Category: Blog

The Heart of God

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

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Luke 19:1-10

If we break down who Zacchaeus was, we see a tax collector, who was rich, who was short, who runs up a tree to see Christ through the crowds. He is presented in a fairly undignified way.

The fairly Gospel ends with a courageous declaration – “Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” – Luke 19:10.

The transitionary moment of this Gospel was Zacchaeus in the tree, and our Lord walking under the tree. If we press pause at this moment when Christ looks up and sees Zacchaeus. You can imagine this moment when their eyes meet. Zacchaeus would have frozen. At this moment, what did Zacchaeus see in the eyes of Jesus? He would have been able to see into the heart of God. He would have felt the love, the mercy, the tenderness, the kindness – all that flows from the heart of God. This is the moment that would have changed Zacchaeus’ life forever. The moment when he looked into the heart of God.

God looks into our hearts, that is what He is most interested in. We, too, need to look into the heart of God – to understand Him, and to understand our place in the heart of God. If we understand our place in the heart of God, then our lives can be changed. We will see the love He has for us, we will see the forgiveness He has for us, the restoration, the kindness, all for us. We will see our place in His heart.

The iconographer of the Father’s embrace for the Arabic church spent a few months working on this icon. We got to know him and watched him work. One day I came to the liturgy and he had just completed the face of Jesus. He was staring at the icon and I said, “it looks really good.”

He said, “Abouna, I want you to pray the mass today and gaze into His eyes, and after the liturgy tell me what you felt.”

He wanted to make sure that whoever looks into the face of Christ would feel His Love, His warmth, His compassion. That whoever looked into the face of Christ would see the heart of God. We need to know and to see the heart of God.

I was walking in the park with my kids, and a man asked me, “what is God’s message to me today?”

So I responded, “God’s message for today is that He loves you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m very sure.”

“I don’t know about that.”

And he left. How can we not know that? How can we not know that God’s loves us? We need to look into the heart of Jesus, and allow it to change our lives in the same way it changed Zacchaeus’ life.

Every day, we need to look into the heart of Jesus. Jesus looks into our hearts each and every day, and we need to look into His heart. What do you see when you look into the heart of God?

Can You Keep A Secret?

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Yacoub Magdy

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Luke 19:1-10

Zacchaeus was considered by many to be a sinner. He was a rich man and this made people presume that he was greedy and dishonest.

When we read his story, we see a man that was willing to give half his goods to feed the poor.  He also says that if he took anything from any man wrongfully, he will restore it fourfold. If he had truly taken and stolen money from others, then we know it’s not possible to restore fourfold. He was willingly giving away half his goods, with only half left. If it was not his own, he would be in severe debt if he gave away four times the original amount of money he had.

Zacchaeus was presumably wrongfully accused of theft. All tax collectors were hated by the Jews because of politics. When they approached St John the Baptist, they asked what should they do as tax collectors to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? St John did not tell them to quit their job, but only to perform their work with honesty, and not to take more than they are due. They had authority from the Roman Empire to take on more than just taxes. Some of them were not honest, but we cannot say this about all tax collectors. Zacchaeus’ pledge of half his goods is a testament to this.

Zacchaeus was rich AND a good man, with a burning desire to see our Lord. He was loyal to his friends. When Christ came to dine with him, Zacchaeus invited all the people to dine with them. We see a good man, but his goodness was only seen by Christ. Our Lord looks to the heart, and not the external. If we do good in secret, then only He knows. He loves to see us do good without external influences on our deeds. Zacchaeus teaches us to keep part of our goodness in secret between us and God.

Recall the story when Samuel the Prophet went to Jesse’s house to select one of his sons to be ordained as king of Israel. Jesse was very excited to receive a visit from the great prophet. He lined up all his sons, the strongest, the tallest, the ones built for war and leadership. There was one son that he did not include. His youngest, and most good-looking, for this was not a desirable quality in a king, as it suggested youth. The wars were won by strength, and having good looks would not get a king anywhere. David’s role was to take care of the little sheep.

Even Samuel was impressed by Jesse’s other sons. Immediately when he saw the oldest, he thought this must be the one that God had chosen. To his dismay, the Spirit of God told him that this was not the one. None of the sons were accepted by God. Samuel asks Jesse if there were any more, and Jesse tells him about David, the one that could never be fit to be king. Just a boy looking after sheep.

Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7

The Lord looks at the heart above all else. This grants us give comfort, for the Lord knows our hearts, He sees our intentions. We must not worry if people do not see this. It is human nature to deceive people and to be deceived, but God cannot be deceived.

During the final year of HH Pope Kyrillos VI’s life, he was sitting on his throne and was so sick that he slept while he was sitting. The people brought a demon-possessed man to him. The man cried and fell in the presence of the sleeping pope, and the demon fled. He didn’t put his Cross over his head, he didn’t pray, but when the demon caught sight of the pope, this was enough.

