Tag: virtue

The Silent Spiritual Killer

The Silent Spiritual Killer

Adapted from a sermon by Dr Adel Magdy

Passage Luke 7:28-35

In our lives, there are some sins that are very obvious. You fall into sin, and the manifestation is there immediately; murder, adultery, theft – the consequences are visible and immediate. We know instantly that we have sinned.

There are other sins in our lives that aren’t as obvious. They subtly creep into our lives, and eventually destroy us. These are the sins that are particularly dangerous because there are no warning signs.

In the field of medicine, there are some diseases that are known as, “silent killers,” for this very reason. They do not display symptoms until it is too late and the disease has completely ravaged the body.

The same applies to silent spiritual killers. They creep in slowly until its too late, because there are no pre-symptoms. The silent spiritual killer that we will focus on is the sin of judging others negatively and finding faults of others. This eventually consumes all our thoughts and feelings until we are drowning in sin.

The Lord highlights an upsetting passage and describes the Pharisees as such. They constantly degrade and judge those around them. Christ says,

‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

Luke 7:32-34

No matter the circumstance, the Pharisees found a way to be judgemental. In the happy times, they were not happy. In sad times, they were not sad. When they saw someone fasting, praying, living a righteous life, instead of thinking thoughts of praise, they criticised and accused John the Baptist of being demon-possessed. When the Lord wanted to show them that He was One of us, immediately they criticised Him for being a Friend of drunkards and sinners.

This is a problem in all our lives, to some degree. Having a negative attitude, even silently in our hearts, can lead to our destruction.

I can typically tell when it is time for me to confess when I find myself critical toward others, or I look toward a situation and judge. Instantly, this is a reminder to confess and start fresh. The Lord lifts the scales from my eyes and I am renewed to an attitude that can make excuses for others.

If you consider someone in your life that is always negative and critical, it is exhausting to be around them. You can never please them. On a nice sunny day, they will complain of the heat. The next day is cold, and they complain that it’s too cold to even go outside. In the process of being critical, they destroy themselves spiritually.

The Lord is calling us to start fresh, and to look to others in a new light. To stop being critical and start trying to look through the eyes of the Lord. Today we can all promise the Lord to give the benefit of the doubt to those around us. When someone does something that I perceive as wrong, I make excuses for them. I stop judging them in my heart. Instead of being like the critical Pharisees, today I’ll start fresh. I’ll stop judging them.

When we look through the eyes of the Lord and we take away the hardness of our heart, we can no longer be critical of others. When we see people in the gentleness of the Lord, we grow in compassion for those around us.

How many times in the gospel did the Lord see a sinner? How many times did He condemn a sinner? Almost never. How many times did the Lord see the sinner and make an excuse, and not only that, but praise the goodness within them? He would take the one good thing and make them feel like they were the most special person on earth.

This is the message that we can take. That it is not our place to be critical of others, to be critical of the hierarchy, to be critical of my brothers and sisters. It is my place to be like Christ. To look at people with the same gentle and compassionate eyes of the Lord. To remember that when the Lord looks at my sins He doesn’t criticise me, so when I look at others I shouldn’t criticise them.

In Luke 5 we read the miracles of the leper who fell on his face before the Lord and implored Him saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” This is a beautiful expression, that shows a multitude of virtues in the leper. He comes to the Lord and complete humility and acknowledgement of His power. There is something more subtle that we see, and that is, the Lord makes a point of touching the leper.

There are so many instances that the Lord heals with His words alone. There was no reason why the Lord needed to touch to heal. To understand the significance of the touch, we need to understand what it meant to be a leper. Leprosy, in those times, meant death. As the leprosy rotted the body, the smell became tremendous and meant that their social network was taken away. A leper was deemed unclean and could no associate with their own family. They had to live your life away from people, they had to wear a bell so people knew they were coming and could move out of their way. More still, they had to yell, “unclean” so people would run in the opposite direction.

In the midst of this, he cries out to the Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean. The Lord would be expected to run away from the leprous man. For the very first, someone has taken a step toward him, instead of away from him. Instead of people throwing things in his direction, someone has drawn near to touch him, despite his leprosy.

This was a touch of, “I do not judge you, I do not criticise you, I love you.”

