The Fire

The Fire

2012 has been quite the year, and probably a very difficult one. Everywhere I turned this year someone was either dealing personal, political or natural disaster that has challenged each and everyone of us. I have been following events in Egypt in the past year in the midst of living through a major hurricane and a school shooting not too far away from where I live.  In addition I have had a share of challenges this year and I think many share my sentiment that we just want this year over. 

I liken this year to living in a fire.  Being challenged, put down, disappointed, stressed and my limited view does not see an end in sight.  It wasn't until last night at church while I was praying along with the rest of the congregation the hymn of the Three Saintly Youth.  They were thrown into the fire--literally.   The story of these Three Saintly Youth can be found in Daniel Chapter 3 where basically they refused to worship a golden image only recognizing the living God. As a result the King ordered them into a fiery furnace and the miracle happened where they survived with an extra person with them--the Son of God...Emmanuel meaning God is with us. 

Perhaps this is the difference of survival between myself and these 3 Youth. Somehow when things got so bad and faced death, they didn't flinch and accepted the fate of death as a sacrifice to worship The Lord.  I often wonder how many times I have been pushed and been faced with awful circumstances--I'm not accepting and often go through a whole frenzy to find a solution instead of the One that is standing right there.  

During the disasters of Sandy and the recent school shooting in Newtown, many have asked 'where is God?' It didn't dawn on me until I was chanting the hymn last night that God is present and is with us.  The outcome of the three youth being saved and how it gave glory to God shows how the fire was the only way for many to look to Him. I've seen this in the days and weeks after the most recent tragedies--somehow we have returned to the way God intended us to be--in His image and likeness--by serving the community and to look outside our own fires to put out others.  How many prayer vigils happened after Newtown? The outpouring of local assistance after Sandy with everyone pitching in with whatever they have to help those who lost literally everything.  

It's the fires that help us to realize that there is an external power to give us comfort, but we won't know this until we are connected to the Power on a daily basis.  This is what gave Joseph and St Paul the ability to endure prison joyfully knowing that they weren't alone. The display of the Son of Man in the fiery furnace is a clear display that we are not alone during our own fires and tribulations...somehow God is with us.

That is the Christmas message of this year--Emmanuel God is with us. He came to this world, not as a celebrity in a clean hospital, but in a manger. He came in circumstances where His birth was less than glamorous....but He came and the heavens rejoiced and shared our own pains as a human and went through His own fire on the cross.  We must live daily knowing He is with us, even if we don't feel it. Daily recognition that God is with us on ordinary days will help us get through those fiery circumstances like the Three Saintly Youth.

Coptic calm

About three weeks ago I was in a taxi cab in NY (yes another one of the taxi driver stories) and the driver was intrigued by my last name, trying to guess its origin.  I responded at the very end of the guessing game that it's a Coptic last name ready with a full explanation of Coptic Orthodoxy on hand.  To my surprise he quickly responded by 'oh boy you guys have it hard in Egypt, i feel bad for you'.  He asked about my opinion regarding the elections, and I responded by saying that both candidates were not fit for the job. He went on to ramble about how the Muslim Brotherhood would be bad for the Copts and said he wished the best for Egypt.

Fast forwarding weeks later was the announcement today of Dr. Mohammed Morsy of the Freedom and Justice Party (Muslim Brotherhood) as the President of the Republic of Egypt.  To be quiet honest, I'm not happy with this choice at all.  As a Copt, I don't feel comfortable for a political religious party to be in power.  The other option was more of the old regime in place, which I believe that was not what the January 25th Revolution called for.  I also don't think the January 25th Revolution called for a religious party to power hog Parliament and the Presidency but at this point we just need to move forward.

While there were people overjoyed across Egypt celebrating Dr. Morsy's victory, many others were upset. No not just Shafik supporters, but many who want a SECULAR Egypt.  Included in this group are the Coptic Christians. I will not speak for all of them but from my point of view, I understand why they're scared and fearful for a political Islamist movement to have power.  It sucks as a minority for a majority not to be empathetic with concerns that relates to Copts.  Some examples include: church repair laws and having religion on national IDs.  Having religion on a national ID already creates a division and to have a President be in control of repairing a church leak or fallen column is just dead right wrong.  Question on many people's minds is if things will just get worse for Copts?

