NEBAB #21: The Season of Flowers- ዘመነ ጽጌ (Zemene Tsige)- Week 6
NEBAB #21
The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine
THE SEASON OF FLOWERS- ዘመነ ጽጌ (ZEMENE TSIGE)- WEEK 6
The Spiritual Education Unit
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America
Zemene Tsige- 6th Week
In this issue:
Theme of this week: Kristos ser’a senbet (Christ made the Sabbath)
1. The meaning of rest
2. Two days, one sabbath
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
The Meaning of Rest
Indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ has made the sabbath for our rest, as the mezmur for this Sunday says! In the west we are surrounded by people who preach and teach many different ideas using the word sabbath, so how do we define the sabbath, and what do we answer (1 Pet 3:15) concerning our sabbath when anyone asks us?
What is the sabbath?
Its root is found in creation, when Almighty God who never sleeps rested on the 7th day from all His work which He had done. Someone will ask- how does God rest? The andemta of the gospel of Matthew tells us that God rests when man rests. When humanity- made in the image and likeness of God- rests, God- a loving Father- receives our rest as His own. But how is this?
A father rejoices when his children rejoice, their special occasions- graduation, marriage, etc. are special occasions for him, even if nothing special is going on in his life. His children’s joy is his joy, his children’s sorrow is his sorrow, and when his children are all safe, fed and restful, their rest gives him rest. It is necessary to understand God’s character through that of parenting (Ps 103:13), and this analogy is given to us to help us understand how the rest of the children ‘reaches’ the Father.
Another interpretation is given. The rest God receives is when mankind rests from sin. Sin puts us in a state improper to our nature, being made in God’s image and likeness. When mankind is in such a state God works to return us to our proper state. Therefore, when we rest from sinning, that is the rest that God receives, as His children are in their proper state.
Two Days, One Sabbath
Is Saturday the sabbath or is it Sunday?
Since we worship on Sundays what happens to Saturdays? How do we keep the 4th commandment under the New Testament Law?
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the church of old and new law, old and new customs, and old and new sabbath.
The character of our church is one of preservation and tradition, and so we observe the 7th day which we call qedamit senbet- the first sabbath, and the 1st day, called senbete kristiyan- the sabbath of the Christian.
How do these days come to be established as the sabbath days? The Holy Bible gives us the answers.
The first sabbath day was established in written law when God gave it to Moses (Exodus 20:8-11). This was not the establishment of the sabbath day itself, as the law calls us to remember it, as it was passed down from creation (Gen 2:2-3).
The new sabbath day was foreshadowed in prophecy (Ps 118:24-25) and revealed in mystery to the fathers (John 8:56). The first day of the week was fulfilled as the Lord’s day when He rose from the dead and entered where His disciples were gathered (John 20:19). The Bible records that it was given to us as the sabbath in Hebrews 4, going into great detail about the relationship between God, man, and the sabbath.
Sunday, then, is the chief of the days! The head of the week and the declaration of our Lord’s resurrection, the liturgy reminds the congregation of the blessing on anyone who honours the sabbath. Saturday, the day of rest, declares the end of creation and the love of God for mankind, for whom He prepared rest from our labour and tiredness.
Faith and Works:
True Rest
At the foundation of this segment is the teaching that ‘faith without works is dead’. The example of God in creation teaches us that work without rest is not godly. So today let us learn how to rest.
Don’t worry- If the hands put down their tools, but the mind does not put down its worry, how can we call it rest? The most important thing to do is to trust that God does not let us down. At night, trust that He gave you the ability to finish the day’s work, on the weekend, trust that He allowed you to finish the week’s work. Trust Him.
Don’t move- As much as possible, we try to stay in one place to get the best rest. Can a person sleep in 3 beds in one night? Especially after taking Holy Communion, we are commanded not to go on a journey. Rest requires stillness.
Don’t talk- Make some time (20 minutes before church, half hour on Saturday, etc) to practise silence. You can read, pray or meditate in this time, but try to stay off your phone/the internet. Silence facilitates quality rest.
Ask Abba/Kes
"Do we partake of the Divine Nature through the Eucharist?"
The divinity is not to be eaten or drunk. The divine mysteries in the Sacrament of the Eucharist are not given us that we may partake of the divinity, God forbid! They are given us as “salvation, forgiveness of sins and eternal life to whoever partakes of them, and also as “purity of our souls, our bodies, and our spirits” as we say in the Holy Liturgy.
If the partaker eats and drinks the divinity, no doubt the partaker has become a god, and ought not worship the Holy Sacraments but the people ought to worship him! If they say that there is a union between the divine nature and the human nature, this does not mean that man eats the divinity! We have an example from the Scripture: “ The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev 17:11,14) Whoever eats or drinks the blood does not eat the life with it!
