Restoring Dignity: The Unconditional Love of God — Fr. Moussa El-Gohary

In commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the departure of Fr. Moussa El-Gohary, hegumen of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, Natick, Massachusetts USA, the following is a translation of a homily on the Fourth Sunday of Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ, delivered on October 8, 2000 by Fr. Moussa El-Gohary. May his prayers be with us.

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[In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit], one God, Amen. May His grace, mercy, and blessings be upon us, now and forever. Amen. 

Our teacher, Luke the Evangelist, in chapter 7, recites for us this event, or occasion — the Lord Jesus Christ’s encounter with a sinful soul in the house of Simon the Pharisee. 

[] God is concerned about the state of our homes, what it is like. He likes to enter our houses. We understand that God is in heaven and we are on earth, and the relationship between us and Him is only letters going, petitions rising to heaven and answers descending. But the truth is that God is quite concerned and ready to visit our homes. He loves to be present in our homes. 

He knocks at the door of the house, saying, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If no one invites me in, I will not enter.”[1] He accepts the invitation of every person, regardless of his state, and loves to enter any home without prior arrangements or preparation or readying or decor or appearances. 

The one who pages through the Scriptures finds that the Lord Jesus Christ loved to enter the homes. Most recently, last week’s reading, where it says: “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house” [Luke 19:5].

Perhaps this may be absent from our minds — that while we establish the home or arrange the home or tidy the home, we do not call to mind that Jesus may enter the home, may live with us, may stay with us, may come visit us. 

Today, a Pharisee — irrespective of, for instance, the others, Zacchaeus, He knew that Zacchaeus would repent and become a disciple, or [] Matthew would be a saint or would be a servant — but today, a Pharisee, a fanatic Jew, said to Him “would you come over, Teacher?” And He said “I will come.” Because He loves to enter the homes and to reside with us in our homes. 

And the evidence for this is, when He sent His apostles and disciples, He said to them: “whatever house you enter” — meaning every house — “every house you enter, say peace, and sit, eat and drink, give them peace, and bless that place with My name.” He advised the disciples to go to the homes. And not only this — He told them to pray and ask peace for them. And the confirmation that there will be an encounter between ourselves and the Lord Jesus is not only with the entrance of the disciples, not only with our opening of our hearts, [but] because there dwells the son of peace. “If the son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon it” [Luke 10:6]. So then if Jesus resides in the home, the disciples go to visit [it] but Christ also resides in the home. 

And He said to them “Lo! I am with you always, even to the end of the ages” [Matthew 28:20]. Whatever the disciples did, the Church does also. Whenever the servant of the Church enters a home, he proclaims the name of the Lord Jesus such that he opens the door for Christ to enter with him, and peace rests in that home. 

In summary, the Lord has a share in our homes. How wonderful is the home when it is arranged, and the rooms are arranged, and we rejoice greatly that there are people who have furniture made and renovate the rooms, and go from a cramped home to a spacious home, or go from an apartment to a house []. It is beautiful that a person desires to elevate [his circumstances] and expand and reside in a comfortable home, because his whole life is lived in the home. And he is concerned that he has a bedroom for the boys, and a bedroom for the girls, and a master bedroom, and a guest room or two rooms, or anything else, as he wills, and a large table and a small table — as much as God gives him, many things, of course, and a reception [room] and many things. But where does the Lord lay His head in this house? Did it not concern us, as we were arranging and preparing our homes, where the Lord would lay His head in this house? Is there a place for the Lord in this house? Is He the unseen guest in every house? Is He the One seated with us at the table, when we eat and when we drink? And is He suitable for every conversation — while we speak, do we know that Jesus is there? 

Today, many high scientific institutions and bodies are undertaking the study of new disciplines in preserving the family entity, offering family counseling, Christian family counseling, and many things — social workers — to examine the disputes in the home. The conflict between children and parents, and the conflict between spouses, and the conflict between the children, and the conflict between the family and its neighbors and relatives. Because there is not found a place for Christ in that home. 

