In the first day of the new year, I would like to congratulate you all on its beginning, asking God to bestow upon you all, our beloved country ‘Egypt,’ and the whole world, goodness, happiness, and peace.
As we bid farewell to a year filled with its share of blessings, joys, and sorrows, and as we embrace a new year teeming with hopes and aspirations, let us pray to God for a year of peace and a year where everyone’s dreams and aspirations are realized. And here, I recall the words of a parable told by the Lord Jesus when he was informed that the king had killed a number of Galileans while they were offering worship to God.
“He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”
This parable speaks to us of the vineyards and the vine workers, that is, God and the world. Our world is the vineyard where God has placed humanity to work and bear fruit. And every person has a mission and a legacy for which they will be held accountable before God. God will ask them about the fruits of their days on Earth. But what will be the outcome if one does not produce fruits that please God?
The message of the new year is a warning and a call to reflection: ‘What if God were to ask for fruit and find none?’ This prompts each person to pause and consider their past days. Have they been fruitful, or have they passed without meaning or purpose? The parable told by the Lord Jesus places us before an inescapable truth: How have the days of our lives passed? What have we achieved in our journey through life? Some carry the fruits of their service to others, while others offer the results of their hard work and dedication in helping those they’ve encountered. A question arises: What are the fruits of each of our lives? If you find no fruit of good deeds in your days, do not worry or be troubled, for there is still time to change your life. Let these words be a motivation and a hope for you: “Let me dig up the dirt around it and put on some fertilizer. … And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.”
The first step for a person is realizing that they need to change their direction in life. However, a person’s life will not change unless their perspective, attitudes, and emotions change, with a determination and resolve to give their life meaning and a humanitarian purpose towards their family, community, and self. This goal should be accompanied by compassionate, loving human behavior that is characterized by goodness towards everyone they encounter in life.
God has commanded peace, love for all, and the doing of good, for He is the Creator of all goodness: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect “
Goodness is from God, and whoever does good walks in the light of God.
The life that God has bestowed upon us is a gift that we must respect and appreciate, by utilizing every moment to fulfill the specific mission that God has entrusted each of us with. Let us strive in all hope, joy, and peace, with complete confidence that God, the Giver of goodness and blessings to all people every morning, will grant us the strength and wisdom to do good to all.
Many Happy Returns! …and stories of Beautiful Egypt will never end.
The General Bishop
President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
