love

Magnifying the Lord

Magnifying the Lord

Transcribed sermon by Fr Daniel Fanous

Reference: Luke 1:39-56

Throughout the Coptic month of Kiahk, the church prepares us for the upcoming Nativity. After Archangel Gabriel announces to St Mary the birth of Christ, he tells her that Elizabeth, her cousin, will also conceive. Immediately, St Mary visits Elizabeth to help her through the final stages of her pregnancy.

There is much that could be said of a pregnant woman that rushes to the aid of another with no consideration of her own comfort. Elizabeth greets her saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

We now see that the first person that recognised Christ incarnate was a woman; Elizabeth. Mary responds and says, “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercies on those who fear.”

What does it mean to magnify the Lord? How can any one of us make God smaller or larger? Origen contemplates on this saying,

Now if the Lord could neither receive increase or decrease, what is this that Mary speaks of, My soul magnifies the Lord? But if I consider that the Lord our Saviour is the image of the invisible God, and that the soul is created according to His image, so as to be an image of an image, then I shall see plainly, that as after the manner of those who are accustomed to paint images, each one of us forming his soul after the image of Christ, makes it great or little, base or noble, after the likeness of the original; so when I have made my soul great in thought, word, and deed, the image of God is made great, and the Lord Himself, whose image it is, is magnified in my soul.

If you look at the early icons of creation, you find that Christ, the Word of God, is creating while casting breath into man. When you look into the face of Adam, it is identical to the face of Christ. Adam is created as an image of God. As such, we are called for Christ to dwell in us.

The words of St Mary are testament to the image of Christ becoming perfectly clear in her soul that she reveals Christ. My soul magnifies the Lord when Christ is in focus. God so loved the world that He fashioned for Himself a dwelling place in the heart of man. God creates men in the image of Christ so that Christ could be in us, and transform us.

How was St Mary able to magnify the Lord? “For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant.” God looked upon her humility and magnified Himself in her lowliness. What she then sees in her own soul is remarkable as she says, “For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him.”

God’s mercy is a form of healing. The word “fear” is often misunderstood. We know that perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18), but there is another kind of fear. The Greek translation in this case is phobia, which is to flee from something. This translation of fear is only found one other time in the Bible (Revelation 11), and again, used to reveal God’s mercy. The Lord’s mercy brings healing, and salvation. In this sense, it means to recognize or to perceive the dignity of God.

When I stand before Him, I realize I am a creature and He is my Creator. When I stand before Him, I cannot possibly be mighty, sitting on my own throne. I see myself relative to His greatness. I cannot possibly be rich, or proud, or stuck in the imagination of my own heart, when I am before the living God. God could not respect the dignity in any of these cases as they do not need, nor strive, for mercy, and thus could not magnify the Lord beyond the magnification of their own egos. St Anthony the Great once said, “know yourself, and you will know God.” If we truly knew ourselves and our weakness, we would know to stand in desperate need for God.

It is impossible for us to recognise our need for a Saviour if we don’t first see that we cannot attain salvation on our own. It is impossible for a physician to heal someone that doesn’t think that they are sick. It is impossible for me to magnify Christ in my soul if I don’t first see that I need Him.

An extremely wise professor went to a monk and said, “I would love to learn from you, teach me about wisdom.”

The monk sits down and heats up some water to make tea for them both. He begins to pour the tea and tea begins to rise until the cup is full, but he doesn’t stop pouring even when it is overflowing and burns the hand of the professor holding the cup. The professor tries to stop him saying, “What are you doing? You’re getting hot tea everywhere.”

The monk responds, “And this exactly why I can’t teach you anything. You cannot fill what is already full.”

This is exactly what St Mary is saying. How can one who is mighty on their own throne bow before the throne of God? Or how can the rich beg for any more than they have? Their souls are so full that there is no place for Christ to dwell. For Christ to increase, we must decrease. We can’t magnify Him in our souls when our souls are full of ourselves. This is why Christ loves the humble, for the humble are searching for Him that they may be filled with His mercy. To those who were full of themselves, Christ was almost indifferent. To those that were humble, His heart was moved to compassion for their sakes, for in their humility, their soul magnified the Lord.

Let us strive to be transparent, to recognise our need, and to come to Him desperately so that He may fill us with every good thing. May we learn to strive for the contrary positives that St Mary puts forth so that we are exalted when we are lowly, filled when we are hungry, and helped when we remember His mercies.

The Rich Young Ruler

The Rich Young Ruler

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Sam Fanous

Passage: Matthew 19:16-22

“Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.””– Matthew 19:21

In the eyes of the community, this rich, young ruler was probably a righteous person. He was probably respected and honoured. When he heard Jesus teaching about eternal life, it sparked his interest. He saw all the righteous deeds he was doing, but was not entirely sure if it was enough to inherit eternal life.

So he went to Jesus and asked, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16)

This tells us that he is serious and honest about his spiritual life. He was like most of us coming to church on Sunday. Hopefully, we ask ourselves similar questions;

Am I going to go to heaven?

