His Holiness Pope Tawadros II delivered his weekly sermon at the Wednesday meeting this evening, from the Church of Saint Anthony at the Papal Residence in Cairo, without a public presence. The sermon was broadcast on Christian satellite channels, the Official Website of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and the C.O.C channel of the Church’s Media Center on the Internet.
His Holiness continued the series “Ways of Presenting Love,” and addressed part of the fifteenth chapter in the Gospel of our teacher St Matthew, and verses (21-28), and reflected on “How to Present Love Through Dialogue” through the dialogue of Jesus Christ with two women in the Holy Bible, namely The Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John, chapter four, and the Canaanite woman in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter fifteen.

His Holiness the Pope explained that speech is the fastest way to convey ideas and the best way to present love, and its four forms are: speech, listening, reading and writing.
”Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.“
‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬)

His Holiness explained the features of Jesus Christ’s dialogue with the two women, as follows:
•⁠ ⁠When Jesus Christ met the Samaritan woman at the well, the disciples were not present, while the disciples were present when the Canaanite woman came to Jesus Christ.
”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.”“
‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭22‬)

•⁠ ⁠The Samaritan woman belonged to the group of Jews, which was divided at that time into the Kingdom of Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem, and the Kingdom of the North, with its capital in Samaria. There was a rivalry between the Jews and the Samaritans, while the Canaanite woman belonged to the group of nations.

•⁠ ⁠When Jesus Christ met the Samaritan woman, He came to her while she was an outcast woman. On the other hand, the Canaanite woman was in pain for her daughter, but she turned to Jesus Christ, who was from the Jewish class.

•⁠ ⁠In the dialogue with the Samaritan woman, Christ asked her to drink, but she strongly refused, justifying this with the dispute existing between the Jews and the Samaritans. However, with Christ’s brilliant words, He attracted her to confess her sin, and on the other hand, the Canaanite woman’s request was rejected.
”But He answered her not a word.”
‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭23‬) ‭

The disciples even asked Jesus to send it away, but He told them:
”But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”“
‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭24‬) ‭

Through His dialogue with the woman, He wanted to show us the depth of her faith, and also for the disciples to learn successful dialogue through openness of heart to every person, regardless of their affiliation.

•⁠ ⁠In Christ’s conversation with the Samaritan woman, the dialogue was private, and through the steps of the dialogue with love and gentleness of words, her knowledge gradually grew.
”The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.“ (John‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬)
On the other hand, the Canaanite woman had logic in the dialogue
”And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”“
‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭27‬)

•⁠ ⁠The Samaritan woman, through dialogue filled with love, became a preacher, and the Canaanite woman received a reward and her daughter was healed, because clear dialogue can change a person.

His Holiness the Pope set signs for successful dialogue, which are:
•⁠ ⁠Full respect for the other’s ideas, through the choice of words, even if the other’s ideas differ from yours.
””Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord”
‭‭(Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬)

•⁠ ⁠Encouragement, with encouraging words to the other, example: good and wonderful, because dialogue is enriching,
”In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul”
‭‭(Psalms‬ ‭138‬:‭3‬-‭4‬) ‭

•⁠ ⁠Freedom, freedom from internally repressed things and speaking freely, because that makes the speaker feel joy,

”Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.“
‭‭(II Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬)

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