يعقد قداسة البابا تواضروس الثاني اجتماع الأربعاء الأسبوعي لقداسته مساء اليوم بكنيسة التجلي بمركز لوجوس البابوي بدير القديس الأنبا بيشوي بوادي النطرون.

“عمل النعمة” كلمة قداسة البابا في اجتماع الأربعاء من مركز لوجوس البابوي

بسم الأب والابن والروح القدس الإله الواحد آمين تحل علينا رحمته ونعمته من الأن وإلى الأبد آمين
من رساله معلمنا بولس الرسول الرسالة الثانية لأهل كورنثوس الاصحاح الرابع
كل سنة وحضراتكم طيبين بنرحب بوجود الأباء المطارنة والأباء الأساقفة معنا النهاردة ضمن السيمينار السنوي للمجمع المقدس للكنيسة القبطية الأرثوذكسية
وهو الفترة الدراسية التي نقضيها معًا في عمل دراسي لنا جميعًا ونشترك فى المحاضرات وفي المناقشات و في الدراسة والبحث و تكون فرصة طيبة لدراسة موضوع واحد بعمق شديد، موضوع هذا العام في السيمينار السنوي هو”الأسقف والكاهن أبوة وبنوة” ودارات موضوعات ومناقشات ثريه للغاية ولسه هنكمل غدًا
حبيت اليوم بمناسبة وجودنا كلنا وبمناسبة وجود بعض الأباء الكهنة أن اتحدث عن عمل النعمة في حياتنا نحن كأباء أساقفة أو أباء كهنة أو خدام، النعمة هي التي تعمل فينا، كلنا تحت الضعف وكلنا غير مستحقين لهذه الخدمة العظيمة والمملؤة سرًا ولكن النعمة تعمل لذلك سوف اتحدث عن عمل النعمة ثم صفة الخادم ثم اتكلم عن النعمة التي تعمل فى الخادم والمخدوم وطبيعة الخدمة
أولًا نضع اساسيات عن النعمة:
أولًا : النعمة لها قوة أعظم من الطبيعة:
كل مادة في الطبيعة لها قوة الحديد الخشب النسيج تختلف من شيء للأخرولكن عندما توجد النعمة تكون أقوى من الطبيعة مثال لهذا العصا التي كانت في يد موسي عندما شق البحر هى عصا عادية معروف قدرتها وقوتها ولكن بالنعمة التي فيها ومن خلال هذا قدرت تشق البحر ويعبر الشعب وتغرق فرعون ومركباته وتكون قوة عظيمة وتسجلها الكنيسة في تاريخها من خلال الهوس الأول في التسبحة
ثانيًا : الله لا يعطينا عندما نتكاسل:
الله يعطينا عندما لا نستطيع وهنا طرفين مختلفين الله لا يعمل مع الإنسان الكسلان ابدًا، الله يعمل مع الإنسان الذي يقول له “لا اقدر” فيعمل معه، نحن نقول انها معجزات او عمل كبير ولكن هذه هى طبيعة الله أن يعمل عندما لا نستطيع و تظهر قوته العظيمة في حياتنا ولكن إذا تكاسل الإنسان “الرخاوة لا تمسك صيدًا” تكون النتيجة لا شيء النعمة تستطيع أن تعمل وتقدر مع الإنسان الذي يقول أنه لا يستطيع واتذكر عبارة المتنيح البابا شنوده ” عندما توجد النية الله يعطي الأمكانية”
ثالثًا النعمة تكره الفراغ:
الفراغ شكل من اشكال الكسل فراغ العقل القلب والروح والنفس الوقت، النعمة تكره الفراغ،النعمة تحب الملء ولذلك خدمتنا وكما قال معلمنا بولس الرسول “ولكن لنا هذا الكنز في أواني خزفية ليكون فضل القوة لله وليس منا” والخدمة في تطورها الكامل هى “من الله بالله إلى أن نصل إليه”، هو مصدرها وقوتها وهدفها وهذه الثلاث اساسيات التي نضعهم في حياتنا لنعرف طبيعة النعمة التي تعمل في حياة الإنسان.
ثانيا: تعريف الخادم كأب أسقف وأب كاهن وخادم