If I die today, where will I be?

To this question, Jesus went back to basics – keep the commandments.

To the young ruler who had kept the commandments since his youth, he was probably satisfied with this answer.

But then Jesus drops a bombshell, for He knew there was one thing missing in his life. Jesus acknowledges that he had many positive attributes, but the one thing he lacked outweighed all else. It wasn’t a simple tweak he needed, but he lacked it completely.

Without this essential component, all he did meant nothing. He could not imagine parting with his possessions which meant his eternity had been lost.

He went away sorrowful for the possessions he could not part with. We never hear the name of this person and we never find out if he returned. It almost seems unfair that Jesus watched him leave and didn’t try to call him back. There was no compromises, His commandment is clear – “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

There was nothing more that Christ could do for him. For Christ knew “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24).

The disciples heard this and were confused at the number of rich yet righteous people that would miss out on the Kingdom of Heaven. For it is impossible for someone who relies on riches to enter the Kingdom.

What does this all mean to us today? For some of us, there may be something we hold in our hears that stops us from getting closer to God, something we can’t seem to shake off. Whether it be our desire for success, money, an impure relationship, or just laziness. This may be the one thing we lack that will stop us from entering the Kingdom.

If you feel in your heart that there is one person that you can’t forgive, even if you are completely in the right and they’re completely in the wrong which is almost never the case, then that is a massive boulder in your heart that Christ cannot work around. The hatred and the bitterness you are holding on to is comparable to the young ruler and his possessions.

He trusted in his riches, just like some people trust in their bitterness and cling so tightly to the point where it destroys them. Christ cannot fix a person that trusts in their false riches more than anything else.

The young ruler had no sin, but he loved his possessions more than he loved Christ. We do not inherit eternal life for bad things we did not do. The absence of bad does not make us good. At best, it makes us neutral and we know what God thinks of lukewarm faith; “because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of Mymouth” – Revelations 3:16

There needs to be more. There needs to be a relationship and there needs to be love. Whatever boulder that prevents love from reaching my heart needs to be overcome if I want to inherit the Kingdom. For the rich young ruler, his love of possessions outweighed his love for God. But Jesus tells him to sell everything and realise that God is enough. If we love anything more than we love God, we must get rid before we can even start loving God.

The lack of love that I suffer is not because of a sin that I am struggling with, it is that I don’t love God enough. Sins are symptoms of my lack of love, if I want to be made well, I must first address the underlying cause.

We see a very similar story at the house of Mary and Martha. Martha is busy preparing food and stressing at the amount of work there is to do, while her sister is sitting down, doing seemingly nothing at Christ’s feet. Martha complains to Jesus saying, ““Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”(Luke 10:40)

Jesus turns to her in a very surprising way. He doesn’t say, “yes Mary, help your sister,” He says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”(Luke 10:42)

And what was the one needed thing that Mary chose? To sit at Christ’s feet. Both were great disciples of Christ, but Martha was distracted while Mary had her priorities in order. She sat at Christ’s feet and ignored everything else around her.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that we come to church and forget our families and our responsibilities, but we take it in context. Christ is priority number one and nothing can outweigh time spent at His feet.

I have money, but if I lose it, I am still happy because I have the one thing that can never be taken away. I have Christ, and He is sufficient for all my needs. Just as Job said when all was taken away from him, “Naked I came from the womb, and naked I shall return, the Lord has given and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

This is true love that Christ asks from us. St Isaac the Syrian used to describe the presence of God as drunkenness. Being in His presence is euphoric. It is not striving not to do bad things, but striving to experience God.

Why am I in this? What is my purpose? My purpose is to use each day to experience the love of God, which far outweighs a rule book based faith designed to stop me from doing the wrong thing.

Full sermon: https://subspla.sh/8qc8r6t

My Strength

My Strength

by Marcus Mikhail

If God is for me who can be against me?
I know I can trust Him in every difficulty
With life and all its ups and downs,
I rely on Him and His strength through all my hours

Life is hard; I need to be tough
But God makes it easier with His love
Nothing will phase me; nothing will make me cease living,
Because I continue in the Lord and never stop striving

Times can be awful and it feels like He’s not there,
But I trust in His promises that show His unconditional care
They say life is a merry go round with its ups and downs and sometimes round and round
With God, all I see is that His grace does truly abound

I pray, Lord, that You continue to help me fight in this life
And look towards my eternal destination, free from trouble and strife
I can’t wait for that day; I can’t wait to finally be with You
Oh dear, Lord, how I thank You that I know this to be true!

You died for me on the Cross and forgave me of my sin
You consumed it with holy fire and threw it all in the bin
You took my place; I should have been the one that died,
But it was You who took the beatings and the shame, and made the church Your bride

I am convinced that nothing can separate us from the Love of God (Romans 8:38-39)
It gives me such peace to know that His love is so broad
He know the plans He has for me, plans to prosper and not to harm (Jeremiah 29:11)
What have I to fear, why should I be in alarm?

