Category: Blog

The Silent Lamb

The Silent Lamb

by Marina Giurgius

‘Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.’

Isaiah 53:7

A solider completely silent in the midst of war. Not a single war cry or victory scream. That same solider later forgives his enemy on the battlefield, in the midst of his agony. You and I can both agree that this all sounds somewhat unrealistic, unbelievable perhaps?  Well this solider was Christ and his battlefield was Golgotha. Does that make it any more comprehendible? As we journey into Holy Week, let’s try to make sense of it.

Every aspect of death on the Cross had a ghastliness about it. It was the most agonising of Roman capital punishments and to make it crueller it was not a direct road either. Christ first underwent a patronising trial, excruciating torture and a mockery and all whilst remaining silent. He did not speak during these events and spoke only 7 things on the Cross, all of which were not for his own profit.

Lord, what stopped You from crying out to defend Yourself against the affliction? What satisfied Your heart so much, that it was worth the suffering?

It is not you and I alone questioning His silence. Many at the time and to this day may say that Christ was silent as a means of escaping His tribulation however, it is in fact the complete opposite. It was simply a still submission to the will of His Father and a depiction of His great love for mankind as ‘Love does not seek its own’ (1 Corinthians 13:5).  Just as He left to go to the wilderness, the abyss of silence it was rather a spiritual battlefield than a means of an escape. His silence is perhaps one of the most overlooked lessons on forgiveness given from the Cross. His silence was not fear, but sacrifice.

When we speak many words it only satisfies our hollow weaknesses within us but serves little purpose to our soul belonging to God. It is a challenging task to ask someone to accept an injustice without getting caught up in a confrontation or an argument. Is this not what Christ did on the Cross when He paid the price for our sins in silence? The most difficult of tasks is to not speak in the midst of chaos “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).  This is the first step to forgiveness as we begin to silence our anger and resentment with silence itself.

The word ‘give’ makes up the word FORGIVE and so it is no surprise that this is moreover at its centrality. The Silent Lamb broke His silence only to give. He gave his enemies and persecutors forgiveness. He gave the Right-Hand Thief the keys to paradise and eternal life. He gave the solider who speared his side a kindness that later made him a great saint. He gave His blessed mother a son and carer. He gave his Father a ransom paid in full and He gave humanity redemption and salvation from an eternal inferno. He gave only to receive a gift of humiliation, grief, suffering and pain embellished with a crown of thorns. 

The first words of Christ at the Cross:

“Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34)

St John, the Mother of Christ and the three Mary’s are all at the foot of the cross and before speaking to them, Christ breaks his silence with a request of forgiveness for his enemies. He prays for his enemies before He addresses His own Mother and His own anguish. Not only was it a simple request of forgiveness on behalf of His enemies but a firm shield of defence and an exemption of their ignorance. How comforting is it to know that Christ is our chief advocate before the throne of God, for there is no earthly defender that can compare to such. Christ continually provides us with the benefit of the doubt for our sins, excusing our sins but how often do we do this with others?  St John Chrysostom explains that waiting for your enemy to come to you seeking forgiveness is vain and a heavenly reward will only come to those who make peace with their enemy on the same day despite criticism. Setting an excuse for your enemy will allow you to forgive before they ask and is an ultimate expression of love, the core lesson from the cross.

Even the pain of the Cross did not amount to the pain He felt one night earlier in the garden of Gethsemane. Upon Christ’s great anguish kneeling before the Father with sweat dripping from his holy temple in the form of blood, He requests,‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42). We can be comforted knowing we have been promised condition-less forgiveness without needing to ask,“If you are willing, forgive me”.

St Anthony the Great says “If we remember our sins, God forgives them but if we forget our sins, God remembers them.”  It is with a continual remembrance of our sins that it becomes impossible for us to say our own sins are lesser than those committed against us and this too will help us forgive.

Our ultimate role-model Jesus Christ even on the Cross in the peak of His torment did not cease to guide and inspire us to forgive. So here are the four things taken from the Cross that we can use to forgive.

  1. Spend time with God in silence
  2. Make excuses for people that you feel may have wronged you
  3. Give whenever you can to the best of your ability
  4. Always remember your own shortcomings and sins 

Because of sinfulness, man lost the crown of perfection that God had granted him in the Garden of Eden, and instead crafted at Golgotha a new crown made of thorns, of that very earth that God cursed when man fell.  Forgiveness is the love that compelled our creator to bear this crown and cross whilst silencing its suffering on our behalf.

Glory be to God forever.

