Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate
Saint Mary Church Vancouver - Surrey, BC Canada
"Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." John 8:34-36 NKJV
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen.
A verse for meditation, the verse of the day from the gospel of St. John chapter 8 verses 34, 35, and 36. The verses say “34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” We will concentrate on the last verse which is “36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” Surely, the sin makes man a slave, which means that it makes the human a prisoner. The question is where is he a prisoner which is what we need to know. The sin is a prison which forbids the person from true happiness, the happiness of the spirit when it is with God. When man is in sin, he is a prisoner of the lust of the flesh and senses. These are senses of darkness are the pains and the darkness of sin. Just like we say in the prime prayers in the second prayer, “ let the luminous senses and the bright thoughts shine within us, and do not let the darkness of passions hover over us.” The person who is envious, you will find him imprisoned in pains and darkness which are a result of his envy. The lustful person is blind and sees only his desires. These desires burn him with their fire. The angry person, is one whose anger makes him very very tired and in difficult situations. The self-centered person is compared to the king who wanted the field of “Naboot el yezra3ly” and when he couldn’t get it, the bible says about him that he went to sleep on his bed while he was angry and he had a depressed and sad feeling because he couldn’t get what he wanted. Moreover his pride gave him pain. Therefore sin is a prison, darkness and pain… But Jesus Christ frees me from this sin. So that when Jesus Christ shines on me with His grace and light, I find myself rejecting sin. Also I will find that my soul is happy and joyful so that I can enjoy Jesus Christ and my thought will be enlightened. Then I will be able to see others in a wonderful manner and God in an amazing picture filled with faith and wonderful holy thoughts, and in front of me a hope in the paradise of God and its beauty, where I will view life differently. As a holy person, you will be even happier because then you get to enjoy the fruits of the spirit mentioned in the bible such as love, happiness, and peace. You will find this person very happy and joyful because in the spirit he is free. There is a wonderful teaching that his holiness the pope said in his book called “entelak el ro7” (the freedom of the spirit) that the spirit travels to be joyful with God. My brothers and sisters if you have experienced the darkness and bitter pains of sin that Satan decorates for us, the One who can free you is Jesus Christ. Ask God and tell Him “ Set me free God”. Reject the darkness. Ask to be in spirit. Repent and ask for forgiveness. Then, you can be happy with the true happiness. To God is the glory, honor, and dominion from now and forever and unto the ages of all ages. Amen.