If the person is raised in a Christian home knowing that the Lord has a place, [] before his eye at all times, and in his inner feeling sensing that the Lord is present with us, our manner of conduct and behavior and thinking and life and purpose in this life will change. 

When the person sits to eat, and if a good, dignified guest is there, he would behave differently than he would if no one was with him. Or at least we might say that he would select the sorts of foods that befit the honor of the guest. He may say, “this guest does not like,” for instance, “these things, and likes these things.” Sometimes, we ask, when we have bishops [visiting], [whether] one bishop eats fish and one bishop eats meat []. 

But when Christ comes to the home, what does He eat? He eats all things. But He does not eat unrighteous mammon. He drinks all things. But He does not drink alcohol. 

Is the food in our home [lawful], and is the livelihood in it [lawful]? Does our home not have the impermissible things which He forbade by His blessed voice in the Bible? 

He loves to walk through the home and to bless every home. Can He enter a home and [find us] telling him: “no, no, no, do not enter this home because it is unkempt. This room is cluttered.” Why! “All things are mine, and I am yours and you are mine. Why would you close a door? Leave the door open.” “No, but there are things we do not want You to see.” 

God is concerned for our homes. Let us revisit the readiness of our homes, for He is the beloved guest who delights to always enter our home. 

Simply, once a person prays, the Holy Spirit is present in the prayer and the Lord Jesus Christ comes and is found in the place, so He is present in the home. But He is saddened when He is present in a home that has enmity, judgment, evil, hostility, hatred, warfare, [and] selfishness. He enters the home, but all of those in the home do not see the Lord Jesus Christ or sense Him. 

An example of this: this Pharisee invited the Lord Jesus to the home, and the Lord came and accepted this invitation and responded. But his eyes were not on Christ. Sadly. He was preoccupied with other things — the table, the food and drink, the showiness, the guests. And he wanted to see what compliments and thanks and praise and appreciation Christ would give him. But he did not spiritually enjoy the presence of Christ or His attendance. And in his emptiness, his eye began to wander left and right, so that it met the eye of the sinful woman in his home, whom he did not invite, and he became angry: “how can this sinful woman be in the house?” 

Whoever of us studies the traditions of those days knows that the Pharisees were distinguished to a great degree, meaning that even the entrance of a woman [] — the wife of the Pharisee — was not permitted. Until today, in the culture of religious Jews, a woman does not sit with men when they sit with people, and when they walk in the street, she walks behind [her husband] — the religious among them, as were these Pharisees. How much more [then] if the woman present was not invited and had a bad reputation? 

And Christ was in this house — I would have loved to read in the end of this reading and see how this visit concluded, but the Gospel was silent. The reading of the Gospel concluded with verse 50, when He told her “go in peace.” But it did not mention how the Lord left this home, which He entered as a guest but where He was cast into a place of judgment and condemnation. The master judged Him. This Simon judged the Lord — “if He were truly a prophet, He would have known who this woman was. They say He can perform miracles and can know the hidden things and [so on]. And see, He is letting this woman touch Him.” When he said: “this woman who is touching Him” [Luke 7:39].

[] I would have loved to know what He said to Simon as He was leaving. Can we contemplate this? Can any of you picture the Lord Jesus, as He was leaving the house of Simon, what He said to him? Did He make rude gestures towards his face and yell, telling him “let your house remain desolate, see I am leaving the house?” I do not suppose Jesus would ever do this. I suppose, in my own weak and sinful imagination, that He would look to the face of Simon, and smile towards him, and look away from him. I suppose that He could not say “peace” to him. We say “alright, peace [to you]” to one another. Jesus cannot be a hypocrite. He cannot leave peace in that house. Peace from where? He granted the portion of peace He had in His bosom to the sinful woman, saying to her “go in peace” [Luke 7:50]. But as for this man, where would He grant peace? Where is the place of peace in the heart of this person? He cannot say “peace [to you], Simon,” because he judged the Lord and judged the woman. And he fell, while supposing himself to be religious, in the simplest principles and precepts of religion. 