Fr Raphael commented on this scene saying, “Of course the demon fled, for the Lord knows, and the devil knows, what is happening within the heart.” Even the devils know what happens in secret. This is an awakening to us all. When no one else can see, what do I choose to do? I can do what I please, or I can do good and the Lord will reveal His secrets to me.

Between friends, you know if a friend is trustworthy in their ability to keep your secrets. This happens with us and Christ. When Christ knows that you are the type to keep secrets, He will give you more.

The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.

Psalm 25:14

There is so much joy when there is secrecy and a personal relationship with us and our Lord.

Once a man and woman separated and wanted a formal divorce. A priest began to visit them separately, praying with them and counseling them. After a long time, they were brought back together and restored as husband and wife. A man then went to the priest and said, “did you know that these people would go back together?” Imagine the thoughts of the priest as he simply said, “Did they?” He was not trying to display his efforts, but they were for the sake of God.

We once visited a Greek family who had children. Fr Mark sat with the two children and they loved him very much. They wanted to show him something that they found interesting. With delight, Fr Mark said, “What is it?” Then the children brought out Upper Room Media. Fr Mark kept showing interest as if he was not the founder of the app. Fr Mark saw the joy it brought the children to discuss this finding, and he did not want to take this away from them.

The Lord reveals His secrets with the one who keeps His secrets.

Your Sins are Forgiven

Translated from a sermon by Fr Louka Sidarous

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How much can I ask from my Lord? It was not too much for our Lord to cure someone who was paralysed. We hear in the Gospel a story of a quadriplegic man that could not move his arms or legs. Could this be too much for Christ?

As the story goes, it was not even too much for our Lord to call on someone who has been dead in a tomb for four days, and his body rotting. Lazarus was raised from the dead with just the call of our Lord’s voice.

Nothing is too much for the Lord. It is only too much for the man that loses faith.

Can a quadriplegic move his arm again, or can a dead man to rise again? But when a man loses his faith, he loses everything with it.

If we look to Christ, who can do anything, we can say with faith, “No, nothing is impossible.”

After years of sin, I wake up to myself and I think is it even possible to return to where I once was? I used to pray with all my might, all my heart, with tears, then prayer became routine. It was like it meant nothing to me. How can I come back now?

Of course I can come back. I should not deceive myself in this way. If faith can return to the heart through the power of Christ, then my prayers will be restored. It doesn’t matter how many years I was away.

So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God

Joel 2: 25-26

After years of apathy, I feel dry, there is no life within me. After years, the locusts have eaten me up and there is no goodness left. I have become like a harvest that has been attacked by locusts. The harvest was once green and blooming, but it is now dry and lifeless.

Why are we afraid to return? Why don’t we return to the faith we once had? With respect to an individual’s personal life, we should increase in fruit and our relationship with our Lord.

By the age of 30 or 40 or 50 years of life, in the church, in fellowship, in communion, but where is my harvest? Where is the fruit of the Holy Spirit? The love, the joy, the peace, my fruit should be visible. As St Paul says in his letter to Philemon,

For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

Philemon 1:7

St Paul knows that the fruit that is in Philemon will refresh the hearts of the brethren.

You will find a person that is not greedy for the world, this person increases in holiness each day. We grow up and get older and begin to fail. We become weaker, and more complacent. We have bad experiences in this world and we lose the fight.

Just as Christ was able to heal the paralysed, He can also speak to our hearts and return life to our souls. For a life in Christ is unlike anything else. We come back and we can do more, and serve more, and work in secret place, with our joy coming from our Lord, we can produce fruit for God to please His heart.

Repentant and return to our Beloved is always much greater than the healing of the sick, even the raising of the dead. The healing of the human body is much easier than the healing of the soul. The healing of a body, but to heal a soul and to return it to its former strength – in spirit, in love, from the depth of the heart, in humility, in the Christian life, in self denial – is much greater than the raising of the dead.

Let us come back to our Lord, in humility, and beg that He restores our faith so that we may live joyfully with our Saviour, glory be to His Name forever, Amen.

Milk for the Fox

By Bethany Kaldas

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‘His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’’

Matthew 25:21

A common phrase I hear spoken in the church, especially in regard to service, is to remember that we can offer God nothing. After all, God is perfect, He is the definition of wholeness, completeness—He does not need our service, it is we who need His grace. This is very true, and it is especially important to remember when we are trying to perform acts of service (whether they are formal or informal). You’re not giving God anything He couldn’t accomplish without your efforts.

But I wouldn’t blame anyone for, at times, finding this notion a little disheartening. We may start to feel that, well, if my actions don’t really make a difference to God, then what’s the point? Perhaps we can imagine that the works of the greatest saints and prophets—you know, the ones that parted seas and healed the blind and raised the dead—they made a real difference. Their charity mattered—it had an impact on the world that is still being felt today.

