Life and Hope (1964)

Arabic PDF

Bishop Samuel delivered this series of lectures to a conference of Christian youth in Lebanon. Chapter 1 tells the story of human sin and redemption: God gives human beings freedom, symbolised here as a kind of car or chariot, but when they ignore his instructions on how to use it, they push their vehicles beyond their limits and end up broken and wounded. In this sad state, God reaches down and offers shipwrecked human beings the hope of a renewed, saving relationship with Him. The result is a simple, powerful statement of the Orthodox understanding of sin and salvation as a falling away from and restoration to communion with God. The subsequent chapters explore the practical and spiritual importance of the virtue of hope in service, prayer, social justice efforts and church affairs.

Life and Hope

Bishop Samuel

Life and Hope Cover (transparent)

Contents

1. What is the Hope of Life?
2. The Power of Hope
3. How Can I Grow in Hope?
4. The Role of the Church

 

1. What is the Hope of Life?

Why did God create me? This is a question many young people ask, especially in times of failure and desperation — and because they hear different answers, they become confused. Some say that God created us in order to worship and glorify Him. Others say that the reason is to test our obedience. In this way, they come to view God as a domineering master who thinks of nothing but His own glory and greatness. Such thoughts take us far from the all-perfect God: our glorification does not add to His glory, nor does our worship add anything to his honour. Instead, we pray in the Liturgy of St Gregory, ‘It was not that You had need of my servitude, but rather I who had need of Your lordship.’The all-perfect God, being full of love and goodness, created us that we might enjoy His love and His goodness. He created us in order to give to us out of His abundance, not take from us. He marvellously created the universe that we might enjoy all manner of things that please us within it. He created the heavens and adorned them with sun, moon and stars. He created the earth and filled it with all manner of good things to be a beautiful dwelling place for his son Adam to enjoy. He gave Him complete authority over all the creation.

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How wondrous and beautiful is this creation! ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, And the firmament shows His handiwork’ (Ps 19:1)
Since the day He created us, God has placed the steering wheel of our lives in our own hands: freedom of the will, the most precious gift in existence, in order that human beings might be ‘self-determined creatures and not automatons’,[1]mukhayyarān wa laysa musayyarān. A common Arabic saying; the rhyme is obviously lost in translation, but literally this means to be someone who determines their own course (mukhayyar), rather than something that is driven (musayyar) like a car or a carriage.” having authority over the whole creation and making use of it for their own happiness; so that they could experience the taste of life, discerning between various things and making decisions and determinations by their own free will, and so enjoying a sense of pleasure and satisfaction in the accomplishment of any of their aims. God also granted us a clear map to show us the signposts along the way, in which the paths that lead to harbours of peace and blessing are clearly shown, while the paths that lead to perdition and ruin are marked out with ‘Warning’ and ‘Caution’ signs. God also provided us with traffic instructions and directions to prevent us from crashing into the other cars on this incomparable journey.

God has given us sufficient information about our own vehicle and its capacities, explaining its strengths and abilities along with its limitations. For example, the build of the vehicle is limited, being made of dust, although it still entertains unlimited ambitions. The soul is given to us from above — a breath from God — and is therefore eternal and without end. Consequently, there are rules that ought to be followed in order to maintain this vehicle: ‘let [no one] think of himself more highly than he ought to think’ (Rom 12:3), lest the vehicle of life be broken in pieces.

God did this, and then said to man: ‘Now, go your way. Go in peace. My eyes are upon you, My heart follows after you, and I am with you. Perhaps you will remember

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My Fatherly love, My advice to you that came from the depths of My heart for your own good and your safety. With all My care, My love and My fear upon you, I will not deprive you of the gift I have given you: I will not deprive you of free will, for you are free to choose to do what you wish.’

And so man began his journey in this life. He began to enjoy all the good and beautiful things that surrounded him in that Paradise filled with all kinds of goodness. He also enjoyed His closeness to his Father, Creator and the source of his happiness: God.

It happened that one day, as he was driving his vehicle, enjoying all that surrounded him, he was overcome by an awareness of himself. It [suddenly] seemed that he was capable of all things. He forgot the limitations and lowliness of [his] nature, supposing that it was capable of matching his unlimited ambition. He heard the voice of his self-admiration, and the success he had already achieved. This voice grew louder in his ears until it entirely drowned out the voice of reason, causing him to forget all advice and guidance. Admiringly and arrogantly it said to him, ‘Why not speed up your vehicle? You could break new frontiers of power over all and knowledge over all! Why not become aware of good and evil, just like God is?’