An eye that differs from an eye. The eye of Simon — a judgmental and cruel eye. A harsh, oppressive eye. And in the cruelty of this eye, it fiercely attacked the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and reproached the Lord. [What boldness!] How can man reproach the Lord? And you, do you not reproach our Lord? How often do we reproach the Lord for His doings, and in our ignorance and stupidity we say to our Lord: “What are You doing? Why are You doing this to me? Why? What did I do to You?” Some people say this to our Lord sometimes. 

Some people accuse our Lord of being the source of evils and disasters and temptations. And some people accuse God — among us, the believers — that “our Lord does not hear me” or “does not love me” or “does not want to give me what I desire.” Many do not understand the love of God for us, and reproach and criticize Him. How many of us are those who look to one another and say “why not me? [] You gave to this person and that person [] and You gave success to this one or that one and You did this or that, and why not me, and everyone is happy but not me, and I lack this or that.” It is reproach, it is a critical eye by which we criticize the Lord Jesus Christ in His good works which He performs with us. 

This is the eye of this man named Simon. [] He nitpicked the Lord from top to bottom, saying to him “are You a prophet?” and the Lord cast His gaze downward, not wanting to say to him “Yes, I am a prophet, Simon. And greater than a prophet. I am the One who sent to you the prophets and Moses the arch-prophet.” He did not speak of Himself in this manner, but He was silent. 

“If this man were a prophet?” “That is alright, let us let this one slide. It concerns me, [and] I forgive. I forgive. Forgive them, for they do not know what they say.”

And then he turned to the woman and said “Who is this woman,” and “what is her condition,” and “she is a sinner.” Three statements he said concerning the woman. “If He knew who this woman is, and what the condition is of this woman who touched Him, that she is a sinner.” He said to him “no. See, wrong Me and I will forgive you. But wrong your brother, judge your brother or judge your sister, I will judge you.” A difficult thing. Difficult on one side, but great on the other side. 

God relinquishes His personal rights to any extent, even to the Cross. He ascended the Cross for our sake, and said “I forgive all sinners, even those who crucified Me. Even those who spat on Me and flogged Me. I forgive all, because within Me is love that wipes away every sin.” But for us to judge one another? No. This cannot be. Judgment is for the Just God and not for us to begin to judge one another and blame one another. 

“For she is a sinner.” 

He said to him “no, wait, Simon. I have something to say to you.” “Master, say it” [Luke 7:40]. So the Lord exposed the closed book, the secret within. He may say “did I say anything? It is in my thought, in my heart.” And here we learn that we will give an account for sinful thoughts. Lest some say “I swear, but within my heart,” or “there are things in my mind, of which I do not speak. Will He judge me for these?” Yes, see? He judges the man for these. It was confined to his mind — he was sitting there quietly and respectfully and with dignity, but [in his heart] he was saying “this woman is a sinner. I do not know what brought her here. And this man sitting there who acts as though He is a prophet, should He not pay attention?” So He says “Listen! Open your heart. I see what is in your heart. One word I say to you: you will be judged as to what is in your heart.” 

What is in my heart and what is in your heart, and what is in my mind, what the people do not know, God knows, and He will judge us for it if it is evil. 

He said to him: “as to prophet, leave this aside, but as to her being a sinner, come, you have placed yourself in the balance. [] See, with one word, how many trials and evils you have brought upon yourself. You continued on saying ‘she is this’ and ‘she is that,’ come now, tell Me, what about [yourself]? You did not do what she did.” And He counted for him many things — it is not the time now for me to enumerate the negative things he fell into in this judgment. But in this good work [to which Christ pointed in rebuking Simon], the sinful woman had surpassed him. 

