The Importance of The Passion Week

The Passion Week or the Holy Pascha (Passover) is the most important period in the year and the richest spiritually. It is a week full of Holy memories of the most crucial stage of salvation and the outstanding chapter in the story of redemption. The Church chose for this week certain readings from both the Old and the New Testaments, which reflect, the most passionate feelings that explain God's relation with Man. The Church also chose some deep hymns and spiritual contemplation to suit the occasion.

In the early Church, our Saintly Fathers used to receive this week with respect and reverence, and act in great humility.

While fasting, they abstained from eating any sweet food like honey or jam, as they considered it not appropriate to taste any sweet thing while commemorating the Lord's suffering for them. Some used not to cook anything during that week, as a matter of devotion, and lest cooking should distract them from worshiping. The majority of Christians used to eat nothing but bread and salt. Those who were physically capable abstained

from Friday night till Easter Sunday. As a sign of devotion during this week, women used not to put make up or wear jewellery. People devoted all their time for worshiping; they gathered in Churches for prayer and contemplation.

The Great Emperor Theodosius was one of the Christian Kings and Rulers who ordered all Government Houses and Business to cease work, to enable people to concentrate on worshiping. Prisoners were also allowed to go to Church and join in the ceremonies of this Great Week, hoping that it would help them to reform. Christian masters also used to relieve their slaves from work all the Pascha Week to enable them to worship the Lord like their masters, without any discrimination. So both masters and slaves were able to worship God and enjoy the effectiveness and depth of this week.

The Passion Week's Rite:

During this week, the Holy Church concentrates on one subject: The Lord Christ's suffering.

For this reason, the Psalm readings and the Canonical Hours which cover various subjects relating to the Lord Jesus Christ including His birth, His ministry, His Resurrection, Ascension and sitting on the Father's right hand and His Second Coming in His Glory, are replaced by a special hymn chosen by the Church especially for the Pascha Week in which we address the Lord suffering for us saying:

E "Thine is the Power, the Glory, the Blessing and the Honor,

 forever Amen, Emmanuel our God and King "

E"Thine is the Power, the Glory, the Blessing and the Honor,

forever Amen, Our Lord  Jesus Christ",

E"Thine is the Power, the Glory, the Blessing and the Honor,

forever Amen ..." adding to it .. "Our Good Savior" from Wednesday night, as the plot to betray the Lord Christ was the practical step towards salvation.

This prayer, is repeated ten times every day.; five during daytime and five at night, ie. during the following hours: First, Third, Sixth, Ninth and Eleventh.

In each of these prayers, we turn to our God and Savior in His passions and say, "we know who You are, for "Thine is the Power, Glory, Blessing and Honor, forever Amen."

With this prayer, we follow the Lord Christ step by step along the incidents of this week that preceded the crucifixion. What then are these incidents? And how does the Church act during this week?

How did The Suffering Start?

On Palm Sunday, the Lord Jesus Christ went to Jerusalem where He was gloriously received as a King: The people praised and cheered Him with palms, spreading their robes under His feet, and the whole city was in turmoil (Matt. 21:10). This annoyed the chief priests and the elders of the people: scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees.

They envied Him for the great love people felt for Him, so they started thinking of a way to get rid of Him! They were more upset when He entered the temple and expelled all who were buying and selling. They then asked Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?" (Matt.21:23). Since then they decided to kill Him, telling one another "Look, the world has gone after Him," (John. 12:19)

The chiefs' desire to kill the Lord Christ was due to their envy, but the puzzling thing is the change in the multitude's attitude; they received Him like a King, then shouted to Pilate, "Crucify Him, crucify Him! " (Luke. 23:21)

When the crowds cheered Jesus, they looked at Him as an earthly King, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David" (Mark 11:9-10). But the Lord Jesus refused a Kingdom on earth, as His is a Heavenly Spiritual one. The plot to get rid of the

Nazarene was then a natural reaction from the Chiefs who lost hope in the long awaited kingdom!!

The church considers the end of Palm Sunday Mass the beginning of the Passion Week, as the plot to kill the Lord Jesus Christ started to develop since then.

During this week the Church's Icons, Pillars and Lectern and sometimes even the walls are all covered with black cloth, creating an atmosphere of mourning. It makes everyone feel that he is sharing in the Lord's sufferings, as said by St. Paul, "that I may know Him and the power of His Resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings". (Phil. 3:10)

General Prayer For the Departed:

Through the Passion Week, the Church is preoccupied with the Lord's sufferings only, there is no raising of incense even for funerals, but replaced by the Pascha prayers and readings.

For this reason, a general prayer for the departed is held after Palm Sunday Mass, for the souls of those who pass away during the Holy Pascha. The priest prays on some water for this purpose, and not for blessing the palms as some may think.

During these prayers we have to confess our sins to the Lord in true repentance, as we never know when our life will end...

