Category: Blog

You Can’t Leave Me

You Can’t Leave Me

by John Boules

I’m the type of person that is very dependent on others. I get really happy when I’m at church with friends, I love it when we drive to church together as a family, I speak to my friends everyday, and I don’t really like being alone.

I was thinking about it today and I think you can make that same assumption with Saint Peter. You see how much he really loves Our Lord and how dependant he is on Him.

If we look at the story of Peter walking on water, he doesn’t actually care about the act/power of walking on water, he cares about going to Christ.

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” (Matthew 14:28)

He just wants to be with his Lord because that’s where he feels safest. It reminds me of when I was a kid and would walk off by myself in the shopping centre and then I’d realise I’ve lost mum and I would just drop onto the floor and cry. As soon as I’d look up and see my mum at a distance, I would race towards her as she crouches down and jump into her arms! It was the best feeling – the safest I’ve ever felt.

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
– Matthew 16:21-22

The word that screams out to me is ‘rebuke’
If we define rebuke, it says; “to express sharp disapproval or criticism of someone because of their behaviour or actions”

This reminds me so much of those movies where you’ve got the husband and the wife and they’re having an argument. He stands up abruptly and yells “i can’t do this anymore! I’m leaving!” He walks towards the door and she quickly realised that’s she can’t do life without him. She jumps towards him and grabs his hand and pleads with him! “No! Please don’t leave me! You can’t leave me, I need you!”

Christ tells the disciples that He’s going to be crucified and killed and He’s going to leave them. They’re going to be independent soon. Peter can’t take it! He pulls him aside and gets really angry! But not anger, anger! But more anger out of love and being scared! “Lord you can’t leave me! What am I supposed to do without You! You actually can’t do this to me!”

You also see it when the Jews arrest Christ, Peter rips the sword out and cuts the servant’s ear! At that point, he sees it all unfolding. Everything that Christ said earlier is actually happening and it hits him all at once. He freaks out and he was probably thinking, ‘you can’t take Him! He’s all I have!’

Three people approach him in front of others saying that he’s associated with the crucified One. He hastily denies all accusations. But you notice in the last one he gets really angry in comparison to the first two times – “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!”

He knew exactly who Jesus Christ is. He knew he was denying Christ. But we tend to look at him as a traitor without going through the emotions with him. When His Lord is on the cross, Peter feels abandoned, he’s angry and he feels lonely.

Lord, we were always together! Lord, you were my strength. I was your sheep, you were my shepherd. You healed the blind. The children that came to you, you hugged them and showed them compassion. You cried after Lazerus. Now you’re up there. On the cross. Why couldn’t you just stop them? Why couldn’t you just wipe them out? Why do you have to leave me? I need you Lord!

Saint Peter was terrified. The person he loved so much, depended on so much, is now on the cross. He feels so lost and lonely right now and then three people try and get him into trouble. So he yells out ‘I don’t know him! I don’t know him!’ He runs away and sobs bitterly by himself. He does all this because he loves Him so much, he’s just scared! The thought of Him not being in the picture just freezes his bones! But Peter didn’t realise that Our Lord was with him the whole time. He never left him.

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5

Thinking about this has just made me fall in love with Saint Peter. I see myself in him in so many ways. In times of trouble, I feel lonely and abandoned. But just as Christ never left Peter, Christ never leaves me.

“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” – Psalm 118:6

I feel jealous though – I want to feel dependent on God just as Saint Peter did. Lord, I want to feel lost without You. I want to feel so completed with You that when I’m not with You, I feel there’s something big missing.

Lord, help me feel Your presence in my life. Help me feel whole again.

He is Useful to Me for Ministry

He is Useful to Me for Ministry

by Fr Anthony St Shenouda

When we speak of the apostles we generally speak of their achievements and successes. This is often not the full story. St Mark, who was a young man, had his fair share of failures at the beginning of his ministry. In the gospel of Mark he tells us how he escaped the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion naked (Mark 14:50-52). As well as this, in the book of Acts we are told that Mark refused to go with the apostles because he seemed to have been homesick and preferred to return to his mum in Jerusalem. We know that this angered St Paul and made him refuse to take Mark with him to serve, in turn affecting St Mark’s reputation.

The incidences at the beginning of St Mark’s ministry affected his reputation within the church. St Paul had to send special instructions for the church to receive St Mark, recommending Mark for the service. St Paul stated “Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions – if he comes to you, receive him” (Col. 4:10) saving St Mark’s reputation in the church from going down the drain.