What can we do? Maybe we talk to children in Sunday school, knowing full well that every word spoken has gone into one ear and out the other. Maybe we cook meals for our families, which they’ll enjoy for a minute and forget about the next. Maybe your friends come to you with a problem, utterly distraught, and you listen and nod, trying to ignore that voice in your head that reminds you that nothing you can say or do will fix it for them.

It can all feel a bit futile, can’t it? We try very hard to be useful, we put heart and soul into giving God our best, but it never seems to be enough. Like trying to create a masterpiece with broken hands, sometimes it feels like we never really seem to be able to make anything beautiful happen. 

In Anthony Bloom’s book, Beginning to Pray, he tells a story from Hebrew folklore about the prophet Moses and a humble shepherd. You see, this shepherd liked to leave out bowl of the best milk from his sheep for God, and claims that God really does drink the milk, because when he wakes up in the morning, the bowl is empty. He is happy with his offering and will work hard to continue to give it, he knows that God appreciates it and that is enough.

Moses, almost amused by the idea that God could drink anything, considering He doesn’t have a body, basically tells the shepherd he’s being silly and he’s not offering God anything. Testing the theory, the shepherd stays out one night to see what happens to the milk, and much to his disappointment, he sees that it is not God, but a hungry little fox who drinks his offering every night. Turns out he really wasn’t offering God anything useful—his service was meaningless. He never really had anything to give.

When he tells this to Moses, quite downhearted, Moses tells him to buck up—he’s learned more about God now and that’s a good thing. And yet, Moses is still troubled by the shepherd’s despair. He prays about the incident, and this is how God responds:

‘Moses, you were wrong. It is true that I am pure spirit. Nevertheless I always accepted with gratitude the milk which the shepherd offered me, as the expression of his love, but since, being pure spirit, I do not need the milk, I shared it with this little fox, who is very fond of milk.’

Anthony Bloom, Beginning to Pray

It’s definitely true that God needs nothing from us. Anything we offer to Him is tiny, perhaps insignificant in our eyes. And yet, even the smallest things we offer to God with genuine love are treasured by Him. And not only treasured, but used—multiplied beyond what we expect.

That bowl of nice milk was not needed by God, but it was needed by one little, hungry fox who, thanks to that shepherd’s persistent acts of love, had a full belly every night. The small things you do may seem unimportant, but no act of love goes without consequence, even if its results are invisible.

‘Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.’

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Our actions are like stones dropped in still waters, they have impacts we’d never have thought of and many more that we’ll probably never know about, even if they look small and inconspicuous. Too often, we assess the value of a deed by the results that we can see. When we try to be kind, try to help, try to act, try to teach, and it seems that nothing has come of it, we think we’ve wasted our time and effort. It’s not good enough for us, so it’s not good enough for God.

‘It is useless to try to make peace with ourselves by being pleased with everything we have done. In order to settle down in the quiet of our own being we must learn to be detached from the results of our own activity. We must withdraw ourselves, to some extent, from the effects that are beyond our control and be content with the good will and the work that are the quiet expression of our inner life. We must be content to live without watching ourselves live, to work without expecting any immediate reward, to love without an instantaneous satisfaction, and to exist without any special recognition.’

Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

God works in ways we do not see, and there was never a seed too small or a heart too frail for Him to use. A chance encounter with a stranger, a sympathetic word to a friend, a message of appreciation or a small act of service done when nobody was watching—these are the work of the hands of Christ. These are the foundations of Heaven on Earth. You have no idea the impact your choices can have—I can almost guarantee that you’ve already changed someone’s life in ways you can’t see.

Give Him whatever you can, no matter how broken and withered and small, and trust that it is exactly what He was looking for. Sometimes it’s awkward, sometimes it feels pathetic, pitiful, fruitless. But there are no ashes He cannot turn into beauty, no loaves He cannot multiply, no bowls of milk He will not share…except the ones you never give Him.

‘He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.’

Matthew 14:18-20

Think Big

Adapted from a sermon by Fr David Shehata

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Luke 10:21-28

We are called to think big. To look at the bigger picture and not just the mere visible steps before us.

Seventy disciples were sent out to preach, to do miracles and amazing things. They returned with great joy, saying even the demons were subject to them in His Name. The Lord responds by telling them to think even bigger than this; “Do not rejoice at this, but rather, rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” This is the bigger picture.

We then hear a lawyer pose a question to the Lord. The topic of heaven has been raised and we should rejoice because there is a place for us in heaven, but what must we do to inherit the Kingdom? The answer to this is simple – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbour as yourself.’ ”  (Luke 10:27).

The lawyer then asks, “who is my neighbour?”

This is an important question for us also. Many times we know and are fully convinced that to attain salvation we must love God. We love our Lord with all our heart, mind and strength. Sadly, the following part can be missed- to love my neighbour as myself.