Instead of looking at people and seeing them as bad people, people that you’d rather run in the opposite direction of, I can make excuses from them. For the one that gives me a hard time, I promise that I will pray for them, instead of attempting revenge. I will show them love when I see them, even if it hurts. And I do this, for the sake of the Lord, because it is what I know He would do.

Called to Blessings

Called to Blessings

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Augustinos Nada

Passage Luke 6:27-38

What is expected from us as people of God? The Lord gives the sermon on the Mount as instructions on how to live as Christians; how to live as the children of God. These may seem completely different to what the world teaches us. He is saying, “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”

Human nature tells us that this is difficult to accomplish. It is difficult to love an enemy, to do good to those who do evil. The Lord is trying to give us an understanding that a person of God is different. We need to be different. If we want to have a life in Christ, to love Christ and to love the church, there are higher expectations placed. You have to shine differently to others. This is why He says, “you are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). We may be living in the darkness of the world, but it is the duty of a Christian to take light from Christ and shine in a dark place.

What Christ is asking of us today is to go the second mile. To push harder when human nature tells us it is enough. It is not easy to love those who hate you, to bless those who curse you, to pray for those that spitefully use you.

The world teaches us to not associate with those that hate us, we should not love them, we should not pray for them. St Charbel is a 19th century saint of the Maronite church that many miracles are attributed to. He was a hermit monk that lived in the mountains of Lebanon. The Turks were invading the country at that time and they were persecuting many of the Christian monasteries. The Lebanese monks were very strong and full of zeal for the faith. They decided to take arms against the Turkish armies and defend their monastery. These monks went to St Charbel wounded and hurt, seeking his advice. St Charbel was greatly disturbed when he saw them and said, “What are you doing? The Lord calls us and says, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you, so you haven’t done what the Lord has instructed you.”

It was from that moment that the monks changed their approach to the persecution. They were not loving the enemy but fighting them. It defeated the purpose of the Christian faith to hate your enemies.

The Lord continues, “to him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.” Do we give to anyone that asks of us? Do we give the clothes on our back in addition to the clothes that were taken from us?

“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.”

We love those who love us because it is easy to do, but the Lord is telling us this is of no credit to us. He goes on to talk about specific characteristics of our Christian faith. You cannot reach these levels unless there is an internal change. I have to be a certain person that understands the love of God and has a strong relationship with my Lord. I must strive daily to build virtues of love and forgiveness. It requires a person that has such great love for the Lord that these difficult commands become second nature. If you live a life of sin, it is impossible to forgive your enemies. If you are living a distant life from God, there is no way you can pray for those that hate you. If you live a lukewarm life, you will not bless those that curse you, or pray for anyone that spitefully uses you. If you don’t have a relationship to please God, these things become impossible.

In my own internal struggle, I must look within myself and see if I have any kind of hatred or animosity concealed within my heart. It’s okay to stay away from them but if they are near to me, do I retaliate? Do I seek revenge? Do I wish bad things for them? For me to be a person that loves my enemies and does good to those who hate and prays for those that spitefully use me, I need to be a changed person.

We see this in many of the saints. St Moses the Strong was a thief and head of a gang that murder, stole, committed adultery – an extremely violent person. He was the opposite of what the Lord commanded in the Sermon on the Mount. A man full of hate and of the world. What made him transform into a saint?

His repentance. His life with God. His struggle to overcome wrongdoing.

It may take time, but if we have the willingness then the Lord will give us strength to overcome.  Everything that the Lord tells us is a reflection of His character. If He tells us to love those who hate us, it is because He loves those who hate Him. If He tells us to do good, it is because His goodness does not depend on our deeds. He says bless those who curse you, because He blesses those who curse Him.

All these qualities are exemplary of how the Lord deals with you and me. He will never hate you, no matter what you did against Him, He continues to do good. On the contrary, He loves you even more. He shows boundless mercy, He tells us to forgive so that we may be forgiven. We know that He forgives us all, even on the Cross, He says, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

What amazing forgiveness. He was suffering and in pain but His focus was on their forgiveness. This was the greatest act of forgiveness and when we look at Christ on the Cross, surely we can look within ourselves and see why I need to forgive, why I need to love those who hate me, why I need to pray for those who use me, why I need to bless those who curse me.

A lot of people will come and say, “Abouna, it is hard to forgive those who hate me.”

