Raising the morale of everyone.

 

I extend my felicitations to you my brethren on

Christmas and new year wishing you all a happy and

blessed life abiding in the love of God obeying the

Lord. I pray for our country Egypt that God may grant

it prosperity, welfare and bless it with peace and

stability.

It is my pleasure on Christmas to talk to you

about some of what Christ left us of good example

and how He was always working on relieving every

person: loving all people, serving them, raising the

morale of the weak, guiding and teaching…

He was an open heart to everyone, “He went

about doing good" (Ac 10:38).

So every person feels that he has a share in

the Christ.

He cared for the Gentiles as He did with the Jews,

His tenderness was to the righteous as for the

sinners, for the women who were saints as for those

who fell, for children and elderly, for the free and the

captives also for women as well as men. He spread

his sympathy on the poor, the needy and the hungry,

on the tired and those who were weak, also on the

sick and those who were demon-possessed. In his

care He didn't forget those who were sad for the

deaths, He didn't even ignore those who opposed Him

but had compassion on them.

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He said "Come to Me, all you who labor and

are heavy laden, and I will give you rest " (Mt

11:28).

He also said that He came to heal the

brokenhearted To proclaim liberty to the captives and

recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those

who are oppressed (Is 61:21).

Indeed, He came to set free those who fell as

captives of demons, who fell into sin or in sickness, all

those who are in weakness or disability.

􀀿 As regards the sick: He healed the man who

remained sick at the pool of Bethesda for thirty eight

years till Jesus Christ told him "Rise, take up your bed

and walk" (Jn 5:8), And immediately the man was

made well, took up his bed, and walked. He also

healed the paralytic whom they let down from the

roof because of the crowds (Mk 2), all those who had

any that were sick with various diseases brought

them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of

them and healed them (Lk 4:40). It was said that He

went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,

preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all

kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the

people, Then His fame went throughout all Syria. (Mt

4:23, 24). So He healed all those who lost hope in

healing and all those whom medicine couldn't heal.

They went to Him as He is the hope of those

who have no hope, and the help of those who

have no helper… He healed all who were

possessed by demons.

􀀿 Demon possessed men, Jesus cast devils out of

them, some of them cried "What have we to do with

You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to

torment us before the time." Mary Magdalene was

one of those whom out her came seven demons, she

was healed then she followed Jesus (Lk 8:2). He

healed a demon possessed man in the country of the

Gadarenes whom many demons had entered him (Lk

8:30).

Regarding raising from the dead: He raised the

daughter of Jairus who was a ruler of the synagogue

(Lk 8:41, 55). He also raised the Son of the Widow of

Nain she was weeping over him as he was her only

son; and she was a widow (Lk 7:11,12). One of those

whom Jesus raised also was: Lazarus of Bethany,

brother of Mary and Martha (Jn 11).

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Jesus Christ was very compassionate on

sinners, leading them to repentance.

He didn't consider them as evil rather as sick as

He said about them with tenderness: "Those who are

well have no need of a physician, but those who are

sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners,

to repentance.” And accordingly He brought the

sinners to have share in Him.

The tax collectors were some of those sinners,

they were despised by all people at that time as they

loved money and were known for being injustice.

Christ as well raised the morale of those and led them

to repentance and salvation, one of whom was

Mathew the tax collector who then became one of the

disciples and Zacchaeus the tax collector whom Jesus

entered into his house and didn't care for what the

people would say about Him entering a sinner's house

and said:" Today salvation has come to this house,

because he also is a son of Abraham" (Lk 19:9). And

10

in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector

(Lk 18:9-14) it was clear to everyone that the tax

collector, in his affliction of heart and request for

mercy, that he is better than the Pharisee who was

proud of his righteousness and accordingly the tax

collector went down to his house justified rather than

the other one…

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The Samaritans also were sinners but God

was very much tender and compassionate to

them.

The Jews had no deals with the Samaritans as

they considered them acting unfaithfully, so one day

one of the Samaritan villages rejected Jesus Christ, so

His disciples James and John asked Him to command

fire to come down from heaven and consume them,

but He rebuked them saying "You do not know what

manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did

not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them"

(Lk 9:51-56).

In another time, He gave the people parable of

the Good Samaritan who saved a Jewish man who

was left half dead on the road (who fell among

thieves). The Samaritan had compassion on him So

he went and bandaged his wounds , a Levite had

previously arrived at the place, came and looked, and

passed by on the other side and gave him no care (Lk

10:30-37). The name of the Good Samaritan is still

being given to organizations which care for the others

no matter what their religion or their religious cult is.

Most importantly at this point is that Jesus Christ

had so much patience on the Samaritans till they

accepted faith later on (Jn 4).

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His tenderness was to the Gentiles as well,

they are the people who were not of the Jews.

They were very much hated by the Jews as they

worshipped pagan gods and were strangers to Israel's

auspices, without the law of the Lord, without

prophets and with no Covenant with God (Eph 2:13).

