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Fortunatus
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Posts: 403

Joined: Sep 04, 2003
Location: the Coptic Orthodox Church

Posted: Jul 07, 2004 - 08:42 PM

+Iryny nem `hmot

A name of pride is your name, O cousin of Emmanuel. You are great among all the saints, O John the Baptist.

You are exalted more than the patriarchs, and honored more than the prophets, for there are none born among women who are greater than you.

Come and listen to the wise, golden-mouthed Theodosius speak of the honour of John the Baptist.

What do I call you, with what kind do I honor you, with what likeness do I liken you, O you who deserves all honor?

You are the sweetness of the fruits, you are the movement of the branches, you are the flower of the fruitful trees on the land of the lilies.

Intercede on our behalf, O forerunner and baptizer, John the Baptist, that He may forgive us our sins.

Pray to the Lord on our behalf, O beholder of God the Evangelist, Mark the Apostle, that He may forgive us our sins.

The Lord of Hosts Himself honoured, you – that it behooves us to do the same!

Why, though, are you worthy of praise?

Perhaps, because you made the Lord your first and last. Even in the womb of your mother, you leaped when you knew your Saviour drew near. You knew that it was appropriate to praise Him. You even knew him during your life! It was you who said,

Quote:

He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. (John 1:15)

Even though nobody around you understood this saying - even though it would be easy to doubt such a thing. You knew that Him Who came to be baptized of you, was your God.

I also sit in wonder, at your humility – for this also is worthy of praise. The people loved you – if they did not, there would not be thousands who came to be baptized by you. They would not have declared that you were a prophet – even the Messiah. Yet, you never forgot who you were before God. You held before yourself that knowledge, and were not swayed then by the love of the people. You still knew the reverence due the Lord of Lords, you still knew you were before Him, you still knew to say,

Quote:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

Perhaps it is for your modeling of true service that you are worthy of praise! When you served, you were never pointing at yourself and how you would help people – rather, you were pointing eternally at the Saviour, teaching people to recognize Him so that they might follow Him, never you! When those who felt attachment to you questioned Him, you were mindful to have them also follow Him. He was again, your first and last.

You are worthy of praise for your strength of character! Despite how much they loved you, you kept a distance from them and you held your ground – ever mindful of saving yourself also. You were not one to compromise your morals, nor your relationship to anyone, based on position, status, authority or wealth – all were equal before you. You had firmness with love, perhaps…for you certainly did not hold back any message from any who came to you – and yet they kept coming back.

O Great forerunner, intercede on our behalf and pray for us, that might attain even but a fraction of your virtue, which you attained even before the Gospel was preached,

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Last edited by Fortunatus on Jul 08, 2004 - 07:27 PM; edited 1 time in total

Fortunatus
Ask me for help!
Posts: 403

Joined: Sep 04, 2003
Location: the Coptic Orthodox Church

Posted: Jul 08, 2004 - 07:27 PM

+Iryny nem `hmot

You are exalted more than the patriarchs, and honored more than the prophets, for there are none born among women who are greater than you.

These words are not light, and they are not written without much consideration. Let us forget not the meaning of these words. You, John are honoured more than the prophets, for of you the prophets spoke: the voice of one crying in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3). The prophets themselves honour you, O chosen forerunner, and worthy of it you are.

I also sit and wonder at how you can be considered greater than the patriarchs of whom you descended – the ones you professed could be raised from stones! Maybe, John, it is because in an era where it was lawful to render an eye for an eye, you followed the law of Love, and returned no evil for good – without anger or malice. Nor did you end with that, but you still directed others to Him. A thing rarely heard of, let alone practiced. Furthermore, you did not keep this discipline to yourself, but for the sake of those around you, you taught them that even if grudgingly, that they should not return evil for evil, nor should any render evil to another. I think, O great Baptist, it is because though living before the fulfillment of the Law, you were living according to the Laws of both testaments – you were given grace.