But the early church fathers teach us the best way to overcome wrongdoing is to pray for them by name. Sometimes it may be difficult at the start, but if you are encouraged enough to name that person in your prayers, do you not think that God will hear you?

That person will change before you. Their evil will turn to good. Their hatred will be dispersed. And your heart will change toward them also. God will channel inner peace within you to accept the circumstance. When you feel the grace of God within your heart, nothing of this world can move you. The peace of God supersedes all your troubles on earth. The trick is to mention that person in your prayers by name.

Dear Lord, remember ____ make them a person that I can love again. If they are at fault in any way, help me to forgive them. Make them the person that You have called them to be.

When we mention them by name, it breaks our pride. We stop thinking that we are owed an apology. They may never apologise, but if this is what you truly need to forgive, it becomes more probable when you pray for them by name. They could change toward you, and more importantly, you want good feelings toward them to flourish in your heart.

With any difficult instruction, there is always reward from our compassionate Lord. “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you”

If you do good, good will come back to you. So often in our church, giving is the most powerful tool. We always see how God repays those who give. He can’t help but give back to those who give in love. Practice giving and see how God will give to you. If God hasn’t given back to you, remind Him of His promises. All of God’s promises are justifiable before our eyes.

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Am I Truly Clean?

Am I Truly Clean?

By Ereeny Mikhail

“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” – Luke 11:24-26

Every year after Passion Week and the Resurrection feast, sometime in the following week, this is the first passage from the Bible that pops into my head. One moment we are attending prayers every morning and night, fasting, doing prostrations, singing at the top of our lungs, sleepless nights filled with prayer, not distracted by television, secular music and social media and spending the week in repentance. And then in a moment…everything changes.

When it should for the better because of what we just witnessed during Passion week, it becomes overeating, catching up on T.V., changing back to our normal Spotify playlist and our time with God drops dramatically. Of course, every year it takes me a few days to come out of the food coma in order to realise that this is the case. That is when this parable (which is also in some of the other gospels) comes to mind. Likewise, following confession this parable again arises. Every time I walk out of confession, I am cautious of my actions, my words and my thoughts. However, as humans we have weakness and we fall back into old ways.

So, I asked myself, what is the solution? How do we try to the best of our ability to maintain that spirituality? How do we not fall back? This parable tells us that when we become clean and our sin is wiped away, we then find that same sin and seven others make their way back into our hearts. Why? Aren’t we clean?

St Augustine of Hippo contemplates on this and says, “When there is forgiveness of sins through the sacraments, the house is cleaned; but the Holy Spirit must be a necessary inhabitant.”

It makes a lot of sense. We may be clean, but we are empty. We need to fill our home with good.

Think back to King David, who flourished in strength and victories but still fell like any of us. He saw Bathsheba bathing and lusted over her, fell into sin with her and left her with child. To cover up for his sin, he sent Bathsheba’s husband, one of his most trusted soldiers, Uriah the Hittite, to the front line of battle to get him killed. Let me just emphasise the loyalty of Uriah, so after his sin, David sent for Uriah in hope that Uriah would go home and lay with his wife and she would appear to have conceived from her husband. But Uriah was so loyal that when he found no one was protecting the king that night, he slept at David’s footsteps two nights in a row even after David tried to convince him to leave. It says “Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants…” After all this loyalty, David sent him to the front line of battle and Uriah died. Although his sin was so great, he repented. But he says something very specific, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:10-11). He repents and is sorrowful, but he specifically asks the Lord not to take the Holy Spirit from him. The Lord obviously saw his sorrow and repentance and amongst all his sins of murder and adultery, in Acts 13:22 it says: “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” But to reach this, the importance of the Holy Spirit to him was tremendous. Why was it so important?

Again, St. Peter was not without fault. A number of times in the gospels St. Peter fell, to which the Lord answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23). Or when he denied the Lord, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.” (Luke 22:34) Contrast his actions here to following the resurrection of our Lord, he showed acts of desperation to return to Christ, “But Peter arose and ran to the tomb…” (Luke 24:12) and “…when Simon Peter head that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.” (John 21:7) Likewise, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and they began to bring all nations to Christ, St Peter says “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk,” (Acts 2:6) and “…Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them…” (Acts 4:8) He was not about the things of the world anymore, he only filled himself with the Lord. And he continued on to become one of the most important Saints of the church, with no more fear. To the extent, that he requested to be crucified upside down, because he felt unworthy to be crucified like Jesus. Why was the Holy Spirit also so important in this transition?

