Father Matta El Maskeen (Matthew the Poor)

The Ego

by Father Matta El Maskeen (Matthew the Poor)

Seven steps to crucifying the ego and allowing the Truth to set you free.

1. Never rely on your own wisdom or might or on human strength in any of your works. Otherwise, your mind will become dim and your insight blurred, thus blocking the way for grace to enter you and show you the way of God. You will thus be led astray from truth and fall into the enemy’s trap. At the end, you will be enslaved to your own ego and to the desires of other people, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!” (Is.5.21).

2. Beware of thinking highly of yourself. Never feel that without you the world would stop. For your self would seem great and grand in your own eyes. Know instead that God can use another to do the work better than you. He can make the weak mighty and the mighty weak, the wise foolish and the foolish wise. Everything good and useful in you is from God and not from you. If you do not hand it over to God and with conviction attribute it to him, he will tear it away from you. If you boast of your intelligence or virtue, God will leave them to you as merely human gifts. They will then turn into corruption, loss, and damage.

3. Your ego might hate submitting to God. It might escape surrendering to him. In the meantime, you would be making much of your own power – attributing your intelligence, virtue, and success to yourself. In this case, God will deliver you to continual discipline; discipline after discipline, tribulation after tribulation, until you succumb and surrender in brokenness. But if you reject discipline and cannot stand tribulation, God will forsake you forever.

4. Take heed then and open your ears: Either count yourself as nothing in word and deed and make up your mind to surrender yourself to God will all your might – and you will then gladly be released from your ego by the grace of God; or, you will be delivered to discipline until you are set free from your ego in spite of yourself. So if you wish to opt for the easier way, take that of voluntary submission. Count yourself from now on as nothing, and follow the path of grace wherever the Spirit may wish to lead you.

5. Know for certain that submission to God and total surrender to his will and divine plan are a free gift of grace. It thus demands, besides prayer and supplication, a trusting faith to receive this gift. This should be coupled with a longing springing from one’s heart that God may not deliver us to discipline for our folly, nor abandon us to our own wisdom. For this reason, we should have an extremely resolute will to renounce our own self at all times and in all works. This should not be done ostentatiously before people but within our conscience. Blessed is the man who can discover his own weakness and ignorance and confess them before God to the last day of his life.

6. If you fall under discipline, know for sure that this is a great profit, for God chastises the soul that has forgotten its weakness and has been puffed up by its talents and success. This is carried on until it realizes its weakness, especially when God does not provide in tribulation a way to escape. He besieges the soul from all sides and embitters it with inward and outward humiliation, whether by sin or by scandal, until it abhors itself, curses its own intelligence, and disowns its counsel. Finally, it surrenders itself to God, feeling crushed and lowly. At such a time, it becomes easy for man to hate himself. He even wishes to be hated by everybody. This is the way of true humility. It leads to total surrender to divine plan. It ends up with freeing one’s soul from the tyranny of the ego, with its deception, its stubbornness, and its vanity.

7. If you wish to free your soul by the shortest and simplest way, sit down every day under the discipline of grace. Examine your thoughts, movements, intentions, purposes, words, and deeds in the light of God’s word. It is then that you shall discover the corruption of the ego, its imposture, slyness, deception, vanity, and lack of chastity. If you persist in doing this regularly in contrition, you will manage to sever yourself from your false and devilish ego. You will then be able to overpower it bit by bit until you can deny it altogether, hate it, and break jail from its tyranny. You will at last discover the catastrophe into which your ego has led you for obeying it, finding peace in its shelter, boasting of it, and seeking its respect.

The moment you realize at the bottom of your heart that you are nothing and that God is everything, then the truth shall have set you free.

Sheheet, i.e., the Weighing of Hearts


A beautiful letter to monks and contemplation on the name and place of the Desert of Sheheet, where the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint Macarius resides, by the Spiritual Father of the monastery, Father Matta El Maskeen (also known in as Father Matthew the Poor.)

GOD OFFERED US THE GRACE of calling and accepting us in the sacred wilderness, i.e., the wilderness of Sheheet, the wilderness of "the weighing scale of hearts." With its name the Holy Spirit draws our hearts to this designation's implication concerning our life together in this holy wilderness, and offering our lives to God the Weigher of hearts and souls.

The origin of this designation, mentioned in the book Coptic Monasticism, is found in the Biography of Saint Macarius. The meaning stemmed from the time when Saint Macarius first arrived in this wilderness, slept on top of the cherubim hill, and the blessed cherubim appeared to him. When the saint started to fall asleep on this hill, he felt the cherubim's hand palpate his heart, as if wanting to weigh it. Saint Macarius said to him, "What is it?" The cherubim answered, "I am measuring and weighing your heart aisi `mpekhyt." Saint Macarius then said to him, "What does this mean?" The cherubim replied, "As I have acted within your heart, thus will be named this mountain, but Christ will demand fruit."

Now, my loved ones, I mentioned this narrative as an instruction to the main subject, that is, in this wilderness, our hearts, consciences, and deeds will be weighed by God's spiritual weighing scale. This article is an important part of the previous one in which I mentioned, "Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers--none of these will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9, 10 NRSV.)

But all these different kinds of sins are not weighed with God's sensitive scales, but all the thoughts and hearts' intentions that the devil stirs up in the mind, stirring up later the heart, our yielding to these thoughts, and the heart's reaction to them, that immediately makes them counted as sins duly fulfilled, as Christ's depiction states: "[E]veryone who looks at a woman with lust has alread committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt. 5:28.) The sin of adultery was counted here as if it had been consummated, while it was only in the realm of the mind and heart.

Thus sins begin with the senses and thoughts, consequently stirring the heart, to become counted as sins.

Here I will begin to explain the meaning of "the weighing scale of hearts," which is our work in this sacred wilderness. The devil instigates the wicked thoughts specific to every type of sin mentioned by St. Paul, who said that those who committed the m would not witness the kingdom of God.

Now, according to the weighing scale of hearts, mere thoughts, if alive in the mind, with the mind at ease with them for barely a second, the heart responding, stirred in reaction to them, immediately become counted as if they had been fulfilled in the heart without the action of the flesh. This is the danger of the ascetic life, the proof of piety, and the sincerity of a sacred living with the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

For it is impossible for a monk to be counted a true ascetic or considered a pious monk, or a truthful believer in a life of communion nwith God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, led by the Holy Spirit, while leading a life receptive to, and engaged in evil thoughts, whether those of impurity, anger, envy, hatred or slander, carnal appetites, money, food or anything else of the heart's desires, be it only for a moment, then finding an approving response [1] in his members, immediately moved by impure thoughts, the heart stirred in response, although for a moment, to the thought. The impulse of an undisciplined thought, and of the heart affected by the thought reacting to it, is counted an actual response, and a sin that has been completed, entering into the sphere judgment and eternal denial of the pure, ascetic and pious worshippers' share, who are living the life communion through the Spirit rejoicing in the grace of God, with the Kingdom open to them, an opportunity and eternal share in a feast beyond words [2].

What should be done?

Here comes the practical portion of this discussion. It is based on two parts.

The First Part

"I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27 NRSV.)

And the same:

"Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things" (1 Cor. 9:25) [3]

At this point, we have reached the essence of a hermit's work, the beginning of the work of monks who have entered the monastery to attain a life of piety and acquire the taste of life with the Lord through the Holy Spirit.

To begin with, control the flesh with all its appetites that start in the mind and imagination, instigated by the enemy to novices for them to fall in the devil's hands. If the monk responds to these thoughts and gives in to the imaigination, with the mind starting to take pleasure in it and responding, then sin will live in the flesh. I say that responding to the mind, even for a second, makes the heart respond to the evil power, becoming impossible to erase the effect of the evil thought, and hence the reaction of the heart and members. For Christ says that the sin was thus fulfilled in the heart.

Then, what is to be done?

Work in this holy wilderness is our only occupation, as follows:

1. Repudiate evil thoughts completely, forcefully, willfully, and stubbornly for them not to extend to the heart, members, and the rest of the flesh.

2. Beware; beware of evil thoughts and imaginations that infiltrate the heart to find delight, or acceptance and consent, no matter what. At this point, I include that the hungry body and empty, compressed stomach are the greatest help in controlling the mind, body, and imagination. Hunger in Sheheet is an official work and honor.

3. The monk busy with reading, the drone of books and Psalms, is the owner of a mind armed against evil imaginations. Reading sacred books continuously is an effective factor in disciplining the flesh, mind, and evil appetites (Acts 20:32.)

From that, we reach the concluson of the greatest importance: to refuse the devil's counsel, playing with the mind and acquiring the heart. This is the only work required of us for God to fulfill His work.

The Second Part

If the monk as human being seeks asceticism, worship and piety, and fulfills his officially required work, which is to refuse the devil's counsel from the first impulse in the mind, no matter how perservering and repetitious, with a total refusal in mind, heart, and body, then the result will be that the Spirit of God will enter at once, and with His power, put a stop to the expansion of the idea, thus cutting it off, stopping its movement instantly; for man need not be tried beyond his endurance. Thus the heart becomes joyful and the spirit enveloped in a feeling of victory and joy [4].

Insomuch as the devil repeats his work and the monk repeats his refusal, the Spirit continues is work in all confidence and certainty.

1. An Example of the Sin of Lying

It is the devil's easiest sin into which he makes great people fall. If a spiritual man starts his life with God in truth, honesty, and strictness, especially in relation to all the kinds of lies, he feels a spiritual force surrounding him, protecting, helping, and hleading him. If it happens and he distractedly

commits a lie unintentionally and unheedingly, he will immediately feel that the power surrounding and protecting him has left him, and that he has become ashamed of himiself like a man naked. If he can at once correct his mistake and ask God's forgiveness and the person to whom he lied, acknowledging his lie, then the protective power will return as it had been and increase.