في الخدمة هناك صفات لهذا الخادم يجب أن تكون حاضره على الدوام.
1- لديه احساس كامل وحقيقي بالنعمة المعطاه له :
الله جعلنى أب أسقف أو أب مطران يجب أن يكون لدي الأحساس الحقيقي بالنعمة التي يعطيها لي الله اقدرها وأعرف قيمتها وعظمتها وكيف منحها الله لي ولدي احساس حقيقي بالنعمة المعطاه له وهذا الأحساس متجدد ودائم ومستمرفي حياة الإنسان ولذلك لا نشيخ،وكما يقولوا ” المسيحية لا تعرف الشيخوخة” السن يكبر ولكن القلب يبقي في الصورة الشبابية النعمة تجعل الإنسان شاب، النعمة “تجدد مثل النسر شبابك” لا تجعل سنك يجعلك تشيخ كن دائمًا في احساس الشباب، الجسد يضعف ولكن احساسك الداخلي لدية احساس حقيقي بالنعمة
2- الخادم لديه اهتمام لأشباع كل النفوس:
نحن نعمل في عمل خاص نحن هدفنا النفوس، الطبيب يهتم بصحة الإنسان، المدرس هدفه يعلم الأخرين، المهندس هدفه يبني مساكن للأخرين، الخادم الذي لديه احساس بالنعمة لديه اهتمام بالغ بالنفوس وليس العدد، مهتم بأشباع النفوس المفديه على عود الصليب، الطفل الشاب الأسرة الجديدة ، الأشباع احساس بالمسئولية وهي مسئولية مستمرة
3- خادم المسيح لديه أشواق وطموحات:
الانسان لا يتوقف عن أن يحلم ولا تدعوا الإحباط يتسرب إلينا …الكلمات المحبطة” ليس في الامكان افضل من ما كان” ، لديه اشواق وطموحات وعندما يسمح الله أن نحتفل بأعياد الرسامة والميلاد هذه الأعياد هدفها اشكرالله على اللي فات و أضع أحلامي واشواقي عند قدميه ويكون لدي طموحات روحية
4- لديه حرص واحتراس من عدو الخير” نصلي قيام الاعداء الخفين انزعها عنا وعن سائر شعبك” ، لديه حرص إلا يسرق أحد أكليله واخد باله من نفسه وخدمته وكنيسته واخد باله باستمرار ولديه هذا الحرص ومنتبه لنفسه، لذلك نأخذ فترات اصوام وخلوات نراجع أفكارنا وحياتنا ونقابل أباء اعترافنا ويكون الإنسان دائما محترس.
هذه الصورة التي نتحدث فيها عن النعمة تجعلنا نقف عند ثلاث محطات…
كيف تعمل النعمة في كل خادم فينا؟
1- في دعوتنا للخدمة:
نقول في القداس “ونحن المدعوين بنعمتك إلى خدمتك ونحن غير مستحقين” المدعوين بالنعمة… النعمة هى التي دعتنا كلنا والله يعملنا معنا وكل شيء عند الله بهدف، الله يقصد اليوم الذي رسمت فيه والمسئولية التي اوكلها إليك و خدمة كل واحد منا مهما كان نوع الخدمة النعمة التي دعتك وتعمل معك، والنعمة التي تجعل فيك هواية خلاص النفوس وهذا تعبير يوحنا ذهبي الفم، وهي هواية لا يوجد بها اجبار…هواية تتويب النفوس ، الصراع الحقيقي الذي نعيشه في خدمتنا كيف نساعد الأخرين على التوبة و تأتي فترات الأصوام تجدد روح التوبة فينا،والصلوات تساعدنا في تتويب النفوس والإنجيل يقول” العالم قد وضع في الشرير” الخطايا كثيرة في العالم واتساعها بقي كبير داخل وخارج البيت الصغير والكبير علينا مسئولية ضخمة جدًا، بقدرتنا لا نستطيع أن نتمه ولكن بعمل النعمة نستطيع، أنت مدعو بالنعمة وأنت تعمل بالنعمة وأنت تطلب النعمة “نعمة الستر دائمًا” الخادم فينا هو اداه في يد النعمة ومهما عمل الله على ايدينا لا ننسب شيء لنا ولكن كله عمل الله،كله منسوب إلى عمل النعمة، النعمة دعتنا للعمل وتجعلنا ننشغل بتتويب النفوس وهواية خلاص الأخرين وتستر علينا وتكمل كل ضعف.
