission to the Gentiles.

If a Jewish person was invited to a meal, they could not eat with Gentiles, or the uncleanness of their food. The Lord now says to eat the food that is put before them. This goes hand in hand with the next instruction to greet no one along the road. This is so that no human traditions get in the way of the mission. They have somewhere to be that cannot be hindered.

A visiting bishop was invited into the home of one of the priests. They all gathered together to prepare a meal for him. Just before he arrived, he rang the priest and said he could not come. He had a more urgent service to attend to. The priest was so pleased with this response, because he could see that he had a mission. He was there for a purpose, and he could not allow the social conventions to get in the way of his mission. The Lord prepared the disciples to be extremely focused on their mission.

The Lord then gives them authority – “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” – Luke 10:16. This is the height of all dignity. The apostles leave and are happy and say, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

The response of our Lord is not what His disciples were expecting. This was no easy mission that the disciples had signed up for. When they return with joy, we expect the Lord to respond in joy also. The Lord tells them, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

He tells them that they are happy for the wrong reasons. St Cyril of Alexandria comments of this saying, “The Lord was a Farmer, taking out the weed of pride and love of authority before its roots were deep.” In our ministry we must do the same. We must not seek the praise of others. We should be happy when we see miracles, but this does not override the happiness in being the child of the Lord. I have done my duty as a servant of the Lord.

Let us pray together in our homes, let us reach out to those who have the same struggles as us. To the one that is living alone. To the other with kids stuck at home. To the one struggling financially. Go to another that is in the same position as you.

Let us greet no one along the road. We have the chance to do what is pleasing to the Lord, so let us not become distracted. We are numbered among those chosen by the Lord, so let this remain our focus above all else.

Fr Mark’s Top 5 Tips to Avoid Judgement

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

---

Reading Luke 6:27-38

“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” – Luke 6:37.

Such a simple approach to passing through judgement, yet this causes us to wonder, what is judging?

St Paul defines judgement during the end time saying, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts” – 1 Corinthians 4:5.

St Paul is saying that we cannot judge anything before it’s due time. The time will be due when the Lord comes in the end times. Christ is the judge and He is the One that brings forth to light the hidden things of darkness and reveals the counsels of the hearts.

To judge is to expose the heart of somebody. Who could ever expose the heart of another? For us to judge one another, we are taking the place of God. We assume that we can expose the heart of another. At its core, to judge somebody is to elevate one’s self above another. We cannot judge, as we are not God and do not know what dwells in the hearts of others.

When we begin to judge another, we are in a state of confusion. There are five key confusions that cause us to judge others wrongly.

CONFUSING YOURSELF WITH ANOTHER PERSON

 I can see myself as an individual. The lens that I view others in is skewed by what is inside me. When I judge someone, I begin to notice flaws in my own character. We can use these thoughts of judgement as a mirror of what is going on inside of me. We see what we are.

A man lived in a large apartment block that was parallel to another apartment block. One night he was looking outside his window and could see inside the window of another apartment. As looked into the adjacent lounge room, he was struck by what he saw in that lounge room. He thought to himself, “why don’t they get a new couch? It’s so old and falling apart. Why don’t they at least clean it? How would you even sit on it?”

Soon he realised, it wasn’t actually a window that he was look into, but a mirror – a reflection – of his own living room. He never realised his own couch was a mess until he thought it was somebody else’s. We do the same thing when we look at the lives of other people in a judgemental way, not realising that what we are seeing is a reflection of our own weaknesses and flaws. We can use our judgement to self-reflect of what is deeply hidden inside of us.

WISHING OTHERS WOULD CHANGE

If I look to my spouse or my children and I see something in them that I wish they would change. My colleagues at work annoy me and I wish they would change the way they do things. Society is a mess, and we wish they would change their views. Alas, we shouldn’t confuse the order of change. Change doesn’t begin with others, it begins with me. I am the one that needs to be changing.

An Anglican bishop wanted the following inscribed on his tombstone, “when I was young and free, my imagination had no limits and I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older, I discovered the world would not change. I decided to shorten my sights and decided to change only my country, but it seemed immovable. As I entered my twilight years, I settled for changing only my family. Alas, they would have none of it. Now, as I lie on my death bed, I realise, if only I changed myself first then by example, I would have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement, I would have been able to better my country, and who knows, maybe even the world.” Change begins with one’s self. We shouldn’t worry about changing others, but to focus on what I can do.