2. An Example of the Sin of Fornication

The ancient fathers say that the stirring of the sex members is the first to be influenced by the action of the mind's devil, to the extent that they said that the devil is "the holder of the members." Here I draw the ascetic monk's attention to his eyes and feelings that must concentrate on any of the members stirring so as to realize that the devil has entered the body and is on the point of spoiling it. With all awareness and care must he forbid their stirring, not even for a second, even if he must awake, terrified and disturbed, to control his members. Herein lies an involuntary relation between the mind, heart, and members, but is stopped by invoking the name of Jesus even up to one hundred times, until the members calm down and the devil departs. It is a temptation all youth undergo, but under discipline and restraint, the vigilant Spirit will swiftly answer, for sure, to the sons who cry out day and night.

3. An Example of Anger and Hostility

They are two inseparable sins. Man's anger makes the devil lead him to hostility. Antagonism is darkness and death according to Saint John in his First Epistle. He who is angry with his brother for invalid matters, according to Our Lord, "shall be liable to judgment" (Matt. 5:22.) The word "anger" here means the "violation of Christian love." The devil lies in waiting, so that when man's heart is stirred by anger, he on the spot stirs the heart to hatred. Antagonism in Christianity equals falling into the devil's arms.

Therefore, if the enemy begins to stir the mind to anger, remember that the devil is waiting to embrace you to become his own by leading you to hatred.

It is for that reason that Christ said, "Love your enemies" to sever the devil's line of return."

I leave you now in the love of Christ and the care of the Holy Spirit to be children of His grace, the sons of Sheheet, the weighing scale of hearts.

Father Matta El MaskeenThe Commemoration of the Return of Saint Macarius' Body to the Wilderness of SheheetAugust 25, 2001

Footnotes

1. Abba Amoun who is from Raythee (Al-Tur mountain) asked about impure thoughts. Abba Poemen answered, saying, "The enemy drives them into us, but we must not accept them" Coptic Monasticism, p. 260. Saint Paul the Apostle explains it thus: "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace" (Rom. 6:14.)

2. Therefore our thoughts and hearts must be occupied with the words of the Scripture: "And now I commend you to God and to the words of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (Acts 20:32.) The Scripture's word is the Scripture's weapon that fights the enemy.

3. It is therefore the type of life that renders a main a saint or perfect, for there exists only one kind of sanctity, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit along with man's effort. Coptic Monasticism, p. 141.

4. I have spent 14 years in Sheheet (Abba Amoun speaking) begging God, day and night, to give me victory over the spirit of anger. Sayings of the Fathers, p. 276; Coptic Monasticism, p. 263.

Our Father Who Art in Heaven - Part 2


“When you pray, say: 'Our Father In Heaven'.” (Luke 11: 2-4)

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

“On earth as it is in heaven”

God’s heavenly Kingdom is spiritual, and His kingdom on earth is physical, helped and supported by the Holy Spirit and all the spirits of the holy angels created to minister to those who are inheriting salvation: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb 1:14)

The relation between the heavenly and the earthly is one-sided. We are visible to the heavenly and spiritual ministering angels, but we do not see these heavenly creations, and we know very little about them. We do know about the Cherubim and the Seraphim, the heads of angels, the angels, and the vast innumerable array of heavenly soldiers who some of the saints caught a glimpse of and were bewildered by their great number. These heavenly soldiers appeared to the servant of the prophet Elisha when he was afraid of the Syrian (i.e., Aramean) army (2 Kings 6:17).

We have also heard that the angel Gabriel is standing before God. He is the one who foretold the Lord’s birth to the Virgin Mary: “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:26, 27). The archangel Michael, head of the angels, in charge of the Israelites (Dan 12:1) fought the enemy that stood against his people. It is also mentioned that he was the leader of Israel (Dan 10:21; 11:1). The Bible mentions the help Daniel received from one of the angels (Dan 10:13), in which it is also mentioned that the archangel Michael is one of the first archangels. Also that he witnessed, with Daniel’s angel, the fight against the prince of the kingdom of Persia (the devil): “But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince” (Dan 10:21).

The archangel Michael also had to contend with the devil over Moses’ body, because the devil intended to reveal to Israel the place of Moses’ body in order for them to renounce God and worship Moses. When he found no accusation against him he said to him: “The Lord rebuke you” (Jude 9).

The relationship between the angels and us is strong, but they are classified in accordance to the gifts God gives them. A lot of angels have appeared without us knowing their names. In the book of Revelation it is said that the archangel Michael fought Satan in heaven and caused him to fall from his place in heaven down to earth (Rev 12:7-9). It is also known that when God created the nations and divided them, he made Michael the head over Israel. So it seems that every nation following God is protected and helped by a special angel. Church tradition says that every city is protected by two angels. In Egypt we have heard that there exists the Church of the Northern Angel (i.e., the angel guarding the region north of Cairo), and the Church of the Southern Angel (i.e., the angel guarding the region south of Cairo). But generally, news of the angels is scarce, and there are very few who have seen them. The Kingdom of heaven is filled with angels of various kinds and with their praises.

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

This phrase expresses the desire for God’s will to be fulfilled because it is the realization of His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, in spirituality, holiness and continuous praise, with the angels ministering to those designated to inherit the prepared salvation. So God takes on the headship of His Kingdom in the same way in heaven and on earth. The obstacles in the Church and the laxness of its people are the reasons for the delay of Christ’s appearance on earth at his second coming: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

Christ prophesied the loss of faith at the end of the days in which we live, which is just what our eyes see and our ears hear. The whole world follows the devil, and there are few who ask for God’s kingdom to come and for his will to be done on earth as in heaven. The angels stand by grieving over the state of mankind, who was created in the image of God.

“Give us day by day our daily bread”

Christ put his finger on the malady that will prevail in the world, hindering the coming of God’s kingdom. It is running after money and hoarding treasures when there is really only one need; the Lord who sustains us and gives us life. Christ warns us that our daily bread is sufficient, meaning that we should not run after more, to have excess or to waste. The meaning of “sufficiency” is the medicine that the whole world needs. Hoarding money, food, gold, diamonds or riches of any kind is an infringement on God’s planning.

Although “Give us day by day” applies to bread, food and human needs, it aims to also draw our attention to the need for prayer and worship in spirit. The world has become very rich with money and consequently greatly deficient in the Spirit. “Our daily bread” stands for: Take heed of your spirit’s pressing needs and its richness. Serious striving in the Spirit urges God to fulfill all our needs and requirements for money and bread.

“Give us day by day” aims further because it involves fasting, being hungry and not filled with delicacies whilst the poor hunger for a morsel of bread before our very eyes.

Its target is also sensible behavior with our surplus, for the hungry thousands await the twelve baskets of leftovers. If the world would take note of the precious commandment: “Give us day by day”, millions of baskets of bread and dollars would be available for the poor who wander around in hunger. As well as those people who literally die of hunger and thirst in Africa there are also those who are dead whilst still alive due to the dire poverty and need for a morsel of bread and a glass of water. America and Europe consume the majority of the world’s resources wastefully and destructively. In “Give us day by day” lies the need of the whole world today, the needs of every home and every person. If not, one day the world will perish from wastefulness and wealth.

“And forgive us our sins”

Christ then moves to address the outcome of deviating from and violating the commandment of sufficiency, running after more, striving for money and riches. The love of money is the root of all evil, said the Apostle Paul: “For which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim 6:10). It implies that the transgressions, offences and sins resulting from the love of money are numerous. They include stealing, falsifying, embezzlement, cheating, excessive pricing, monetary speculation, stockpiling items to increase their price as well as thousands of sins resulting from greed, covetousness, meanness and producing products from defective materials and all that results from this. All of these are the results of the love of money and the desire to become rich quickly. These are sins that are difficult to forgive. There are sins which we ask to be forgiven, they are: forgetting to fulfill ones duties towards God in prayer and fasting, laxness and laziness in prayer, negligence with the rules of prayer and church attendance, using deceit in dealing with others, the distinction between those who are equal in rights, lacking of performing duties towards others, especially the poor, weak, and sick, breaking the laws of the Holy Church regarding

prayer and duties towards others.

These are the sins for which the priest asks for forgiveness when he prays for the dead during the prayers for the deceased. He asks for them to be forgiven in accordance with the prayer “forgive us our sins”. God’s mercy is forbidden to those who intentionally hurt people and who treat others unjustly. God hates injustice and will not forgive it unless those who commit it go back on their injustice like Zacchaeus the tax collector did (Luke 19:1-10). On the other hand God is forbearing and his mercy immense for the weak, meek, merciful, benevolent to the poor and needy, and every one who gives a morsel to the hungry and a glass of water to the thirsty according to Christ’s commandment.

“For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us”

The words: “Forgive, and you will be forgiven” express clemency from God for the forgiveness of sins through the forgiveness of others. The forgiveness of others’ sins and infringements towards us is counted for us, because God offers instead mercy and forgiveness for the extra measure.

Forgiving others’ sins towards us is the easiest way to have our sins forgiven. In commanding this God was extremely clement and kind. A person who exacts retribution and judges those who commit a violation against him, will himself be required to pay for his own violations against God. In this commandment God teaches man the lesson that to be merciful to others will lead to finding mercy with God. In being clement with the violations of others towards him, he will find clemency with God in his own violations of God’s rights and of those of others. Those who follow this commandment live in peace and the enemy finds no place among them, their lives are calm and peaceful. This is a commandment for the individual, the group, and for leaders. Blessed are those who follow God’s commandments. They will walk in the way of eternal life surrounded by peace on every side. As for the quarrelsome, those who ask for retribution from the guilty while they themselves commit violations and are unjust and unwilling to cede to others any of their own rights, their end is severe judgment and they will be made to pay for every transgression.