Fortunatus
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Posts: 403

Joined: Sep 04, 2003
Location: the Coptic Orthodox Church

Posted: Jul 10, 2004 - 01:07 AM

+Iryny nem `hmot

A name of pride is your name

Every once in a while, we run across someone who stands out - for better or worse. Those who stand out for the better, however, are the ones that we select to represent us - because they hold in themselves the qualities and ideals we value most. In society, usually it's because that person represents the best in us. In Christanity, it is different - we never attribute goodness to any one person, because all that is good comes from Him. We see these people as men and women who received a great portion of grace for their trials and tempatations that they struggled with for His sake. Those who achieved much, in them we see the face of Him, and for that reason we exalt them.

Saint John is one of those people of whom we boast, one of those people we pride - because he is proof of the Lord's Divine work in us. Only by grace could he endure what he did. Only by grace could he face with such boldness the prominent people of the society in which he lived. Only by grace could he stand and preach with courage and honesty, dressed as he was and eating as he did, in way that would, without grace, have been viewed as lunacy.

We do not know what happened when snatched by the angels from the Temple before his father's death - but whatever happened, he was found worthy of this grace...

Intercede and pray for us O John, that we too, might work quietly and without attention - work diligently for the things that pertain to the heavenly...that we might also be awarded with grace, and become a people that all generations of Christians can boast; that they boast the Lord Who abides in us.

Min_Al_Momkin

Posts: 43

Joined: Dec 14, 2003
Location: Mississauga, ON, Canada

Posted: Jul 13, 2004 - 08:19 PM

Come and listen to the wise, golden-mouthed Theodosius speak of the honour of John the Baptist. What do I call you, with what kind do I honor you, with what likeness do I liken you, O you who deserves all honor?

What greater honor could one have but to serve the Lord, to preach the message of repentance, that people may straighten the way of the Lord? Surely the Lord loved His cousin greatly, and honored him among the prophets. Though He received the honor of serving His Master and Lord in preparing His way, his humility did not depart from him. For as He served at the Jordan, his "clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey" (Matt. 3:4). All what John wanted from the world was to witness to Christ. A life of simplicity and reliance on the Lord was John's life. Even when asked to identify himself, he quoted Isaiah saying that he was the "voice of one calling in the wilderness", rather than saying " I am John, who is the voice of one calling in the wilderness". Indeed, self-denial and His submission to the service of His Lord were evident in all he did. For even in the womb, He bowed before His Lord.

Evidently, your humility O great Saint is revealed at the Jordan. As the Lord approached to be baptized by you, you cried out saying "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" (Matt. 3:14). The Lord loves you greatly, as you have surely loved Him too, and for this reason He has honored you. You have been called the Forerunner and Baptizer of our Lord and Savior.

Intercede for us, O honorable Saint, the Forerunner and Baptizer, that He may teach us the life of humility, and forgive us our sins.

_________________
Ragy Sharkawy
Min_Al_Momkin

"O Lord open my lips and my mouth shall show forth Your praise" (Ps. 51:15)

Min_Al_Momkin

Posts: 43

Joined: Dec 14, 2003
Location: Mississauga, ON, Canada

Posted: Jul 16, 2004 - 07:29 AM

What do I call you, with what kind do I honor you, with what likeness do I liken you, O you who deserves all honor?

Before the multitude, the Lord honored you saying: "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist" (Matt. 11:11)

Surely you found favor in the sight of the Lord to be honored this much. Perhaps it is because of your faithfullness to Him who sent you to serve. You "came for testimony, to bear witness to the light" (John 1:7), and did so boldly, without fear or hesitation. By faith, you stood before pharisees, using no weapon but the word of God itself, proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven to all. For before any were called the "light of the world", you were already a shining light in the midst of darkness, bearing witness of the True Light. When "He came to his own home, and His own people received him not", you welcomed Him in your heart.

Indeed, you are worthy of honor. If the Lord Himself honord you, how then can I not do so as well? Therefore, we shall join the multitudes of the heavenly in honoring you. With our voices, we shall honor you, "the Voice of the Wilderness" in a hymn, singing praises in your honor.

Intercede for us, O John, the Forerunner and Baptizer, that He may forgive us our sins.

_________________
Ragy Sharkawy
Min_Al_Momkin

"O Lord open my lips and my mouth shall show forth Your praise" (Ps. 51:15)

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