It is my pleasure to wish you a Blessed Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ and a joyous New Year.
WATANI International
8 January 2012
It is my pleasure to wish
you a Blessed Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
and a joyous New Year.
This past year was deeply tinted with the
blood of our martyrs in
Muquattam, and Maspero. We lived through the harsh events in
pure martyrs and hundreds of confessors as victims of the religious bigotry and
violence. Some churches were destroyed
and many of our brothers and sisters endured physical and emotional aggression.
Additionally, along with their Egyptian brothers and sisters, they are enduring
the loss of security, economic collapse, and political chaos, which
currently suffering. Our beloved
tunnel. Some see light at the end of the
tunnel. But no one can determine whether
this light means the end of the tunnel or it is the light of the on-coming
train in the opposite direction to destroy everything. As for us in
beloved in
Additionally, we suffer from the troubled economy and the political failure to
manage this nation, which leads many to wander about the future of this great
country.
In the midst of all these
difficult events, the Feast of the Nativity carries for us a message of comfort
and joy, which is “God with us”, “If God
is for us, who can be against us?”
(Rom. 8:30). In the midst of the
darkness of these events, our Good Lord shines upon us with the light of His
wondrous birth. As the shepherds were
keeping watch over their flock in the darkness of the night, “Behold an angel of the Lord stood before
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be
afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all
people. For there is born to you this day in the city of
(Lk. 2: 9-11)
Our Living Christ
shines upon us with the light of His birth and tells us, “It is I; do not be afraid.” (Jn. 6:20) ; “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:
20) No matter how profound the darkness
surrounding us is, we don’t fear for Isaiah the Prophet prophesied, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a
great light, and those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has
dawned.” (Matt. 4:16). It is the
light of our Lord Christ, who said, “I
have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not
abide in darkness.” (Jn. 12:46)
The Gospel of St.
Matthew reminds us of the prophecy of Isaiah the Prophet, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall
call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matt.
1:23) Regarding the goal of this
prophecy, St. Cyril of Alexandria said, “the goal is that truly He is like us
and that He sanctified our nature.”
v
God with us, but are we with Him?
God became like us, but have we become like Him? He has come to us, but have we returned to
Him? Indeed, St. Gregory the Theologian
said, “Christ is born, glorify Him. Christ from heaven, go out to meet
Him. Christ on earth, exalt Him.”
v
God with us, so how can we be afraid? From whom are we afraid? David the Prophet in the Psalm of the Shepherd
said, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall
not want….Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil; for You are with me.” (Ps. 22)
v
God with us, for He grants us His peace, which surpasses all
understanding, and He is the One saying, “Peace
I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to
you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid.” (Jn. 14:27)
v
God with us, and He calls us to abide in Him, saying, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much
fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (Jn. 15:5)
v
God with us. So, we should not be surprised at the
world’s hatred for us, since this is the sign that we belong to Christ and not
to the world, as our Lord told us, “If
the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would
love its own. Yet because you are not of
the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (Jn. 15: 18-19)
v
God with us, so we should not fear the world’s persecution to us,
since Christ previously informed us and said, “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to
stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that
whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.” (Jn. 16:
1-2) He gave us a true promise, “These things I have spoken to you, that in
Me you may have peace. In the world you
will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33)
v
God with us, so we should not weaken when facing temptations, “For in that He Himself has suffered, being
tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” (Heb. 2:18)
v
God with us, so we should feel confident and secure, saying with
David the Prophet, “He who dwells in the
help of the Most High shall lodge in the shelter of the God of heaven. He shall say to the Lord, ‘ You are my
protector and my refuge, my God; I will hope in Him; for He shall free me from
the snare of the hunters, and from every troubling word.” (Ps. 90)
Let us pray for the peace of the
Holy Church, for our beloved father, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, and for
every suffering and troubled soul, so our Lord may grant us to live a peaceful
and tranquil life in all godliness and purity.
His Grace Bishop
Serapion is Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of