On both accounts, and many others, two of the greatest Saints in the church became the greatest Saints because they filled their life with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit already abides in us, but we must provide its fruits. In Galatians 5:22-23 it says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Against such there is no law.

Yes, we must repent like King David and we must desperately run to the Lord like St. Peter. But we cannot just repent and leave our house empty. We must fill it with the Holy Spirit like the both of them. They changed their life after the repentance. They didn’t just return to their old ways. They didn’t switch back to their secular Spotify playlist. They didn’t fill their lives with T.V. shows. They didn’t overindulge. When we do this, there is no space for Christ. They continued to fill their lives with the Lord. Because if we leave our house empty of the Lord, it will only be filled with more sin. It isn’t a fast solution. We will fall. But “…narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there is few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) We must become resilient in the way to life by continuing to fill it with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

St Cyril of Alexandria says; “For just as the Holy Spirit, when he sees a person’s heart desisting from all uncleanness, abides and dwells and rests in that one, so also the unclean spirit likes to take lodging in the souls of the lawless.”

Peace

Peace

by Mark Anton

Peace – no, we’re not talking about throwing up those deuces, but the “My peace I leave with you” and the “in the world you will have tribulation but take heart for I have overcome the world” kind of peace.

In other words, we’re talking about the true and lasting peace that ‘transcends all understanding, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus’(Philippians 4:7).

So what is this peace? Why is it so important and where can we find it?

St Augustine was a man who once indulged in all the world had to offer and despite all his experiences and endeavours in the world, he famously concluded that “our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You,”

St Isaac the Syrian also echoed this when he said that “in all the paths that men walk in the world, they do not attain peace until they draw nigh to hope in God.”

St Augustine and St Isaacaccurately diagnosed the yearning for inner peace that we all have inside of us and the only place we can find it.Said another way, there are many things the world has to offer us, and they can often appear to promise us peace and rest, but they will fail to deliver because the source of true and lasting peace is God alone.

The Lord Himself spoke of this type of peace when he told his disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit. He spoke of His imminent departure and then encouraged His disciples not to be troubled or afraid because He will provide the true and lasting peace that is different from the peace the world knows:

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

In his Nativity message on Luke 24, HH Pope Shenouda III explains the different types of peace that every person needs in their life – peace with God, peace with people and peace of the heart – and that we cannot attain true inner peace unless we learn to trust in God. That is, if we place our lives in our own hands or the hands of other people, we will always be troubled, but if we believe that our lives are in God’s hands, we will find rest.

Those who trust in God and His planning for their lives are not troubled or restless and exude a peace that is tangible and visible.

To have peace with God is to live a life of righteousness and, conversely, when our relationship with God is shaken, we lose our inner peace which is the result of sin and distancing ourselves from God. He who lives in peace with God will naturally live in peace with others, and those who have attained true peace reflect this in their interactions with others – they bear with patience and will pardon and forgive others.

Our Lord Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and the source of peace Himself. In Christ’s life, we have the shining example of peace. Not only did our Lord live a life of non-violence, and exemplify peace in the external sense of the word, but He also gave those around Him rest and comfort. St Anatoly of Optina said that wherever God is there is peace and that where there is everything ruinous, proud and hostile, there is the devil. We know that in the world we will have tribulations (John 16:33), and so peace does not mean to be in a place where there are no external disturbances but rather to be amid all those things and still have peace in our hearts.

We have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, and so like the disciples sitting in the upper room, we too can hope in God for true peace during our difficulties.

Self Control

Self Control

by Marc Bastawrous 

There was once a city in a land surrounded by a number of smaller cities and kingdoms. It was a city of wide avenues and little, quiet places to sit and eat. A city to stop and relax as people passed through during their travels across this vast land. There were the villages on the outskirts, where the original inhabitants of the grand city resided. The rest was parks and wild spaces, a chance to walk among nature or enjoy the trails on carriages or horseback. Yet perhaps the most beautiful thing about the city was the river that flowed through the length of the city, crossing the bridges, and terminating at a large body of water that faced the castle at the city’s centre. It was this river that filled its citizens with pride and those of neighbouring cities with envy.