النعمة لا تعمل فينا فقط ولكن النعمة تعمل أيضا في نفوس من نخدمهم تهيئ قلوب من نخدمهم عندما نقوم بخدمة النعمة هي التي تهيئ النفوس مثل ما الزارع يحرث الأرض، مثل قصة بولس الرسول وهو يتكلم امام اغريباس الملك ” بقليل تقنعني أن اصير مسيحيا ” هذه النعمة التي حركت قلبه
النعمة أيضا هي التي تشبع المخدومين هى التي تجعل الإنسان يشبع ويرتوي ويستجيب النعمة التي تعمل في قلوب المخدومين ماذا يجعل الشاب يستمر في حضور اجتماع لأنه يشعر أنه شبع ارتوى ولأنه محتاج ” النفس الشبعانه تدوس العسل” فبعد اولادنا يتم لأن النفس لم تشبع ويجب أن نتاكد أن المخدوم شبع هناك تقليد قديم عندما تأكل الام ابنها “يقول الطفل أنا شبعت فتقول الأم أنا فرحت”
النعمة تسبب النمو التدريجي في حياة أولادنا وهذا ما حدث مع القديس أثناسيوس عندما رأه القديس البابا الكسندروس في امكانية للمستقبل
عمل النعمة جعل أثناسيوس يتدرج فى الخدمة حتى وصل ليكون بطريرك عظيم في تاريخ الكنيسة ونحن نصلي نقول ” الخطاة الذين تابوا عدهم مع مؤمنوك، ومؤمنوك عدهم مع شهدائك والذين هاهنا أجعلهم متشبهين بملائكتك” هناك تدرج
النعمة في حياة المخدومين تهيئ القلب وتمهده وتساعد في الأستجابة والشبع والأرتواء وتسبب النمو المتدرج في حياة أولادنا
النعمة التي تعمل في جوهرالخدمة: مثال لو علي موضوع اقدمه النعمة تعمل فى هذا الموضوع، تعمل فى جوهر الخدمة تساعدنا أن نختار ما هو مناسب لنقدمه لمن نخدمهم، النعمة تساعد أن تختار الشيء المناسب ما هو مشوق وما سوف يصل، يوجد الان قنوات كثيرة ولكن التواصل الحي هو المؤثر، والنعمة تجعلنا نطور ونجدد في طبيعة الخدمة النعمة متجددة بها حركة وهذا الأسلوب يجعل الخدمة تكون جذابه ومبهرة السيد المسيح قال لنا ” كاس ماء بارد لا يضيع اجره” خدمتنا لازم تساعد المخدومين وتكون متجددة
في تاريخ الكنيسة قصص ومواقف نحتاج أن نبحث عنا وأيضا في الإنجيل، كيف نبدع في العمل الذي يقدم، هذا الزمن يحتاج كل شيء يكون مبهر ويجب أن نستخدم أولادنا ليساعدونا ، في جامعات سنغافورا يعينوا الأوائل مساعدين للوزراء لمشاركة الخبرة مع الفكر الجديد وهذا سبب نهضة هذه البلاد أولادنا يساعدونا فى الأبداع والتجديد
النعمة تساعدك إنك تبني نظام، النعمة هي التي ترتب كيف يكون اجتماع الخدمة ومجمع الكهنة و برنامج الموضوعات، النعمة هي التي تعمل فى حياتنا وهي قوة أعظم من الطبيعة وتعمل معنا ليس عندما نتكاسل بل عندما لا نستطيع والنعمة لا تحب الفراغ ونجد القديس بولس في الرسالة الثانية لأهل كورنثوس يقرر كلمة “لا نفشل” وهذا يعطى رجاء للإنسان ويعطيه الحيوية للخدمة الله يعطينا هذه النعم دائمًا ويبارك في خدمة كل إيبارشية وخدمة كل كنيسة وخدمة كل مكان هنا في مصر وخارج مصر من أقاصي الأرض إلى أقاصيها وعمل الله الذي يمتد ويفرحنا جميعًا له كل مجد وكرامة من الأن وإلى الأبد آمين.