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call in Truth (Psalm 145:18)
Especially now in my youth I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)
He has won my battle and granted me victory And we know that God works to the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28)
This is true encouragement when life is dim

Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7)
He’ll be with us always till this life is through
My peace I leave with you not as the world gives to you (John 14:27)
I find it hard to believe people try to get through life in all the things they do

I have swept away your offences like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist (Isaiah 44:22)
Oh the joy of knowing that your greatness is so Bliss!
His word is so rich no other book has such power You can get relief when life gets sour
I thank my God, my Lord, my Rock For helping me through the storms, and it wasn’t just by luck

Joy

Joy

by Shery Abdelmalak

A heart full of love and servitude for God’s children can only emulate joy. Think of events that have made you feel joyful. Do you think of adventure, travel, fun? Is it things that make you happy; the temporal kind? For Saint Mary, it was the news, that at the age of twelve, she would conceive a child. Not just any child but the Son of God. She responded saying, “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.” (Luke 1:46-47)

Her faith was being put to the ultimate test. God had big plans and Saint Mary was about to play a major role in the salvation of all mankind. But what twelve year old girl would think of mankind when her whole life was about to flipped upside down? To say that this should be a time of confusion and discomfort would just be scrapping the surface.

Fr Dawood Lamey outlines joy very simply; Joy comes when you prioritise:

Jesus
Others
Yourself

Saint Mary accepted God’s will, with no thought given to how His plans will impact her life personally. When the angel, Gabriel tells her that Elizabeth is also pregnant, her immediate thought is to help her cousin in her time of need. At no point did Saint Mary stop to think of herself. Her joy in this situation is beyond admirable. Had she stopped to think of herself, the course of history may have taken a very different turn.

When we take Saint Mary as an exemplar of joy and attempt to mould this into our own lives, we may see a very different pattern. We can often misrepresent joy for happiness. Happiness generally comes from a pursuit of one’s own will, pleasures and desires, whereas, joy is the complete opposite. One’s own desires are put on hold for the service of others. This is not to say that happiness is a negative. All in moderation. A major risk of happiness arises when it is used as an indication of spiritual health. Joy is the true indication of spiritual health. To be content and at peace throughout tribulation comes from having joy, that exceeds far beyond happiness.

The main difference between happiness and joy are their sources. Happiness originates from external influences of the world whereas joy is internal. Saint Jerome describes this difference saying, “By joy people mean an elation of mind over things that are worthy of exultation, whereas gaiety is an undisciplined elation of mind which knows no moderation.” When going through hardship, you may choose to ignore the situation. You may think that you are okay because you’re happy. If you can’t come to God at the end of day, on your knees and have an honest conservation with Him in prayer, of what spiritual benefit will that tribulation bring you?

You may be happy externally yet still filled with grief and sorrow, the fruits that oppose joy. St James says that, “he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6). The appeal of happiness is in its momentary pleasure but you put yourself in a cycle of an endless pursuit of satisfaction from an inconsistent world that will ultimately lead to much greater pain. There is nothing like the joy of having a clear conscience that has claimed victory over worldly lusts. There is also no difficulty quite like pursuing joy when you feel you have been given every reason to abandon God and His promises. Joy is not the result of “fun,” joy comes in times of chaos when all you know for sure is that God is holding you in the palm of His Hand.

So how can we find joy in tribulation?

To be thankful for all, even the seemingly insignificant. From the moment you wake up, you are already given more than enough reason to be thankful. Find thankfulness behind every complaint. The very reason we can complain so much is because God has already blessed us to the extent that we have created expectations of Him. How great His love is and for that alone, we are thankful.

To repent honestly without any ill-feelings toward others. To end every day in self-reflection of your own actions and how you can become more Christ-like brings joy, both in times of blessing and in times of tribulation. As Saint Ambrose says, “That man sins is no cause for surprise. What is blameworthy is his failure to acknowledge his error and humble himself before God.” When we humble ourselves before God, we allow Him to take away our human nature and replace it with the heavenly. Repentance is a tool that allows us to recognise our position before God so that self-awareness comes as a reflection of what God can make you and me.

To beg for His mercy so that He becomes our source of joy and spiritual nourishment in every storm. The joy of the heart cannot be taken away by the cares of this world, or the opinions of others, or the sin of despair. Stay in good company in sanctification from the world and He will provide for you.

When you feel God has blessed you, when life is going well, pursue joy most so that His blessings are not forgotten during tribulation. When blessings cause happiness and an elevation of the ego instead of a heart that gives God the glory, happiness quickly fades. Feeling joyful during times of blessing is good but how much more admirable is a person who is joyful during tribulation? A heart filled with joy is content during all external circumstances, the good and the bad, and is thankful through it all.

Love

by Steven Attallla

I would like to start off with a question. How do you define love? Before you continue reading, take a few moments to really think about it.

