NEBAB #18: The Season of Flowers- ዘመነ ጽጌ (Zemene Tsige)- Week 3
NEBAB #18
The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine
THE SEASON OF FLOWERS- ዘመነ ጽጌ (ZEMENE TSIGE)- WEEK 3
The Spiritual Education Unit
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America
Zemene Tsige- 3rd Week
In this issue:
Theme of this week: wemenu mehari zekemake? (who is merciful like You?)
1. True Beauty
2. Seeking Refuge in God
3. Faith and works
4. “Ask Abba/Kes”
5. A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Maryam
6. Children’s corner
7.ይበል ግዕዝ
8. Orthodox Q&A
True Beauty- how Mary the Holy Virgin teaches it to us
Readers! Have you been enjoying the season of flowers so far? Have you appreciated the physical beauty of God’s creation? Have you contemplated the true meaning of beauty? Or its purpose? Let us do just that in this edition!
Travelling through Egypt, our Lady Mary suffered bodily. She was so malnourished that her body could not produce milk to feed her Baby! In a true show of godly humility, she did not say to her Son, “You who sustain the earth and the heavens, exercise Your authority over the elements so that I can have some water”. She instead asked the sinful children of men, her brothers and sisters after the flesh, to share what they had with those who had nothing. This request was especially despised by one household- the house of Cotiva (spelling may vary)- where the Holy Family met a servant who spoke spitefully of the Virgin.
Puzzled at our most venerable Lady’s request for water, she asked her
“You are a beautiful woman, you could have a rich man! How bad must your character be if you cannot have a rich husband with your beauty?”
Cotiva concluded that our mother must be an evil woman, and slapped her and the elder Joseph, and took our Lord and threw Him to the ground. St Joseph went to pick Him up, but our mother said not to, saying
“He is the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, does He not see this injustice?” -she was more concerned with the abuse of the elder Joseph.
How wise were the words of the teenage Theotokos! After this, God turned the family that had despised His Holy Family into monkeys, and their own dogs chased them out.
This story contains within it an important lesson for our young sisters and daughters, especially as Satan targets them with the temptation of vanity.
The wicked and vain Cotiva did not understand the true beauty of our Lady Mary, counting her outward appearance as the height of her value. Her words suggest that for her, beauty is a commodity to be traded for a rich husband or special treatment from others. She as much as said that by not using her beauty this way, our mother was failing to be a proper woman! Truly did the wise Solomon say- there is nothing new under the sun! Today our young women get the same kind of message from social media, TV and movies, advertising, and the multimillion dollar industries of “beauty”, “cosmetics”, “skincare”, “fashion”, etc. Let us be encouraged to ignore these loud but empty cries and adorn ourselves as is fitting for Christians, with good works!
True Beauty: defined in 1st Timothy 2:9-10
Seeking Refuge In God
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God.
Seeking refuge in God is a daily walk in Christian life as we leave this perilous world and all its desires seeking comfort in the works of God. Some of the ways our Church intends for us to seek refuge is through prayer, the reading of holy scriptures and through the holy sacraments offered to us by the One Holy Universal Apostolic Church. On reading the holy scriptures, one of the books in the bible, “the common treasure of all good precepts” is the Book of Psalms. In the Book of Psalms we are reminded of the redeeming work of the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. It is “the bible within the bible”, “the voice of the church”, “a remedy for salvation” “the compendium of all theology” and “the most beneficial confession of faith”. “What is there that may not be learned in the Psalms?” St. Basil asks. It too finds itself weaved throughout the mystery of the Divine Liturgy and on the lips of daily prayers that quietens the heart. The psalms is influenced by the own intense experience of the Hebrew people, either praising God or lamentation on one’s soul. In it we find defeat, victory, and seeking refuge in God. It is the poetry of the human heart that were chanted by David while playing on the harp. Through the lived experiences of God’s people, the Israelites, we can find hope and comfort in the psalms. A popular psalm, Psalms 91:1, is from how the devil dared to tempt Jesus Christ in the wilderness and how we can resist him. The temptation of Jesus Christ is for our learning. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
The psalm urges us to imitate Our Lord in those works which he could not have done had He not been made Man. “For how could He endure sufferings, unless He had become a Man? How could He otherwise have died, been crucified, been humbled?” St. Augustine of Hippo ponders. When we suffer tribulations in this world, which the devil, either openly by men, or secretly as in Job’s case, inflicts, we must be courageous and be of longsuffering as we are being reminded also of same long suffering experienced by the Holy Family in their flight to Egypt during this season of Zemene Tsigue. Our own flight experienced in this world of sin, is even echoed by the voice of Paul warning us to “flee youthful lusts. St. John Chrysostom explains that youthful lusts is not only fornication but every inordinate desire. Taking flight, let us dwell under the defense of the Almighty. God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble Psalm 46:1. He will surely hide us in His His pavillion Psalm 27:5. Let us not be afraid or look for an excuse of satisfaction from this world. For everything is passing, along with its desires 1 John 2:17. The Church which is the Holy Hill is our only refuge. We must look to this hill with all of her mysteries that have been laid open and to the hills of the Holy Apostles and to the Saints triumphant. From whence cometh their help? Their help cometh not of themselves but their help as it says in the Psalm 121:1, “comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth”. For “Of His fullness have we all received”. And whose fullness the hills have received. If we depart from the help of the Most High, without strength to aid ourselves, we will surely fall.
May God Help Us in Our Prayers!