A lot of us may fall into this sort of situation at some point in our lives. A situation where we have made mistakes in the past and gotten a reputation for being lousy servants. This is a hurtful situation to be in, gaining a bad reputation from a single past experience. Despite the hurt, St Mark didn’t let this affect him. He became motivated to serve and his motivation never died out notwithstanding his personal weaknesses and external pressures. St Mark got back into service through a mentor, his cousin, Barnabas. He was a mentor who believed in him and his motivation for service, a mentor who saw past all his weaknesses and the opinions of men and brought him back into the service.

A few years later, after overcoming his weakness, we hear of St Mark’s  many amazing achievements! He preached the gospel to Alexandria, Egypt and his account of the life of Jesus became the venerated second gospel. Above all this, the greatest achievement of all was that he was finally martyred in the name of Christ.

So if you may have stopped serving for any reason, or if something has happened in the past or something is still happening, like a clash with a well-respected servant like St Paul and St Mark, know that it is not the end of your story. There are many different areas in service where you can thrive and one day this well respected servant will say (about you) “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).

The Love of a Parent

THE LOVE OF A PARENT

By Shery Abdelmalak 

“Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12

We know this verse like the back of our hands. Yet how often do we practice this? When you go to confession, is there ever a point where you don’t stop to think about how you treated your parents? There is something missing here. Clearly, we cannot fully grasp the importance of honouring our parents.

Our parents, like God, love with an unconditional love. If God has ever expressed how much He loves us, it is by comparison to the love of a parent. Isaiah 49:15-16 reads,

Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands

After all the sins that the nation of Israel committed against the Lord, He continues to pour His Love upon them. Did Israel deserve anything from the Lord at this point? Every man acted in accordance with what was right in his own eyes. What God? They showed complete ignorance for the God that saved them, the God that redeemed them, the God that promised them a land flowing of milk and honey. Yet He still reaches out to them in love. Maybe this time they will understand. Maybe if He just showed them how great His love is once more.

John Cassian says, “This design and love of His, which the Lord designs with unwearying kindness to benefit us with and which He wishes to express as an act of human affection, although He discovers no such loving disposition in His creation to which He could worthily compare it, He has compared with the most tender heart of a loving mother. He uses this example because He can find nothing dearer in the nature of human beings.“

A mother could never forget her own child. It is medically impossible. Oxytocin is released throughout pregnancy and is particularly heightened during delivery. While it primarily serves to assist with contractions, oxytocin is also known as the “love hormone.” This is because it shifts behaviour toward warmth, compassion and protection for the new born baby. A love that is not conditioned to the actions of the baby. At that point, nothing a child does can make their parents love them any less. Through the family unit, God gives us insight into the love that is imparted from the Creator to the creation.

Christ explains the entire oxytocin process best when He says, “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” – John 16:21

How could a screaming baby lead to joy? It was all in His original design. While the love of a parent is but a small fraction of the love God has for us, it brings us that little bit closer to Him.

When we are loved unconditionally, it becomes difficult to reciprocate. There may be immediate repercussions for a child’s action, but the love of a parent remains. If we look at the story of St Augustine’s return to God, we see the power of a parent’s love. St Monica had successfully converted her husband and mother-in-law to the faith but her son, Augustine was more difficult. After sending him away, she had a vision that forced her to continue praying for his salvation despite his resistance. For years, she prayed and on one encounter with a bishop, he told her, “the child of those tears shall never perish.” Seventeen years of prayer later, St Augustine became one of the greatest theologians of our faith.

For the rest of us, we may not be joined to the world living to our heart’s content, we may think that we are doing alright, but for all the times we ignore or react badly to our parents, do we truly know love? In the same way we did not choose our parents, we did not choose God either. Christ told His disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” – John 15:16. These levels of love are difficult to comprehend and so, God’s starts us off simply with the example of our parents so that we get a glimpse into true love that is in Christ.

All in all, we may never be able to comprehend the love of a parent until we become parents ourselves. Alas, the opportunity to love our parents is here and now, we cannot let it go to waste out of ignorance. Despite whatever annoyance, anger or frustration that you may have for your parents, no one will love you quite the same as your parents. God promises us long life if we honour our parents. We could not be joined with Him unless we loved our parents. How could we honour God whom we have not seen if we do not honour our parents whom we have seen? It is not a matter of punishment, it is a matter of understanding.

Learn to honour your parents first, then you will learn to give God the glory due to His Name. There is no parent who does not wait with the same eagerness as the father of the prodigal son. After he had spent his entire inheritance, treating his father like he was already dead – the absolute height of disrespect – his father waited and watched for his son’s return, for his son to be brought back to life. This is the love that we honour. It is no difficult task when we can understand how much they have already given up for us out of unconditional love.

Psalm 23

Psalm 23

By Senote Keriakes

Cranial nerves, Cavity preparation and mental breakdowns come to mind when I reflect on my first year of uni, which was overwhelming to say the very least. Through my struggles, the beauty King David crafted into psalm 23 became undeniable.

