NEBAB #47 The Fast of the Prophets

NEBAB #47

The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine

THE FAST OF THE PROPHETS

The Spiritual Education Unit

Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America

In this issue:

    1. About the Fast of the Prophets

    2. When You Fast...

    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

 

About the Fast of the Prophets

The Fast of the Prophets is one of seven canonical fasts of the Church. They are: The Great Fast (Abiy tsom); The Fast of the Apostles (Tsome Hawaryat); The Fast of the Assumption (St. Mary's Fast) Tsome Felseta; The Fast of the Prophets (Tsome Nebiyat); The Fast of Gehad or gad; The Fast of nineveh (Tsome Nenewe) and Tsome Dihnet, the weekly fast of Wednesdays and Fridays. The Holy Books of our church teach us that it is important for the faithful to observe the fast. It must be kept and reverenced with preparation and great care. During the period leading up to the fast we prepare the soul through repentance and prayer. The eve of the fast is not a time to indulge in uncommon or excessive foods and drinks but a time of thanksgiving and joy as the soul enters a season of blessing.
When we fast, the soul becomes master of the body. We fast not only from food but from seeing evil, speaking evil, hearing evil, touching evil and walking toward evil, guarding all the senses. During this time, we fast with a humble heart, seeking the mercy of God and purifying our lives and conscience through prayer and repentance

During this fast: The prophets fasted and prayed, the apostles fasted and received blessings. The Church Fathers established the tradition that we, the faithful should also observe this fast so that we may receive blessings like them

We of the New Testament, who have already witnessed His glorious Incarnation, fast to properly appreciate and celebrate the gift given to us in the birth of Emmanuel our God.

The fast starts in the second week of zemene astemhro (the season of mercy), which began on Hedar 6 (November 15). The last 3 weeks of the fast are special observances and minor feasts of our Lord. They are:

Sibket (Preaching)- the feast commemorating the preaching of the many prophets that brought the message and hope of the coming of the Messiah to humanity.

Birhan (Light)- the feast which commemorates the fact that the Light of the World came to us to bring light to the world that was sitting in darkness.

Nolawi ([Good] Shepherd)- the commemoration of our Lord coming to lead His people as our True Shepherd. As sheep are aimless and unorganised without a shepherd, we were also going astray until our Shepherd came to lead us out of the condemnation of death and into Paradise.

We will study each of the minor feasts more closely as they approach. But why do we fast if Christ has already come? In the church, our commemorations are not simply as one remembers a historical event, but we are mystically taken back in time to the very moments we celebrate, which is why when the fast ends we sing “the Saviour of all the world is born today”, and not “was born on Christmas day”.

When You Fast....

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

May Almighty and Merciful God accept our fasting, our prayer, our almsgiving and our prostration. May He keep us in the right faith, and strengthen us to follow His example which He made for us, taking flesh from His Virgin Mother. A simple question for this fasting season: What are we fasting from, and what are we fasting for?

St John Chrysostom famously warns us of the foolishness of abstaining from food but not from sin. St Yared continues to develop this theme, saying "Let the eyes fast, let the tongue fast, and, in love, let both the ears fast from hearing evil." The fasting of the senses is the foundation on which we will grow spiritually during this season, if we receive it in obedience. This foundation, the fasting of the senses from indulging their desires, is held together by a mortar of prayer and prostration, and perfectly measured by the level of almsgiving.  Here we see how we not only fast from, but also for. We fast from indulging in food, and we grow in love for the hungry, whom we feed instead of ourselves. We fast from much talking and from idle words, so that we can better listen for the voice of Christ- whether from the bishop or the beggar. We fast from the sights and sounds that surround and distract us, so that we can look for God's providence, mercy and love in every created thing. We fast from wasting time so that we can make the most of our time, spending it with our loving Bridegroom, Christ, whose church we are. Fasting empties us, but it doesn't leave us empty. A true fast, kept with a pure heart and in good conscience, fills us as it empties us. As we are emptied of food we are filled with prayer, as we are emptied of distraction we are filled with focus.

As we fast, we fight against our bodies and their desires- not because our bodies are evil, but because of the sin working in and ruling over the body. We fight for ourselves, to free the body from the sin that rules and return it to its rightful ruler- the self. In this fight for self control we often find ourselves against the whole world, as social media, AI, consumerism, cosmetics, etc. are designed to take our self control and replace it with mindless consumption, remaking us in the image the richest people in the world have designed for us and sold to us. But we know in Whose image we were made, and we know that the ease of scrolling for hours, the self indulgence of hair and nails and makeup, the lust for women and the endless pursuit of money and status- all these things are not for us.

"This persuasion cometh not of Him that calleth you." - Galatians 5:8

So let us, in faithfulness to the One who calls us, and in love for God and for ourselves, and in the exercise of freedom and self control, keep the fast of the prophets while we wait eagerly to see the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory in every land and every language.

Faith and Works:

Strengthening your Foundation

This Fast of the Prophets, focus on one of the pillars of Christian life.

Prayer - Commit to keeping the 7 hours of prayer, whether at any given hour you pray all of Psalm 119, or only say Our Father and Our Lady Mary. By doing so, you reinforce the structure of each day with steel girders, holding your whole life together by the power of prayer.

Fasting - Empty your body, weakening its power, and let the desire of the spirit govern the desire of the body. In moments of hunger or weakness, remember our Lord Jesus Christ, hungry and thirsty, carrying His cross, abused in His innocence, and taking it all patiently for our sake. Thank Him for counting you worthy to take part- even a small part- in His suffering, and by His suffering blessing yours.

