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WITH
CHRIST IN HIS RESURRECTION
Why Did He Rise on the
Third Day?
+ Christ already died for the salvation of mankind. After He finished His
message of salvation, it was appropriate for Him to rise quickly.
+ He rose after three days because it is inappropriate for His holiness to
see corruption.
+ His remaining in the tomb three days confirmed the truth of His death.
+ His resurrection confirmed His Divinity fulfilling these prophecies:
"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (John 2:19)
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great
fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of
the earth." (Mat 12:40)
+ His resurrection confirmed the pleasure of the Father for the sacrifice of
the cross.
+ His resurrection gave mankind hope for eternal life.
+ As the soldiers follow their leader in war, the same do Christians follow
the Head of faith and its perfection, the Lord Jesus. So as He lived
estranged in the world, we live. And as He rose, we rise with Him.
+ Just as it happens to the head, it happens to the members so that He might
be the firstborn among many brethren.
+ For the sake of this hope we struggle, tire, suffer, and are persecuted in
this world. And for this sake the martyrs delivered their bodies to hunger,
thirst, cold, fire, sword and all kinds of torture for the sake of hope of
the glorious resurrection.
How Did He Rise?
+ At His death, His soul became separated from His body. As for His
Divinity, It did not become separated at all, neither from His body nor from
His soul. Because of this, no corruption befell the body. Then the soul went
to Hades "and He descended into Hades through the Cross." He descended with
the image of a victorious king and delivered all of the fathers the saints
who reposed on the hope of the coming of the Lord Jesus. For this, the
saints rejoiced and the victory of the Lord of glory over death was
fulfilled.
+ Then the soul came to the tomb and became united with the body, so He
gained a brilliance and glory... and the Lord of glory came out of the tomb
while the doors were shut "the stone on the tomb"... just as He entered the
womb of His mother while the doors were shut.
+ Just as Joseph came out of the prison so that he might be a deliverer to
all of Egypt, Christ came out of the tomb as a victorious king, a Savior for
the whole world.
+ Just as Daniel the prophet came out of the lion's den without any harm
touching him, with the resurrection of the Lord from the tomb the saying was
fulfilled, "O Death where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"
Resurrection With Christ
+ Whoever desires to enjoy the splendor of the Lord's resurrection must have
passed the experience of death with Christ. "For if we have been united
together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the
likeness of His resurrection." (Rom 6:5)
+ "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him."
(Rom 6:6)
+ "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive
to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 6:11)
+ "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey
it in its lusts." (Rom 6:12)
+ "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Rom 6:2)
Resurrection, Repentance, and Baptism
+ Repentance: Death from sin and resurrection with Christ.
+ Baptism: Burial and resurrection with Christ.
"Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life." (Rom 6:4)
St. John Chrysostom says: "Indeed, the Lord confirmed the truth of the
resurrection after forty days by different appearances and numerous forms,
in order to prove to us that we are engaged in the resurrection for a new
life in the likeness of His resurrection... in newness of life."
How Do We Enter into the Power of the Resurrection?
Indeed, the body of the Lord in His resurrection became a spiritual heaven,
not submitting to the world even though it lives in the world. Therefore it
is appropriate: That our lives be heavenly even though we live in the world
since if we live according to the flesh we will die, but if by the Spirit we
put to death the deeds of the body, we will live. (Rom 8:13)
The deeds of the flesh that we should avoid are "...adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions,
jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries..." (Galatians 5:19-21) Therefore we
should become separated from the world even though we live in the world. Due
to this, the Apostle says, "the time is short, so that from now on even
those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as
though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice,
those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world
as not misusing it." (1 Corinthians 7:29-31) Lastly "If then you were raised
with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at
the right hand of God... For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ
in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with
Him in glory." (Col 3:1-4)
translated by:
Anthony Bibawy
Email: Anthony.Bibawy@mc.rochester.edu
University of Rochester
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GOD IN THE LIFE OF THE YOUTH
God's Continuous Presence With You
When the wife of
Potiphar asked Joseph to commit evil with her, he cried out saying, "How
then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" But what were
Joseph's circumstances?
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A closed room
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A woman
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The present God
My dear brother, how
many times were you in a closed room and you get wicked thoughts, but you
forget God's presence in your life, and thus you fall. Therefore, the
underlying reason of our fall is the lack of feeling of God's presence with
us, while the faith of God's presence constantly prompts us from slipping
into sin.
You are the Temple of God, and God's Spirit Dwells in You
God was with Joseph, but in Christianity, God with His Spirit is present in
us. Joseph believed that God sees even between the walls, but we believe
that our bodies and our souls are temples for God working with them and in
them. For if Joseph says, "How then can I do this wickedness before God?"
then we say, "How can temples for the Holy Spirit do this wickedness against
God?"
