NEBAB #56: The Great Fast - Gebre Hier

 NEBAB #56

The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine

THE GREAT FAST (LENT)

WEEK 6: GEBRE HIER - THE GOOD SERVANT

The Spiritual Education Unit

Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America

In this issue:

    1. Commentary on the Gospel: Use Your Talents

    2. I knew that You were a hard man!

    3. Faith and works

    4. “Ask Abba/Kes”

    5. Miracle of the Virgin Mary

    6. Children’s corner

    7.ይበል ግዕዝ 

    8. Orthodox Q&A

 

Commentary on the Gospel: Use your talents

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

In the Gospel of Matthew 25, Jesus is speaking on the mountain to his disciples and also to us. 

 In Matthew Chapter 24 and during the previous week of abiy tsome, week 5 of Debre Zeit Our Lord's preaching focused on the end of the age and His Second Coming. 

This week we are reminded of preparation through work. For those who are good servants and spiritual people, the second coming is a day of Glory but for those who are disobedient it will be a day of  fear and torment. For example, if a visitor is coming to our house to pay us a visit and we are prepared for our guest, we are relaxed and we are happy but if we are not prepared for our guest, we are frantic and anxious. 

So too we must put our house in order for our guest, who is Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and "be ready". The Disciples did not know the time, but Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ urged them to "Be Ready". In these two chapters we encounter many parables that emphasize this call to readiness. In chapter 25 we also see the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins which reminds us of the importance of spiritual vigilance. These teachings call us to keep all 10 of our senses alive and active. Our 5 outer senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch and speech) and also our 5 inner senses, our conscience. In doing so we remain attentive, disciplines and prepared to receive Him at any time.

It is important to recognize that it is before Our Lord Jesus Christ ascended, that He spoke about these things. The Kingdom of Heaven will appear immediately between the ascension and His return and immediately he will give us our reward. The underlying these of this chapter and this week of the Great Lenten fast is one of  entrustment and patience. The Master entrusts his good to those servants before departing to a far away country. In this, the Master (God) is also like a farmer and we are the land. It is a great reminder of how much God. Indeed what kind of Master in this day and age would entrust his possessions and go to a far away country? Think about it.

God places great trust in us, His servants with the expectation that we will remain faithful until He returns

God trusts us but we have to be obedient and multiply. He plants the seed and he also gives water to multiply. Yet this multiplication is our prayer, good conscience and obediences.

The Lord Trusts us and gives the church many talents: The Holy scriptures, the 7 Sacraments, the various gifts of grace, this is our wealth and God gives this to us to multiply. 

God is a fair God. It is not favoratism that leads Him to give 5, 2 and 1 talent respectively so we must not be jealous of others! God gives according to the capacity of each person and what they can bear. In doing so, God demonstrates both wisdom and freedom. He knows our abilitites fully, even when we do not yet recognize them ourselves. At times we do not know our own talents or our abilities! Our responsibility is not to compare, but to be faithful with what we have been given.

In these two chapters, 24 and 25 the message is consistent. The second coming can also be looked at as our death. When we have to give an account to God of our lives. God entrusts us with talent not to be idle but to trade. This trade is not trade in a carnal sense but spiritual trade

In our baptism, Jesus Christ has given us the key to paradise. When Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, He gave us the key to enter. He gave us talents when we received the mysteries of the Church and He has written this by His Holy and Precious Blood, becoming a sacred covenant between us and God, a serious covenant where there is no negotiation. 

It is now up to us to open the gate and enter. It is now up to use to use the talents because this is our responsibility. 

To open the gate, we have to work, as this is our duty!

When the end of time comes upon us, which is our death, we have no opportunity and no option.

Our Lord Jesus Christ going away to a far away country does not mean neglect but a test of our faithfulness. We must remember that his delay is not postponement but to measure diligence. If we are living with laziness, we have lost our faith, we have lost our inheritance and without work, we can receive nothing. With faith, we practice with power and not laziness and we multiply our business for our selves and not for our Master. In this parable, the Master gives them freely but He did not collect anything back!

We must keep our talents well (preserve in holiness) be fruitful and multiply. We must bring out our talent from our laziness!

Each of us have beautiful talents but we are not observing or practicing and this is laziness

We must come out of laziness and practice our talent

St Yared in His reflection on this week says " Who then is a faithful and wise servant who His Master has set over His household"

The word who is a word that beckons us to question ourselves and to examine our conscience. This is not a historical question but a spiritual question asking us:

"Where does my spiritual life stand?"

