NEBAB #45 The Feast of the Cross

 NEBAB #45

The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine

THE FEAST OF THE HOLY CROSS

MESKEL (መስቀል)

The Spiritual Education Unit

Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America

In this issue:

    1. The Finding of the True Cross of Jesus Christ

    2. Discipleship

    3. Faith and works

    4. “Ask Abba/Kes”

    5. A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Mary

    6. Children’s corner

    7.ይበል ግዕዝ 

    8. Orthodox Q&A

 

The Finding of the True Cross of Jesus Christ

The work that God was doing was none other than the salvation that was to be found in the Christ Death on the Cross and His  resurrection. The events surrounding the coming of Eyesus, the Messiah, were the fulfillment of the book of Habakkuk.
Meskel, translated as “True Cross”, is the day we celebrate the finding of the True Cross in the 4th century when Empress Helena mother of Constantine the great, discovered the True Cross on which Eyesus Christos  was crucified. Empress Helena being led by a revelation that the True Cross lay in the midst of three overgrown hills, caused a bonfire to be built, prayed, added frankincense, lit it and the smoke therefrom descended to a mountain used as a rubbish heap for centuries. On September 27th G.C. (Meskeram 17th E.C.) excavations began. After 6 months of digging on March 18 G.C. (Megabit 10 E.C.) three crosses were found, the true cross performed

miracles. Ethiopians have been celebrating Meskel for the past 1600 years. There are three calendar days in a year which commemorate the True Cross. 

1. September 26th G.C.(Meskerem 16 EC) that is known as “Demera”. 

2. September 27th G.C (Meskerem 17 EC) and

3. March 18th G.C. (Megabit 10 EC) that is known as Meskel.

The Ethiopian King Atse Dawit 2nd received the right arm of the cross from the Egyptian Orthodox Church, this King died before the cross arrived in Ethiopia and his son Zera Yakob brought the cross to Ethiopia where he found a cross-shaped mountain in Gishen and placed the cross there after building a Church.  This was told to him by God in a dream to “keep His Cross in the Cross shaped place”.

Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah, that thy beloved may be delivered”. Psalm 60:4

Discipleship

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" Mark 8:34

This word was not given only to the Apostles, but to all the crowd as well. For discipleship is not reserved for a few but the very call of every Christian. Saint Augustine of Hippo says, “The Lord has required that ‘whoever will come after him must deny himself.’ But what He commands is neither hard nor painful when He helps us in such a way so that the very thing he requires may be accomplished . . . For whatever seems hard in what is enjoined, love makes easy.”

So what is "the cross" one may ask. The cross is both general and personal. The general cross of discipleship is the call of every Christian to crucify the passions, to put to death the old man, and to follow Christ in newness of life. The body itself is shaped like a cross, reminding us that our very being is marked for sacrifice. Yet the mortification of the flesh is often hindered by our domestic cares, our pre occupation, being dragged along rather than carrying the cross.

But there is no discipleship without it. “Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” Luke 14:33. The Lord leaves no middle path. Either we carry the cross or we do not follow Him at all.

The personal cross is the particular sufferings,  weaknesses, or trials permitted by God for our sanctification.  As St. Paul spoke of his own as a “thorn in the flesh” 2 Corinthians 12:7. For some it may be bodily illness, for others temptations of pride or lust, for others the grief of broken relationships or unfulfilled desires, inclination to want control of our life, praise from men or even growing in faith. Yet in all these, the Lord’s strength is made perfect in weakness.

The way that we value our heavenly reward is not the same as earthly reward. 

In the book of Matthew 13:44, Jesus says “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. To gain the kingdom of heaven, we must sell all, our worldly attachments, ambitions and loves and buy the field. Christianity is not about comfort, it is about laying down one's life for the pearl of great price. As Lot’s wife turned back and perished, so too the one who clings to this world cannot inherit the next. It is a binary choice. Either discipleship, or not. Either Christ, or the world. As it is written in the book of Luke 13:24, we must “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to"

Bearing the Cross with Christ is not endless. We suffer only “for a little while,” until death is swallowed up in victory 1 Corinthians 15:54. Then even the cross itself will be crucified, and sorrow will be nailed to the fear of God.