My answer to this question is that: I don't know.  However what I do know is one thing.  Since January 1st 2011 the day of the Two Saints Bombing in Alexandria, a veil of fear has been lifted.  This was also enhanced during the 18 days of the Jan 25th revolution where for the first time many came out to speak out against their concerns.  After Jan 25, we saw Copts take Maspero in protest against crimes committed against them in Atfeeh until the massacre in October. In October, a mass protest took place in Washington DC that included clergy.  To be honest you would not have seen such protests that included clergy pre-Jan 1st.

We need to continue to speak out about our concerns, not just as Copts but as secular citizens.  We also need to stop this victim mentality.  In order to do this, we need to look at Coptic history--starting with St. Mark himself, the one who brought Christianity to Egypt.  He was dragged in the streets of Alexandria but his martyrdom did not stop the spread of Christianity.  Many martyrs were willing to defend the faith during the reign of Diocletian and that's why our Coptic New Year commemorates the martyrs.  We also defended the theology through people like St. Athanasius, St Dioscorus etc who were pillars and defenders of the Coptic faith upholding Egypt as a Christian center.  Many endured difficult times under unsympathetic rulers of after the Islamic rulers yet the faith still remains in Egypt. They did not have the luxury to run abroad to escape.  These people did not sit around with a victim mentality but chose to do something about it. If you read the Synexarium on a daily basis, you will find some hero from a random century that defended the faith. Our modern day heroes include the Maspero and Two Saints Church.  Instead of cursing and crying perhaps it's time to do something about the situation.  Unite. Unite with other Egyptians regardless of religion--move out of the church walls that you think will just protect you and find those who have the same secular mentality.  The extremism that breeds in some will only further divide the country.  We complain about extremism yet we don't look within ourselves and within our own communities to find that we sing the same tune as those we point fingers at.

Yes times ahead are probably difficult.  While we resort to prayer and fasting we also need to resort to being part of the solution instead of constantly being part of the couch party that just sits back complains and does nothing.

I am reminded by this verse in 2 Corinthians 4: 8-10:  We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
Our tradition has upheld this sentiment and it's about time we do the same with faith and action.

We Lost Our Father

Today I attended a wake. The church was sad and we were all in a sea of black. Normally during wakes we remember the dearly departed and try to comfort the family of the deceased. Today was different though since we were all one family trying to comfort each other while finding comfort from the departure of our father Pope Shenouda III. He departed to heaven on March 17, 2012. No words can really express my deep sadness and hurt. We lost a father.

 I could sit here and write my personal experiences with the Late Pope Shenouda III but really they aren't a lot. I met him in person on several occasions and I was blown away by his love for those around us. St. Augustine said "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us". Really this sums up Pope Shenouda III. I did not live in Egypt, but the imprint of his legacy are in the youth of today's church in Egypt and abroad. I am one of those youth abroad, his hand is in every church, every altar, every cornerstone. You walk into any Coptic bookstore and will find tons of sermons and translated books by His Holiness...he aimed to provide us with the spiritual food needed for us to develop knowing fully well that the church has expanded beyond the borders of the motherland of Egypt. The Coptic church is now on six of seven continents with Divine Liturgies translated into English, French, German, Spanish, etc. Most recent consecration of a church was in Budapest, Hungary in 2011 by His Holiness. I can go on and on about Pope Shenouda's contributions, because they did have a direct impact on the church abroad. But what many don't understand is why we are so sad. Why do we have such a connection with a man that we saw once in a while here and there? First, he was a father and a shepherd in the true sense. For those who do not understand how our the church clergy functions, in the true sense they serve the people. They've dedicated their lives to God and in turn they serve the people as a reflection of Christ Himself as the Good Shepherd. In so many ways, this was Pope Shenouda. He has ordained priests, made himself available, visited the sick, sat with the people, sermonized and taught the flock and so much more. In 2005, I was in Cedar Grove, NJ at his residence to pray the midnight praises with HG Bishop Youannnes, his secretary. The youth were gathered and after the prayer was done, I was walking to my car when I heard someone come out of the residence building telling me to come in quickly. I didn't ask questions. I entered the residence and walked down the stairs to find His Holiness sitting in the reception area. He was with the bishops and all of a sudden HG Bishop Youannes said 'these are amazing youth that I just prayed with'. We took his blessings and chocolate (that was the norm). We sat with him until around 2am, joking with us. For maybe the first 30 min I was thinking in my brain "oh my God this is the Pope sitting with us", but as the night went on, we were sitting with our amazing father who wanted to make sure we were okay. It was one of those times where you just didn't want to leave because you were having a great time. It was amazing. I can talk about more experiences but this one has had a lasting effect on me.