When the Lord describes my neighbour, He uses the parable of the good Samaritan. In this parable, a man is found on the street, he is robbed, beaten and left for dead. Three people are given the opportunity to show love to this man. The first is a priest and the second is a Levite. Both pass by without giving the man much notice. The third is a Samaritan that sees the man, has compassion upon him, bandages him and ensures he is restored back to health.

After telling this parable, the Lord then asks, “So which of these three do you think was neighbour to him who fell among the thieves?” (Luke 10:36). The answer to this question is the one who showed mercy. Our Lord then instructs the lawyer, and us who hear this interaction, to go and do likewise.

Having compassion on my neighbour, my brothers and sisters is something extremely important in our lives. Having compassion is pivotal in the life of the Christian. If you and I want to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, if we want to spend our eternity in Heaven, then we must have compassion. To further emphasise we must exercise compassion in our forgiveness for those who have wronged us.

Sometimes I may think, “Yes, I can forgive most things, but you don’t understand the hurt that this person has caused! This is the only thing I cannot forgive”

When we feel this way, we can look back on how St Peter reflected upon forgiveness. Thinking he had done exemplary work, he questioned Christ saying, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21). As if to say, that he forgives so much already, not just once or twice, but even up to seven times. As if the Lord would be impressed by the height of his virtuous forgiveness.

The Lord brings him back down to earth with His response; “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” You can imagine the disheartened look on St Peter’s face when he hears this. It is not just up to seven times, but to the point where you can no longer count how many times you have forgiven.

He continues on with a parable to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. There was a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. There was one that owed ten thousand talents and was unable to repay the king. He begged for forgiveness and the king was moved with compassion and freely forgave his debt. He released and forgave the entire debt.

Incidentally, the servant was owed one hundred denarii by a fellow servant. Having seen the king just be moved with compassion for his own, much larger, debt, the servant imprisons his fellow servant. The king hears about this and says, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” (Matthew 18:32-33).

Jesus explains the concept of forgiveness in this manner. The lesson here is, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” (Matthew 18:35).

This is extremely real for each of us. We must love and we must forgive. We must understand why we forgive. Psychology teaches us that those that hold on to grudges, every time we remember why we are upset with someone, those old wounds are reopened as if they just occurred. When we forgive others, it grants us freedom. Those that forgive others tend to be happier people.

From a Christian perspective, I do not forgive others because they deserve it, but because I, myself have been forgiven. The Lord makes it clear that we need to forgive for the debt that was freely paid for our own sins.

If I want to inherit the Kingdom, I must first remember the Lord freely forgave me, and I show my thanksgiving for this by forgiving those that do wrong to me. Even though they do not deserve it. When we do not forgive, we hold ourselves captive and relive the pain time and time again. The reality of this is a psychological prison. Ultimately, I am trapped, and I am hurt.

Do I truly love my neighbour as myself? Do I truly show compassion on my neighbour? Do  I serve and do I want others to do even better than myself? To answers these questions honestly, I must reflect upon my tolerance and acceptance of those around me. Am I able to consider them? Do I avoid those that I consider to be difficult and annoying?

St Gregory of Nazianzus once said, “my love for God is equivalent to the person I love least.” This is the measure for which I love God. Even if I think I love God but cannot tolerate any single person in my life, I am fooling myself. We must see Christ in everyone around us, for they are all created in His image and likeness. I judge others not by their actions, but by their intentions. In the same way, I can look at my own actions, and give myself reasonable intention, I display this same benefit of the doubt to others.

I keep the Word of God close to my heart, and I do not let the world come in between me and my Love for God. Read the Psalms and keep these words close to your heart. We pray that our hearts are full of forgiveness so we may love our neighbours as we love ourselves. Every time I pray, I can truly say, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

The Disease of Hypocrisy

Translated from a sermon by Fr Boulos George

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The hypocrisy embedded in the hearts of the Pharisees was a disease. A disease that is still present in our church, and can strike the church and its people at anytime. If this happens, the consequences are dire for the spiritual life that lacks depth.

I want to give you an example of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in our modern world. Sometimes we can become obsessed with the image of worship, and not the relationship with God. It is not bad to be organised and to appear holy. The problem arises when there is an obsession with the appearance only. We must ensure the inside is taken just as much care of as the outside. If all our attention is on polishing the outer, and ignoring the inner, then we are guilty of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy prevents us from spiritual growth.

Other times we focus on the look and not meaning. One time, a lady came to me and said, “I want to ask you a question but don’t be offended.”

I replied cusiously, “go ahead.”

She said, “You know how in the liturgy, we pray from the Agpia hours and eventually we end up praying the Lord’s Prayer so many times?”

“Yes, go on.”