He thought of himself much more highly than he ought. He stretched out his hand to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:9, 17).

And so his vehicle — which he had pushed to speeds beyond its capacity and loaded up with more weight than it could carry — begins to fall apart and crash against the rocks. Adam finds

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himself unable to taste the happiness he had known before, for he had lost his connection to the source of life and died. He found himself outside the doors of happiness (outside of Paradise). He struggled within his broken vehicle that now demanded of him a bitter struggle, sweat and toil, to produce even the smallest part of the comfort and joy he had formerly possessed.

As all of this took place, the heart of the Heavenly Father was racked with grief over His creature: the human being, beguiled by the strength that was given to him, deluded by the grace and gifts and good things placed between his hands. He looked upon all these things and gave his whole attention to them, forgetting the Giver, forgetting the Source of goodness, forgetting His loving advice. And so, he drifted far away from Him, and destroyed himself with his own free will, while the Father’s heart bled for His son, the human being who had lost his happiness and his gifts.

In the fullness of time, the Father arranged an effective means of salvation for His son: He took what is ours and gave us what is His.[2]A reference to the refrain of the Friday Theotokia: ‘He took what is ours, and gave us what is His, we praise and glorify Him, and exalt Him.’ He took our bodily nature and clothed Himself in the garment of humanity: ‘taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross’ (Phil 2:7–8). He did this in order to repay the penalty of the disobedience of our human race. Through [His] humility and contrition, He healed [our] pride and arrogance, and was obedient unto death. He buried us with Him that He might raise us up[3]Cf. The Coptic Fraction prayer for the Feast of the Resurrection and Holy Fifty Days.” with a new nature: ‘It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me’ (Gal 2:20). In this way, He gave us Himself: a power greater than our own limited power, to dwell within us and support our weakness, if only we will let Him take control of the steering-wheel of our lives, by our own choice and free will, trusting that doing so will lead us to the blessedness and peace we long for.

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The one who accepts Christ as the redeemer of his life acknowledges that he is, in his human nature, weak, broken, dead, helpless and powerless. And so he declares death to the old, weak man and his repentance from his arrogance and pride and from Satan and all his lusts, deciding to surrender His life and will to the mighty loving One who died on the Cross for his salvation and happiness; He, without Whom we can do nothing.[4]Cf. Jn 15:5 In this way, the believer’s efforts are focused solely on making use of all the means of grace that assist him in keeping His connection to God strong, that he might enjoy the grace of life and presence of God within him. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’ (1 Pt 1:3).

This is that living hope which God has placed within us for a better life. It is when we realise our weakness and our limitations that we realise that we possess a power greater than us that fills up our human shortcomings: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Cor 12:9).

My human nature is powerless because it is limited by matter and by time. That is why, whenever I set out some plan for my life, I can never guarantee that I will be able to complete it, for any unforeseen change might take place in the future that turns the course of my life completely upside-down. How then, can I find tranquillity and inner peace?

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Yet, my trust and faith in the God to whom I have surrendered my life remains within me and directs my life. With His Fatherly love, He brings about the things that lead to my happiness, for He is not limited by time as I am: there is no past, present and future with Him. All eternity is manifest before Him. He walks beside me, so that I do not have to pass through the desert of the unknown future on my own, but have as my companion that Light which reveals the hidden depth. This sense in the human soul fills it with hope for a better life and a blessed future: ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me’ (Ps 23:4).

I have faith that the One in whom I have placed my trust and reliance and on whom I am building my future is He that lives and does not die, firm, not changing with the passing of ages: ‘He is the same yesterday, today and forever’ (Heb 13:8). My confidence grows as my hope becomes more firm and established, and so I build my future on the Rock of Ages that cannot be shaken.

In this way, the hope within us becomes a power that is never put to shame.

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2. The Power of Hope

Hope is a creative force

When a person has before him a clear goal for life, even a distant one, he begins to move towards this goal and strive for it. Proceeding and moving, striving and struggling, building and working: all of these are positive efforts, energetic and dynamic movement towards the goal. They struggle in order to achieve something, to perform a task, to bring forth fruit, and so they build and create, renew and improve. Through hope, the work becomes honour and distinction; it becomes a right, not a duty. If it is my right to live, then it is also my right to work and focus on and achieve the goals of life. Hope is what creates this positive outlook on life and work and struggle and exertion, and all the sweat, toil, suffering and deprivation they entail. This hope is the very thing that makes us capable of patience and endurance.

