If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
Day 2 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Second Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Departure of the Great Saint Anba Paul, the First Hermit
On this day of the year 341 A.D., the great saint Anba Paul, the first hermit, departed. This Saint was from the city of Alexandria, and had a brother whose name was Peter. After the departure of their father, they divided the inheritance between them. When his brother took the greater share, Paul's feelings were hurt, by his brother's action. He said to his brother, "Why don't you give me my rightful share of the inheritance of my father?" Peter responded, "You are a young man, and I am afraid that you might squander it. As for me, I will keep it for you." When they did not agree with each other, they went to the governor to judge between them. On their way, they saw a funeral procession. Paul asked one of the mourners about the deceased man. Paul was told that he was one of the noble and rich people of the city, and that he left his riches and his wealth behind, and that they were taking him to bury him with only his garment. St. Paul sighed in his heart and said to himself, "What do I have to do then with all the money of this temporal world which I shall leave naked?" He looked to his brother and said to him, "My brother, let us return, for I shall not ask you for anything, not even for what is mine."
On their way back, Paul left his brother and went on his way until he came out of the city. Paul found a grave where he stayed for three days praying to the Lord Christ to guide him to what pleases Him. As for his brother, he searched for Paul diligently and when he did not find him, he was very sorry for what he had done. God sent St. Paul an angel who took him out of this place, and walked with him until they reached the eastern inner wilderness. He stayed there for 70 years, during which he saw no one. He put on a tunic made of palm tree fiber. The Lord sent him a raven every day with a half loaf of bread. When the Lord wanted to reveal the holiness of St. Paul and his righteousness, He sent His angel to St. Antony (Antonius) the Great, who thought that he was the first to dwell in the wilderness. The angel told St. Antony, "There is a man who lives in the inner wilderness; the world is not worthy of his footsteps. By his prayers, the Lord brings rain and dew to fall on the earth, and bring the flood of the Nile in its due season." When St. Antony heard this, he rose right away and went to the inner wilderness, a distance of one day's walk. God guided him to the cave of St. Paul. He entered, and they bowed to each other, and sat down talking about the greatness of the Lord.
In the evening, the raven came bringing a whole loaf of bread. St. Paul said to St. Antony, "Now, I know that you are one of the children of God. For 70 years, the Lord has been sending to me everyday, half a loaf of bread, but today, the Lord is sending your food also. Now, go and bring me back in a hurry the tunic that Emperor Constantine had given to Pope Athanasius." St. Antony went to St. Athanasius, and brought the tunic from him and returned to St. Paul. On his way back, he saw the soul of St. Paul carried by the angels up to heaven. When he arrived to the cave, he found that St. Paul had departed from this world. He kissed him, weeping, and clothed him in the tunic that he asked for, and he took his fiber tunic. When St. Antony wanted to bury St. Paul, he wondered how could he dig the grave? Two lions entered the cave, bowed their heads before the body of St. Paul, and shook their heads as if they were asking St. Anthony what to do. St. Antony knew that they were sent from God. He marked the length and width of the body on the ground, and they dug the grave with their claws, according to St. Antony's directions. St. Anthony then buried the holy body, and went back to Pope Athanasius and told him what had happened. St. Athanasius sent men to bring St. Paul's body to him. They spent several days searching in the mountains, but they could not find the place of his grave. St. Paul appeared to the Pope in a vision and told him that the Lord would not allow the revelation of the location of his body. He asked the Pope not to trouble the men, but to have them brought back. Pope Athanasius used to put the palm fiber tunic on three times a year during the Divine Liturgy. One time, he wanted to let the people know about the holiness of the owner of that tunic. He put it over a dead man, and the dead man rose up instantly. The news of this miracle spread all around the land of Egypt.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Longinus, the Abbot of El-Zugag Monastery
On this day also, the pure saint Anba Longinus, the abbot of the El-Zugag monastery, departed. He was from Cilicia (in Asia Minor). He became a monk in one of the monasteries, where his father Lucianus became a monk after his wife had died. When the abbot of this monastery departed, the monks wanted to appoint St.Lucianus an abbot over them, but he refused, for he shunned the vain glory of the world. He took his son Longinus and went to Syria, where they lived in a church. God revealed their virtues by performing many miracles through them. For fear of the vain glory of this world, Longinus went to Egypt with his father's permission. When he arrived, he went to the monastery of El-Zugag, west of Alexandria. The monks received him with joy. After the departure of the abbot, the monks appointed Anba Longinus abbot over them, for what they saw of his virtues and his good conduct. Shortly after, his father Lucianus came to him, and they worked together in making the canvas sails of boats, and sold them to support themselves. God performed many miracles and signs on their hands. Father Lucianus departed from this world in peace, and shortly after, his son, Anba Longinus, departed also.
