Guests

On Monday we were invited to visit the Vatican’s Ambassador in Egypt (the papal nuncio) at the Vatican Embassy in Cairo on the island of Zamalak. As you might imagine this was a big deal.

A reminder for readers who have a hard time keeping track of the details of what I do in Egypt. St. Leo’s, the seminary where I teach, is a seminary of the Coptic Catholic Church. This means that the church has it’s own archbishop and it’s own rite of the mass, but it continues to relate with the Roman Catholic Church. So when the Vatican’s Ambassador comes to dine at the seminary, as he did a few weeks ago, or when he invites the seminary to a reception, it’s a big deal for my students and the priests at the seminary. As Samer, the student elected to share a greeting with ambassador, said in his remarks, “a visit to the embassy is for us a visit to the Vatican itself.”

It’s a little strange and surreal for this Lutheran pastor to be in a gathering of this nature. I do well within the context of the seminary and with my students to being open to finding the commonality in our faith. In this context we can engage in dialogue and discussions, ask questions, seek understanding and agree sometimes to disagree. But at times like this, when I’m exposed first hand to the hierarchy (and patriarchy) of the Roman Catholic Church it’s hard for me not to roll my eyes and make smart ass comments. My mother (and others) will be pleased to know that yesterday I neither rolled by eyes nor made any smart ass comments (at least not out loud). I only spoke when the Ambassador asked if priests were political. My response was a simple, “every parish pastor in the world has to be a politician.”

Mostly yesterday was a day I will remember because of what it meant for my students. They were so excited for this invitation, and not just because it meant they got out of study hall for the afternoon. They all dressed in black – clerics for some, dress blacks for others – and were on their best behavior. They took in every word the Ambassador spoke, even though many of them could not understand much of what he said. They noticed every action, every response, every movement and gesture – I didn’t know they could be so attentive. Some were disappointed and critical of what they experienced, but most of them were simply delighted.

Perhaps the most fun of the day was waiting in the garden in front of the Embassy right on the Nile while we waited to be received. The students took in the garden and the gorgeous view across the Nile of central Cairo. They enjoyed every flower and plant. They took it all in and were so grateful to be received.

Once again they taught me.