Day 16 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramhat, 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 Sixteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat

Departure of the Saint Anba Khail (Mikhail), the Forty-Sixth Pope of the See of St.Mark

      On this day of the year 483 A.M. (March 12th, 767 A.D.) the holy father Anba Khail (Mikhail), the forty six Pope of the See Of St. Mark, departed. This father was a monk in the monastery of St. Macarius and he was knowledgeable and ascetic. When Pope Theodorus the forty fifth Patriarch, his predecessor, departed the bishops of Lower Egypt (Delta) and the priests of Alexandria gathered in the church of Anba Shenouda in Cairo. A Dispute arose among them about who was fit, and finally they called Anba Mousa, Bishop of Ouseem, and Anba Petros, Bishop of Mariout. When they arrived, Anba Mousa found the priests of Alexandria obstinate, he rebuked them for that, and dismissed them that night so their minds and souls might calm down. When they met the next day he mentioned to them the name of the priest Khail the monk in the monastery of St. Macarius. They unanimously agreed to his choice and obtained a decree from the Governor of Egypt to the elders of the wilderness of Sheahat (Wadi El-Natroun) to bring him from the monastery. On their way, when they arrived to Geza they found father Khail coming along with some elders to fulfill a certain task connected with the monastery. They seized him, bound him, and took him to Alexandria where they ordained him Patriarch on the 17th. of Tute, year 460 A.M. (September 14th., year 743 A.D.). It Happened that there was a drought in the city of Alexandria for two years, and on that day the rain fell heavily for three days and the people of Alexandria considered that a good omen.

      During the reign of Marawan the last of the Khalifas of the Umayyad rule and during the governorship of Hefs Ebn El-Walid and during the days of this father many great tribulations fell upon the believers. A large number of the believers fled from Egypt and the number of those who denied Christ was twenty-four thousand, and because of that the Patriarch was in great sorrow until God perished those were responsible for that. This father endured many difficulties from Abdel Malek Ebn-Marawan the new governor. He imprisoned, beaten, chained, and tortured him with many other ways of painful tortures, then he released him. The Patriarch went to Upper Egypt to collect alms and when he came back, the Governor took the money from him and threw him back in prison. When Keriakos king of Nuba knew that, he was extremely enraged, he prepared one hundred thousand soldiers and marched down to Egypt. Going threw Upper Egypt he slew all the Muslims that he met, until he reached El Fostat (Cairo), he camped around the city threatening to destroy it. When Abdel Malek the Governor saw the army surrounding the city and that all this had taken place for the sake of the Patriarch, he became terrified, so he released him from prison with great honor. The Governor entreated the Patriarch to mediate peace between him and the king of Nuba.

      The Patriarch agreed to his request, so he went with some of the clergy to meet the king and asked him to accept the peace from abdel Malek which the king accepted and returned back. Abdel Malek respected the Christians and lifted up all his retribution. When the father the Patriarch prayed for the sake of the Governor's daughter, who was possessed with an unclean spirit, and with his prayers the unclean spirit left her, the Governor increased his respect for the Christians. This father debated with Cosmas the Melchite Patriarch concerning the Hypostatic Union. Pope Khail wrote him a letter, signed it along with his bishops, which said in it: "It is not right to say that in Christ two distinct Natures or two distinct Persons after the Hypostatic Union." Cosmas was convinced with that and asked to become a bishop under the authority of Anba Khail. When Anba Khail completed his strife, he departed to the Lord whom he loved after he had spent on the Chair of St. Mark twenty-three and half years.

May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.

Matins

Prophecies

Deuteronomy 10:12-end ; - Deuteronomy 11:1-28

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it. The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.0

Isaiah 29:13-23

Therefore the Lord said:
        "In as much as these people draw near with their mouths
        And honor Me with their lips,
        But have removed their hearts far from Me,
        And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
        Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
        Among this people,
        A marvelous work and a wonder;
        For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
        And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden."
        Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD,
        And their works are in the dark;
        They say, "Who sees us?" and, "Who knows us?"
        Surely you have things turned around!
        Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
        For shall the thing made say of him who made it,
        "He did not make me"?
        Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
        "He has no understanding"?

Is it not yet a very little while
        Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
        And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?
        In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
        And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
        The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD,
        And the poor among men shall rejoice
        In the Holy One of Israel.
        For the terrible one is brought to nothing,
        The scornful one is consumed,
        And all who watch for iniquity are cut off--
        Who make a man an offender by a word,
        And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
        And turn aside the just by empty words.

Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
        "Jacob shall not now be ashamed,
        Nor shall his face now grow pale;
        But when he sees his children,
        The work of My hands, in his midst,
        They will hallow My name,
        And hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
        And fear the God of Israel.


