Spirituality Column #796

February 15, 2022

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Made My Week

By Bob Walters

“I love this – ‘to capture our faith in the truth, light and life approaching the heavenly realms that await beyond.’ I always focused just on salvation.” – Pamela Osborn Brandley

This recent, brief Facebook comment by our church pal and my wife’s friend and former teacher colleague Pam Brandley lit up my face with joy.

It drove home for me, again, the power of the teaching quoted at the end of last week’s column when we remembered the one-year anniversary of the passing of friend, mentor, encourager, and retired professor George Bebawi.  George taught that our salvation was only a thin slice of the glory that awaits us in life with Jesus amid the glory of God.  It is a faith dynamic that eludes many, but Pam picked it up immediately.

There exists a legion of us, right here in Indianapolis and literally around the world, who would recognize Pam’s comment as a fruit of George’s straight-shooter, erudite, wide-vision teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.      

Pam and her husband Bruce exercise their faith robustly and regularly in service to our East 91^st Street Christian Church.  Though they didn’t know George, a few words from George could always take a bright, faithful light and make it brighter.

It was George’s approach that sin was and is terrible, yes, no surprise.  Everyone believes that.  But he believed, knew, and taught that the human fullness of life in Christ would never be very full if the focus remains on my sin, my salvation, my rewards, my room in the Father’s mansion, etc.  He saw those as human shortcomings because they all focus on the prideful, competitive, judgmental, guilty “me,” not God’s infinite love and not our selfless love of others He commands and Jesus demonstrated on the Cross.

George’s broad theological grasp was formed in his Jewish upbringing while living among Muslims in Cairo, coming to Christ in his late teens, becoming a Coptic (Orthodox Church of Egypt) priest, and receiving advanced degrees at Cambridge University, England, where he later taught.  His bio appears at GeorgeBebawi.com (link below).

George worked with Coptic leaders in Cairo, was an emissary at the Vatican (yes, the one in Rome), considered becoming a monk (in Egypt), did missions work in sub-Saharan Africa and was a medic with the International Red Cross in Beirut during the 1970s Lebanese Civil War.  He wrote many doctrinal books, but all in Arabic.

George had seen it all and, given his facility with languages ancient and new, read it all.  He could translate scripture, speak, or communicate among 11 different languages, including Copt (language of the Pharaohs), Aramaic (street language of the middle east at the time of Christ), Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Syriac, and others, including English.  Upon his arrival at Cambridge as a student in his 20s, he took a job translating the Coptic Bible into German.  We’re talking serious academic chops.

But also … George was a great guy and a serious pastoral presence for those of us who sat under his teaching. Through my friend May I met George in 2002. With Russ Blowers’ help in 2004 we started a weekly E91 Bible study George taught through 2017.  I was class coordinator and formatted/published George’s weekly class handouts.

What an education, and Pam’s note captured perfectly George’s rich teaching.

It made my week.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) thanks Stan N. for keeping alive  (link)GeorgeBebawi.com