I truly believe that the words of this psalm carried me through my semester two exam period, which was possibly one of the most challenging times of my life. Each verse had a profound impact on me and on my outlook towards this tough time.

1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.

The first verse, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”Is a sentence which we hear repeatedly. Quite often with these repetitive religious clichés, we become desensitised to the profound meaning that is behind them. It is only when I pause and think carefully about these words that I can understand what King David is really trying to say here. For me, these words are very humbling. In the grand scheme of things, my academic achievements, relationships, and everything else in life mean nothing without God’s blessing. In other words, I am God’s sheep, and I am nothing without my shepherd.

Another part that stands out to me in this verse is “I shall not want.”The obvious interpretation here is that I won’t need anything in life, and that all my sustenance in life comes from the Lord. However, this phrase could also mean “I shall not want” another shepherd. Anything else in life which provides me with a sense of security or a sense of self-worth is temporal, and the only way in which I can be happy is if I fully rely on God in my plight.

Quite often I find that I derive my self-worth from my academic achievements, or from other worldly sources. The happiness or validation that I get from these sources is meaningless, as the only shepherd or true source of happiness I need is God.

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.

Walking through life, I am merely a child, unaware of how to navigate through life. However, I need not worry, because He is leading me. I used to think that meant that whenever I get closer to Him I instantly discover what He has in store for me. However, I have come to understand that It just means that even though I don’t know where my life is going and how it will turn out, I trust that the Lord is leading me to a place full of blessings, and that I don’t need to lean on my own understanding but acknowledge Him and He will direct my paths (Proverbs 3:5)

3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

I am not blessed because I deserve blessings, I am blessed by grace. Because of His awesome mercies that endure forever. Augustine of Hippo puts it best when he writes, “He hath brought me forth in the narrow ways, wherein few walk… not for my merit’s sake but for His name’s sake.”

4 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.

This verse was perhaps the most comforting one for me out of this whole psalm.

As I walked the hallways to my final exam, I was a nervous wreck. I thought I had failed all my exams up until this point and this was my final chance. This was my valley of shadow of death. A walk that was have filled with stress and anxiety was alleviated by comparison to the reality of it all. His rod and staff were my comfort. Regardless of what happened in that last exam, one thing I knew for certain, that He would be by my side every step of the way.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

A possible outcome of my exams was failure. However, even in that case, I wouldn’t feel as if the Lord has abandoned me. The fact that I am studying the course which I dreamed of is enough of a blessing as it is. My life “runs over” with blessings, therefore should I really be disappointed when one little thing doesn’t go my way?

This way of thinking is very easy when things are going my way. The trick is to convince myself of the truth behind this statement when I feel that I am losing control of a situation. Feeling as if I am losing control isn’t entirely a bad thing, in fact I would argue that it’s a great thing.

The fact that I am losing control only means that the situation is now under the control of God. I am a human. God is God. Is it really such a bad thing for me to forfeit control of what’s going on, only for God to take control?

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

I’ve come to understand that “goodness and mercy” following me “all the days of my life” doesn’t mean that good things will always happen to me. It just means that I will be happy, and more accepting of myself as I pass through tribulation.

“The Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man” (Genesis 39:2 NKJV)– The success of Joseph is the true aim. Spiritual success over the worldly. To be in a jail cell on earth but singing His praise internally.

Understanding the Holy Fifty

Understanding the Holy Fifty

Inspired by Fr Bishoy Andrawes

The church gives us 50 days to enjoy the resurrection of Christ. There is something special about this feast that we do not want to let go. We get something brand new during this season. It is a season of victory. It is the season where God changes our hearts.

Throughout the 8 weeks of Lent, our eyes were on the Cross. We wanted to crucify the old man and my habits so now is the time to live as the new man. During this season of resurrection, how do we receive the new man and victory in Christ?

We can fall into sin and rise again or we can be slaves to sin. Anyone can fall while they are walking. There is a difference between someone who fell, got up and kept walking and the one who falls, stays down and chooses to allow sin to control their life. Today, there is something in you. You no longer fight according to your own power. You have grace that gives you power and strength so you’re no longer enslaved under the law. You have grace that pulls you up. Something extra and powerful. God is planting His life in us.

To be a good person, I stop sinning. That’s not the truth. Not doing bad things and attending church does not make holy people, it makes you a church pew. If you become in the image of Christ, His love, His patience and His holiness makes you the person God wants you to be.

In Lent, we struggle to defeat the old man and the uprooting of sins. If these roots are now empty, something else will enter. We do not want to leave the roots empty, but implant the life of Christ within us.

