Oppression and the Holy Family in Egypt

Some thoughts on our unique role as Copts in facing the oppression of Black Americans

This isn’t exactly how I planned to launch this blog.

This wasn’t exactly what I planned to write about for my first post or when I planned to go live, but I couldn’t help but share some thoughts and what an honor it is to dedicate my first post to such a topic.

Today, the Coptic Church commemorates the Holy Family entering Egypt. As far as I know, we’re the only Orthodox jurisdiction (or Christian denomination for that matter) that celebrates this event in the life of Christ with a specific feast day. This is a day of pride for us Copts—the Lord Himself came and took refuge in our land and thereby blessed our home with His presence.

And as I sit and reflect on this feast day, my heart can’t separate it from all that has been happening these past few days.

This country is divided. A helpless man was killed by those who were supposed to be protecting him from injustice. Many are furious. And many others are furious that the many are furious.

Out of Egypt

The Holy Family fled to Egypt to protect the Child from Herod. There, they were immigrants and foreigners. I imagine their time in this new land, not knowing the language or customs, looking different, smelling different, dressing differently…but our Lord must have seen something in the Egyptians. A warmness, perhaps? A spirit of compassion that would welcome these refugees? Whatever it was, this was the land that the angel told them to travel to take solace and be safe. What a blessing and a boast that the land of Egypt was counted worthy of being a respite for the prince of peace.

Today, we commemorate the joys of caring for the stranger, of taking in the oppressed, and of looking beyond ethnicity or color. Today we celebrate the small act of kindness of the Egyptians towards the One who would later be their Lord and Savior.

Coincidently, we went on to be some of the most persecuted Christians in history. From Roman emperors to Byzantine strife to Islamic invasion, the Copts have known what it is to live with injustice for generations and centuries. Oppression became our brother and inequality our neighbor. Our identity was ripped from us and we’ve lived as second class citizens for nearly 2,000 years. But then, we get an opportunity to move to a new land. We immigrate to the States for a chance at equality. We arrive, hearing the rumor that this is a land where everyone gets a fair shot to succeed.

Your Brother’s Blood Cries Out

The sad truth is that this country, plainly, does not treat people equally and it’s not the case that everyone gets a fair shot to succeed. The favored of this country almost can’t function with languages, customs, smells, and dress that are different than theirs. The elite of this country decides whose life is worth protecting, who's considered a hero, and who's considered a thug. The privileged of this country can, in cold blood, murder someone who’s subdued and restrained, or just going out on a run, or sitting in their living room after working two shifts as a medical professional. This ugliness and this failure to see the image of God in each human being has become the norm and has evidently always been the norm in this country.

But the even sadder truth is that so many of us Copts, the ones who have known persecution for two millennia, try so hard to be counted among the favored, elite, and privileged. (I don’t want to make this about whiteness but just as a PSA: we are not white. We just aren’t. I know. It’s tough. You'll be alright.) Have we forgotten the injustices we've faced? Has all our experience and boasting as being the "Church of the Martyrs" become just a slogan to impress non-Copts at church festivals? Of what use is any of it if it does not influence and sanctify our lives in the present?

Put on the Mind of Christ

Where did the warmness and spirit of welcome for refugees go? Where did our memories of our own oppression go? Better yet, where is our Christian awareness that Christ came and took on humanity? He redeemed all of humanity! That means that salvation is for all. The Church is for all. The Eucharist is for all. Our mission as Orthodox Christians is to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Our mission is to baptize the world and bring every person to the knowledge of the truth through our actions, our empathy, our service, our talents, our love, as well as our teaching. Our mission isn’t to be Republicans or Democrats, or to pass as white, or to be the elite. It isn’t to be pro-life exclusively when it comes to abortion and not care for the welfare, education, health, and safety of every single human being for the entirety of their life. It isn’t to be offended by people’s sins and have no regard for our own sins. It isn’t to be angry at the looting and rioting when we haven’t ever been moved to righteous anger or empathy against the systematic oppression that the Black community has faced since they were brought to this land. We need to do better. I need to do better.

This is a scary time and it feels like this country is falling apart.

The simplest (yet most powerful) thing we can do is bring all of this to prayer. To yearn for there to be peace, healing, and justice for those who are experiencing oppression. To pray for our leaders to have wisdom and be the voice of the voiceless. To pray for all the trauma that has been happening secretly for centuries along with all the trauma that has been publicized over the last few days/months. To pray for a heart and mind that understands and listens to others. And most importantly, a profound prayer for repentance within each one of us, that every shred of racism, hatred, jealousy, and fear may be uprooted piece by piece, day by day, for the rest of our lives. May we become the healers and feet-washers rather than the elite, the accepted, and the right ones.

Rest in peace George Floyd and the many others.

Blessed Feast and may love prevail. --

PS If you’re looking for the words to pray, please check out this beautiful litany written by my friend Phoebe Farag Mikhail.