After this funeral mass and the dismissing of the congregation, prayers are carried forth outside the camp.

Outside the Camp:

Under the Law of the Old Testament, sin offering was to be burnt outside the camp (Lev. 4:12,21), so it would not. defile the camp with the congregation's sins.

Thus the Lord Christ who took away the sins of the whole world, suffered outside the Holy City. They considered Him a sinner, sent Him outside the Camp and crucified Him. St. Paul explained, and referred to this matter by saying:

"Let us go forth therefore to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach." (Heb. 13:13)

The Holy Church follows the Lord's steps during the Pascha Week and goes with Him outside the camp, closing the veil.

The Church also leaves the first Chancel, the Chancel of Saints, and moves the Lectern to the second Chancel to pray away from the Altar, outside the Sanctuary and the camp, bearing His reproach and saying:

"Thine is the Power, the Glory, the Blessing and the Honor, forever Amen... "

With this hymn, we follow the Lord Jesus Christ in His passion, step by step, contemplating on every word we say to Him in His Passion. 

H. H. Pope Shenouda III 

The Man Born Blind

The word of God is a spring of light. The light therefore fills, and the light shines, and illumines the senses of the faithful. For from Him and in Him shines, and those who partake of Him shine. And He does not only enlighten the minds of the faithful, but grants the name of light. For the divine Scripture, for those who dwell with the ignorant and who live in disbelief, rightly calls them darkness, not receiving the lamp of truth, that they might be sons of light. Therefore, the divine Apostle Paul writes: "We were not sons of the night, nor of the darkness, but sons of the light and day." And regarding the sons of light was the evangelical word spoken from the mouth of God: "I am," as Christ said, "the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

His word is light, that if any of us might believe in him, that they might be made to be born as a son of light. Therefore the Savior said: "As long as you have the light, believe in the light, that you be born sons of the light." For as this sensible light is for the body, thus noetically is the word of God for souls. And as there is the darkness at night, thus is there delusion in ignorant souls. Because of this, the blessed David writes of this, saying: "They did not know, nor did they perceive that they were walking in darkness..."

It is right therefore for good students to imitate the teacher, as Paul says: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." Do you wish to learn how the simple student can benefit from the zeal of piety? Hearken to how Christ healed the man born blind. Likely you have heard this story from the beginning. Among other things, the evangelical word says: "As Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him..." "And he spat, and made clay, and anointed his eyes and told him: 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.' And having washed, he began to see. The Judeans recognized him and said: 'Was not this the man who was sitting blind and receiving alms?' Some said yes, others said no, but he is like him. He said: 'It is me.'"

The Pharisees therefore and the rulers of the Judeans, beholding that this wonder was drawing many to Christ, overcome with the zeal of impiety, and struck by the sting of the truth, asked him how long he was blind. And behold this evil theater that has gathered to try piety, and the evil judges who judge, and the great gathering that has gathered, to look into and study God. They called him who was once blind, and when the children of the Judeans saw him in the council, they asked him: "How did you see, and who opened your eyes, and who accomplished it?" This they said not that they might learn, but that the form of the question might give way to fear. For many times, by the form of the question, the teacher who is asking [seeks] an answer, or silence. But he told them that he might bear witness to the reality. "Did you see this deed? Were you there? How did you see the reality?" The form of this teaches denial. Therefore they asked: "How did you see? Who opened your eyes?" But he, having cultivated fearlessness, or more so the truth, said: "A man named Jesus took clay and anointed my eyes and told me: 'Go, wash at Siloam.' And I went and washed, and I began to see..."

Because they could not deny the miracle, they hastened to cover it, saying: "Give glory to God. We know that that man is a sinner." The Son is the glory of the Father, and His glory is inseparable. And he fought the good fight against the Judeans to defend Christ ...

Though they spoke with him till now, they then commanded that he be cast out. And they cast him out, as the Evangelist said. Blessed is he who hastens from the council of evil men. And behold what happened. Because he fought the good fight, and gave glory to God, and confessed the Savior gloriously with much boldness, and completed the battle in the stadium, being cast out as a wrestler, without receiving the crown, the Referee called to him outside. Jesus, hearing therefore that they cast him out, found him and spoke to him. The Word found him who spoke of Him, whom He delivered from delusion, and found the Truth...

For when He sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash, He sent him blind. And when he began to see, he did not see the Savior among the multitude that had gathered around him, but immediately, before he saw the Master, he was called to struggle in the contest. For the Master put clay on his eyes before this, that the following might be fulfilled. For when they cast him out, Christ found him and said to him: "Do you believe in the Son of God?" For he did not see him as a prophet and struggle, but as the Son of God. He did not recognize His face, but he recognized His voice. "Do you believe," He said, "in the Son of God?"

