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“[Y]ou see in yourself word and understanding, an imitation of the very Mind and Word. Again, God is love…the Fashioner of our nature has made this to be our feature too.” —  St. Gregory of Nyssa,  On the Making of Man 5.2 These words of St. Gregory wonderfully and concisely capture the human condition as being made in the Image and Likeness of God. Often, despite striving to reach the measure of God’s love and to cultivate pure, selfless hearts in accordance with His example, we find ourselves unable to love as He loves, and may even realize that we can go so far as to hurt those whom we love the most. “Why is this the case,” we may wonder. In his Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul provides an insightful response: “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” [1] As a result of sin and the corruption which it caused to human nature, humanity is unable to offer a perfect love apart from God who is Himself love. In its very essence, sin — the corruption that marred God’s “very good” [2]  creation – is separation . [3]  After Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the fruit of the tree, the results of their sin were realized: they perceived their nakedness and their differences, and suddenly, the unity and harmony which they previously enjoyed was replaced with separation both from one another, and, as they would quickly discover, from God as well. [4]  In their response to God, the mark of selfishness likewise becomes evident: “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” [5]  Indeed, selfishness and self-interest become those characteristics which divide and separate us from others, and, ultimately, from God. I. The Body of Christ: “As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” [6] In contrast with the separation and division which entered into the human condition through sin is the oneness of the Body of the sinless One — the Church. St. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, exhorts them towards unity: “[b]ut God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” [7] A failure to cultivate this oneness on the part of the believers, which requires the selfless carrying of one another’s burdens and sufferings, keeps the walls of separation strong. St. Basil the Great echoes this teaching of St. Paul, explaining that it is selfishness that leads to the destruction of community and the loss of true love; to seek one’s own advantage is to deny the command to love one another as Christ has loved us. [8] Self-interest, as St. Basil reveals, becomes the foundation of failure within relations. For instance, a spouse who demands to be treated according to their own “love language” and disregards that of their partner practices an imperfect, selfish love; likewise, a child who expresses frustration in their parents’ failure to understand them while denying them the opportunity to understand them, or even a parent who exerts their own preferences on their child without attempting to understand their child and their differences from them, similarly practice an imperfect love. The expectations of what another “should do” in a relationship, or what one “deserves” from a relationship, ought not be divorced from the kind of love which God both instructs us to establish and exemplifies in His relation with us. Regarding selfish love and its faults, the Scriptures speak at length. In the Song of Songs, we observe the separation that results from self-interested expectations and selfishness. There, King Solomon tells of the Shulamite’s troubled night which begins when he seeks her and receives no answer. Upon hearing his voice, the Shulamite says: “I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, ‘Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.’ I have taken off my robe; how can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; how can I defile them? My beloved put his hand by the latch of the door, and my heart yearned for him. I arose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock. I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen who went about the city found me. They struck me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took my veil away from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am lovesick!” [9] While the Shulamite hears her beloved’s voice and is overjoyed at the opportunity to see him, her self-concern delays her and causes her to just miss her bridegroom who was waiting for her at the door. Her self-awareness and hesitancy in putting her robe back on and defiling her feet again to open the door for her bridegroom directly cause her to miss him — he leaves before she reaches him. Suddenly, what was once a door separating them became much more, and the Shulamite found herself struck, wounded, and lovesick for her beloved who was just behind the door waiting for her. [10]  Augustine writes of selfishness in love, that “two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; and the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self.” [11] Despite the presence of deep love, one’s self-centered orientation causes harm both to himself and to those whom he strives to love, sometimes even unknowingly and alongside good intentions. This inclination and weakness thus make something as simple (though crucial to the spiritual life) as love feel almost impossible. St. Paul describes this spiritual struggle, stating: “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” [12] It is then evident that absent God’s hand and guidance, humanity alone cannot truly love perfectly. Its love remains imperfect because humanity fell from the Image after which it was created — that of Him who is Himself perfect love. The effects of this selfish love are innumerable, as discussed, and appear most clearly in one’s blindness to the needs of others in preference to their own desires. As St. Basil writes “[y]es, while the glitter of gold so allures you, you fail to notice how great are the groans of the needy that follow you wherever you go.” [13] The route to true, Christ-like, holy love is kenosis , or self-emptying. [14] From the life of His Holiness Pope Kyrillos VI, and most prominently his self-denial, we may extrapolate a framework and blueprint for the self-emptying love that Christ models for us and towards which He exhorts us. We are told by Fr. Daniel Fanous in his biographical work on Pope Kyrillos VI that “Kyrillos was utterly convinced that…unity must in a very real sense be kenotic, that is, self-emptying . [He believed that] [e]ach competing voice of reform…must, without compromise, ‘disappear’ that Christ might appear and heal his despondent Church.” [15] It is His Holiness’ conscious emptying of his own desires, thoughts, and preferences that laid the groundwork for the positive Church reforms of his papacy. What allowed His Holiness Pope Kyrillos VI to lead the Church towards edification and flourishing was this deep faith and conviction that God, and not himself or any man, is the beneficent Pantocrator  who cares and provides for His Bride, the Church. Modeling ourselves after this saint’s example requires us to acknowledge and recognize Christ’s hand in our lives. Despite our weaknesses and shortcomings, He assures us, saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” [16] It is He who helps carry the crosses of His children each day, and it is likewise He who ultimately died on the Cross for them. This sacrificial, kenotic act is precisely what He exhorts His children to emulate and exemplify in their dealings with each person. In order to take up this journey of conformity to Christ, and of walking with Him towards perfection, we must first discern the condition of imperfect love. St. Paul writes to the Ephesians: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” [17] By looking to Him who is Love, we can see most clearly the perfect love which beckons us to walk according to His steps. This perspective enables us to trust in His love and care for those whom we seek to love. Augustine, in his Expositions on the Psalms , instructs us to entrust those whom we love — and even our enemies — to Him, for His love is perfect. [18] In submitting ourselves to Him, we fulfill the advice of the Apostle Peter, “casting all [our] cares upon Him,” including also those whom we love, and their wellbeing, “for He cares for [us].” [19] This is the ultimate and perfect act of love — giving our whole being to Him who loves us most perfectly, even to the point of death on our behalf. [20] II. Christ: Meeting our Bridegroom As Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden as a result of their sin, God was already working the ultimate plan of their restoration to and reunification with Him. While humanity would experience many highs and lows in its journey to its Beloved, He patiently watched, guided, and prepared His bride — the Church, His chosen People — in anticipation of the wedding feast ahead. Much like the Shulamite bride on her troubled night, humanity’s selfish and self-centered tendencies often led it to miss its Bridegroom, even when He was to be found just behind the door. While Christ “stand[s] at the door and knock[s]” [21] we may frequently find ourselves still occupied with putting on our robes or worried about soiling our feet. In contrast, the