Faith and Works:
Walk with the Holy Family
Our Mother the Holy Virgin Mary, while covered with grace and the power of the Highest, did not adorn herself with earthly glory. Let us see how we (especially women) can imitate her and share in her experience:
FOOD AND DRINK- Our Mother did not ever wish to be wined and dined, living an austere life, not even drinking the miraculous wine of the wedding at Cana of Galilee! She only ate and drank as was necessary for her body, and for her nursing Son. For this week, let’s try to cut out snacking, and replace some of our beverages with water!
CLOTHING- For the Virgin Mary, clothing was covering and dignity, not style and fashion. This week, let’s try to dress as simply as we can, not accessorising!
MAKEUP- What a devious trick has been played on our women, that they have been convinced to paint their faces- as if makeup can improve on God’s handcrafted beauty! Christian women, don’t let the wicked world deceive you, makeup has no place on a child of God’s face!
Ask Abba/Kes
"What does it mean that the Queen of the South/men of Nineveh will judge?"
Judgement of sinners and righteous is for God alone. This statement can be understood by looking at Matthew 19:28, and our fathers’ interpretation.
The apostles are not judging- but their teaching is what judges. Those who believe in the apostles’ preaching will enter the kingdom of heaven.
In the same way, those who listen to the wisdom of Solomon as the queen did or the preaching of Jonah as the Ninevites did will enter the kingdom of heaven.
BIBLE QUIZ!
The Psalms prophesy about Egypt in many places. Find your favourite mention of Egypt in the Psalms!
A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Maryam
A miracle of Our Virgin Lady Mary, Mother of God, that she performed in the area of Dabra Warq. One time, Yohannes, the great and powerful king of Ethiopia, waged war with Takla Haymanot, the king of Gojjam, the lover of God and Our Lady Mary. Yohannes entered the land of Gojjam and laid waste to it. Then, Yohannes’s army entered the monastery [of Dabra Warq], killing thirty-seven of her people on the 5th of Maskaram. The next day they plundered all of its belongings, until nothing was left.
On the 26th of Teqemt, [about two months later,] Yohannes’s army returned again and did not find anything left outside. So, they entered the church, arriving at the curtain that covered the icon of Our Lady Mary, that Luke the Evangelist had painted. They smashed the icon’s bars in order to take its holy vessels. At once, bees descended and stung them like fiery arrows! Humiliated, the soldiers fled. This miracle was told throughout the land and all of the people marveled, praising Our Lady Mary. May her prayer and her blessing be with us, forever and ever, amen. When our king Takla Haymanot heard about this miracle, and all of Mary’s wonders, he gave the monastery [the following:] another icon of Our Lady Mary; an icon of Abuna Gabra Heywot and Abuna Takla Haymanot[, his namesake]; a golden cross; linen with gold threads; a golden [yellow] monk’s habit, that is, clothes of the sun; a fine linen curtain; a fine linen vestment; two silver fly whisks; a golden crown; lampstand; and a green garment with gold thread.
O Holy Virgin Maryam, pray for us!
LIJOCH! The Children's Corner
Memory verse: St. Matthew 2: 15
And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fullfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying ,out of Egypt have I called my son.
ይበል:ግዕዝ (yibel Ge’ez)
Let's reclaim our forefathers’ language
One more vocabulary lesson, and then we’ll get back to the grammar next week! Completing the first sentence of the selam zekidan, commonly known as the tesahalke, for Sundays of this season:
መርዓቱኒ ትቤ ወልድ እኁየ ይምዕዝ ከርቤ
mer’atuni tibe weld ihuye yimi’iz kerbe
Mer’atuni- the bride. From መርዓት mer’at, originally from ተመርዐወ temer’awe- to get married
Tibe- said. From root verb ብህለ bihle- to say
Weld- son, God the Son
Ihuye- my brother. From እኅው ihiw- brother, it takes this odd እኁ ihu base form when adding a suffix
Yimi’iz- smells (of/like). From ይመዐዝ yime’az- to smell sweet/be fragrant
Kerbe- myrrh
ORTHODOX Q&A
Why is St George associated with St Mary in this season?
St George, known as the chief of the martyrs, is a model servant and represents all martyrs. He accepted the crown of martyrdom by abandoning the crown of status, money and power he had in his former life.
His love for St Mary was great and his relationship with her was instrumental in his glorious martyrdom. Asking for her help in his own struggles and in defeating his enemies, offering praises and prostrations for her, he was ultimately granted that the day of his translation should be the same day as her resurrection (see Nebab #12).
The words of Abba Tsige Dingil sung during this season say “Mary you are a crown of martyrs, a flower crown to St George”
Send us your questions at: seu.eotccarla@gmail.com
References
Short message on behalf the Spiritual Education Unit:
His Grace Abune Thaddaeus, Head Administrator Archimandrite Abba Gebreyesus, and all clergy and faithful- thank you for the opportunity to share this labour of love with you. Thanks also to the team of the Spiritual Education Unit for their hard work.
-Liqe Teghuan Tekle Mariam Greene
Seek Refuge in God
Exposition from St. Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 91
Exposition from St. Jerome
Old Testament Psalm Study - Fr. Haile Eyesus (2022)
Miracle of the Holy Virgin Maryam: pemm.princeton.edu/en-us/stories/1331
Orthodox Q&A
LearnOTC | The Relationship Between St George the Martyr and St Mary in the Season of Flower
CONTACT US:
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
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