I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me
What is Christianity? It is a weak person exposed to evil who has the
power to do all things through Christ who dwells in him. Therefore, it is
not I who live, but Christ lives in me. This will bring about, O' you
beloved, that you attribute every good deed to God. And this feeling will
cause your trusting in God, and success, and triumph in your personal and
spiritual problems.
How Do I Benefit From God's Presence in My Life
Try to consult the Spirit of God that dwells in you before every action.
Repeat the Jesus prayer1 constantly throughout your day and feel that the
Lord is with you always -- in your studies, and all your work...
Be accustomed to the life of thanksgiving. At all times thank God for
everything: food, clothes, knowledge, studies... thank Him for everything.
Become a Disciple of Jesus' Words
If you want to feel Christ speaking in your life, you must study the
Holy Bible with contemplation every day, fully sure that the words of the
Holy Bible are the living words of Jesus and that the true Teacher of these
words is Jesus who dwells in you. And be sure that the words of the Bible
are issued from Jesus to you personally.
Converse With Your God Who Dwells in You
Indeed, the lack of prayer means the lack of feelings of God's presence
with you. Prayer is the communion of life with God Who listens to our voices
while He is not far from us. On the contrary, He is present in us.
Lastly, Cling to Your God
As you cling to your God, likewise your God will cling to you. As Daniel
clung to God and did not worship the statue, likewise God clung to him and
shut the mouths of the lions. Exult in your God, and pride upon Him, and
rely on Him without exception, and cling to Him.
The Lord be with
you.
Jesus Prayer -- "My
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner."
translated by:
Anthony Bibawy
Email: Anthony.Bibawy@mc.rochester.edu
University of Rochester |
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THE MESSAGE OF THE CHURCH TO
SOCIETY
THE CONCEPT OF
"THE CHURCH":
The Church is not a community of gathered believers. On the other hand, it
is individual believers who are members in the one body of Christ. Because
of this, the characteristics of the Church are:
+ Unity... because
Christ is one.
+ Perfection... because the believers are integral members just as the
members of the body work for one purpose and there is no division or split
in it.
+ Liveliness... because life enters each of its people which they took from
Christ Who is Life.
THE UNIVERSAL
CHURCH:
The last word of Christ to the Church was: "Go..."(Mat 28:19). And the Book
of the Acts of the Apostles says, "...and you shall be witnesses to Me... to
the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8) With this, Jesus, the Lord of glory, laid
down the message of the Church in the midst of the world... that is to
witness to Christ who is its Head, and to do good and love it for the sake
of Christ, and to serve the outside world because it was served by Christ.
FIRST: The Church
is the Source of Spiritual Eminence:
Its Message of Teaching:
Since the founding
of the first Church, continuous teaching and preaching are among the most
imortant of its works; St. Paul the Apostle in a school of a person whose
name was Tyrannus in Ephesus (Acts 19:9). And St. Mark who laid the
foundation of the Theological School of Alexandria. The Church is always the
lighthouse that gives light to the world and destroys the darkness of
ignorance and heresy and gives the high standard and heavenly principles.
Its Spiritual
Message:
It believes in the power of prayer and the work of the Spirit and pays
great attention to glorify God in its works and that individuals are out of
the picture: "He must increase, but I must decrease."
Its Message of
Faith:
Faith is an expression of a blazing fire that gave light by the blood of
the martyrs and they passed from generation to generation. And now it is the
Church's duty to pass this fire of the faith shining to the next
generation!!!
SECOND: THE
CHURCH IS AN ANNOUNCER OF SALVATION:
It is a place where sinners meet with Christ
These souls that felt sin and the dreadful judgment found in Christ a
personal Savior, so they come to Him confessing their sins (the Sacrament of
Confession) feeling sorry and repenting.
It is the
dwelling of God with the people, where the sacrifice of salvation is
manifested and Christ presents to us food (then we eat His flesh and drink
His blood) ensuring for ourselves a perfect life and a powerful foundation
in His person.
It is the place
of washing feet, where the master becomes the servant, and where he
teaches the true humility and where the responsable carries the troubles of
the others, and where we enter with unclean feet and leave with them clean
and washed.
THIRD: THE CHURCH
IS THE SOURCE OF SOCIAL CAREGIVING:
Its view towards social service
It is a service for the sake of Christ: "inasmuch as you did it to the
least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."(Mat 25:40) So the Church does
good for the sake of Christ and not for the sake of individuals. Because of
this it does not regret the good which it provides for people even if they
used it for evil and this always makes it do good and give liberally at all
times.
It is a place of
practicing love, where everybody feels that they are members of one
body: "and had all things in common" (Acts 2:44) not by compulsion but with
love and peace. In the Church we learn love unto death from Christ Who loved
the world unto the Cross and in it learn that "whoever hates his brother is
a murderer." (1John 3:15)
It is a place of
serving the nation and totally fulfilling the responsibility. The
Christian acts, not to please people, but God. For this he fulfills his
service completely without hypocrisy. He pays attention to his
responsibility before his rights. The Church teaches its children prayer for
"the president, the counselors, and the soldiers." And St. Paul the Apostle
taught that prayers be raised of all those in a rank.
translated by:
Anthony Bibawy
Email: Anthony.Bibawy@mc.rochester.edu
University of Rochester |
THE POTENTIAL FOR PURITY OF THE YOUTH IN
CHRISTIANITY
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PURITY
IN CHRISTIANITY
+ Purity is not merely refraining from uncleanness, but it is being
occupied with God, and love for Christ, and being filled with the Holy
Spirit.