Lord’s selfless love leads Him to the road to Golgotha, to His betrothal to His Church, not with the finest of robes, but rather with a striped back and crown of thorns. Through this dichotomy, human love is assuredly differentiated from divine love. Many fathers of the Church therefore caution against this self-seeking approach to one’s relationship with God. For example, St. Basil writes: “[A] beginning is made by detaching oneself from all external goods: property, vainglory, life in society, [and] useless desires, after the example of the Lord’s holy disciples. James and John left their father Zebedee and the very boat upon which their whole livelihood depended. Matthew left his counting house and followed the Lord, not merely leaving behind the profits of his occupation but also paying no attention to the dangers which were sure to befall both himself and his family at the hands of the magistrates because he had left the tax accounts unfinished. To Paul, finally, the whole world was crucified, and he to the world.” [22] By cultivating this selfless love for God and all His creation, we come to learn the truth of the Lord’s saying, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light,” [23] for when one loves God for Who He is, and not merely on account of the blessings He provides, he realizes the profound joy and gladness that ensue from walking with the Lord. The Scriptures warn against seeking Christ merely for material purposes. When the Lord was sought by the multitudes after they were miraculously fed by Him, He emphasizes this perspective to them: “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” [24] Correcting their improper approach, He continues: “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” [25] Apart from the Lord’s direct teaching in the Gospels, the Old Testament likewise carries this message. In the experience of Job, it is evident that if Job’s love for God was founded in the material wealth and many blessings he enjoyed, he would have surely turned away from Him when those things were abruptly taken from him in his trial by the devil. Rather, Job’s love for God Himself allowed him to remain steadfast and faithful, even when his own wife and close friends goaded him to “curse God and die.” [26] The pursuit of ease and personal gain in this life prevents one from enjoying the presence of God and blinds his eyes from seeing Christ because it rather fixes his attention on himself. Thus, St. Augustine plainly reflects: “he loves You too little who loves anything with You, which he loves not for You.” [27] St. John Chrysostom similarly exhorts his hearers: “He came to do away with the old things, to call us to a greater country. Therefore He does all, to deliver us from things unnecessary, and from our affection for the earth. For this cause He mentioned the heathens also, saying that the Gentiles seek after these things; they whose whole labor is for the present life, who have no regard for the things to come, nor any thought of Heaven. But to you not these present are chief things, but other than these. For we were not born for this end, that we should eat and drink and be clothed, but that we might please God, and attain unto the good things to come. Therefore as things here are secondary in our labor, so also in our prayers let them be secondary.” [28] By seeking God for His own sake, we receive the means by which to obtain perfect love. When one finds God, he finds love, for God is just that — love . It is only with and through God that we can learn to love perfectly. For this reason, St. Macarius the Great writes that “[t]he lamp is always burning and shining, but when it is specially trimmed, it kindles up with intoxication of the love of God; and then again by God’s dispensation it gives in, and though the light is always there, it is comparatively dull.” [29] Indeed, as the Scriptures reveal: “without Me you can do nothing,” [30] and “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” [31] From the spiritual journey of the Apostle Peter, this worldview comes to life. The Gospels do not shy away from displaying the shortcomings of even the closest disciples of Christ, for the edification of His followers thereafter. Shortly before the Pascha of our Lord, St. Peter exclaims, “[e]ven if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” [32] When Christ tells him that he will deny Him, he responds emphatically, “[e]ven if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” [33] Shortly thereafter, as the rooster crows, we find St. Peter struck deeply by Christ’s words to him and weeping bitterly. [34] It is only after the Resurrection of Christ that St. Peter is shown how to love Him. Christ reveals to him the sacrificial nature of perfect love, calling him to feed His lambs, tend His sheep, and feed His sheep. [35] The love which the Lord embodies, teaches, and shows His disciples is palpably self-emptying. It is centered around serving others: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” [36] In its foundation, the quintessential ingredient for knowing and experiencing this love is therefore service   — looking away from one’s personal gain for the sake of others. While venturing into this love is as treading into uncharted waters, when we fix our gaze on Him who is Himself love, who is able not only to walk on water, but also to enable St. Peter to do the same, we find ourselves capable of walking confidently towards Him. [37] And like St. Peter, only when we begin to fear for ourselves and our own good, happiness, and gain do we consequently find ourselves sinking quickly. [38] In spite of our own shortcomings, God is faithful to extend His hand and pull us out of the depths and into His secure, nurturing, and loving embrace. [39] St. Macarius the Great neatly summarizes this teaching, writing that “faithful souls receive that divine and heavenly fire…and that fire forms a heavenly image upon their humanity.” [40] By seeking to be reconciled once again to the Image of God after which we were created, through the grace of God, we are able to perfect our otherwise imperfect love, for “we love Him because He first loved us.” [41] — [1] Romans 3:23 NKJV (Hereinafter, all Scriptural references are taken from the New King James Version). [2]  See Genesis 1:31. [3] “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). [4] "For if sin sunders and dissevers man from God, surely righteousness will be a bond of union, and will somehow set us by the side of God Himself, with nothing to part us." (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on John ); See generally Genesis. [5] Genesis 3:12. [6] 1 Corinthians 12:20. [7] 1 Corinthians 12: 24-26. [8]  See generally St. Basil of Caesarea, On Social Justice , Homily 2, To the Rich . [9] Song of Songs 5:2-8. [10] It is pertinent to note that this does not only apply to human relationships, but also one’s relationship with God. As the Song of Songs is a representation of Christ’s love of His Church, one cannot discuss this Scriptural book without noting that it is this same selfishness that separates us from Christ, even when He knocks at the door. [11] St. Augustine, City of God, Book XIV, Chapter 13 . [12] Romans 7:15-20. [13]  See C. Paul Schroeder, On Social Justice: St. Basil the Great , 64   (SVS Press, 2009). [14]  See Philippians 2:5-7. [15] Fr. Daniel Fanous, A Silent Patriarch: Kyrillos VI: Life and Legacy , 226. [16] 2 Corinthians 12:9. [17] Ephesians 5:1-2. [18]  See Augustine,  Expositions on the Psalms  (Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, vol. 8, pg. 210). [19] 1 Peter 5:7. [20] It would be regretful to not note that in Christ’s unceasing and immense mercy, even our mere acknowledgement that we have hurt those we love, and our repentance and will to place them into His perfect hands despite what it may mean for us, not only results in what is best for them but also provides us immense spiritual blessing. [21]  See Revelation 3:20. [22] St. Basil of Caesarea, Long Rules  8. [23] Matthew 11:30. [24] John 6:26. [25] John 6:27. [26] Job 2:9; see generally Job. [27] St. Augustine, Confessions, X.29. [28] St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Matthew 22.4. [29] Macarius, Homily 8.2 (A.J. Mason, The Fifty Spiritual Homilies of St. Macarius the Egyptian , 66). [30] John 15:5. [31] Philippians 4:13. [32] Matthew 26:33. [33] Matthew 26:35. [34] Matthew 26:75. [35] John 21:15-17. [36] Mark 10:45. [37] Matthew 14. [38]  Ibid. [39]  Ibid. [40] Macarius , Homily 11.2 (Mason, 80). [41] 1 John 4:19. — Hilana Said is a Coptic Orthodox Christian and a licensed attorney. She graduated from Albany Law School in 2023. Hilana developed a love for academic reading and writing during her time on the Executive Board of the Albany Law Review. Her deep faith and Coptic Orthodox heritage play an integral role in her personal and professional life and serve as constant inspiration for her academic pursuits. Cover Image by Johann Sadeler. DossPress.com  is a place for Christian men and women to collaborate for the sake of our common edification by sharing their written works. As we strive to uphold a standard of doctrinal and spiritual soundness in the articles shared, we note nonetheless that the thoughts expressed in each article remain the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Doss Press.