He hearkened to the voice, and with joy he said: "And who is He, O Lord, that I might believe in Him?" Why did He ask "Do you believe" of him? "Do you believe in the Son of God?" I see that Your word is truth. However, if you give me the knowledge, I will not neglect to believe You. "And who is He, O Lord, that I might believe in Him?" And the Foreseer was before him. And he looked upon Him, Who spoke to you previously. He Who was with you within the council, and outside speaks with you. "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He who was enlightened in body and in mind said: "And who is He, O Lord, that I might believe in Him?" He replied to him: "You have seen Him, and it is He Who is speaking to you." He, therefore, said: "I believe, O Lord," And he worshiped Him.

I said these things, that all of you might learn, and that I might call all to fall before the teacher, and to imitate the Good Shepherd, and to struggle on behalf of the Truth...

Excerpt from St. John Chrysostom's homily: "On zeal and piety, and on the man born blind"

The Woman At The Well

The Woman who had come to the well of Samaria as a prostitute returned chaste from the source of Christ. She who had come to look for water brought  back chastity.

As soon as the Lord points her sins out to her she acknowledges them, confesses Christ and announces the Saviour. Abandoning her pitcher she brings not water but grace back to the city.

She seems, indeed, to return without a burden, but she returns full of holiness. She returns full, I say, because she who had come as a sinner goes back as a proclaimer, and she who had left her pitcher behind brought back the fullness of Christ, without the slightest loss to her city.

For even if she did not bring water to the townspeople, still she brought in the source of salvation. Sanctified, then, by faith in Christ, the woman goes back home.  

Maximus of Turin 

Happy Epiphany

This is the Lamb of God, who carries the sin of the world, who brought a horn of salvation, in order to save His people.

Ⲫⲁⲓ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲓϩⲓⲏⲃ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ Ⲫ̀ⲛⲟⲩϯ : ⲫⲏⲉⲧⲱ̀ⲗⲓ ⲙ̀ⲫ̀ⲛⲟⲃⲓ ⲙ̀ⲡⲓⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ : ⲫⲏⲉ̀ⲧⲁϥⲓ́ⲛⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲩⲧⲁⲡ ⲛ̀ⲥⲱϯ : ⲉⲑⲣⲉϥⲛⲟϩⲉⲙ ⲙ̀ⲡⲉϥⲗⲁⲟⲥ

ON BEING BORN OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT

What, indeed, did He say? 'Amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'  By these words He meant something like the following: 'You say that this is impossible, but I affirm that it is quite possible, so much so that it is even necessary and one cannot be saved without it.'

Now, God has made things that are necessary very easy for us. Earthly birth-that according to the flesh-is of the earth; therefore, heavenly things have been walled off from it. What has that which belongs to earth in common with heaven? But the birth which is of the Spirit easily opens for us the vaults above. 

Hear ye, as many of you as are outside the Light; shudder, groan. Fearful is the threat, fearful the sentence, 'It is not possible,' He asserted, 'for him who has not been born of water and the Spirit to enter into the kingdom of heaven, because he bears the garment of death, of the curse, of destruction.' He has not yet received the Master's stamp; he is a stranger and a foreigner, he does not possess the King's watch-word. 'Unless a man,' He said, 'be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.'……

'I mean another kind of birth, Nicodemus,' He said in effect. 'Why do you drag the meaning down to earth? Why do you subject the thing to the force of nature? This bringing forth is superior to such pangs and has nothing in common with you. This is truly called birth, but shares in the name only; it is different in reality.

Do not think of the usual kind of intercourse; I am introducing another kind of childbirth into the world; I desire that men be born in another way; I have come to bring a new method of procreation.

I did fashion (man) of earth and water; that which was fashioned did not become useful but the vessel was perverted. I no longer wish to fashion him of earth and water, but of water and the Spirit.' 

From the writings of St. John Chrysostom 

Nativity Doxology

̀Ⲏⲥⲁⲏ̀ⲁⲥ ⲡⲓⲡ̀ⲣⲟⲫⲏⲧⲏⲥ : ⲱ̀ϣ ⲉ̀ⲃⲟⲗ ϧⲉⲛ ⲟⲩⲥ̀ⲙⲏ ⲛ̀ⲑⲉⲗⲏⲗ : ϫⲉ ⲉⲥⲉ̀ⲙⲓⲥⲓ ⲛ̀Ⲉⲙⲙⲁⲛⲟⲩⲏⲗ : Ⲡⲉⲛⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣ ⲛ̀ⲁ̀ⲅⲁⲑⲟⲥ

Isaiah the prophet, proclaimed with a voice of joy saying, "She will give birth to Emmanuel, our good Savior."

Prayer - From Coptic Morning Prayer

Make us worthy O Lord to pray thankfully:

Our Father Who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, in Christ Jesus our Lord. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and has not stood in the way of the sinners, and has not sat in the seat of the evil men. But his will is in the law of the Lord; and in His law he shall meditate day and night. He shall be like the tree which is planted by the streams of water, which shall yield its fruit in its due season, and its leaf shall not scatter, and in everything he does he prospers.