Then He gave him a lesson he could not forget. He told him: “look, my beloved Simon. Two were debtors to a man, one [owed] so much and the other so much, and they could not repay the debt” [Luke 7:41]. And He translated the story for him and led him to understand that it is a story of love. [] “You have walked into a power line.” Do you know, for instance, one who enters an area with very high voltage, and it [has a sign that] says “3,000 Kilowatt Volts,” and there is a fallen power line that lands on a car [there] and burns it? The highest voltage in the Divine love is found in the heart of God towards sinners. Let not any one of us dare interfere with this area — the area of God’s relationship with sinners. 

Let us not dare judge anyone and say “she is a sinner. She is evil and wicked, I do not like her. She cannot enter my home. I do not want to speak with her because she walks in unrighteousness.” Or “I do not want to speak with him because he has an unbelieving and unchristian manner of life [].” See? You have walked into an area with the [power] wire, from which a great judgment might burst forth towards us. 

Here, He told him “do not dare!” Because the love of God with all of its capabilities pours forth towards sinners, such as this woman. This man erred by interfering with this line, so he received what he received in rebuke from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The love of God is unexplainable. The love of God towards the fallen is unfathomable. And this reveals the personality of the Lord Jesus Christ, what He desires when He meets a person and encounters a human soul. 

There was a great joy in this house, of course. An exceedingly large feast. When the patriarch or dignitaries visit us, we spend time arranging things. When he comes to inaugurate a church or any place, we place a ribbon and he cuts the ribbon and the deacons vest and there is joy, and once the women see the patriarch enter, they ululate. What do these ululations symbolize? Joy! 

Where the Lord is, there is joy. When the Lord is present, joy is present. And this joy, in its origin and foundation, is not intended to complete the picture or [for the sake of] appearances, or as a show befitting the occasion, but the joy that accompanies the presence of the Lord is the portion of the sinners coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. Meaning, as soon as He enters through the door, He says: “where are the sinners? Where are those who intend to repent? Where are the weary? Where are those who have lost hope? Where are those who cannot overcome sin? Where are the lost? Where are the prodigal? Where are the irretrievable?” “Come to Me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.”[2] So joy and love are intertwined with the sinner. 

Often, many sorrows prevail in our lives, and sorrows enter our homes, and then, [as] psychologists call it, “complexes.” One says “when I enter the house, I have a complex (بتعقد). I become depressed.” “Why, sir?” He says “grumpiness (نكد) all day long! Nagging and discussion and debate. One cannot stand it, and stays out [of the house instead].” “My son, stay at home.” He says “I left it for her and the kids.” And she says “once I enter the house, I distract myself with anything, I don’t want to talk.” “Why?” She says “I am fed up.” And the issues become complexes. Although it is written for this house that it is for the Lord, and it must have ever-present joy and contentment with the presence of the Lord. What happened? Why is it lacking love and joy? 

If your home is devoid of joy and peace, it is because you do not sense the presence of the Lord Jesus. “But I am a sinner, will Christ come to me?” Where else will He go but to sinners? As you can see — He went to Simon, and even in Simon’s house, Simon considered himself well — “I am perfect, I am great, I am not a sinner, thank God all is well.” A sinner entered and stole the blessing. A sinner entered who could not lift her gaze. She looked to the ground and wept bitterly [], rivers of water, until she washed the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ with tears [Luke 7:38]. She received the blessing. So, blessing is in your homes. Joy is in your homes. 

Do you know that the Church and this altar, on which the Sacrifice is present, are the center of all joy in the world, on earth []? Because for whom does the Lord come? For whom was the Lord sacrificed on the Cross? Sinners! And the Sacrifice is offered — He told them “do this mystery which I delivered to you. My Body and My Blood are present with you every day on the altar.” For whom does the Body and Blood come, of which we partake? Why do we partake of It? Because we are sinners! 

The moment of the sinner’s encounter with the Lord is a moment of joy. And the place of the sinner’s encounter with the Lord is a place of contentment and delight. For this reason, in this place, and in the church before the Lord, and in the holy Church, and before the holy Sacrifice, the fullness of contentment and joy and delight is present. Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents! Heaven rejoices! 