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. —  [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.] — [1] See Revelation 3:20 [2] See Matthew 11:28 [3] See Luke 18:14 — 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. DossPress.com  is a place for Christian men and women to collaborate for the sake of our common edification by sharing their written works. As we strive to uphold a standard of doctrinal and spiritual soundness in the articles shared, we note nonetheless that the thoughts expressed in each article remain the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Doss Press.

In commemoration of the third 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 delivered on August 11, 2002 by Fr. Moussa El-Gohary. May his prayers be with us. —  In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — One God. Amen. May His grace, mercy, and blessing be with us all, now and forever, and unto the age of all ages. Amen. []   Today, our subject is from the Gospel of our teacher St. Luke the Evangelist, chapter 20. The Lord Jesus Christ, during the last week [of His earthly ministry], would go to the Temple and return to Bethany. In those final days, He entered the Temple and found in it sellers of doves, sheep, and cattle, and so He was deeply grieved that the house of prayer was converted into a place of trade and profit. This reflects also on the sellers, the thieves, the priests, the scribes, the elders, and the leaders of the people. They were all giving one another. And so He was grieved that the house of holiness and prayer was converted into a place of business. Using a whip, he drove out the sellers of doves and overturned their tables, and said to those who were buying and selling, and those who kept the money, “My house is a house of prayer” (Luke 19:46) which is a prophecy from the Old Testament in which the Lord said: “My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves” ( see Jeremiah 7:11).   As a result of this event, the people gathered to hear Him, as it was their custom, because they enjoyed hearing His words. He gave them a similar parable, which is the parable of the vineyard and the vinedressers:   “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away shamefully treated. And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him...’ But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others” (Luke 20:9-16).   The Lord said these words as a parable, “and when they heard it they said, ‘Certainly not!’” (Luke 20:16), meaning that they understood the analogy and that it applied to them, and that the vinedressers were those thieves and robbers. It is as if they understood what they were doing, and so they said “certainly not!” But as for Him, “He looked at them and said, ‘What then is this that is written: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.’ And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people — for they knew He had spoken this parable against them” (Luke 20:17-19).   How does this parable apply to the scribes and pharisees? The vineyard is the Church of the New Testament: the Lord has chosen His people, set them apart, taught them, trained them, and granted them all the commandments and teachings and promises and oaths so that they would be the chosen people of God. So this is the vineyard. He showed them the way, the path of blessing, and the cursed path [which is] the path of sin. He gave them many examples, worked goodness for them, and freed them from lowliness and slavery by the hand of Moses the Arch-prophet. When He went with them to the wilderness, God would speak with them and they would hear Him, to the extent that they would be afraid ( see Exodus 20:18-20). And every day, they would see God in the figure of the pillar of cloud going before them by day and a pillar of fire guiding them by night (Exodus 13:21-22). They saw Moses when he descended from the mountain with his face full of light such that no one was able to look at him [after] he had spent forty days and nights speaking to the Lord (Exodus 34:29-35). They also experienced how all of the commandments which the Lord sent to them were all helpful and greatly beneficial to them. This is the vineyard which He planted.   The subject of the vineyard is found in the Old Testament: the Lord also spoke of the vineyard which is the house of Israel. Of course, what is meant by this is not that the vineyard is the house of Israel, and that since Israel did not obey and became divided and scattered, and that the story of Israel ended, that the vineyard has also ended. No. The vineyard is the people of God, or the Church of God. In the Old Testament it was handed over to the vinedressers who were the Levites, the priests, the scribes, the leaders of the faith, and the elders. So these vinedressers received the vineyard, and it is known that when someone goes to rent a field, garden, or vineyard, they are supposed to look after it and work in it for the sake of its owner, and to give an account for this work that was stewarded to him — an income or wage. He receives the vineyard, cultivates it and eats bread from it, but he must also offer from the vineyard, to the owner of the vineyard, from its fruits and the income of the vineyard in which he works. It was an obligation for them to offer fruit to the owner of the vineyard. The fruit, of course, is holiness and good works, or the works that conform to the Law, rules, [and] teachings [] which the Lord gave to them.   The one who toiled in the planting and work of the vineyard is the Lord. Of course, it says here “a certain man planted a vineyard” in symbolism — the man who planted the vineyard is God the Father; “planted a vineyard” is the Church of the Old Testament; “leased it to vinedressers” who are the scribes, priests, elders and Levites. Then, it says he traveled “for a long time” and waited many eons for this vineyard, every now and then sending a prophet — and it was known that they killed the prophets in the Old Testament, such that even Elijah himself said before the Lord: “[they have] torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets” ( see  1 Kings 19:10). They killed, sawed, and stoned many people: Zechariah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and many from the Old Testament. These are they about whom He spoke here when He said, “he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.” When the prophets came and began to ask and exhort the people, saying to them “where have you gone,” they began to speak also to the priests. When we read in the prophecies of the Old Testament, such as that of Joel which says “lament, you priests; wail over the sacrifice that has been cut off and over the captivity in which you have entered” (Joel 1:13) — Israel was in captivity many times because of sin and because of their straying from the Lord; and they lost wars although they were sometimes victorious without a weapon. [For instance,] in the days of Joshua, once Joshua became the leader after Moses, they walked around a village and destroyed it, or a city and destroyed it, knocking down Jericho by their shouting — saying that the war is for the Lord — and as they went around the city, they were just shouting, screaming, and praising the Lord, and so the walls were destroyed ( see  Joshua 6). But then when they stood in great wars against small villages, they lost because they had forsaken the Lord. When they held fast to the Lord, He would always deliver them. The prophets would always reproach them, saying to them “Why are you forsaking the Lord?” So when the prophets would reproach them, they would persecute the prophets. He sent to them one prophet and a second and a third from the men of the Old Testament — the men of God — but they “beat him and sent him away empty-handed.” And here it says “Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also,” and more than this, they “treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed” or “shamefully treated.” “And again he sent a third,” and alongside the beating and humiliation, they “wounded him also and cast him out” and expelled him also.   What does this mean? If we stop here for a moment, we find that the owner of the vineyard is insistent that there be fruit in the vineyard. He would not relent until this vineyard, which He intended to bear fruits, must bring forth fruits. He forgave them several times with the messengers whom he sent, and he forgave them with the hope that they would awaken and realize that his will is that all “are saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” ( see  1 Timothy 2:4). The will of God is that there must be spiritual fruit: there must be godliness, holiness, righteousness, obedience to the commandment, adherence to the Law, and behavior according to the Lord’s charges. This is the insistence of the Lord, that there must be fruit in the vineyard.   []   [recording skips]   []   He sowed the seeds and he will return to look for the fruit of the seeds. Here, it is not saying that he sowed seeds, but the parable is that he planted a vineyard, which is a very different stage than merely planting seeds: he has thrown and planted the seeds, grown them, watered them, and is now waiting for the fruits. He has done everything himself and has merely entrusted it to the oversight of the vinedressers to care for it and collect its fruits for the sake of the owner of the vineyard.   [Now] see the persistence of God for the salvation of mankind. So “the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do?’” He is not worried about those who were killed and humiliated, or that they have dishonored him personally, or that they have prevented the fruits that he wants for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He is rather concerned that this vineyard not be ruined — it must bring forth fruit. He said, “‘What shall I do?’ I will send my beloved son.” “They have disrespected those whom I have sent, and I have to solve this problem, so I will send my beloved son, because when they see my beloved son, they will be embarrassed in knowing that he is the owner of profit and the owner of the vineyard.” “But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’” This reveals the ingratitude of the Church of the Old Testament, or the ingratitude of the Jews, Hebrews, scribes, and elders whom Christ came and rebuked in Matthew saying “woe to you, scribes and pharisees” ( see Matthew 23); [] all of these woes applied to them because their hearts did not move at all, but they rather dared to seize the owner of the vineyard to kill him.   We realize here that insolence has reached an extensive degree in those evil people. According to the parable, they saw the only son and said “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.” Has anyone ever seen a servant brought to serve in a house to work and receive a wage at the end of the day, go on to kill the master of the house in order to inherit his house? Does any servant inherit from his master? Does any servant get rid of the owner of the house, considering himself entitled — see the evil that they are living in: “let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.” By what law? Neither a secular law, nor a moral law, nor a spiritual law gives them the right to inherit this inheritance. But this shows that avarice and greed [] usurp this stewarded property, the vineyard, and made this vineyard their own property. So because of the extent to which they took possession of these fruits and harvested them and took them to themselves, they put in their minds, because of the extent of the evil in which they lived, that this was rightfully theirs and no one else’s. So [because of] their darkened minds and their thoughts that were full of evil and selfishness, when they saw the son, they said “behold this is the heir, come let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours.” So they “took him outside the vineyard and killed him” and this of course is the Lord Jesus Christ alluding to Himself in this parable. That this is the Son!   And when He speaks and says “when the vinedressers saw him, they said ‘this is the heir, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours,’” [this is] because they saw that when Christ spoke and preached the people and spoke to the people, all the people began to follow Him. So they became scared about themselves and their authority. So much so that the high priest said “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” (John 12:19). [] And in the end, the high priest, with foolishness and ignorance, said “let him die!” “…it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:50). He did not understand that he was uttering a prophecy, but he was expressing the hate that was within him and the hate that was in the shepherds and judges of the Old Testament who led the people — the evil Levites.   And truly “they took him outside the vineyard,” and at this time Christ had not been killed [and] had not been crucified. “They took him outside the vineyard and killed him.” He was warning them regarding what was in their hearts. And here, in this parable, the Lord was uncovering the past and the present and what would occur in the future also. So He said “what will the owner of the vineyard do with them?” The owner of the vineyard is still insistent, because He desires fruit from this vineyard. So He said, “he will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.”   If this parable was a general parable given for warning or teaching or preaching, they would have merely heard it and said “what is He saying?,” “how do we understand [it]?,” [] “what does He mean?,” and one would say “He means this or that.” But because they understood every word, because the Old Testament is full of parables in which God addresses the vineyard and says, “What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it?” (Isaiah 5:4). “I planted a vineyard of a choice sort and built for it a fence and built a winepress in it and built for it a tower and set guards over it, and asked of it that it would produce good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes” ( see Isaiah 5:2) . [1]  These words are often found in the Old Testament, so when He speaks of the vineyard, their ears are open. So they understand everything [He is saying] but are acting ignorant.   So when He said “what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others,” they understood that He was saying this about them, so they said “certainly not!” [That is,] “far be it from us.” They were saying “far be it from us.” “Far be it from us” that He would come and destroy them and take the vineyard and bestow it to ones who are faithful.   But what about what you are doing, is it evil or not? The fact that you have stolen the vineyard from the owner of the vineyard, is this not evil? You have considered what you were doing to be good. The standards of measurement in your minds have become darkened, O priests or trustees or Levites of the Old Testament, and you considered the vineyard to be your own personal property, and that when it is taken from you and given to its [rightful] owners, this is evil, so you say, “far be it from us.” And when you kill the son of the owner of the vineyard, is this not evil? And when you kill his servants, is this not evil? And when you take possession of the vineyard and do not give its fruit to its owner, is this not evil? They did not see any of this to be evil, but they considered it evil for this authority to be taken from them and given to others.   Of course, when they said “certainly not!,” they did not say “certainly not!” as in “far be it from us to kill someone” [or] “far be it from us to participate in a crime” [or] “perhaps they were thieves and wicked but let them not be criminals and murderers.” But they did not say these things. They said “certainly not for the vineyard to be taken from us for the sake of our portion and that of our children.”   This shows [] those priests and those laborers or servants, who served the Church of the Old Testament, that their eyes saw the benefit of the service to be an earthly benefit. And this is among the most fearful things, my beloved, in the service over all the ages and eras — that the service is transformed into a trade or the service is transformed into a personal interest in which the servant, or the trustee, thinks that this is a post for him or a position for him to live by, not understanding that in the first instance, he is coming to labor and to offer fruit to the kingdom of heaven or to the owner of the vineyard who is God. So once the vision strays, or the vision of the servant or slave or vinedresser or laborer deviates from this truth, he begins to fear lest this parable apply to him such that instead of being in the vineyard of the Lord laboring for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, he instead labors in his own stolen vineyard which will inevitably be restored to the owner of the vineyard and for which he will give a difficult account.   So their hearts were occupied with personal interests, and here Ezekiel and Jeremiah and the Old Testament prophets spoke of the shepherds who cared for themselves and left the sheep and slaughtered the fattened calf and ate and drank from the produce of the sheep and destroyed it, and did not offer to its owner the account of the stewardship. This shows the outcome of those who prefer their own personal interests to that of God.   This is with respect to the service and with respect to shepherding and with respect to the vineyard.   Of course, as we continue in the parable, He said “he will destroy the vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.” The Church does not die due to the corruption of those who are set upon her, but the Church is transferred — or the service of God or the kingdom of God on earth is transferred — from hand to hand while God watches over His Church. It cannot perish and cannot be ended or stopped because of a minority that is corrupt or domineering or authoritarian. But God is able, at the proper time, to transfer it into the hands of the faithful about whom the Holy Bible says: “shepherds after my own heart” (Jeremiah 3:15). To shepherd the sheep and shepherd the flock with honesty, watchfulness, nurturing, and care.   So He has transferred this shepherding and this Church in the New Testament to the Church of Christ — the Christian Church — and delivered it to the Apostles and the Disciples. And from that time, He truly transferred it to those vinedressers. And of course, the shepherding of the New Testament differs entirely from the shepherding of the Old Testament, because He considered that all who came to follow Him must follow [His example] or imitate Him. If the owner of the vineyard did not have compassion on his only-begotten son, but gave his only-begotten son so that the vineyard might be rooted and fruitful and bear good fruit, then all the servants and laborers who follow Him in the Church of the New Testament have before their eyes Christ as the example of the manner by which the shepherds must live in the New Testament.   