It was around this time last year or so, mid-December of 2009, the Virgin Mary appeared at her church in Warraq, Cairo....everyone was so happy and for a minute Egypt was united with this amazing sight in the sky. Knowing that the heavenly came to the earthly was comforting for all. Then the first of a series of disasters struck as parishioners were coming out of Christmas liturgy on 7 January 2010 in the southern city of Nagga Hammadi...6 people died as a result of a shooting and others were injured. Until today the people who committed these crimes have not faced a trial. Throughout 2010 a series events occurred with the final straw in November in Omranaya, Giza where the government detained over 100 persons over an issue dealing with an improper permit of expanding the church...this prompted protests and the government used tear gas and force against those people who exercised their frustration over an antiquated law to build/repair churches....this sparked protests all over the world, including in NYC. The bishops across the United States participated in an ecumenical prayer service with a powerful speech given by HG Bishop Suriel outlining the Coptic frustration.
Then the unthinkable happened just after midnight at the Saints Church in Alexandria. As the congregation was praying 'Holy Holy Holy, Lord of Hosts Heaven and Earth are full of Your Holy glory' a bomb went off right outside of the church. Hysteria struck and the priest told the congregation 'Don't be scared, there's nothing'--he didn't know at that point what had happened but out of his leadership, he tried to calm the people down and continued praying the conclusion hymn.
Our Coptic community over the past couple of days has faced many sad emotions...however I feel that we can take several things from the series of events.
1- Uniting in the body of Christ--- this is a time for us to ask about those who you haven't seen in awhile....it is a time for our gatherings to have a Christ centered foundation instead of all play and jokes...it is a time for us to unite together in prayer...over the past year I've seen so many divisions within churches that has caused people to stray because they don't feel the love of Christ....time for us to unite again
2- ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.---Zechariah 1:3 It is a time for us to once again to return and cling to Him, no matter what wrong we have done. We are sick and He is the Physician of our souls and bodies.
3- Live a life preparing for the kingdom of heaven....we only remember this when disaster strikes. I remember after 9/11 I struggled with the thought of 'why not me and why others?'....God is giving us a chance to renew our lives in Him....we live in a world filled with distractions from God.
4- Show love--I know I emphasized in my first point, but I've seen a lot of anti-Muslim messages on Facebook. I really don't think this helps the situation but only adds fuel to the fire. Christianity is based on love...the easiest Bible verse we remember as kids "God is love"--showing hatred against a religion goes against our beliefs. We only hate the sin and not the sinner...the power of love of God is what moves people's hearts back to God. As Nahed said at our church a couple of months ago...we don't live in God's grace and His love on a daily basis....she converted based on love from another Christian.
We know the heavenly church is standing with us, I don't believe that St Mary's apparition was an accident. I believe the heavenly church is praying for us in front of the throne of God. Our newest martyrs are doing the same for us now. They are living in peace, let's try to do the same 'on earth as it is heaven' and live by the words of the hymn the congregation was singing during the blast praising God saying 'heaven and earth are full of Your Holy glory'
Keep the faith, keep the love and keep praying
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