A Love Like No Other

A Love like No Other

By Marianne Wilson

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

The scene opens to a hill, high up and with a view of the entire wall of Jerusalem. It really is the perfect location for a marriage. A place where all can see the most sacred, holy, intimate and beautiful relationship known to man about to unfold. The Bridegroom laying His life down for His bride, promising His unfailing love. As the view becomes clearer though, I become acutely aware of something extremely unusual; shocking even.

This marriage is different.

Markedly different.

Rather than holding His bride’s hands; the Bridegroom’s arms are outstretched.

Rather than being clothed in the finest robes; He is naked.

And rather than standing; He is hung.

Confused, I look around to find the bride but she is nowhere to be seen. Concerned, I turn back and head towards the city, my pace slowing only for me to catch my breath. I search the streets, frantically asking everyone if they have seen the bride- certain that there has been a mistake.

Most ignore me, some ward me away angrily while others stare at me blankly, completely oblivious to what I am talking about. The sky turns from blue to a dark eerie grey, the rain begins to beat down cutting through me like knives and the lightning explodes lighting up the evening sky. The streets quickly become silent and barren. Soaked, freezing and helpless I am convinced that all hope is lost. As I tread along, head down, feet barely lifting up off the ground, I notice something out of the corner of my eye, something that catches my attention. It is a man, he looks familiar. As I move closer I realise that he is a friend of the Bridegroom. But he is kneeling oddly in a hidden corner, seemingly unaware of the raging storm around him. As I approach I notice that he is shaking, ‘weeping bitterly’ and mumbling words I cannot make out. Embarrassed but desperate, I move closer and almost whisper the question I had spent the last hour asking.

Wearily he raises his head. Even in the darkness I can see his bloodshot eyes and dampened face. With a shaky voice and trembling hand he directs me to an alleyway just a mile down the road. Filled with a new sense of optimism I quicken my pace, the rain no longer bothering me and the cold almost unnoticeable.

Arriving, I look down the pitch black alleyway and notice the poorly concealed shadows lurking in the darkness, the smell of cheap perfume and the sound of coins tinkling.

Immediately. I know where I am.

Frightened of what I might see, I turn, ready to run; positive the man had made a mistake.

But then I see her.

I see the bride.

Rather than holding her Bridegroom’s hands; she is wrapped around the waist of a strange man.

Rather than a pure white dress, she wears an article; stained with the stench of sin.

And rather than a virgin bride she is a soiled dove.

Enraged, confused and hurt I turn and run. Not even stopping to catch my breath. I stumble up the hill, desperate. Desperate to get to the Bridegroom in time. He needed to know. He needed to know the truth about His bride. Even from a distance I can hear His laboured breathing. I drag my feet, every part of my body aching.

Finally, I make it, its not too late. I look at Him, hanging, beaten, bruised and bleeding. Desperate, so desperate, I tell Him the truth. The truth about His bride. I tell Him she’s not worth it. That she loves another man. That she may never return to Him. That the price was too high. That all this was a mistake. That I, was the bride.

But it doesn’t phase Him, not at all! Rather, with a knowing smile and a sweetness in His eyes, He looks at me with a love unfathomable. A love unfailing, intimate and unrelenting. A love so full of mercy and forgiveness it pierces through my very soul. A love reserved only for a Bridegroom and His bride.

And softly, oh so softly, between bruised lips, utters three simple words- “It is finished!”

And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

“And it shall be, in that day, Says the Lord, That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master’… I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy;I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord.”

Hosea 2:14-20

Do I qualify for the Kingdom of Heaven?

Do I qualify for the Kingdom of Heaven?

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Antonios Kaldas

If we look at Tuesday Morning of Pascha, the last Gospel introduces the theme of two different kinds of people who relate to God. We hear Jesus talking about the end of the world and He asks, “Who will be on my left and who will be on my right.”

The criteria Jesus gave for who will be on His left and who will be on His right says, “I was hungry, and you fed Me, I was sick, and you visited me, I was naked, and you clothed Me” (Matthew 25:36).

The gospel tells us it’s hard to judge who will be where. When we look at those who Jesus speaks to at the end of the world, do you think it would be easy to tell who fed the hungry, who visited the sick and who clothed the naked and who didn’t? When you look around yourself and look at other people in your day to day life, do you know who feeds the hungry? Do you know who has visited the sick? Do you know who has clothed the naked? Chances are, those that do, aren’t walking around boasting about it. We simply, do not know.

The Gospels of Wednesday help us to try and understand how a person qualifies to be at the right hand of Jesus. Not so that we can look at the people around us and say, “you’re going to heaven,” it is so we can look at ourselves and determine if we qualify for the Kingdom of Heaven. The first hour of the Gospels is about the marriage banquet, here there are two types of people, those are invited to the wedding feast and refuse and those who rejoice to attend the wedding feast of Christ.