“To be honest, I have an issue with this. You pray it too quickly. I am just beginning and you’re finished already and moving on. Who has the chance to be moved by prayer at that speed?”

At this, I was so ashamed, I said, “Honestly, you have a point. This is not right on my part. I thank you for calling me out on this, and that God sent you to wake me up to pray with honesty and serenity.”

Sometimes, I can be so proud of myself for praying all the hours- but what did I feel? If I rush, I have no time to be moved by prayer. I just want to finish, and feel like I have accomplished something. This is hypocrisy. I retained the image of the liturgy, but I have not applied its meaning. I haven’t prayed anything, and this is another form of hypocrisy.

The next story I want to share really broke my heart. One day, there was a deacon from a particular church that went to pray at a different church. At this church, all of the deacons had a specific thread in their tunics that distinguished them as being part of that church. This deacon did not know that. He went with his own tunic and took it to the priest praying the mass to bless it and he did so. When he went to wear his tunic, one of the head deacons said to him, “Brother, what church are you from?”

He replied with the name of his church and the deacon said to him, “Welcome, you can attend the liturgy but you cannot serve as a deacon.”

The man replied, “Why not?”

“Our tunics are all matching but yours is different.”

Who could believe such a thing?! We were so careful to have matching tunics and to appear united but we stomped upon the meaning of love and unity. Where is the hospitality and the welcoming of guests? If we have a guest, we shouldn’t just allow them to serve, but give them the most prominent role. The reality of this lack of hospitality is hypocrisy.

Fr Mikhail Ibrahim went to pray the liturgy on one of the feast days. As he entered, he found a child crying. He called to him and asked him, “what’s wrong?”

“I was crying because I came late and missed out on a spare tunic from the cupboard”

What do you think Abouna would do? He took off his own tunic and gave it to the boy. He said, “It can’t be a feast day and the Lord looks down and sees one of His children crying.”

Anyone would say that according to the church dogma, a priest’s tunic that has been prayed on cannot be taken off again. But, the Christian knows that love is more important. He could not pray while he knew there was a boy so upset. If the people saw a priest without a tunic, 100 people would offer there’s up for him! No one would to give it to a young boy. The difference is that some people protect the depth of their spirituality and others focus on the outward appearance.

In another instance, in the earlier 80s, Fr Tadros Y. Malaty was giving a lecture on, “Dogmatic Theology,” at the Theological College in Alexandria. He would allow the people to ask questions. Someone asked the question, “I am extremely disheartened when I go to the Vespers and I see the priest chanting ‘O God have mercy…’ and carrying three candles. I read in the holy books that only the bishop is to carry three candles and the priest carries one candle. All priests nowadays carry three candles instead of one and this goes against church dogma.”

Fr Tadros responded, “calm down, my son, it doesn’t matter if the priest carries one candle or three candles, what matters is that he does this with a broken and a contrite heart, asking for mercy for himself and the people whom he serves.”

It is good to protect our dogma, it is very good to protect our traditions. Without traditions, we have no defence, and everyone does whatever they want. But above all, the most important thing to stop us from falling into the trap of hypocrisy is to fix our eyes on our Lord and the inner depth of dogma and not just its physical appearance. Instead of worshiping the dogma, we must practically apply inwardly, and this is our shield against hypocrisy.

Look at Me

adapted from a sermon by Fr Louka Sidarous

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The Lord is saying to us, “This is Me; All you need to do is to look at Me, crucified and dying for you. Look at My Passion and My wounds; Look at Me”. Is this a hard thing, dear children?”

It is the easiest of things, just to look. The Lord did not ask for anything more but to look – the simplest of tasks. Sometimes we think otherwise – We might think “So what? What is it to look to the Cross, to the Passion of Christ? What is this? This is nothing, I gain nothing”.

But please, go back to the Children of Israel when they travelled through the wilderness around the land of Edom, and they will teach you. Those who didn’t look to the bronze serpent – they died. But what of their salvation? It was the simplest thing: Just to look, to look in faith. Look sincerely, and you will receive everything.

Simply, you will receive life – Life in Christ.
There is no need to complicate matters. Some of us might say “I have a lot of problems in my life. My problems are very deep, very complicated and I am suffering”.

Just look. Do nothing but look to Christ. He is the Saviour. What about the problems here inside me? It is like the poison that ran through the veins of the Children of Israel – Death was my poison, but my salvation is to look to Christ. He will perform the miracle, and the Life of Christ will enter our being. The Lord Christ explained this in a simple picture in front of Nicodemus. He said to this old man Nicodemus that “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”, and so Nicodemus became a disciple of Christ.

You know the right-hand thief – what did he do to be saved? He did nothing. Death was upon him, and he was suffering, but he looked to Christ. That’s all. And he asked, “remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom” and the Lord answered “This day, you will be with me in paradise”.

This. day.