If you have your arm in a cast and the cast comes off once the bone has healed, do you think you can move your arm right away? It will be painful to move. It did heal and the bones are healing but it’s not used to the movement. For this to happen, it needs practice. That’s exactly what God does in our lives. Doubts that I can’t move or I can’t do anything good are not true. You’re healing, the bad roots are out. You need to keep moving your arm little by little. This takes a lot of faith. God has worked in you. Now, use your members as instruments of righteousness. Walk while you have the light. When Jesus gave Lazarus new life, did he jump out of the tomb? No, he needed someone to untie him.

The grace of resurrection is given to us in 50 days so we keep noticing and practicing. When a cast is taken off, physiotherapy commences to re-train the muscles. This is our 50 days of spiritual therapy to move the muscles of righteousness. This is a pain of health and not of sickness as we grow in Him. Do not be discouraged when you fall. The dominion of sin is gone, but that does not mean we will not fall ever again. It means that when we fall, we rise.

If someone is done with his cast and tries to carry something but can’t and thinks their arm is still broken, this is not true. The arm is fine, it just needs some training. Some belief that it is okay. This is the same as a slave who has no control over sin. God has helped me, God has worked in me but I do not believe that I am capable of change.

We receive resurrection through the life of Jesus Christ but we need to believe in that. During this time, we celebrate His grace and His work in me that has given me living hope.

 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hopethrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”– 1 Peter 1:3

Hope is not, “I hope my grades get better.” Hope is in the resurrected Christ. When Thomas did not believe, Christ told him to touch His side and His hands. Why did Christ do that? It is impossible for an Apostle to preach Christ without experiencing the resurrection. It is impossible to a be a servant of Christ without experiencing the new man in resurrection. That is how I was. I was blind but now I see. I was dead but now I live. I experience this not every year but every Sunday! Resurrection is the miracle of Christianity.

Christianity is not about healing the sick. It’s not about making people better or nicer or kinder. Christianity is about resurrection. New life. New beginning.

My resurrection is dependent on Him and not on myself. The old man is gone. O Death where is your sting?

 

Thomas Sunday

THOMAS SUNDAY
By Shery Abdelmalek

 What do we know about St Thomas?

He’s the one that doubted that Christ rose from the dead, but what else?

St Thomas was a brave and great saint He preached in India, China and Africa. When the king asked him about his achievements his response was, “The palaces that I built were the souls that have become the temples of the King of Glory; the carpentry that I did was the Gospel that removes the thorns of sin; and the medicines I practiced are the Holy Mysteries which heal the poison of the evil one.” He was imprisoned, tortured and finally received the crown of martyrdom.

Thomas went boldly before the Throne of grace to alleviate any doubts in the resurrected Christ. “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

Thomas touched the wounds of Christ. His pierced Side. The nails that went through His Hands. Thomas is the real hero of this story. How many people in history can say that they have done this? Had he have taken the disciples’ word for it, he would have been preaching the resurrection blindly. He is the perfect model of overcoming doubt. Unless you have survived doubt, your faith still has room to grow. The kind of faith we strive for is one that has overcome doubt and not one that has never questioned. Question God but then find answers to your questions. King David doubted. We see it in the psalms, but he overcame. King David was a man after God’s own heart, through faith.

Doubt that is left unanswered and unresolved becomes the cause of distance between us and Christ. We should not allow ourselves to settle for a Christ that we doubt. We should not settle for lukewarm faith. Do as Thomas did. Christ was not even present when Thomas made his request, yet He responded as if He were. How did He know exactly what Thomas needed?

“Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

 Christ tells him to be believing not unbelieving. There is a difference between the doubt that Thomas had and disbelief. In disbelief, there is complete assurance that we are justified in the conclusion made that Christ could not have resurrected from the dead. In doubt, there is still potential for belief. For whatever doubt you may have, trust that He has heard your prayer and is waiting to answer you in a way that will strengthen your faith.

The joy of answered prayer and a relationship with Christ is unparalleled. Our faith is weak because we do not encounter Christ enough. Thomas Sunday is a day of joy. It is the eighth day after Christ’s death. The church calls it the new Sunday because it is the eight day. The seventh day is the Sabbath and the day of comfort and so, the eighth day is the day of new life. The disciples received joy on this day.  The disciples left everything for Christ. They had no career or lives of their own. And suddenly He was gone. They were in darkness and had doubts, all of them. The time when Christ was in the tomb would’ve been heartbreaking. When Jesus did appear, they would’ve felt great embarrassment at the way they had scattered. They said that they were prepared to die with Him but then fled.

Jesus did not return to rebuke them, but to strengthen them and give them hope. He enters the room in which they were staying and says, “Peace be with you.” No rebuke, no questions. Just peace that filled their hearts with all joy.