 In his sickness, he gave everything to us despite his pain. That's the true love of sacrifice there, can't really elaborate on this. The last year has been difficult on the church and I don't really know how His Holiness in his physical pain was able to guide the church but really that is God working.

 I was a bit disappointed in the wake of his death to find many people on social networking sites attacking His Holiness as they learned of his death. I was in so much sadness and the attacks only added salt to the wound. I was asked my opinion about this. To the haters out there, you didn't know him, you didn't experience him, you didn't understand him. You only saw him from the narrow view of politics (which I will not address at this point). You judged him without allowing to understand the other side and yes revolutionaries...you are ignorant in just attacking while a huge portion of the population is in pain. You lost sensitivity in your quest for freedom and you're just as bad as those who have tried to divide this country on sectarianism. There is a verse in Romans 'Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep'. Christians have done their share of doing both with their fellow Muslim neighbors who are EGYPTIANS as well. If you don't know, Egypt just lost one of the greatest citizens of the modern age but instead of learning, you choose to shut your ears. Whatever. I choose however to focus on the amount of messages I received from Muslim Egyptians, they are the true Egyptians. They share in the sufferings and many have seen how Pope Shenouda always reached out to people regardless of race or religion. This is Egypt. I thank you Muslims who have reached out to me. You have shown the true sense of the religion of peace to Christians and please keep us in your prayers. Pope Shenouda loved Egypt, you are Egypt.

 Many people looked to him as a source of comfort especially in the past year or so where things have been certainly difficult to the Christian community. The loss of our father at this time is another blow to us. We lost the modern day St. John Chrysostom and Athanasius. Read his books, you will be moved. My favorite was Release of the Spirit. I've read a lot of articles about the uncertainties amongst Christians with the latest loss. My priest told us today not to lose faith in God. There was the same uncertainty after Pope Kyrollos VI departed but God gave us the gift of Pope Shenouda III who really was exceedingly more than we could have ever asked for. My dad today also said that our church has survived for over 2000 years and God wouldn't just leave us hanging now. I was comforted, yet I still hurt. As I was waiting on line to receive the Holy Eucharist, a girl about 10-12 years old was weeping. I mean she just was balling...I went up to her and asked 'whats wrong?'. She just kept saying 'I miss him'. I wanted to cry with her...I held her and let her cry. I told her that he is praying for us in heaven and that he is happy that you're standing on line about to receive the Holy Eucharist. Yes, my words really had no comfort as she kept weeping. Her heart was broken and so was all of ours. This our time of mourning. We ask that prayers are raised for the future of the church. I feel this happened during Lent for us to become closer to each other. I don't doubt that today that church attendance was at the level of one of the Feasts out of sense of loss and love our father who is now with the saints, the martyrs he often spoke about and most importantly in the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Below are some sermons/poems to enjoy:
 God's love in your life
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCuo4fInGOI

I want nothing of this world
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4-APT-hbMw&feature=related

 After death Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDfVMzNzgZM&feature=related

 Come back to God
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3IKtj79rwE&feature=related

 Stranger Poem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg_2X9GG8JQ&list=UUGvHqFLowTlubXfis39tA1Q&index=12&feature=plcp

 Last Sermon of His Holiness on 7 March 2012 on Intelligence and Repentance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTOoE3-heRw&list=UUGvHqFLowTlubXfis39tA1Q&index=31&feature=plcp

 People's Tribulations and the Pope's response http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avd_XvUkgCs&list=UUGvHqFLowTlubXfis39tA1Q&index=1&feature=plcp

 From the Pope's Sayings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG_FVIgkOj0&list=UUGvHqFLowTlubXfis39tA1Q&index=5&feature=plcp

 Pope's comments on Maspero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r9HEnQ-MX0&feature=related