Man cannot achieve everything he yearns for quickly; this require a long time, especially when the thing yearned for is great and impactful. A large building requires materials, labour and a long time before it is built up. And the bigger

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a man’s goal becomes, the greater its effect on him and on society, the more labour and time it requires. And this means patience:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Rom 5:1–5)

Hope leads to psychological maturity:

The difference between an easily-reached goal and a distant goal, the difference between a quick, instant desire and a long-awaited hope, is the difference between childhood and maturity. A child thinks of only of the desires of the moment and of immediate pleasure. He cannot think of the future, nor does he perceive any distant goals. That is why he is incapable of patience and expectation, and cannot endure going without. Many people have not reached the level of intellectual and emotional maturity to give them [this] broader horizon, the ability to look far ahead and consider the outcomes.

It is the difference between broad and narrow horizons:

A narrow horizon leads a person to become centred on themselves, to think [only] of themselves and of the particulars. But a broad horizon is when a person breaks out of the shell of their self and thinks of others: of their family, of society, of the entire the world, looking to their advantage not only in the present moment, but for the future as well: the future of the community and of the world, considering issues holistically.

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It is the difference between fanaticism and tolerance:

Very often, limited ways of thinking enslave a person so that they can only think in one particular way; they are shackled to one limited way of thinking and cannot get free from it. They wall themselves up within the intellectual boundaries of one particular group or school of thought, or tribe or colour or race or religion, and make judgements on every issue in advance, before studying and examining it. They look at people through their own lens, and judge people according to their own way of thinking. And thus they find themselves driven towards the danger of judging others and wrongly condemning them, and so they keep away from them or antagonise them.

But someone who allows himself to appreciate the circumstances of others and their way of thinking puts himself in their place. He is able to understand and appreciate their circumstances and arrive at a mutual understanding with them. He is able to appreciate their problems and work together with them. He is able to find excuses for others, to forgive and be patient; he is even able to see the good in others and benefit from them, and so do away with self-justification. He sees his own faults and corrects himself from time to time. He descends from the arrogance of personal righteousness to the humility of forgiveness, thus applying that golden rule given by our Saviour: “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Mt 7:12). This is the magic power that frees a person

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from the shackles of the self and of selfishness. It opens before him the horizons of far-away hopes, such that he sees the whole of humanity before him, and all of time, history and eternity. This is the maturity that leads to holism, so that a person considers his life as a whole, interconnected and holistic, and he thinks of his own life as a part working in synergy with the life of the whole world, and with the life of the family, the nation and the world.

It is our duty, as children of God, to think with that very spirit which bears the love of God and His fatherhood to all mankind, with all its races, religions, colours and intellectual ideologies. Let this mindset, which is Christ’s, be within all of us, and let us labour as ambassadors of Christ, as though He Himself were preaching through us.

Hope is the Source of Victory

It was Christ’s work of atonement on the Cross[5]‘amal al-Masīḥ al-kaffārī ‘alā al-ṣalīb and His resurrection from the dead that opened the doors of hope to the sinners and the weak, beginning with the thief who was crucified at His right hand and continuing through the whole human race, for everyone in whom this hope works internally.

Christ opened for us, we who are weak, the door of hope which is renewed every day. By this work of His, it came about that a righteous man might fall seven times in a day, but the Lord raises him up (Prov 24:16). When He was asked how many times in day one should forgive one’s brother, He answered “Seventy times seven” (Mt 18:21–22). How many times then will the Father forgive His children!?

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This endless forgiveness is deep beyond measure, because it springs from the depth of God’s love.[6]Cf. “No power of speech can measure the depth of Your love for mankind” (Sanctus of the Liturgy of St Gregory).

It opens the doors of hope for every human being, regardless of how much sin has enslaved them or temptations have surrounded them. How many sinners have repented, how many souls have been saved, how many evil persons have been transformed into saints through this hope alone!A man says to himself: “Since I am longing for a better and happier life, and the gate of victory is open before me, why should I remain in defeat?” Hope strengthens the feeble knees and the hands that hang down (Is 35:3). Hope says to me, ‘Now I will arise and go to my father” (Lk 15:18).