One night, the prince overlooking the city was awoken from his sleep by a loud commotion outside his room. Within moments, his door was broken down and men with torches and forks were standing over his bed. “We have come to take the city – it is ours!” they all exclaimed with ferocious elation. The prince, still in shock and fearful of his life, mustered a response and replied, “but, how did you break into the city?” The apparent leader of the pack, scoffing in his direction answered, “my good sir, we did not need to break in, your city has no walls.”

It’s an interesting little story about a famous city called “I-Just-Made-It-Up” – but what does this city have anything to do with ‘Self-Control’?

The answer? Everything.

This is the exact picture that King Solomon painted when he wrote about self-control in Proverbs 25:28.

“Whoever has no rule over his own spirit
Is like a city broken down, without walls.”

And in another translation:

“Like a city that is open, and without any walls surrounding it,  is a man who cannot refrain his own spirit from speaking.”

 The reason this picture of self-control is so extreme is to emphasise its importance in our spiritual lives – or rather, our livesin general. For starters, in our daily lives, we constantly deceive ourselves into thinking we are in control proclaiming proudly things such as:

“I will not eat that donut.”

“I will not be distracted by social media while I try and complete this assignment/work task.”

“I will not honk at that person who cut me off.”

“I will not commit that one repeated sin I have been struggling so long to shake off.”

And many others, but you get the idea.

Biblically, the idea of self-control is prominent to say the absolute least. Indeed, in St Paul’s letter to the Galatians, it is the climactic fruit of the Spirit. The one he chooses to leave them with right at the end.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Gal 5:22-23)

In his first letter to the Corinthians, St Paul warns those without self-control to marry saying:

“If they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” (1 Cor. 7:9)

In fact, I would go as far to say that the idea of self-control formed the centre of St Paul’s thinking regarding the spiritual struggle which he addresses in Romans 7, saying:

“For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.  For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” (Rom 7:15-20)

The picture he paints is one we are so accustomed to. It is so easy for us to fall into this repeated sin we have tried so long to shake off. However, even though ee try so hard to do good, we always seem to fall short. We fall short of praying at night when we come home tired from work. We fall short of loving our family and friends when they’ve done something to hurt us. We fall short of waking up early to attend the liturgy from the beginning, even though we prepared so well for it the night before. We fall short of helping our neighbour who is in need because well, “when have they ever done anything for me?” We are so used to falling short of being in control of our lives. So then, what is the solution?

When St Paul asked this very same question, before he had even given himself a chance to ponder it, he already knew the answer.

“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom 7:24-25)

Through Christ. Christ is the only one who can save us from the wretchedness that is a lack of self-control. And so, our focus then should not be on achieving self-control. True control of self is to submit and allow ourselves to be Christ-controlled.

If we admit to him our weakness and give ourselves to the path He has made for us, only then will we become free of this struggle for self-control. True freedom is found in surrender.

And now, if we look back to our verse in Proverbs, we will discover something interesting. In the original Hebrew, the verse is not translated, ‘man is likea city.’ The word ‘like’ in the original Hebrew is absent – and so, the verse translated is:

“Whoever has no rule over his own spirit
Is a city broken down, without walls.”

We are the magnificent city with a flowing river, created by God to be a light amongst the nations. If we are to protect the city from vandals, we must build a strong wall, and that wall, is Christ. Though your heart may be the prince residing over the city, we must invite Him to be King. And if we surrender to His command, He will guard our kingdom and give his beloved city, the rest he yearns.

Faithfulness

Faithfulness

by Meray Shehata

Yesterday I walked on water, but today I held Peter’s hand as we both started to drown.

Yesterday I slaughtered the lion, but today I cowered next to Samson as we betrayed You.

Yesterday I watched as Goliath fell, but today nothing could have prepared me for how low I was willing to sink for worldly things.

Yesterday I stood solemnly in my place not willing to budge as You threw blow after blow at me, but today I denied You to lessen my own pain.

Yesterday I wiped Your face with my veil, but today I stabbed You with my spear.

Lord, why do I sometimes accept You when you give me riches but discard You when I have plenty, only to cry out again when the riches have drowned me? I’ve grown to expect the world at my feet but when I have achieved the impossible I lose sight of You in all my success. I declared with all Your people to have brought myselfout of Egypt and then, as if to boost my own ego, I built a golden calf to praise.