“عمل النعمة” كلمة قداسة البابا في اجتماع الأربعاء من مركز لوجوس البابوي على الساوند كلاود.
https://soundcloud.com/media-center-157147919/rzr68mwiplt8

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. One God. Amen. May His grace and mercy rest upon us, from now and forevermore. Amen.

Summary highlights of today’s sermon

1- The 3 foundations of grace

1-The power of grace is greater than any other power
2-Grace is given after we have done all we can do, not to the lazy
3-Grace detests emptiness

2- The 4 characteristics of a servant of Christ
1-Having a complete and true sense of the grace of God
2-Caring about the feeding and repentance of souls
3-Having spiritual longings and ambitions
4-Living watchfully and with awareness regarding the enemy of good

3- The 7 works of grace:

1-Grace works with the one who serves
2-Grace works to prepare and make receptive the hearts of those who are being served,
3-Grace helps to satiate and quench people,
4-Grace works to give gradual growth,
5-Grace permeates and works through the work itself,
6-Grace helps us find effective and relevant ways to communicate, and
7-Grace helps us design orderly structures and systems

By the grace of Christ I will read a portion from the 4th Chapter of our teacher St. Paul the Apostle’s second Letter to the Corinthians.

1Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12So then death is working in us, but life in you.
13And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 14knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
(2 Corinthians 4)

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

(NOTE TO READER: This sermon was given to a group of priests, bishops, and Church servants, but it is applicable to anyone.)

I would like to talk about the work of God’s grace in our lives and the grace of God that works within us, because even as priests, we all have weaknesses and are unworthy of the grace of being able to serve in this great and mysterious way, but it is grace that is at work within us. And so today I would like to talk about the work of grace, first of all about the nature of grace, then about the characteristics of a servant of Christ, and finally, about seven ways in which grace works.

The 3 foundations of grace

1-The power of grace is greater than any other power

I would like to first lay down the foundations of grace. First of all, grace has power that is greater than the strength contained in nature. Everything has strength. Iron has strength, wood has strength, even fabrics have certain strength, but grace is more powerful and stronger than nature. One of the best examples of this is the staff that was in Moses’ hand when he split the sea.

It was a staff and we all know the capacity and strength of a staff, but it was because of the grace that flowed through that staff and the faithfulness of that servant that the sea was split, and the people passed through and Pharaoh’s chariots and Pharaoh himself were drowned. This splitting of the sea demonstrates the great power of grace and the Church records it in her history by making it part of the First Hoos Tasbeha Praise.

2-Grace is given after we have done all we can do, not to the lazy

The second point about grace is that God does not give us grace when we are lazy but God does give us grace when we are incapable to do anything more, and these are two different points. The Lord can never cooperate with or work through a lazy person, never, because no matter what form laziness may take, a lazy person is asleep within himself. But God does work with a person who says to Him, “Lord, I am not capable.” It is then that God begins to work with that person.

And this is why we say things like, “This is a miracle!” or “This is a great thing that happened!” but this is the nature of God, that He works when we are unable to, that His great power may be revealed in our lives.

But if a person were to be lazy, slow to take action, or as it is written, “The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting” (Prov 12:27), the result will be that nothing will happen. Grace is able to work within a person who has done all he can do and says, “I can’t do anything more.” And here I remember the statement that His Holiness Pope Shenouda used to often repeat: “When the intention is present, God gives the ability.” When the intention is there – and so just imagine that if you have a pure intention within you to do a certain thing, that God will then give you the ability to do that thing. So this is the second point.

3-Grace detests emptiness

Number three is that grace hates emptiness, and emptiness is a form of laziness – the emptiness of the heart, the emptiness of the mind, the emptiness of the spirit, the emptiness of the soul, the emptiness of time. Grace hates emptiness but it loves fullness, and that is why our service, in general, and as St. Paul the Apostle expressed in this very transcendent chapter where he spoke as a priest father or bishop father or even a Church servant, said, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (v7). We have this treasure. We are earthen vessels. And in its fullness, service is from the Lord, by the Lord, and to the Lord, for He is its Source, its Power, and its Purpose.