Hope is also a powerful medicine for the healing of sicknesses of soul and body. It is well known that when a patient gives in to despair and loses hope of recovery, the disease is empowered and gains a greater hold over them. But it is the opposite when hope is present, for it aids swift recovery and improvement of health. For this reason, a patient ought to keep hope beside him as a lamp. This is also the responsibility of those who surround the patient, be they doctors, relatives or friends: they ought to fill the patient with hope.

Hope is the source of victory over despair and failure. How many people have come to the very brink of perdition because of despair! And yet, because someone stood beside them to revive hope once more, they rose up and began life anew, and even achieved greater success than they had at first.

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3. How Can I Grow in Hope?

1) Growing in Faith in God:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Faith and hope complete each other: there is no hope without faith, nor faith without hope. “At that time you were without Christ … strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12).

If, therefore, we want to cause faith to grow in souls, we must deepen faith in God in our lives.

2) Meditating on God’s Grace and Constant Thanksgiving for It:

If I train myself to count up the mercies God has shown me, and contemplate His innumerable blessings; if each day I single out one of these blessings and concentrate on it the whole day, my heart and my tongue will never cease to give thanks to God. This thanksgiving will fill me with hope for the future, such that even if difficulties and obstacles come my way, I still remember the abundant good things that surround me; beside them, all hardships will seem trifling, and are conquered by the hope laid up for me by a life of thanksgiving.

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3) Membership in the Church, the Assembly of the Faithful:
An isolated person is overcome by bouts of hopelessness and despair. But he who lives among a group finds someone to encourage him, support him and revive hope within him.

The groups that are most strongly linked together are those that feel that they are one body. The Church is the body of Christ, and that is where we will find the ultimate example of deep, sympathetic communion:[7]al-mushāraka al-wijdāniyya, lit. affective, mental or emotional sharing, a communion of feeling. Cf. Bishop Samuel, Notes on Pastoral Theology [Mudhakkarāt fī-l-lāhūt al-ra‘awī], vol. 1 Coptic Theological Seminary, no date): 1–2.

And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually (1 Cor 12:26–27).
Thus, pastoral care in the church builds hope within us: the sense that I have spiritual father by my side during hardships encourages and comforts me, because he is “a messenger from the Lord of hosts” who reminds me of God’s love for me, and delivers me into the embrace of the Heavenly Father.

The sacrament of confession can be thought of as a safety-valve: it protects me from reaching a state of despair and failure. It is, as the Church Fathers call it, “spiritual medicine”. Therein is guidance and direction, reassurance and relief from the burdens we carry deep within,[8]al-shaḥanāt al-makbūta, lit. repressed or suppressed cargo, inner burdens. which, if they are left to grow, lead to destruction and despair.

Considering the history of the church (we read parts of it in every liturgical service) encourages and revives hope. It tells the record of God’s works with human beings in their different circumstances and demonstrates that the God who has protected the church through the ages is able to protect both it and me. History is a continuous series of episodes [revealing] the fruits of hope and its effectiveness: without hope, human history would have stopped.

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4) Remembrance of Eternal Life:

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Cor 15:19). It is the breath of life which God placed within us that makes us eternal beings who abide forever. This is what gives man his limitless aspiration.[9]ṭumūḥān lā nihāya lahu, the same phrase Anba Samuel uses on pages 4 and 5 above to describe the infinite longing that accompanied the breath of life in the first-created human beings. For this reason, our aspiration is not satisfied, hope never attained, within the bounds of the short, limited life in which we live out the days of our pilgrimage on this earth. The eternal spirit within us looks for a better portion, a more perfect life in the heavens. For this reason, among the children of God, hope reaches out for greater things: “Eve has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9). This mighty hope exalts the value of God’s children, and makes them to endure any kind of suffering for the sake of their lofty principles. They patiently endure even the harshest tribulations because of the great reward that awaits them, and because of the great hope within them.

The lives of the martyrs and confessors revives hope, for what called such people to bear bitter tortures and give themselves up to death with joy if not hope in eternal life and a good reward?The existence of this great aspiration within man confirms his eternity and immortality. It confirms his expectation of a greater hope than what he can see. If his aspiration were limited and restricted, he would be content to say, “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor 15:32).

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5) Our responsibility as Christian youth regarding the Hope of the World:

The great efforts which many people have made to improve the standard of living, increase our material resources and create technological progress are all necessary efforts towards the fulfillment of the human hope for a better life. This is good. But the disappointing thing is that most of these efforts are carried out on a single level: providing for the material needs of human beings. But as we know well, man is not just a material being. Man is spirit, body and mind. The spirit needs its share of pastoral care as well if the individual person is to become whole, and if society is to hold together. The whole human being cannot be broken into parts: his material life affects his spiritual life. And we should not forget either that his spiritual life affects his body, his mind and his whole social being.