“And do not lead us into temptation”

The enemy has the power to harm us, our children and all our belongings. There is no way to escape the circle of the enemy’s power except by continual request and fervent entreaty in every prayer for God to allow us not to enter the enemy’s power to harm us.

The Lord taught us to pray this so that we might be protected from all the devil’s infringements that have no justification. The one who neglects prayer, requests for mercy, and to not be led into the enemy’s power, facilitates the devil’s work against himself and actually gives him power over himself. God alone is able to curb the evil power that confronts us. There is no way out except through continuing to pray morning and evening for God’s mercy and deliverance from the enemy’s power. The enemy has no power over the person he finds standing in prayer to God constantly morning and evening. He trembles at the sight of one who holds on to God’s holy name, and who admonishes the devil in the name of the Lord.

God does not listen to the prayer of the haughty, the unjust and those who are proud of themselves and of their own power. He leaves them as prey for the enemy and when they cry out to God they will not be heard. Pride is an open door for the devil, through which he may enter your house without deterrent to destroy it.

The same goes for the one who is unjust and who practices the enemy’s work. If a person allows himself to be unjust and merciless to his brothers or to the weak, then he befriends the devil by copying him and gives the enemy the opportunity to mistreat him. He will cry out to God and not be heard!

It is the same for the one who sneers at chastity and holiness, the required attributes of God’s children. God insisted that we should be holy and pure so that God’s holiness, mercy and love can descend upon

us. The one who shamelessly follows his passions and commits fornication without fear of God, will cry out when the power of the devil oppresses him, but to no avail. No succor comes because he has forfeited his share of God’s mercy along with his chastity. Everything outside the bounds of chastity and modesty is fornication. Either a person is chaste or a fornicator, there is no in-between because the demon of fornication lies in wait for a man with arrows aimed at him, and has done ever since his childhood. Chastity and modesty are attributes that begin in childhood, that strengthen and prevail in youth and gain a crown in adulthood. It is the same for men and women, for fornication can ravish them both. If this sin is deliberate and continuous it will not be forgiven, but God is merciful with the weak, the oppressed and those who have been victims of the enemy in their childhood and youth. They may return to chastity through God’s power and mercy. Nothing is impossible for God, even until the grave. Blessed is the person who does not hold against others their sins, lapses and infringements, because he is close to God’s mercy.

“But deliver us from the evil one (the enemy)”

We identify with the Apostle Paul when he writes: “He who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that he will still deliver us” (2 Cor 1:10). Temptation and sin surround us everywhere, while asleep and awake, at home and in the street, whilst traveling and at work. There is no avoiding temptation except God saves us from it. We cannot be saved by our intelligence, by medicines, by doctors, brothers, fathers or friends; it is God alone who can save us. There is no salvation except through God, because our enemy is a stubborn autocrat. He is an intelligent force that traps even the most intelligent people, making the strongest and most recalcitrant men fall into his net. The temptation that surrounds us is mightier than us and more violent than any other force. The devil caused our father and mother, Adam and Eve, to fall while they were in paradise in God’s very presence. God knows it and forewarns us by giving the commandment so that we may avoid the devil’s net. Christ puts in our mouths the prayer of deliverance from the enemy, the only weapon stronger than the devil’s power and schemes. He who arms himself by crying out sincerely in prayer to God to save him from evil, will definitely be saved.

It is strange that the devil, whose power and intelligence are so terrible that by comparison man is a mere straw blown by the wind, should be overcome by so simple a thing as a cry to God for deliverance.

Sure, we are surrounded by temptation at all times wherever we are, no matter how intelligent we are or how good our understanding. But God has also surrounded us with ministering angels in the same way that he surrounded Elisha the prophet in front of the Syrian (i.e., Aramean) armies (2 Kings 6:16, 17). Those who are with us are more numerous than those who are against us. Those who are with us are organized by the Lord of hosts. He who arms himself with the prayer of “Our Father In Heaven” every moment, and with the call for deliverance from the enemy in his mouth, is as safe as a suckling babe in its mother’s arms. God’s path is difficult and there are many stumbling blocks, struggles, persecutions and injustices from heads and subordinates, from fathers and brothers; but God is above us, holding our hands, showing us the way, safely leading us to our haven.

If the Holy One has opened up for us a new way to heaven through the blood of his Son, then is he not also able to take our hands and lead us along the path of worship and prayer to the final haven, which is heaven?

“Through Jesus Christ our Lord”

It is Christ who gave us the “Lord’s prayer”, leaving us in the embrace of the Church that is his body, filled with every grace and blessing. So we add to the prayer he gave us the words: “through Jesus Christ our Lord”. He who pierced the entrails of death and trampled it with His feet will ceaselessly save us even on the very brink of death. It is Christ, the vanquisher of death and Lord of life, who conquered the hordes of darkness dispossessing them on the cross and putting them under His feet, who has dictated to us this prayer and it is he who taught us to cry out to Him: “deliver us from the evil one”. There is no power in heaven or on earth that has power over Christ. Christ rose to the highest

heaven and his enemies bow beneath His feet, and he fills with grace, power and salvation all who call out to Him and pray in the way that he commanded us to pray.

Temptation and sin surround us, and the evil enemy is lying in wait for us with every step. But Christ saved us and also will continue to save us, because he endured every aspect of man’s weakness and experienced first-hand the violence of the enemy. For that reason he gave up his body to the cross and exposed himself to death to be a ransom before God, redeeming us from every temptation, and so that every sin may be forgiven. Man, who is weak, became stronger than the devil, by holding onto Christ and calling out to him for salvation.

How beautiful is frail humanity, and how strong in Christ’s embrace.

“For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever. Amen”

This is the last doxology of the “Lord’s prayer” and it is the weapon of every believer in Christ. It expresses praise to God the possessor of all power and authority. It is praise to God that he has the power and glory forever. He is the powerful and glorious focus, the one to whom we pray. From God’s power we acquire power, and from his glory we receive authority over the enemy. In the protective shelter of the Most High we sleep, and wake praising his glory that has carried us through the darkness of the night. Over and above the conquered enemy’s power stands the power of the Most High, eternally triumphant and exalted. He overshadows the meanness of the conceited and obstinate enemy whom God has deposed from his rank as an angel to become a despised creature dwelling in darkness and never seeing light. God took away from him all he previously had given him, so he fell from all creation. Compared to this infamy God rises in his glory forever and his authority will last forever and ever. Amen.

30 November, 2003 A.D. = 20 Hathor, 1720 Anno Martyri

Our Relationship With Christ


We explore the immemorial relationships, meaning our relationship with Christ today that is founded on the basis of our relationship with Him since the very beginning.

He who was able to reveal this relationship with Christ is St. Paul who says:

“For surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:2-4).

What is the mystery of Paul the Apostle’s knowledge of Christ? In other words, what is the mystery of Christ?

This is the title of this sermon: “Our relationship with Christ.” The Apostle Paul began this relationship from time immemorial. There is no doubt that Christ’s mystery is our relationship as believers in Him since the very beginning. How? It is the mystery of the Father in His love for humankind, as St. Paul says in his epistle to the Ephesians:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:3).

Here I will pause for a moment, to draw your attention, O monk (or any other person), you who want Christ to have a relationship with you. It is in essence that God the Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven, according to His own free will, because of His Divine love for mankind.

What does “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” mean?

It means that God the Father, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, gave us His heavenly blessing, for us to be a new heavenly creation, accepted and loved before Him, on the same level of the heavenly creatures, even more, because St. Paul says: “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”, which means higher than the angels and archangels and all heavenly creatures. How? It is because He blessed us through His only Beloved Son who has all the Father’s love. For he says: “Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” If we are blessed in Christ His only Beloved Son, then our blessing is of the same level as His Son’s blessing, and consequently of the same level as the Father’s love for His Son.

Paul the Apostle adds:

“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love” (Eph 1:4).

What does it mean?

This verse means that the Father blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and accordingly chose us in Christ since the beginning to reach, in the future or at the end of our new creation, the stature of the fullness of Christ, which means the stature of His only Son, as Paul the Apostle says somewhere else in the same epistle: “To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:12, 13).

What is the consequent result?

The result is that our new creation will reach the stature of the fullness of Christ, meaning that we will have priority and pre-eminence when we stand in the Father’s presence. Thus we will stand before God the Father, on the same level as the saints who are without blemish or blame, in the Divine love that fills the Father’s heart towards us, being equal as special sons to the Father as Paul the Apostle continues saying:

“He destined us to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Eph 1:5).

The adoption by God the Father that mankind now possesses was previously set and defined from time immemorial, certainly not because mankind deserved it, but due to God the Father’s will and pleasure. This means that it is due to an inner pleasure within God’s heart that makes us sons in His Son. What a joy for mankind, and a pleasure at the Father’s pleasure, for making us His sons in His Son Jesus Christ! Our partnership nowadays with Jesus Christ emanates from our partnership in the Father choosing us as His sons, which means that a partnership with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ was determined and fixed from eternity. St. Paul the Apostle boasts of it and says that our partnership now with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ was fulfilled with the Son’s manifestation, and the manifestation of eternal life in Him, in the shape of a man who was killed, dead, and resurrected.

