What Ought to Be the Christian’s View of Ghandi?

What Ought to Be the Christian’s View of Ghandi?

Indispensable

GoldenGate bridge, an outstanding structure that attracts San Francisco visitors. I had the pleasure of visiting it, and it is amazing.

This great bridge stand on two bases, one is shown in the picture below. Without the bases, there is no bridge. Everyone runs to take photos on the bridge, to the bridge, but almost no single person takes photos with the basements, which is the most crucial and important part of the structure.

These bases are almost hidden underneath the great structure it holds. It faces the cold and violent waves of the ocean and carries the burden of the heavy weight of the bridge, and receives no appreciation from the customers. Yet, it receives the main attention of maintenance. If something serious is predicted, it is the first part to be protected.

Pivot, an alias of a person I recently came across, follows such path. He, at work, chose to be the specialist in "the dirty hidden work" that helps his colleagues to build their success. And he does so in such humility and love. What is the outcome? Does it pay back? The outcome is that his colleagues sometimes abuse him. They keep giving him more and more of the "dirty work". They keep growing and making noticed contribution, while no one notices him. Yet, he grew to be the indispensable man of the enterprise. No one can function without him, that on the recent economy crisis his job was 100% secured.

What does it take to be indispensable? A great deal, but not of success, rather: of humility. Abba John said, 'Who sold Joseph?' They replied saying, 'It was his brethren.' The old man said, 'No, it was his humility which sold him, because he could have said, ''I am their brother" and have objected, but, because he kept silence, he sold himself by his humility. It is also his humility which set him up as chief in Egypt.".

"Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:4)

I am so tired...

"Because God loves you."

A typical answer to the question: why did God created me. But why did He place me on that earth? I love God and I want to walk in His way, but the world stumbles me. I am trying hard, but it is beyond my ability...

Well, because on earth, you pronounce His glory, and - more importantly - you taste His love. When you taste missing Him, you will appreciate being with Him, and your joy is splendid.

But that is so tiring, I am tired of falling and repeating falling. I am tired of my weakness. Why didn't He create me infallible?! Why is it so hard to live with Him? Why am I not created perfect? Wouldn't I better glorify Him if I was an angel? Sigh! I want to serve God from all my heart, but I have to work and have to worry about my plans, and worry about my beloved, and my church, and my country, and and... why are we on earth? Let it end so that we are released and be with God!

We are on earth, just temporarily. We should not worry about earthly matters. We need to fly into heavenly matters.

Then what? I should quit my job? I should not plan for the future? Should we all grow a beard and do nothing but praying? Isn't praying what we are supposed to do in heaven? So why do anything else? Why do I have all other responsibilities while on earth that I fall short for?

"Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers." (3John 2).

Did you notice that you have been focusing on what you are doing now and what you are supposed to be doing, and what you would love to do. Then, you see all distractions and stumbling blocks that delays you.

This is exactly my problem, that there are many distractions and barriers towards perfection on this earth. And I can not let that desire to be perfect go, because this is how I can reach God.

This is exactly your problem. That *you* want to be perfect, so that *you* reach God. And unfortunately, there are many barriers that you can foresee that strikes *your* path.

...

Where is God in your picture? God's image is lost in that picture. God created you on His image, so you need to do everything like Him. But we can't, because we are weak. So what?

Do not quit your job, but work and labor for Him, in Him, with Him.

Do not stop planning for the future, but plan relying on Him, and stop worrying.

Do not stop being active, social, servant/minister, but do all with Him.

Bring Christ back to the picture, and you will not see *your* weak self, nor the tribulations.

Bring Christ back to your heart, and you will enjoy peace.

Do all what you want, and all what society and church may ask you to do, but do all in Christ.

Do all things, but please, don't lose your focus on Christ.

Why thanks?

Are we obligated to thank God? Like, if we forget to thank God, should we regret and be sorrowful?

At least, this is the impression one gets when listening to the sermons that mention thanksgiving.

Indeed one feels like blaming oneself when one forgets to thank a person who did me a favor. It is the minimum expression of gratitude. But is it the same with God?

It is true that if I did someone, even a friend, a favor (the fact that s/he is a friend only affects the size of the favor), and I was not appreciated by a word or gesture of thank gratitude, I will find it extremely hard to her/him a favor next time. Does God deal with us the same way? Is that why we are "compelled" to thank God?

Absolutely not.

When God saved the ten lepers, He saved the 10 even though only 1 of them, who was Samaritan, did come back to Him, glorifying God and thanking Him. We didn't hear that the other nine had a relapse. But God did sigh, and wondered: didn't the ten get healed?! Why no one came back to give God His glory except this stranger?

So clearly, God saved them because of their faith, that they believed in the word He said: go and show yourself to the priest. He did save them because He loves them, UNCONDITIONALLY. Period.

Then, why to thank God? And why did He sigh upon the no thanks?

Believe it or not, because He loves us.