The word ‘love’ is used so much in the world and it is generally linked with some sort of worldly or materialistic act. For example, Valentine’s Day. A day where partners spoil each other with expensive dinners and gifts and we as a society have accepted this as a form of love. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that but as Christians, we are taught a much deeper form of love – a type of love that we struggle to express.

When I was in Sunday School, our servant used to ask the class questions about the lesson and the first question that would always get asked was,”What did you learn from today’s lesson?” Ofcourse, that was a tactic used to see who was really listening and paying attention. So the emergency answer that was commonly used (and was known to never be the wrong answer) was, “God is love”. We’ve said it a million times and we’ve heard about it a billion times, but have we ever dwelt on these three short words?

1 Corinthians Chapter 13 is the most well-known passage about love (If you’ve never read it, I suggest you stop here and have a read of it). The last verse of that passage is ‘and now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love’ (1 Corinthians 13:13). We learn here that love trumps all. That love overpowers all other characteristics. Why though? Why is love so powerful? The answer to that is the same answer that was used in all emergency sunday school situations – Godislove. The purest form of love is nonexistent if God does not exist in your life. God simply is love. He is the essence of love. You cannot understand love without being exposed to God.

There is something quite remarkable about the concept of love. When we are loved, it feels as though our hearts are receiving a massive hug. We feel warm and safe around those that portray a genuine love. This is the feeling that God radiates. When we are in His Fatherly embrace, we are presented with this ultimate gift. I always wondered what it would feel like being around Christ when He was on the Earth. I envy the multitudes that would surround him on a daily basis because they received the greatest experience of witnessing the finest and most purest form of love. Imagine, just sitting there, on the mountain where Christ gave the sermon. Imagine looking up and admiring the Creator of life. The true essence of Love. It has always been something I wished I had experienced.

We always associate love with the heart and many times in the bible we read about how important it is to look after your heart – “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). So if love belongs in the heart and God is Love, then it is very clear as to where God belongs. Our hearts should be considered as a palace for our King. Now ask yourself, is your palace made up of a strong structure or is it in ruins? We are called to reflect the image of God. The image of Love. If our hearts are not embedded with the essence of God then we won’t have the capacity to reflect His love. We must first draw to Him in order to be like Him. When you draw closer to fire, you become warm. The heat attaches itself onto you and shares with you its warmth. Similarly, when you draw near to the source of love, it will attach to you and reflect upon your personality.

Love is powerful and it can cause dramatic changes in a person’s life. Through His love, people began to follow Him. Through His love, Zacchaeus flipped his lifestyle. Through His love, the right hand thief repented. Through His love, He died for me and defeated death. Here is a scenario that I would like you to imagine. When Christ died on the Cross, He descended into Hades. Abraham, Issac, Job, Jeremiah and all the Old Testament greats were residing in Hades until this moment. Can you imagine what they would’ve felt when they saw Christ enter Hades to take them out? They would’ve felt this whirlwind of comfort surround them. They would’ve felt so safe and full of joy to see their Saviour. This feeling is quite similar to how we feel when someone loves us at our very lowest. It’s like for a split moment, we forget what has been hurting us. That is the power of love and that is why we need to exercise it more often for through love, we are able to change circumstances. We are able to bring a light to someone’s darkness. We are able to bring hope to those who feel hopeless. We are able to bring comfort to those who are feeling afraid.

If we all loved, the world would be in a much greater state. But because the world rejects God, it rejects love. When love is absent, hatred fills the void. I urge every one of us to start a relationship with God. If your heart is in ruins, start the construction. Get to know God and let Him help you build a wonderful palace so that He could reside in you. Once He is in your heart, you will become one with Him; you will become one with Love.

“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16)

Glory be to His name forever, Amen.

Strength through Weakness

Strength through Weakness

A poem by Joshua Shehata

Let my eyes be shed to tears before Your Majesty,

My service to You and everything around You is the source of blessing magnifying my life,

As I bow down, You transform my many sorrows to a masterpiece,

From simple favours to life changing decisions

And yet, my love for You only grows stronger.

My strength is through You,

and as I begin to realise my mere human weakness,

only then can I observe my worldly limitations crumbling before me.

As you surround me with your presence,

My strife turns into might,

My sadness transforms into happiness,

And my fragility into steadfast faith.

I will never cease to continue serving what You began;

To change the world in a way never known to man.

Thank You Lord, for allowing me to be Your unworthy servant,

My heart melts before Your awesome presence,

And yet when You embrace me in Your arms, it’s another deja vu of my adolescence,

Feeling like a child once more,

Doing everything I can in Your Name because You’ve done so much more,

Allow me to feel Your love, wrap me tight around Your arms,

Allow me to feel the true sacrifice You gave to me,

That the humans of Your time couldn’t grasp even after every glance.

Remember me O Lord when you come into Your kingdom,

And allow me to be your servant on Earth for as long as I live,

Hand me your wisdom so I may join you in Paradise for all eternity.

Five Minutes

Five Minutes

by Marc Bastawrous

“If you had just 5 minutes with God, what would you say to Him? What would you do?”