Until that day, let us not seek to escape the Cross, but to bear it with Christ. “Let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach” Hebrews 13:13. For in carrying it, we learn obedience, we grow in faith, and we are conformed to the likeness of the Crucified One.

James 1:12  "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."

Faith and Works:

How do we actually go about carrying our cross? What does it look like when we do or don't, and what are the results we get?

In 68 AD (some say anywhere between 64-70 AD), in the city of Rome, a plot was hatched to kill Simon, called Peter, who was preaching the new gospel of "The Way" or "a Sect of the Jews", teaching men and women how to worship the One True God and live the Christian life. The result of this preaching was that many women who were concubines and previously lived in sexual immorality left that kind of life and lived in chastity and modesty. The high ranking men of Rome, who had been enjoying the pleasures of sin, were enraged that this Peter had come preaching a God who called their women away from them, and planned to have him executed. When the believers in Rome learned of this plan, they urged Peter to leave Rome so he would not succumb to the wrath of the Romans. Peter put on a disguise so that no one would recognise him, and quietly left the city.

As he was on his way from Rome, he saw the Lord Jesus Christ, may prostration be to the invocation of His name, walking towards him in the direction of Rome. As our Lord appeared to Peter in a form in which he recognised Him, Peter asked the Lord:

"Where are you going, Lord?"

"I am going to Rome, to be crucified.", the Lord replied.

Hearing these words, Peter was pricked in his conscience, and strengthened in his heart. He picked himself up, turned around, and went right back to Rome, where the Romans crucified him. He asked them that they should crucify him with his head down, as he was not worthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord. Peter was martyred in Rome on the 5th day of Hamle (July 12) on the same day as Paul, and the two of them received their crowns and went to Paradise together. May the power of our father Peter continue to be with our fathers the priests and may his prayer and blessing go before God on our behalf.

So how can we apply the lesson of our father the learned apostle Peter? There are 2 main takeaways from this story:

1. Do not crucify your Lord again - When Peter ran from the suffering that was to come on him for the sake of Christ, our Lord showed him that by doing so, he was giving that suffering back to Him, instead of taking his share in the suffering of the Lord. When we run from suffering for Christ's sake and the gospel's, we ask our Lord to get back on the cross again. Let us learn from our father Peter and run eagerly to meet our martyrdom, whether by shedding blood, or by another kind of suffering in the world, dying daily in Christ Jesus our Lord, glory be to Him! (1 Corinthians 15:31)

2. Not in the same manner as my Lord! - Peter made this request, recognising that as great as his suffering was, it is incomparable with the suffering of the Lord, and is only a small taste of the suffering that He took for us all. When we do suffer for Christ's sake and the gospel's- even in the smallest ways, like rising before the sun to go to church even when we are tired, feeling the small pangs of hunger on a fasting day, sore feet from standing for a long service, or missing out on some social activity because our priority is the church- let us always remember that our Lord suffered on the cross more than we ever can, and be comforted knowing how small our suffering is! Let us be proud that we are worthy to share in some small portion of His blessed suffering, having no other boast than in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified to us, and we are crucified to the world! (Galatians 6:14)

Ask Abba/Kes

"How can I be prepared to live together with someone in marriage without living together before marriage?"

We get married to serve, not for any other reason. When preparing for marriage, ask these 3 questions of yourself and 3 questions of your partner:

Am I mature:

1. Spiritually (living a life of prayer and the sacraments, and ready to repay hatred with love)

2. Socially (not treating my spouse the same as anyone else, but as special and unique)

3. Financially (either currently financially stable or working toward it)

Concerning my partner:

1. Do we have the same values (Christian values, church is priority) and goals (dying to the world and living to Christ)

2. Am I proud to call him/her my husband/wife in front of my friends, parents and coworkers (the 3 most influential social circles in our lives)

3. Does he/she have the fear of God (utmost respect for the priesthood and their confession father's role in resolving conflict in the marriage)

If you can answer yes to all these questions, you can adapt and everything else will fall neatly into place. Living together will be a simple matter.