“O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matt. 14:31)

I have no reason to doubt, I sat with Job as I lost everything but I was also there when my riches all multiplied. Our lungs filled up with water as we drowned but I was there when you took our hand and pulled us out of the water. They cut my hair and reduced me to not even a third of the man I was but You gave me strength to abolish their temple. I killed a man but my name is remembered honourably until now.

What is this faith that people speak so highly of?

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).

It’s a concept so beautiful, yet so hard to attain. Although I can provide one million reasons for you to have faith, it’s still a constant battle. When tribulation comes knocking, doubt follows soon after. Sadly, doubt doesn’t like announcing itself as it enters your mind.  This uncertainty is much more sly and tends to build up over time, masked by stress or anxiety. Sometimes losing faith is not as simple or clear cut as discontinuing your belief in God but rather a growing distance between God and yourself, when all your mind really yearns for is His embrace. Oftentimes, it seems that the answer is so far away from the truth. If only you get a bit of fresh air, a change of scenery, watch a movie? Then you’ll feel better. Of course, that may work short term as it does for me, but frequently I find myself right where I started if not worse, until I seek Him again.

I tend to see Job as a pillar of faith. How does one man stand to watch everything but his life waste away yet return and pray, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”(Job 1:21). God knew the depth of his faith and when Job hesitated even for a second, God responded in a whirlwind saying, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding.”(Job 38:4).

Although our tribulations sometimes are not as clear as it was for those who came before us and Christ may not appear to pull you out of the water, there is only one solution. Faith. If you knew the plans He had for you, you would stick by Him through it all, but if a faith is never tested, where would it come from? If we are aiming to be filled with virtue and have faith like Job, we need to remember this always. Ask yourself, where were you when He engraved you on the palm of His Hand? Where were you when He made you fearfully and wonderfully in His image? God doesn’t just have a plan for your life, He has the greatest plan. Do not walk begrudgingly through trials and do not assume you’re doing Him a favour when you turn to Him as times get tough.

Remember Job, remember Joseph, remember Moses, remember Esther, remember Abraham and all the characters throughout the Bible and the history of our church. God’s love is magnificent and if you allow Him, He will work in you as He worked in them. Praise Him through the storm and you will not only receive blessings of grace, but your faith will be refined. “Man plans his path, but God direct his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9). Let Him be your guidance. When all we want is to stand on our own two feet, God is placing obstacles along the way to make us soar like eagles.

 

Goodness

Goodness

by Samira Hannaniah

The word “good” will be uttered by an individual hundreds to thousands of times in one whole day, either to express how they feel, describe how a sandwich tastes or even to encourage others on the quality of their work. The word “good” can be used in countless different contexts and reflect a vast variety of meanings. Does the extensive array of meanings to this word change if we add four letters? Is the word “goodness” so different to its derivative, “good”?

As the word “good” can be quite diverse in its connotations, “goodness” is extremely specific and stylized. It comes from the Greek word “agathosune” which means “uprightness of heart and life.” We know “goodness” as one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but the question remains of what goodness entails on our part, and the relationship between goodness and God.

“God is good”

“All the time”

“And all the time…”

“God is good”

This famous call and response between clergy and congregation resonates between all denominations, all cultures and all Christians. And yet, sometimes we struggle to fathom the entirety of God’s goodness. According to HH Pope Shenouda III, the virtue of goodness is an “increase of tenderness, gentleness, meekness and kindness which is distant from harshness and cruelty”. It is an outwardly act, preserved for the benefit of others, seeking only to uplift and better those around. Romans 2:4 elicits the ultimate act of God’s goodness- “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

It is through God’s goodness that we are prompted to repentance. It is through God’s goodness, that we are afforded another chance to return to Him. And it is also through God’s goodness that He persists with us. His Holiness further explains God’s goodness through His persistence for our salvation: – “He does not just forgive the sinner, but goes after the sinner in order to come back to Him, even if he did not want to”.

Why did the father of the Prodigal son celebrate his return and clothe him with the best robe, a ring and sandals? Why did Jesus dine with Zacchaeus the tax collector despite all his evil and injustice? Why did Jesus reveal Himself to the Samaritan woman on account of her honesty with respect to her past? Goodness. It was God’s goodness that reinvigorated a repentant heart within these individuals and several others throughout history.  Goodness has the ability to transform the heart and render it vulnerable to God’s love, promoting an inner desire to come back to Him.

