Page 54 - AlNashra Year 2024 Issue 05

Sermon of Patriarch John X
Sunday Liturgy, Church of the Holy Cross,
December 15, 2024
Beloved,
" Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, Mountain, the expansiveness of Homs,
be strong, Let all that you do be done
with love" (1 Cor. 16:13-14). With these
words, I begin, and with these words,
I address our dear children in this
cherished homeland. I extend my hand
to yours during these delicate times, so
that together, we may place our hope
in the Almighty Creator, the Father
of Lights and God of all consolation,
to wipe away every disturbance from
our hearts, crown them with His holy
hope, and strengthen us to seek a better
tomorrow.
We stand on the threshold of a new phase,
perceiving the dawn of a homeland we
all love and cherish. We are on the brink
of renewal, which we desire to be radiant
with hope and crowned with light. Here
in Damascus, from the Straight Street,
from Al-Mariamiyya, the neighbor of
the Umayyad Mosque, we declare to
the world: as Christians, we are from
the soil of Syria and from the Cedars of
53 Issue 5 - 2024
Lebanon, from the majesty of Qasioun
the legacy of Aleppo, the waterwheels
of Hama, and the gushing springs of
Idlib, from the sea of Lattakia and the
Euphrates of Deir ez-Zor. We are not
guests in this land, nor did we come
to this land today or yesterday. We are
from the ancient roots of Syria and as
old as the jasmine of Damascus. We are
from Apostolic Antioch, from this land
that has adorned the world with the
name of Jesus Christ. We proclaim this
and engrave it as a covenant, saying it
to our children, to our brothers, to our
partners in the homeland, and before
our Creator, Who willed that we exist on
this earth alongside others, alongside our
Muslim brethren, with whom we seek
the pleasure of the Lord of the worlds,
the Master of heavens and earth. I have
said it before, and I repeat it now: "My
Muslim brothers, between the 'we' and
the 'you,' the 'and' (in Arabic, 'waw') falls
away, leaving only 'we you' and 'you we.'"