CONFUSING EARTHLY BEAUTY WITH SPIRITUAL BEAUTY

 We often assess things by their earthly beauty and appeal. We need to look deeper and assess their spiritual beauty. We are all created in God’s image. Christ saw the beauty in all – the criminals, the prostitutes and the sinners alike. Christ sees the beauty in me, too.

When we are dealing with anybody, we can look deeper for the beauty within, for we know it is there according to the image of Christ. We cannot let our eyes search for the wrong, but for the beauty.

There was a monk visiting the cells of the other monks. He enters one that is clean and tidy and organised. He is so impressed and thinks this monk must be so holy, organising his spiritual life the same way he organises his cell. He visits another monk’s cell and sees a mess, nothing in its rightful place. He thinks, “wow, this monk must be so holy, he pays no attention to the things of this world, he must be so fixated on his spiritual life.” The monk was able to find beauty despite opposing conditions.

CONFUSING PROCESS WITH FULFILMENT

When we judge someone, we can sometimes act like that this how a person will always be – this is there end. All of us are on a journey, we are going through a process. A person may have a certain weakness now, but this is just a part of their journey. Every masterpiece takes time. Imagine judging an artist’s work before it is complete, with rough edges, uneven lines, a face without all its features. What a mess. The artist would tell you to wait, they’re not finished yet, this all part of the process. When we judge someone in the middle of their life, we must wait, they are a masterpiece that is not yet completed.

St John Climacus once said, “Do not condemn, even if you see with your eyes, for they are often deceived.”

CONFUSING ACTION WITH ESSENCE

Until the Lord comes, the hidden will be brought to light. This is the essence of someone. We deal with people that disappoint us, we judge and we condemn, without understanding the essence of that person.

There is more than just do not judge and you won’t be judged, but there is more in a reward. “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” – Luke 8:38.

The reward is equal to what we give. I hate when you buy a drink and they fill it with so much ice that the drink is finished after only a few sips. Now I ask for no ice, so I can enjoy it fully. The measure of ice is so tight that it consumes the space for the drink. We give in the same way. We forgive, but we forgive with ice. We give to each other, but with ice. God is telling us to remove the ice. Remove the coldness. God can give us in abundance, but we must also give in abundance.

Adapted from a sermon by H.E. Archbishop Angelos

---

Our Lord speaks to His disciples and says, “those who have riches, cannot enter into The Kingdom.” (Matthew 19:23)

And this leaves them confused. What do riches have to do with The Kingdom? 

Then our Lord clarifies. He says, Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:24).

Trust is something we cannot go through life without experiencing to some degree. Depending on what we trust in, we find varying difficulties that come with trust. It is easy to trust, but there is fear that our trust is misplaced and will lead to our demise.

What do we trust in?  How do we trust? 

This year, like many, many things, we are evaluating and re-evaluating many things. One of them is trust… 

We have trusted in so much in the past. We trusted in our political systems. We have trusted in our economical systems. We have trusted even in our health systems. We have trusted in our education. We have trusted in our welfare. We have trusted in SO much, and THAT became our foundation. We felt living in certain communities, if we had these safeguards, if we had these institutions, if we had these systems, we were safe. What could possibly go wrong? We looked at other countries that didn’t have these things and thought, “you can’t be safe! Because you don’t have our safeguards. You don’t have the things we trust in.” Yet, when everything fell, where was our trust? 

It is interesting that during this time we have had places of worship open and close and yet there has been a greater apartness from governments, authorities, leaders and policy makers to keep our churches open, our places of worship open. 

Why? 

Because, they found that those who have trust in OTHER things, live a stronger life. They live more affirmed, they live more confident and comforted. They found that when people trust in things that go beyond what is visible in this world it gives greater stability and strength and security. So we found that our trust, OUR trust, was more than just in those things. That’s why in the gospels we read, when we are tested through fire and through water, we will be saved. The fire and water we have experienced during this year is beyond anyone’s expectation, beyond anyone’s understanding, beyond anyone’s ability.

Even if we were asked at the beginning to actually withstand it. Yet, we have come through it. We are still moving through it. Why is that? Because our trust is in so much more. Our trust was, and continues to be in a God who is not changed by pandemic. He is not shaped by catastrophes. He is not affected by ‘ifs.’ His interest does not increase and decrease in humanity based on what we are experiencing. His abilities do not increase and decrease based on experiences around him. He is above all, He is all in all. That’s why when our trust is in Him, it is unshakeable. It is immovable. It is indestructible. Because it is a trust based on things beyond this world. 