For this reason, we hear in most of the eras and most of the times and ages that have passed over the leadership of the Church, how much the shepherd, in all ranks and levels of responsibility in the Church, watches over the sheep and watches over the flock and serves the flock with honesty and uprightness and also if it comes to him giving his life, many were martyred because they were entrusted with the service of the flock and the service of the Church. Many examples — Peter, the twelve, Paul, the martyrs of the first and second and third centuries. Many examples of the Christian leaders who were subjected — and until this day and until yesterday and this morning continue to be subjected — to humiliation and harshness and wounding for no reason besides their watchfulness over the Church and her vitality. And all of us read and hear how much the newspapers are libeling and defaming the Church. Because this age is considered among the ages of revitalization in our Church in this generation and in this modern era. How many churches have opened and how many people have come to know God and how many services are being undertaken and how many activities are being undertaken and how much God’s glory is spreading over the face of the earth. May God continue His work and bless it and cause it to grow, and how many souls know God today, and are gathered and congregated around Christ and around His Body and Blood. For this reason, when the world becomes envious over this, you find a kind of wounding and humiliation and this shows us that in the Church of the New Testament, no one is searching for his own selfish ends or his own honor but puts his honor under the Cross, and shuts his mouth as Christ about whom it is said “He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). So also are all faithful servants — in the time of wounding and harshness and humiliation, they do not open their mouths and are content with looking to the Example and saying “it is enough for us to be like Christ our true shepherd, the Good Shepherd, who said about Himself: ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep’ (John 10:11).”   Until here, what has been said applies to the parable. Perhaps the hearer might say, or you may be seated here saying: “We are not shepherds, and these words are consoling and sweet and good and we have understood them, but what does it have to do with us?” Do you know that you are laborers in this vineyard? Awaken and revive! This vineyard is not only with respect to the priest and bishop and patriarch and the servants, but it is the responsibility of the flock understood from the parable. The vineyard is your life also. It is the vineyard which Christ has planted. Your life and your home — your personal life — is your vineyard. So do not forget or think that this parable does not apply to you. It applies to you and to me personally and applies to us as a community and a church and applies to us as servants and as trustees and shepherds.   So when we look at it from the perspective of applying this parable to our lives, see: “the Lord planted a vineyard.” He has given us this grace and planted His knowledge in our hearts. We who were first sinners and who did not know anything and who were far from our Lord, He has made us sons. We were evil. He has made us sons by baptism. And He has delivered to us the Holy Spirit and made us a vessel for the Holy Spirit and granted the Holy Spirit to dwell in us such that He calls us “temples of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit dwells in us” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And we read in Galatians that the Holy Spirit has fruits. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are known and many, and include love, joy, peace, faith, gentleness, chastity, longsuffering, kindness, goodness — many fruits for the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). He who has the Holy Spirit has in him a vineyard — the vineyard of the Lord, or the kingdom of God dwelling within you ( see  Luke 17:21). So this kingdom is the vineyard.   The vineyard within you, when Jesus sends one, two, and three messengers — what are the messengers He sends? The word that is read, the word that is heard, the sermon that you hear or the tape that you hear. The word that reaches you by any means or in any way is a servant of the servants of God or one means which God sends to you to tell you “I want fruit. Where is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that is in you? You shut your ear, you toss aside the word, you neglect the sermon, you neglect the Bible, you neglect to read the word of God.” We “don’t feel like reading the Holy Bible.” None of us cares [for it], we read it for knowledge while not knowing that when we read the Holy Bible, it is a real source of blessing and consolation, [] a source of spiritual nourishment, a source of the Holy Spirit, but also a messenger from the Spirit of God — from God speaking to us to alert and bring to our recognition that we will offer an account of our stewardship and offer an account of the field we have been given or the vineyard which has been entrusted to us.   God has granted us talents and gifts, and the word of God we read in the Holy Bible is a word of warning and notice and caution that we will inevitably give [an account]. And many times we read the Holy Bible without caring, and many times it is read in our hearing while we are sleepy, and many times we hear sermons that go in one ear and out the other. While we do not know that these are all counted for us, my beloved, just as the Lord counted on those servants whom He sent and who returned empty-handed. For this reason, the Lord speaks straightforwardly in the Holy Bible, saying: “my word does not return void” (Isaiah 55:11). He has set it with a certain measure and a certain efficacy. The word of our Lord, when He utters it, the word we hear, the word our Lord grants us from the Bible or from any sermon or from any word, must not return void. Not “not return void” as in for example a hundred hear, at least two or three or five repent and return to God and confess and become good and commit to living with God. No! The meaning of “does not return void” [is] hold onto the word of God in your heart and do not permit it to return void! If you have nothing, offer even a small cake ( see  1 Kings 17:13-15). Even five loaves ( see  Matthew 14:17-18). Even the crumbs [you have]. It must “not return void” from your home, as a person. Do not look to those around you. Look to yourself. The word of God “ must  not return void.” When you hear the word of God — it says, “when you hear His voice,” the Holy Bible, “do not harden your hearts!” (Hebrews 3:15). So every word you hear is counted. You must offer something for it. It does not return void.   Tell Him, “Lord, I heard the word of today, and I offer you from today’s word that I will be awake and watchful over this vineyard.” You hear a word about purity and righteousness, you say “Lord, I heard this word and help me to try to begin to purify my senses and pay attention to my [fleshly] life so that I may live in purity.” When you hear any word, as much as you can, as much as you are able, as much as your means permit, the word of God must not return void. The Lord says “my word does not return void” and “I am watchful over my word to perform it” (Jeremiah 1:12 DARBY).   My beloved, when the Lord transmits to us His words, sometimes we forget our own vineyard and look to the vineyard of the neighbors and say “how sad, they do not have fruits” or “this one does not have fruit” or “this one is bad” or “this one has spoiled” or “this one has thorns” or “this one has sour grapes” or “the foxes or crows have eaten this one.” What have you done with your vineyard? Some are even far-sighted and say “what about those who are not Christians, what is their fault?” [] Do not waste your time over [such matters]! Pay attention to what our Lord has granted you! You were born in Christianity, you are immersed in grace and you are entirely full of blessings and gifts! Do not waste your time! The vineyard entrusted to you comes with a responsibility! What have you to do with who has received and who has not? Our Lord will search for the non-Christian and knows how to deal with him and knows how to judge him and knows how to send him the word. This is His way — it is His work and His specialty. But you take heed to your own vineyard.   So you as a person are responsible for this vineyard. The Lord sends to you laborers, or the Lord sends to you servants once, twice, and thrice. And then, the Lord also, out of His tenderness, kindness, patience, and compassion on us, sends us His Only-Begotten Son. How many times does the Lord Jesus Christ Himself personally stand at your door and say “open to me! Enough! Wake up! Return from the path you are on! Enough hardness of heart! Enough sin! Enough ingratitude! Enough love of the world! Enough running after the blessings and gifts I have given you — life and health and money and talents — for the sake of your earthly life!”   