We rejoice in the power of His death that overcame death. There is power in the scars of Christ. “So Christ did triumph but through weakness not strength and through poverty not wealth” (Fr Manasseh Youhanna). He revealed Himself to Thomas in all humility through His wounds and not in the greatness of His Holy Majesty. Christ did not come as a King to earth, but as the son of a carpenter. He did not instate His authority over us but removed the filth of sin by His wounds. Through His stripes, we are healed. Christ reveals Himself in His wounds.

Fr Yacoub Magdy says, “Looking at His scars in eternity will be the source of joy. Every time we touch His scars we will have tremendous joy. I have never seen a new priest praying his first mass and touching the scars of the Lord without crying. I watch it with eagerness! Something happens to them that gives them tremendous joy.”

When we look to Thomas, we look to him so that we can imitate the way he doubted on that very day. Make your doubts known to God. Tell Him exactly what you need for your faith to grow, and He will provide.

Unless you can cry out like Thomas – “My Lord and my God!” – when he saw the resurrected Christ, there are doubts just waiting to be turned into an unshakable and unwavering faith.

See more:

Fr Yacoub Magdy on the joy of the New Sunday (25 min) –  https://soundcloud.com/upperroommedia/the-new-sunday

Fr Anthony Messeh on doubt that leads to faith (20 min) – http://subspla.sh/zfruanh

Contemplations on Good Friday

Contemplations on Good Friday

By Shery Abdelmalek

The ultimate day that defines Christianity. God could have come in all His glory. He could have showed us the extent of His might. But where would that leave us? Ashamed. Unworthy. Hopeless. Instead, He came as the Son of a Carpenter, a role model, a teacher, the very definition of love. To guide us by example. The events of Good Friday are the last messages of hope and love God gave us before His return to His eternal Kingdom. “He shed tears not only from His eyes but every pore in His Body in such abundance that they appeared as great drops of blood, as proof of His great love for you… It was love that made the Cross more desirable than the throne of glory. [He] embraced it with longing, just as a Bridegroom embraces his bride, for in the Cross is your eternal life.” – Fr Manasseh Youhanna.

Jesus had spent 33 years righting the wrongs of the Jews. He has told them of their hypocrisy, He showed them that love is not confined to the law of Moses, yet in the first hour of Good Friday, He does not speak a word. Just as the prophecy of Isaiah (53:7) said, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”  Jesus did not stand before Pilate as a criminal, He stood as a sacrifice. He willingly offered Himself for the sins of the world. It was at this that caused Pilate to marvel, Jesus was no criminal. Jesus could defend Himself. Pilate knew this. When questioning our Christ, surely Pilate had heard of Jesus and knew the beauty of His wisdom. Surely he knew that in His silence was greater wisdom than he could comprehend. If this were not the case, he would not have sent Him to Herod.

Pilate and Herod struggled to find cause to put Christ to death, yet the Jews continued to conspire. The Jews may have mocked Christ for healing on the Sabbath, for cleansing the Temple, for raising the dead, for casting out demons, yet to eliminate the stumbling block of Love that was Christ’s coming, they began to break the Law of Moses. Their complaint against Christ was a matter of religion, it had no place being dealt by any governor.

What accusation could you present against the One who was holy and without blemish? The Jews resorted to blasphemy. They deemed Him worthy of death is accordance with Leviticus 24:16 that reads, “One who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death; the whole congregation shall stone the blasphemer” (Leviticus 24:16). Anyone who has been to grade 1 Sunday school knows that Christ was not stoned. Where in the law is crucifixion stated as the punishment for blasphemy? Where in the law does it say it is okay to crucify for any sin? The Jews needed Pilate to rule in favour of crucifixion because they could not. The Pharisees were too holy to crucify Christ, the law had to find Him guilty.

Even if crucifixion was deemed tangible, whose idea was it to scourge Him before His crucifixion? The scourge was made from pleated bulls hide, knotted on the end with a piece of bone inserted into each knot. Many died from the scourging alone. He was beaten and bruised, “from the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores” (Isaiah 1:6). They placed a crown of thorns on His Head to mock Him further. Thorns were pushed violently down onto His Holy Head, causing blood to gush down His Face. They pierced His Holy Head for no reason, Pilate had not allowed for it, nor the Jews used it in the past. “If a single thorn can make a young person or woman cry in agony, or send a wild beast of prey howling and darting through the forest, how can we perceive the enormity of pain You endured, My Lord?” (Fr Manasseh Youhanna).

This was could not be about blasphemy, this was about pride. The Pharisees – the ones that knew and understood the Law – were meant to be God’s favourites. They knew so much about God, they thought they were almost God. They had no sin, no need for a Saviour. But now Christ comes, and He chooses the lepers, the blind, the mute, the lame to reveals His glory to.