Imagine if someone had his or her trust ONLY on riches. What would be their situation today if they had lost all their riches, or their work. If someone’s trust was only in his or her strength, what would happen if they lost that strength. That’s why our Lord says, “those who trust in riches…” 

Yes, we must trust in things around us. We trust people, loved ones around us, family, friends, community, our clergy, our servants. We trust them. Yes, we trust in the systems around us. I trust that when a light is red in front of me, I stop, and when it’s green it is safe to drive. I trust in the fact that when I look at my house, no one should break in because there is a system of law and order. In this country I trust that if I become sick, I will go to hospital and I will be treated. We must trust in those things, but we cannot trust ONLY in those things. They cannot be the foundation in our trust, because with all those things (as much as we did not expect it) those things have actually moved and changed. Those things that we held at the core of our identity have shifted.

And yet, God is immovable.

So the message we have today is from our Lord through this young man in the gospel whom he tells “go sell what you have…give to the poor, give all that up and follow me.” Because if you want to inherit The Kingdom, yes you can have all those things, but if you don’t follow Me then none of that will help you. So as we live today’s life, let us enjoy what we have, let us be thankful for it, be thankful for our health, for our lives, be thankful for our family, our friends, our community, our work, be thankful for all we have because it is all given BY God. It is not wrong, it is not bad, it is not evil. These are all things given to us by God, enjoy them! Enjoy them in the understanding that at the root of all of this, at its foundation is God. If God is separated from any of it, then it becomes a distraction, it becomes an obstacle, it becomes a false hope, it becomes a false security, it becomes a false confidence. Because our confidence is in that which is immovable. 

When a huge ship has to come into port and they have to stop, it’s thousands of tonnes, it has to be tied and moored with something that is solid. We need to be tied and moored to that which is solid. Our God is the port of our salvation. He is the anchor of our faith. He is the security we have at all times in all things. In Him, and in Him alone, is the confidence that will never be shaken, the comfort that will never be taken away, the peace that cannot be stolen and the life that he has given us can never be conquered by anything else.

For in Him is life, hope and resurrection.  

Full sermon

Follow me into the Dark

By Bethany Kaldas

---

‘Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”’

Luke 7:39

A friend, when she was going through a truly difficult time, once said that she thought our friendship was going to harm me. She said she didn’t want to drag me into the darkness with her.

Perhaps there was a little truth to this. Without going into the finer details, I’ll admit I wasn’t unshaken by her struggle. It seems, in a way, darkness is contagious. Hang around someone who’s in its thrall and it will soon ensnare you too.

What’s the advice we give our children (or the people we serve)? Choose your friends wisely. Don’t enter into bad crowds. If you can see that someone else is sinning, don’t get too close, or else they might take you with them. Toxic people breed toxicity and sin begets further sin.

That is, perhaps, sound advice to most children. Sound advice generally, to those of us who know that, honestly, we would only encourage poor behaviour, or that a dark personality is going to weaken our spirit beyond resistance. Being around persistent negativity can be genuinely damaging to our health, and there are a lot of circumstances where, truly, the best course of action for all involved is to step away from the situation. And there are some of us for whom this will simply be too much for us to handle, no matter how great or small the shadows we face.

But…that’s not all of us. We know that. And ideally, it shouldn’t be us.

‘But many of us do not follow half of this commandment. They rejoice with those who rejoice, but it is hard for them to weep with those who weep. Joy is what attracts them, sadly, not pain, and if they join others in their distress, they quickly get bored and leave, because joining others in pain causes us pain too, that is why they run away from it, while it is beneficial to them.’

Pope Shenouda III, Holy Week Contemplations

In its kindest, sincerest form, this sort of avoidance is spiritual self-preservation—often justified, if we truly know ourselves to be too weak to handle the company of the broken. But in many instances, this comes from a less well-meaning place. Sometimes—although we might not admit it—this comes from a place of social self-preservation. Nobody wants to be friends with a ‘bad egg’ or with someone who’s always got dark clouds over their head. Being dragged into the darkness doesn’t make getting on in a community any easier.