Man has need of hope to urge him on and strengthen him for struggle, hard work, development and growth, and to improve the standard of living. Without hope, he has no zest for life,[10]lā yafham li-l-ḥayāa ṭa‘mān and loses the thing that urges him on, the deep inclination that drives him towards positivity and constructiveness. Rather, the pain of the struggle and the endurance of strife without hope leaves him miserable and leads him to failure, causing him to give in to despair.

A man in despair, who in this atomic age possesses great destructive power, may — if he loses his nerves — end up destroying himself and the whole world with him.

The world needs a clear, shining hope that is able to bring reassurance and steadfastness to its troubled soul, and its unknown future.

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The world will never achieve this if it concerns itself only with material hope, while neglecting spiritual hope. Its progress will be stunted, one-legged; and its personality will be fractured, rather than whole.

It is significant that even though modern man has managed to conquer many physical diseases, his anxiety and fears have increased at the very same time; the rate of nervous disorders and psychological illnesses has increased.

Modern man needs inner peace and reassurance more than at any previous time.

Statistical studies show that the suicide rate is rising at a frightening rate among populations where materialism is growing and faith in God is decreasing. The world needs a hope that is built upon faith in God. It needs to supply spiritual nourishment and mental peace for confused souls, alongside its provision of material nourishment for hungry stomachs. I believe that this is the Christian message for the developing world today. But are we able to give hope and faith to the world?

When a person loses something, he cannot give it. So long as the effect of our faith is not manifested in our lives as individuals or our communal life as a church, the world cannot believe in the power of the hope that is in us.

And so long as the power of the hope within us does not reveal itself in our positivity and our joining in the struggle to solve the problems that face our nations (and in consequence, the whole world) through practical contributions in support of national unity and

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efforts to strengthen the country through development and industry, or in our struggle for the cause of social justice,[11]fī mukāfaḥatna fī sabīl siyādat al-‘adāla al-ijtimā‘iyya equality of opportunity,[12]takāfū’ al-faraṣ peaceful co-existence and lasting peace in the world, [the power of our hope] will not appear to the world.

If the faith within us does not bring forth these fruits, the world will never see it and therefore, not follow it or benefit from it. On the contrary, they will reject it, deny it and resist it. Youth are strength and hope is strength.[13]inn al-shibāb quwwa wa-l-rajā’ quwwa If youth and hope joined together, we would become a moving, fruitful force able to bear the torch of faith in one hand, and the instruments of building and development in the other.

Faithful youth who are full of hope carry within themselves the most powerful means of bringing faith to the confused souls living in the darkness of despair and aimless wandering. Youth who look cheerfully towards the future, who struggle with love and patience to bring joy to others and wellbeing to society, will present an image which people will want to imitate and long to replicate. They are the ones who will be able to call others, with confidence and personal experience, to the good news of salvation, saying: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8).

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As Christian youth, we need to pour great and continuous efforts into granting the world a true picture of our faith and hope, so that we can correct the jumbled picture of religion that has formed in the minds of some and help them forget the widespread assumptions that accuse religion of negativity, of being a drug for the masses,[14]takhdīr al-shu‘ūb, lit. “anaesthetising the nations”, but likely alluding to Karl Marx’s famous assertion that religion is “the opium of the masses.”” of complacency and lack of concern for the sufferings of the nations and problems of the world. So, do we see the hope that is before us clearly? And are we ready to make it clear to the world in a practical way?

If we believe this, then each one of us must begin with himself first of all, then his family, his local community, his nation and his church. In this way the mustard seed will grow to become a great tree, giving shelter to the birds of the sky.

Faith working through hope and love is able to move mountains. It can change wrong ideas about religion and correct them, using religion to restore wholeness to the human personality, for the dignity of man and the solidarity of society.

Faith can work miracles. It can make the human soul accept the law of change and development that governs society[15]ti-j‘al al-nafs al-bashariyya rāḍiyya bi-nāmūs al-taghyīr wa-l-taṭawwur al-ladhī yasūd al-mujtami‘ so that it works joyfully and with motivation towards material and spiritual rewards together, because it sees from afar that the reward is worth the struggle and sacrifice. In this way, it is able to transform barren deserts into fertile fields, and disturbed, troubled hearts into steadfast hearts, brimming over with peace and joy.