The right-hand thief did nothing except look to Christ. Believe this thing – to look at him. The Lord put everything to the greatness of our faith but expressed this in the simplest form ever. I need the life of Christ in me. I need to feel that Christ is here. I need to feel Him. I need to be in Him. I need to have the conviction that He is in here. And He put it in the simplest form ever – what is this simple form?

The Eucharist, the great mystery. And what is the substance of this form? The Orbana – bread to eat, the simplest food. The whole thing, Christ Himself, my Creator, the abundance of the grace of the Lord, the forgiveness of sins, in what form? The simplest and most basic form; Food and drink. Easy.

Be assured that in Christianity there are no complications. Christianity is simple. When the Lord came into our world, he became a man, a very simple Child in a manger. And He, when He was incarnated, taking the form of a very simple Man, walked in common fields, wearing simple common garments, speaking to commoners, speaking to anybody – no security, no army, no police force. You don’t have to have an appointment to meet with Him. Just look.

The Cycle of Repentance

adapted from a sermon by Fr Paul Fanous

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The journey that we are going to go through today is the cycle of repentance. The cycle of repentance describes the forgiveness of God, from the beginning of the journey to the end of the journey.

The beginning point is that unfortunately, we all sin. No one can escape sin, St Paul is clear on that, there’s none righteous, no one will escape this idea of sin or committing mistakes in front of God.

The parable of the Prodigal Son is written about a father who had two sons. He had one son that stayed at home, and he had one son that took the money, wasted and squandered it. Both are on the journey of repentance to return to their father.

The younger son – the more obvious sinner – actually comes back sooner. The second son, at the end of the parable, we don’t know if he actually returns, but both are on the journey. Part of the understanding of this idea of the forgiveness of God is that we recognise two things;

1. We are all sinners
2. We don’t judge other people for sinning, we endeavour to forgive those around us.

No one is righteous because we’re all under the same condition, we all make the same mistakes. If we hold people to a high standard, then God will apply the same standard to us, and we will make the same mistakes as them. To carry on to the next stage is to acknowledge the sin.

 As a hand full of sand thrown into the ocean, so are the sins of all flesh as compared with the mind of God

St Isaac the Syrian

St Isaac is saying that even though sometimes our sins feel really big and sometimes we feel we’re very far from the Father. The Father’s mind is like an ocean a little bit of sand has been thrown in to. The love of the Father is not affected by our sin, the love of the Father is not affected by the mistakes we make.

The Father in this parable sits and waits for the return of his son. His mercy is available but he waits for his son to return. My wickedness can never change the feeling of forgiveness. We must understand this crucial part of this journey is remembering that the Father’s love for me does not change. Nothing you can do is wicked enough, nothing you can do is bad enough, nothing you can do is deep enough that God would not accept you back. Not only would He, but He is waiting to accept you back.

Just as a strongly flowing fountain is not blocked up by a handful of earth, so the compassion of the creator is not overcome by the wickedness of His creatures,

St Isaac the Syrian

The next part of the journey is that as the son takes the money and squanders it, he experiences famine. He has this moment of awakening, he has this moment where he says, “what am I doing here? Couldn’t I be a servant of my father?”

Repentance is the gateway to mercy. It is open for all who seek it. By way of this gate, we enter into divine mercy and apart from this entrance, one cannot find mercy.

St Isaac the Syrian

 So, there is a trigger point for the mercy of God. The mercy of God is waiting but there is something that we do that triggers the mercy of God, it opens up the mercy of God. It is available to everyone but we reach it through repentance. Repentance is a self-awakening. I begin to adjust my behaviour, I become alert to myself and my mistakes.

Fear is the paternal rod which guides us as far as a spiritual Eden but once we have reached there, it leaves us and turns back. Eden consists in a divine love.

St Isaac the Syrian

Maybe what wakes me up is fear, maybe what wakes me up is guilt, maybe what triggers me to go back is fear of bearing consequences of my mistakes. But it only brings me to the door.

Once I enter the door, what does the father do? He runs out, he robes me. He says, “be merry, come and feast.” It is love that continues the journey. When I walk the journey with God, love is the driving force, it’s not fear, fear is the beginning point, it brings me to the door, but love is what continues.

Guilt has no place in the spiritual life, except to return me to repentance. I don’t sit and wallow in my guilt. Unfortunately, some of us hold onto our guilt and don’t let it go even when we’ve returned, we maintain our guilt, we feel that God could never accept me. This is a toxic mindset and it keeps me from returning to God. The Father is sitting and waiting, He’s robing the people, He wants you in the feast, He doesn’t want you staying outside feeling lousy, He wants just enough guilt to bring me back.

Part of the journey is to be cleansed and to leave the guilt and the fear and to continue on with love and faith and that is one of the gifts of repentance. Even if, coming back, I can’t see how the guilt will leave me, once I recognise the forgiveness of the father, the consequence is love. I start to recognise the love of God and I start to love Him back in a proper way.