So these are the three foundations for us to put before us regarding the nature of the grace that works in one’s life.

The 4 characteristics of a servant of Christ

The second matter I would like for us to consider is the characteristics that identify a person who serves. All of us – whether a beloved priest, bishop, Church servant – are to demonstrate the characteristics of a person who serves Christ, and these qualities are to be present within us at all times.

1-Having a complete and true sense of the grace of God

The first characteristic is that he have a complete and true sense of the grace he has been given. For example, God has given me to be a priest or a bishop or a metropolitan or a patriarch, then I must have a true sense of the grace that God has given me – that I esteem it and know its value, that I know its greatness and the greatness of God’s granting this grace to me.

And so a person is to have a true sense of the grace he or she has been given, and that this sense be constantly renewed and continuous in a person’s life, and in this way, a person never grows old, as they say, “Christianity does not know old-age.” Our age in years increases, our beards become white, but meanwhile, our hearts remain and abide in a youthful state, in the image and likeness of a 33 year-old – the age of 33. And so a true sense of the grace one has been given makes a person remain youthful.

God has given most of us many graces, even in the early days of our ministry, when we were Sunday School teachers and youth teachers, and grace continues to renew one’s youth like the eagle (Ps 103:5), and this is a very real thing. And that is why I say to all my beloveds, do not let the number of your years make you old, but always maintain the sense of youth, the sense of youthfulness. Yes, the body does of course change a little, tires a little – these are natural matters that come with the passage of time, but your inner feeling should always remain in a youthful state, and this comes when you have a true sense of the grace of God.

2-Caring about the feeding and repentance of souls

The second characteristic of a servant of Christ is that he care about and is preoccupied with the feeding of all souls. We have a special work, our goal is the salvation of souls. A doctor’s goal is the health of a person – whether physically, emotionally, or mentally, a teacher’s goal is to teach others, an accountant’s goal is to organize the accounts of others, an engineer’s goal is to build homes and other buildings for others, and a servant who has a true sense of God’s grace upon him will have great care and concern for souls. Not by quantity – “I have 20 souls over there and 30 families over here,” it’s not like that at all, but he cares about and for the souls that were redeemed by the wood of the Cross, that souls be well fed spiritually – that a young child be filled, that a young person be filled, that a newly formed family be filled, because they are filled with the Lord.

And this desire to ensure that people are filled with the Lord is a sense of responsibility, and this responsibility is an ongoing one and he continuously thinks about it: “How are these young ones being served? How are we serving the adults? This group is not being served … that group needs more care.” He has this feeling at all times, the feeling of wanting to feed souls and to care for them. 

3-Having spiritual longings and ambitions

The third characteristic of a person who serves Christ is that he always has longings and ambition. In other words, we are to never stop dreaming, yes, dreaming. And be careful to not let discouraging words such as, “there is nothing better for one to have more than what one already has” creep into your consciousness – such words halt a person, but a person is to have longings and ambitions.

And regarding celebrations, when the Lord allows for us, we are to celebrate the occasions of our ordinations and our birthdays, and to annually celebrate the day we entered into the monastery or the day we started our Church service because celebrations serve a very important purpose: they are an opportunity for me to stand before the Lord and thank Him for the past, and to place my dreams and longings for the future at His feet.

So it is important that I have ambitions, and beloved fathers, these ambitions are spiritual ambitions more than being materialistic ones; when a person truly has spiritual ambitions for their life.

4-Living watchfully and with awareness regarding the enemy of good

The fourth characteristic of a servant is that he takes caution and has awareness regarding the enemy of good, as we say in the Prayer of Thanksgiving we say, “All envy, all temptation, all the workings of Satan, the intrigue of wicked people, the rising up of enemies, hidden and manifest, do cast away from us and from Your people.”

