Remain in Me, and I Will Remain in You

MESSAGE TO SERVANTS OF THE WORD (2)

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you."

Fr. MattaEl-Meskeen

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me" (John 15:4).

Servant of the word is considered by Christ a branch in the vine, and tothe degree he abides in the vine he bears fruit. Christ says, “abide in me, and I will abide in you” (John 15:4). Remaining in the vine includes the arrival of the vine’s sap to the branches, and remaining in Christ insures the arrival of the spoken word and even insures it will be influential and productive.

What binds the vine with the branches is the living Word. To a servant of the Word the Gospel is his life, which he draws each day from the Gospel. To the degree a servant lives by the Gospel, from it will come words of life which bring life to souls whosepurpose in hearing them is to live by them.

The word of life in the Gospel is what is meant by Christ as ifHe sais I am the living water, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him”(John 7:37-38).Theword of the Gospel is an impact thrust by the servant into an emaciated man about to die in his sins so that he rises to life and glorifies the living God who saved him from such a death. Driven by the power of the Lord of the Word and the Lord of life, the Gospelraises to life those dead in their sin, through the living Word that comes from the mouth of the servant. In the voice of the servant Christ calls, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink,’ and he will become a spring of living water.

By describing man as thirsty, Christ is giving a mysterious call to the captives of sin, which has sucked their blood and left them hanging between life and death. A servant of the Word is the horn of the Lord calling to those who thirst for righteousness and truth to repent and to become a source of life after having walked the path of hell. The servant who is faithful with sinful souls calls and never stops calling, in the hope that those at the brink of death will hear and their spirits will turn back and rise up like the younger son who came to his father.

The relationship between the branches and the vine is existential in the sense that when there is a vine there are branches. To the heavenly Father the branch is priceless because he is the vine keeper who grows the branches and makes them increase on the vine so that the vine becomes as the vine keeper desires, and he comes at the right time to harvest its fruit.

Servants of the Word also are branches in the vine, and for the Father they bear fruit. They are precious to the vine keeper, meaning they are called by him to enter eternal life. By their fruit they stand before the vine keeper as heirs of the vine, possessors of the kingdom of heaven. So the invitation to eternal life is one of the most important elements of ministry. Though the gate to which they are called is narrow and the path

_they walk troublesome, the kingdom of heaven presented to them and their disciples is abundant (2 Peter 1:11).Though they, and we with them, are not of this world,(John 17:16) “we have a buildingfrom God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands,” (2 Cor. 5:1) but built by the heavenly Father and the Son, in which he gives life to his guests, and all of them are,“members of God’s household” (Eph. 2:19).

In the end, servants of the Word are servants of eternal life.

(Life with Christ, 2nd Part, Chapter 38,August 5, 2005)

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IN THIS ISSUE

The English Section:

The First Article is, “New Heaven & New Earth” Fr. MattaEl-Meskeen. In this article Father Mattaquotesthis verse from the book of Revelation toportraythe ultimate objective of God's plan for Christ’s incarnation,anddeath and thepower of His resurrection. ThusGodreveals to us His salvation plan, which aimed for restoring in us the beauty of God's creation & the beauty of His image, so we live in a new heaven & a new earth.

The Second Article is, "The Woman at the Well (3) Leah and Rachel" by Rodolph Yanney, M. D. In this collection of Old Testament’s Biblical Characters, the author presents the method of spiritual interpretation of the Bible, which was first introduced in the ancient Catechetical School of Alexandria and applied by theearly Fathers of the Church.

The Third Article is,“Revelation", The Final Victory of Christ’s Kingdom, by James M. Helmy, D.D.S. The book of Revelation,in spite of beingadmittedly themost difficult book in the Bible, it is the closest, New Testament book to the heart of the Church.Its songs and doxologies have penetrated every prayer, every fast, and every feast of church life.Also, it is the book which supports the church in her struggle against the devastating persecutions, replacing painwith solace and inner peace,and leading for the deliverance of the saints victoriouslyand joyfully, till reigning with the Lamb around His throne.

The Arabic Section:

The First Article: is,“Introduction to the Gospel of St. Luke (8)” by Fouad N. Youssef. We continue to present the organization of St Luke’s Gospel, and its divisions. In this issue we continue to study, “TheGalilean Ministry”.

The Second Article:“Therefore Take Heed How You Hear”, by Fouad N. Youssef. In this article we present the variances in script betweenthe gospels- for the same article. Accordingly, we can explicate the meaning of inspirationin Christianity.

The Third Article is, "Church’s Fathers & The Holy Bible (2)” by Waheab Kosman, Ph .D. In part 2 of this study the author presents thedual revelation of the Savior, Divine andHuman, which is a demand for the salvation of human race.

The Fourth article is, “Biblical Criticism - New Testament (2)” byJoseph M. Faltas, Ph.D. In this part, the author presents how the fathers of the church confronted all the heresies by implementing the early tradition of the Church, to understand the biblical difficulties.

The Fifth article is “The Divinity of ChristIn the Epistle to the Hebrews”,bySaid Hakim, Ph .D.In this article, the author shows the unique methods of this epistle in presenting the Divinity of Christ.

We thank every person who offered help in publishing and distributing the magazine, asking the Lord to reward them with His heavenly blessings. Also, we ask for your prayers

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