Abdel Kareem Nabil Update

Freedom For Egyptians has an update on the trial of Abdel Kareem Nabil(link).

He is on trial for religious disdain, insulting the president, attempts to flare up sectarian unrest and turmoil and disrupting public security.

He is on trial for having an opinon. He is on trial for speaking.

Unity: Where we have been and where we are

Is there much behind us? Much that follows us? Years of regret and harsh words to each other? Yes. It can not be denied. It can not be ignored. But what lies ahead? Does the road ahead have hope?

Yes. This year has been a great year for unity. We can see the Holy Spirit pushing us forward. Pope Benedict has said:

"Theological dialogue is necessary, in-depth knowledge of the historical reasons of choices made in the past is perhaps indispensable. But what is urgent in the main is that 'purification of the memory,' so many times recalled by John Paul II, which alone can dispose spirits to receive the full truth of Christ."

"It is before him, supreme Judge of every living being, that each one of us must place himself, in the awareness of one day having to render an account to him of what one has done or not done for the great good of the full and visible unity of all his disciples."

Pope Shenouda II has said in the past:

"The whole Christian world is anxious to see the church unite. Christian people, being fed up with divisions, are pushing their church leaders to do something about church unity and I am sure that the Holy Spirit is inspiring us."

And there are more than words. In the recent Papal visit to Turkey the heads of many Churches laid more groundwork.

And Catholics, Lutherans and this year the Methodists have signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (link).

But there is still far to go. To me, the strengthening of unity will come where Christians of all kinds stand up for their brothers and sisters wherever they suffer. Christ will take us by the hand and lead us...but we must extend our hands to those who suffer. To those who need.

The Lord called to Peter and Peter walked across the water toward our Lord. But he became scared of the strong wind and began to sink.

Christ did not let Peter sink, He took him by the hand and saved him.

Our road ahead in unity is filled with stong winds.

The wind of regrets.
The wind of wrongs toward each other.
The winds of Pride.
The winds of those who do not want Christians united.
The winds of the enemy.
The winds of our own fears.

But there is also the Lord in the whispering wind, as He came to Elijah. Above all there is the hand of the Lord reaching out to us. He will take our hand. He will carry us. But we must clasp each others hands, so we go to Him together.

Scripture and Commentary Day 1 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Day 1

United through the presence of Christ
‘One Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (Ephesians 4:5, 6)

Ezek 37:15-28 My dwelling place shall be with them
Ps 67 (66) Let the peoples praise you, O God
Eph 4:1-6 One Lord, one faith, one baptism
Jn 14:23-27 We will come to them and make our home with them

Commentary

The scriptures stress that God’s will is for the unity of God’s people. Through Ezekiel the prophet, God affirms that Judah and Israel – two divided, often estranged kingdoms – will again be one. God’s cleansing presence will strengthen and bless them in a covenant of peace.

The natural response to God’s gift of unity is our gratitude and praise. The psalmist calls upon all the nations to unite in praise of God, whose saving power may be seen in all nations and throughout the whole earth.

Jesus taught his first followers that he, with the Father, would be present with them, “making a home” with each one who loved him. And he promised that this presence would not end with his death, that he would continue to be present with each one of his followers – and with us, today – through the Holy Spirit.

But the promise of Jesus’ presence is not limited to individual believers: for, as the evangelist Matthew affirms, wherever even two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name they form a community, a community in which Jesus has promised to be present, strengthening and accompanying them on their way.

This common belonging is shown powerfully in our common recognition of baptism. In baptism Christ calls each one of us, bringing us into his body, the church. Because we each belong to Christ, we all belong to one another. That common belonging – to Christ, and to one another – makes us one, despite all our differences of history, culture, and theological conviction: “for where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Mt 18:20).

Source (Vatican Website "Resources For The Week of Prayer For Christian Unity")

Online RSV (For reading the Scripture above)

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity January 18-25

Here is the link (link).

The daily meditations and Scripture:

January 18:
In the beginning was the Word. "And God said..." (Gen 1)

January 19:
The Saving Word of Christ. "He makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak." (Mk 7: 31-37)

January 20:
The Holy Spirit gives us the Word. "The Spirit ...will testify on my behalf." (Jn 15: 26)

January 21:
The silence of the forgotten and the cries of the suffering. "If one member suffers all suffer together." (1 Cor 12: 26)

January 22:
God's judgement on our silence. "Just as you did not do it to one of the least of these..." (Mt 25: 45)

January 23:
Empowered to speak out. "But the woman ... came in fear and trembling ... and told Him the whole truth" (Mk 5: 33).

January 24:
Forsakenness. "Why are You so far from helping me?" (Ps 22: 1)

January 25:
Resurrection--glorification. "Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." (Phil 2: 11)

Let us all join our prayers for Christian Unity!

St. Anthony The Great

Today is the feast of St. Anthony the Great. He is one of the saints shared by Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches (although the feast is not celebrated on the same day). He is called the founder of Monasticism,and also the Father of Monks. And indeed was one of the Great desert Fathers, and is much loved by our Coptic brothers and sisters.

May he be one of the many bridges to all our Churches growing closer. May we join in the prayer for unity on this, the day before the start of the week for Christian unity, and pray that:

Saint Anthony, you spoke of the importance of persevering in our faith and our practice. Help us to wake up each day with new zeal for the Christian life and a desire to take the next challenge instead of just sitting still. Amen

May that challenge be to unity and love. And may unity be in our prayers for the week ahead and always. May it be the work of our hands and our hearts.

Last years post on St. Anthony (link)

The week of prayer for Christian Unity starts tomorrow. Barring any problems, the blog should be fairly active with news posts this week.

Posting soon

I'll be back to posting soon. Now that the new semester has started I'm back to my normal work schedule.

Free Copts Website Hacked

The Story here (link)

It seems to me that if someone felt it was lies they would argue against it. If they felt it was true they would erase and attack it.

But the truth always has a way of coming back. It will not be silent. And neither will those who stand for the truth. Those who support the Copts and those who suffer are not faceless cyberspace pirates, they are people with faces and real stories. They stand up and point to the injustice and do what they can. Because that's what love and loving each other does.

St. Nicholas

There is almost no saint as beloved as St. Nicholas. Parton of many things...but first and foremost children, the innocent and the poor.

St. Nicholas was a wealthy man. But money did not move his heart, it was moved by our Lord. The St. Nicholas center writes of his life:

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Nicholas was legendary in his giving to others. The story is told:

In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

The dignity of others was always important to Nicholas, who had the heart of a child and a deep faith. And he exercised these in a legendary, but simple way. His care and love for others is basically that. Simple.

In a way he is one of the best examples of exercising effortless love with supreme effort, as Christ taught us. In the end, is that not the call of a Christian: effortless love with supreme effort.

Pray for us, St. Nicholas and lead us to a better understanding of Christ.