The Monthly Message to the Fathers, the Priests December 2017 I have made myself a servant to all

Transcription

1 The Monthly Message to the Fathers, the Priests December 2017 I have made myself a servant to all St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying, For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more (1Corinthians 9:19). He, a Pharisee, a son of a Pharisee, did not write this haphazardly. The law of the Old Testament determined three cases in which a Hebrew man can sell himself to be a slave to his Hebrew brethren. These cases are: (1) If he becomes poor, And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave (Leviticus 25:39). (2) If he steals and cannot turn back what he stole, If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft (Exodus 22:3). (3) If a man sells his daughter, And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do (Exodus 21:7). Therefore, in the light of the law, we cannot reduce the meaning of the words I have made myself a servant to all and understand them in a superficial way. St. Paul meant all the meanings associated with the law concerning slavery. The poor would sell himself to be a slave in order to use the money he would get from this deal in an urgent important thing. Here St. Paul clarifies that he wanted to win the more in his ministry but this matter would cost him a lot which he was not able to afford as he was poor in spirit. Therefore, he took this courageous decision to sell himself to be a slave to fulfil his pursuit in service by winning the more. But what is strange here is that a Hebrew man would sell himself in the past to only one master then he would regain his freedom in the Year of Jubilee, but St. Paul made himself servant to all meaning he would always remain a slave!! St. Paul was very occupied with this matter of slavery to the degree that when he wanted to express how Jesus Christ emptied Himself for the sake of our salvation, he dared to describe Him saying, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7). This is therefore the model St. Paul was following when he declared that he made himself servant to all and became all things to all men. It is not St. Paul alone who was pleased to praise the form of bondservant Jesus took, but also Isaiah the prophet was stupefied before this amazing prophetic scene and described him saying, Him whom man despises, Him whom the nation abhors, the Servant of rulers (Isaiah 49:7). Slavery is, in summary, loss of every personal freedom. The bondservant has no personal will, attitudes or inclinations. He acquires his own title and identity from his master as he loses his own identity. He has no rights at all but must fulfill duties like what Jesus said, And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, Come at once and sit down to eat? But will he not rather say to him, Prepare something for my 1

2 supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do (Luke 17: 7-10). The priest whose mind and entire being is saturated with the concept that he is enslaved to all like his Master does not exclude anybody from the word all which includes even those who humiliate, resist, oppress, and offend him. In his slavery, he does not differentiate between great and wretched, wealthy and poor, well-educated and ignorant, junior and senior, man and woman. He neither grumble nor get bored when facing the ministry s requirements because he knows well that on the same day he accepted the priesthood call he put his shoulder under the yoke. He actually puts the people he serves in the rank of masters. He, therefore, never put himself above them knowing that a servant is not greater than his master (John 13:16). A Monologue to the Crucified Your mouth which does not cease to ask for our forgiveness.we have smitten it to increase your sadness! Your tongue that has ushered the thief into paradise.we have given it to drink what does not suffice! You, Your beloved Lazarus, cried on his behalf.now no one is carrying the cross on Your behalf. You fed the hungry multitude one by one.now no one offers a sip of water to the only One. You protected the woman from being stoned.now no one protects You from the cup of absinthe You, on Your head, bore the thorns of sin.and, in Your body, carried the deadly consequences of the sin. You passed through it all alone willingly.not for Your accusers but for Your father obediently. You, on Mount Tabor, a cloud covered.and on Your face and clothes amazing light hovered. For Your face blood formed a cover.while Your body remained without a cover. The love of evil and sin in us Your blows did tie.by Your wounds from the bonds of slavery us did untie. By Your agony to Your kingdom us prepare.by Your cries to the groaning of Your spirit our hearts defer. With Your wounds to Your sheepfold us return.with Your spear pierce to Your grace us turn. With Your poverty against the world us enrich.away from misdeed, with Your richness our poor souls reach. 2