Now the only question that remains: – what effect does Goodness have in your life?

Long Suffering

Long Suffering

by Demiana Salib

The fire you threaten me with cannot go on burning for very long; after a while it goes out. But what you are unaware of are the flames of future judgement and everlasting torment which in store for the ungodly. Why do you go on wasting time? Bring out whatever you have a mind to.

These are the words of Polycarp of Smyrna as he faced his martyrdom. In the written account of the Martyrdom of Polycarp, Polycarp is questioned several times by the Governor and is eventually put to death because he would only reaffirm his faith all the more strongly upon further questioning. The Governor had no real intention of killing Polycarp. Polycarp was a frail, old man that could do no harm – who would want to be responsible for his death? It was a case of “pick on someone your own size.” Despite his frail appearance, the height of his virtue however, moved the hearts of the crowd of unbelievers of which, went on to become Christian.

Although martyrdom does not exist in our world, what does remain is the history of martyrs and those that continue to be martyred in our home country, Egypt. We share in their struggles through prayer. We share in their struggles by elevating their suffering above our own. We share in their struggles by looking upon our own lives and finding reasons to be thankful that far out way our complaints. The very reason we can complain in this day and age is because God has already blessed us to the extent that we have created expectations of Him, but in reality, He doesn’t owe us anything. We, that complain, have been blessed with grace beyond measure. If we fail to recognise these gifts of grace, we fail to acquire patience.

It is much easier to tell God what we think is best, that our ways are higher than His. This present moment that leaves you questioning how your circumstances could be for your benefit is the very feeling that God is using to turn your impatience into patience. We pressure Him in prayer, we treat Him like He is doing His job all wrong. We create a very simple formula. I pray, He answers, I live happily ever after. But there’s so more that we don’t see. Out of His love for us, He carries us, kicking and screaming, because we can only see two steps ahead of us when He sees the whole picture.

We may pray every day so that whatever struggles we are going through, God takes care of. But do we pray in order to brainstorm for God possible solutions to end all our problems? If only He could see how simple the solution really is, He would’ve acted by now. The term, “long suffering” is used interchangeably with “patience.” Yes, you may be suffering, and this may cause you to think that this is the path to acquiring virtue, but if you are not patiently enduring, you are depriving yourself of virtues. God is perfect; we are not. Therefore, we do not test God’s faithfulness; He tests us. In prayer, we do not pray to alert God to our problems; we pray so that we may hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering so that we always remember that He who promised is faithful and will deliver us from all our troubles (Hebrews 10:23).

St Paul had out he called a thorn in his side. A hinderance to his service. But God had other plans. God used his infirmity to teach him the gift of long suffering. While the exact cause of his infirmity is unknown, it is speculated that St Paul was prone to seizures. He prayed relentlessly for the healing of his infirmity, yet was not healed. If speculation of seizures was correct, this is likely to have been both debilitating and humiliating for St Paul. In a time where Christianity was despised and looked down upon, St Paul was also risking his own self-worth for the sake of Gospel, should his infirmity come to light while preaching. Would he choose to wallow in self pity or would he humbly accept his infirmity, look past its potential hindrance and preach the Gospel?

Through the thorn in his side, St Paul became a true example of patience acquired through long suffering. He didn’t know when his infirmity would become a hindrance to his service; all he knew was that he had the message of salvation that needed to be shared, so he took a step, and God blessed it. He recounts the peace that followed when he selflessly chose service over his own self doubt. He says,  “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2. Cor. 12:9-10). It was never God’s intention to hinder Paul’s service, but strengthen him beyond what he thought was attainable. By recognising and giving his infirmities to God, he emptied himself and allowed God to strengthen and fulfil his ministry in a way that is far beyond our understanding of Love.

Patiently endure your tribulations, as difficult as it may sound, especially at first. Learn from every lesson that presents itself as tribulation in your life. Look at the struggles of those around you and see them as greater than your own. Then even your greatest struggles will seem small to the one that elevates those around them. Allow Him to turn your impatience into patience. Your earthly being into a heavenly being of virtue.

“And the more you withdraw yourself from all solace of creatures, so much the sweeter and more powerful consolation shall you find in Me.” – Thomas Kempis