The second Gospel was the coming of Christ, here we see two types of people again. Two men in the field, one to be taken and one to be left. “Watch their fall because you do not know what hour the Lord is coming” – which one of them qualifies for heaven?

The third Gospel speaks of the two groups of virgins. The five foolish virgins on the left – they weren’t ready and the five wise virgins – they were ready. The fourth Gospel then talks about the hypocrisy of the scribes and pharisees.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves.” (Matthew 23:29-31)

These are the people who think they’re going to heaven.

I give God my 5 minutes of prayer, I pay my tithes. What do I have in my life that is important enough for me to rush my prayer? What is more important than giving God my attention when I speak to him? Our prayers tell us something about our relationship with God, our prayers in itself give us a glimpse of which group we fall into.

There are people who believe that God created us to love Him and there are people that believe we create God to love us. The first group says, I exist for God. God is the one who made me, without God I would not exist, He wants me to experience the Joy of love. Therefore, all I do is for God and anybody else. Then there is the other group where, they make up a god in their image and their likeness. He is a god that is kind and merciful and doesn’t mind the sins I am committing. They never feel they have any problems. The problem is, they haven’t met the real God.

We have to be awfully careful to not create our ‘fantasy’ god. The god who will give me everything I want. A god who must make my life very successful. We can’t lead our real God into what we want Him to do.

In the famous words of C.S Lewis, “He is not a tame lion.” We must not think he will come and lick our hands; He has a mind of His own. We are His servants, that is why we say “thy will be done” when we pray Our Father. There are no footnotes at the bottom of Our Father saying, “but let my will be Your will. Please Lord want what I want. Please Lord give me what I want.”

We must deal with the real God, not this fantasy god.

Judas, created a fantasy god. He created a fantasy Jesus. Judas didn’t like it when he had to face the real Jesus, the real Jesus, didn’t approve of his greediness. Ask yourself this question, “Are my thoughts, my motivations, my actions, my words motivated by care for myself or are they motivated by genuine and sincere care for God and my neighbour?”

In recent times, the Church has been tainted with Western ideas. We think of our relationship with God ultimately as standing before a judge. A judge in a “legal” sense where He has a law, He has witnesses of what we’ve done. If we’ve broken the law, we take our punishment. If we haven’t, we will meet Him in heaven.

The Orthodox view has a different emphasis. Those who are going to go to Heaven are those who live in Heaven on earth. It’s not going to be a matter of getting there and having your accounts checked. If we start to live in Heaven on earth, when we get to meet Jesus and ask “Lord, can I please go to heaven,” His answer will be “No, because you’re already in heaven”.

What does it mean to live in Heaven on earth? It is to live united with God while we’re here on earth. Heaven is not defined by a location or characteristic, it is defined by the presence of God.

We can create our own hell on earth by turning away from God. By turning into ourselves and not to God, we turn away from Our God who is everywhere. God has said to us, your soul and your heart is free, God does not force Himself upon us or into our heart. This is why in oneself; we can turn away from God. We become selfish and self-centred. The person who lives in hell on earth, goes up and stands in front of Christ and says “no, I don’t want to be with you. I prefer myself.” And Christ would say “okay, I won’t force you.”

So, as it turns out, it is not God who decides where we go. We choose ourselves. This is the free choice God has given to every one of us. The choices we make in our lives, makes us who we are in the end.

Let us ask ourselves:

Who am I? What kind of person am I? Who is the real person I am that nobody sees? Have I met with the real God, or am I dealing with my fantasy god?

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”

Matthew 25:34

? Full Sermon ?

A Warning to the Fruitless

A Warning to the Fruitless

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Yacoub Magdy

In Holy Week, we live hour by hour so we remember exactly what the Lord did in His final week.

On Monday, we remember the day that the Lord was in Bethany. He woke up and was hungry. From afar, He saw a fig tree that appeared to be full of fruit because of the amount of beautiful leaves that were on it. As He approached the tree, He noticed that were no fruits. The tree falsely appeared to be full of fruit but it was merely an appearance of goodness.

The Lord then cursed the tree. For three years, He was with the disciples pouring blessings of healing – raising the dead, curing the sick, giving sight to the blind, cleansing lepers and expelling demons – but to the fig tree, He cursed. The next day as He was passing by the same tree with His disciples, Peter remembers what the Lord says and exclaims, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away!” (Mark 11:21).  For the first time, something living had died at the hands of our Lord.