A servant of Christ is one who is cautious lest anyone steal his crown and so he is aware of himself at all times, he pays attention to his service, he is careful about his environment, he is careful with his church. And so in general, I am talking about a person who lives watchfully, continually, a person who lives cautiously and is always aware and alert about himself.
And this is why we have periods of fasting and we take periods of silence and solitude in our monasteries, and why we are to take time to sit with ourselves – sometimes for days – and take time to examine and take account of ourselves, our thoughts, and our lives, and to meet and speak with our fathers of confession, and in this way a person makes his way right and is always living carefully and watchfully. 

The conclusion of this point is that no matter what a servant’s role may be within the Church, he is to have these four characteristics:

1. That he truly has a sense of the grace he has been given,
2. That he has a desire to feed souls,
3. That he has many spiritual longings and dreams and ambitions, and
4. That he maintain an awareness of the enemy of good and thus live carefully and watchfully.

The 7 works of grace

1-Grace works with the one who serves

I would like to pause here and reflect on three small points regarding how grace works with the one who is serving others:

1. It is grace that called us to serve,
2. It is grace that causes us to be preoccupied with the feeding of souls and with the “hobby” of helping other souls to repentance, and
3. It is grace that covers us – it covers a person and completes every lack in him

St. Paul the Apostle said: 

7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.

And so he places this practical teaching before us, to say that grace works within us, within each servant. How? Grace works within us in our call to serve and in the area of service that each one of us is called to, and that is why we say in the Liturgy, “We who are called by Your grace, to Your service, although we are not worthy.”

We are called by grace, and so it is grace that called each one of us and God works with each one of us, for with God nothing is done haphazardly or without order. God intended the specific day you were ordained, God specifically intended the responsibility He entrusted you with, and God is intentional about the course and legacy of your ministry, and this is true whether your responsibility is over a small class or a large group meeting, or an even larger responsibility like the Patriarchate, and so on.

It is grace that called you and it is grace that works with you, and “it grace that implants the hobby of the salvation of souls within you” – and this is a quote from John the Golden-mouth, “the hobby.” And please notice how nice this word ‘hobby’ is, because it does not suggest any kind of force or pressure nor exchange for a salary, not at all, but a hobby is something that someone does with their entire being. The hobby of the salvation of souls, the hobby of repenting souls. And the real struggle we have in our service is how to help others to repentance, and so the periods of fasting come and renew the spirit of repentance within us, and prayers – whether general, daily, throughout the week, and throughout year – help us to help others with the repentance of their souls.

The Bible says, “The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 Jn 5:19). There are many sins in the world, and the realm of sin has expanded even more and it now reaches both the young and the old, within the home and outside the home. And that is why our responsibility is enormous, so enormous that it cannot be calculated – the responsibility for the repentance of souls. The repentance of this family, the repentance of that person, the repentance of this husband and that wife and this son and that daughter.

It is an extremely huge work, and in our own strength we would not be able to do it unless grace is at work within us. And so you are called by grace, you do the work of your service by grace, and you are to always ask for the coverage of grace. Say to Him, “Lord, cover me, because of my weaknesses and shortcomings.”

And so each one of us as servants, no matter what your role or breadth of your responsibility may be, he is, first and last, a tool in the Hands of grace. And it is of course very clear to us that no matter what God accomplishes through the works of our hands we take no credit for ourselves, because all of it is the work of God. God only uses us to do the work, and so we were able to do this thing or resolve this matter or establish this or organize that, but all the credit is to be given to the work of grace.

And so in our lives as servants it is grace that called us to serve, it is grace that causes us to be preoccupied with the feeding of souls and with the hobby of helping other souls to repentance, and it is grace that covers us – it covers a person and completes every lack in him.

2-Grace works to prepare the hearts of those who will be served

Grace is not only at work within us as servants, but grace is also at work within the souls of those whom we serve, and this is what helps us because it is grace that does the preliminary work to prepare the hearts of those whom we serve.

When we do any kind of service, whether holding a group meeting or a Liturgy or a Tasbeha or a prayer meeting, or any other such activity, it is grace that prepares the souls. To prepare the souls means to level the ground, similar to when a farmer goes to farm, he needs to level the ground, to plow it and prepare it for the seeds.