Sometimes, we enter the church and leave downcast. Why is there not the anointing of joy? Why is there no peace? We have come to the holiest place in the entire world — the place where the Lord is present. People pay great sums of money to go and see where Christ rose, and was born, and the Jordan, and the Cross and the place of the Resurrection. And He is with us here every day! 

How can we depart from this banquet — as the saints say — without being filled with joy! Is it because we are not sinners? The one who does not rejoice [in meeting the Lord] is not a sinner! Do you know who rejoices? The sinner. The sinner rejoices, as you were saying in the songs. He is the one who rejoices, because he is the one who feels “Christ is coming for my sake. He is coming for me. He is coming for me because I am a sinner. I am the worst sinner, so He is coming for my sake.” Perpetual joy, and immeasurable and inexplicable contentment, are in the Lord’s encounter with sinners. 

He promised us of this. “[Come to me], all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.” Rest and peace and joy. 

My beloved, we sometimes imagine that we are serving our Lord, and we divide the service into committees, and teams and individuals, activities, and many things — and this one serves in relations and this one serves in the magazines and this one serves in interviews and this one serves in conventions and serves in publications, and [so on] — but how far are we in our services as Christians from the moment of encounter between ourselves and our Lord? 

Does any one of us serve with joy? Does any one of us serve while having met the Lord Jesus Christ? The look in the eye is enough. Or do we serve the Lord Jesus Christ with ninety-nine percent of our energy, and not leave Him a moment of love [equalling] one percent? Where is prayer? Where is sitting [] at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ? All we do for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ is a bland, unsalted, and tasteless dish if it is not seasoned and salted with the tears of love. 

Do not now go cook and pour your tears into the pot and say “from the extent of frustration and heartache and problems I will cook your food with my tears.” No! He desires the tears of love. And these tears are not offered to anyone but the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not a matter of appearances or externalities. But let every work be girded with tears at the feet of the Lord Jesus. 

Silence and tears. These are the things that express: “for the sake of this love, I, Lord, am offering to You this service. I am not offering to You this service at the beginning, so that You love me.” He loved us as sinners. 

This woman is wondrous. This woman is wondrous and moves the souls of many. So much so that this particular Gospel [pericope] is read in the Midnight Prayer in the Agpeya every day, so that we might remember God’s tenderness and His immense love towards sinners, and how God deals with sinners, is generous towards them, honors them, defends them, and embraces them. 

I wish that I could know this woman’s name. They did not mention her name, because in the nature of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit does not mention the names of sinners, because He promised covering. He does not mention their names. In Heaven we will see them as saints because they usurped Heaven by their tears. 

This woman, this great saint, who deserved the praise of the Lord, did not do much besides looking within herself and seeing her sin. In simplicity. She did not [beat around the bush] or evade or defend or philosophize or say “but…” or “I am…” or “we are…” Some people say “no, ask about us. We are good people. We are from so and so’s family, and from this village, from this city,” and “I am from this church, and I am a servant in this place, ask about me. These evil things are not found among us.” This woman did not say “we” or “I.” 

There was a sinner who said to Him “have mercy on me, I the sinner,” so he “went away justified.”[3] But as for this woman, we did not hear a sound from her. She might even have found it difficult to make a sound in the presence of the respectable people present. She poured out all of her emotions and her expressions with a closed eye and tears pouring forth ceaselessly. 

Rather than looking to ourselves and measuring ourselves up and giving ourselves credit, cross out all of your credit and say “I am nothing.” “But I, who am I,” said Paul the Apostle. I am nothing. All I have is useless. All I have learned is useless. All I have gathered or inherited or was born into or came into is useless to me. What is useful to me is one thing: who is Christ to me? Is He the Savior? Or is He merely a visiting guest passing by us and leaving? 

For this reason, this woman received forgiveness. He said to her “your sins are forgiven you,” and the Lord praised her because she loved the Lord much. And here the Gospel proclaims a mystery: the love of God, the open avenue between the heart of the sinners and the heart of our Lord. 