Not so are the ungodly, not so; but rather they are like the chaff which the wind scatters upon the face of the earth. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in judgment, nor the sinners in the council of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

ALLELUIA

Prayer

Make us worthy to pray thankfully

Our Father Who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, in Christ Jesus our Lord. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

THE PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Let us give thanks to the beneficent and merciful God, the Father of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, for He has covered us, helped us, guarded us, accepted us unto Him, spared us, supported us, and brought us to this hour. Let us also ask Him, the Lord our God, the Almighty, to guard us in all peace this holy day and all the days of our life.

O Master, Lord, God the Almighty, the Father of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, we thank You for every condition, concerning every condition, and in every condition, for You have covered us, helped us, guarded us, accepted us unto You, spared us, supported us, and brought us to this hour.

Therefore, we ask and entreat Your goodness, O Lover of mankind, to grant us to complete this holy day, and all the days of our life, in all peace with Your fear. All envy, all temptation, all the work of Satan, the counsel of wicked men, and the rising up of enemies, hidden and manifest, take them away from us, and from all Your people, and from this holy place that is Yours.

But those things which are good and profitable do provide for us; for it is You Who have given us the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, by the grace, compassion and love of mankind, of Your Only-Begotten Son, our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, through Whom the glory, the honor, the dominion, and the adoration are due unto You, with Him, and the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giver, Who is of one essence with You, now and at all times, and unto the ages of all ages. Amen.

2 - HUMILITY: THE SECRET OF REDEMPTION

2 - HUMILITY:
THE SECRET OF REDEMPTION  

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who… made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and took upon him he form of a servant ….. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him."
Philippians 2:5-9

No tree can grow except on the root from which it sprang. Through all its existence it can only live with the life that was in the seed that gave it being. The full apprehension of this truth in its application to the first and the Second Adam cannot but help us greatly to understand both the need and the nature of the redemption there is in Jesus. 

The Need for Redemption

When the old Serpent, he who had been cast out from heaven for his pride, whose whole nature as devil was pride, spoke his words of temptation into the ear of Eve, these words carried with them the very poison of hell. And when she listened, and yielded her desire and her will to the prospect of being as God, knowing good and evil, the poison entered into her soul and blood and life, destroying forever that blessed humility and dependence upon God which would have been our everlasting happiness. And instead of this, her life and the life of the race that sprang from her became corrupted to its very root with that most terrible of all sins and all curses, the poison of Satan's own pride. All the wretchedness of which this world has been the scene, all its wars and bloodshed among the nations, all its selfishness and suffering, all its ambitions and jealousies, all its broken hearts and embittered lives, with all its daily unhappiness, have their origin in what this cursed, hellish pride, either our own, or that of others, has brought us. It is pride that made redemption needful; it is from our pride we need above everything to be redeemed. And our insight into the need of redemption will largely depend upon our knowledge of the terrible nature of the power that has entered our being. 

No tree can grow except on the root from which it sprang. The power that Satan brought from hell, and cast into man's life, is working daily, hourly, with mighty power throughout the world. Men suffer from it; they fear and fight and flee it; and yet they know not whence it comes, whence it has its terrible supremacy. No wonder they do not know where or how it is to be overcome. Pride has its root and strength in a terrible spiritual power, outside of us as well as within us; as needful as it is that we confess and deplore it as our very own, is to know it in its Satanic origin. If this leads us to utter despair of ever conquering or casting it out, it will lead us all the sooner to that supernatural power in which alone our deliverance is to be found - the redemption of the Lamb of God. The hopeless struggle against the workings of self and pride within us may indeed become still more hopeless as we think of the power of darkness behind it all; the utter despair will fit us the better for realizing and accepting a power and a life outside of ourselves too, even the humility of heaven as brought down and brought nigh by the Lamb of God, to cast out Satan and his pride. 

No tree can grow except on the root from which it sprang. Even as we need to look to the first Adam and his fall to know the power of the sin within us, we need to know well the Second Adam and His power to give within us a life of humility as real and abiding and overmastering as has been that of pride. We have our life from and in Christ, as truly, yea more truly, than from and in Adam. We are to walk "rooted in Him," "holding fast the Head from whom the whole body increaseth with the increase of God." The life of God which in the incarnation entered human nature, is the root in which we are to stand and grow; it is the same almighty power that worked there, and thence onward to the resurrection, which works daily in us. Our one need is to study and know and trust the life that has been revealed in Christ as the life that is now ours, and waits for our consent to gain possession and mastery of our whole being.

