St Bishoy the Perfect Man
On the 8th day of Coptic Month of Abib we celebrate the life of St Abba Bishoy.
Bishoy was born in the town of Shesna to a family of six children. One day, his mother saw an angel in a dream, asking her to give one of her children to the Lord. She was very pleased and left the choice to the Lord to pick one of her kids. So, the Lord picked Bishoy. His mother was very worried because Bishoy was physically very weak, and she asked the Lord to pick a stronger child to serve Him. But the angel insisted that Bishoy was the one the Lord had chosen.
Later in his life Bishoy went to the desert of Shaheet where he took his vows of monasticism and studied under Anba Bamwa. He devoted his life to God and prayer until he deserved the appearance of Jesus Christ.
Bishoy is a Coptic name which means "elevated". He was known for his wisdom, strength, modesty, courage, simplicity in appearance, deep thoughts, calmness and generosity to strangers. These are just a few highlights of his character.
Emperor Constantine appeared to him in a dream one day and told him "If I had known all the honor bestowed on the monks, I would have left my kingdom to become a monk" Bishoy answered by saying: "But you were the one that removed the worship of idols and Christianity was very prosperous during your reign, didn't Jesus give you anything?" Constantine answered "Yes a lot, but not the honor of the monks.”
In his days, an old preacher appeared in the mountain of Ansina. He became so famous for his preaching that a lot of people gathered around him. It came to be that he lost his way and the devil misled him until the point when he denied the Holy Spirit. All this news reached Bishoy who went to see him taking with him sacs each having three handles, something that amazed the old preacher. He asked Bishoy for the reason. "I have a trinity, and I do everything accordingly", and he started to explain to the people the words of the Bible until he convinced them all.
Bishoy denied his life of flesh and yearned to see Jesus. God, who knows our heart, promised that He will appear to him on the mountain of Shaheet. So, he gathered the monks and told them the good news. Everyone was filled with joy and they were waiting for that big event to happen. On the appointed day, everybody was in a great hurry rushing to see Jesus, that they passed by man who was trying to join them but had great difficulty because of his old age. He stretched out his hand asking for help, but nobody stopped or even paid him any attention.
When Bishoy passed by him, he stopped and carried him on his shoulders, gradually he started to feel that his load was becoming lighter and lighter, then he realized that the old man was Jesus Christ, the one that everybody ignored.
Finally, he died in peace giving his soul the freedom to go and live with the one he always wanted to be with - Jesus Christ. There exists a monastery built by St Bishoy that stands to this day.
Lessons from this story
“When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe you.” They asked of Jesus Christ in the book of Matthew. “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it for Me.” (Matthew 25:40) St Bishoy was the only one of the monks that stopped to help an old man to see Jesus. We rush to enjoy the glory but tread slowly to serve the needy. “Quick take my picture,” we say to a friend when we spy an expensive sports car, but rarely do we do the same next to a junk heap. This is not to be derogatory to what is in our human nature. We live in a world of mundane, tedious and even eventless life. This is not paradise, no matter how many expensive cars, yachts or houses a person owns. This is not paradise. For here we “shall toil all the days of your life.” (Genesis 3:17)
St Bishoy was the weakest of his family, like David was. And he was raised the highest, even to...