By the way, the people who know the love of God most are the repentant sinners. And the  people who were deepened in holiness the most were those who dealt with God when they were sinners. And the people to whom God revealed the mysteries of the eternal life and the Kingdom most are those who felt within themselves that they are sinners. God reveals Himself to the humble, not the haughty. 

“Your sins are forgiven,” “for she loved much.” 

I truly love discussion in these topics — consoling words as to which a person cannot restrain himself. But I leave to you this passage, to read it and contemplate it and pray. And do not forget that we often cry — we all weep. We sometimes weep over things we lose or people we lose, or disrespect, or oppression. Many things. But we never weep before our Lord over our sins. 

I trust that anyone whose feelings are hurt — any one of us, we who are present, and I have full faith in what I am saying — if someone, God forbid, hurts his feelings in a significant [manner], perhaps from the severity of his bitterness he might say “tears fell from my eyes.” We are able to weep over our loss of dignity.  

Often, people weep for years because she lost her husband or her son, or he lost his mother or sister or wife. And he cries and says “oh the lost days,” and “I am deprived.” But from these tears no profit may accrue. 

How many tears gush due to our sins? We weep over ourselves, over our dignity, over oppression, over worthless things, we weep over things that do not deserve tears. But we do not weep whatsoever over our sins. Our Lord can use tears properly when they are let down for the sake of our sins. 

I would like to tell you regarding this woman who wept, that she has a hidden honor in the Gospel that is quite wondrous. Go back and read the events of Covenant Thursday, when the Lord rose up from the supper and took a cloth and girded Himself, and brought a plate and poured water into it, and bent down and washed the feet of the disciples. [] In our rite today, the priest, when he washes the feet of the congregation on Covenant Thursday, brings a small deacon and bends down and says “my son, sign the Cross over my legs.” So we even sign the Cross over the legs of the priest, or wash his feet. If there is a metropolitan [present], I must go and wash his legs. If there is a patriarch [present], the metropolitan washes his legs, and the patriarch washes the legs of the people. “So also you must wash one another’s feet” [John 13:14].

Where are your feet, O Jesus, on the night of Covenant Thursday? Who from among the disciples rose so as to wash your feet? Nobody. See what this sinful woman received by her tears? She was elevated over this level — what the twelve or eleven disciples did not offer, she received. Peter could have said to Him “now would You please sit so that we might wash Your feet as You washed our feet? You said to wash one another’s feet. Who has washed Your feet?” 

The feet of the Lord Jesus Christ were not washed by apostles or disciples or servants, but were washed by sinners. Of course, if the sinners are disciples, or servants, or priests, so be it. The feet of the Lord remain extended to receive the tears of sinners. And when we wash the feet of the Lord by our tears, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the grace of forgiveness and joy and peace are poured into our hearts, and He witnesses to us in Heaven that we have “loved much,” and so were deserving of this great grace. 

To our God is due glory in His Church from now and forever. Amen. 

[Here, Fr. Moussa delivers the week’s announcements.]

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[1] See Revelation 3:20

[2] See Matthew 11:28

[3] See Luke 18:14

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The sermon, in its original Arabic, is available here.

Fr. Moussa El-Gohary was born on March 5, 1935, in el-Minya, Egypt, and was ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 1980 at the hands of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III of blessed memory. He served as a parish priest at St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in el-Manial, Cairo, Egypt, before being sent by Pope Shenouda III, in December 1990, to St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Natick, Massachusetts, USA, to serve as that parish's first permanent priest. Following over three decades of faithful ministry to that community, and many others in the United States and abroad, Fr. Moussa reposed in the Lord on November 5, 2021. This homily was translated by Beshoy Armanios, a member of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Natick, MA, and a lifelong disciple of Fr. Moussa El-Gohary. He is currently completing a Ph.D. in Pharmacology at the University of Connecticut.

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