The Feast of Nayrouz
The lecture speaks about the Feast of Nayrouz as the beginning of the Coptic year and the Feast of the Martyrs, and explains that the Church begins its calendar with the martyrs in appreciation of their place in the faith.
The martyr offered his life as a sacrifice for the Lord, and therefore the Church places the martyrs in a high rank, even before the fathers of monasticism and its founders.
The teaching emphasizes that suffering and labor for Christ have great spiritual value, because the person who suffers for the Lord shares in the sufferings of Christ and hopes to be glorified with Him.
Spiritual Message
The lecture calls us not to run away from suffering and tribulation when they are for the sake of righteousness, holiness, and life with the Lord.
The Scripture teaches that faith in Christ is also connected with enduring suffering for His sake, and that every suffering and labor endured for the Lord has a crown.
Saint Augustine explains that what matters is not that a person actually receives martyrdom, but that he has the mindset of a martyr, meaning a heart that is ready for labor and suffering and steadfast in faith.
This mindset appears in enduring rebuke, insult, and tribulations, and in not excessively pampering oneself, but in remaining steadfast before trials like a rock that the winds cannot carry away.
Educational Lesson
The lecture connects the Feast of Nayrouz with the remembrance of the martyrs so that martyrdom may remain firmly present in the minds of the Copts, and so that they may remember that they are children of a Church built by the blood of the martyrs and that their calendar is the calendar of the martyrs.
It also explains that the early Church was a school of martyrdom, training her children in steadfastness and endurance of suffering for Christ.
It emphasizes that the intended suffering is suffering resulting from righteousness, holiness, and life with the Lord, not suffering resulting from sin or wrongdoing.
Practical Application
The teaching calls us to celebrate the Feast of Nayrouz in a spiritual and practical way by enduring labor and tribulations for the Lord and remaining steadfast in His work.
It also gives a special call to the new priests to enter the ministry not seeking rest, honor, or leadership, but in order to labor for Christ and bear the sufferings and problems of the people.
The true priest carries the sins, problems, tribulations, and sufferings of the people, shares in their joys and sorrows, and needs the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit in his ministry.
Therefore, the priest’s life should be a life of self-giving, prayer, and pouring himself out before God, asking for the salvation of the troubled, comfort for the sorrowful, and guidance for those who need repentance and change.
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