Time To Beat The Three Cardinal Sins!!

Welde-Tensae

Mt. 4:1-11:- Then was jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up to the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple. And saith unto him, if thou be the son of God, cast theyself down: for it is written, He shall five his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, least at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, it is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will  I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him. Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

1 - As a prologue:

Dear Hopefuls of the Faith:

How are you doing? It is our cause of hope and ecstasy to know about your fruition in the faith. Any supplication or sacrifice we offer in faith unto the Lord is trusted to reward us when He comes to judge the Quick and the Dead as per their track records.

This piece you are reading has to do with the Lent, the Great Fast of the Lord, through which He has left His Living Example of spirituality beating the three cardinal sins. Our church will be observing this year’s Lent with immense devotion from Yekatit 16-Miazia 11, 2001 E.C /23 Feb-19 April 2009. We have, therefore, felt that exchanging the relevant word of life is due in connection with the launching of the Fast. An introductory week, the Lent proper and a passion week make up 55 days of our lent.

As you could read from the verses quoted above, verse one(Mt.4:1) begins with “Then…” continuing in essence from the third chapter of the same Gospel that deals with the Baptism of Christ. We understand that it was immediately after His Baptism that our Lord was led in the Spirit to a wilderness where He fasted for forty days and nights. His Incarnation being an example to us, He has shown in His fasting a lot of things that a believer should know.

“Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness….” He was led up not by the pressure of Satan. It is on God’s accord, it is on the Holy Spirit’s accord, it is on His (Christ’s) accord-IT IS ON THE ACCORD OF ONE GOD- that He went to a wilderness. It should be the Spirit, not Satan that should take anyone to a place of spiritual seclusion such as monasteries. These days, there are those who rush to such places of spiritual zenith without knowing if it is the will is God’s, or theirs only which, devoid of God, would in away be Satan’s. Once they are there, they become instruments of the Villain in many ways. They spread heresies; they fall down to fornications; etc. One has to really ask if the will is from God before having a cell in such places. Devil-driven novices are of no use to serving the Spirit!!

A believer embraced into the bosom of the faith through baptism shall regularly fast as part and parcel of his/her spiritual life. It is only through prayer and fasting that a believer could beat the Archenemy.

As a believer serves God through seclusion and/or fasting, Satan won’t leave him with ease. The believer will be tested and, with God, he will surely win.
 
2 - Three cardinal sins:

Just like contemporary tempters who misquote the word of God to nurture heresy of atheism, satan has tempted the Lord quoting Holy scriptures. Three cardinal Tests have been posed by satan against the Lord Christ who has beaten in all.

 (I) Greed to Eat:- Knowing that the Lord is hungry, Satan asks Him to convert stones to bread and eat. This could have been so easy to the Lord who has converted water into wine, fed thousands blessing Just two fish and five pieces of bread, etc. Yet, as He has been in this world to teach us to refuse Satan, He says no to the Enemy’s request. The Lord who said ‘Yes!’ to His Beloved Mother as She asked Him to convert water to wine, said no to Satan. The Lord’s response to Satan who approached to demean the Lord’s power only to making ordinary breads available was that “Man shall not leave by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”

Thus, the Lord’s hunger was not an ordinary one of craving for bread; it was rather the lack of souls that would live with and for the word of God. He was there to teach that mankind should, first of all, look for the kingdom and the justice of God; the rest, such as the bread Satan talked about, will be given to him as a tip or bonus.

It is quite normal for us to work for our daily bread. In fact, we have been told by the Lord Christ to make the issue of getting daily bread a key part of the concise prayer He has taught, Our Father. The problem is when we make bread the A to Z of our endeavor forgetting or demeaning spiritual engagements. Both the ordinary bread and the word of God need to be given the shares they deserve in our life. When we pray for our daily bread, it should mean the carnal bread plus the spiritual one (the word of God). As we fast, Satan may charm us to assuming as though we are in vain for we have undermined the issue of the carnal bread. We should not refrain from our commitment, for God will fill our lack in the flesh as well. It is, as said earlier, a tip to the spiritual!!

It is greed to eat that brought Demas back to the world he forsook. It is greed to eat that has made too many “spiritual fathers” so lavish in the riches of this world when millions are famished in lack of basic necessities. Corruption, nepotism, bribery and all sorts of evils are ruling our world because the Lord’s lesson of how to beat Satan, who makes us hungry, is still unheeded. Let us be hungry not just for an ordinary bread which represents earthly wants but for spirituality too. A spiritual soul is happy in what is given to him even if no more is to be added.

(II) Pomp:- The next test posed against the Lord manifests itself in pomp when Satan, who has found Him on the pinnacle of the Temple of the Holy City, asks the Lord to throw Himself down. Here also, Satan has quoted scriptures to tempt the Lord into a devilish action. The Lord’s response is that one shall not tempt God.