This was an important event that opens our eyes to the nature of our Lord. The Lord is telling us that the worst sin is hypocrisy. Its underlying sin is arrogance but hypocrisy is the manifestation.

Hypocrisy is to pretend you are good when are not, to hold an inner life that is vastly different to your outward appearance. To appear holy, to appear blessed, but when the Lord looks to your heart, it is withering away like the fig tree with no fruits.

He speaks firmly to the Pharisees and the Scribes to draw their attention, to overcome their pride and hypocrisy. What is the issue of pride?

Pride repels repentance. The hypocrite cannot see their need to repent. They are satisfied with their outward appearance. It is a disease that can manifest upon those living in the church for many years. Their pride sustains them and they carry on living with no cause to repent.

As St Macarius was passing away, there were two monks with him who asked him to give them lessons to live by. His advice was to live your life as a beginner. This is how you remain protected from pride. As we grow, in service, in knowledge, we think we are doing better and we leave ourselves exposed to attacks of pride. The label of “beginner” protects us.

St Yostus implemented this same principle all his life, so that others would not see his goodness and there was not even a hint of hypocrisy within him. One night he knocked on the door of another monk. The other monk awoke from sleep in haste to see what was wrong. St Yostus asked him what time it was. The other monk responded, “Father, you wake me in the middle of the night to ask me what time it is? It is after midnight, what difference does the time make?” He turned around angry, and as he was about to get into bed, he saw scorpions on his bed. St Yostus protected him from the scorpions by asking a silly question so that he would not receive any credit. He preferred to appeared crazy before others than have them think of him as a saint.

This is how the saints protected themselves. The ones that were focused on the opinion of God over the opinions of people. They did what they needed to do protect themselves from the sin of hypocrisy.

As St Moses the Black grew in repentance and spirituality, he was given the gifts of healing and prophecy. Word spread throughout surrounding countries and people began to travel to the desert to ask for his prayers. Some overseas travellers found a tall, dark monk in the desert as they were traveling to the monastery to see St Moses. They asked him if he knew St Moses and the monk responded, “why would you travel all this way to see him? The stories you hear are false, do not waste your time, he is no saint.” They continued walking to the monastery disturbed by what they heard. When they arrived at the monastery, they asked about the monk they had encountered. When asked to describe his appearance, the monks of the monastery were quickly able to identify that the monk they had seen in the desert was, in fact, St Moses. He didn’t like to be described as a saint, he wanted God to reveal what was within his heart.

St Seraphim of Sarov was a Russian hermit and is very well known till today. He was falsely accused of wrong doing. There was a court case before the Russian Synod of bishops and he was asked to defend himself. His disciples implored him to answer but he opened not his mouth, he insisted upon this. The Synod had no choice but to excommunicate him. He left joyful and continued in prayer and fasting. Many miracles were performed while he was in excommunication. This was extremely embarrassing for the Synod that had found him guilty. His excommunication was reverted and he was canonised a saint after his passing.

The saints hid their sainthood to prevent them from falling into hypocrisy. While we are not at the level of the saints to show we are bad but we must protect ourselves too. We must not try to convince people that we are good. If we do good, this does need to be broadcasted. Many times, the church is given huge gifts or donations and no one knows where they came from.

As a safeguard;

  • Never speak in a way that glorifies yourself
  • Never speak of yourself in a way that will cause others to conclude that you are good or a high achiever
  • Always give thanks to God.

How will we be saved if we accept glory of earth?

2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. – Matthew 6:2-4.

Do not be angry. Turn accusation into correction. Apologise often, even if you didn’t do anything wrong. Blame yourself, and you will live happy.

? Full sermon ?

He Did it For You

He Did it For You

By Marc Eskander

When you think of sinning, remember the Lord’s suffering. 

When your life takes you away from the path of Christ, remember the path of Calvary.

When your feet begin to wander into sin, remember the nails driven into the feet of Christ.

When your actions take a sinful turn, remember the actions of the Jews against Christ.

When your hands are used for evil instead of good, remember the nails in both Christ’s wrists. 

When your thoughts become sinful, remember the excruciating pain radiating from the thorns piercing the scalp of Christ. 

When you’re thinking of humiliating someone, remember the humiliation and mockery Christ endured innocently for you. 

When you’re about to betray someone, remember the pain Christ felt at his closest friend betraying him to die, for you. 

When your integrity and faith is shaken, remember Peter’s denial of his master because of the shame of crucifixion, for you.

When your actions and words leave scourges on the back of your neighbor, remember the flesh being ripped from the body of Christ over and over again. For you. 