In this view it is of inconceivable importance that we should have right thoughts of what Christ is, of what really constitutes Him the Christ, and specially of what may be counted His chief characteristic, the root and essence of all His character as our Redeemer.There can be but one answer: it is His humility. What is the incarnation but His heavenly humility, His emptying Himself and becoming man? What is His life on earth but humility; His taking the form of a servant? And what is His atonement but humility? "He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death." And what is His ascension and His glory, but humility exalted to the throne and crowned with glory? "He humbled Himself, therefore God highly exalted Him." In heaven, where He was with the Father, in His birth, in His life, in His death, in His sitting on the throne, it is all, it is nothing but humility. Christ is the humility of God embodied in human nature; the Eternal Love humbling itself, clothing itself in the garb of meekness and gentleness, to win and serve and save us. As the love and condescension of God makes Him the benefactor and helper and servant of all, so Jesus of necessity was the Incarnate Humility. And so He is still in the midst of the throne, the meek and lowly Lamb of God.

If this be the root of the tree, its nature must be seen in every branch and leaf and fruit. If humility be the first, the all-including grace of the life of Jesus,- if humility be the secret of His atonement,-then the health and strength of our spiritual life will entirely depend upon our putting this grace first too, and making humility the chief thing we admire in Him, the chief thing we ask of Him, the one thing for. which we sacrifice all else. 1-See Note "B" end of chapter.

Is it any wonder that the Christian life is so often feeble and fruitless, when the very root of the Christ life is neglected, is unknown? Is it any wonder that the joy of salvation is so little felt, when that in which Christ found it and brings it, is so little sought? Until a humility which will rest in nothing less than the end and death of self; which gives up all the honor of men as Jesus did, to seek the honor that comes from God alone; which absolutely makes and counts itself nothing, that God may be all, that the Lord alone may be exalted,-until such a humility be what we seek in Christ above our chief joy, and welcome at any price, there is very little hope of a religion that will conquer the world. 

I cannot too earnestly plead with my reader, if possibly his attention has never yet been specially directed to the want there is of humility within him or around him, to pause and ask whether he sees much of the spirit of the meek and lowly Lamb of God in those who are called by His name. Let him consider how all want of love, all indifference to the needs, the feelings, the weakness of others; all sharp and hasty judgments and utterances, so often excused under the plea of being outright and honest; all manifestations of temper and touchiness and irritation; all feelings of bitterness and estrangement,have their root in nothing but pride, that ever seeks itself, and his eyes will be opened to see how a dark, shall I not say a devilish pride, creeps in almost everywhere, the assemblies of the saints not excepted. Let him begin to ask what would be the effect, if in himself and around him, if towards fellow-saints and the world, believers were really permanently guided by the humility of Jesus; and let him say if the cry of our whole heart, night and day, ought not to be, Oh for the humility of Jesus in myself and all around me! Let him honestly fix his heart on his own lack of the humility which has been revealed in the likeness of Christ's life, and in the whole character of His redemption, and he will begin to feel as if he had never yet really known what Christ and His salvation is.

Believer! study the humility of Jesus. This is the secret, the hidden root of thy redemption. Sink down into it deeper day by day. Believe with thy whole heart that this Christ, whom God has given thee, even as His divine humility wrought the work for thee, will enter in to dwell and work within thee too, and make thee what the Father would have thee be.

Note B.-

"We need to know two things:
1. That our salvation consists wholly in being saved from ourselves, or that which we are by nature;
2. That in the whole nature of things nothing could be this salvation or savior to us but such a humility of God as is beyond all expression.

Hence the first unalterable term of the Savior to fallen man: Except a man denies himself, he cannot be My disciple. Self is the whole evil of fallen nature; self-denial is our capacity of being saved; humility is our savior ... Self is the root, the branches, the tree, of all the evil of our fallen state. All the evils of fallen angels and men have their birth in the pride of self. On the other hand, all the virtues of the heavenly life are the virtues of humility. It is humility alone that makes the unpassable gulf between heaven and hell. What is then, or in what lies, the great struggle for eternal life? It all lies in the strife between pride and humility: pride and humility are the two master powers, the two kingdoms in strife for the eternal possession of man. There never was, nor ever will be, but one humility, and that is the one humility of Christ. Pride and self have the all of man, till man has his all from Christ. He therefore only fights the good fight whose strife is that the self-idolatrous nature which he hath from Adam may be brought to death by the supernatural humility of Christ brought to life in him." 

Humility - Andrew Murray

THINE IS THE KINGDOM…

There are certain mountains only God can climb. Ascend them and you’ll end up bruised and embarrassed. Stay away from them and you’ll sidestep a lot of stress. These mountains are described in the final phrase of the Lord’s prayer, “Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” A trio of peaks mantled by the clouds. Admire them, applaud them, but don’t climb them. 

It’s not that you aren’t welcome to try, it’s just that you aren’t able. The pronoun is thine, not mine; thine is the kingdom, not mine is the kingdom. If the word Savior is in your job description, it’s because you put it there. Your role is to help the world, not save it. Mount Messiah is one mountain you weren’t made to climb. 

