2013:13 - Some Reflections

With time and distance here are some further reflections on my time in Egypt this year.

·      Despite the protests that erupted and all that’s happened in the last week, my time in Egypt this year was mostly very routine and mundane. For three weeks, I taught, preached, and tried to keep up on my work in the states much in the same way I do every year with few interruptions. We experienced some power blackouts, but not nearly as often or for as long as I had been expecting. While we heard that protests were planned for 30 June upon arriving in Cairo, there was very little discussion of what that might mean for us prior to 27 or 28 June.

·      When I say I was safe, secure and very well protected at the seminary I wasn’t exaggerating to ease your fears. Ma’adi is 20 minutes or so by Metro from central Cairo. The seminary is a 5-10 minute walk to the Metro. My situation was not unlike living in Harlem while the Operation Wall Street Protests were happening in the Financial District of Manhattan. I was in the same city, but far removed from any action or any danger.

·      Between Saturday evening and my departure on Thursday, the only time I left the grounds of the seminary was to walk one block to the pharmacy to get something. When I made the trip on Tuesday evening, I was accompanied by two colleagues AND two students! Abuna Bishoi was not going to let us out of his care and protection for even five minutes.

·      Since the 2011 Revolution, I have said that I would return to Egypt as long as I felt that I could take the necessary precautions to remain safe AND as long as my presence in Egypt didn’t put my friends at risk or danger. When we contemplated leaving on Saturday our real question to Abuna Bishoi was, “is our presence here a threat to the seminary? Or would our departure bring you or the seminary relief to not have to worry about us?” We even asked him to speak with us directly, like American’s speak, and not speak in the polite and deferential patterns that are the norm for Egyptian interpersonal communication. When he assured us that our presence was not a threat to the seminary nor his desired wish in stating that we were free to leave, we agreed that we felt it was better to stay at the seminary and not go to the airport until we had a ticket on a plane. Abuna Bishoi supported that plan.

·      The unfolding violence in Egypt since Wednesday night is not surprising. Throughout the weeks leading up to 30 June everyone said that the Brotherhood would not give up power and government control without bloodshed and violence. And as horrible as the news is coming out of Egypt in the last 48 hours, I believe that it would have been even worse had the military not taken the action that it has taken. My hope and prayer at this point is that with the start of Ramadan on Tuesday, 9 July, a month when much of the normal activity slows or stops altogether, that violence will subside for the month of fasting and that will give the caretaker government and the military a chance to stabilize and secure the situation on the ground.

·      Mangos are best eaten hanging out a window with mango juice and pulp dripping all over your face and hands. The American way of eating mangos is far to clean and neat.

·      On the last day of the summer course last year I wore my clerics to morning mass at the seminary because I was leaving from there to go to St. Andrew’s to preach. After mass that morning, Abuna Bishoi said to me, “Today you are a priest.” When I asked him about his statement he simply pointed to my clerical collar. Never mind that I had been preaching in mass for years at that point. To Abuna Bishoi the sight of me in a clerical collar was a clear signal of my pastoral office and authority. With that in mind I made an intentional decision to wear my clerics every morning when I preached in mass this year. I can only say that when people say that non-verbal cues (including our clothing) communicate more to others than the words we say, they are not lying!

·      I challenged myself this year to preach without any manuscript when I gave the homily in daily mass. I’m so glad I did this. It was great practice for me as I try to move away from using a manuscript in my preaching. I’m going to be doing my best to continue to develop this skill as I return to the preaching task at home in the coming weeks.

·      One of my students shared with me an observation on Wednesday morning for which I will be forever grateful. He said, “I sit with you at a meal one day and I ask you questions and you answer them. And then I see you sitting with a different group of students at the next meal and I hear a different student ask you the same questions. Every day and every meal you get the same questions. And every time you answer the questions. You never get impatient. You never say, ‘I already answered that five times.’ You talk to each student with respect as if that is the first time you have ever been asked a question.” All I can say is thank you Holy Spirit for the insight 7 years ago after my first meal at seminary when I realized that I might be the only female pastor these students ever encounter in their life and how I responded to their questions would shape how they view women in pastoral leadership for the rest of their life.

·      I realize that my continued presence in Egypt this year placed anxiety and concern in the hearts of many of you whom I hold dear. For that I’m sorry, it was certainly not my intent. Last Friday I preached at St. Andrew’s in Cairo two days before the protests were scheduled to begin. In that sermon (borrowed heavily from the wisdom of David Lose at Luther Seminary) I said, “When I think about the uncertainty of all that will unfold in Egypt in the coming days … the only real hope is in the idea that Jesus walks with us in all this uncertainty, holds us close, and brings us to the other side.

“… What if the deepest calling of a Christian disciples isn’t to be in control – either ourselves or through God – but rather to give up the illusion, to take some risks, and to throw ourselves into this chaotic life and world God loves so much trusting that God will join us in the adventure, hold onto us through all the ups and downs, and brings us in time to the other side.

“… This trust in Christ’s presence and only this is what allows us to sing with the Psalmist, ‘Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you … My heart … is glad, and my spirit rejoices; my body also shall rest in hope.’”

Friends, I was able to “rest in hope” this past week for two reasons. First, because I was buoyed by all of your prayers and words of support and encouragement to me. I remained surprisingly calm and levelheaded through everything that was happening. I know that strength came from you and your prayers. Second, I believe with all of my heart that Christ was with me, and that no matter what happened, I would not be alone. I hope in some small way you see in my words and actions this summer not someone who made foolish or ill-advised decisions, but rather I hope you see a witness to my faith in the risen Christ who walks with us through all.