The Hebrews were of this sort. They took the blessings God had granted them, over which He had made them stewards, and lived in them so as to fill and satisfy and enrich and fatten themselves, but did not trade with them for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. So they used this vineyard in a carnal, earthly way, and were therefore deprived of the kingdom of heaven. So also we, my beloved, often become preoccupied with our daily lives and are concerned with the kingdom our Lord has granted us, or the vineyard our Lord has granted us, in a carnal way. And care for the flesh is “enmity against God” (Romans 8:7). Care for the flesh is death, but care for the spirit is life, because we work for the good of the kingdom of heaven.   So the Lord sends to us Himself when we hear His voice in the word, when He offers Himself on the altar, when we hear His warnings and directions and exhortations that we turn away from sin and return and become reconciled to Him and cast away sin from our hearts and transform our hearts and transform our thoughts and transform our emotions and become reconciled and live in peace and live in love and become transformed for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is incredibly precious and incredibly sweet! So we may attain it!   Believe me, because of grudges, we miss out on the kingdom of heaven. This is not my own [teaching]. It is from the Bible! Grudges prevent us from the kingdom of heaven. The Lord said: if you come to receive communion, “and there remember that your brother has something against you” (Matthew 5:23-24), do not partake of communion! You are not entitled to communion. Meaning you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven! Meaning if I die while holding a grudge against someone, I will not enter the kingdom of heaven! If I die while I am fighting [with someone], I will not enter the kingdom of heaven! If I die while there is something between me and someone else, I will not enter [the kingdom of heaven]. If I die while judging people, I will not enter the kingdom of heaven. My beloved, awaken! Because this is not cruelty, or difficulty in entering the kingdom of heaven, because the kingdom of heaven is very precious and very costly and very great! It deserves some labor from us — not to lie, not to swear, not to curse, not to hold grudges, not to judge, not to become upset with another, not to commit daily sins or impurity or evil or negligence or postpone the word of God and repentance.   For this reason, when the Lord speaks to us, let us not harden our hearts. But let us know that He is warning us because He will come one day and ask for the fruit of this vineyard. So when we hear this parable, my beloved, let us awaken, because this parable is very precious. It was uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ before His crucifixion on the Cross, and He says, as did John the Baptist, “even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. [Therefore] every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:10). When He cuts down and throws into the fire, my beloved, He will not be cruel. Because what preceded this was the [offering] of love and tenderness and patience. He was patient. He sent one messenger in a season and another in another season and yet another in another season, and at the end He sent His beloved Son, and despite sending His beloved Son, He was not occupied with the fact that His beloved Son died as much as He is concerned with the fact that the vineyard must bear fruit. God insists that your life and my life have fruit.   And if it does not bear fruit, He will confront us in the last day and say “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?” (Isaiah 5:4). What could there be that I have fallen short in? If our Lord stood with us today in a sort of mock trial. [] If He stands with you and me one by one today before we walk out of the door of the church, and says: “what did I fall short in doing with you? Why do you not bear fruit for the kingdom of God? What do you lack? Tell me, what did I fall short in doing with you? Did I fall short with you in sending you My word? In sending to you the Holy Spirit? In granting you the Mysteries? In granting you warnings? In granting you life and health and willpower and a mind and all means by which you could say ‘have mercy on me, Lord’ as did the sinner and the tax-collector and the right-hand thief and the adulteress. Why have you not repented?” “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?” (Isaiah 5:4).   So the one who hears the voice of the Lord and the one who hears the word of God and the one who hears the warnings and threats and promises must know and awaken not because our Lord is cruel, but because our Lord persists and insists and demands that we go to the kingdom of heaven. Look at it in this way, my beloved. He does not want us to be deprived of the kingdom. He wants us to enter the kingdom of heaven. So He requires us to be watchful and pass our daily, difficult lives in which we live, in which we find excuses and [] find ourselves unable to awaken or become invigorated or rise or pray or worship or fast or cry out to God or repent, because the kingdom is easy.   With some simple labor, we will spend eternity in glory and a kingdom indescribable! Which cannot be compared to any bodily enjoyment or pleasure! Because all bodily pleasures are petty and despicable and end with the end of the bodily life. But godly enjoyment and the pleasure of the kingdom of heaven is incomparable and inexhaustible. The human on earth — nothing satisfies him. But there, we will feel satiation, gratification, peace, reassurance, and we will feel that we are truly at rest. Here, even while someone is enjoying anything, he feels at the very least [] fearful lest he become deprived of this pleasure, because he cannot guarantee its persistence. Here, nothing is certain. But there, at the very least, there is certainty. There is no thief or anyone to take it from me or anyone to deprive me of it or anyone to remove me from the kingdom. For this reason, my beloved, the Lord persists and insists that we all have a share in the kingdom of heaven.   When we read this parable, let us pray for one another, for the sake of our souls and for the sake of the Church, so that God may always grant in every generation fruit in His vineyard, and that He might support and strengthen the shepherds or the servants or the vinedressers, that they may be faithful until the last breath.   To our God be glory in His Church now and forever. Amen.   — [1] Fr. Moussa is reciting this verse from memory. — 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. DossPress.com  is a place for Christian men and women to collaborate for the sake of our common edification by sharing their written works. As we strive to uphold a standard of doctrinal and spiritual soundness in the articles shared, we note nonetheless that the thoughts expressed in each article remain the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Doss Press.

Doss Press seeks to serve Christians everywhere through presenting for the benefit of all the rich treasures of the Church's history, doctrine, spirit, and life. Spotlights In the spirit of promoting others' efforts, these Spotlights feature many initiatives seeking to educate, guide, and encourage Christian growth and learning. All sites are externally managed and reflect the thoughts and opinions of their respective managers, and not necessarily those of Doss Press. Bible Study Catena Bible Today, Catena Bible is focused on evangelizing the faith of the Early Christian Church, founded by the apostles, for the edification of all Christians around the world. CatenaBible.com Textual Archive Archive of Contemporary Coptic Orthodox Theology The Archive of Contemporary Coptic Orthodox Theology is a digital hub for the study of contemporary theological authors, texts and translations. accot.stcyrils.edu.au/ Iconography Coptic Icon George Makary is a Toronto-based iconographer, creating contemporary Coptic Icons with a 2,000 year-old Tradition. CopticIcon.com Guidance Blog Lilies & Thorns Blog A guide for Orthodox Christian Youth, by Lilyan Andrews. LilyanAndrews.com/blog Religious Education Podcast Coffee with Bishop Suriel In "Coffee with Bishop Suriel," His Grace Bishop Suriel seeks to spread the message of an ancient Christian Tradition through the latest technological advancements available, and in this way, foster spiritual growth for each participant and become a reliable source of information on Orthodox Christianity with an emphasis on the Coptic tradition. https://www.coffeewithbishopsuriel.org/ Apologetics Youtube Channel Reasonable Religion Hosted by Dr. Stephen Meawad, assistant professor of Theology, Reasonable Religion presents short videos on Christianity, culture, ethics, and spirituality from a scholarly and faith-based perspective. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEjPPa_qNwSznZ-gYQioSnA/featured Service Podcast Service in Practice Hosted by Karen Ayoub, Service in Practice is a podcast that addresses the practical aspects of service and how to follow the example of Christ in today’s world. https://linktr.ee/ServiceInPractice Liturgical Studies One Coptic Library Launched in 2010, OCL is an international youth-based initiative promoting unity throughout the Coptic churches through the standardization of all Coptic literature in as many languages as possible while providing support on every major platform. https://onecopticlibrary.com/ If you would like to see a particular effort or initiative highlighted here, please reach out to DossPress@gmail.com .