I will remind you of the story of St. Paul the Apostle when he stood before King Agrippa to be judged. He spoke with great zeal and great fluency, so the man sat up in his chair and said, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28), meaning that just a little bit more and it was about to work. Yes, that is grace that was at work in him, it was grace that moved his heart, it was grace that had him almost ready to accept Christ.

3- It is grace the satiates and quenches the souls of people

Grace also feeds and quenches those whom we serve. For example, we attend Liturgies every day but you will hear a person say, “I was really comforted at the Liturgy today,” or “I was comforted at this prayer meeting, or “I was comforted through that situation,” and so it is grace that feeds and quenches a person and makes them responsive. You could make a single statement during a Liturgy or a sermon or a meeting and discover that it was a very specific message for someone, and other times you will hear people say, “Abouna taught it this,” when all you said were just three or four words, but this is the grace that is at work in the hearts of those who serve Him.

And grace quenches, for example, what is it that makes a young man attend a Church meeting today and then return to attend the meeting the following week? What is it that makes him do this? He feels that he was fed, that he was quenched, and so he senses his need for more. And this is why we always say the verse from the Book of Proverbs, “A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb” (Prov 27:7), and so, for example, when we find that some people have gone astray or stopped coming to Church, we can know that all such things are a result of a soul that has not been satisfied, it has not been sufficiently fed, and so I must always make sure that the person before me has been sufficiently fed and satisfied.

A good illustration of this is when a father or mother feeds their little son or daughter and sometimes the child won’t want to eat or pulls away from the food, the mother will entice the child with any movement or sound in order to get the child to keep eating. And she will continue to do this until the child says to her, “Mom, I’m full.” And then she answers the child and says, “Now I am happy.” And so as when our physical children are well fed and satisfied this brings us joy, so will we be our joy when our spiritual children are well-fed and satisfied.

4-Grace provides gradual growth

Grace is also the cause behind the gradual growth in the lives of our spiritual children. For example, you see that one of your Sunday School children seems to have a very promising future, and you watch him grow into a beautiful young man who ends up serving with us, and you continue to watch over him and to encourage him or her … “Why don’t you join the Church-servant training? Why not join the Church choir?” And little by little, as he continues to grow, you encourage him to study certain things or give him certain opportunities to grow.

This is what happened with St. Athanasius when as a young child Pope St. Alexandros saw him playing; he saw in him a future potential although all he was doing was playing. He was playing pretending to be baptizing the other children along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, but having a vision of the future in addition to the work of grace made it so that Athanasius progressed from being a deacon all the way until he became a great Patriarch in the history of the Church.

Another illustration of the gradual growth that comes by grace is when we pray saying, “Sinners who have repented, count them with those who believe in You” – this is growth, “And those who believe in You, count them with Your martyrs, and make those who are here grow in the likeness of Your angels.” And so this is a matter of gradual progress.

5-Grace permeates and works through the work itself

The final point is that grace works through the very essence of the work or the service itself. For example, if I am part of a meeting and I am responsible for discussing a certain subject, the grace will be at work in that very subject. And so the grace will be at work within the servant, within those who are being served, and within the work itself.

Grace works in the very essence of our service and the thing we offer. First of all, grace helps us to choose what would be appropriate for those whom we will be serving. For example, when I select a topic for a youth meeting, what should I select that would be appropriate for that age group, considering the issues that age group is dealing with in this ever-changing day and age of ours? If I am serving young children, what will I offer them? What would be appropriate for them? Or if I am serving villagers, or people of the desert, or city-dwellers, or highly-educated people? And so grace helps you to select the appropriate thing.

Long time ago in Church-servant training they used to tell us that if you retell the story of the catching of fish to people who live in the desert, it will not be easy for them to understand because they are far from the water and from fish, but when you tell a story like the Parable of the Sower in a place like a village or the countryside, it is very easily understood. It is very easy for a person from the countryside to understand this parable because he knows about the different types of ground and about the birds who pick at the seeds. And so grace helps us to choose what to talk about and where, in order that it would be easily understood, enjoyable, and needful.

And people today listen to many things – many channels, much recorded media materials, and so many options on mobile phones – but we come back and say that there is nothing like personal communication; live or face to face communication between me as a servant and those whom I serve. Personal communication is most effective.