St. Paul considered the choosing of God the Father in Christ since the beginning, with all the heavenly blessings offered to us, a free grace flowing from the heart of God towards us. All this grace exists on the basis that we remain and continue to praise His glorious grace, which he bestowed on us in the Beloved:

“To the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (Eph 1:6).

This is our only work now, and forever more, to continue to praise God’s glorious grace, which He lavished on us in His Beloved Son Jesus Christ since the beginning.

Notice dear brethren what a grace has come to happen and was confirmed to us from time immemorial:

That God should bless us with every spiritual blessing in Christ

And choose us in Him before the creation of the world

To become saints without blame before Him through love

Already chosen through Jesus Christ for adoption

For Himself and according to the pleasure of His will

To praise His glorious grace which He bestowed on us in the Beloved

· This is the heavens’ witness and the testimony of the Spirit speaking through Saint Paul.

· Behold and see, sons of God, and know today, that you are appointed since time immemorial to become saints without blame in the fullness of God’s love, that is Christ’s, who is in you and you in Him.

· Have you accepted this grace today?

· Have you pledged in your hearts and consciences to truly be sons of God in accordance to the pleasure of His will?

· This grace is offered to you today and every day. Accept it, and live it, as you should in accordance to the ethics, principles, and behavior of the saints, as sons of God and the eternal life you were called to.

Peter the Apostle today participates with us and testifies to you before God and Christ:

“Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake” (1 Pet 1:17-20).

What does this mean?

It is an authentication from the same Spirit that spoke through Paul the Apostle. Because the Apostle Peter spoke and added that your redemption was fulfilled from time immemorial through the blood of Christ. So you are the sons of the living God, redeemed by the blood of Christ, meaning reconciled through Christ having gained all reasons and conditions for holiness. Therefore be holy as your Father is holy, He who invited you to share His holiness through Christ.

Paul the Apostle testifies to you and so does the Apostle Peter. Today I encourage you with Paul the Apostle’s testimony, that you are the sons of the living God sanctified before Him without blame in the love of Christ. Your only work is to praise His glorious grace, which the Father bestowed on you in His Beloved Son.

But I warn you, according to Peter the Apostle’s testimony, that you were redeemed with the blood of Christ, to put an end to your old behavior which you have taken from the world, and live in the fear of

God without blame or sin. For you are counted as saints before the angels and the world.

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24).

The monastic life you accepted is the same as the crucifixion of the flesh with its passions and desires. Listen to the Apostle Paul warning the Corinthians and revealing to them who will enter the Kingdom of God and who will be forbidden and outlawed from entering the Kingdom of God! I repeat it bearing witness to you before God and to clear my conscience as this monastery’s father responsible for you all to enter into the Kingdom of God:

“Do not be deceived (or let anyone deceive you): neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9, 10).

If we are caught with one of these deadly sins after having been cleansed (meaning baptized), nay sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and with the Spirit of our Lord, it means that we disdain the Spirit of grace we received through baptism, and we defile the holy flesh in which we commune at the altar.

Now is the time for repentance, but after it where can we find repentance except in monasticism? If not, the future will be like Esau’s: “For he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears” (Heb 12:17). You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood as Paul the Apostle says to the Hebrews: “In your struggle against sin” (Heb 12:4).

Here, in this monastery, is the place for repentance, and the time for the struggle against sin.

This day, now, I will lead you through the Spirit of God to the way to struggle against sin:

First and foremost I assure you in the name of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, that there does not exist in the world he who has struggled, or is struggling against sin in his full vigor or health, because there exists no power in the world that has conquered sin, except Jesus Christ who shed His blood as its price, and purchased us from the hell of sin, the power of the devil, and the temptation of the world and flesh with His blood on the cross.

The only way, the way to struggle against sin is: resort to Christ with all the power, determination, patience, and forbearance. How?

1. Enter Your Room

Enter your room, shut the door, and pray in secret to your Father who is unseen and He will reward you openly. Cry to Christ day and night. Here I bring you Christ’s promise to answer your cries night and day:

“And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them” (Lk 18:7, 8).

2. For what do we cry out?

We cry out to Christ to take care of the creation He purchased with His blood. We cry out, casting before Him mind, conscience, and all the imaginations of the mind

and soul for Him to accept them.

We cry out to Him to kill carnal appetites, thoughts, and impurities of this old flesh, which He destroyed at the cross, so that we might live in the new being according to God, in righteousness and the sanctity of truth.

We cry out to provide us with His grace, and power that are able to give the soul and spirit Christ’s strength, to defeat the devil’s forces that fight our thoughts following his desire to capture us once more under the power of sin.

We cry out to give us purity of mind, heart, and conscience, so as to wash and purify them through His blood from all deadly thoughts and deeds.

We cry out to give us the power to pray, and stand in vigil and fasting before Him, for Him to disperse all the enemy’s assaults, and lead us to the way of righteousness and piety before Him for the rest of our days, to worship Him in piety and fear, and praise His glorious grace, which His Father bestowed on us through His choice and adoption of us, for He is our life, righteousness, light, purification, and armor.

I call you today to this struggle against sin. It is identical to the practice of the living communion with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Do not go astray, for without Christ no man is able to conquer the evil enemy that has a power from God over mind, heart, and flesh. You will not find Christ outside your closed room, nightly vigils, and commended fasting.

Concerning fasting, you must realize that as soon as the monk dons the cross he is named a member of those who are clad with the cross, whose only work is to carry the cross well, in total patience and forbearance, praising Him constantly day and night. Away from fasting you will not find the strength to bear the cross.

As for the monk who is getting on in years, it is good for him to fast till sunset, identified as true asceticism, and there are those who fast till twilight, each in accordance to his ability.

It is known that the early monks did not admit breaking fasts in any respect, for their lives were all fasting. When lent, the holy forty days of fasting, arrived they left the congregation completely and went to worship in the wilderness for that period, following terrific fasts, devoid of bell ringing, meeting, or attendance of mass.

The wilderness of St. Macarius (in its early days) had no churches at all. Every few months the fathers went in groups to Nitria (near Damanhour) to attend Church and partake of the flesh and blood, then return to Sheheet. Saint Macarius went to St. Antony to ask his advice (at the end of St Antony days), whether to build a church in the wilderness of Sheheet. It was due to the hardship of traveling to Nitria, and so was advised to build a church wherein to take Holy Communion. Holy Communion was only on Sundays, as the fathers arrived on Saturday, fasting till evening, partook of the flesh and blood, and spent Sunday night awake listening to the young monks’ questions and the elders’ answers. In the morning each monk went to his cave. This was the beginning of monastic life and all the changes that have happened are in reconciliation to laity.

I do not mention this history to call for change or amendment, but to make you understand the origin of worship: how it was fundamentally based on prayer and Holy Communion only on Sunday. It is to draw your attention to the value of prayer in a monk’s cell. Please consider the cell the center for worship, prayer, and praise to Christ in unrestraint, joy, glorification, tears, and fasting.

I will now return, once more, to the basis of our relationship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ since the very beginning, for us to be convinced, believe, and live in communion with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ intrepidly and confidently, in worship with open heart and clear conscience. Even if we struggle in prayer we know, for sure, that the Father loves us, and that Christ answers all our invocations and requests because He, “by the power at work within us, is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Eph 3:20). Amen.

(Sunday August 19, 2001)

Jesus Christ: Son of Man, Son of God, and Lord


Excerpt from "The Son of Man: The Title Christ Loved", by Father Matta El Maskeen

Christ's linking the Son of man with the forgiveness of sins (Mk 2:5-10) and with the coming judgment ("He has given him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man" Jn 5:27) greatly enhances the importance of the Son of man, since judgment is attributed to Him as if He is greater than it. It is given to Him because He is the Son of man, or, as we say, because He is the Son of God, or because He is God. Here it is Christ's direct intention to make the glory and power He had before His incarnation just as effective in His incarnate state. It is as if He is saying repeatedly that the Son of man is the Son of God who has become a new Adam with all the powers of the Son of God.

Christ also paints a picture of the Son of man full of light unequaled by any creature, when He speaks of His coming as the Son of man who would light up the heavens from one horizon to the other as by the presence of God Himself: "For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man ... and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Mt 24:27, 30).

Here Christ is eager to awaken our hearts to the fact that the body that He took from our humanity will not be separated from Him when He is risen for ever at the height of his glory and power. The Son of man is Christ manifesting His divinity in His humanity. His glory and authority and power are not separate from His humanity. Rather His humanity makes it possible for us to look upon Him and see Him perfectly and know Him and draw close to and even participate in His divinity.

Asceticism and Purity


A few pointers on how to wisely practice asceticism to crucify the will and allow the soul to flourish in God.

1. We should not see austerity, or asceticism, as an end in itself. Neither should we delight in practicing it to the exclusion of everything else. By doing so we are only allowing it to distract us from progressing toward God and completing our union with him in mature love.

2. Ascetic disciplines are nothing more than the means to mortify the old Adam and crucify our will, our passions, and the desires that work in us for iniquity. Ascesis is only a way of showing our love and tender feelings toward God.

3. Perseverance in practicing the kinds of austerities after being renewed and filled with grace serves only to counter the tendency to hanker after what the world offers. It helps to restrain the will from inclining toward sin.

4. If we make progress in such a discipline, this should not become a matter of pride. If it does, we will open ourselves up to the spirit of self-righteousness. This will immediately arrest our spiritual growth.

5. The most austere asceticism can never erase even a single sin. It cannot atone for the slightest transgression we may have committed. Such is the case if that austerity is devoid of love toward God or of the intercession of free grace. For this is only attainable by the blood of Christ.

6. Our asceticism should not be so severe as to be cruel to our own body. It should not prevent us from performing the daily tasks of life actively.

