Gospel, Homily and Coffee

We owe God nothing. A provocative statement right? We owe God nothing. In November while in Egypt, I and along with the other priests had the pleasure of meeting with Bishop Joseph Thomas. He shared a story from his life. He initially studied to be a veterinarian in Cairo. When he had finished school the diocese contacted him and asked him to take a visiting Greek Orthodox Monk from Mt. Athos Greece to the desert. This monk was seeking a spiritual experience. Just an aside, Mt Athos monks live in monasteries completely separated from people, and the Egyptian desert historically had been the site of many early Christian monks. So he took this monk out into the desert. The first night he watched as this Monk stood and prayed, mouthing many many prayers. But this monk stopped and said he needed to go deeper into the desert. The current place was not sufficient. So Joseph took him further out. Again prayers and such, and this monk was still not satisfied. He wanted to go out further and