الصوم هو ذبيحة حُبّ نقدمّها للمسيح إلهنا الذي بذل نفسه لأجلنا، وهو أيضًا تدريب روحي هام لتقوية الإرادة وضبط النفس والسموّ بها، وهو فُرصة لقمع الجسد وترويضه من أجل تغذية الروح.. ولكن مع كلّ هذه الفوائد، قد لا يستفيد البعض من الصوم، بل وأحيانًا تكون أصوامهم غير مقبولة من الله، لماذا؟! وما هي أنواع الأصوام غير المقبولة؟

جاءت هذه الآية البديعة في المزمور الثامن والتسعين، والذي نصلّيه في الساعة التاسعة من الأجبية، ويبدأ بعبارة: "الرب قد مَلَكَ فلترتعد الشعوب".. وهنا تؤكِّد الآية أنّ كرامة الملك ليست فقط في أن يحقّق العدالة، ربّما وهو متضرِّر، بل أن يُحبّ العدل..!

نشرت في العام الماضي مقالاً عن ترتيب أحداث الميلاد طِبقًا للمعلومات المذكورة في الكتاب المقدّس، وكتب التاريخ، ولخّصتها في عشرة نقاط.. وجاءني مجموعة استفسارات يسعدني أن أجيب عليها..

في حديث القديس متّى في إنجيله عن السيّد المسيح بعد عودته مع العائلة المقدّسة من مصر، قال: "وَأَتَى وَسَكَنَ فِي مَدِينَةٍ يُقَالُ لَهَا نَاصِرَةُ، لِكَيْ يَتِمَّ مَا قِيلَ بِالأَنْبِيَاءِ: «إِنَّهُ سَيُدْعَى نَاصِرِيًّا»" (مت2: 23).. وإذا دقّقنا في العهد القديم، فإنّنا نجد كلمة "نيتسير" بالعِبريّة قد قيلت كوصف للسيّد المسيح الملك الآتي من نسل داود، وهي كلمة معناها "غُصن" وأيضًا نفس الكلمة تعني "ناصريًّا".. وهنا يلفت القديس متّى بالروح القدس نظرنا إلى سِتّ نبوّات هامّة وجميلة جدًّا تصف السيّد المسيح بالغُصن.. اثنين في سفر إشعياء، واثنين في سِفر إرميا، واثنين في سِفر زكريّا.. نعرضها في هذا المقال مع تعليقات توضيحيّة بسيطة..

في حديث معلّمنا القديس بولس مع أهل تسالونيكي، أوضح أنّ غاية الإيمان المسيحي والبشارة بالإنجيل هي اقتناء مجد المسيح، عندما قال: "يَنْبَغِي لَنَا أَنْ نَشْكُرَ اللهَ كُلَّ حِينٍ لأَجْلِكُمْ أَيُّهَا الإِخْوَةُ الْمَحْبُوبُونَ مِنَ الرَّبِّ، أَنَّ اللهَ اخْتَارَكُمْ مِنَ الْبَدْءِ لِلْخَلاَصِ، بِتَقْدِيسِ الرُّوحِ وَتَصْدِيقِ الْحَقِّ. الأَمْرُ الَّذِي دَعَاكُمْ إِلَيْهِ بِإِنْجِيلِنَا، لاقْتِنَاءِ مَجْدِ رَبِّنَا يَسُوعَ الْمَسِيحِ." (2تسا2: 13-14).

After he completed 77 years on earth, a blessed deacon, zealous servant, and great father, Dr. Tharwat Bassily, traveled this month in peace to heaven.  After he fought the good fight, he has finished the race and has kept the faith. Finally, the time came for him to enter the place of rest and enjoy the crown of righteousness.

Thus far in this series, I presented two stories from the Bible that demonstrate that being “good” by the world’s standards is not really good enough. The discussion of our Lord with the rich, young man and the parable of the ten virgins both indicate that our God desires us not only to be “good,” but also to be holy people. In the last article, we discussed that holiness begins by being conscious of our sins. However, in our postmodern society, it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify our sin, and, therefore, it is even more difficult to repent and attain holiness.    

In the previous article, we introduced the distinction between “goodness” and “holiness” by examining the story of the rich, young man.  We learned from the story that “holiness” is caused by the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, whereas “goodness” without holiness is insufficient – the topic that we will continue to discuss in this article as we analyze the parable of the ten virgins.

If I were to ask one of your friends to describe your character, chances are they would describe you as a “good” person. In today’s world, it seems that anyone who is not a menace to society is worthy of being labeled a “good” person – your teachers are “good” people (or maybe not, depending on how much homework they give), your colleagues are “good” people, your neighbors are “good” people, and rightfully so. I believe that all people are worthy of being called “good” as a result of being God’s “good” creation (cf. Gen. 1:31). Though the real question is: would your friends describe you as “holy?” The world is full of “good” people, but the world is in desperate need of “holy” people. In this series, I will define and discuss the difference between “good” and “holy” people with hopes that the reader will resolve to grow in their holiness. 

It happened that a sinful woman met the Lord Jesus Christ in the house of a Pharisee (Luke 7) in an encounter filled with mystery. When we look closely at this encounter, we can note the important language used by the Lord Jesus Christ. And, all the while, the woman did not speak a word, but expressed herself through her tears, kisses, and fragrant oil.

God’s word is likened to a table of appetizing food. Whoever sits at this table and partakes of this word enjoys it greatly and leaves the table gratified.

+ I first met him in the midst of a stay in the Baramous Monastery in July of the year 1980. At that time, he was the supervisor of the retreat house in the monastery. During my stay, I was able to pray a liturgy with him alongside 5 other youth from the church of Saint George of Sporting, Alexandria. We had just completed our final high school exams and were awaiting the results.