When your cross becomes heavy, when you start to tire, remember Christ dragging his cross, the one He would be killed on, through the streets of Jerusalem, while being mocked and spat on, bleeding from His open wounds, sleepless…facing his impending crucifixion. For you. 

When your life becomes difficult, exhausting, painful, sorrowful. When it has stripped everything away from you. When it has stretched you to your limit. When your friends have become your enemies. When you feel alone, outside Jerusalem, crucified to your cross.  Think of Christ on the cross. His thoughts were for his executioners. For the criminals. For his mother and disciples. 

Pray. Pray for God’s will in your life to be done. Pray that God strengthens you. Pray for others. Pray for your enemies, the ones that hate you speak evil of you. Mock you, spit on you. Think of others, suffer with others and allow your pain to help others carry theirs.

When you’re in the depths of sin. When you don’t feel like there’s a way out, when you feel like you’re too far gone for Christ. Remember the Resurrection. Remember that moment the disciples hopes and dreams were made alive when they saw Christ Risen. Remember the redemption of Peter from his denial and the love Christ showed, remember the rescue of Adam and Eve from Hades, remember the triumph of Christ over death and sin. That His arms are outstretched just for you. For you to return.

In His Image

By : Paul Ghaly

Original post by Becoming Fully Alive blog site

Then God said “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness” (Gen 1:26).

Growing up, I recall lightly using this verse on at least a weekly basis. Whenever someone picked on an insecurity of mine, I’d wittingly use this verse as a rebuttal. If my Sunday school teacher asked me why I had to love everyone, I’d recite this verse back to them, always taking it for its literal meaning and never delving into the depth required to truly understand such a statement. A naïve teenager, I did not understand the gravity and responsibility that comes with being in the image of a God who is, as we say in the Gregorian liturgy the unutterable, the invisible, the infinite without beginning, the eternal, the timeless, the limitless, the immeasurable, the unchangeable!

So what does it mean to be in His image? More importantly, when others see me do they see the beauty of the Lord in me? (And I’m not talking about the physical, outwards appearance that we tend to always draw towards, but the beauty that the sinner woman saw causing her to fall at his feet, the beauty that caused even the blind beggar to cry all the more for help…a beauty beyond the eyes!). I strongly believe that it is when we truly grasp this reality that, as the contemporary song says: “God dwells in me, that’s my selfie, that’s my true self”, then and there we will fall to our knees in reverence of our amazing God. As David the Prophet eloquently puts it:

“I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).

There are so many privileges and responsibilities that are part of being in the image and likeness of God. A major characteristic boasted about in the Christian life is the notion of free will. That being saved through the life-giving blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, I was released from the bonds and chains of sins; being able now to act through voluntary choice.

Firstly, it must be understood that it is because man was created in the image of God, who is entirely free, that we are also free through Him. We must never lose sight of this royal liberty, a right bestowed upon us as individuals in God’s image. Unfortunately, more often than not, amongst the storm of this world we forget this fundamental truth: that it is a gift given only to royalty. I’ll never forget the words a dear friend said to me once in the midst of my pains, “You are the child of a King, why are you afraid?!” Unfortunately, over the times, western culture has conditioned us away from the true meaning of freedom. The phrases, “Don’t judge me, I can do whatever I want” and “It’s a free country, I’ll do as I please” exemplify this misinterpretation.

Freedom to choose was never intended to be a scapegoat for us to do as we please, but a gift given from on high, allowing us in return to unite it with our Creator as an expression of our love. Christ knew the folly and limitations of our thinking, and we are warned that ironically our “freedom” can become our very own captivity.

as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. (1 Peter 2:16)

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)

The freedom that comes from being connected to the divine image was intended to give the individual their individuality, or to simply put it their uniqueness. It is because we are free, that we can express the divine image in our own distinctive, unique way.

Kallistos Ware says “within each of us there is a priceless treasure not to be found in anyone else… For each has a vocation for creating something beautiful in his or her own unrepeatable way.”

This. This is what He intended when He said “Let us make man in our image”; The freedom to express our love to Him in our own unique way.

I leave you with this question. Are you truly living free as one who is in His image?

I pray that God gives us the true freedom, which we can use to serve his glorified name, growing each day in His love.

Original blog found at – http://becomingfullyalive.com/in-his-image/

From Palms to the Cross

From Palms to the Cross

Adapted from a sermon by Dr Adel Magdy

After the Lord entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, we map every step He took in the hope that we see what He saw, we hear what He heard and we feel what He felt in this final week.

The ultimate aim is to reach His Cross, to stand at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday. We start with Palm Sunday where thousands of people surround Christ to get even a glimpse of Him. By the end of the week, there were only a handful that remained at the foot of the Cross. Even His disciples, His closest of friends, had deserted Him.