Job 21:1-34
Then Job answered and said:
        "Listen carefully to my speech,
        And let this be your consolation.
        Bear with me that I may speak,
        And after I have spoken, keep mocking.
        "As for me, is my complaint against man?
        And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
        Look at me and be astonished;
        Put your hand over your mouth.
        Even when I remember I am terrified,
        And trembling takes hold of my flesh.
        Why do the wicked live and become old,
        Yes, become mighty in power?
        Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
        And their offspring before their eyes.
        Their houses are safe from fear,
        Neither is the rod of God upon them.
        Their bull breeds without failure;
        Their cow calves without miscarriage.
        They send forth their little ones like a flock,
        And their children dance.
        They sing to the tambourine and harp,
        And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
        They spend their days in wealth,
        And in a moment go down to the grave.
        Yet they say to God, "Depart from us,
        For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
        Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
        And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?'
        Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand;
        The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
        "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
        How often does their destruction come upon them,
        The sorrows God distributes in His anger?
        They are like straw before the wind,
        And like chaff that a storm carries away.
        They say, "God lays up one's iniquity for his children';
        Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.
        Let his eyes see his destruction,
        And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
        For what does he care about his household after him,
        When the number of his months is cut in half?
        "Can anyone teach God knowledge,
        Since He judges those on high?
        One dies in his full strength,
        Being wholly at ease and secure;
        His pails are full of milk,
        And the marrow of his bones is moist.
        Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
        Never having eaten with pleasure.
        They lie down alike in the dust,
        And worms cover them.
        "Look, I know your thoughts,
        And the schemes with which you would wrong me.
        For you say,
        "Where is the house of the prince?
        And where is the tent,
        The dwelling place of the wicked?'
        Have you not asked those who travel the road?
        And do you not know their signs?
        For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
        They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
        Who condemns his way to his face?
        And who repays him for what he has done?
        Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
        And a vigil kept over the tomb.
        The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
        Everyone shall follow him,
        As countless have gone before him.
        How then can you comfort me with empty words,
        Since falsehood remains in your answers?"


Daniel 14:1-42
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Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 28:6-7

Blessed be the LORD,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.

Gospel

Luke 4:31-37

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Pauline Epistle

From the epistle of teacher St. Paul the apostle to the (...), may his blessings be with us Amen.

Hebrews 13:7-16

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.

Catholic Epistle

The catholic epistle from the epistle of our teacher St. (...), may his blessings be with us Amen. My beloved.

1John 4:7-16

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Do not love the world nor 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 holy blessings be with us all. Amen.

Acts 22:17-24

"Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him saying to me, "Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.' So I said, "Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.' Then He said to me, "Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles."'

And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!" Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him.

The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed in the holy Church of God. Amen.

Synaxarium

• The Apparition of the Pure Lady the Virgin in the church of Zeiton.
• The Departure of Anba Macarius, the Fifty-Ninth Pope of Alexandria.

Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 28:2

Hear the voice of my supplications
        When I cry to You,
        When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

Gospel

Matthew 15:21-31

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed."

But He answered her not a word.

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."

But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."

And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel

Howard Thurman lovingly critiqued Christianity, which has often ignored the direct teaching and witness of Jesus in relationship with those who are oppressed. This excerpt is from one of Thurman’s most well-known books, Jesus and the Disinherited. I think this message is important today and always.

To those who need profound succor and strength to enable them to live in the present with dignity and creativity, Christianity often has been sterile and of little avail. The conventional Christian word is muffled, confused, and vague. Too often the price exacted by society for security and respectability is that the Christian movement in its formal expression must be on the side of the strong against the weak. This is a matter of tremendous significance, for it reveals to what extent a religion that was born of a people acquainted with persecution and suffering has become the cornerstone of a civilization and of nations whose very position in modern life has too often been secured by a ruthless use of power applied to weak and defenseless peoples.

It is not a singular thing to hear a sermon that defines what should be the attitude of the Christian toward people who are less fortunate than himself. Again and again our missionary appeal is on the basis of the Christian responsibility to the needy, the ignorant, and the so-called backward peoples of the earth. There is a certain grandeur and nobility in administering to another’s need out of one’s fullness and plenty. . . . It is certainly to the glory of Christianity that it has been most insistent on the point of responsibility to others whose only claim upon one is the height and depth of their need. This impulse at the heart of Christianity is the human will to share with others what one has found meaningful to oneself elevated to the height of a moral imperative. But there is a lurking danger in this very emphasis. It is exceedingly difficult to hold oneself free from a certain contempt for those whose predicament makes moral appeal for defense and succor. It is the sin of pride and arrogance that has tended to vitiate the missionary impulse and to make of it an instrument of self-righteousness on the one hand and racial superiority on the other.

That is one reason why, again and again, there is no basic relationship between the simple practice of brotherhood in the commonplace relations of life and the ethical pretensions of our faith. It has long been a matter of serious moment that for decades we have studied the various peoples of the world and those who live as our neighbors as objects of missionary endeavor and enterprise without being at all willing to treat them either as brothers or as human beings. I say this without rancor, because it is not an issue in which vicious human beings are involved. But it is one of the subtle perils of a religion which calls attention—to the point of overemphasis, sometimes—to one’s obligation to administer to human need.

References:
A note on language from Thurman’s editors: “We realize that inclusive language is noticeably absent in Howard Thurman’s writings. As gifted and prophetic as he was, Howard Thurman was also a product of his times, and inclusive language was not a part of the social consciousness. Regardless of language, the substance of Howard Thurman’s work is inclusive. His life and theology were inclusive, and if he were writing today his language would more accurately reflect this worldview.” [1] While his masculine words might suggest that Thurman didn’t consider other perspectives, he did see many women in his life (for example, his mentor Mary McLeod Bethune and his wife Sue Bailey Thurman) as peers and leaders. We must grant this same sympathy to all those who write with sincerity in previous times and various cultures.