NEBAB #1: Lent Week 1- Zewerede

 NEBAB #1

The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine

LENT WEEK 1: ZEWEREDE ዘወረደ

The Spiritual Education Unit

Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America

In this issue:

Gospel: St John 3:10-25

    1. Zewerede- He Who Came Down

    2. What you need to know about Heraclius

    3. Faith and works

    4. “Ask Kes/Abba”

    5. A Miracle of our Lady Mary

    6. Children’s corner

    7. Orthodox Q&A

Commentary on the Gospel:

St John 3:13

No one has ascended up to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

Here our Lord speaks of a great mystery- you who read it, understand that its depth cannot be spoken by mortal tongues! In speaking of Himself this way, our Lord Jesus confesses that He is the Son of God- He who came down from heaven. He also declares the tewahedo teaching- divine and human natures united in His One Nature. In saying no one has ascended but He who descended, He declares that there was no change in His divinity when He came down- it is united with His humanity. One nature came down and one nature went up- the Holy Trinity is still 3 in 1, and how can we speak of this mystery?

May we hear the words of life!

Zewerede- He Who Came Down

The 8 weeks of The Great Fast, also known as Lent, have names and themes laid out in St Yared’s Tsome Digua. The first, Zewerede, means ‘He Who Came Down’. 

The reason for this name is that the first week of Lent resembles the coming of our Lord from the heavens down to us to begin His work of salvation. In a way, this Great Fast descends on us every year and starts us on a journey through the redemptive work of Christ, up to its culmination- His glorious Resurrection.

Heraclius

Like Constantine, Heraclius was a Roman emperor who retrieved the wood of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ when it was taken by enemies of the faith. About 300 years after Constantine and his mother Helena recovered the cross from being buried by the Jews, the Persians looted Jerusalem and one officer entered the church of the Honourable Cross, where a great light told him that “No one is able to hold this [the cross] except a Christian”. He ordered two deacons to carry it away, and upon returning, commanded it to be buried close to his house, and killed the two deacons. The Persians also carried many people away captive. A certain young woman who had been taken by the Persians saw these events unfold outside her window, and she told Heraclius, who rejoiced greatly, and prepared to go retrieve the wood of the cross.

The woman guided Heraclius to the site, and he dug it up. He and all with him bowed before the wood of the Honourable Cross. It is said by some that as he was returning, Heraclius tried to carry the wood of the cross, but it was extremely heavy- until he got down off his horse and removed his crown, at which point it became light. What a lesson!

Let us all come down off our horses that we may carry our crosses!

Faith and works:

Make your fasting fruitful

As we begin Lent, how can we make our fast meaningful beyond a change in diet? We know what not to do when we fast, but what then do we do? Here are some ideas:

 + Prayer: How long does your breakfast last? 15 minutes? Now that you’re not eating breakfast, you can spend that time praying instead.

+ Almsgiving: When you fast you eat less, so spend less on food. That money belongs to the poor! Give it to charitable organisations.

BONUS CHALLENGE:

During this Lent, try learning the Wudase Maryam by heart. Start with the shortest one- Monday, which St Ephraim wrote first.

Ask Kes/Abba

What does faith look like practically while we wait for the things we pray for?

To envisage faith practically, consider the words of St. James the Just, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). This profound truth shows that faith, while deeply internal is also vibrantly external, manifesting through our deeds, our patience and our steadfastness.

BIBLE QUIZ!

What things did our Lord command us to do and not to do when we fast?

A Miracle of our Lady the Holy Virgin Maryam

A miracle [performed] by Our Lady Maryam, the Holy Virgin, Mother of God, may her intercession be with us, amen. A labourer loved Our Lady Maryam, Holy Virgin, with his whole heart. Every day, he would greet and praise Our Lady Maryam, morning, noon, and night. He continued to do this daily for a long time. One day, that labourer said to Maryam, “My dear compassionate Lady, why don’t you remember me? Every day, I am greeting you and praising you, and saying to you, ‘Peace be upon you, O fullness of grace, God is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!’ But you don’t offer any greeting back to me!’” Then he began to say the greeting [of the Hail Maryam] to Our Lady Maryam. When he came to the line that says “Blessed are you among women,” Our Lady Maryam, the Holy Virgin, answered him from the icon.

Maryam said to the labourer, “Likewise, dear man, blessed are you among men.” She said this three times.

When that labourer heard Our Lady Maryam’s words, he prostrated himself in front of her. He regretted his boldness towards her, his speaking to her ignorantly. But he rejoiced over what Our Lady Maryam, the Holy Virgin had said to him. He loved her all the more, a thousand times more than he had before. He greeted and praised her even more than he had before, up until the day he died.

As a result, he was saved from this fleeting world through the intercession of Our Lady Maryam, the Holy Virgin, the Mother of Light. May her prayer and her blessing be with your servant King David, forever and ever, amen, and amen!

O Holy Virgin Maryam, pray for us!

LIJOCH! The Children's Corner

MEMORY VERSE - ST. JOHN 3:13

“NO ONE HAS ASCENDED TO HEAVEN BUT HE WHO CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, THAT IS, THE SON OF MAN WHO IS IN HEAVEN”.

WORD SCRAMBLE 

1)   EWEEZDER                                      _____________________________

 

2)   ANNASOH                                        _____________________________

 

3)   KWEE SSIONAP                            _______________________________

 

4)   MUSCEODIN                                  _______________________________

 

5)   ENLT                                            _________________________________

 

6)   TERAES                                      _________________________________

 

7)   YGINPAR                                     ________________________________

 

8)   ATSF                                              _______________________________

 

9)   LIOSEV FO UONMT                   _________________________________

 

10)   OHLY                                          _________________________________

ORTHODOX Q&A

“Why do you all take off your shoes in church?”

Moses was commanded to remove his shoes before the burning bush- as the ground where He stood was holy. When we come before God's presence, being the same “church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38), we faithfully follow the same command.

“What is that around your neck?”

We have one answer- it is the Cross of Jesus Christ. The stylish decorations of Ethiopian crosses are a tradition rich with history and meaning, and the unique regional cruciform designs can be anywhere from 400 to 800 years old.

Send us your questions at: seu.eotccarla@gmail.com

Archdiocese headquarters: Medhane Alem (Saviour of the World), Old Golden Grove Rd. Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago. Tel. 868-642-4230. e-mail: eotc.arch.carla@gmail.com 

ethiopianorthodoxtewahedochurchcarla.org

References

Zewerede: Mahibere Kidusan- The Great Lent (eotcmk.org)

Heraclius: The Ethiopian Synaxarium pg 392-394; aleteia.org

Miracle of Holy Virgin Mary: Princeton Ethiopian Miracles of Mary Project