Being Christ like
His Grace Bishop Angaelos’ address to the Coptic Medical Society on Saturday 5th June 2004
We are lucky in the UK to have such skilled people in our congregation. However, please, remember that God will ask us one day about how well we used such skills and talents.
Christian doctors should be Christ like in their professional career. You spend many hours every week working. Your challenge is how to be Christ like at work. This is more relevant to your profession than any other profession.
Remember what the Lord said; ‘those who are well have no need for a physician, but those who are sick’. Our Lord realised the needs of the sick. He healed every disease and every affliction. We often refer to Our Lord Jesus as the true physician.
We the clergy are your colleagues in many ways. You are the physicians of the body and we are the physicians of the spirit. You have not got precise working hours. As soon as people know you are a doctor, they ask you questions whether you are on duty or not. It is not a job, it is a vocation. People come to you because they feel sick; they seek renewal in their strength through you.
It is easy to be cynical in your job and not believe that people are genuinely suffering. You may see 100 patients with fever, but for the 100th patient, his fever is very important. He is worried about his condition.
We read in the gospels how the Lord gave special attention to individuals who were unwell e.g. the 10 lepers, the widow of Nain, Jairus’s daughter etc. He had mercy on them and healed them.
In the gospel of the eleventh hour of the agapia, it says; ‘and he healed those who were in need of healing’.
You may worry about your shrinking budget and your demanding targets. This may put you under stress. Your vocation as a healer should not be diluted by such stresses.
There is a danger that the medical professional concerns himself/herself only with affluence and prestige. In the process the practitioner may forget about his most important call; to serve patients who are sometimes in desperate need.
Patients need doctors who are compassionate and understanding, who are able to bring healing. Remember that the ways you communicate with patients are just as important as your treatment. The Bible said, ‘there is one whose words are like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing’.
Remember as you practice medicine. That you are Christ’s ambassadors; who bring healing to those in need.
Registered Charity
We are pleased to announce that the ” Coptic Medical Society” has been entered in the Central Register of Charities with effect from the 9th September 2004
We thank Our Lord , it will enable the CMS to extend its charitable activities a great deal.
The charity registration was only possible through the perseverance of Dr Fayek Youssef of Birmingham.
Lord will reward him for all his hard work.
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