Turod Levnon

By North Maronite

Antoine Najem wrote :

One night while working together, alone in his house in the Rabieh area during the shelling of 1981, after midnight, Dr. Charles Malik suddenly rose from his seat and addressed me in a booming voice, saying: “Do you know, Antoine, that you, the Maronites, are not good people?” I replied, “What do you mean?”

He said: “You are not good people. But do not be afraid.”

God will not abandon you. He may punish you and be harsh with you. But do not be afraid. Just as the Lord struck His chosen people, the Jews, to educate them and bring them back to their senses while preserving and protecting them from extinction to fulfill His promise, He will also preserve and protect you. But He will educate you as well and make you pay for your sins.

I said, with a hint of a smile: “If the Lord deals with His people in this way and keeps them, it is so that the awaited Messiah may come. But what Messiah will come from us?” He replied, shouting: “Do not mock! Do not mock! You know history. Have you not noticed that all the Eastern Christian sects have diminished in number and geographical spread, except for the Maronites? Have you not noticed that the Maronites alone have grown in number and expanded geographically despite the calamities that befell them, especially during the Mamluk period? They even established Greater Lebanon, where they became the primary leaders.”

I said: “Yes, and what does that mean?”

He said: “God wants to achieve something very, very important through you. And you alone are capable of achieving it.”

I replied (with astonishment and confusion): “What is this very, very important matter?” He said: “I do not know. I have not been given the gift of insight into God’s intentions. But the mission is crucial.”

At this point, I entered into a debate with him. I made it clear that he was either joking with me or that some vision or inspiration led him to believe what he believed. When he insisted on not answering, I told him: “I will remain here in this room for as long as God wills, and I will not leave until you convey to me what is on your mind regarding this matter.”

When he saw my determination and insistence, he said: “I will tell you. But do you promise me that you will not reveal the secret?” I promised him. He said: “God wanted Lebanon to be on the borders of Palestine, that is, a neighbor to the Jewish state that will later be established. God has preserved the Maronites and expanded their existence because He will bring the Jews of Israel into the Christian faith through them. Therefore, the existence of Lebanon is not a coincidence.” There is a linguistic and Eastern compatibility between the Jews and the Maronites. Thus, the Jews will become Christians through them.

I fell silent, astonished. Moments passed during which I felt unable to think. I could not comment on what he had said.

It was something that transcended me to infinity. But I remembered that Dr. Malik had mentioned something similar in one of his brilliant articles published in the magazine “Lebanese Chapters.”

As soon as I returned home, with dawn approaching, I reviewed the relevant issue of the magazine. I reread the lengthy article titled “The Much Required.”

Here are some excerpts from it:

“Aramaic… a language and civilization, a well from which both Hebrew and Arabic have drawn. Aramaic is a background of both these languages and civilizations, while neither Hebrew nor Arabic serves as a background for Aramaic in the same sense. The Maronites today are the living, free heirs of this background…

Who knows then, what divine providence has in store regarding their relationship with Arabs and Jews? The fundamental Semitic kinship between the Maronites, Arabs, and Jews may have, in divine providence, a fateful impact on the development of this region inhabited by the three peoples and three civilizations. We said that a secret lies in the mere existence of the Maronites, and this fateful impact may be the key to this secret. Only God knows the secret. Certainly, the Maronites do not fully know it yet, nor does anyone in Lebanon or outside of Lebanon…”

Dr. Malik adds:

“…If God exists and with Him His providence over everything in existence, including, and above all, humanity and its fate, is it not reasonable, even expected, that the survival of the Maronites, with their ancient Aramaic heritage, has an eternal significance in this very moment, in this very place, where the Jews are reviving their heritage, life, and independent identity…”

He also adds:

“Who knows what providence has in store for them (the Maronites) as a result of the pains, trials, and tribulations they are undergoing? If we contemplate, in the light of faith, the reality of all these ten gifts, and what challenges may lie ahead, we would be astonished by the possibilities that the future may hold for the Maronites and Lebanon.”

In summarizing “the much required” from the Maronites, Dr. Malik states:

“Fifth – to ensure that the existence of the Maronites and their survival have a profound and mysterious significance, and to seek this secret with eagerness and passion.

Sixth – to ensure that this hidden secret does not confine itself to Lebanon alone, but extends far beyond and deeper than it.”

It must be emphasized from the outset that Dr. Charles Malik’s words – who he is in the world of Orthodox Christianity – do not mean at all that Christianity is confined to Maronitism, or that the Maronites are “the sole possessors of Christianity and that Christianity among others is incomplete or false.” This is something that should not be subject to the slightest doubt or suspicion. If Dr. Malik sees that “the Maronites are responsible for it (for free Christianity) before divine providence,” it is based on, in his view, the existing objective data that impose “the much required from them specifically” within the limits of “the much given to them.” Moreover, this is not the place to evaluate what Dr. Malik has proposed in his vision. Furthermore, it is an honor and a responsibility for God to assign someone – even without merit – a role in His divine plan. I pray fervently that Dr. Malik’s intentions are understood in their true essence, and that they are not misinterpreted by evil intentions.