It happens in schools, universities, workplaces, social clubs—and, if we dare to look for more than a second, churches. Save for the especially lucky or especially oblivious of us, we’ve all seen this person. We’ve probably all been this person at least once in our lives. Haven’t you ever had a moment where it felt like the world inside your head was crashing down on you? Like all your mistakes were tearing you apart, like your heart would never be free of your sorrows…and found yourself utterly, despairingly alone? Haven’t you ever found yourself sitting in the dark, knowing full well that you are in the valley of the shadow of death, and yet still wishing someone—anyone—had been brave enough to keep you company?

‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.’

Psalm 23:4

Christ is the perfect example of someone who walks into the darkness, after those who have been captured by it.

We say that He rescued His children from death by entering into death itself—He was happy to be deemed a criminal for the sake of reaching those who were captives of the darkness. But even before then, who was Jesus spending most of His time with?

‘Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”’

Matthew 9:10-11

It wasn’t the rich, those of great reputation, it wasn’t even the ‘good’ people, the positive influences in society. Christ specifically, purposefully, sought out the people nobody else dared to go near (sometimes literally). Adulterers who were condemned by society, tax collectors who were abandoned by their community, lepers and the deformed and unpleasant who had been rejected by everyone, even their own families. These were the kinds of people Christ came for. These were the people Jesus followed into the dark.

‘If you do not carry people’s sins, then carry their suffering. Carry people’s suffering as Christ carried it, who told them, ‘Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matthew 11:28).’

Pope Shenouda III, Holy Week Contemplations

That might seem drastic to us, we might feel too weak for that. Maybe that’s true—you personally might not be able to go that deep into the shadows. That’s something only you can know. But there are some dark spaces that I, with a fair amount of confidence, can say that most of us are able to enter into…we simply don’t.

‘I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.’

C. S. Lewis

Depression, anxiety, poverty, grief, loneliness—you know at least one person who has been captured by some form of darkness. You know someone on whom the sun seems to have set and they sit, alone, in a night without stars, without light.

It’s uncomfortable. It’s scary. We don’t like hanging around these people—we can feel the dark on them, the shadows reek like death. And we’re scared they’ll infect us. Darkness is contagious, after all.

But it is also self-perpetuating, and left alone, it grows and grows, like a parasite feeding on the life of a broken heart. The more the darkness grows, the fewer people dare draw near, the worse it gets.

It sounds…almost unstoppable, like that. Something that eats and eats and gets bigger and bigger until there is nothing left of that soul but a husk. What hope do we have? Darkness looks impossible to beat when you’re in it. It looks impossible to defeat when you’re alone. But the thing about darkness is that—no matter how much of it there is—it only takes a little bit of light to dispel. Even just one other soul is enough to chase shadows away.

‘Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. … Compassionmeans full immersion in the condition of being human.’

Henri Nouwen, You are the Beloved: Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living

But what then, you may ask? So, I can follow you into the dark, but I am no healer. I can forgive no sins, I can redeem no souls, I can cast no demons from your heart. I am not Christ. Who am I to think I could help you?

It may be true—maybe you can’t heal them. You probably can’t solve all their problems—or any of them. Maybe you can do nothing for them. But you can be there. Christ’s ministry was not only in healing illnesses and forgiving sins—part of it was simply showing people that there was still hope, that they were still loved, that they were worth following into the dark.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.’ These men without possessions or power, these strangers on Earth, these sinners, these followers of Jesus, have in their life with him renounced their own dignity, for they are merciful. As if their own needs and their own distress were not enough, they take upon themselves the distress and humiliation of others. They have an irresistible love for the down-trodden, the sick, the wretched, the wronged, the outcast and all who are tortured with anxiety. They go out and seek all who are enmeshed in the toils of sin and guilt. No distress is too great, no sin too appalling for their pity. If any man falls into disgrace, the merciful will sacrifice their own honour to shield him, and take his shame upon themselves.’

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

We can’t do much. We’re only human—and deep inside, we’re all quite broken ourselves. We’re all fighting our own shadows. But we don’t have to do it alone. He never let us do it alone. He’s been in every battle you’ve ever fought, He’s followed you into the deepest and darkest valleys. You may not have seen Him, but He was there, every time.

‘If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.’

Psalm 139:8

It’s uncomfortable, it will probably hurt, and at times, it may not seem like your presence does very much. But one light is enough to stave off the shadows, even just a bit. And there are times where that’s all someone may need. So don’t let them fight the dark alone. Remember that He’ll be by your side there, too.

‘Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.’

Micah 7:8