NEBAB #33: Lent Week 3: Mkurab

         NEBAB #33

The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine

LENT WEEK 3: መኵራብ - MKURAB

 

The Spiritual Education Unit

Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America

In this issue:

Gospel: St John 2:12-25

    1. "My Father's House"

    2. Eaten by Zeal

    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

Commentary on the Gospel:

St John 2:18

Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

Consider the response of the Jews to our Lord. Instead of correcting their behaviour- they questioned His authority. How often do we do the same? If we want to be righteous, we will accept correction wherever (and whomever) it comes from! The righteous were rebuked by lowly people and became saints by accepting that rebuke- but the Jews were rebuked by the Word of God and questioned Him.

If our Lord had done something wrong, they could have questioned Him using the Scriptures- with which they were very familiar. Since they could find nothing by which to condemn His actions, they tried to attack Him! Let us apply this to ourselves. How often do we see someone doing some service in the church and instead of helping them, try to stop it? How often do we support someone's service grudgingly, and not out of love? This is the jealousy and mind of the Jews. Do we need a sign, or a title, or status, to do something good in the house of God?

Our Lord Jesus Christ- may prostration be made when His name is called- chased out the animals, who did not protest. He sent out the merchants, who knew they were wrong and accepted their correction. But the Jews, standing on the sidelines, got offended on behalf of the sinners. The temptation for us to do the same is still there. Beloved readers, do not be deceived!

May we hear the words of life!

 

My Father's House

The 8 weeks of The Great Fast, also known as Lent, have names and themes laid out in St Yared’s Tsome Digua. The third, Mkurab, means ‘The Temple’. To understand the sanctity of the temple of God, let us consider the following.

The gospel says that our Lord ascended to Jerusalem. Why 'ascended'? The temple in Jerusalem was built on a mountain, and wherever possible, churches are built elevated from the rest of society. This is symbolic of the spiritual height of the church, sitting above all earthly things, as the likeness of the heavenly Jerusalem. The church we serve in should be higher in our minds, in our lives, and in our priorities, than any of the things of the world. When our Lord went to the temple, He found it lowered, turned into a place of trade and a place of robbery. When we put the church 2nd, 3rd, or in any other position in our lives than 1st, it is the same as if we were to turn our local parish church into a flea market!

When our Lord comes to each of us, we are the temple of God. Let Him come and find us acceptable to Him. In baptism, He cleanses us, His temple, of sheep, oxen, and doves- what a sad thing it is when we bring them in again! Let us keep His house holy for Him, not mixing worldly corruption with godly purity.

Eaten by Zeal

For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.

Psalm 69:9-10

God revealed many things to His prophet David. One of the things David saw was the destruction of the temple by the gentiles, and the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar standing in the holy place and committing sacrilege in God's house. When David saw this future, his heart burned with godly zeal- or jealousy for God. This is why he said he was consumed by zeal- if Nebuchadnezzar had been in the time of David he would have gone to make war against the Babylonians! Such was the heart of David, the man after God's own heart.

What do we feel when we fall into sin? At the very least we must feel jealousy for God- saying to Him:

"God you created me in Your image and likeness, You made this body of mine to be for your glory. But in my weakness I have worked with the devil to make it a marketplace for sin. Help me and free me from this, God."

Now how about when we see modern day Nebuchadnezzars? When movies and TV shows mock the Christian faith, use the name of God in blasphemy, all for the sake of laughter- why do we laugh along with them? This is a tragedy, brothers and sisters! When we go along willingly with this kind of sacrilege, we are telling the world by our actions that it is okay to make fun of the Christian faith, that we don't care if they mock God. How will anyone else respect God if we tell them we are okay with their disrespect? As Christians, when God is insulted, we should feel it as a hard slap in our own faces!

So then how do we respond to the "reproaches of them that reproach" our beloved God? David gives us the answer. They insulted God, so he fasted to glorify God. Let us follow his example. When the world insults God, let us, whether by fasting, prayer, almsgiving, community service, or any other work of righteousness, glorify Him in response.

Faith and Works:

Take these things hence

Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ- praise His name- while chasing out the cows and the sheep, told the people with the doves to take them out themselves. He was teaching us that He will take care of our big sins- the sins of our actions and words, and we have to chase the thoughts ourselves. Here are some ways to shoo the birds of bad thoughts from our mind.

My soul magnifies the Lord- when we are praying Satan likes to distract us by reminding us of wicked or dirty things. When he does, we can say the start of prayer of the Virgin Mary "my soul magnifies the Lord" 3 times. By doing this, we remind ourselves and our enemy that while others may indulge in the things he wants us to think of, our soul is set apart for one purpose- praising God.

The 'Jesus Prayer'- This a famous prayer often used to fulfill the command to 'pray without ceasing'- commonly known as the Jesus Prayer, it emphasises simplicity and humility, simply saying "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner". It is based on the prayer of the publican which our Lord taught in a parable was a good and acceptable prayer. When you don't have the strength to say a long prayer, say this short prayer- as many times as you wish. The name of Jesus chases demons that come to throw bad thoughts into our minds.