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4. The Role of the Church

The Church is the body which gathers the faithful members and through them, reveals faith and hope to the world. Thus, youth also have another responsibility towards the Church.

The negative responsibility of criticising the Church and sometimes accusing it of backwardness does not bring forth any fruit. But the positive responsibility which flows from hope in the renewal of the youth of the Church and uncovering her spiritual treasures will not bring forth any fruit unless each one of us considers himself a responsible member of this one body. The responsibility does not fall only to the leaders, but to the body as a whole and to each member within it: for [what] “if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body?’” (1 Cor 12:16).

This sense of responsibility takes its rise in youth when they apply themselves to studying their Church and the and delving into her spiritual experience. From there, it grows by degrees in the various activities of service, from which many are led to consecrate their lives to a specialised service as deacons, then shepherds, then leaders. This is the hope that drove some of the zealous, educated in the Eastern Churches to consecrate their lives and be added to the ranks of the servants, in order to carry the message of what they have experienced, how it made them rejoice, how they believed in its effect on their lives, and how they wanted as a result to use it to bring joy the society around them.

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The ecumenical spirit that has flooded the Church in these days is one of the fruits of hope; the hope the Church of Christ might become “one holy, catholic and apostolic” Church; hope in the realisation of the prayer of the Lord Jesus, who is Himself the head of the Church, “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; they also may believe that You sent Me” (Jn 17:21).

In this hope, we pray to the Lord of the Church to give us the humility that will allow His Holy Spirit to lead us to the fulfillment of His desire for His Church at the appropriate time, and in the manner He Himself has appointed, so that our division might not hinder the light of faith from reaching the world.

This faithful struggle which is full of hope for a future world governed by peace, happiness and hope will not be in vain. Rather, by the grace of God, it must lead us to the achievement of what we hope for, so that we hear that sweet voice saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new’” (Rev 21:3,5).

In closing, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13).

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Notes:

Notes:
↑1 mukhayyarān wa laysa musayyarān. A common Arabic saying; the rhyme is obviously lost in translation, but literally this means to be someone who determines their own course (mukhayyar), rather than something that is driven (musayyar) like a car or a carriage.”
↑2 A reference to the refrain of the Friday Theotokia: ‘He took what is ours, and gave us what is His, we praise and glorify Him, and exalt Him.’
↑3 Cf. The Coptic Fraction prayer for the Feast of the Resurrection and Holy Fifty Days.”
↑4 Cf. Jn 15:5
↑5 ‘amal al-Masīḥ al-kaffārī ‘alā al-ṣalīb
↑6 Cf. “No power of speech can measure the depth of Your love for mankind” (Sanctus of the Liturgy of St Gregory).
↑7 al-mushāraka al-wijdāniyya, lit. affective, mental or emotional sharing, a communion of feeling. Cf. Bishop Samuel, Notes on Pastoral Theology [Mudhakkarāt fī-l-lāhūt al-ra‘awī], vol. 1 Coptic Theological Seminary, no date): 1–2.
↑8 al-shaḥanāt al-makbūta, lit. repressed or suppressed cargo, inner burdens.
↑9 ṭumūḥān lā nihāya lahu, the same phrase Anba Samuel uses on pages 4 and 5 above to describe the infinite longing that accompanied the breath of life in the first-created human beings.
↑10 lā yafham li-l-ḥayāa ṭa‘mān
↑11 fī mukāfaḥatna fī sabīl siyādat al-‘adāla al-ijtimā‘iyya
↑12 takāfū’ al-faraṣ
↑13 inn al-shibāb quwwa wa-l-rajā’ quwwa
↑14 takhdīr al-shu‘ūb, lit. “anaesthetising the nations”, but likely alluding to Karl Marx’s famous assertion that religion is “the opium of the masses.””
↑15 ti-j‘al al-nafs al-bashariyya rāḍiyya bi-nāmūs al-taghyīr wa-l-taṭawwur al-ladhī yasūd al-mujtami‘

How to cite this text (Chicago/Turabian):

Bishop Samuel. Life and Hope [al-Ḥayā wa-l-rajā’]. Shubra: Jabalawi Press, 1964. Translated by Ramza Bassilious and Samuel Kaldas. In Archive of Contemporary Coptic Orthodox Theology. Sydney, NSW: St Cyril’s Coptic Orthodox Theological College. https://accot.stcyrils.edu.au/bsam-lifeandhope/.

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