That was the silly question posed to me by a close friend of mine once; a question I admit I paid very little attention to on the basis that it was extremely flawed. For starters, God is not limited by time, so by restricting His time to mere ‘minutes’ bothered me. Furthermore, what could I possibly do or say to God in a short 5-minute period that would effectively change Him or change the way He looks at me? I wouldn’t even entertain the thought of responding to such a scenario. It was an ignorant, thoughtless question that no one could realistically answer and I let my friend know it (we’re still close don’t worry).

That was until passion week some years later, when I finally came across someone in a position suitable to reacting to this very scenario. This person is the beloved disciple and friend of Christ, Peter. Let me explain. Following the death of Christ, the disciples were in apparent hiding for 3 days. Not much is said about this time spent in secrecy and even less is said about their thoughts and feelings regarding the events that had transpired. However, one thing is for certain. Each disciple carried with them a level of guilt and anguish over their actions on the Lord’s last day (all but John). They all bore a sense of responsibility for what had happened to their Master. Of the 10 who remained in hiding (John was probably caring for Mary, and Judas, well, he was ‘out of the picture’), 9 of them carried an equal amount of accountability for forsaking Him in the garden. The other one, was Peter. Peter’s forsaking of Christ was a much deeper betrayal. The wound he carried with him post-crucifixion was one of denying His Master and best Friend. And now, he was left in a wilderness.

Often when you lose someone close to you, the one thing you value above all else are the last words you shared with each other. Let’s explore the last words Peter and Christ shared before the Crucifixion:

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

‘I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep of the flock will be scattered,’

But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”

Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”

And so said all the disciples.

– Matthew 26:31-35

His last words to Christ were a promise. “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” There is no doubt that these words haunted Peter in the days after Golgotha. And when I put myself in his shoes all I could imagine him thinking was: “If only I could take those words back – if only I had 5 more minutes with Him.”

Peter is the ideal candidate to answer this question because his time with Christ was ‘up’ as far as he was concerned. But what exactly was his answer?

I imagine Peter didn’t arrive to a conclusive answer immediately. After all, what would you say to Someone you had just denied? Perhaps in the days after the Lord’s death, Peter went back to Golgotha where the Cross may still have been raised. “If I had 5 more minutes with Christ, I would sit in silence at the foot of His Cross,” he may have thought to himself.

Or maybe Peter wandered away from the disciples and went to the Garden of Gethsemane. “If I had 5 more minutes with Christ, I would watch,” he may have contemplated. It’s all speculation but one thing is for certain, Peter yearned for 5 more minutes with his Lord. He desired it above all else and probably, above all others. How can we say this for sure?

On the third day post-crucifixion, Mary Magdalene returned to the place where the disciples were staying and shared the news of the empty tomb. Peter’s response is as follows:

“Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.”

-John 20:3-4

He ran. He didn’t wait to hear any more details, he didn’t ask any questions, he just ran. He was in a rush to see Him. Three days of agonising over what he could have said differently, what he could have done differently, and now, a glimmer of hope. “Maybe now is my chance to change everything.” The other disciple who ran with him is thought to be John and, being the younger of the 2 of them, outran Peter to arrive at the tomb first. Although, in spite of his age, I can still picture Peter running to the point of gasping for air. No pain or hurt could compare to the anguish he had just gone through and, even if he had to do it through wheezing breaths, he would tell the Lord exactly what was on his mind. Alas, the tomb was empty, and the Lord was nowhere to be found. Peter would have to wait for his 5 minutes.

That same evening, the Lord appeared to the disciples and revealed to them His risen body. He encouraged them and told them of the Promise of the Father (the Holy Spirit) that would come and endow them with Power. He appeared a second time 8 days later because Thomas was whining that “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” (John 20:25). Still Peter could not find the opportunity to speak to Him. Maybe it was during this time that he second guessed himself. “What could I even say to Him?” Peter would still have to wait for his 5 minutes.

And then finally, a few days later while the disciples were out fishing, the Lord reveals Himself (miraculously) to them once more. This time, Peter would have his 5 minutes one way or another. Being out at sea, “he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea” (John 21:7). Picture it. A man of old age, diving into the ocean and swimming to shore like a maniac. I don’t think Peter even knew what he would say to Him, but he would have his 5 minutes with the Lord. He would have the chance to right the wrongs of the last words they shared with each other. It’s what he had been longing for all this time. It can’t wait anymore.

When Peter arrives at shore, the Lord asks him the one question capable of driving a sword into his heart, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” (John 21:15)

I guess this needs a little explaining. In the Greek language, there are three words used to define ‘love’ – and each word carries with it a specific connotation. The word not often seen in the bible is “Eros”, used to describe a lustful type of love (which we know is not really ‘love’ at all). The word most commonly used in the Gospels is “Agape,” which refers to the self-sacrificing, unconditional type of love that the Lord Himself showed on the Cross – the type we should all aspire for. Then there is another commonly used word, “Philio” – this is the type of love that is used between friends. It describes a fondness more than a feeling of deep affection.