7. Our attention should be inwardly focused upon the will, which drives us to lust and sin. This perverse will of ours craves for what belongs to it. All its aims terminate at one point: the ego. The ego is our enemy. We have to struggle against it with our fasts and vigils until it dies completely. It is only then that we will possess the new will, which carries our the will of God alone. (See the article on "The Ego".)

8. Asceticism should not assume the form of a bodily suppression or repression For once the practice of ascesis disappears, the result is an acute reaction. Man returns to his former state or even to a more depraved one. Asceticism should be soberly and wisely practiced, not out of grief or pain but in joy and happiness. The limits of the ascetic life should be set by the guidance of a prudent spiritual father. Those who practice it should not underreach or overreach the limits of their abilities. Otherwise, the practice may cease altogether, in which case the ascetic life will lose its desired fruit. Ascetic discipline should begin below the level of one’s ability. It should then ascend and grow until it turns into a natural personal quality that forms a major part of one’s way of life.

9. If ascetic discipline is devoid of love and joy in the Lord, it turns into a source of depression, sullenness, and perturbation. It may also be a cause of pride and self-righteousness.

10. Many are those who have struggled and freed themselves from the world by the most severe austerities. However, since they did not submit themselves to the hand of God and the work of grace in lowliness and humility, they have gone astray. If we are freed from the world, we must also be freed from ourselves, so that God can take us and shape us freely.

Gethsemane and the Cross: The Tomb and the New Man


Not from fear of death did terror enter Your heart. Your heartbeat was reviving the heavens, raising the earth, establishing the principle of life for every living thing.

Glory to Him who stood a stone's throw from His chosen disciples;

Glory to Him who stood dejected till death with a deep inward sadness, yet living still;

Glory to Him who, though a beloved Son, knelt on the ground before the Father to whom all prayers are lifted;

Glory to him who was struck to the ground with his face marred yet who owns the heavenly face before which all heavenly hosts are awed;

Glory to Him who, in agony of soul and bitter suffering, sweated great drops of blood from His forehead, because of the weariness and grief that had ravaged his flesh during his hour of trial.

He lives, and is the giver of life.

Not from fear of death did terror enter Your heart. Your heartbeat was reviving the heavens, raising the earth, establishing the principle of life for every living thing. Nor did terror enter Your heart out of fear of the pain and suffering to come, for You are the Comforter of those who suffer, the one who wipes away every tear, and strengthens the heart of the distressed. You bear the pain of every soul that takes refuge in Your bosom.

No alarm arose in You at the approach of an enemy who had the power of death in his hands, for it was You who terrorized him and overcame his power. With Your cross you bound and threw him into the eternal fire that devours all enemies of truth, all liars, and the father of lies. You are the One and Only present Eternal Truth who judges and brings to final annihilation the evil that has degraded and humiliated mankind.

I discovered Your mystery. The source of Your grief was revealed to me, by which You attained the degree of death without dying. I realized the extent of your spiritual suffering and torture. Indeed, I realized the mystery of Your face that was marred by the earth's dust and by the endless flowing of tears and the gushing sweat, like blood.

I learned from You the reason for the fear that took complete hold of You and entered deep into Your heart.

I also learned the mystery of the fear of the pain that gripped Your soul, not Your flesh, and the mystery of the suffering that tormented Your spirit, and the torture You suffered from being cut off from Your Father's loe. You suffered alone, for it was the Father's will to bruise You with grief (Is. 53:10.) Why should You therefore not grieve the grief of those dying without a saviour?

I got to know the measure of the pain you experienced; the tears, the broken heart, and the fear of what was about to happen. You were forsaken by the Father. It was His will to abandon You, a beloved Son of the Father.

Indeed, I got to know, I was convinced, and the mystery was revealed to me:

Your Father made You bear the full weight of all the sins of mankind, though You were innocent of them all. From the very beginning, in the eternal council chamber of the Father, You accepted the responsibility of bearing them. Because of this, You submitted to the incarnation, and bore it according to Your will and Your Father's will.

Yet when I saw the significance of the Father's inevitable hostility to that sin, I was horrified. For how could the Father be so unyielding when You were one with Him, present in His fatherly bosom, and came from Him? If the sin of blasphemy is the mother of sins, how could You bear it in Your flesh an dhow could You stand with it before Your Father? How could You be as one who denies Him? What terror and what fear must have overtaken You? Was it possible? Did the Father allow this?

Yes! When He allowed mankind's sins to be placed on You in order to redeem them, He did allow it! What rending of Your soul! How could You stand before Him in your holy purity, bearing the sin of fornication as if you were an adulterer, indeed the chief of all the world's adulterers?

Now, I know Your heartbreak and the reason Your face was covered in dust so as not to be seen by the Father, and the mystery of those tears and sweat flowing like blood! The load must have been unbearable as the Father's hand was laid on You. Why didn't You throw Yourself to the ground and let courage escape You, deceived by the familiarity linking You to Your Father, though it remained in You?

Do You bear man's lies and assume his sins, his deceptions, his denial of turth, and his rejection of what is right whilst being at the same the embodiment of Righteousness and Truth? How could You stand before the Father as a liar and as the representative of all liars? Did You bear every crime that the devil inspired in man? Do You take on the nature of a murderer in order to bear the murders he committed, then do You stand before the Father as if You were the murderer when You are Yourself actually their Father and Giver of Life? How can this be?

You stood, dear Master, as a burglar or thief before Your Father, assuming the identity of the ungodly. It was because of this that You were able to release the thief crucified with You--the first sinner to gain

acquittal. I know now the reason for which the Apostle Paul said, "And to one who does not work, but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness" (Romans 4:5.) Why? Because, he believed in the Cross and the works of Him who was crucified.

I know now why You stayed kneeling, crying out with tears to the Almighty to save You and take away the cup, although He did not. Your meek and gentle soul was broken by the terror of mankind's sins! But it was for this very hour that You came. For the sake of Man's sins, You became flesh, drank the defiled cup, bore his burden of defilement and were judged as a sinner!

Now I know the reason for the loud cry, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" (Matt 27:46.)

Had it not been for the rejection that wounded Your heart, that You bore alone as a sinner and as the father all sinners, under the Father's sentence, You would not have been able to die and descend in to the grace for man's sins and remain buried for three days, fulfilling the punishment for the sin of mankind. Mankind would not have been absolved from sin and released from its sentence and its curse, which is death. This is the power of the cross and the power of Him who was cruficied.

You were the Almighty, the Master and the Omnipotent One. In You the attributes of God are fully revealed. You are the One who has known throughout the Old Testament as "the Almighty." This is God's omnipotence that was revealed to its fullest extent on the cross.

This, then, is the new man's value!

Master, you rose on the third day and exposed Annas, Caiphas, and the devil, discarding the sin You bore in Your flesh at the cross. You cleansed man from his uncleanness, burying it with the old, sin-laden body that You took from him. Sin pierced Your hands and feet and side on the cross, in the nails and the spear, causing Your Divine Blood to flow out like a river. A man's body is therefore baptized and sanctified with blood, and acquires the eternal life that is in Him. It descends into the tomb, where death has been trampled under Your feet, and is resurrected pure and sanctified in Your resurrection. Thereafter, death has no power over it; it is a new creation through the Spirit, and shares the glory that is Yours, the glory which You laid down through the incarnation, the cross and the tomb, but which returned as You returned to the Father. In this You bore new man in Your body ot offer it, sinless, to Your Father. You reconciled God and manthrough Your bloodo that was shed and created an eternal redemption with Your Father and gave man eternal life in You.

Thus, in the resurrected body of Christ, man is recreated and raised to sit on the Father's right hand in the highest heavens, just as Christ sat in the glory of eternal life.

Midnight, May 8, 1999

The First Epistle to the Thessalonians


Paul the Apostle wrote First Thessalonians in the spring of 50 A.D., after his arrival at Corinth, and sent the second epistle five weeks later. It contains the first rules for spreading the Gospel in a tradition delivered by the Lord... Because when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe" (1 Thess. 2:13.)

The Oldest Epistle of Paul the Apostle Reveals the Importance of its Tradition and Meaning

We chose this passage of the epistle, because it contains the most important of its contents.

The words "ye received" (paralabotez) means the receiving of a message or teaching delivered from hand to hand, to be also delivered to others . Herein lies the meaning of the passing on of tradition, by hand or by mouth, written or explained.

Saint Paul declares here that this delivery of tradition is the word of God and effectually works in you euergeitai on its own, as soon as it is heard and accepted.

In showing the importance of "the word of God," Saint Paul describes it as "words of news from God," meaning words of the Gospel that have their source in God and were delivered to us (His apostles.) They remain related and linked to God their Source: "words of news from God." The word "news" denotes the act of hearing.

We know that "words" of news are a means for the conveyance of faith and its acceptance, the official spreading of the Gospel. Words of news from God mean the words of truth to be eagerly received and esteemed, and to be accepted by the heart.

In Saint Paul's description, the Word of God works on its own accord, powerfully and effectively, in those who listen to it and accept it. This self-contained ability transports it from the level of hearing with the ears to the level of action and spiritual effect in the heart: "For our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction" (1 Thess. 1:5.) It is this foundational quality of the Word of God that generates action and life, thus differentiating it from the word of man.

Saint Paul declares that the Word of God carries a dynamic power euergeitai. Like the cross, it is alive and creative: "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18.)

Thus, imitation and tradition become a way of life! "And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit; so that you became an exampl to all the believers... For not only has the word of the Lord sounded from you... but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere" (1 Thess. 1:6-8.)