For the special few that made it all the way to the Cross, indescribable blessings were given from our compassionate Lord. If we consider what would’ve happened to St Mary after the death of her only Son, with no husband, life would have become extremely difficult for her in those days. He gave her John the Beloved to care for her. As for John the Beloved, the gift of having the Mother of God in his own household was a huge blessing and shows how much the Lord trusted him.

St Mary Magdalene received the honour of being the very first person that the gospels record the Lord appearing to after His resurrection. She was the first to see the risen Christ. Even those that were not at the foot of the Cross deliberately still received blessing. The Centurion, for example, had his eyes opened. It is even believed that this man became a martyr for the sake of the Lord.

There is power in being on the foot of the Cross on Good Friday. For us, we begin a journey this week. The ultimate aim is to power through right until the foot of the Cross.

There are a lot of tests and milestones along the way that we must pass to reach the foot of the Cross. The first milestone we encounter on the night of Palm Sunday. On Monday Eve, Christ asks the disciples a few questions – who do men say that I am? He then follows up with a more personal question – who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16:15)

It’s an unusual question. Why would the Lord care about what people were saying about Him? He knew that His disciples knew who He was. For us, we ask the Lord, “who do You say that I am?” Not what I think of God, but what does God think of me. It doesn’t matter what the world thinks of me. It doesn’t matter how I outwardly appear to the world. It doesn’t matter if people look at me and think I am a great ambassador of the Lord. What matters is what the Lord thinks when He looks at my heart.

Lord, who do you say that I am?

It’s not a comfortable question for any of us to ask. We’re not sure what the Lord will say of us. Will He say that we were like John the Beloved, loving Him and always drawing near to Him, or if He will say, you’re like Judas, someone that betrayed for any price. We don’t know that the answer will be. We fear so many hidden things in our life that if people knew, they wouldn’t want to know us.

As uncomfortable as this question is to ask, it’s crucial for us if we want to make it to the foot of the Cross on Good Friday. Even if we don’t ask this question, we will hear the Lord’s answer on Judgement day. The Lord will tell us what He thought, and we will either enter the joy of the Lord or we will be cast into eternal condemnation.

In His mercy, we are given the opportunity to ask this question tonight while we have a chance to fix it. On Judgement Day, there will be no further opportunities to change, but now we have a chance. We have a chance to ask the Lord what we need to do to fix ourselves and draw near to Him.

Monday of Holy Week is the cursing of the fig tree, this is where the thousands that surrounded Jesus on Palm Sunday begin to drop off. The Lord is hungry and He sees a fig tree from a distance, full of leaves. The Lord makes the effort to draw near to the fig tree but when He arrives He sees that there is no fruit, just leaves. Apart from its appearance, there is no good in it. The Lord curses the fig tree, the very next day it withers away and dies. The church fathers teach us that this is a symbol of hypocrisy. There is nothing the Lord hates more than hypocrisy. The Lord was only firm with the Pharisees and scribes because of their hypocrisy.

We get on our knees in Holy Week and beg the Lord to show us what we are doing wrong and what we can do about it. We ask for His grace to change our life this year. We can make a change this Passion Week.

A life changing sermon was given by Fr Matta El Meskeen that outlines the steps toward answered prayer. Beg the Lord day and night to reveal your sins and weaknesses that keep you from Him. Pray for nothing else in one month, but day and night repeat this prayer – reveal the sins that are keeping me from coming to You, Lord. We can only ask this question if we are prepared to act upon what the Lord teaches us, to learn to fix our hearts and to see through the Lord’s eyes.

Lord, may You grant us clarity to see what separates us from You so that when Good Friday comes, we may see You in full clarity. May we increase our love for You, that it becomes easy to stop the sins we once loved that block us from You. My Saviour, may You help me reach the Cross so that I may sit at the foot of the Cross all day and see the depth of Your love for me and the depth of Your sacrifice. May I hear You say, “Enter my Beloved child in whom I am well pleased.”

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The Unsung Hero of Palm Sunday

The Unsung Hero of Palm Sunday

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

During this time, the love of humanity is shining. Everyone looking out for their neighbours. Do you need anything? How can I help? Among all this, have we asked God if He needs anything?

Theologically, can God even be in need? God is the Provider, what could He ever need from me? 

In the gospels of Palm Sunday, Jesus expresses His need for a donkey. The donkey holds a prominent position in all four of the gospels. While the palms of Palm Sunday are only mentioned in one of the four gospels, the donkey gets mentioned in all four. And there are specific requirements that Jesus had for the donkey.