Why did the Jews fight so hard? They were afraid of change. Change is the very reason why each and every one of us is here today. The ways of the old man need to be put to death. The sins and all that holds us down to this earth, need to be left at the foot of the Cross. Before your very conception, Christ would come down and die for your sins. All that is left is for us all to leave our sins behind and be resurrected with Christ. That brings us to the sixth hour. We can’t be like the Pharisees that proclaim greatness to the people yet despite a tax collector who cries for mercy. We are all in search of mercy. On this day is the time to empty ourselves. Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

Pilate decided to release one prisoner as was customary on the feast day. He gave the people the choice of Barabbas or Jesus Christ. He picked the worst of criminals, deserving of death according to Roman law, in hope that Jesus would be set free. The people chose Barabbas having been stirred by the Pharisees. How could the Pharisees be so blinded by pride to allow a criminal back into the community? Moreover, how many times do we choose Barabbas over Christ? How many times do we neglect Christ because He’s not “cool” enough, because the sin is too hard to stop, because it is too much effort to fight? “How should we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:2). Be sober minded and fight to remain with Christ. Pour out in repentance on this day so that you are raised with Christ. To live in Christ is to live free. The devil may persuade us to remain the same because the spiritual life is a battle. “You’re okay.” These are all lies. “Do you think that only the children of God experience hardships, but those who suffer least are the believers. Their cross is fleeting, light-bearing and fruitful, for they bear it in this life only. After death, they will have rest from all their afflictions, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes (Rev 7:17)” (Fr Manasseh Youhanna).

Today, on the Cross, is your incentive to fight. Today, nothing can separate us from the Love of God. It is finished. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Christ suffered alone on this day so that we would never have to endure any tribulation alone again. We look to St John the Beloved because he stood at the foot of the Cross, but where was he when Christ fell under the weight of the Cross as He carried it up Golgotha? Jesus knows the height of human suffering, not to belittle our suffering, but so that we know there is no One better to turn to in times of need. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:15-16).

At the ninth hour, Christ speaks His final words upon the Cross and fulfils all prophecies. “Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22). When it comes to our purpose and the meaning of life, we cannot look past Christ in His final moments. As He breathes His last, He forgives His torments in the very moments they mock Him. He offers paradise to the thief on the right hand as soon as he repents. He remembers His mother and ensures she is taken care of by His disciple, John the Beloved. He cries out to God so that we know where to turn at the first sign of distress. He fulfils the final prophecies before breathing His last. As we look on the events of today, let us remember His suffering, let us beg to share in His suffering and rejoice in our salvation.

“The excellence of the benefit of sitting at the foot of the cross. We merit this if we live a life of faith and godliness, for he who lives tarnished by guilt and heedless of repentance is unqualified to stand before the cross of Christ, which is the ladder of salvation. Standing before the cross indicates a feeling of the need for help of the crucified One. Those who have regretted their sins and have crucified the body along with their passions and desires, derive from their presence before the cross, strength to resist the devil who will flee from them (Js 4:7) because at the cross they see the one of God victorious over the powers of evil.” – Fr Manasseh Youhanna

The Man Born Blind

The Man Born Blind

by Meray Mansour

TEXT: John 9:1-41

Let’s set the scene for this week. There was a man, not important enough for people to call him by his name. He was well known to his community…but only as a blind beggar. Clearly, this nameless man imagined his life to begin and end on streets relying on other to support himself, with no hope of anyone giving him a second glance. – let alone Jesus! His world was naturally dark and because of his drawbacks he had nothing of value to offer society. This man, in the eyes of the world, was hopeless, worthless and purposeless.

So why would Jesus choose him? Why would He choose the person least likely to spread the word of God and most likely to become ostracised from the community?

The disciples automatically assumed that it was sin that led the man to this fate. Whether it be his parents or him that sinned, they didn’t know. But, they were convinced that God was punishing someone by making this man blind. On the other hand, Jesus rejects that idea and clearly says to them “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3).

This answer could have been so much broader, it could have lasted for another few chapters. If anything, it seems like a missed opportunity to answer the undying question why does God let bad things happen to good people?

Why do children get caught in wars? Why does cancer exist? Why can’t God cure illnesses? Why, why, why? Jesus could have put an end to all these questions and saved us from having to say the cliched line: well…God works in mysterious way.  But He didn’t.

Instead whenever we fall into temptation or encounter misfortune we are so quick to lay blame on others, circumstances or even blame God Himself and become angered by how our lives have unfolded. Then we pray and pray and it seems like God isn’t there anymore.

However, in that one sentence Jesus said something more powerful than 5 chapters could. He gave us the answer to the question. Why does God let bad things happen?