As a result, fervent and effective faith, with the "Word," inevitably rises from a painful present to a joyful hope: "to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess. 1:10.) Thus, Saint Paul transports his listeners to uplifting faith and a vision of hope: "For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy" (1 Thess. 2:19-20.)

Also, on the passing of tradition, he writes, "For you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus" (1 Thess. 4:2.)

Notice the meaning of the word "commandments." In the original Greek, it is paraggeliaz. In ancient times it had the connotation of wartime military authority. In apostolic tradition it h as an evangelical awe as it carries the fingerprint of Christ, its giver. Paul the Apostle explains, "what commandments we gave to you by the Lord Jesus" (1 Thess. 4:2.) It has the seal of the king and is considered in the Church's tradition as a tradition coming directly from Christ! By this, the Apostle Paul means that he is not handing over commandments which he received from the apostles; rather, they came from the Lord Jesus, and they are all obligatory, a duty to those who are wise.

Saint Paul stresses that his message he delivers to us is comprised of commandments from the Lord Himself. It is therefore considered the holiest and oldest provision of the Christian faith!

Moving from the Tradition of the Word to Its Actions and Behavior:

"For you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication" (1 Thess. 4:2,3.)

This is a summary of the commandment's content, delivered by the Lord Jesus, in a very concise and powerful phrase. It transfers the Word from utterances to action, and from thoughts to the soul.

If the commandment remains limited only to knowledge and instruction, then it has lost its vital, living power. Its nature lies in iaction. It must act in order to become effective, the "active word." The commandment cannot live in the mind if it does not first exist in the willpower. In other words, for it to accomplish its work, it has to be in accord with the will of God. Regardless of what our names and characteristics may be, they do not ensure that the will of God is upheld.

What embodies the will of God are the actions of our willpower. God's will is that we should be holy as He is holy, and if we are not, then we cannot be counted as His or as His children. Holiness is not a human characteristic if it is not active and achieving. .The action of holiness is to abstain from every deed and word, thought, or feeling that invalidates purity and stains it. The actions of fornication, its thoughts and characteristics, put an end to holiness and war against it. The commandments, being conformed to God's holiness, represent His will for us. God's comprehensive will is for us to be holy as He is holy. Thus, the commandments in their foundations, impose a refusal of all the acts of fornication and evil that invalidate any relation with God.

For a person of faith who strives to become a man of God and to live with H im, the most dangerous sin is fornication in all its unclean forms. Saint Paul subsequently summarized it in one comprehensivie phrase: "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification" (1 Thess. 4:3.)

Presenting this very old message to the Christian reader, we draw your attention to the simplicity of the tradition, its origin and power. Its activity is based on the Word of God, handed over to the apostles to be delivered in its force and effectiveness.

Whatever the explanation may be, the condition of Christians has sunk to an alarming degree of evil degeneration, which has prevailed in families, society, and the individual. The names for fornication are plainly presented in newspapers and magazines. Immoral scenes are depicted in homes through television for children and youth to see. While still young, they are learning the art of fornication right in their homes, in the presence of their father and mother. In opposition to this new destructive flood, we offer this message: Let it be ceased by whomever wants to be saved and live.

May we call you to return to the simplicity of the tradition handed over from Christ, the apostles and the saints to be saved and gain eternal life?

The Mystery of God's Love in Relation to Renewed Mankind


Our love for God was impossible because of sin and the judgment of death. Removing the barricade, Christ, the Son, opened the way for us to God the Father's love. Through the cross He broke down the barriers, which were sin and the curse of death, that separated us from God the Father...

The breadth of God's love for and in mankind.

"The Father loves the Son" (Jn. 3:35,) because He is of His own nature.

"As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you" (Jn. 15:9,) because He took on our nature.

"As hast loved them even as Thou loved me" (Jn. 17:23.) A love springing from the Father's nature to us, as was given to Him.

"For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me" (Jn. 16:27,) because of our fellowship in the nature of the Son.

"That the love with which Thou hast loved Me may be in them" (Jn. 17:26.) Thus, we have fellowship through the Father and through the Son.

His love emanates from His own nature, and not due to anything within us. Therefore, He loved us without any prerequisite or merit on our part.

Our love for Christ through the Holy Spirit uncovers the depth of our love to God the Father and opens up the flow of the Father's love to us: "For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me and believed that I came out from God" (Jn. 16:27.)

Our love for God was impossible because of sin and the judgment of death. Removing the barricade, Christ, the Son, opened the way for us to God the Father's love. Through the cross He broke down the barriers, which were sin and the curse of death, that separated us from God the Father. He revealed God the Father's love, which He held bound within Himself, waiting for redemption, t he forgiveness of sins and the removal of the barriers: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" (Jn. 3:16.) The Father's love was then poured out upon us.

The Father's love, which had been confined and forbidden to us, overflowed upon us freely in Christ through the cross. Previously impossible due to our unworthiness, through the opening Christ made for us through the cross, our easily ascended to God the Father.

"And this is His commandment, that we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another" (1 Jn. 3:23.)

Faith in Christ is completed by love for one another; if we do not love one another, our faith is incomplete. Such is the Christian faith!

Faith in Christ means love for one another: "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn. 13:35.) Of ourselves, there is no source of love for one another. With the exception of the natural, animal love of the flesh, this is difficult, and in fact, impossible. The type of love with which we are commanded to love one another by the Father and the Son comes from the bounty of the Father and Son's love, because it emanates from His Being and not from our human, animal nature. Our human nature is as the Apostle Paul says: "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh" (Rom. 7:18.) For that reason, He commanded us often and with persistence to love one another, because He is the owner and giver of this love.

From the bounty of the Father and the Son's love, we love one another and those close to us. It is therefore impossible to have the capability or facility to love one another if the Father and Son's love in us is not acquired through fervent worship. We love one another at God's expense, not at our own personal expense. Our love for one another is the realistic and honest proof of our love for God.

If such is the case, then, for those who love God, loving one another becomes extremely easy. No barrier can block it, not even death. The reason is that our love is drawn from the credit God entrusted

to us, and is not related to our nature or our lives.

There are people whom we see and know very well whose love for one another has become a joy to them, a delight, a spontaneity; to the point of appearing reckless with their money, offspring, and life. The secret is that they are "squandering" from a fund that is no theirs but from an inexhaustible Divine fund. From God's pocket, they help themselves, then distribute and squander to those who deserve it and those who do not equally. Whosoever asks, give to them; do not reject the one who asks, for whatever is asked for shall be granted. Such is their attitude.

As they know that this is a very important commandment of God, they do not rest by day or by night in sacrificing and serving others to delight God's heart. Whenever they distribute generously, the bounty of God is renewed in their hearts.

We have faith and believe that God loved us in Christ, whose Father gave Him over to slaughter for our sakes. When we accept it, His love becomes effective in our hearts. With this faith and sincere belief, our feelings, hearts, and minds open up to realize the great extent of His love for us, and we are daily reassured of its existence. If we accept it with sufficient honor and give it our constant care, it will become effective and overflow from the depth of our hearts without effort. On its own, it will overflow upon everyone, unhindered by our weighing or measuring it. It is a gift of God that will exist forever, because, as Habakkuk the prophet said, it is His commandment from His own mouth, and He is watchful to fulfill and renew His work throughout the years (Hab 3:2.)

We said that God the Father's love for His only Son comes from His nature, and Christ's love for is also a love of His divine nature. Whoever therefore loves this love and sincerely feels it in spirit will feel the flame of divine love simmer in his heart, because he loives in the force of a divine nature burning within him.

For that reason, following the Resurrection, God the Father sent the flaming Holy Spirit. Coming in a clear and visible manner, He was sent through the Son to live in renewed mankind. He inflames our hearts and spirit with the love of God the Father and Christ so that we can live in the fellowship of the Father and Jesus Christ. "I send the promise of My Father upon you" (Lk. 24:49.) As Saint John cried for in his epistle, crying out to all the faithful that this fellowship is for them. In order that our joy may be complete, they too are associates with the apostles in God.

God loves mankind. He loves every one truly, made clear through the crucifixion of our Lord. If He loves the One, the He loves each and every one. Therefore His love for one goes inevitably to the rest. This is a right, an obligation, and it must be so, so that everyone can gather together through love.

Our love for God cannot equal His love unless it extends to everyone. "This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you" (Jn 15:12.) With it, God thus becomes the all in all. For in Christ's words, "I in them and Thou in Me, that they may become perfectly one" (Jn. 17:23,) lie the extraordinary mystery of the nature of the divine love, the element of agreement, assembly, and unification. On this basis, Christ says at the end of this chapter, "I made known to them Thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which Thou has loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (Jn. 17:26.)

Take heed, dear reader, Christ is in us when He pours out His love in us. Therefore when the Apostle Paul says with divine awareness, "...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" (Eph. 3:17,) he knows He will come and with Him love, the secret key that opens the path to the Father. What more could the Apostle Paul want after the Father and Son have entered our hearts? Does it not mean that love has overflowed our hearts?

God, to ensure that His love dwells in our hearts in all its strength, immensity, and variety, sent the Holy Spirit, bearing the complete nature of God's love: "... and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:19.)

Does not that mean the fullness of God's love?

Written on the eve of June 6, 1999

The Bible as a Personal Message to You


WHEN YOU READ THE BIBLE as a personal message to you from God, the words find their way to the depths of your conscience and spiritual emotion. You read with a spiritual awareness, your heart being open, receptive and ready for obedience and joy. Like living and distinct fingerprints of God's will and pleasure, they move, form and impress their divine, effective impace. In response, the deadened conscience revives...

