As a student at university in the 80s I had a traumatic experience. One day, as I was walking out of the library, I noticed a female student, a complete stranger, walking out right behind me. So I did the courteous thing and held the door open for her to go out first. What followed still haunts my nightmares! How dare I do such a thing! She launched into an aggressive tirade about how patronising I was being; did I think that she was incapable of opening a door for herself? Who did I think I was? Welcome to the world of late twentieth century feminism! I did the only the only thing I could: I apologised for my thoughtlessness and walked out the door. 

In a world where relationships have changed in so many ways, I find it sad that good old fashioned courtesy has been one of the casualties. It hasn’t been totally eradicated of course, but it has certainly decreased greatly in importance. There are some who argue that this is not such a bad thing. Courtesy can certainly be used a cloak for anger, insults or sarcasm. But that is misuse – it is not the courtesy’s fault, but the user’s. 

Others complain that courtesy encourages insincerity. Isn’t it better to just be honest about our feelings rather than hide them under a formal disguise of good manners? Again, one must distinguish between use and misuse. There is nothing inherent in courtesy to make us act insincerely. It should always be practiced from the heart, with feelings of love towards others. And that same love dictates that we must be honest with each other. All courtesy does is ensure that when we are honest, we do so with respect, kindness and consideration. 

For me, one of the images that epitomises the sublime nobility of courtesy is the famous 1500m race in 1956 where John Landy went back to help fellow runner Ron Clarke who had tripped over. Incredibly, Landy went on to catch up to the rest of the field and win the race! I wonder how many people today would do what he did? And what does that tell us about how we deal with each other?

Courtesy is Biblical. To love one another is the core command that Christ gave us, and again and again in the Bible we find that agape love expressed through courtesy. In that most famous of passages about love, we learn that among other things, “Love … is kind …  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own …” 1 Corinthians 13:4,5.

God is courteous towards even those who evil: Read the rest of this entry »

This is an historic moment. A few hours ago, President Hosni Mubarak resigned after thirtyyears of apparently untouchable rule. He took what was perhaps his last opportunity to depart with dignity. No one can deny that he has done much that is good for his people over the decades, regardless of the damage that he also presided over. Our Lord, who is the true judge of hearts, will no doubt deal with him with justice and mercy.

The great thing about this change in Egypt is that it took place largely peacefully and it was not engineered by foreigners, the army, Islamic radicals or any other narrow interest. It came about because the people of Egypt finally found their voice.

The 1952 Egyptian Revolution that ousted the monarchy began with great idealism. Opinion is divided as to how closely its leaders adhered to that idealism, although most would agree that Egypt has degenerated rather than improved over the past sixty years. This time, there are no obvious leaders like Gamal Abd El Nasser to garner the love and trust of the people and turn it into dictatorship. Perhaps this time Egypt will give birth to a system rather than a leader, a far more stable and beneficial state of affairs!

I cannot help feeling a deep thrill of joy today. Read the rest of this entry »

As Egypt broils with turmoil, we in Australia watch and wait and pray. Here are a couple of interesting items that have come my way:

This picture warms my heart! It was apparently taken on February 2 in Heliopolis, Cairo. Two Coptic priests are seen marching with the protestors for change in Egypt, and one of them (I think he may be Fr Dawoud Lamei?) is arm in arm with what looks like a Muslim sheikh. Isn’t that the true spirit of Christianity – to stand up for truth and to love all people? If only this spirit would spread through the whole country! It is early days yet, but one cannot help wondering whether there will be a voice for the Copts in the new Egypt.

A gentleman in Cairo is sharing his journal of events he is experiencing in the comments section of this interesting article. It provides a snapshot of how the Egyptian on the street sees these historic events. Very interesting indeed.

We pray for a quick and safe resolution that results in a better, freer and more equitable Egypt.

Fr Ant

PS Another ray of light amidst the darkness – Christians showing real love towards Muslims. An article in the Daily Mail.

Things have escalated rather rapidly.

It seems that the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda has taken it personally that two wives of Coptic priests who allegedly converted to Islam have been ‘kidnapped’ by the Church, and have called for their immediate release. If not, they say, prepare to face some serious consequences. They have called on Muslims all over the world to put bombs in Coptic Churches.

Never mind that so far as the objective evidence shows, the two women in question NEVER converted to Islam. One of them not only went on national television to state that, but was also supported by an official statement from Al Azhar mosque that confirming that she never became Muslim (read here). The issues of these two women were patently of a personal and not a religious nature and seem now to have been more or less resolved. Given that these issues actually flared up some years ago (around 2004, I believe) one wonders why Iraqi Al Qaeda have suddenly gotten so worked up about private Egyptian matters years after the event? The answer is most likely that these ladies are just an excuse.

Consider the outright hypocrisy. Read the rest of this entry »