If we focus on the gospel of Luke – the donkey had to be tied up. This is essential and is mentioned five times. He tell the disciples that they will find a colt that was tied. Not any colt, but this particular one had to be tied. He tells them to loose the colt and bring it to Him. If anyone was to ask why they were taking the donkey, it was because the Master was in need of it;

“Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?”34 And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” – Luke 19:30-34.

The emphasis throughout the account is on the tied-up donkey that needed to be loosed before it was brought to Jesus.

Why were these requirements emphasised so strongly in the Gospel accounts? What was the purpose of the donkey? At the time of the Passover, thousands of Jews would travel into Jerusalem for the feast. They would all walk into Jerusalem from all the surrounding towns and villages. 

But Christ doesn’t walk into the city, he takes the donkey that he insisted upon. This reflects Zechariah’s prophecy that is mentioned in Matthew’s account of the gospel;

Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey – Zechariah 9:9

When the people saw the scene of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, the One who had just raised Lazarus from the dead, they could see the fulfilment of the prophecy. They began chanting the royal psalm as Christ entered; 

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord,
Through which the righteous shall enter.– Psalm 118:20

It continues,

[Hosanna!] We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 God is the Lord,
And He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.– Psalm 118:26-27

Christ was coming to bind the sacrifice to the altar. He doesn’t do it in the way we expect. He binds the sacrifice to the altar of the Cross. The donkey was not the sacrifice. The donkey was already bound, but then loosed out of necessity.

When we ask the question, does God have a need for anything, we see the need He had on that day and the one that He still needs from us today. He needed a donkey to fulfil a prophecy that He had come in peace and humility. This was a sign to the Jews that their Messiah had come.

Today, Christ still needs a donkey. We are the donkeys, but not just any donkeys, the donkey that Christ needs before He can enter into Jerusalem. We are the ones tied up. Tied to problems, tied to sin, tied to this earth, tied to worries and anxieties. There are so many things that tie us down.

But God has need of us, He has a need for us to be untied for His use. Donkeys are the most stubborn animals and like to remain in their place, without changing, but under the right guidance they can travel through the harshest of conditions. Christ orders the disciples and the church to loose the donkey and bring it to Him, for He had need of him. 

We are called to be set free, and to take Christ on our shoulders and walk into Jerusalem. When the Lord entered Jerusalem, He began the week with a need. A need of a donkey. A donkey that was tied. He has the same need today. He wants us to be untied and set free. He wants to take us on the journey with Him through Holy Week. He wants to untie us so He can tie Himself to the Cross for our sake. As we begin this week of Holy Week, let us contemplate on the one thing that ties us to the world. What is tying us down that we need Christ to untie us of so that we may enter into Jerusalem joyful under the guidance of our Master?

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Faith and Works

Faith and Works

by Shenouda Girgis 

“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”– James 2:5.

The opening chapters of St James’ epistle reveal the importance of being a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. We strive for a strong and steadfast faith to guide our Christian life. We must be genuine; What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? (James 2:14)

In the beginning, God, out of His great love, created us, everything around us and set us over all His other creations. And as if such a gesture of love wasn’t enough, He blessed us with free will – the ability to make our own decisions – but simply asked that we be obedient to His word.

As we all know, it was this very ability to make our own decisions that led to the demise of humankind as we know it. Surely God knew that His gift of free will would be abused and that we would disobey and fall from grace. 

Why did He allow this to happen knowing the consequences of sin was death? Why would He allow such a void to form between us and Him? The answer for this is God Himself, love. What we sometimes don’t understand is that our relationship with God is unlike any other relationship – the strongest relationships are the ones that are not one sided – where there is mutual love. That’s why God gave us our free will, He wants us to chose to be in a relationship with Him and not force us into just doing the right thing. 

His love for us is unique in that, despite our numerous and infinite infidelities, He is always willing to accept us and is waiting for the day that we consciously choose Him with the free will He gave us. As Christians, our faith is established on the very thing makes God, God: love! Surprised? 

Out of His love, He sent His Only Son to bear the punishment of our sins and through the death and resurrection of Christ we have been given eternal life. But just like our fall, our fate is in our own hands and the hands of the free will that God blessed us with. All of this is important to know because this is the foundation from which the strength of our faith can grow.

Our works are the true measure of our faith. But what do the Saints mean when they say works? Put simply, works are the proof of faith; it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to dedicate your entire life to service but if our faith is strong then we naturally have ‘works’, when out actions reflect Christ and people can see Christ in you then these are the true works that the saints are referring to. Are you inclusive of others as Christ was inclusive? Are you quick to anger or do you have the patience we are taught to have? I think St Francis of Assisi says it perfectly:

“Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words.”

