St. Mary in Brief

Welde-Tensae

Hello, dears! Every year on the 29th of January/21 Tir E.C/, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido church holds a memorial service for the passing of Holy Mother, Virgin Mary.

Wishing you to reap the utmost blessing from the holiday, we will try to give an overview of the Holy Mother and Her significance in our church.

Since the fall of Adam and God’s promise to be born of the former’s grandchild, St. Mary was foretold in symbols and prophecies until Christ’s Incarnation to redeem Adam is materialized.

1. Symbols

1.1. Age of Conscience

In the age of patriarchs /Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, . . ./ in which conscience was the only guide for man to worship God, at least the following symbols have been associated with St. Mary.

a . The First (original) Land /Gen.1:11/:- Only the order of God was enough and no seed to sow was needed land to grow various types of cereals, fruits and other plants necessary for man’s survival. Immanuel was born of St. Mary without a man’s seed. /Lk.1:34-35/.

b. Abel’s Humility:- Abel’s sacrifice was pleasant of God because it emanated out of humility against that of cain who offered an unclean sacrifice. /Gen.4:3/.St.Mary was chosen to be the abode of the Lord due to Her humility.

c. Noah’s Ark/      /:- As Noah’s Ark saved lives of a chosen family, so has St. Mary because she was the only pure house to host the Lord. No where other than in Noah’s Ark was safe to survive the Great Flood. The same holds true of St. Mary, the only pure creature for the incarnation to happen.

d. Noah’s Dove of peace / Gen.8:11 /:- It was a dove which showed Noah that the Flood was receding in its coming with a fresh leaf. St. Mary, the dove, has brought forth the authentic leaf of peace, Jesus Christ, for the New Testament.

e. Rainbow/Gen.9:13/:- As the rainbow is there to serve as a sign of the covenant between God and man according to which the former would not again destroy the latter in flood, St. Mary is also a sign of salvation. She is a sign for the end of the condemned age. /IS.7:14/

f. Ticket catching the Ram/Gen.22:13/:- It was a ram caught by a ticket which was sacrificed instead of Isaac. The ram foretells the New Testamental sacrifice of redemption, Christ. The ticket catching the ram was a symbol for St. Mary who, as a mother, holds Christ.

g. Jacob’s Ladder/Gen.28:12/:- Jacob saw a ladder on which is God. Thus, the ladder foreshadowed St. Mary in whom God would reside as a son when the time for grace matures.

1.2. Age of the Law

Foretelling St. Mary continues as we move from the patriarchal Age to that of the Laws, the time inscribed commandments were given on top of the rules of human conscience:

a. The Bush Not Burning /Exod.3:2/:- Mosses has seen a bush and a flame in harmony with neither destroying the other. The bush not burning is St. Mary for she was not consumed by the divine fire when she mothered Christ.

b. The Ark of the covenant/Exod.25:10/:- Mosses was commanded to make an Ark out of Acacia wood, which termites do not eat away, and cover it with Gold, in and out.

This visualizes the purity of St. Mary, a pure virgin, in the soul and the flesh. As the commandments are written on the ark, the Son of God has dwelled in her when she mothered Him.

c. Aron’s Rod/Num.17:8/:- No water and soil was needed for the dry rod of Aron to blossom.

St. Mary has conceived Christ without a man’s seed, which could have been a must in the ordinary course of biology.

d. Gedeon’s Fleece of wool/Judges/6:36-40/:- Gedeon asked for a sign to know if God was indeed to ransom Israel. The sign Gedeon set was for a dew to be only on the fleece of wool he puts and for the rest of the land to be dry. By way of checking the authenticity of the sign, Gedeon also requested for the vice versa to happen, i.e. a dry fleece of wool amidst a wet land. God did both as per the request of Gedeon.

The fleece of wool and the dew symbolize St. Mary and Christ, respectively. As a dew has fallen on the fleece, God the Son has dwelt in St. Mary as His Mother. As there was no dew on the land, other than on the fleece, no female other than St. Mary was chosen to be the abode of God. Taking the vice versa, as the dew fell on all the land, the fleece was dry. The curse which has tarnished all females has not touched St. Mary.

e. Elijah’s cloud /1kg.18:44/:- For three years and a half, Elijah ordered the heavens not to yield rain for he was grieved because of Akaab’s transgressions. Later, when the two agreed, the saint prayed for rain. A cloud as small as a man’s palm came out to yield rain satisfactorily.