6-Grace helps us find ways effective and relevant ways to communicate

Grace also helps us to develop and update the nature of our service so that it may be relevant and effective. Serving is not a static thing but it is a dynamic thing, full of movement. For example, if you were to say, “Let’s sing this hymn from 50 years ago,” the first thing they’re going to think is, “This Abouna is very old-fashioned,” but what you can do is offer them a new hymn to sing, or offer them the same hymn but with a new tune they can enjoy so that they can relate to it and understand it.

This way of doing things makes one’s service more attractive, more effective, and more wonderful. Christ told us, “A cup of cold water” (Mt 10:42), yes, but that cup of water could come from the faucet, from a clay jar, from a cup, from a glass bottle, or from a fridge. And so the cup of cold water portrays a beautiful image, an image of the awakening of thirst or desire within another person.

As much and as far as it is possible, our service must be of benefit to our spiritual children and to those whom we serve and the flock in a way that is appealing to them, not like leftover food but like freshly made food.

A story to demonstrate the wisdom we can find in the Church’s history and in the Holy Bible to help us be effective today

One of the nice stories from the wilderness tells of two brothers who became monks but they had not experienced the world and its ways. And so the younger brother went to the older one and said, “Brother, why is it that people in the world fight?” He answered him, “They fight because of all the things they have.”

And the younger one asked, “So why is it that we don’t fight?” The older brother answered, “Because we don’t have much of anything, so what is there to fight about?”

So the younger one said to him, “Well, I would really like to try this fighting thing, to have this experience of fighting!” The older brother said, “Yes, but we don’t have anything to fight over.” The younger brother said, “I know, but I really want to experience what fighting is like.”

So the older brother agreed. He got a brick and placed it between them and said, “This brick is mine!” so the younger brother said, “No, it is mine!” – you see, they were trying to fight.

And in anticipation of the fight that would ensue, the older brother, in his wisdom, when the younger brother said, “No, it is mine,” the older brother said, “Fine, take it. Take the brick,” and that was the end of it. And so even when they tried to fight they were not able to.

What is meant by this is that there are stories and experiences in the Church’s history that we need to look for, and not only in the Church’s history but also in the Bible, because there are many verses, stories and parables in the Bible that can teach us about how we can creatively handle situations in an effective way.

Beloved ones, the age we live in today requires that everything be astonishing and so what you offer needs to be astonishing, that’s just the way it is in this day and age; things have to be offered at a very advanced and modern level. And so a person may say that they do not have the resources or the ideas or capabilities to do this or that, but we do have our children, and our children are able to think and to help, and their minds can work together with our minds.

A beautiful forward-thinking technique comes from a very advanced country called Singapore. They employ the very young, new graduates – 21 or 22 years-olds – to be assistants to the government ministers, and so a medical school graduate would not go straight into working as a graduate assistant in medical school, no, but he gets employed in the office of the Ministry of Health. And the idea behind this is that the experience of the older minister of health and the new graduate’s ways of thinking work together, and this is the true reason behind the revival in that country.

And so the children that we serve can also serve with us. They have experience with their age-group, and with their creativity they can help us find new ways of offering our message and our service.

7- Grace helps you design orderly systems

The sixth thing about grace is that it helps you design orderly structures and systems so that what is offered is not done haphazardly nor out of order. Grace helps a person to be organized – to organize how servant meetings will flow and what the program of discussion will be, and so on. Let us remember that our days are not just time passing by, but they are days in which we are building life and building a way of thinking.

Conclusion

The chapter I read from 2 Corinthians and in St. Paul the Apostle’s Letter to the Corinthians in general, he spoke as a servant and as one who is in a position of authority and responsibility, and in it he spoke about life and about purpose.

And if you will notice, you will see that he repeats the same words in the first verse and again towards the end of this chapter: “Therefore we do not lose heart” – in both verses 1 and 16. These words give a person hope, a long-term perspective and vision, and the vitality that is needed for service.

May God always give us these graces and bless the service and ministry of every patriarchate and every church in every place, both here in Egypt and outside of Egypt. Throughout all the ends of the earth, it is God’s work that goes forth and brings joy to all of us.

To Him be all the glory and honor, from now and forevermore. Amen.