This is powerful: the homily by Coptic Orthodox priest Father Boules George, of St. Mark Church in Cairo, Egypt. You can read the story behind it here.
The message, translated:
A message to those who kill us: What will we say to them? The first thing we will say is, “Thank you very, very much,” and you won’t believe us when we say it. 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. Christ was crucified — and this is our faith. He died and was slaughtered — and this is our faith. You gave us, and you gave them to die. We thank you because you shortened for us the journey. When someone is headed home to a particular city, he keeps looking at the time. “When will I get home? Are we there yet?” Can you imagine if in an instant he finds himself on a rocket ship straight to his destination? You shortened the journey! Thank you for shortening 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. I carry no weapon in my hand. We are so grateful that you helped us fulfill this saying of Christ. …The second part of the message we want to send to you is that we love you….
Read it all or watch the video below.
And today we celebrate...