Tag: persistence

How Great is your Faith?

How Great is your Faith

Adapted from a sermon by Fr David Shehata

Passage Luke 5:17-26

The Paralytic Man is read in the gospel of Luke 5, but also in Matthew 9 and Mark 2. It is very commonly confused with the miracle recorded in the gospel of John which recounts a paralytic man that was 38 years old and sat by the pool of Bathsaida. This is usually because Jesus says to both, “rise, take up your bed and walk.”

There are key differences between the two. They are definitely not the same person and when we look at the differences, there are a multitude of benefits that reveal how Christ treated them according to the depth of their faith.

Jesus was in a house in the gospel of Luke and the man was brought to Him, while in John, Jesus sought out the paralytic man. The man in Luke had friends around him while the man by the pool of Bethsaida had no one.

It can come across as insensitive that the Lord – who is all-loving, all-powerful, all compassionate – would allow this man and his friends to go through so much trouble to reach Him. St Mark recounts the extent of the difficulty they had when he writes, “many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door” (Mark 2:2).

He emphasises a house that would have had so many people that they were flooded out the door. There was no room, so the four men looked upon this situation and decided to enter through the roof; “And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was” – Luke 2:4.

If we pause at this verse and put ourselves in this situation. If I was one of the four men in this situation or the paralytic man himself who had come to see Jesus in faith because I have heard of what He has done for others, how do I react to the obstacles in my path?

This applies to every time we want to spend time with God, but find an obstacle along the way. I am making my way to church, I have planned ahead and booked a spot because of the current Covid restrictions. I find rain, storm, cold… what next? Do I wait for the next mass?

Or I come to pray at night at my designated prayer spot but just before I get there, I find the room is cold and I remember the warmth of my bed… what next? This is a question we ask ourselves. What would I do in this situation; when Christ is so close but there is an obstacle in my way?

Do I presume that it’s just not God’s will for me to go to church on that day? There is nothing wrong with waiting, Jesus will still be around when I eventually pray the next day, or the day after that. There are so many ways to justify turning back at the first obstacle we see.

But in Mark, the four friends saw that they could not enter through the door so they created their own entry point through the roof. It seems irrational and beyond the logic of society to enter through a closed roof instead of an open door.

It is not the faith of one alone in this situation but the combined faith of the five men. They had to carry the man to the roof, they had to uncover some of the tiles so that they could lower him into the house. The greatness and difficulty of this task was exemplary of the greatness and unwavering faith of these five men.

The understanding of Jews at the time was that in major disease or illness was the result of sin. Either their own sin or that of their parents, just like in the gospel of John when the disciples asked Christ in front of the man without any fear of whether he would hear them or not, “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” This is an insight into the culture at the time. The paralytic man was seen as a sinner, deserving of his punishment of paralysis.

The life of a paralytic would have been extremely difficult, they had no social security, were unable to work and moreover, they were blamed for the state they were in. No one had compassion on them and they were likely to grow irritable and resent society. This man showed willingness to become a public spectacle, to be judged and condemned as a sinner, for a chance to reach Christ and be healed. This was all irrelevant to him compared to what he was about to gain. His gain in this process was far greater than any criticism and social stigma. This is a lesson in faith we can all learn from.

How many times do I sacrifice time with God for momentary praise or pleasure? How many times do I, in my own life, say that I will speak to God later?

When the Lord sees the faith of the paralytic man and his friends, He says, “your sins are forgiven.” This is so powerful and gives us insight into the nature of Christ. The Lord prioritises the man’s sins over his paralysis. This was the more important of the two in the eyes of the Lord. Heavenly healing lasts for eternity, while healing of the flesh is irrelevant to the hereafter.

Perhaps we can learn to prioritise similarly; to work harder on the forgiveness of my sins, to work harder in speaking to my father of confession, to work harder in partaking of the sacraments and finding time alone with God.

God wants to approach Him similarly as Fr Yacoub Magdy points out – “the trust of the beggar, compels the giver.” We learn to approach the Lord in unworthiness, in helplessness and that compels God to come to our rescue, for He is our only hope.

We cannot say we have finished breathing for the day, so we can not say that we have finished praying for the day. Prayer is a continual and ongoing relationship with the Lord. The four men approached the Lord and encountered an obstacle but they kept striving to reach Christ by any means possible. They persevered with greater effort so that they would see the Lord and have the life changing encounter that they hoped for.

One reason why the Lord ensured on that day that He would be so far out of reach was to highlight the extent of their faith on that day to benefit those that witnessed the miracle and even to us, 2000 years later.

The question we then ask ourselves is how much effort do I make to meet the Lord? Is it beneficial to me? I need to keep asking, I need to keep seeking, I need to keep knocking, until I encounter the Lord, whatever it takes.