The answer is… it doesn’t matter. Don’t focus on why but rather wait for the work of God to be revealed in that situation. Sometimes that’s the only answer you actually need.

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6)

Sometimes what we need is an unquestioning loyalty to Christ. With understanding and faith we can rest assured that whatever situation we find our self in is exactly where we are meant to be as long as we follow Jesus.

Take the man born blind for example. His whole life sitting on the streets begging has been leading up to that one moment when he encounters the Saviour. Surely, that seems like a life wasted in comparison to someone without a visual impairment. However, Jesus makes that exact comparison.

“I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see and those who see may be made blind” (John 9:39)

When the Pharisees encountered this man, they interrogated him about how he gained his sight. The man gives them an accurate delivery of his experience. Nevertheless, they weren’t pleased by his response. How could someone be greater than them? So, they brought in his parents. Again, they weren’t satisfied so brought him back for further questioning.

Although, they could physically see, the Pharisees were made blind by their own pride and arrogance. So again, I ask is it a life wasted, begging on that street?

A life waiting for Christ is never wasted.

“For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:36)

For this fasting period think about what stresses you’re faced with. Think about all those problems that our out of your hand.

Now take a moment and give each one of them to God and wait for Him to restore your sight.

The Paralytic Man

The Paralytic Man

by Shery Abdelmalak

TEXT: John 5:1-18

Ready, kids? This one is HUGE. We have seen Jesus that loves beyond our comprehension. We have seen love that can turn sinners into saints. Now, we get a glimpse into the miracles God bestows upon us, His children, through His grace.

Our story is set in a pool called Bethesda. Bethesda comes from the Hebrew word, “Bethchasday,” meaning the “house of mercy.” Rightfully so, for it was here that at a certain time, an angel would come down and stir the waters to give healing to the first person to step in. This is almost a reflection of baptism in the modern day church for by it, we gain healing and new life in Christ.

The angel that stirred the pool is comparable to Christ’s suffering, for it is through His suffering, death and then resurrection that we gain new life. Christ only requires one action from us – to step down into the pool, accept His suffering so that we can born again in Him. Death to the world for eternal life in Christ. While we have freely been given the gift of salvation, it can only be attained by those who accept it, those that step down into the pool to be healed.

We can sit back and look at what Jesus did in this story and think, “Wow, God is amazing, God is great. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” While all very true, we do not study the Bible, we live the Bible. When God tells you to rise, take up your bed and walk, do you do as the man did and immediately rise? Or is there something still holding you back?

Without the man’s obedience, there would be no story. If you cannot overcome doubt, disbelief, shame – there is no story. This man could not walk for 38 years and after one encounter with Christ, he could walk.

A toddler will learn how to walk at about the age 9 to 18 months, even then they’ll just wobble around still. There’s the crawling that comes first and everything in between. Who’s to say that when the paralysed man was to take his first steps after 38 years it should be any better than a toddler? According to the Pharisees, this man’s greatest flaw was carrying his bed on the Sabbath, no mention that he stumbled and no condemnation of Jesus for only doing a half job if the man did walk like a toddler. Their only accusation was that he went against the laws of the Sabbath.

When an adult is re-learning how to walk again after an accident that requires intense physio training and even then, nothing is guaranteed. What does make a huge difference is the power of the mind – if you really believe you can walk again. Do you think the Resurrection is just for show or are you preparing for change?

This man had no hope, but at the click of God’s fingers, he was made well. The two vital factors in all this are:

  1. Do you believe that God can heal you?
  2. Are you prepared to be made well?

 

HH Pope Shenouda III says that repentance can make virgins out of adulterers. God is imploring us all on this day to return to Him in pure and honest repentance. He who is unaware that he is sick does not know to seek help. Sin unrealised, ignored or disregarded are the ones that will cause the greatest separation from Christ. From sins that are a constant source of guilt to the ones that you do willingly yet feel no shame at all. This is what we want to overcome this Lent. There is power in the unity of the church that fights during Lent. You’re not doing this on your own. All those spiritual giants that you look up to, God has numbered you with them.

Those that we look up to in the Bible are those that repented. The ones that depended wholly on God and not themselves. King David, murdered and committed adultery but was the author of the Psalms. The psalms that we pray because our prayers alone could not amount to the beauty of the psalms. We know his sins because of his repentance. Because he was not going to let sin separate him from the love of God. Does God even remember the sins of David? Or just the psalms that came out of them?

When the Israelites rejected God, and chose sin, but God still had a reason to save them; He says,

“For I will defend this city, to save it

For My own sake and for My servant David’s sake”

Isaiah 37:35 NKJV

For the sake of David. David sins may have been great but his repentance was greater.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

Romans 8:35 NKJV

He is able and ready to heal you. All that is left for you to do now is act. The Paralytic man is no more, but a witness and testimony to the power of Christ.