Gebre Here, my brothers and sisters is a good servant not a lazy servant and Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is righteous. Our God is also a free God who allows us to practice our faith without fear, this is why he goes away. This going away to a far country is our Lord's physical separation from us and His ascension into heaven although God is not going anywhere!

He is simply allowing us to work out our free will and to prepare our heavenly home

Remember my dear friends that the time that we have on this earth is God's time and we have to do something. Every person has talent which is our faith. Every person was given talent. When we hide our faith we are like the man who was given the 1 talent. 

If we do not practice good works, we hide our faith and faith without works is dead!

We grow our faith and multiply our faith when we (i) practice Christianity, when we (ii) practice holiness and when (iii) we repent. 

We are lazy when we are disobedient and making excuses in the paralysis of sinfulness like Metsagu

Let us redeem the time and know the time my dear brothers and sisters

"Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed" Romans 13:11

Let us think for today, tomorrow is God's business not ours!

Let us be ready and be active because...

Now is the time to work!

Glory be to God Forever, Amen!

I knew that You were a hard man!

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In the parable of the talents the third servant was selfish and wicked, due to his negligence and he slipped into other sins, not only neglecting and not using his abilities for God's account, meaning the love of God and others, but instead of loving others, he began to harm them and harm his master, meaning God, describing him as harsh and greedy, taking even though he did not give, which is contrary to the truth. 

But sin, which starts small with laziness and negligence, leads to more difficult sins, and in the end, the sinner loses his spiritual insight.

His lying is also evident when he says I was afraid, even though he did not fear God and strive spiritually, but indulged in his earthly desires.

"Lord I knew you to be a hard man"

The life of laziness and idleness led him to accuse his Lord of harshness, which in turn led him to fear....

Perhaps the most important sins that seem trivial but are destructure are negligence or laziness, as St Cyril the Great says "Knowing that laziness is the door to destruction, Paul says: "Woe is me if I do not preach" 

1 Corinthians 9:16

Faith and Works: Return on Investment

Our God has invested in us, giving us talents so we can multiply them, and return to Him with 100% profit. This week, take stock of the investments God has made in you, and pay attention to any area in which you are not generating a return on the investment.

For example: Can you sing? You must raise your voice and sing the hymns of the angels, learn them, and teach them to others. Can you cook? You must prepare food for the poor, go to them and serve them. Can you write? You must write essays, poems and books to introduce Jesus Christ to the unsaved.

Ask Abba/Kes

What does the word talent refer to in this parable?

Our talent is our faith. Every person has faith. Every person has talent. If we are not growing our faith and we do not practice our faith, we are like the man that went a different way, the wrong way from the other two men that were given 2 and 5 talents and profited what they were given

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BIBLE QUIZ!

At the end of the Parable of the Talents, how many talents does each servant have? Why do the 1st and 2nd servants have different numbers? And why do the 1st and 3rd servants have different numbers?

A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Mary

There was a certain handsome young man who loved Our Lady Mary with all his heart and with all his mind. He went to a monastery so that he might take counsel with himself, and he remained [there] for a year.

When that period had passed, the abbot said to him, “My dear son, it is fitting that you should do one of two things: you should either take up your abode in the monastery among the brothers and bless yourself with the chance to serve him for all the days of your life, or else you should go forth [from us].”

When the young man heard the abbot’s words, he went into the church and lifted his eyes to God—may he be praised! The young man then prayed for God for counsel concerning his soul’s salvation.

As he was standing in the church among the brothers, sleep seized him. He saw a garden planted in a desert place. In this garden there were trees of every kind, as well as flowers and fruits.

Upon the trees were birds of every kind, each one singing his own particular note, and their warbling made the heart of a man rejoice. The forms and appearances of the birds captivated the sight, with their plumage glistening like light on topaz.

The young man saw in that garden a palace whose walls were built, outside and inside, with precious stones and inlaid with gold, silver, and emerald stones. The palace shone like the sun, and the smell of the perfume [that emanated from it] cured every disease and healed every sickness.

When the young man drew close to that palace, he heard a beautiful voice which charmed the hearts of men.

As he listened to this voice, there came forth from the palace young men who were like shining stars, dressed in white apparel that had been worked with gold and silver.

After them there came forth beautiful virgins, each one arrayed in her own special apparel and wearing precious gems.

After them there came Our Lady Mary, shining more brightly than the sun and moon.

