NEBAB #46 Flight of the Holy Family to Egypt
NEBAB #46
The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine
ZEMENE TSIGE
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America
The importance of understanding the Old Testament for a clearer understanding of the New Testament is seen throughout scripture and in the exegesis of Our Holy Fathers about scripture who do not shy away from making references and interlinkages between the Old and New Testament. As our holy father St John Chrysostom says "The Old Testament is the root, the New Testament is the fruit. The root cannot bear fruit without the tree, nor can the tree flourish without the root.". Also Our Holy Father St Irenaeus of Lyons in the Book "Against the Heresies" says : "The scriptures are perfect, inasmuch as they were spoken by the Word of God and His Spirit; but we, in expounding them, do not err, for all have one and the same Author."
In the book of Matthew 2 where we read the account of the Holy Family's flight to Egypt, St. Matthew makes particular reference to a verse in the Old Testament from the prophet Isaiah which says “Behold the Lord will ride on a swift cloud” Isaiah 19:1. This quote from the Old Testament carries a great weight and speaks of the fulfillment of Isaiah's words in the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Lady St. Mary.
Saint Jerome says “Behold, the Lord has entered the Egypt of this world on a swift cloud, the Virgin. “He led them with a cloud by day.” Beautifully said, by day, for the cloud was never in darkness but always in light.”
Again he says
“The Lord is riding on a swift cloud on his way to Egypt.” Appreciate that
means: the Lord comes, the Lord and Savior, into the Egypt in which we live;
the Lord comes into the land of darkness where Pharoah is. But he does not come
save riding on a swift cloud. Now what is this swift cloud? I think it is the
holy Mary with child of no human seed."
And later he says “ This is the cloud that in Alexandria destroyed Sarapis; no general did it, no mortal man, but this cloud that came into Alexandria.”
Thus the Lord that entered Egypt is Christ and the cloud is St. Mary who carried Our Lord Jesus Christ. All of the false idols crumble when Our Lord comes into Egypt and so too we ask the Lord to shatter our idols by his entry into the Church, our heart.
Our Lord by entering Egypt blesses it so that it is the first place to build a Church. In the Orthodox Church, the house of God requires an altar for a sacrifice. Egypt came from a nation that was formerly idolatrous and was sanctified by Christ entering into it. Thus the exiled Jesus became the hope of the exiled, the abandoned Jesus becomes the hope of those abandoned and Christ, who lives among the gentiles, sanctifies them. Thus in this beautiful revelation of the Old Testament we see the true working of the Holy Spirit throughout scripture
2. The Hope of Salvation
The second thing we remember about this season of zemene tsigue is the hope of salvation and the desire to be saved. In our church the symbolism of the flower has many meanings and one of them is a symbol of the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as David says in Psalm 103 “The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more”. The flower tells us that all these things of the earth are temporary and pass away and we should strive and search for the reward that will last eternally. During this time and this final week of Zemene Tsigue, let us ask ourselves these few questions “What is guiding my life? Is it my own wants and desires or my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? How do I spend my day? Do we spend it doing things that are in vain? Or doing something that will last to eternity and gain us eternal rewards? We must remember the symbol of the flower, the passing away of temporal existence, the reward of eternal salvation. Let us fight the good fight and finish the race as St Paul says.
2 Timothy 4;7-8
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
3. The pain and hardships of Saint Mary and Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Lastly, we must remember the pain and hardships of Saint Mary and Our Lord Jesus Christ and strive to emulate their life especially during this period of suffering. In many of the hymns and chants sung during this period, our fathers are remembering just that, particularly the lamentations of St Mary who as a mother witnessed the many hardships that her Son endured for our salvation. Within this period, let us remember the many prayers and hymns sung to the Virgin St Mary and ask for her intercessions especially during this time for the people suffering in Jamaica, throughout the different parts of the world and in our own suffering. May this season of pain, anguish, loss, devastation, hurt and despair bring us closer to the Virgin and Her Son. We should say to St Mary, along with your Son who you carried like this in your bosom, please come here to alleviate me from my sadness along with St Michael and St. Gabriel, pleading with Virgin Mary to come forth to us and bless our lives. For Saint George, Saint Mary was the glory of his crown through his struggle and through her intercessions, he became victorious. Let us learn one more hymn and/or prayer of this season of Zemene Tsigue to carry us through the hardships and our trials of Egypt.
Matthew 6:28-30
"And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"
“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” Confessions of Saint Augustine
The toil of sin is a daily struggle, that weighs on the human heart and soul that seeks shelter and refuge in Him who created it. The book of Hebrews promises us that "we who have believed do enter into that rest" but those who are disobedient do not enter into it. This is a profound reminder that there is a rest and a promise of entering into that rest and "since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it"
Sometimes we may try to find fulfillment, rest and hope in temporary lusts of this world, ambition, hopes and dreams that profit us nothing. We run around in circles, chasing after wind and shadows to no profit. We do not hear or live the gospel and fail to recognize that none of these false promises and hopes bear any truth. Christ is the eternal Rest.
Based on the words of St. John Chrysostom, "faith is indeed great and brings salvation, and without it, it is not possible ever to be saved. For if they who suffered so great distress in the wilderness, were not counted worthy of the promise land and were not able to attain that land, because they murmured and because they committed fornication how shall we be counted worthy of Heaven if we live carelessly and indolently? We then have need of much earnestness. We should have our mind, our hope and our expectation yonder, lest we should fail"
This longing for salvation and the desire to seek and invoke being awakened by Christ is beautifully expressed by St Augustine in His confessions:
"GREAT art Thou, O
Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and of Thy wisdom there is
no end. And man, being a part of Thy creation, desires to praise Thee, man, who
bears about with him his mortality, the witness of his sin, even the witness
that Thou "resistest the proud, " -- yet man, this part of Thy
creation, desires to praise Thee. Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for
Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find
rest in Thee. Lord, teach me to know and understand which of these
should be first, to call on Thee, or to praise Thee; and likewise to know Thee,
or to call upon Thee. But who is there that calls upon Thee without knowing
Thee? For he that knows Thee not may call upon Thee as other than Thou art. Or
perhaps we call on Thee that we may know Thee. "But how shall they call on
Him in whom they have not believed? or how shall they believe without a
preacher?" And those who seek the Lord shall praise Him. For those who
seek shall find Him, and those who find Him shall praise Him. Let me seek Thee,
Lord, in calling on Thee, and call on Thee in believing in Thee; for Thou hast
been preached unto us. O Lord, my faith calls on Thee, --that faith which Thou
hast imparted to me, which Thou hast breathed into me through the incarnation
of Thy Son, through the ministry of Thy preacher."
Let us return to the rest of repentance and flee the toil of sin and of restlessness. For our hope is in an everlasting Father who loves us and has given us the example of His Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
This season of Zemene Tsigue reminds us of the rich symbols used in our Church especially the beauty and meaning of flowers. We recall how deep love, devotion and veneration for Saint Mary is expressed through flowers.
As we come to the close of Zemene Tsigue, show your love for Saint Mary by placing flowers before her holy icons this week in your church, prayer corner, around holy icons or home.
When you have to go somewhere, walk instead of driving or catching the bus, if you can, to remember the toil of the journey of the Holy Family.
Add the end of the Anaphora of St Mary, 'O Virgin remind Him' (stanza 165 to the end) to your prayer for the day.
For me what I mostly use is the Orthodox Study Bible. It is the closest that I see.
Miracle of Mary: https://pemm.princeton.edu/en-us/stories/153
Second, P. T. (2014). Coptic Orthodox Church My Faith. Maryut Egypt: Saint Mina Monastery Press.
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