BIBLE QUIZ!
What is the shortest book of the Bible?
A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Maryam
There were two brothers in the city of Rome. One was named Peter, and the other was Stephen. Now Peter was a deacon and a governor in the church. For the church he did what was good and right, but he was also a lover of money. Stephen was a magistrate of the city, and he loved bribes. In the excess of his extortion and wrongdoing, he robbed the church of Saint Sirloreyos and stole from certain houses. He also robbed the church of Our Lady Mary and took a garden [or plantation] from it. When Peter the deacon died, they judged him for his actions and set him in the Jahannam of fire.
Stephen the extortioner died a few days later. Sirloreyos, who was angry with Stephen, went and seized his arm, and by reason of his exceedingly great strength, [he made a] mark that remained on his arm. Then they condemned him with the sentence of death. Now during his lifetime Stephen used to celebrate the festival of Saint Peter. Each year he used to give alms in abundance on the day of his festival, and he made gifts to the churches. As Stephen was going to perdition, Saint Peter appeared to him, for he had heard a mighty voice that said, “O Peter, help your friend, who used to pay you honor and rejoice in you—for behold, they are carrying him to perdition!” Straightaway Peter delivered him from the hands of the devil, brought him to Sirloreyos, and forgave him his sin. He prayed to Our Lady Mary, and she forgave him. Then she took him before Our Lord Jesus Christ. She bowed low before him and asked him to take Stephen back to his body, which he agreed to do. Then Our Lady Mary, the compassionate one, said, “You shall only abide [in your body] for thirty days, until you have paid back everything you have taken through extortion.
Every day you shall also recite the psalm, ‘Blessed are those who are pure in their way, who walk in the Law of God.’” As he was coming back [to his body], Stephen heard a great noise, and in that noise he heard the voice of his brother, Peter. Stephen said to Peter, “O my brother, have you also been judged and sentenced?” His brother said, “I have been in Jahannam.” Stephen said, “Can you be saved?” Peter said, “Yes, if the father, together with all the priests who are in the church, would pray on my behalf.” When Stephen returned to the world, he told the father everything that had happened to him, and he showed him the mark in his hand where [Saint] Sirloreyos had gripped him. He also told him that he was to live thirty days—until he had given back what he had taken [by extortion]. The father prayed for Peter and made offerings on his behalf. Stephen restored everything that he had taken, and he recited the psalm that Our Lady Mary had commanded him to repeat daily. After thirty days, Stephen died and entered everlasting rest. May the blessing and supplication of Our Lady Mary be with us forever and ever. Amen.
O Holy Virgin Maryam, pray for us!
LIJOCH! The Children's Corner
Memory verse: St. Matthew 2:22
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.
Complete the following:
ይበል:ግዕዝ (yibel Ge’ez)
Let's reclaim our forefathers’ language
Shortly we will hear the word ተፈጸመ tefeṣeme a lot. Let us look at this word, its root, and its related words.
Root verb:
ፈጸመ
feṣeme - to accomplish, finish or perfect
As we recently learned, a Ge’ez verb can become passive with the prefix ተ-, giving us ተፈጸመ tefeṣeme - to be accomplished, finished or perfected.
Many other common words come from this root, such as ፍጹም fiṣum, which is preserved in the modern Amharic and means perfect.
Derivations of this word can be found in the Bible, as when our Lord speaks about fulfilling the law the Ge’ez word used is ፍጻሜ fiṣame - completion, fulfillment, perfection. Also in Psalm 46:5, David says ወይረድኣ እግዚአብሔር ፍጽመ weyiredi’a Egziabiher fiṣme - God shall help her, and that right early (Old English expression for ‘in the absolute best way’)
ORTHODOX Q&A
Why does the Orthodox Church look strange? Are their practices biblical?
Christianity has always looked strange to those outside. The observers on the day of Pentecost thought the apostles were drunk at 9 am, the ancient Romans called us “deluded creatures” who had “persuaded themselves that they are immortal and will live forever, which explains the contempt of death and willing self-sacrifice so common among them.”, and yet what looks like foolishness to the wicked in heart is salvation to those who believe- just like it says in the Bible (1 Cor 1:18).
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
Ask Abba/Kes:
Man’s deification Part II - Partakers of the Divine Nature H.H Pope Shenouda III
Miracle of the Holy Virgin Maryam: pemm.princeton.edu/en-us/stories/173
Orthodox Q&A:
Lucian of Samosata- The Death of Peregrine
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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