The Monday after the tragic bombings in Tanto and Cairo, Egypt, Father Boules George of Saint Mark Church in Cairo delivered a powerful sermon where he directly addressed those who killed the innocent men, women, and children during the Palm Sunday liturgies.
The blog Coptic Dad & Mom has published a transcript of the moving homily where Father George thanks the killers for having quickened the arrival of those killed into God’s presence. He continues by emphasizing that he loves the killers and prays for them, citing the words of Jesus, “if you love those who love you, what reward have you… but I say to you, love your enemies.”
The inspiring homily is a must read. It provides a glimpse into the fervent faith of the Coptic Christians in Egypt and their strong witness in the midst of hostility.
Today, on Good Friday, the day Jesus surrendered his life for our sake, this homily reminds us of two basic tenants of our faith: our principal goal in life as a Christian is union with God after death, and we must love and pray for our enemies.
Here below are a few brief lines from Father George’s homily. Click here to read it all.
A Message to those who Kill us. What will we say to them? THANK YOU
You know why we thank you? I’ll tell you. You won’t get it, but please believe us.
You gave us to die the same death as Christ–and this is the biggest honor we could have. We thank you because you shortened for us the journey. We thank you because you gave to us to fulfill what Christ said to us: “Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3). We were lambs; our only weapons: our faith and the church we pray in.
The second part of the message we want to send to you is that we love you. And this, unfortunately, you won’t understand at all. Maybe you won’t believe us when we say we’re grateful.
See what Christ said: If you love those who love you, you have no profit or reward with me. Even thugs and thieves love those who love them. Any gang loves its members. Even the drug dealers all like each other and take care of each other. Right? But I want to tell you that “if you love those who love you, what reward have you… But I say to you, love your enemies” (Matthew 5:46, 44).
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