Nor is Mount Self-Sufficient. You aren’t able to run the world, nor are you able to sustain it. Some of you think you can. You are self-made. You don’t bow your knees, you just roll up your sleeves and put in another twelve-hour day … which may be enough when it comes to making a living or building a business. But when you face your own grave or your own guilt, your power will not do the trick. 

You were not made to run a kingdom, nor are you expected to be all-powerful. And you certainly can’t handle all the glory. Mount Applause is the most seductive of the three peaks. The higher you climb the more people applaud, but the thinner the air becomes. More than one person has stood at the top and shouted, “Mine is the glory!” only to lose their balance and fall. 

“Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” 

What protection this final phrase affords 

As you confess that God is in charge, you admit that you aren’t. 

As you proclaim that God has power, you admit that you don’t. 

And as you give God all the applause, there is none left to dizzy your brain. 

Max Lucado  

HH Pope Shenouda Sermon New The Resurrection 27-4-2011

An Act of Christ's Love and Care

Feast of the Resurrection 2011

Feast of the Resurrection
24 April 2011
His Grace Bishop Suriel
Bishop of Melbourne and Affiliated Regions
The Resurrection: An Act of Christ's Love and Care

Attaining the Resurrection

Attaining the Resurrection
HG Bishop Youssef


If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)


On this glorious day, as we commemorate the blessed Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, I would like to extend my hearty wishes to all, praying to the Risen Lord to grant us His Resurrection and make it real in our life.

What is the Holy Resurrection?
The Lord Jesus Christ is considered the firstborn, the first fruit risen from the dead. The Holy Book of Revelation (1:5) describes our crucified and resurrected Lord as …“Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead.” He was not raised by the prophets like Elijah and Elisha, but rather is and remains, the only person raised from the dead by the power of His Divinity, the Father in Heaven and the Holy Spirit. It is difficult for even the most scholarly to truly fathom the dimensions of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the Holy Cross and His Resurrection and the impact of these insurmountable events on humanity in order that the faithful may experience eternity, the heavenly grandeur of the Father’s glory.

The Lord Jesus Christ was divinely heroic and heroically divine in His Holy Crucifixion bearing torment for our sins. Concerning the Holy and Glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, St Peter teaches…
“he [David], foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ that His soul was not left in Hades, not did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2: 31-32).

How did the Lord’s Resurrection become our Resurrection?
St Paul writes concerning our resurrection, “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in Glory” (Colossians 3:4). St Polycarp (c. 135) taught, “If we please Him in this present world, we will also inherit the future world. For He promised us that He will raise us again from the dead.”

Our Lord is the only One who has risen in a glorified body, risen never to die again, risen and ascended into the heaven of heavens, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. This Holy Resurrection is not confined to the Lord alone but through His unconditional love, He extended it making it available to all those who believe in His name. Truly as one seeks to be obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ, to live according to His Word, and to participate and grow in the Holy Sacraments of our blessed Church, one will experience resurrection, newness, a new individual growing into perpetual perfection striving to become in His likeness.

How do we attain Resurrection?
Resurrection, for the believer is experienced through obeying God’s commandments and participating in the Holy Sacraments of the church. In Baptism, we attain the resurrection in “a newness of earthly life”. In Confession and Communion, we receive the potential of the second of resurrection, that of our Lord Jesus Christ “anticipating newness in the eternal life to come.” Through the cherishing of the Holy Sacraments one becomes virtuous, bearing love for others, and striving to obtain perfection in the Divine worship of God thus travelling down the path to the eternal life.

Loving those nearest to us involves the heart. The Lord Jesus Christ was full of love for those that believed in Him, accepted His Holy teachings and accompanied Him during His earthly journey.

What kind of worship befits God? It is one in which love is manifest through a humble and pious worship that incorporates both the heart and mind. Such a type of worship requires liberation from all unworthy worldly entanglements living a life of love, humility, piety and poverty of the Spirit. As St Paul says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth” (Colossians 3:2).

How can we maintain the Lord’s Resurrection?
St Clement warns us that… “After we have departed this world, no further power of confessing or repenting will belong to us” (Second Clement c. 150).

After departure from this earthly life everything will avail to nothing except for the virtuous, good deeds. The Lord Himself uses the parable of the poor and rich man to show that the value of humility and poverty supersedes that of pride and wealth. The endearing love to the Lord as shown by Lazarus secured him a place in Heaven with Abraham alongside him. On the other hand, the rich man with all that he had possessed could not purchase Heaven.

With the Lord’s death we also died, but to the world only, and with His Resurrection we were resurrected to Heaven only. As St Paul says, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Along with worshipping with piety and humility comes the power of the church sacraments. The Holy Sacrament of Confession and Repentance presents a powerful shield and armor that deserves to be put on through frequent practice.