The small cloud is St. Mary; the immense rain is Christ. As the people starved for 3 1/2 years due to lack of rain, man was starved for ages in lack of grace until the mighty lord, Christ, comes in Flesh as a son of an apparently little daughter, Mary.

f. Tray Holding the cake/1Kg.19:1-8/:- When Elijah was awfully hungry, an angel of the Lord told him to eat a cake. The cake is Christ; the tray holding the cake is St. Mary. As Elijah was able to travel with vigour once he ate the cake and drank the water, mankind is able to win the kingdom of God by feeding with the flesh and blood of Christ. /Jn.6:51/.

g. Elisha’s New Bowl/2kg.2:20/:-As he comes to know about the bad water which has made the land barren, Elisha orders for a new bowl with salt to be brought.

Once he adds that salt, the water is healed and the land is no more barren. The new bowl, the salt, the poison and the water symbolize St. Mary, Christ, sin and the world in the order given. The bowl is new symbolizing the purity of St. Mary who is a virgin free from the original Sin. The salt who healed the poison of sine is Christ, who shed His Blood to open a new chapter of reconciliation. The healed water which was once poisoned is the ransomed world. . . (to be continued.)

“NOT I”

(Matt. 3:11)

BY H .H. POPE SHENOUDA III

The Baptist was successful in his service. "Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan confessing their sins" (Matt. 3:5). Naturally, the only One, who did not confess sins when He presented Himself to baptism, was Christ, because He had absolutely no sins to confess. When John saw the crowds increasing around him, he transferred their looks from him to Christ, meaning: "not I". He made all his efforts in order to hide himself so that Christ appears. This is the most distinguished virtue and the most profound work of this saint. He said to the people: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matt. 3:11). As he attracted them to another baptism which is greater than his baptism, so also he attracted them the more, to the author of this baptism, saying that He is stronger and higher and more ancient than him. He said: "There comes one after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose" (Mark 1:7). "After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me" (John 1:30). "I am not the Christ, but, I have been sent before Him" (Matt. 3:28).

The Baptist did not say all that, as mere words of humility, or that he degradedhis level before the people......The true humility, as the saints say, is thatman knows himself. And John, in his humblewords, knew exactly who he [John] was and whoChrist was. And Christ on His part spoke out that John was the greatest"among those born of women". But he, and all those born of women, are all mereservants before Christ; even the angels are there to worship Him’ (Heb. 1:6).

This saint did not seek his own glory, but he sought the kingdom of Christ. He understood that "He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light" (John 1:8), "that all through him might believe" (John 1:7). He knew that he was simply a predecessor before the convoy of the coming king; all his work consisted of preparing the way for the king.John was able to keep his ritual, and not to trespass over his limits.

For him selfishness was dead; and Christ was all in all. That is a lesson to the servants who build themselves at the account of service, or to them who consider service as a simple field where they can manifest themselves!! The most marvelous word that exhibits John's service is his word about   Christ: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). He also said about Him: "He who comes from above is above all ....... He who comes from heaven is above all" (John 3:31). In here, he indicates the divinity of Christ who has come from heaven and is above all. Hence, when the predication of Christ had begun and started to sway the atmosphere of service, John rejoiced and was glad (John 3:29). He said: "Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice." As for me, I am merely the friend of the bridegroom; I look from afar and rejoice. Thus he rendered the groom to the bridegroom.

He rendered to Him the churchwhich he had prepared for Him throughrepentance, and he also rendered to Him his disciples, and he joyfully withdrew from thefield, releasing the leadership to the Lord. Nevertheless, while John humbled himself, he was raised up. According to the word of the Lord Christ: "whoever exalts himself will behumbled, and he who humbles himself willbe exalted" (Matt. 23:12). When Johnhumbled himself and said: "I must decrease", the Lord exalted him, and made him the greatest among those born of women. Of course, he meant the greatest among "men" or "prophets" born of women, because the Holy Virgin Mary, who is among those born of women, is undoubtedly greater than him. 

 Source: H .H. Pope Shenouda III, The Epiphany & St. John the Baptist

May God Bless us, Amen.