What do you want to be healed of this Lent? What do you want to leave behind at the Cross come Good Friday this year? He is completely able but we need to be willing to put to death all hold us down so that we may be raised in Him.

Rise, take up your bed and walk.

 

The Samaritan Woman

The Samaritan Woman

by Shery Abdelmalak

TEXT: JOHN 4:1-42

27 days into Lent. You’ve made in halfway. Things start to get a bit tough here. Or worse, you forget why you’re even fasting. Lent is a marathon of a fast and so, it is vital that you keep focused on the reasons why we fast, and not on the fasting itself. Why are you still depriving yourself of food that you love? There really is no point to giving up food if it’s not replaced by food for the soul. Do not starve your soul as well as your body. Eventually the desires of the body will become too much to bear if there is no replacement.

As we progress through the Lenten Gospels, we see the Love of Christ that runs deeper. What could be better than a father that runs out to greet his son that had left him for prodigal living? A God that actively seeks His children before they even know they need Him. For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Christ pursued the Samaritan woman while she was still in sin to implore her to repentance through His Love.

The major thing we can take from the interaction of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman is the gifts Jesus offers to us all and the way we should respond to Him. After a long day of baptising the nations, Jesus was on His way to Galilee but there was one of His flock that He still had on His mind. From Judea, He detoured through Samaria on His way to Galilee. A Jew traveling from Judea to Galilee would generally go along the Jordan Valley (right) or along the coast (left). The third way was to go straight through the mountains of Samaria. This was not ideal because of poor relations between the Jews and Samaritans, but Jesus had a purpose for going on this specific journey. This was the way He needed to go to reach His beloved.

Jesus arrives early to the well, around the sixth hour and waits for the Samaritan woman. As she arrives, He asks for a drink. This would have come as a surprise to her for three reasons:

  1. GENDER: it was unusual for the time for a man to start a conversation with a woman he didn’t know
  2. RELIGION: to the Jews, Samaritans were unclean half-breeds
  3. STATUS: the very fact that she went to the well at the sixth hour, in the heat of the day suggested that she was of low status and had an immense fear of judgement

Why would Jesus choose her? What was special about the Samaritan woman that Jesus would go out of His way to see her?

She was humble.

To receive the message of faith, one cannot be puffed up. She was the perfect candidate. The Samaritan woman questioned Jesus, not to belittle Him, but to understand His message. Jesus, in His wisdom, walks carefully, gives us only as much as we can receive. For as long as we are puffed up, He distances Himself.

“God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Not because of any disgust or disapproval of our arrogance, but because He has no entry point. He cannot fill what is already full. We receive blessing through open hands, not clenched fists. The Samaritan woman may have been living in sin but she was open to receiving the Word. She did not think anything of herself, she chose to draw water in the heat of the day than risk facing another person. She was empty – and while living in this world this led her to despair and self-loathing. We aspire to empty ourselves first and foremost, to be filled with Christ through daily renewal in repentance.

Why is it that in the third world you can stand in the middle of a market place and preach and be heard but would never try that in Sydney CBD? Who would listen to you in Sydney? Try in a country like Kenya where they have so little to depend upon and nations are brought to Christ. It is in these countries that people are open to receiving the Word. They receive blessings and they receive them in abundance because they are ready to receive. The third world really does represent the modern-day Samaritan woman.

Without Christ, there will always be an emptiness of the soul, a void that cannot be filled. To alleviate this emptiness, we turn to other sources – to social media, to alcohol, to medications – anything that will temporarily fill the void. All this does is stop Christ from reaching us. He is sitting at the well waiting to meet with you, but we get lost along the way. We look to be filled but we look in the wrong places. For the Samaritan woman, it came in the form of male companionship. St Augustine says,

The five husbands represent the five senses since she has surrendered her soul to her physical senses. These could not satisfy her as they do not lead her soul to eternal life. They just satisfy temporary and short lived feelings. The one with whom she is living now, and who is not her husband, represents the mind (that is not sanctified) and that does not lead her to the Word and the Truth. Rather, it leads her to sin, and offers her incorrect knowledge. She needs the Bridegroom of her soul who will lead her to wisdom, truth, and fulfilment.

Christ could only fill the void these men had in her life through her honest admission in that she had no husband. At that point, she was ready to give it all up and be filled with Christ. Having received the Word, she leaves even her water pot behind and preaches the Messiah to the Samaritans. The same woman that could not face another human being was out proclaiming the message of Christ.

May we pray to empty ourselves like the Samaritan woman so that we can put to death all things of this world that fills the void that only Christ can rightfully fill. May we be resurrected in Christ and put on the new man that was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22).