Yes, to thank God, is yet another gift from God. When we thank God, our joy is completed and magnified when we thank God for something we celebrated. And when we thank God, our joy is sustained when we thank God for a goodness in His wisdom that we don't immediately see in the temporal tribulation. Thinks about it. The joy is magnified when we share it with someone. Whom we share it with, makes a difference. If you share it with someone who might envy you, you might regret it, but if you share it with your spouse, it is one of the best moments in life. And if you share it with God, it is blessed, doubled, confirmed and sacred.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving" (Phi 4:6)

أفكار

تائة أنا في أفكار ... دائم الغربة في أسفار

بفكري صنعت أسوار ... وبذاته غزوت أقمار

به إخترعت جنات ... وللعيون مباهح وأسحار

به عشقت الجمال ... ودعيت الحب للدار

به وحدت الخالق ... وأسعدت يوما جار

وبه أنقذت غريقا ... ولصديق أطفأت نار

وناري بي تتقد ... ففكري أحطاب وأجمار

وبعينه كم قسوت ... وأهملت رفيقي يحتار

به مخاوف وآلام ... نظمت في أشعار

ضربات يمين ويسار ... معاثر بدرب الصغار

وزدت التائه تيها ... واعتزلت عن كل وقار

فهكذا أنا متقلقل ... مرة كر ومراراً فرار

تصارع ولا مرسي ... فسفينتي بلا بحار

تتلاقف بها وتتلاعب ... أمواج هي أفكار

Quatre

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the fast before Christmas is for 43 days. The 43 days period is composed of 2 periods: 40 and 3. Originally it was only 40 days, but the extra 3 days were added as a commemoration of the Miracle of moving El-Moqatam Mountain in Egypt, year 979 AC. It happened in the days of El Moez Le Deen Ellah El Fatemy (a Governor of Egypt) that a Jewish minister envied the Christians that he used to have debates and dialogues with a Christian minister, who later became Pope Abraham Ben Zaraa, and the Christians always won the debates. The Governor used to find these debates so amusing. Therefore, Jacob, the Jewish Minister, used the verse: “…for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you (Mat 17:20). And since there was that El-Moqatam Mountain in midst of Cairo, blowing dust every spring over all Cairo, he asked them to move the mountain, or otherwise, the Governor knows that Christianity is a fake faith, and hence no one would be allowed to be Christian. The Governor found that amusing to. Without more details, whole Egypt fasted 3 days, upon which Virgin Mary led Pope Abraham Ben Zaraa to a shoemaker who did move the mountain; St. Simon the Shoemaker. For details of that miracle, reader is referred to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_the_Shoemaker and encouraged to check the references of that Wikipedia article.

That was the story of the 3 days. How about the 40 days? The 40 days resemble the 40 days during which Mosses , the great among prophets, received the 10 commandments, or the word of God written on stone; the tablets of the covenant. “…then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water” (Deu 9:9). Therefore, we also fast for 40 days, to get ready to receive the word of God, but this time, incarnated.

For the number 40, let us do small mathematics, it is 4 times 10. In terms of numbers meanings, 10 always means complete or perfect. That is basically because we have 10 fingers on our hands to count with. And for 4, it is 1 plus 3. As if the human can not reach perfection or finish the race, till his/her union with, and in, The Holy Trinity.

Speaking about perfection might seem to be hard. And reaching perfection is even harder, if not impossible. Thinking of the number 4 and perfection led me to 4 biblical characters, that we know they “finished the race”. They are the best and most holy 4 people the humanity knew so far, and for 2 of them, we know that no one ever will achieve a higher heavenly rank than that they reached. Not surprisingly, there a lot of commonalities between them. Let us take one of these virtues and study it through what we know about their lives.

First character, is of course the always Virgin Mary, mother of God. Indeed she is above all the rest of humanity that she deserved to carry The Second Person of the Holy Trinity; Jesus Christ. Not only did she carry Him, but also she gave Him the body, which was dead on behalf of our all bodies, and raised and glorified as the first begotten so, to raise us with Him. Virgin Mary lived about 33 years with God. Virgin Mary spoke only 3 times in the bible. One time she spoke with the Angle, on the occasion of annunciation. Another with Elizabeth, when she went to serve her. The last time was her intercessional request in the wedding of Cana of Galilee. Mother Mary, you lived 33 years with God, and you told us nothing about them!! How come?!! This is the virtue of silence. For it is true that what is between a man and his wife, no one else know it, similarly, what is between the soul and it’s creator, is a secret of love, no one can know. Virgin Mary, lived with God, and kept the joyful secrets in silence. She lived in the silence of surrendering the life within God’s hand “…Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word…" (Luk 1:38). The silence of submitting the self in full commitment, compliance, and faith to God. Indeed Mother of God, Virgin Mary, told us a lot by her silence.