When Christ asks Peter, “Do you love Me?” He uses the word “Agape,” the type of love that is ready to lay its life down. So, what He is really asking him is, “Simon, are you ready to lay your life down for me? Do you love Me enough to sacrifice everything?”

Imagine the shame Peter felt in that moment. The agony of his final words to Christ coming back to haunt him once more. “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You!”

“What do I say to that? I can’t make the same mistake. What if these are my last 5 minutes with Christ?”

And so Peter, probably through tears, probably through a voice that has cracked from the heavy emotions weighing on him in this very moment, looks into the eyes of the Lord and says to Him:

“Yes, Lord; You know that I love (Philio) You.” – John 21:15

Philio, not Agape. For the first time, Peter pours out his heart to the Lord, in truth. This time, there is no deceit, no lies. Peter, in his 5 minutes with the Lord, uses it, not to cunningly express his boundless love for Him, but to express just how little he has for Him. He uses his 5 minutes with Christ to give Him his heart.

Peter tells Him, “Lord, I can’t give you the love You’re deserving of. I can’t promise that I would lay down my life for You. I can’t even tell You that You’re the most important part of my life. But what I have I give You. Here’s my heart and all it’s truths. It’s not much but I want You to have it.”

Peter decided that if this was to be his last 5 minutes with his Lord, then he would be honest with Him. In psalm 15, King David asks: “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?”And a single verse later answers with: “He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart.” In psalm 51 he also writes to God, “behold, You desire truth in the inward parts.” But perhaps, most beautifully, Jeremiah writes in Lamentations 2:19:

“Arise, cry out in the night,
At the beginning of the watches;
Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.”

Pour out your heart in truth to Him. No matter what garbage exists in there, no matter how little love – pour it out like water before Him. It was no coincidence that the Lord chose these 5 minutes to restore Peter. It was this scene that corrected my ignorant understanding of the question posed to me by my friend. Yes, while God is not limited by time, I am. And while nothing I say or do will change Him, it will change me and the relationship I have with Him. It paints the picture of true prayer.

“Prayer does change things, all kinds of things. But the most important thing it changes is us. As we engage in this communion with God more deeply and come to know the one with whom we are speaking more intimately, that growing knowledge of God reveals to us all the more brilliantly who we are and our need to change in conformity to Him. Prayer changes us profoundly.”

– R.C. Sproul (The Prayer of the Lord)

So, after all, it’s not the most unreasonable question in the world. And no doubt this is not the only reasonable answer out there. But it’s mine. What’s yours?

+ Glory be to God. Amen +

Iron Sharpens Iron

Iron Sharpens Iron

by Amy Saleam

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…” 1 John 1:6 (NKJV).

Fellowship is one of the most commonly used words in Christianity and is pivotal to Christian living. When we hear that term, it reminds us of hanging out after Friday night youth group, having a chat with someone after Sunday liturgy or attending Church events. Of course, the aforementioned activities are beautiful ways of building relationships with fellow Christians and creates a sense of community, however, they only scratch the surface of what fellowship is at its core. Lets dig deeper.

Biblically speaking, fellowship comes from the word koinonia. This means to participate, to share or be in communion with God and fellow Christians. Understanding this reveals that fellowship with one another recognises a common denominator between us, something that links us together – and that is Christ himself. And so if we truly are in fellowship with Christ, we must embrace true fellowship with one another and this involves more than just superficial conversation.

Fellowship amongst Christians entails sharing our own individual experiences with one another and to also participate in experiences together. The purpose of this sharing is to encounter Christ communally, draw and encourage each other to pursue a deeper relationship with Him and support one another in our walk of faith, particularly during hardships and discouragement.

Pray for each other, with each other

Prayer is a key demonstration of Christian fellowship. When we pray, we experience an intimate relationship with God and put before Him our deepest sorrows, thanks, fears and requests. So if we are able to do this for ourselves, we should do so for each other. Since we collectively are the Body of Christ, how can we focus on one part and neglect the other? If you have a rash on both of your arms, do you only treat the one on the right hand and leave the left? Are they not of the same body? Similarly, just as we pray for ourselves and our own struggles, we should pray for one another. We are not just individual Christians who are meant to live our faith alone; rather we are in communion with each other within the Body of Christ. So let us not just consider one part of Christ’s body i.e. ourselves, but pray for the whole Body – our brothers and sisters.

Support one another – build one another

“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” Proverbs 27:17.

The principle of sharpening each other does not mean convicting with harsh judgment, but rather to approach others with our humble concern. Many a time this can be difficult as the execution of our concern can rather seem as a criticism, but if we approach one another with compassion and remind ourselves that we are not perfect in our own flesh, but are made perfect in Him, then we are able to approach each other with humility.