BIBLE QUIZ!

In which verse does St Paul say that he glories/boasts in the cross of Christ?

 

A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Mary

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

It is said there was a sinful woman who committed sins all the time. She despaired over this; time after time she would repent and then resume her sins. From the number of times that she committed sins, she lost hope for the mercy of God. She often considered killing herself and cutting open her belly. But because of the love for her soul, she did not dare to kill herself.

One day, while she was grieving over her sins, she came across a tarantula.1 Because of her strong anger with herself, she took that tarantula and swallowed it. From the strength of the tarantula’s venom, that woman became severely ill. Her entire body swelled up, and she drew near to death.

She owned an icon of Our Lady Mary, the Holy Virgin Mariham, painted on a tablet. She asked those who were with her to bring it to her, because she loved the icon of Our Lady Mary, honored it, and served it.

When they brought that icon to her, she wept and bowed to it. She said: “Dear Lady Mary Mariham, the Compassionate, the Beloved, I am asking you to help me and to save me from this torment that has befallen me.”

Immediately, she heard a voice from that icon that said, “Look, Abbot Mastaregardan will come here. Go and confess your sin to him.”

When she heard this voice, her illness withdrew from her. When Mastaregardan came, that woman approached him and confessed to him all the sins she had committed from her childhood until she was grown. That woman said to the abbot, “It is My Lady Mary, Holy Virgin Mariham, the Compassionate, who sent me to you.”

After the abbot heard this report, he set his hand upon her head and prayed for her.

At once, the woman vomited out that tarantula and its venom and was healed from her torment.

She turned back to God, repented for her sins, and became a good woman. She pleased God until the day she died. Then she entered the kingdom of heaven by the intercession of the Intercessor, Our Lady Mary, Holy Virgin Mariham, the Compassionate, the Helper of all who serve her, who set hope in her and trust themselves to her mercy.

May her prayers and blessings be with her servant King Constantine, and may it preserve him until the end of his life. Amen.

O Holy Virgin Mary, pray for us!

LIJOCH! The Children's Corner

MESKEL

ይበል:ግዕዝ (yibel Ge’ez)

Let's reclaim our forefathers’ language

Around the new year, you might encounter the phrase:

ሰቀለ

seqele

to crucify

ሰቀለ seqele can mean to suspend or hang up, to hang, or to crucify. It gives us the adjective ስቁል siqul - referring to one who is hanging or crucified, and the noun ስቅለት siqlet - hanging or crucifixion.

Of course, ሰቀለ seqele is also the root of the very familiar word መስቀል mesqel - a cross.

ORTHODOX Q&A

Why, then, did the Master Christ, to Him be glory, choose crucifixion particularly as a method of death?

Before all else, the Master Christ did not choose for Himself the manner of death. Rather, it was the Jews who chose the Cross when they cried out to Pilate, "Crucify Him!" Mark 15:12 -15

As for why redemption was accomplished by way of the Cross, St. Athanasius summarises the reasons in the following points:

1. In order for death to occur publicly before witnesses, so that there can be certainty over the Resurrection, which was to follow

2. In order to preserve his body in perfect soundness and undivided, according to the prophecies

3. In order to die while holding out His hands to unite the Jews and the Gentiles in Himself

4. In order to be lifted up from the earth drawing us to Himself (John 12:32)

5. In order to clear the air from the evil spirits, granting us victory over them (Eph. 2:2)

6. In order to fulfill the prophecies which were set forth concerning the necessity of the Crucifixion (Ps. 22:15; Isa 53)

7. In order to bear the curse laid upon us, for it was written, " For everyone that is hanged on a tree is cursed of God" (Deut. 21:33)

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

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

References

Miracle of Mary: https://pemm.princeton.edu/en-us/stories/165

Second, P. T. (2014). Coptic Orthodox Church My Faith. Maryut Egypt: Saint Mina Monastery Press.

 

CONTACT US:

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Tel. 868-642-4230.

e-mail: eotc.arch.carla@gmail.com

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