Almsgiving - If you don't know where the poor are, find them. With the money you don't spend on food for yourself, buy a hot meal for an empty stomach, a pair of slippers for bare feet, or a jacket for shaking shoulders. Talk to them and learn their needs, it might be toothbrushes or soap or a comb for their hair. Seeing them as your own self, love them, and God will hear their prayer for you.

Prostration - Put dust on your forehead in secret, and your Father will put oil on your head openly. Prostrate daily from Mondays to Fridays, remembering how Christ fell on the way to Golgotha, and how He raises you when you fall into sin. 

Ask Abba/Kes

What do I have to do in order to benefit from this fast?

We must practise unconditional obedience.

Our Lord and our God and our Saviour Jesus Christ said: "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." (Matthew 6: 17-18)

Our Lord Jesus also said: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." (Matthew 7: 24-25)

Glory be to The Father and to The Son and to The Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

BIBLE QUIZ!

To what was our Lord referring when He told the apostles "This kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting"?

A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Mary

 In the city of Tiros [Tyre], there was a certain little boy who was a Jew, and he used to be taught with Christian children in a certain place.

When the festival of the Passover arrived, the Christian children went to make offerings according to their custom. The Jewish boy went along and offered up with them.

As the priest was administering the Offering to the people, the Jewish boy saw a beautiful woman helping the priest at the altar. She was dressed in splendor and in glorious apparel.

When the Eucharist had ended, the boy returned to his father’s house.

His father asked, “Why have you tarried so long?”

The boy said, “I was in the church with the Christian children, and I offered with them.”

When the father heard this, he grew angry with his son. He turned toward the oven that was in his house, which he had made red hot. Then he seized his son, threw him into the oven, and shut the door of the furnace upon him.

When the boy’s mother heard, she cried out with a loud voice and wept.

Many people, both Jews and Christians, gathered. They went to the furnace and opened it, and they found the boy alive and uninjured by the fire.

They called to him, and he came out of the oven. The fire had not hurt him and had singed neither his clothing nor his hair.

They marveled and were silent before this great miracle.

They asked the boy, “What did you do?”

He told them how he had received the Mystery, and how he had seen Our Glorious Lady Mary helping the priest at the moment of celebrating the Offering. He explained how that same Lady had caught him when his father cast him into the fire, so that it did not touch him; and how she had covered him over with her apparel.

When the Christians heard the boy’s voice they glorified God, the Most High, and Our Lady Mary, the lover of mankind.

Mary then seized that Jew, the boy’s father, and he in his turn was burned to ashes.

Now the boy, his mother, and all [the people of the house] became Christians.

Note: This story is considered the very earliest Miracle of Mary story ever, arising in Jerusalem in the 100s or 200s CE.

O Holy Virgin Mary, pray for us!

LIJOCH! The Children's Corner

Unscrambles these names

+ HaisaI      ----------------------------       

+ Ametaiontsln    -----------------------

+ Leidan     --------------------  

+ Ialmcha   -------------

  + Saom   -------------  

+ Unhma   -------------

+ Baiodha   --------------  

+ Naojh     -----------------

+ Ihagga   ------------------                         

+ Aheso     -----------------

+ heremija ------------------                        

+ naihapzhe --------------------

 

Put a star next to the books of minor Prophets & put a circle around the books of major prophets

TSOME NEBIYAT

ይበል:ግዕዝ (yibel Ge’ez)

Let's reclaim our forefathers’ language

In this issue, let us learn more about a word we know well:

ጾም

'som

a fast

The word actually starts as ጸወመ 'seweme - to fast, but like many Ge'ez words, ወ we can become -ኦ -o. (ከወነ kewene - to become is commonly rendered as ኮነ kone), and therefore ጸወመ 'seweme is commonly ጾመ 'some.

The verb ጾመ 'some gives us the noun ጾም 'som, and the verb ይጹም yi'sum - to let fast, as in ይጹም ዓይን yi'sum ayn - let the eyes fast, the well known admonition of St Yared. As we know, to form the genitive of a noun (that is, to turn 'fast' into 'fast of') we turn the 6th form vowel into the 1st form vowel, so ጾም 'som becomes ጾመ 'some when we say ጾመ ነቢያት 'some nebiyat - the Fast of the Prophets. 

A lesson on the Genitive case can be found in Nebab #13: https://nebabmagazine.blogspot.com/2024/09/nebab-13-13th-month-pagume.html

Stay tuned for the start of the next Lent, when we will look at ዘቀበላ ጾም zeqebela 'som, and the tradition around it.

ORTHODOX Q&A

Does the Orthodox Church believe in miracles?

With God all things are possible, and miracles have a special place in our faith. We read from the Miracles of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Miracles of the Holy Virgin Mary as part of our nightly prayer of the hours (se'atat) and during Holy Week/Passion Week. We keep the feasts of the angels because of miracles they performed for us on certain days.

However, miracles are not always for our benefit- as our Lord taught us that in the last days people would perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Our fathers teach us that at the moment of our baptism, we could call down fire from heaven and raise the dead, but God protects us from the danger of pride that could come with these miracles. God is always merciful and loving, miracles or no miracles, as the 3 young men said to Nebuchadnezzar- "our God is able to deliver us, but if He does not, we will still serve Him only". So whether He saves us from the fire or we burn up, we rejoice in the greatest of miracles- His love.

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/147

John's Repentance 2025
 

CONTACT US:

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Tel. 868-642-4230.

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

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