“Do not be foolish in the requests you make to God, otherwise you will insult God through your ignorance. Act wisely in prayer, so that you may become worthy of glorious things. Ask for things that are honorable from Him Who will not hold back, so that you may receive honor from Him as a result of the wise choice your free will had made. Solomon asked for wisdom (3 Kg 3:8-14) – and along with it he also received the earthly kingdom, for he knew how to ask wisely of the heavenly King, that is, for things that are important.”

St Isaac the Syrian

We have the King of Heaven and Earth before us and He is willing to give us all that we ask for. Ask, and ask for big things. Don’t ask for meaningless things that you would never put before a king. Even if you don’t receive immediately, keep praying for your begging will compel the Hand of God to give.

Prayer that Moves Mountains

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Yacoub Magdy

Passage Luke 11:1-13, Psalm 143:10,8

One of the blessings of our church is that every liturgy has a special meaning for each of us personally. It would be a shame if we didn’t search out this message from God from day to day.

The message from the gospel of today is that prayers are answered. St Luke starts the narrative with a question the disciples ask of Christ. They have seen Him praying on a number of occasions already now and this moved theirs hearts. They ask Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” – Like 11:1.

Jesus gave them a model of prayer. The beauty of the Lord’s prayer is that it starts with, “Our Father.” He encourages them to call Him, Father.  

Not many people appreciate this or understand fully. Those that convert to Chrisitianity from a different religion have an unique appreciation of calling God, Father. The Creator of all wants us to call Him Father.

 In the book, “I dared to call Him Father,” it took tremendous courage to call our Lord, Father. When I think about it, who am I to call Him Father?

This is the cornerstone to how we come to God with prayers answered. Jesus gives His disciples examples of persistence in prayer. When you pray, don’t stop until you receive. This is the treasure and beauty we can have as Christians – as children of the Almighty.

If a judge tells you lodge an appeal and I’ll support you. You have tremendous confidence that your appeal will be received because of the support you have from the judge. The One that answers prayer is telling us to ask, to seek, to knock, and He is the One that will answer us.

There is a famous comment of Pope Kyrillos from those who knew him well, “whatever God can do, prayer can do.” Prayer elevates our capabilities to God’s level. We can move the hand of God through our prayers.

St Basilios once said, “people climb and when they are two steps away from the top, they return back.” When you have something you need from God, don’t stop until you hear His answer.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

Luke 11:13

We, being normal people, with our limitations, would give to a friend in need. When a child asks for something, a parent rushes to give it to them straight away. God is our Father, and responds in the same way, if not, more. Each word is a step toward perseverance. Ask. Seek. Knock.

The first level is easy, you ask from what you want. The next is a bit more difficult because you start seeking it out. The final level is the height of persistence when you knock, and keep knocking until the door is opened.

This is how we approach God. Not to ask our request over and over again, God knows our needs, but if you have something at your work, home, health, with your children, God knows your needs.

As His child, God can never let us down. If the gospel is ever unclear, we have a Psalm attached for clarity. The fathers that put together the gospels hint toward the meaning by choice of psalms. The Psalm attached read;

Lead me in the land of uprightness. For in You do I trust

Psalm 143:10, 8.

I cannot trust God if I am not on the path of righteousness. St Isaac the Syrian once said, “The trust of the beggar compels the giver.” When you approach God, knowing He is all-capable yet all knowing, this confidence shines through your prayers. It is not a matter of, “God, can You help?” but “God, I know You can help, but let it be according to Your will.”

You cannot let someone down that comes to you in full assurance and trust. My conscious tells me that I won’t be let down. If you work for an honourable boss, you never think that he won’t pay your due wages.

If I am on the path of righteousness, I trust that I won’t be let down. This trust compels the Lord to give me. The beggar’s trust forces the giver to give. There is so much power given to the one that trusts God. It is available to us all, Fr Makary Younan says, “my hand can’t move a mountain, but my prayer can move the Hand of God that moves mountains.”

I recall a story when I was asked to speak to the youth about the consequences of purity. At the end of the talk, I left them with a challenge. The challenge was to spend six weeks (forty days) in complete purity, without a hint of impurity, no screens or looking twice at temptation. A period of six weeks is typically how long it takes to form a habit, so if they were motivated for this time, they could conquer any bad habits.

One of the youth was very afraid of failing a certain subject at university but upon hearing this challenge, he called upon the Lord to help him pass his subject if he maintained his purity. His confession father later told me this story because not only had he passed but he received a high distinction.

When I bow to temptation, I miss the point of my prayers, I forget the Lord and His promises.

“Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the Lord, and He answered them. He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.”

Psalm 99:6-7

 It is all in our hands.  Ask, seek, knock. We have to be His sons and daughters by first acting in such a way.

Fr Daoud Lamei says while you are absent minded, see where your thoughts catch you. Is it God and His Name? Do we long to spend time with Him? Or is getting even, sexual desires, revenge? If this is the case, wee are excluding ourselves from sonhood. If you belong to God, you are implanted in Him, ask and you will receive. Your rank will intercede on you. Let God say this is My son or daughter. Wear this title with honour and then you have nothing to worry about.

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