John the Baptist is of course our second character. He deserved to be witnessed for, by the Lord, when Jesus said: "For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he" (Luk 7:28). Now, what will you tell us, great St. John the Baptist? You are the youngest ever who saw Jesus. You are the first who had faith in Him after Virgin St. Mary. Through your service, Jesus was baptized, and the Appearance of The Holy Trinity took place (Theophany). Again, alike Virgin Mary, he spoke very few times. He did not give strong breaches. He did not use bombastic speeches. He did no miracles, or at least none was recorded. However, every body went out to him. What did he say? "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Mat 3:2). What else? He witnessed for Jesus Christ to be The Messiah. St. John, you witnessed how Jesus started His service, you saw him from the womb of your mother, won’t you tell us about all these marvelous experiences?! He did not answer me. But what he did? He serviced the salvation, by preparing the road, not for Jesus, but rather for people to reach Jesus, to realize Jesus, to accept Jesus. St. John the Baptist enjoyed the virtue of silence; the silence of spiritual service. "... let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (1Jo 3:18)

Going further back in time, we meet a man, whom the land was not worthy to have him any more. He was taken alive to heaven in a chariot of fire; Elijah. “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2Ki 2:11). Elijah was a great prophet that people thought that John the Baptist might be Elijah, returned to earth. My father Elijah the prophet, what will you tell us? He wrote no book, unlike all prophets by his age, and even later. On the other hand, he stopped the dew and the rain for three years, and returned it back as a punishment for King Ahab, King of Judah. He, through prayers and intercessions, returned the son of the widow of Zarephath of Sidon to life. In name of God he blessed the flour in the bin and the oil in the jar that belongs to the widow, and the three of them lived on it during the whole famine years. He killed the prophets of Baal, and destroyed their idols, to show that the Lord is the only true God. Elijah did a lot, spook a little. He had the virtue of silence; the silence of deeds. "A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;" (Ecc 3:7)

Similar to Elijah, is Enoch who was taken by God. What do we know about Enoch: “¹⁸Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. ¹⁹After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. ²⁰So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. ²¹Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. ²²After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. ²³So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.” (Gen 5: 18-23). But we also know that there is something special about Enoch that “...God took him.” (Gen 5: 18-25). So, what did he do? “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. (Gen 5: 24). He walked with God. It is a 3 words sentence, but it is a life: Walking with God. It might sound easy to walk with God, but He said: "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it (Mat 7:14). Walking with God is so simple that it is so difficult, and it is so difficult that it is so simple. It means that one needs to holy the whole life, every moment. However, it requires only assuring oneself that at this exactly moment, and focus only to this moment, one is walking with God. To make ones life Holy, one need only to make sure that this current moment is Holy. So simple! Alas, we heard of only one man who did walk with God; Enoch. And what was his reward? God took him. Enoch walked with God three hundreds and sixty five years. What did he tell us about them? Nothing! Enoch enjoys the virtue of silence; silence of walking with God “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You” (Psa 73:25) For who walks with God, like hermits, get captured by the beauty and happiness of God’s accompany, and that leaves no time to talk, there is barely time to walk Expressing a lot in few! [Serakh 23:12]

“A parable coming out, of a fool's mouth shall be rejected: for he doth not speak it in due season.” (Serakh 20:22) Silence when needed, and speech when needed is a great virtue. People consider it wisdom, which yet is another great virtue, for which 3 books in The Holy Book were dedicated to talk to us about wisdom. Silence when needed, is along the road towards wisdom; “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver” (Pro 25:11). May God grant us silence virtue and wisdom, through the intercessions of His glory Mother, Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, Elijah the prophet, and Enoch. Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the one God Amen.

Shenoda Guirugis – Pittsburgh Dec 16^th, 2006

وحــــــــــــــــــــــــــــيداً

وحــــــــــــــــــــــــــــيداً ... وحــــــــــــــــــــــــــيداً

وحيدا قد صرت أنــــــــا ... و لست وحـــــيداً أبــــدا

فـمـن كان الله مـــــعــــه ... ليــس وحـــــــيدا أبــــدا

"لا تخف لأني أنا معك"

كيف أخـــــاف بـعـد الآن ... و الرب معــي دائــــــماً

كيف أســــــــهر و لا أنام ... بل تغمض جفوني هانئاً

و كل شــــــديدٍ و كل آلام ... سوف أعيشها ســـــالما

لأن من كـــان الله مــعـــه ... ليــس وحـــــــيداً أبــــداً

"الرب يرعاني فلا يعوزني شيء"

كيف أقول أنــــا محـــتاج ... و الكنز في حوزتي هنا

كيف أطلب طوق النجــاة ... و الأرض أتت لي هنا

و كل مـتـطـلـبات الحــياة ... فــــــــــــــــانية, أما أنا

فلي رجـــــــــــاء من الله ... أن اخــــرج حيا ظافراً

لأن من كـــان الله مــعــه ... ســــــــوف يظفر دائماً

"إن سرت في ظل وادي الموت فلا أخاف شرا"

مـا الموت إلا راحــــــــةً ... ما المـــــوت إلا بــدايةً

ولو صرت وسط الأعداء ... إلــهــي يعطيني نصرةً

و إن إظلمّت الأجــــــواء ... الرب لــــي مـــــطمئناً

و لو سئلت عن الرجــاء ... أجـــــاب بطرس مسبقاً

لأن من كـــان الله مــعــه ... رجـــــــــــاءه فيه دائماً