The book of Proverbs places onus on each of us to “sharpen” our friend for the purpose of building one another. Over time, an iron tool may become blunt if not constantly sharpened by a second piece of iron and heat. Likewise, when we do not place ourselves in God’s presence daily, our faith may too become blunt and our sense of dependence on Him weakens. Our focus then shifts onto life’s distractions and we become clouded with our burdens and fears. So we see that it becomes the responsibility of the second iron to sharpen the first in order to regain its purpose. Similarly, our walk in faith requires us to be in fellowship with one another so that when one does become spiritually lukewarm and faith is dampened, we can be the second iron for each other.

Hence, we are also prompted to be a friend who sits with others in their darkest days to remind them of and embody Christ’s heart. As we are in koinonia and called to share experiences with each other, we can help carry and lift each other’s burdens and sorrows. Actually when we do so, we half the sorrow and double the joy – and that joy is one which we share in being a part of the Body of Christ. This joy is made evident when we help our brothers and sisters through life’s inevitable valleys. Therefore being in fellowship requires us to place one hand on our friend’s shoulder in this valley, and the other hand pointing to and redirecting their focus to our mountain peak – Christ.

Our sharpening should be motivated by the desire of wanting nothing less than Christ for one another. When a friend is discouraged and experiencing hardship, our fellowship involves us reminding them of God’s truths and making His light apparent during their spiritual winter. When we share this experience with each other, let us remind one another that our hearts are held by Him, and that even when the trees look barren, God is working beneath the soil.

Glory be to God forever. Amen.

Good Friday

Lead me to the Cross

Good Friday

by Bethany Kaldas

‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.’

Genesis 2:24

When we think of Good Friday, we do not tend to think of it as…well, good. The closest we come is in acknowledging the fact that it is because of the Crucifixion that we have been saved from sin. But even so we do it in a sombre, regretful tone, the same way we talk about the deaths of soldiers on a battlefield. We shed tears for a horrific and tragic event that happened to Somebody else, a long time ago, very far away.

But Good Friday is about as far from the commemoration of a terrible misfortune as you can get. It is not a commemoration at all. Good Friday is the resolution of the greatest love story in all Creation. And it did not merely happen. It is happening to us.

It is a story that begins with the fitting words, ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.’ (Genesis 1:1). The world is created—marvels upon marvels that had yet to be seen in the universe! Substance where there was once nothing! Light in a cosmos which had been blind! Water to a land that had never tasted a drop! Living creatures of boundless forms inhabiting a once lifeless world! Each day something more and more wonderful!

…And yet it was incomplete.

Then came the sixth day of Creation, and something… Different happens.

‘Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”’

Genesis 2:26

We know this story well. This is the creation of the first humans. But this is not just some distant tale about Adam and Eve. This is the beginning of us.

As Fr John Behr puts it, this is the announcement of God’s own project—humanity—a project that, unlike His other countless wonders, ‘is not completed by His word alone’ (Becoming Human, p. 35). God has said that humanity is to be in His ‘image and likeness’ (Genesis 1:26), and yet the creature that is formed of the dust falls away. Broken and confused, mankind comes to barely resemble the Being it was made after. Of all of Creation, humanity is the only work which is begun but not yet finished.

Fr John goes on to claim that through all of history, from the sixth day of Creation, not one human being has been seen on Earth. Until Good Friday. Until the Creator Himself came down to His Creation, and hanging on the Cross, on the verge of death, declared with utter finality:

‘It is finished.’

John 19:30

And finally, the sixth day of Creation comes to its end.

Good Friday is the day we are completed. It is the day we become the glorious Bride of Christ. It is the day we become the Church—we finally fulfil that image and likeness we were made for. This when we become the True Eve, who is to the True Adam, ‘of His flesh and of His bones’ (Ephesians 5:30). With the sacrificial death of the first True Human in all the universe, Christ Himself, human kind is finally born and finally united with Her Creator.

‘Thus the day of Jesus’ crucifixion is His wedding day, when He, the new Adam, is ‘joined to His wife’, the Church, in an everlasting marriage covenant.’

Brant Pitre, Jesus the Bridegroom

But it is not enough to know this happened—we must see that it is happening.

In his book, Jesus the Bridegroom, Brant Pitre describes Christ’s sacrifice in this way:

‘Jesus is united with His bride through the sacrifice of His own flesh and blood, poured out literally on Calvary and then miraculously in the sacraments of the Church.’

Whenever we partake of the Eucharist, we are participating in the very same sacrifice that was given on that Cross, the Cross we too often feel is only a distant historical event to be commemorated in ritual.

But it is even more than that. Through this sacrifice, the sacrifice that birthed humanity and wed us to our Maker, we see a reality that the saints before us realised centuries ago. An uncomfortable reality, perhaps, captured so perfectly in Romans 6:8: ‘Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.’ It is the reality that we can only live if we first die.

We see this reality portrayed most potently in examples such as Saint Ignatius of Antioch. In his letters, he begged his friends not to do anything that might prevent his martyrdom. He pleads to them with all sincerity, ‘Do not hinder me from living.’ He realised that one cannot really have a life by trying to preserve it for oneself—true life comes through unity with Christ, and that through death with Christ.