That last stage, which is the nicest stage, is the reward of sin.

The reward of a sinner is this, instead of a just reward, God grants them resurrection and in place of bodies that trampled on His laws, He robes them in the glory of perfection. The grace which raises us into life after we have sinned is greater than the grace which brought us into being when as, yet we were not.

St Isaac the Syrian

You will be rewarded for being a sinner as long as you return. You will have a gift for being a sinner, as long as you return. The gift and the grace you’ll get for returning is more than when God first created us. It’s a big statement, we’re bounced higher after repentance, it’s the highest spiritual level according to lots of the fathers. We take this idea of returning to God from examples such as the right thief, the first one to enter the kingdom. God doesn’t know how to hold a grudge. From the characteristics of God, we understand certain things, He doesn’t know how to be harsh.

When you read the Old Testament, read it carefully, people often see in the Old Testament a harsh God, ‘He’s wiping people out’, ‘He’s killing’ but read it carefully, you’ll see that God does not know how to be harsh. The second that you say ‘Sorry, please, don’t God’, He always relents, every time, you will never see him rebuking without saying “In the end, I will glorify you”, “I’ll raise you up”. The second someone bows down and says, “God I am a sinner”, God says, “Ok stand up”. See how He’s humbled Himself to the worst kings in the Old Testament.

The Glory of God is manifested in that. Let us recognise the invitation given to us by this parable of the prodigal. Let us be inside the feast, not outside like the older son and come inside and start the process of repentance today. Let it be today, don’t wait to start our process of repentance. Glory be to God forever and ever. Amen.

In the Raging Sea

Translated from a sermon by Fr Bishoy Kamel

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My eyes are on you, My children. I, the Lord, am going to do a big transformation for you. Can anyone handle to see their own children thrown into the sea?

I say to my Lord that I want to increase my faith, but then that raises the question, how is God going to help me increase me faith?

When we look at what Christ did with His disciples, we see that He throws them in the water so that their faith may be increased. We, as God’s children, are sitting comfortably, enjoying life, and we ask for our faith to be increased. I pray, God, please help me to stay up and pray, and fast, and to be patient, and to wait on You until You renews my strength. All the while, I rest in my comfort zone.

Who would pray that God throws them into the depth of the ocean so that their faith may increase? Little do we know, this is the path to the faith that we pray for. If God throws us into the ocean then we have no choice but to stand and pray all night long like Jonah in the belly of the whale.

After the feeding of the five thousands, Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray while He sends the disciples away on a boat. From the mountains, He watches them in the midst of the sea.

We cannot doubt for one second that Jesus’ thoughts were not with the disciples when He threw them out in the sea. From the moment He sent them out, His prayers were with them. It wasn’t their idea, but His. When He tells them to go before Him, He is responsible for their safety.

Are not the winds controlled by God? The winds changing were part of His plan. The boat struggling in the ocean was also part of His plan to increase their faith. The story reads;

Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out.

Mark 6:48-49

In the gospel of Mark, it is clear, that in the midst of the storm, Jesus could have simply passed them by. He doesn’t immediately go to help them. It is only when they cry out that He comes to their rescue.

All this proves is that He told them to go without Him into the sea. He sent out the strong wind. He walked by them, showing that He was close by and ready to answer the call. For our Lord is always in the midst of the storms with us. Once He entered the boat, the seas were calmed and their faith in Him enhanced.

But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

Mark 6:50

The disciples had completely lost hope and cried out in desperation. Their hope was completely lost, but at the fourth watch, God delivered them from their fears.

Similarly, St Paul experienced great hardship when he preached in Asia.  He says, “Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us.” (2 Cor. 1:9)

Even St Paul lost hope at one point. He got into the boat, it crashed and he was capsized. At his lowest, the power of the Resurrection taught him lessons he would have never learnt if it were smooth sailing.

O’Lord, help me to increase my faith. How can I increase my faith? There are two main things;

1. I become physically drained and I lose all hope in myself.
2. Then this allows God to enter my life and becomes everything I didn’t even know I needed.

When we say to God that the tribulation is too much, He says not to worry. When we are in midst of the raging seas, God is standing on the mountains, watching over us and praying for us. He is by the shore, ready to walk on the water to rescue us and be our comfort.

If we think that God could leave us in the middle of tribulation, He tells us that He will allow us to have tribulation, so that we may, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).

Jesus did not need to tell the disciples to be of good cheer, it was enough that He was there for them. He says this to comfort them, He is always watching them and present to help when they call. In the midst of any tribulation, His comfort is there for us. When we ask if He is always going to be there, God says that He will go through the storms, but He would never leave us in the storms alone. Every burden He carries with us.