The sign of the cross- the banner under which the archangel St Michael and his army defeated Satan and his army, the sign by which our Lord destroyed death, and the sign of our identity in Christ, the sign of the cross is terrifying to demons. Use it to tell your enemy the devil Whose side you fight on when he comes to turn you to his side.

Ask Abba/Kes

"What does it mean when the believers are called saints? What does it mean to be a saint?"

Saintliness is divided into two parts. One is to be a saint by faith. Those who gather in the house of God, to hear the preaching of the gospel, to participate in the sacraments- these are called saints or holy. Their holiness is because they were bought with the blood of Christ. It does not mean that these people are pure, simply that they belong to God.

The second meaning is one who is holy by their deeds. We call these people 'the righteous'. They are not righteous because they never committed sin- they must have faith in God. They are righteous by avoiding evil and doing the works of righteousness. It is not enough to simply avoid stealing- we must also give.

By having faith in God, avoiding evil, and doing righteousness, we can achieve union with God and be number among the saints/righteous.

BIBLE QUIZ!

Which of the Psalms is a Psalm of Moses?

 

A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Maryam

A miracle performed by Our Lady, Holy Virgin Mary Mariham, Mother of God, may her intercession be with us, amen.

It is said there was a monastery in the city of Jaffa. In that monastery, there was an abbot whose customs were disgraceful and his way of life was wicked. He loved vain speech and he delighted his flesh with indulgent foods. Anyone who saw the face of that abbot understood that he was a wicked man. But he had a single good custom. Whenever he stood in the church he would perform the law of the church just as befits a holy and righteous man. He loved Our Lady Holy Virgin Mary Mariham. Every day each hour, he said her greeting and revered her. When the brothers said the greeting of Our Lady Mary Mariham each hour he would not sit and would not lean against the wall or the pillar. This was his custom all the days of his life. When his days ended and he died, they brought him into judgment.

After one year the abbot appeared to the custodian of the church. He called by name before midnight while he was lighting the candle in the lantern. When that custodian heard the voice calling him and could not see the face [of the one calling], he was terrified and fled to the pilgrim guest house because it was nearby. The abbot called the custodian.a second and a third time, and he called him by name. The custodian’s terror increased. However, he strengthened his heart and went to his bed, sealing himself with the sign of the cross on his forehead. So he slept.

At once the abbot appeared to the custodian in his sleep. He said to him: “Why didn’t you answer me with a single word when I called you three times?”

The custodian realized that this was the abbot and said to him: “Where have you been up to now?”

I have been in judgment until today, but Our Lady Holy Virgin Mary Mariham, the Merciful, came and saw me. At once she delivered me. So now I am in great comfort.”

When the custodian of the church awoke from his sleep, he told the brother monks everything he had seen and heard. He told them that the abbot remained in judgment until that day but he was saved from that judgment by the intercession of Our Lady Holy Virgin Mary Mariham. When the monks heard this report, they marveled. They worshiped God and praised Our Lady Holy Virgin Mary Mariham, who does not overlook those who serve Her. Those monks were serving Our Lady Mary Mariham with a commitment greater than how they had been serving her before.

May her prayers and blessings be with your servant emperor Dawit, forever and ever, amen.

O Holy Virgin Maryam, pray for us!

LIJOCH! The Children's Corner

Memory verse: 1 Corinthians  3 : 17

If anyone destroys God's temple ,God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred you together are that temple.

Besides the church- what is also considered as a temple?

ይበል:ግዕዝ (yibel Ge’ez)

Let's reclaim our forefathers’ language

This week- let's expand our Ge'ez vocabulary a little.

ገብረ 

gebre - to do, make, work

This verb gives us a lot. For example it gives us other verbs like:

ተገበረ tegebere - to work, labour or conduct business e.g. ተገበሩ ጽድቀ tegeberu tsidqe - do the works of righteousness

And nouns like:

ግብር gibr - an act, work or product, e.g. ግብረ ሐዋርያት gibre hawariyat - Acts of the Apostles

ምግባር migbar - an action, work  or deed, e.g. ወንግርዎሙ ለአሕዛብ ምግባሮ wenigriwomu le'ahizab migbaro - tell the people of His deeds

And many more words- so whenever you see the letters ገ በ ረ in Ge'ez, pay attention- this verb might be at the root.

ORTHODOX Q&A

"How should annual feast days, celebrations like the Victory of Adwa, or even birthdays, be observed during the Great Fast?"

The church canon states that during the Lenten season celebrations are not allowed. This is a solemn period. Anyone who has a celebration during this fast cannot participate in the joy of the Resurrection. For this reason, annual feasts in our church are moved out of this period and celebrated later in the year.

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

Miracle of the Holy Virgin Mary: pemm.princeton.edu/en-us/stories/196

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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