When they into the garden, they set for her a throne the like of which man had never seen.

Our Lady Mary sat down upon the throne and looked to the right and to the left. She saw the young man and commanded [the virgins] to bring him to her.

When he came before her, she said, “Who are you?”

He said, “I am a poor man.”

She said, “Do you wish to serve me?”

He said, “I am a poor man, and you are a great lady; you can have no pleasure in my becoming your servant.”

She said, “I would be pleased to have you serve me.”

He bowed low before her and departed.

But as he was going away, he turned and looked behind him, and she commanded them to bring him back.

When he came back, she said to him, “Why did you turn and look behind you?”

He said, “My dear lady, I wondered who you were and what your name was.”

She said, “Don’t you know me, seeing that I am present here and that the thought of me is always with you? Have you not heard the name of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ?”

When he knew who she was, he uttered a great cry at the top of his voice and said, “My dear Lady Mary!”

When the brothers who were in the church heard him, they came to him quickly, and they thought that his mind had darkened.

The young man rose straightaway, went to the monastery, bowed down at the feet of the abbot, told him everything he had seen, and asked him how to complete his adoption of the life of a monk.

The abbot dressed him in the garb of a monk and prayed over him.

The young man served Our Lady Mary for all the days of his life and departed into the kingdom of heaven.

O Holy Virgin Mary, pray for us!

LIJOCH! The Children's Corner

Answer the following questions based on the Parable of the Good Servant:

1. Michael's parents have given him a book for his birthday. He read it and enjoyed it, and learned a lot from it. His friend Sarah's birthday is coming up. How can Michael be a good and faithful servant?

a) Give the book back to his parents

b) Give the book to Sarah for her birthday

 

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2. Gebre Amlak just learned from his godfather how to sew a button onto his shirt. His sister just lost a button from her dress. How can Gebre Amlak be a good and faithful servant?

a) Sew the button onto his sister's dress

b) Tell her "Go and get my godfather to sew it on"

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3. Welete Mariam sees one of the mothers at church looking for her young child. She remembers seeing the child sleeping in the Sunday School room. How can Welete Mariam be a good and faithful servant?

a) Tell the mother "Your child is sleeping in the Sunday School room, go pick her up, she is yours"

b) Go to the Sunday School room and carry the child to the mother.

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For each of your answers, explain why the choice you made is the choice of a good and faithful servant.

ይበል:ግዕዝ (yibel Ge’ez)

Let's reclaim our forefathers’ language

ገብርኄር

gebr - servant

hier - good

The verb ገብረ gebre 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.

From the verb ገብረ gebre we get the noun ገብር gebr - servant (literally, one who works or does). And from the verb ኀየረ hayere (alternately spelled ኄረ hiere) - to be good, we get the adjective ኄር hier - good.

ORTHODOX Q&A

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What does the word sacrament mean in the Church?

Originally in the early church, the term that was used for the sacraments was "mysterion" or mystery. It was called a mystery because it is the working out of grace in a manner which is beyond the rational intellect of man, and beyond the understanding of this world and its demonic powers. 

St Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:6-7: "However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory". For St Paul, Christ Himself is the mystery, the heart of the mystery of godliness and salvation, which is why he writes in Colossians 2:2 "that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ"

While St Paul uses the term mystery to refer to Christ or to salvation several times in his epistles, he also uses the term mysteries in the plural to refer to the gifts or the powers of Christ. For example in 1 Corinthians 4:1 when he speaks of his apostolic responsibility, writing " Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." The apostolic responsibility is to be a steward or a caretaker of the mysteries of God. Those mysteries are the same ones which Christ entrusted to His disciples in the gospels like when He instituted the Last Supper and said "Do this in remembrance of me" or when He gave them the Great Commission of baptism and said "Go out to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

We see the term "mysterion" in the Greek first translated to sacramentum by the Latin writer Tertullian in his book "On Baptism" where he applies the term sacramentum to mean water. Before Tertullian the word sacramentum had a military context and meant an oath of allegiance which a soldier took to enter the service of the emperor. For Tertullian, the sacraments are the means by which we enter the Messianic covenant and begin our service to Christ. This is why he first applies it to baptism, as baptism is the entrance into covenant faithfulness or Christian fidelity to Christ.

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/156

Defending The Ancient Faith: An Orthodox Response To The Knechtle Debate, Deacon Mihret Melaku

Commentary by St. Markos Church, Egypt and Fr. Malaty

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