Scripture for the Day…Matthew 2:13-15 (NIV)
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."
[14] So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, [15] where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
Our tour guide, Max (pictured above), is a Coptic Christian. His heritage as a Christian is traced back to the first Century. We visited the Hanging Church of Mary in the oldest part of Cairo. This was a moving experience as we observed Christians practicing their faith in a culture of systematic oppression. We saw a crypt under the church where Coptic tradition says Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus stayed in Egypt. As we walked through the narrow streets of the Christian section of the city we saw Muslim women leading several blind women. Sandy asked one of the Christian shop owners about the Muslims. “They are here seeking healing from the Christian priests.” Our guide informed us that many Muslims come to the Christian community for prayer and healing. Especially the women believe in Jesus, but cannot publicly proclaim faith in Jesus. It is a sobering thing to consider the world of Christians in this country. While there is no overt persecution today in Egypt, Christians remain at the mercy of the ruling Muslim majority.
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