6 < Back Further Reading: Christian Morality & Ethics Alasdair C. MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory . Alasdair C. MacIntyre, Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues . Allen Verhey, Remembering Jesus: Christian Community, Scripture, and the Moral Life . Andrew Brian McGowan, Ancient Christian Worship: Early Church Practices in Social, Historical, and Theological Perspective . Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance . Basil of Caesarea, On Christian Ethics . Brad Hooker, Developing Deontology: New Essays in Ethical Theory . Brian Brock, Singing the Ethos of God: On the Place of Christian Ethics in Scripture . Charles Curran and Richard McCormick, The Use of Scripture in Moral Theology . Christopher R.J. Holmes, Ethics in the Presence of Christ . Daniel C. Russell, The Cambridge Companion to Virtue Ethics . Daniel J. Harrington and James F. Keenan, Jesus and Virtue Ethics: Building Bridges Between New Testament Studies and Moral Theology . David A. Clairmont, Moral Struggle and Religious Ethics: On the Person as Classic in Comparative Theological Contexts . David W. Jones, An Introduction to Biblical Ethics . Elizabeth Agnew Cochran, Protestant Virtue and Stoic Ethics . Elizabeth Theokritoff, Living in God’s Creation: Orthodox Perspectives on Ecology . Frank Matera, New Testament Ethics: The Legacies of Jesus and Paul . Geert Roskam, On the Path to Virtue: The Stoic Doctrine of Moral Progress and Its Reception in (Middle-) Platonism . Gilbert Meilaender, The Theory and Practice of Virtue . Gregory of Nyssa, On the Soul and the Resurrection . Hans Boersma, Embodiment and Virtue in Gregory of Nyssa: An Anagogical Approach . James Wetzel, Augustine and the Limits of Virtue . Jean Porter, Nature as Reason: A Thomistic Theory of the Natural Law . Jean Porter, The Recovery of Virtue: The Relevance of Aquinas for Christian Ethics . Jean-Luc Marion, The Visible and the Revealed . Jeffrey S. Siker, Scripture and Ethics: Twentieth-Century Portraits . Jennifer A. Herdt, Putting on Virtue: The Legacy of the Splendid Vices . John Breck, God with Us: Critical Issues in Christian Life and Faith . John D. Zizioulas, Communion and Otherness: Further Studies in Personhood and the Church . Jonathan J. Sanford, Before Virtue: Assessing Contemporary Virtue Ethics . Joseph J. Kotva, The Christian Case for Virtue Ethics . Joseph Mendola, Goodness and Justice: A Consequentialist Moral Theology . Joseph Woodill, The Fellowship of Life: Virtue Ethics and Orthodox Christianity . Julia Annas, Intelligent Virtue . Kathy L. Gaca, The Making of Fornication: Eros, Ethics, and Political Reform in Greek Philosophy and Early Christianity . Kevin Corrigan, Dr. Lewis Ayres, and Professor Patricia Cox Miller, Studies in Philosophy and Theology in Late Antiquity: Evagrius and Gregory: Mind, Soul, and Body in the 4th Century . Kevin M. Clarke, The Seven Deadly Sins . Lisa Sowle Cahill, Sex, Gender, and Christian Ethics . Michael R. DePaul and Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski, Intellectual Virtue: Perspectives from Ethics and Epistemology . Michael Slote, From Morality to Virtue . Michael Slote, The Impossibility of Perfection: Aristotle, Feminism, and the Complexities of Ethics . Nafsika Athanassoulis, Virtue Ethics . Nancy C. Murphy, Brad J. Kallenberg, and Mark Nation, Virtues & Practices in the Christian Tradition: Christian Ethics after Macintyre . Nancy Elizabeth Van Heusen, The Place of the Psalms in the Intellectual Culture of the Middle Ages . Naomi Koltun-Fromm, Hermeneutics of Holiness: Ancient Jewish and Christian Notions of Sexuality and Religious Community . Paul Evdokimov, Ages of the Spiritual Life . Paul T. Jersild, Spirit Ethics: Scripture and the Moral Life . Peter C. Bouteneff, Sweeter Than Honey: Orthodox Thinking on Dogma and Truth . Peter R.L. Brown, The Body and Society: Men and Women and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity . Philip J. Wogaman, Christian Ethics: A Historical Introduction . Philippa Foot, Virtues and Vices and Other Essays in Moral Philosophy . Richard B. Hays, New Testament Ethics: The Story Retold . Richard B. Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics . Robert J. Daly, Christian Biblical Ethics: From Biblical Revelation to Contemporary Christian Praxis: Method and Content . Robert Merrihew Adams, A Theory of Virtue: Excellence in Being for the Good . Robin Darling Young and Monica J. Blanchard, To Train His Soul in Books: Syriac Asceticism in Early Christianity . Rosalind Hursthouse, On Virtue Ethics . Rowan A. Greer and J. Warren Smith, One Path for All: Gregory of Nyssa in the Christian Life and Human Destiny . Stanley Hauerwas, A Community of Character: Toward a Constructive Christian Social Ethic . Stanley Hauerwas, Character and the Christian Life: A Study in Theological Ethics . Stanley Hauerwas, Christian Existence Today: Essays on Church, World, and Living in Between . Stanley Hauerwas, The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics . Stanley Hauerwas, Vision and Virtue: Essays in Christian Ethical Reflection . Stephen E. Fowl and L. Gregory Jones, Reading in Communion: Scripture and Ethics in Christian Life . Stephen L. Darwall, Deontology . Stephen M. Meawad, Beyond Virtue Ethics: A Contemporary Ethic of Ancient Spiritual Struggle . Victor Paul Furnish, The Moral Teaching of Paul: Selected Issues . Vigen Guroian, Incarnate Love: Essays in Orthodox Ethics . Warren J. Smith, Passion and Paradise: Human and Divine Emotion in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa . William Brown, Character and Scripture: Moral Formation, Community, and Biblical Interpretation . William C. Mattison, Introducing Moral Theology: True Happiness and the Virtues . William C. Mattison, The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective . William C. Spohn, What Are They Saying About Scripture and Ethics? . William Werpehowski and Kathryn Getek Soltis, Virtue and the Moral Life: Theological and Philosophical Perspectives . Yiu Sing Lúcás Chan, Biblical Ethics in the 21st Century: Developments, Emerging Consensus, and Future Directions . Disclaimer: This list serves as a collection of various perspectives, titles, and backgrounds, and may not necessarily endorse the teaching, history, and understanding of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Previous Next

1 < Back Further Reading: Ritual & Liturgical Studies Liturgical Theology & The Eucharistic Liturgy Adolf Adam, Foundations of Liturgy: An Introduction to Its History and Practice. Adolf Adam, The Eucharistic Celebration: The Source and Summit of Faith . Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World . Alexander Schmemann, Introduction to Liturgical Theology . Alexander Schmemann, Liturgy and Life: Christian Development through Liturgical Experience . Alexander Schmemann, Liturgy and Tradition . Alexander Schmemann, The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom . Andrew McGowan, Ancient Christian Worship: Early Church Practices in Social, Historical, and Theological Perspective . Arsenius Mikhail, Guides to the Eucharist in Medieval Egypt . Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist . Brian D. Spinks, Do This in Remembrance of Me: The Eucharist from the Early Church to the Present Day . Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, and Edward Yarnold, The Study of Liturgy . Christopher Hall, Worshipping with the Church Fathers . Christopher Irvine, Cross and Creation in Christian Liturgy and Art . Colman E. O'Neill, Meeting Christ in the Sacraments . Daniel Sheerin, The Eucharist (Message of the Fathers of the Church). Dom Gregory Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy . F.E. Warren, The Liturgy and Ritual of the Ante-Nicene Church . Fr. Athanasius al-Makary, A Summary of the Liturgical History of the Church of Alexandria (vol. 1-3). Fr. Athanasius Iskander, Understanding the Liturgy . Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty, Christ in the Eucharist . Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty, The Eucharist . George Kalantzis and Marc Cortez, Come, Let Us Eat Together . H.G. Bishop Mattaos, Spirituality of the Liturgy . H.G. Bishop Mattaos, How to Benefit from the Holy Liturgy (vol. 1-2). H.G. Bishop Mattaos, Sacrament of the Eucharist . Hippolytus of Rome, On the Apostolic Tradition (Popular Patristics Series, SVS Press). Jean Danielou, The Bible and the Liturgy . J.G. Davies, The New Westminster Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship . Joachim Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words of Jesus . Josef Jungmann, The Place of Christ in Liturgical Prayer . Joseph L. Price, From Season to Season: Sports as American Religion . Joseph Ratzinger, Theology of the Liturgy: The Sacramental Foundation of Christian Existence . Louis Bouyer, Eucharist: Theology and Spirituality of the Eucharistic Prayer . Lucien Deiss, Springtime of the Liturgy: Liturgical Texts of the First Four Centuries . Maxwell E. Johnson, Sacraments and Worship: The Sources of Christian Theology . Owen Cummings, Eucharistic Doctors: A Theological History . Paul F. Bradshaw and Maxwell E. Johnson, The Eucharistic Liturgies: Their Evolution and Interpretation . Peter D. Day, The Liturgical Dictionary of Eastern Christianity . Ramez Mikhail, The Presentation of the Lamb: The Prothesis and Preparatory Rites of the Coptic Liturgy (Studies in Eastern Christian Liturgies). Raniero Cantalamessa, The Eucharist: Our Sanctification . Robert Taft, Liturgy: Model of Prayer — Icon of Life . Robert Taft, Saints — Sanctity — Liturgy . Robert Taft, Worship is What Liturgy Does . Rudolf Yanney, Coptic Church Review vol. 32 Special Issue: The Eucharist and Its Theological Aspects in Scripture, Liturgy, and Patristic Writings . St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Lectures on the Christian Sacraments (Popular Patristics Series, SVS Press). St. Serapion of Thmuis, The Prayers of Saint Sarapion the Bishop of Thmuis (Popular Patristics Series, SVS Press). Thomas Fisch, Primary Readings on the Eucharist . Thomas K. Carroll and Thomas Halton, Liturgical Practice in the Fathers (Message of the Fathers of the Church). Tish Harrison Warren, Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life . Willy Rordorf, The Eucharist of the Early Christians . The Liturgical Calendar Adolf Adam, The Key to Faith: Meditations on the Liturgical Year . Adolf Adam, The Liturgical Year: Its History and Its Meaning After the Reform of the Liturgy . Andrew Doss, The Coptic Orthodox Lectionary in Diagram. Fr. Alexander Schmemann, The Church Year (Celebration of Faith, Sermons, vol. 2). Fr. John Behr, The Cross Stands While the World Turns: Homilies for the Cycles of the Year . Fr. John Paul Abdelsayed, Treasures of the Fathers: Patristic Meditations on the Sunday Gospels of the Coptic Lectionary (series). Fr. Lev Gillet, The Year of Grace of the Lord: A Scriptural and Liturgical Commentary on the Calendar of the Orthodox Church . Fr. Mikhail E. Mikhail, Focus on the Family: A Scriptural and Liturgical Guide Based on the Coptic Orthodox Lectionary . Fr. Thomas Hopko, The Lenten Spring . Fr. Thomas Hopko, The Winter Pascha . Georges A. Barrois, Scripture Readings in Orthodox Worship . Hugh Wybrew, Orthodox Feasts of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary: Liturgical Texts with Commentary . Johanna Manley, Grace for Grace: The Psalter and the Holy Fathers . Johanna Manley, The Bible and the Holy Fathers for Orthodox . Maxwell E. Johnson, Between Memory and Hope: Readings on the Liturgical Year . Paul F. Bradshaw and Maxwell E. Johnson, The Origins of Fasts, Feasts, and Seasons in Early Christianity . Raymond E. Brown, Christ in the Gospels of the Liturgical Year. Thomas J. Talley, Origins of the Liturgical Year . Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, & Confession Alexander Schmemann, Of Water and the Spirit: A Liturgical Study of Baptism . Ambrose of Milan, Method of Mystagogical Preaching . Bill Corcoran, Preparing the Rites of Initiation with Adults and Children of Catechetical Age . Boda Smith, Repentance in Christian Theology . B.T.A. Evetts, The Rites of the Coptic Church: The Order of Baptism and The Order of Matrimony According to the Use of the Coptic Church . E.C. Whitaker, Documents of the Baptismal Liturgy . Edward Yarnold, The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation . Enrico Mazza, Mystagogy: A Theology of Liturgy in the Patristic Age . Everett Ferguson, Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries . Maxwell E. Johnson, The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation . Oscar Cullmann, Baptism in the New Testament . Peter J. Leithart, Baptism: A Guide to Life From Death . Robin M. Jensen, Baptismal Imagery in Early Christianity: Ritual, Visual, and Theological Dimensions . St. Augustine, The First Catechetical Instruction (Ancient Christian Writers). Matrimony H.G. Bishop Moussa, The Christian Meaning of Marriage . John Chryssavgis, Love, Sexuality, and the Sacrament of Marriage . John Meyendorff, Marriage: An Orthodox Perspective . Kenneth Stevenson, To Join Together: The Rite of Marriage . Moheb Thomas and Youstina Thomas, Weddings and Wedlock: Insights from the Church Fathers on Happiness, Marriage, and Wedding Celebrations . Paul Evdokimov, The Sacrament of Love . St. John Chrysostom, On Marriage and Family Life (Popular Patristics Series, SVS Press). Ordination Alexandre Faivre, The Emergence of the Laity in the Early Church . Alistar C. Stewart, The Original Bishops . James F. Puglisi, The Process of Admission to Ordained Ministry: A Comparative Study . James Monroe Barnett, The Diaconate: A Full and Equal Order . Paul F. Bradshaw, Rites of Ordination: Their History and Theology . Phyllis Zagano, Ordination of Women to the Diaconate in the Eastern Churches . Death & Illness Alexander Schmemann, Liturgy of Death . Charles W. Gusmer, And You Visited Me: Sacramental Ministry to the Sick and Dying . David C. Ford, Prayer and the Departed Saints . Jean-Claude Larchet, Theology of Illness . Jeff M. Brannon, The Hope of Life After Death: A Biblical Theology of Resurrection. Joanne E. McWilliam Dewart, Message of the Fathers of the Church, Volume 22: Death and Resurrection . Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life . Kenneth Kramer, The Sacred Art of Dying: How the World Religions Understand Death . Kent Burreson and Beth Hoeltke, Lay Me in God's Good Earth: A Christian Approach to Death and Burial . Leonard J. DeLorenzo, Our Faithful Departed: Where They Are and Why It Matters . Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Sacraments of Healing . Michael J. Taylor, The Mystery of Suffering and Death . Michael Marsch, Healing Through the Sacraments . Paul Meyendorff, The Anointing of the Sick . Philippe Ariés, The Hour of Our Death: The Classic History of Western Attitudes Toward Death Over the Last One Thousand Years. Thomas G. Long, Accompany Them with Singing: The Christian Funeral . Thomas G. Long and Thomas Lynch, The Good Funeral: Death, Grief, and the Community of Care . Disclaimer: This list serves as a collection of various perspectives, titles, and backgrounds, and may not necessarily endorse the teaching, history, and understanding of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Previous Next