Those Gentiles Jesus Christ brought them to Himself

and made it clear that they are accepted by the Lord.

And on healing the Centurion’s Servant who was

of the Gentiles, He admired the faith of the Centurion

and said about him "I have not found such great

faith, not even in Israel" (Mt 8:10). He also healed

the daughter of the woman from Canaan and she was

of people whom the Jews considered accursed, He

said to that woman “O woman, great is your faith"

(Mt 15:28).

And after the resurrection He said to His disciples

“you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all

Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Ac

1:8).

He also commanded them to "Go therefore and

make disciples of all the nations, teaching them to

observe all things that I have commanded you" (Mt

28).

He also said later on to His disciple Paul the

Apostle "I will send you far from here to the Gentiles"

(Ac 22). He also said to him some other time "as you

have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also

bear witness at Rome" (Ac 23), which was the most

famous city of the Gentiles at that time.

That is how Jesus Christ was to all the Gentiles

and all nations.

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He also raised the morale of woman and

gave her a chance.

Jesus gave an elevated stance to women which

they hadn't before in the Jewish world, He blessed

women and their service "And many women who

followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him" (Lk

8:2, 3), (Mt 27:55). He praised the poor widow who

paid into the treasury out of her poverty (Mk 12:44).

He also made the Last Supper at the house of Mary,

the mother of John whose surname was Mark. This

house was later on turned to a church (Ac 12:12) and

so the house of Lydia the seller of purple (Ac 16).

Jesus Christ cared for the women saints, his

tenderness was shown also to the women who fell

into sin; He defended the sinful woman who was

caught into adultery and said to those who wanted to

stone her "He who is without sin among you, let him

throw a stone at her first" (Jn 8:7), and when those

were gone He told her "Neither do I condemn you; go

and sin no more".

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The Lord Christ cared also for the infants

and raised their morale.

The children who were looked at with despise

rebuking them at times, He said about them "Let the

little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for

of such is the kingdom of God" (Lk 18:16). He also

raised the morale of an infant and said "unless you

are converted and become as little children, you will

by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt

18:3), He meant as innocent and harmless as

children.

He loved children, laid His hands on them and

blessed them (Mk 10:16) and when they rebuked

them while they were praising on Palm's Sunday, He

defended them by the saying of the Psalm "Out of the

mouth of babes and nursing infants You have

perfected praise" (Mt 21:16). And so, children loved

Him and gathered around Him.

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He was a compassionate heart for everyone,

never refusing anyone even those who criticized

Him!

The Pharisees who were against Him and who

plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk, He

didn't stop visiting them showing His love to them

and that they have hope in Him. When Simon the

Pharisee asked Him to eat with him, Jesus went to his

house, and sat down to eat…He discussed issues and

had a dialogue with him (Lk 7:36-47) though this

Pharisee opened his house for Jesus and not his

heart…even those who crucified Him He found an

excuse for them and said "Father, forgive them, for

they do not know what they do" (Lk 23:34).

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Jesus Christ had compassion for the weak,

the hungry and the sick.

He said to those who serve them-even only by

visiting them- "inasmuch as you did it to one of the

least of these My brethren, you did it to Me" (Mt

25:40). The miracle of feeding the four thousand from

the five loaves, He said "I do not want to send them

away hungry, lest they faint on the way" (Mt 15:32).

He cared so much for the poor that He chose His

disciples from the poor fishermen and most of them

were not cultured but He granted them strength and

wisdom.

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He cared for everyone that is why He had

popularity.

11

Jesus Christ taught people very fine and precious

teachings in a way which was simple for everyone to

understand the grownups and children, the ignorant

and the well educated. Thousands followed Jesus and

many times He had much crowd surrounding Him…He

entered into people's houses, into ships of the

fishermen meeting everyone and talking to them: on

the road, in the fields, on the mountain, into a

deserted place and by the lake…everywhere. He also

entered the synagogues of the Jews and taught

people there (Lk 4:16-21)…He was for everyone,

working for all…

All those who met Jesus He granted them

blessing, grace or guidance. He didn't reject anyone

who came to Him, He opened the gates of salvation

for everyone and didn't just love a certain religious

sect or a certain group, He didn't love special kind of

people or only one nation…

He was for everyone, for the ordinary person and

the philosopher. Was for the simple fishermen as for

Luke the physician and artist and Saul the philosopher

who read lots of books and was cultured at the feet of

Gamaliel who taught the law of the Lord (Ac

22:3)…everyone felt intimate to this Good Teacher,

His kindness, His love, tenderness, his compassion,

how He understands human nature and its needs.

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Finally my brethren, this is a long subject and

what I mentioned here is just a part of it ,

I ask for peace to the whole world, in the Middle

East, in Sudan and Somali, in the Western countries,

in Palestine in which Jesus Christ lived for about thirty

years and also in Egypt in which He stayed for three

and a half years.

May you all be in good health and may God bless

this year and bless our beloved country and its

president Hosni Mubarak and all who work for it.