Martyrdom seems like a radical idea to the modern, western mind—and by no means am I suggesting that we cannot be real, living Christians unless we hop on a plane and find someone who will kill us for our beliefs. We need not travel so far for martyrdom. For true martyrdom is not mere physical death, but the sacrifice of one’s whole self for the sake of Christ.

‘Until you have given up yourself to Him you will not have a real self.’

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

And it is in this that we find the goodness of Good Friday.

God’s greatest work—the human race, the Church, His Bride—was completed and wed to Him through the voluntary sacrifice of His whole self. In precisely the same way, we can only be wholly ourselves—that most glorious creature, that image and likeness of God—if we give our whole selves away for His sake.

Good Friday is not a commemoration of a tragic event. Good Friday is when we find life in the giving up of life, when we die with Him in order to live with Him.

‘Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.’

Romans 7:4

Holy Wednesday

Lead me to the Cross

Holy Wednesday

by Kirollos Roman

On Holy Wednesday of Pascha week, we generally remember two characters. The character of Judas Iscariot, and conversely, the character of the woman who poured the fragrant oil on the head of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. A stranger who pleased the Lord on the same the day His disciple betrayed Him. This annual comparison never fails to ask us the question: who am I? Judas Iscariot, who betrays Him. Or the woman who poured the fragrant oil.

The story of the woman who poured the fragrant oil, as we read in the Gospel of Saint Matthew 26:1-13 and Saint Mark 14:3-9, is a story of silent love. She never spoke a single word. It appears she chose not to, despite what she may have heard against her. Some said: “why was this fragrant oil wasted” (Mark 14:4), while others, “criticized her sharply” (Mark 14:5). This woman had so much to say, but without words – silent love. This type of love, in the eyes of God, is much louder than any love with words. There is a silent love that can be shown, more powerful than any word that can be said. “For He will quiet you with His love” (Zephaniah 3). On the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, what words were left to say? Christ spent years preaching and teaching. Performing thousands of miracles and acts of compassion. But there came a time of silence – the Cross. On the Cross, He offered us His undying love. A silent love. A love worth a thousand words never spoken. Precious in the eyes of the Lord are those who love with more than words.

On another occasion, fragrant oil is poured not only on the head of our Saviour, but His feet (John 12:1-19). St Paul comments and says: “And He (i.e. Christ) is the head of the body, the Church” (Colossians 4:18). Who then is the feet? The poor, sick and helpless. St Ambrosiaster says: “Because our feet are low and in need of honor, we adorn them with shoes”. Thus, silent love is two fold – love of the head, and love of the feet. Love of the head in our attendance of the daily Pascha. Love of the head in our chanting of ‘Thok Te-tee Gom’. Love of the head in our persistent prayer, contemplation and meditation. Love of the head in our tears of repentance. All of these, are moments of fragrant oil on the head of Christ.

What about the anointing of the feet? The feet that others questioned: “Why was this fragrant oil not sold ?” (John 12:5). The feet that were wiped with the head of her hair, a woman who couldn’t bear to look Him in the eye. Who are the feet of Christ? They are the forgotten. The weak. The hurt. Those who don’t appear as apparent as the head or the neck or the shoulders. These are the feet of Christ. For what is lower than the feet? But be assured, the oil that anoints the feet is valuable in the eyes of God. Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial” (John 12:7). When you offer your love to those in need, be assured it has reached the head of Christ. Let me practice this love in the final three days of the Pascha. What is something of value in my home that I can offer to someone forgotten, weak or hurt? It must be valuable like “ an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard” (Mark 14:3). And again, be assured, it is not a waste, for it will anoint the feet of Christ, and please Christ Himself.

Every year during the Holy Pascha, we’re faced with the question: who am I? Judas Iscariot, who betrays our Saviour; or the woman who poured the fragrant oil. Judas Iscariot, who sold Him for thirty silver coins; or the woman who bought His love for three hundred denarii?

In the first epistle to St Timothy, St Paul teaches his disciple: “a bishop…must not be greedy for money” (1 Tim 3:3). Why is that? The truth is, if I hold anything in my life more precious than God, this leaves me room to deny Him. Judas Iscariot loved money more than He did God, so he stole from the church’s money box. Jesus asks the rich young ruler: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor…and come, follow Me”. But he could not deny his riches. So we read: “he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Matt 19:22). Again, the sons of Eli the priest were greedy. They took portions from the burnt sacrifices for themselves, and so led the whole Kingdom of Israel astray.

What about me? Is my relationship with God based on possessions? Do I only pray to Him when He gives me? Or when I want something. The church urges us to strive to be like Job on this day, even naming today, “Job Wednesday,” so that we are continually reminded of his faith on this day. Job lost everything. His money. But also his family. His livestock. His health. And after all this, he says: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21). Let me be like Job. On Holy Wednesday, the Church reads the whole book of Job so that we imitate him and by extension, imitate Christ. Let us learn to hold our faith more precious than money and all other worldly cares.