It is easy to find scientific, historical and literary books which seek truth. They explore the reality found within and without man, and they seek it in all its formsl. They shed light on knowledge of all kinds, both regarding man and truth in general. They are written on the mind's level. They address his physical well-being, increase his awareness and enrich his intellectual and cultural heritage.

But the Bible is not so, and should not be approached in this way. The Bible is a direct, personal message from God to man aiming at his slavation and lifting his spirit to prepare him for the better life, eternal life.

In such a message, God unveils his identity to man in a very personal and private way. He makes known his surpassing powers to strengthen man in his weakness, his transcendent love to fill man's heart, his holiness to cover man's nakedness, and his enormous ability to forgive, pardon, wash and purge so we may enter a new life as sons of God. It is upon this hope that man's conscience rests These divine, efficacious traits are what bring man to life. As God unveils them to man, he calls and prepares him for entering with him into a sincere and pure fellowship of life. Man thus never returns to his lostness in which he used his own mind and abilities as he groped for salvation.

The fellowship to which God calls us is not an illusion, nor does it come through words of human persuasion. It is founded by Christ's own blood. It is a fellowship which rests on God's perfect generosity and total acceptance. God gives His own spirit, blood, and self through his favors and gifts. Rising above himself, man receives them and in turn perceives matters which surpass his abilities. This is the nature of the Almighty's gifts.

Most amazing about this fellowship is that God's generosity is not limited to what man will receive. God offers his gifts in the Spirit without limit or measure, according to the extreme largess of His nature. Hence the whole burden rests on the ability of man to believe, then receive, then comprehend.

So, dear Reader, the nature of the Bible is revealed and renewed before you. When you approach the Holy bible it is not as a book of knowledge or science. Rather, it is a personal message from God to you, an inheritance containing rights sealed with God's covenants. Never again will you merely be a reader, but a received and an inheritor. The Bible will no longer be a book of reading for knowledge, but a bonded inheritance and a key to the treasure of divine favor and gifts. On every gift the name and seal of God are stamped. Attached is a personal photo of Jesus Christ, a living pictured framed within your heart. If you believe him, you will receive and reign. He will give you life as He transforms you more and more into od's image, moving, thrusting you forward, and encouragin you to fathom more of the depths of this fellowship in righteousness, holiness and truth.

All those who have entered this sphere, the realm of the divine message in the Holy bible, have come to know God and accepted from him a perpetual invitation into his presence. The treasure of God's gift have been opened to them. To the degree that they strive after it, to that degree they receive. They have therefore absorbed all the purposes. Slowly, but surely, God has come to live withint heir inner being without them being full aware of it. Their condition is altered, their appearance changed, that their minds renewed and they are strengthened in their weakness. The result is that they launch out preaching what they have seen, heard, and tasted in experience after experience. So the gospel transforms within them from a message into a treasury, then into a testimony, then into a proclamation of the good news of God's surpassing love.

The testimonies of those who have tasted the Lord and experienced him through the Bible have accumulated throughout the ages. The bottom line is that their testimony became part and parcel of the message of the Bible itself. In this our profit is certain, and we are drawn to enter the same sphere, confident of the end before we even begin.

The Fingerprints of the World on Your Heart

When you read the Bible as a personal message to you from God, the words find their way to the depths of your conscience and spiritual emotion. You read with a spiritual awareness, your heart being open, receptive and ready for obedience and joy. Like living and distinct fingerprints of God's will and pleasure, they move, form and impress their divine, effective impace. In response, the deadened conscience revives. Tears flow as the word comforts the will and conscience. It reshapes the soul, closer and more like God's will and pleasure. It pushes man forward in thankfulness as he makes steps toward God in the light of the word. Christ hold man's hand, leading him through the hardships of life and the darkness of this age, until he reaches the heart of God the Father.

A Conflict of Two Methods

Again we are warned that a sterile and objective approach to the word only leads to examination, questioning, and finally skepticism. A contrite spirit, on the other hand, that approaches the word as a personal and living message, purifies, sanctifies and fosters the heart in all piety and faith.

These two methods are before you, dear Reader, and you are free to choose:

If you choose the first method, you will be snared by the sciences of examination, analysis and criticism, and finally the darkness of skepticism.

But if you choose the second, as the verdict in your case for sanctity lies in the balance, you will be vindicated as you are defended by the experiences of the fathers, prophets, apostles, and saints. Your new life of experiential faith will be built upon the testimony of the Spirit in the depth of your conscience. Out of your own faith and experience, you can then answer all the doubts and approach the study that merely criticizes and analyzes.

It is a great danger to begin with the first method. With pure knowledge the soul quickly becomes discouraged, for it provides neither profit nor support. The Bible becomes a burden to the mind and may in fact be an enemy to the conscience. It finds no comfort in it and may come to feart it, despite is, and avoid it. In this condition, when the mind approaches the Bible, it feels alienated from the truth and senses that God is very distant.

At the beginning of his life, if man gives himself to the second method, his soul will leap as he approaches the Bible. Hungering for it day after day, he eats from it only to return to it with more hunger. When it quenches his thirst, with its living water, he thirsts for God all the more. At the same time, his hunger and thirst for the world is deadened. The more the heart of man's soul yearns for its eternal destiny, the more the light of God's face is reflected on it as a gleaming seal. While he himself feels nothing, others see its brightness. For the soul sees nothing of itself except its weakness carried

by the love of God. It is then that the open-minded soul can face the world's erudition, skepticism, and violence of the mind. With enlightenment and love, he patiently receives the open-hearted love of God and, as seen in his Holy Bible, his condescension to man.

In this way, the problem of the scientific method disappears, and there is no more anguish in the mind and conscience. When approaching the Bible, man begins with the spirit, not the letter, with experience before study, with vision before moving out, with love before confrontation.

A Message to Sinners Only


SINNERS WERE AND STILL ARE Christ's special and extremely important mission. This mission brought Him down from Heaven, out of His Father's embrace. For sinful mankind, Christ descended from the heavens and came into the world...

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It was a joyful day when Christ, on His way to Jericho, met Zacchaeus. The chief tax collector had climbed up into a sycamore tree in an effort to see Jesus closely. What Christ did then was astonishing. When He saw him, the Lord said, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today" (Luke 19:5.)

Levi, like Zacchaeus, was a sinner. He was a tax collector, a position of fraud, theft, and of mixing with Gentiles. Christ entered his house, and Levi made Him a great feast. Naturally, many tax collectors and other sinners were invited. Jesus sat, ate and drank with these sinners. His friendship to them infuriated the Scribes and Pharisees. They confronted His disciples about their Teacher eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. Then came the reply, which this story compels us to seek: "And Jesus answered them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31,32.)

Christ came for the sake of sinners. He descended from heaven, incarnate in human form, suffered, was nailed on the cross and died for the sake of sinners alone. The pain He suffered and the scorn he endured were extremely severe, all for the sake of sinners. St. Peter's insight into this fact is considered the fundamental core on which Christian theology was established:

He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24.)

In summary, this is how it happened. Jesus was judged in the court of the Jews, charged with many sins. He did not answer, but remained silent. He was then judged by a Roman court, also accused of many heavy sins. When Pontius Pilate asked Him to answer these charges, He did not answer or defend Himself, which dismayed the Roman Judge. But Christ the secret to Himself, the secret that He accepted upon Himself all the sins for which He was blamed. The judgment for all these sins was crucifixion on a cross. He accepted crucifixion, bearing our sins in His torn body on the cross. Hence, the judgment of the cross was justified and Christ accepted it.

The Effect of the Liturgy of Prayer and Praise on the Being of Man


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It is not difficult to perceive that prayer and praise are in themselves a work of the Holy Spirit in us... When your soul has once been aroused by hymns or set prayers in church, prayer will always be able to admit to the presence of God without any difficulty, like a child who has once learned to speak.

David is considered a fine example of one who prayed much and praised and sang to God in joy and humility night and day. It is also clear from his life and from God's own witness concerning him that there is a strong relationship between prayer and praise on the one hand, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and his dwelling in the heart of man on the other.

It is not difficult to perceive that prayer and praise are in themselves a work of the Holy Spirit in us, and that to practise them is to some extent fellowship with the Holy Spirit. So regular participation in the service of the liturgy of prayer and praise in the church is a door through which we may enter into a life that is spiritual, without difficulty and without pride. It can change us little by little from our worldly form into a new form loved by God and mean.

We notice that when we praise God from our hearts, it awakens the sense of immortality that lies dormant deep inside us and increases our love for eternal life. Afterwards, one grows accustomed to the atmosphere of praise and it becomes to us like the air of heaven, our better homeland. We breathe the fragrance of God simply by hearing the church choir sing, for the melody of the hymns is a language of the spirit and from it the soul draws a sense of heavenly things.

When your soul has once been aroused by hymns or set prayers in church, prayer will always be able to admit to the presence of God without any difficulty, like a child who has once learned to speak.

So, it is that the liturgy of communal prayer and praise in church is able to stir the soul of man into a recognition of his heavenly homeland, to increase his awareness of eternity and his sense of divine things, and to change and renew his thinking.

The choir that sings praise in church is used by the Holy Spirit to draw the hears of the repentant towards heaven and to make the voice of God heard above the voice of this transitory world.

Thus, hymns of praise and supplication prepare us inwardly and without our consciousness to take part in the communal fellowship with God in the mystery of the Eucharist. This is especially true, because participation in the communal singing of praise in church breaks down the barriers between the individual and the community, just as the individual voice is lost among the voices of the congregation. Praising God creates harmony between the believers and prepares them to be one voice for one heart and one spirit, for a hymn separates man from the world just as it separates him from his own selfishness.