A certain man who lost hope thinks that the devil has overcome him. This can never be the case, because we know that God will always overcome the devil. Satan may be strong, but God is stronger. Be of good cheer, God is more. If Satan tempts you, be of good cheer for our Lord has overcome the world.

The world is corrupted by sin now more than ever before. Did the raging seas have to come for the Lord to say, “be of good cheer?” Of course He did, if He said it immediately after the feeding of the 5000 then the people would have responded, “but we’re already happy, we didn’t need You.”

This was not the time for Jesus to say, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid,” for they had no reason to be afraid. The time comes after the raging seas, after the fourth watch, that was the time when they needed to hear those words of comfort.

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

Jonah prayed from the belly of the whale. Daniel prayed in the den of lions. The three saintly youth prayed in the fiery furnace. What more could we want from God? It is enough for me that I have Christ with me. It is enough for me to have God in my life. We are strong with His presence. We received everything from Him, all that is left is for us to live like Christ.

In the lions’ den, in the fiery furnace, in the midst of the raging sea, we remember our Lord. In the whole world, Christ lives in us so that we can live like Christ. He is my happiness, my joy, my hope.

For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

Romans 8:14

We live strong through a living hope that has no end. When the disciples went to the shore, they knew Christ. When I listen to sermons, I listen about God and I hear of His compassion, His gentleness, His kindness. He is a powerful God that has prepared a place for us. Our God has resurrected and ascended. They say so much about Him, but I hope to taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps 34:8). When they entered the boat, they had heard of Him, but when they made it back to land, they knew Him.

I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.

Job 42:5

The End is Near

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

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Mark 13:3-37

Our Lord discusses with His disciples the signs to come that will signify the end times are near. There is a whole list of signs to look out for regarding the end of times. Our Lord Jesus Christ concludes these signs with some advice. When you notice these signs, keep in mind this advice.

We live in a time where many will ask if certain events are signs of the end. We turn to the advice of Christ. There are a few different pieces of advice that Christ gives when we begin to notice these signs come to fruition.

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

Mark 13:32-37

Watch

The first piece of advice from our Lord is to be watchful. When He says, “Watch,” what is He asking to watch for? Is He asking us to watch for the signs? Rather, He is asking us to watch ourselves. To watch our actions. To watch our thoughts. To watch our intentions. To watch myself.

When Christ was speaking to Peter, James and Andrew, He tells them, “watch lest they come in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning.”

Whenever you see the rooster mentioned in the gospels, you think of Peter. In the very next chapter, Jesus says to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night” (Luke 14:27). Peter responds, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”

We know that Peter was made to stumble, at the crowing of the rooster. Peter’s mistake here is that he did not watch. He did not assume that he was capable of stumbling. At Christ’s warning to watch, Peter says, “no, even if all will stumble, I will not stumble.”

To be watchful is to realise that I, too, have the potential to stumble. I have the potential of falling away. I have the potential to be tempted. No sin is beyond me.

When we have this mindset, we become very mindful of our actions. I can never assume that I am not capable of stumbling. Our Lord is telling us to be careful of ourselves.

…And Pray

The second thing He tells them is to watch, and pray.

It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.

Mark 13:34-36

Our Lord divides the night into four sections. The evening, midnight, the crowing of the rooster and the morning. This is the exact same way the Agpia is divided. We have the evening prayer, the midnight prayer (with first, second and third services to correspond with evening, midnight, crowing of the rooster and the morning).

The church creates for us this structure to be watchful in prayer at all times. We are called to watch and pray.

Timing

The final advice our Lord gives to the disciples is not be concerned with the timing itself, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

How it possible that not even Christ knows the time of the end of the world? Isn’t He God? Doesn’t He know all things? How could it be that the Son of Man does not know the time of the end of the world?

Actually, He does know; He must know, for He is God. He doesn’t know In His capacity as a Teacher to tell us. It is not beneficial for us to know. Since it is not beneficial for us to know, then He does not know, in His role as a Teacher.

If someone comes for confession, and soon after another person comes and says, “did he confess that he lied?” What can the priest say? He cannot say yes as he cannot reveal confessions. He can’t even say no, because even that he cannot reveal. What the priest can say is, I don’t know. I don’t know what he confessed, because it is not my place and it is not beneficial for you to know.

Our Lord Jesus Christ who instructs us to the Kingdom, says He does not know for it is not beneficial to us. What does that mean to us? It means that He wants to be prepared at all times. To always be ready.

If He were to give us the exact date, then I know I can relax for now. It is not helpful to me. Rather, our Lord tells us, no one knows the time, so therefore, now is the time. Now is the time to be prepared. Today is the day to be ready.

When we look around us in the world, we can see almost all the signs of the end. There are wars, there are rumours of wars. There’s Afghanistan, there’s COVID, there’s famine. There is everything. So what do we do with these signs? Our Lord tells us to watch, watch ourselves. Pray and be prepared now.