During this time of the Holy Crucifixion and the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection, let us reflect upon the anticipated and completed sacrifices of the Lord Jesus Christ for our future spiritual glories. During the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection, let us all give thanks that we can partake in the resurrection of eternal life with the full knowledge that the Lord Jesus Christ has suffered for us all to conquer and abolish death, in order to bring us to His Father in Heaven with His great and perpetual love.

The Book of Life will judge us all according to the measure of our striving and seeking of those eternal things. May the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord implant in our hearts the desire to see the Lord Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of God, our Heavenly Father.


His Grace Bishop Youssef is Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States (www.suscopts.org)



WATANI International - 4 April 2010 - 26 Baramhat (Parmhat) 1726 (Coptic Calendar) - 19 Rabie al-Akhar 1431 (Arabian Calendar) - Year 10 - Issue 477.
WATANI - 4 April 2010 - 26 Baramhat (Parmhat) 1726 (Coptic Calendar) - 1st Issue Year 52 - No. 2519 - 2nd Issue Year 9 No. 485
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The Power of the Resurrection and the Joy and Evangelism of the Martyrs

The Power of the Resurrection and the Joy and Evangelism of the Martyrs
H.G. Bishop Serapion

Today we rejoice as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who by His death trampled down death, and bestowed eternal life upon those in the tomb.

At the beginning of this year, the Church offered a group of righteous martyrs in Nag Hammadi. We pray that God may repose their pure souls in the Paradise of Joy. We also pray for their families that God may grant them the joy of the Resurrection and the heavenly consolation. We also pray for their murderers so that God may open their eyes and lead them to the way of truth. Today, as we remember the victims of Nag Hammadi, it is not to mourn the viciousness of the crime and the injustice that is falling on our brothers and sisters the Christians there, but rather to see our martyrs through the light of the power of the resurrection of our Living Christ

The resurrection of Christ is a great power. It is one that changes sadness to joy. A power that changes suffering for the sake of Christ to joy in the fellowship of His suffering. It is a power that changes the blood of the martyrs to become the seeds for the growth of the Church. St Paul the Apostle, who was martyred for the name of Christ, experienced the power of the resurrection in his life and said, “that I may know Him and power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Phil 3: 10) St Paul called all those, who struggle or are persecuted for the sake of Christ, to look upwards to Christ, “..let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12: 1-2)

The Power of Christ’s Resurrection Changed Martyrdom in Christianity to Joy and Evangelism

The martyrs rejoiced in martyrdom, because through Christ’s death and resurrection, He defeated death. St Athanasius said, “Before the divine sojourn of the Saviour, even the holiest of men were afraid of death, and mourned the dead as those who perish. But now that the Saviour has raised His body, death is no longer terrible, but all those who believe in Christ tread it underfoot as nothing, and prefer to die rather than to deny their faith in Christ, knowing full well that when they die they do not perish, but live indeed, and become incorruptible through the resurrection.”

St Stephen the Protomartyr received his persecutors with an angelic face. Rather than look at their faces full of evil, instead “he being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7: 55) Because his heart was full of joy and peace, he did not curse those who stoned him, but asked for their forgiveness. With the martyrdom of St Stephen, a great persecution fell on the Church in Jerusalem and many were scattered in Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Did the Church weaken? Did evangelism stop? Actually, what happened was the opposite, “those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4)

St Ignatius of Antioch, who was martyred in 108AD when Emperor Trajan ordered that he be presented to the fierce animals in Rome, was joyful. And when the soldiers came to bind him, he kneeled down and cried with a joyful voice, “I thank you, O Master Lord, for You granted me the honour of loving You fully and permitted me to be bound in iron chains like Your apostle Paul.” On the way to Rome, he wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome expressing his joy and desire to present himself as a sacrifice to God on the altar of divine love, and he begged them not to interfere, because of their love for him, and stop the imperial decision to throw him to the wild beasts. Here are a few words of what St Ignatius said, “The truth is, I am afraid it is your love that will do me wrong. For you, of course, it is easy to achieve your object; but for me it is difficult to win my way to God, should you prevent my martyrdom …Grant me no more than that you let my blood be spilled in sacrifice to God, while yet there is an altar ready…How glorious it is to leave this world so I may rise again in His presence!” When St Ignatius reached Rome, he kneeled down and asked Christ to lift the persecution from the churches. Then they released two lions, which devoured him immediately.

St Justin Martyr witnessed that martyrdom is evangelism and said, “You can clearly see that when we are beheaded, crucified, thrown to the wild beasts, bound in chains, thrown in fire, or any other means of torture, we don’t relent in our faith. The more we face these sufferings, the more people become Christians and join our faith in the name of Jesus Christ” The martyrs saw that this was a fulfilment of our Lord Jesus Christ’s saying, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24) St Augustine reflected on our Lord Jesus Christ’s saying to His disciples, “Behold, I send you as lambs among wolves.” (Luke 10:3) and said, “There was a flock of wolves and a few lambs. When the many wolves preyed upon the few lambs, the wolves changed to lambs.”