3 To the blind humanity You created eyes with which to see.with those eyes striking You humanity did see. A praising tongue humanity you granted.a spitting tongue towards You they directed. Raised hands with supplication You have granted.but those hands Your back with lashes ignited. Your voice was not raised in Your defense.so the earth shook and roared and heaven refused to accept the offence. Oh You who have saved Peter from the waves of the raging storm.drown us in the abundance of Your overwhelming loving storm. Grant us liberation from hardheartedness.so that our souls may be liberated from the slavery of hardness. With your cross tear the handwriting of viciousness.so that we may realize your lifegiving righteousness. Reveal to us the trivialities of the world so that we may not compete over its crumbs.or yearn for its bumps. O Lamb of God who carried our sins, grant us that we may see the things Your crucifiers did not see. So that we may discern not their tricks but Your love that willfully took You to the cross. So that we may behold not their nails on the cross; but Your desire for our salvation nailing You on the cross. So that we may see not their power over death but Your submission to the Father removing power over death. O that we may realize that it was not their conspiracies that convicted You but our sins that offended You. How deep is Your love! Through our weaknesses we injure You; but You do not cease to call us beloved. With Your priesthood before the Father for us intercede; and with Your blood our sins impede O Lord of lords. St. Shenouda the Archimandrite Articles on the Christian History The Fifth Century At the end of the fourth century, St. Shenouda the Archimandrite appeared as a bright star in the sky of the church. He was contemporary of St. Cyril and met with him a lot of times either in Alexandria or at the monastery whenever the Pope came to spend some time of spiritual revival. Both men of God formed a binary of high spirituality, one of many other similar binaries such as St. Anthony who was a prayerful support to Pope Athanasius and Moses to Joshua in his war against the Amalekites 3

4 In the year 333 AD, in Shenalolet near Akhmim, lived St. Shenouda as a shepherd. From his youth he loved to pray and worship God. At the age of nine, his parents sent him to his uncle Pigol, the abbot of a monastery in the Red Sea where he studied about religion and the Holy Bible. He got more and more busy with prayer, fasting and meditating and took to the desert where he had spent five continuous years in prayers and meditations. In the year 383 AD, St. Shenouda returned to the monastery to become the abbot after the death of his uncle, St. Pigol. For 66 years St. Shenouda presided over the monastery in piety and peace and the number of monks multiplied and the activities therein increased. It is believed that there were 2200 monks and 1800 nuns in another location. These celibates practiced communal life according to St. Pachomuis coenobetic monasticism to which St. Shenouda added more cannons of worship and self-denial. Multitudes would visit St. Shenouda's monastery to listen to his homilies and teachings. A lot of youths became his disciples and the monastery became a lighthouse for spiritual guidance and growth as the monks embarked on disseminating the Orthodox teachings especially after the onset of the heresy of Macedonius and Nestorius as well as the increase of the number of famine and plague victims. Perhaps that marked the beginning of practical service monasticism that was later on adopted by the Catholic Church in the following centuries. The Spiritual Heritage of St. Shenouda the Archimandrite St. Shenouda s homilies and writings took the form of a practical curriculum. For, he would write and deliver his messages in the Upper Egypt dialect of the Coptic language. The church owes it to him for having activated the national Coptic arts, becoming a voice for the undermined people under the rule of Constantinople, relaying the people's ambitions to obtain justice and truth, calling for restitution of lost rights. For all these patriotic endeavors, St. Shenouda was given the title of The Author of the Copts. At the age if ninety-nine years, his good relations with Pope Cyril gave St. Shenouda a chance to travel with him to participate in the Council of Ephesus in the year 431 AD to fight the Nestorian heresy. This incident added to his good reputation among the Copts. In spite of his old age, his voice continued to be as effective while leaning on his monastic stick. The Four Epochs in St. Shenouda s Life St. Shenouda lived from the year 333 to 451 AD and witnessed four epochs: 1. The transition from paganism to Christianity 2. The ecumenical councils 3. The turmoil over the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ 4. The growth and maximum flourishing of the monastic teachings St. Shenouda was not only concerned about the spiritual welfare of his people but also about the doctrinal issues among the Coptic nation. He composed some very deep writings in theology with which he confronted the heresies that threatened the life of the church and the peace of the congregation. Among his writings are: 1. The Eternal Existence of God the Logos 2. The Mystery of the Logos Incarnation from the Virgin Mary 4

5 3. The Accuracy of the Term the Mother of God (against Nestorius) 4. The Reality of the Conversion of the Bread and Wine (against the Origenism) His writings reveal his great concern about the problems of the Copts specifically the rights of the poor people in a society dominated by the rich Greeks and Romans who constituted a power similar to that of the ancient pagan religions. This explains his refusal to receive any non-egyptian candidate in his monastery and subsequently the absence of his writings in the Greek sources. For this reason, for a long time his literary works remained unknown in both the Greek and Roman worlds. Some researchers described St. Shenouda s canons for his monks and nuns as being harsh. However, this opinion was not in conformity with reality. A loving person to all, and a faithful shepherd, he maintained order within his monasteries that comprised such a big number (2200 monks and 1800 nuns). Such a large number required a special care and order for a better spiritual guidance and a quality assurance of equal treatment among all. St. Shenouda became a shining light to the entire universe with his homilies and canons that he had instituted for the benefit of monks, leaders, and laymen of both sexes. At his deathbed, he asked his disciples to assist him to bow down before God and he did. Then, he asked them to follow his footsteps bidding them farewell and reposed in peace on the 7th of Epep, 167 AM (451 AD) at the age of one hundred and eighteen years. 5