+ If God dwells in our hearts, then uncleanness has fled from our lives.
+ When you fall, do not think a lot about sin, but hurry and strive for
Jesus. At that time, He will deliver you from drowning like He delivered
Peter.
+ Then, as much as you love God, and pray, and study His Holy Bible, to
the same extent you will live in the holy life.
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THE
DOORS OF SIN
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The Heart:
The heart that Jesus does not live in is the place of uncleanness, and
our senses, our reflections, and our thoughts become desecrated from
it.
My God... purify my heart, sanctify it, and fill it with Your love.
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The Senses:
+ Do not look at evil with delight, but flee from it.
+ Keep in control... do you use the members of Christ in evil?!
+ Do not listen to evil words even if you are forced to hear it.
My God... purify and sanctify my senses and reign totally over
them.
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The Thoughts:
+ Evil runs out from a small opening little by little until it drowns
the ship of your life. It is the small fox which circles the
grapevine.
+ Beware of the evil thought which comes to you in a clean picture and
when it finds a place for itself in you, you hand over the leadership
and your peace to other thoughts more evil than it.
My God... let all my thoughts be captive to obedience to You.
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The Door of
the Body:
+ The lazy mind is a factory for Satan. Thus, sin enters due to the
slackness of the body. Keep yourself busy with reading the biographies
of the pure saints and with spiritual and physical exercises.
+ Fasting that is accompanied by prayer gives you power so that you
overcome the desires of the body.
My God... grant that You make my body a vessel for honor, so not I
live, but You live in me.
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THE
POTENTIAL FOR PURITY
+ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me.
+ We are temples for the Holy Spirit, so the Holy Spirit through prayer
purifies and sanctifies us.
+ We are members in the body of Christ. So can I take the members of
Christ and make them members for adultery? Never!
+ The continuous presence of God in our lives: "How then can I do this
great wickedness, and sin against God?"
MY
BROTHER, ALWAYS REMEMBER:
+ Resisting the evil sights and words and thoughts is easy as long as
they are outside of you. But when you contemplate on it, resisting them
is difficult for you because they come out of you.
+ With many fasts and prayers we acquire the virtue of purity.
+ Truly, Jesus is our purity, if we become unclean, since He has "become
for us wisdom from God, righteousness, and holiness, and redemption."
+ Who are you? You are the son of God. Thrones of Christ. A member of
His body.
My God... purify us from the wicked, unclean, and vile thoughts, and
abolish, O Lord, all of the devilish dreams, visions, and notions. Amen.
translated by:
Anthony Bibawy
Email: Anthony.Bibawy@mc.rochester.edu
University of Rochester
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The Servant of the Human
Race
(true
story)
When I went to serve in Los Angeles in 1970, Abouna (Fr.) Pishoy Kamel asked
me to visit one of our Ethiopian friends in order to fix an arguement. So I
asked Abouna about the reason of his anger so Abouna said, "He was very mad
at me because in one of my sermons, I said that St. Mary wanted to be the
servant of the human race. He was very mad at me and said, "How can you say
about the Mother of the King of kings that she is a servant?"
We went to visit
that person and Abouna didn't leave until everything was fixed. Abouna
explained to the man that he loved St. Mary, the mother of all believers,
the heavenly queen, who is higher than the Cherubim and the Seraphim, and
that she is his intercessor.
I remembered this
story on the night of Holy Thursday (during the Passion week) while I was
talking about Judas who planned to give up his Master to the Jewish
authorities who paid him 30 silver coins (which is the price of a
slave!!!!!). This is not a strange thing for a heart that loved money. What
affected me greatly is that the Master of all and the Creator of all took
the position of a low slave willingly!
Every slave bows
down to wash the feet of the family, and his masters, having a feeling of
shame and lowliness thinking that it is an insult to his humanity. But the
Master bent down willingly, asking every sinner to give Him a chance to wash
his dirty feet!!! He is begging every human being to accept that! This is
how the Master finds his great happiness; in the work of slavery. While
washing the feet with water, He is washing the hearts with His precious
Blood. He took the form of a slave and obeyed until death, the death of the
cross. He accepted being a slave that gives up his life for His people.
+You accepted to be
a slave, You who every heavenly creature bows down to. You ask me to give
You my dirty feet, to wash them with Your Holy Hands.
+Let me share Your love. I desire to enslave myself with You for everyone.
That's how I can win them. Grant me to enter a race, to run towards You,
that I might become a slave with You.
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