May The prayers of these two saints be with us, and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 29 : 10 - 11
Chapter 29
| 10 | The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever. |
| 11 | The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Mark the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Mark 8 : 10 - 21
Chapter 8
| 10 | immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha. |
| 11 | Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. |
| 12 | But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." |
| 13 | And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. |
| 14 | Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. |
| 15 | Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." |
| 16 | And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread." |
| 17 | But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? |
| 18 | Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? |
| 19 | When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve." |
| 20 | "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven." |
| 21 | So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?" |
And Glory be to God forever.
Liturgy Gospel
Paulines Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God.
A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Romans .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Romans 10 : 4 - 18
Chapter 10
| 4 | For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. |
| 5 | For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them." |
| 6 | But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?"' (that is, to bring Christ down from above) |
| 7 | or, Who will descend into the abyss?"' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). |
| 8 | But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): |
| 9 | that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. |
| 10 | For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. |
| 11 | For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." |
| 12 | For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. |
| 13 | For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." |
| 14 | How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? |
| 15 | And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" |
| 16 | But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "LORD, who has believed our report?" |
| 17 | So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. |
| 18 | But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: "Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world." |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. Peter .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 Peter 3 : 17 - 22
Chapter 3
| 17 | For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. |
| 18 | For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, |
| 19 | by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, |
| 20 | who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. |
| 21 | There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, |
| 22 | who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. |
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 3 : 22 - 26
Chapter 3
| 22 | For Moses truly said to the fathers, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. |
| 23 | And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' |
| 24 | Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. |
| 25 | You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, "And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' |
| 26 | To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 118 : 5,18
Chapter 118
| 5 | I called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place. |
| 18 | The LORD has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death. |
Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
John 2 : 12 - 25
Chapter 2
| 12 | After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. |
| 13 | Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. |
| 14 | And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. |
| 15 | When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. |
| 16 | And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" |
| 17 | Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." |
| 18 | So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" |
| 19 | Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." |
| 20 | Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" |
| 21 | But He was speaking of the temple of His body. |
| 22 | Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. |
| 23 | Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. |
| 24 | But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, |
| 25 | and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Why not? Why not pretend for now that the Absolute (the Great Mystery, the Ground of Being) sometimes expresses itself in the body of woman? Pretending God’s a dude hasn’t exactly worked out for the vast majority of the human family, let alone the animal and plant communities or the air or the waters. —Mirabai Starr [1]
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, an African American pastor and author that I greatly respect, spoke at CAC’s recent conference on the theme of racial and gender inequity. Not surprisingly, some white folks in our audience were very uncomfortable. And that’s okay! Discomfort is a teacher; it’s an invitation to learn and grow. As unpleasant as it may be, we must face the truth of Christianity’s complicity in creating and supporting systems of oppression. It’s more than time for all of us to reimagine God.
Keep your heart open as you read Jacqui Lewis’ vision of God:
It makes sense that because white men created so much of religion, the image of God was an old white man with grey hair. However, this image needs a makeover because he’s no longer working.
My God is a curvy black woman with dreadlocks and dark, cocoa-brown skin. She laughs from her belly and is unashamed to cry. She can rock a whole world to sleep, singing in her contralto voice. Her sighs breathe life into humanity. Her heartbreaks cause eruptions of justice and love.
Of course, because God is a mystery, we don’t know everything about Her. So out of our imaginations and our yearnings, our hopes and our fears, we make stuff up. At our best, we project goodness, power, kindness, and love onto God. At our worst, we create a God who is punitive, angry, judgmental, and harsh. We do this because we are those things, and we think they make us safe.
Projection itself is not the problem. The problem occurs when we don’t examine those projections with a critical eye, with a hermeneutic of suspicion. The issue is that we write laws that codify the shadow parts of the god we create, in order to diminish others, to abuse others. The trouble starts when our god is too small, when we reduce our worst projections to fit in our pocket and keep this god on our team. When we neglect to confront this created god, we get the Crusades and the Doctrine of Discovery; the murder of indigenous people and Jews; apartheid and enslaved Africans; sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia—all in the name of the too-puny god that is the worst of ourselves.
I know I’ve got my projections. They are inspired by my imagination and by textual studies. In Hebrew, the words for womb and mercy have the same root, and the word for spirit is feminine: ruach. In Greek, the word pneuma [breath or spirit or soul] has a feminine article, the word Sophia stands for wisdom, and the word agape—God’s love for us—is also a feminine word. Therefore, my God is an incarnate feminine power, who smells like vanilla and is full of sass and truth, delivered with kindness. She’ll do anything for her creation; her love is fierce. She weeps when we do and insists on justice. She is God. She is Love.
References:
[1] Mirabai Starr, Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics (Sounds True: 2019), 32.
Jacqui Lewis, “She Is God. She Is Love.” the Mendicant, vol. 9, no. 2 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2019), 23.