Further reading: James 1-3, Romans 4-5, Galatians 3, Ephesians 2 & Proverbs 1

Holy Week in the Secret Place

Holy Week in the Secret Place

By Shery Abdelmalak

“Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” – (Matthew 6:4)

A wise person once told me that they knew their spiritual life was failing when they prayed more at church than they did at home, this is a sure sign of a spiritual slump. If I go to church regularly, if I serve regularly, these become my norm. I enjoy doing these things. I feel like I am doing good. My outward display to those around me and even to myself is favourable. I don’t feel the need to fix something that doesn’t appear to be broken.

But an honest spiritual life starts in a secret place. There are no hidden motives in the secret place. In your room, with the door closed, where no one knows what goes on. Only God knows for certain, and it is in the stillness of prayer that He listens and our relationship with Him begins. Oftentimes the secret place is sought for refuge from the problems of this world, we gain peace, we gain clarity and we slowly drift away until the next problem comes along. If we use prayer in this way, there is much lost. We leave before Christ’s biggest blessings of grace come to us. 

“It is amazing how many people prefer service more than prayer. And reading more than prayer. And contemplation more than prayer. And attending religious gatherings more than prayer. That is why they fail in their relationship with God. They therefore meditate, read, have a service and attend their meetings, but are separated from God. There is no relationship.”

HH Pope Shenouda III

Pope Shenouda is amazed at how much we devalue prayer. All that he lists have an external element attached that distinguishes them from prayer. In prayer, there is no external display and if we are valuing other aspects of our spiritual life more than our internal prayer lives, then it almost begs the question; has my relationship with God even started?

In the holiest of weeks, we commence a spiritual journey to the Cross, we put to death our worldly image and learn to love God from the inside out, no distractions. We must remember that this world is deceitful; what seems to be normal in the world is not what God intended for His creation. This Holy Week presents the perfect time to find Christ in the secret place, while the churches remain closed. Just you and your Beloved.

We spend Holy Week asking the question, “who are You, Lord?” and “reveal my sins to me so that I may be more like You.” We encounter Christ in secret; “We pray not to inform God or instruct God but to ask earnestly, to become intimate with God, to be humbled and reminded of our sins” – St John Chrysostom 

HG Bishop Agathon once said that one single night at the monastery was the equivalent of ten years in the world. We know this to be true because of the reformation through prayer under the leadership of Pope Kyrillos VI. Fr Daniel Fanous says, “The broken [Patriarchal] staff, symbolic of a broken church, fractured and profusely bleeding, was placed in Kyrillos’ hands; and there, in twelve short years, it was mended and healed in ways that we will never truly comprehend.” In twelve years as Patriarch, he lifted the mocked Coptic church to the church that has spread to all nations, to nations that cannot imagine a life without it. 

Now, a different struggle, a spiritual life without the physical church. Maybe this is how we will be risen with Christ this Holy Week. To start from scratch, in our own home churches, in our cells, we can try to find Christ in the secret place. Maybe now is the time to emulate the words of St John Chrysostom when he said, “When you pray, set aside all turmoil, as if you were being joined by choirs of angels and singing with the seraphim.”

Fr Anthony Mourad says that the sweetness of God is seen in all the ways He has made lemonade out of the lemon that is coronavirus. One of those ways is in the secret place of isolation that we now find ourselves in. For the first time in any of our lifetimes, the church is closed during Holy Week. I don’t want to be anywhere other than the church in this week, but we must make lemonade out of what is the sourest of lemons. If it was in the secret place that Pope Kyrillos VI mended our entire church, Christ can mend and reignite our relationships with Him, to one of pure love, void of all external motives. 

Get your favourite deacons from Soundcloud ready! This is a Holy Week not to be missed! For the first few Good Fridays I can remember, Fr Yacoub would recite the Lamentations of Jeremiah and it didn’t feel the same when it wasn’t him, but now I know it will be him, it will be whoever I want it to be, no bad deacon voices this year! (but Jesus still thinks your voice is beautiful, Amen.) When I was in Egypt buying souvenirs, I saw this cute little shoraya that I thought would make a perfect candle holder. The lady selling it and my mum then proceeded to make some not funny Arabic jokes about how I wasn’t allowed to become a priest. That shoraya is now the most sought after object in our entire household. This is a year unlike any other, Fr Elijah told us to get excited for Lent, but now we get excited for a Holy Week that will be spent in our makeshift churches at home. The secret place is all we have left, but it is all we need.

❤️ Psalm 91 ❤️ Fr Yacoub’s Lamentations of Jeremiah ❤️