The Holy Prophet Elias: Going Up is Going Down
This week, in addition to the Feast of our Lord’s Circumcision, the Holy Church commemorated the miraculous ascension of the Holy Prophet Elias the Thesbite to the heavens on a chariot of fire. He is one of two men who departed from this world without first tasting death, the other being the Righteous Enoch (Gen 5:21-24). Elias lived during the reign of the wicked monarchs of Israel, Ahab and Jezebel (874-853 B.C.), who encouraged the …
How a Faithful Husband Sees His Wife
On the joyful day a man and woman are crowned and married in the Orthodox Church, an inseparable bond develops between them. No longer are they two individuals serving their own egos and self-wills, but rather, they become one flesh in a sublime mystery. This reality is made abundantly clear in the marriage of the first husband and wife described at the end of Genesis 2. When Adam awoke from the deep sleep into which …
God Dwells with Us Forever
As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is good to meditate on some of the types and symbols of His Birth in the Old Testament. One of the most beautiful foreshadowings of the birth of Christ can be found in 3 Kingdoms 8:26-30 (LXX). [1. Also known as 1 Kings 8:26-30 in the Protestant Bible] In this passage, the Holy Prophet-King Solomon, the son of the …
The Angel of the Lord and the Burning Bush
One of the most beloved Kiahk melodies in the Coptic Orthodox Church is the praise on the Thursday Theotokion known as “The Burning Bush.” The story of Moses and the burning bush is easily found in the Book of Exodus: And Moses was feeding the flock of Jothor his father-in-law, the priest of Madiam; and he brought the sheep nigh to the wilderness, and came to the mount of Choreb. And an Angel of the …
The Holy Theotokos as the Living Temple
Last Sunday, faithful in the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrated with great joy the Feast of the Entry of the Holy Theotokos Mary into the temple. Although this event is not mentioned in the Holy Scripture, it is firmly rooted in the Holy Tradition of the Church, especially from a book known as the Protoevangelium of James, which offers details concerning the early life of the Holy Theotokos. When the Holy Theotokos was only three-years-old, her …
The Joy and Wonder of Kiahk
During this holy month of Kiahk in the Coptic Orthodox Church, we commemorate the events that led to the transformation of the world through the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are called to be attentive and faithful during this time as we see the Feast of the Nativity on the horizon, rapidly approaching as each day passes. It is a time for us to prepare and wait for the feast which commemorates the …
A Prayer for Peace and the Turning Away of Violence
On Wednesday, a married couple full of violence and hatred attacked a group of government employees in San Bernardino. On Thursday, many secular lawmakers and journalists attacked prayer as the proper response, preferring to place their faith in man-made gun control legislation rather than in the power of prayer to God. Faithful Christians, however, know that prayer is more fundamental to human life than air, food, and water. As the Holy Apostle wrote, we are …
The Ultimate Powerlessness of Violence
In the wake of yesterday’s tragic violence in San Bernardino, let us be reminded of a powerful passage in the Holy Gospel that teaches us about the ultimate powerlessness of violence. We join our Savior as He is about to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane by the command of the wicked Jewish leaders aided by Judas the Betrayer: Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, …
The Necessity of Self-Denial
On the Third Sunday of the Coptic month of Hatour, our Mother, the Holy Church, nourished us with a passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke 14:25-35 in which our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that the cost of being His disciple, the cost of being a Christian in this world, is a total and complete commitment to Him. This total commitment to Christ necessarily begins with self-denial, as our Savior teaches us, “And …
The Christian and Black Friday
Throughout the past week, my inbox has been bombarded with advertisements relating to Black Friday. There is the Black Friday sale, the pre-Black Friday sale, the early Black Friday specials, and many other advertising catchphrases that point to the same thing: discounted material goods on the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday is not a topic that is commonly discussed among Orthodox Christians. Sadly, in the absence of the Church’s guidance on this holiday, most of …