Even if we reach the highest level of power or spirituality, we should not abuse it. Meekness should always be the rule in the life of a believer whatever level he may be in the faith (30-60-100). It is abuse of power which emanates from pomp that leads to the demise of many regimes. In the faith as well, even if one is as saintly as St. Paul to ascend to the Seventh Heaven, he should not unfairly test himself. Rather, his prayer should be not to go to temptations, as it is made clear in Our Father, the prayer. Should one share a bed with an adulterous to test  how strong his spiritual level is ? No, not at all! No need to play with fire!

Holy Fathers, such as Abraham and David, have said that they are little ones even if they had high spiritual status. Abraham, whom God has consulted when He was to destroy Sodom and also blessed him to be the Father of many nations, has said that he is a dust and ash. David has called himself a warm to indicate his littleness though the Lord has witnessed that David is like His (God's) heart.

Miracles have a place in faith.  Elijah has dried up the rains and raised a dead son of a fervent believer. St. Peter has condemned Ananias and Sapphire to death as the couple tried to cheat the Holy Spirit. St. Peter has also walked on the sea. The Lord has told His Apostles that scorpion, snakes, disease, etc. will have no power on them. Yet, none of these spiritual powers has been executed to show off pomposity. St. Paul, who used to make miracles in his words, piece of cloth and even shadow, refers himself as the least of the Apostles. A believer should never tempt God in the way Satan has asked the Lord to do.

This should not mean that believers have to appear weak in front of Satan and his envoys. A believer may request God to take action against Satan though he doesn't make miracles by the request of the latter.

(III)- Lust (for power, money, etc.):- As the Lord sets himself on an exceedingly high mountain where all the kingdoms of the world and their glory is visible, Satan asks to be worshiped by the Lord if the latter has to get all the kingdoms and their glory through the former’s (Satan's) will. This is when the Devil goes too far. The Lord who created all kingdoms along with their glory is asked by Satan to get them through worshipping Satan.

Here, we see that Satan's temptation may continue as far as asking us to worship him. There are people who indulge themselves in diabolic acts of sorcery, witchcraft, etc. to serve their unquenchable lust for power and money through satanic means. They offer different sacrifices to Satan / in blood, in cash, etc/ hoping to get something against God's will. In so doing, they insult the Holy Spirit and give away themselves to a deadly sin.

When we are charmed by Satan to worship him, our response should be tantamount to the gravity of his wickedness. We have to condemn him in the strongest terms saying, "Away with you, Satan!" We have to tell him that we have no one else to worship other than God. Wealth and glory come and go. The poor may grow rich; the rich may become needy. In whatever situation we are, we shouldn't lose God. The glory we are going to have eternally in the heavenly kingdom of God is incomparably nobler than anything we may get here through our denial of the Lord.

All sins spring from these three, one way or the other. If we win over these three cardinal sins, ANGELS will come to serve us. We are in harmony with angel's means we are in agreement with God.

Let us, thus, take this Lent as an opportunity to break such cardinal sins. This would be ensured if we supplement our personal, family and communal prayers giving alms to the poor who have no shelter, clothing and/or food our hands have to be generous to needy churches and monasteries which lack the basic means to give their services. Let us donate vestry, candles, incense, scriptures, and other necessary utensils along with our fast. As we fast, let us fast in all our sense organs. Abstinence from certain food items and drinks is not enough. Let us listen, hear, touch, smell, and taste holy things only, to make our fast and prayer impeccable and effective. Amen!!

3- Tip from History (Why 55 days?)

H.G the late Abune Gorgorios writes that, since there are 15 weekend days (Saturday and Sunday) on which the faithful refrain only from animal products, the Lent proper is40, not 55 days. This, as to His Grace, was the order in the primitive church. There is also another explanation given as to why it is 55 days. Abune Gorgorios says that the first week (The Iraqlius Week) has to do with a certain Iraqlius, a Byzantium king, who brought the Holy Cross back, in his fight against the Persians who once managed to take away the Holy Cross of Christ. Christians who felt so happy in getting their Holy Cross back have started to fast one week in his name. The last week, he writes, is a Passion Week which the apostles have fasted with utmost austerity to remember the passion or atonement Christ has undergone. As His Grace concludes, the two weeks, the Iraqlius and passion weeks, are so interwoven with the Lent that the faithful have come to regard them as a key part of the Lent.

As Long as the fast is made in the name of Christ to serve the needs of the souls better by checking carnal interests, fasting the two weeks along with the Lent proper will be an asset, and not a liability, in the spiritual sense (HISTORY OF THE ETHIOPIAN  ORTHODOX CHURCH,1986/ E.C /:145,2nd ed.).

4 - Lenten Sundays

St. Yared, our scholar of hymns and scriptures, has composed hymns vis-à-vis relevant passages for each Sunday of the Lent. Each Sunday during the Lent has, as a result, taken its name from the name of the hymn devoted to it :

The following week is the Passion Week, during which we also observe the Holy Thurs day and Holy Saturday. EASTER falls on 19 April 2009 [11/08/01 E.C]

PS. 1- We have used the King James Version; chapters and verses indicated herein, therefore comply with the said version.

2- The table indicates selected passages and hymns to be used during Masses of Lent Sundays; it doesn’t mean nothing else is preached or read.(To be continued...)

May God Bless us, Amen.