This is one of those things to read at night, when you’re mellow.
Continue reading Those lonely moments in the night.
Tag Archives: coptic
3. The people, the Desire and the gift.
Maro: a grief that can’t be spoken.
There’s a segment in Les Misérables, where Marius, after his close friends die in the revolution, sings:
There’s a grief that can’t be spoken,
There’s a pain goes on an on,
Empty chairs at empty tables,
Now my friends, are dead, and gone…
They will kill you.
“I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me.”
Jn 16:1–3
Continue reading They will kill you.
Dear Parents… Part Two: Prayer
I remember an old grandfather, God repose his soul, at my church growing up. He used to say Our Father so slowly compared to the rest of the congregation, and it was not because he lacked English skills. He simply refused to rush prayer, and he had a hearing problem.
This is part two of a series to dialogue with parents AND kids, on issues that we see in the service. Please, let’s interact. What’s worked in your home? What didn’t work? What are the problems/causes of our issues.
Continue reading Dear Parents… Part Two: Prayer
Ultimate Deception: What if he comes in our time?
This one is very long – more of an article than it is a blog – but it’s also important. If the Antichrist were to come in our time, what would it look like? How might we be deceived? Would it really be so obvious as doing signs and wonders, and if so – how would we not be able to recognise him?
Continue reading Ultimate Deception: What if he comes in our time?
Q&A: I know Jesus loves me, but I’m suffering.
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Q: I’m having some troubles dealing with suffering, and I don’t want just the “Jesus loves me” answer. Any thoughts or insights?
Continue reading Q&A: I know Jesus loves me, but I’m suffering.
2. The Ministers & The Chief of Ministers
1. Beginnings
Let me tell you a story. It’s a long story, though. It’s going to be told in more than one part because you probably won’t be able to hear all of it today. It’s a beautiful story, but it’s also a sad story. The good thing, though, is that the story is not actually over, and a happy ending is very possible. Actually, the happy ending is preferred, and you will find out that you have a say in how it ends.
Let Me Tell You a Story: Preface
The following is an excerpt from Yann Martel’s, Life of Pi, when the protagonist has finished telling his extraordinary tale of survival:
“If you stumble at mere believability, what are you living for? Isn’t love hard to believe?”
“Mr. Patel–”
“Don’t you bully me with your politeness! Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?”
“We’re just being reasonable.”
“So am I! I applied my reason at every moment. Reason is excellent for getting food, clothing and shelter. Reason is the very best tool kit. Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.”
I have hesitated at doing what I want to do in this “story” that I’m going to tell. I wanted to bring some of the Theology of books like “On the Incarnation”, while retelling the stories and traditions that we have received from the Holy Bible. In doing this there was a great fear that using the word ‘story’ might reduce the Truths that these stories hold to being mere tale-telling, fiction. That somehow the “story” would become less believable because it’s a ‘story’.
Yet, to borrow again a concept from Yann Martel, it’s like what I am trying to say is, “let me tell you a story that even though it is not true, it is true”. What I mean here, is that while I might give characters life or create a dialogue between them, give them new names or new looks, the story underneath it is a true story. Stories are valuable for us to understand truths. This has been the tradition of humanity since we were capable of communication.
The mere recounting of an experience is the telling of a story, and consequently, we ought not to look at story-telling with contempt. Story-telling does not make belief laughable, as story-telling is what all humans are doing all over the world, all the time. That does not make their stories false.
I want this story to be simple, because our story is simple. Our God issimple. The Covenant is simple. I want anyone of any age to understand the foundations and promises of Love.
I will begin with some foundational blocks before going into recounting the stories of humanities encounters with our God. Feel free to send feedback, or to request elaborations on concepts.
Chapter 1: Beginnings
Chapter 2: The Ministers & the Chief of Ministers
Chapter 3: The people, the Gift and the Purpose.
Pray for me.
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