So if the Son Makes You Free, You Will be Free Indeed


Man is born into the world a slave, contrary to the popular saying that people are brought into this world by their mothers free. The freedom of which they speak is a bestial, earthly freedom. Natural freedom is that man does what he wants according to the natural instincts with which he was created...

Freedom:It is the most precious mystic element mankind can obtain from God.

Man is born into the world a slave, contrary to the popular saying that people are brought into this world by their mothers free. The freedom of which they speak is a bestial, earthly freedom. Natural freedom is that man does what he wants according to the natural instincts with which he was created. He acquires them through clearly defined and strongly controlling law of inheritance. Whatever man within his family did a thousand years ago at birth, during the stage of crawling, childhood and youth, he does the same today. The only difference is that some customs vary between one nation and another, and some traditions differ from one family to the other. For example, every nation is governed by certain influences of hehritage that acquired through the effect of development by means of education, sophistication, culture and imposed religious requisites.

In addition to the tradition influences obtained from their forefathers, every family has also the influences gained through the effects of society. Added to them are the rules and laws imposed by governments on their peoples with the aim of shaping the nation into a mold suited to its military, religious, or cultural ambitions. The members of every family are also directed by the father and mother's power, unique temperament, education and culture. The result is that the family member grows up influenced by the father and mother's temperaments and their degree of education and culture.

All of these influences produce a citizen and family member who emerges committed to the mold of the nation and the family. A follower of general and special principles, he has been educated by general popular customs an special family traditions. This takes place in a wide or limited range, depending upon the individual's degree of adherence to these general, family, scholastic and religious traditions and teachings, common and unique.

The actual freedom of the individual remains limited within the narrowest of confines, in an ironclad collar. It opens and narrows, yet it continues to be an ironclad collar that has its characteristics in every nation and every family and from which the individual cannot depart. If he does, he is ostracized by society and the family. These are the limits of natural in which and for which man is brought forth from his mother's womb. For these reason, the saying is deceitful that claims people are born free from their mother's wombs, for a slave is born of his mother's womb a slave, a prince is born of his mother's womb a prince, a heathen is born from his m other's womb a heathen, a Jew is born from his mother's womb a Jew. The same applies for the Muslim, Christian, and atheist.

In the midst of this vast devotion to nationalities and their traditions, and to families and their traditions, the Son of God was born from a Holy Virgin. Without a father, he was born of the Holy Spirit and God was His Father!

Heaven thus invaded the earth, and God introduced to humanity a completely new Divine element, unrelated in any way to nationalities and uncommitted to any family ties.

Before the Son's entry into the world, mankind, every man, was a slave to the world, to his nation, to family heritage and traditions. The world was ruled by Adam's sin by which he had been corrupted. The nation was governed by the world that corrupted it, the family was ruled by the homeland that corrupted it and all were ruled by the effect of sin that the Devil had dictated to humankind, Adam. He forced it onto man, every man, by his consent, corrupting humankind and establishing it in him.

It spread and settled in among all men who accepted it without resistance, rather, consenting to it and enjoying it and accordingly desiring it, loving it, then worshipping it. To remove this imposed trangression and currpution, God sent His Son to the world with its nations and families, freeing it from the subjugation to sin's corruption and slavery in all its general and specific forms.

Christ proclaimed, "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36.) The Jews contested him, trusting in the metaphorical fantasy that they were Abraham's children and were never slaves to anyone: "They answered him, 'We are decendants of Abraham and have never been in bondage to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will be made free?'" (John 8:33.) Here, Christ reveals to

the world His mission from God, His Father. Through Christ we know that God loved the world: "For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16.) From the beginning, He is the creator and organizer. There, in eternity, before the existence of the heavens and the earth He planned His creation. He loved the creation of His hands and planned its happy ending, so that man woudl have the fortune of partaking in the life of heaven. Having lived on earth to complete his perfection through being cleansed from sin and being sactified, he emerged from the world of dust to be received, with those who are spiritual, in heaven as a heavenly spiritual citizen.

The Son's entire mission to the world was solely for the world's slavation from the bondage of sin. Sin enslaved the world with all its nations, families, and individuals. Everyone was corrupt, having gone astray and in need of God's glory. Sin in all its kinds and forms pervaded, settling within all humanity, subjugating man's soul and spirit to worship the fantasies and falsehoods of sin under forms, names, morals, principles, religions, and beliefs. It served itself, in the flesh, as if it were a god to be worshipped, to the extent that it falsified the truth. In the midst of this terrifying and well-contrived lie that pervaded the world came the Son. Bearing God the Father's message, He established the basis of the only truth with His words, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth... For such the Father seeks to worship him... The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth."

Thus came the first heavenly proclamation for destroying the worship of the flesh and everything physical (animal) that was impregnated with all the passions and works of sin. These, Satan had controlled from the time of Adam and his descendants. In this way, and with one word, Christ removed the worship of animal offerings, of purifications, and the law's interpretations for cleaning with water the body and its members from defilement and impurities. Christ thus annulled from Moses' Law the interpretations for purification from defilements, in detail and in their totality.

"And He called the peopel to Him and said to them, 'Hear and understand; not what goes into the muth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man'"(Mt. 15:10, 11.)

"There is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him... Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, since it enters, not his heart, but stomach, and so passes on?"... And he said, "What comes out of man is what defiles a man. From from within, out of the heart of man comes evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man" (Mk. 7:10-23.)

This means that the Son's mission with which He came from the Father does not concern defilement and cleansing. Rather, it calls for holiness and purification from sin: "For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness" (1 Thess. 4:7.) Uncleanness does not enter man, but, if his heart is evil, comes out of his heart, not from his flesh. Uncleanness does not originally emanate from the flesh, but from the heart and follows its course through thoughts that later become actions. Fornication is originally a thought that emanated from an evil heart that was lured by the devil. The weight of the sin of fornication rests on evil thinking, i.e., on the soul. It is upon the soul that the blame and punishment falls, not on the flesh, because it is the soul which deals with the devil. This destructive brain power does not deal with the flesh, but with the thoughts of the heart.

What Christ said about fornication He also said about licentiousness, killing, theft, greed, malice, deception, fornication, evil eye, blasphemy, conceit, and ignorance. All of these come from thoughts of the evil heart, not from the flesh. The devil only deals with the mind, thoughts and hearts, for as we have said, the devil is not a power of the flesh, but a destructive brain power of the soul, who starts by destroying in mind his mind, thoughts, and soul.

Worship is being attentive to relationship with God. We understand therefore that worship must rise

to the level of the heart, mind, and soul, and not fall to the level of the flesh. Purifications in Christianity concern the heart, mind, and soul. It is from the heart, mind, and soul that emanate the passions and thoughts of defilement that enslave and humiliate the flesh under the bondage of the devil and sin.

This means that it is useless, even impossible, to begin worship and holiness from the flesh and through the purification of the flesh.

Christ therefore said clearly and frankly, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." Spirit here refers to the spiritual soul, because if the soul is partial to the flesh and its passions, it becomes an animal soul, and the soul that is partial to the spirit is a spiritual soul. The meaning of worship in the spirit is consequently that of worshipping without physical tendencies and reactions, being ruled by the soul that adheres to the spirit and the spiritual. Therein lies worship in itruth, void of all the deception of the world, and the truth is God.

If we go back to the words of the Son, "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed," the meaning becomes clear that the Son's coming to the world was in order to end any worship related to the flesh. For the flesh was enslaved to sin and sin is the work of the devil. So in no way should the flesh be given the opportunity to worship God. That is why the Son restricted the worship of God absolutely to "in spirit and in truth," excluding the flesh, and unrelated to the futile world.

How did the Son set us free?

Absolute freedom belongs only to God, for God is unique and the only being absolutely free from any outside influence. No even inward impulse impinges upon God's freedom. God's freedom for planning and action emanates from a completely free will, founded on a complete and absolute love. The Father loves the Son absolutely, meaning complete love made the Father and Son an Absolute One.. Through the Father's love for the Son, God loved the world in the Son and sent Him to the world to transfer His love--God's love--to mankind. Though a man may love God, we cannot say that he loves Him totally or absolutely. This is impossible, because absoluteness is an attribute belonging to God alone. It was therefore said, "You shall love the Lord God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mk. 12:30.) This means that man should love God with all his being, meaning, with all the faculties that control man's nature. In this way, his nature will be free from every outer and inner influence, including the devil who was able to affect man's mind, for he is a mental power. Through the mind, the devil infiltrated into man all his passions, making man his slave in his thoughts or in his passions: "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (Jn. 8:44.)

So when a man in Adam submitted to the devil's idea, the devil's passions immediately entered man's heart and made him a slave, through the devil's thoughts and actions of the passions that took control of man's heart.

The Son came to transfer man's mind from the devil to God: "But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16.) This happened by opening man's mind through the spirit and the word to know the truth, the truth being God:

"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; ... He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you (proclaim it to you)" (Jn. 16:13, 14.)

"Sanctify them in the truth; the word is truth" (Jn. 17:17.)

"Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures" (Lk. 24:45.)

Through the Word, God's word, and through the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, Christ transported man's mind

from the devil to God. Thus, man's mind was freed from the devil's bondage and consequently and inevitably man's heart was freed from the devil's passions ot the love of God. "For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father" (Jn. 16:27.) Christ confirmed God's love for us by asking Him, "I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known that the love with which though has loved me may be in them, and I in them" (Jn. 17:26.)

The Son thus succeeded in completely transferring to us the Father's love with which he loved His Son. If the Father's love for His Son controls our hearts, then God possesses us. Thus, the devil is subjugated beneath our feet and we gain the freedom of being His children.

Father Matta El Maskeen (Matthew the Poor)

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