My Beloved Brothers and Sisters,

Let us rejoice today in the power of the resurrection of our Good Saviour and Living Christ

Let us rejoice with the joyful martyrs as they meet the Resurrected Christ

Let us pray that God may grant to enlighten us with His resurrection so we may be ready to carry the cross and may have a fellowship in His suffering.

Let us pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters that God may strengthen their faith and sustain them in their struggle.

Let us pray for the peace of the One, holy, catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Let us pray for our beloved father and vigilant shepherd, H.H. Pope Shenouda III that God may keep him for many years and give him health and strength.



His Grace Bishop Serapion is Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles (www.lacopts.org)

WATANI International - 4 April 2010 - 26 Baramhat (Parmhat) 1726 (Coptic Calendar) - 19 Rabie al-Akhar 1431 (Arabian Calendar) - Year 10 - Issue 477.
WATANI - 4 April 2010 - 26 Baramhat (Parmhat) 1726 (Coptic Calendar) - 1st Issue Year 52 - No. 2519 - 2nd Issue Year 9 No. 485
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Glorified Through Suffering

Glorified Through Suffering
H.G. Bishop Youssef

Crucifixion entailed extreme suffering and excruciating pain. The thoughts of being nailed to a cross through ones ankles and wrists makes a person envision horrific agony. Death, slowly overcoming a person through suffocation after becoming too exhausted to pull oneself up in order to breathe, makes one wonder how could our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ have to suffer this form of execution. This manner of bringing about death was only set aside for the most violent of criminals in ancient Rome.

The Lord Jesus Christ spoke about His suffering to come as "an hour of glory." Such glory that perhaps only He could set the precedent for. This "hour of glory" would be one which would manifest the supreme Divine splendor of God. Immediately before the Lord Jesus Christ's suffering, He said, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified" (John 12:23). The Lord Jesus Christ did not mean the glory found within the Resurrection, but the actual suffering as "an hour of glory". The next verse in the Holy Gospel of St. John tells us, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain" (John 12:24).

Truly there is no glory within the actual suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one can dispute this fact. But what occurred in His hour of suffering and what the Lord Jesus Christ completed on the Holy Cross glorified God the Father and His Son the Lord Jesus. Only this glory can be associated with His suffering. In the Lord Jesus Christ's prayer to the Father, He prayed, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son that Your Son also may glorify You" (John 17:1). Definitely, the hour of Crucifixion was this hour.

The Lord following His glorious Resurrection spoke of His glory of Crucifixion to the Disciples on the road to Emmaus. "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" (Luke 24:26). How did the Lord achieve His glory? Clearly, glory was achieved through His suffering.

The apostle St. Paul explains to us further the concept of glory which followed the Lord Jesus Christ's suffering. "...looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrew 12:2). What this means, "who for the joy that was set before Him" is that the Lord Jesus Christ was anticipating the glory which followed the suffering upon the Holy Cross. For the glory He endured the Holy Cross, its shame, and its pain.

Another example of St. Paul illustrating that the glory followed the suffering can be found in Hebrews 2:9,10, "Jesus was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." Apparently St. Paul's message here was saying that suffering and glory will follow one another.

For us as children of God, suffering on this earth should represent only one side of life, the earthly. The glories which will follow suffering represent the other, the Heavenly. Suffering cannot be viewed separately from glory. They both go hand in hand.

To serve and worship God is how we glorify Him here on earth. Heavenly glory is what we strive for. St. Paul said to the Romans, "if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together" (Romans 8:17). Again to the Ephesians St. Paul teaches about the Lord Jesus Christ, "and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). For the faithful, the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and was crucified and "He raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places."

In the Holy Book of Revelations St. John reveals this great and magnificent vision of heavenly places to us,
"And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?'"

"And no one in Heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But, one of the elder said to me, John, 'Do not weep. Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."

"And I looked, and behold, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain."

("A Lamb as though it had been slain" represents the Lord Jesus Christ in this context)

"Then He came and took the scroll. Now when He had taken the scroll, the heavenly creatures each having a harp, and they sang a new song, saying, 'You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals';

(Why?)
"For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." They said with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!'

"And every creature which is in Heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, 'Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" (Excerpts from Revelation 5)
Truly this is very strong imagery and clear evidence of the suffering on the Holy Cross and the glory behind His suffering.

Let us pray that as we all contemplate the sacrifice of the Holy Crucifixion and the liberation of man from death by the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that we also reflect upon the glory brought about through the manifestation of the two events.

His Grace Bishop Youssef is Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States (www.suscopts.org)


WATANI International - 19 April 2009 - 11 Baramouda 1725 (Coptic Calendar) - Year 9 - Issue 427.
WATANI - 19 April 2009 - 11 Baramouda 1725 (Coptic Calendar) - 1st Issue Year 51 - No. 2469 - 2nd Issue Year 9 No. 435
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