“Mikurab = ምኩራብ”.
Welcome to the third Sunday of the Lent, MIKURAB (literally -TEMPLE)”.It is named so because the day is meant to serve as a remembrance of the Lord’s teachings and acts in the temple. Thus, scriptures read and/or sung as of the eve of the day have to do with this. The name is based on St. Yared’s song remembering the miracles of Jesus Christ in the temple.
Misbak of the Day | This is the song of the day by the deacons before the Holy Gospel is being read by the Priest
“Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting”
Ps. 69:9-10
Meaning; when Jesus saw that they were selling and buying goods in God’s temple, He was very angry for he has a great zeal for the House of God, and he cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves (Jn. 2). And the Jews forgetting He is God (reproach Him) asked him with what power he was doing that. He told that He is the God who gave their fathers Manna while they were in the desert and also command them to eat His flesh and drink His blood to have the everlasting life. The Psalms song also reminds us the 40 day fast that our lord fasted in the Corinthian Monastery.
Reading of this Sunday
Arc Deacon Colossians 2: 16 -fin,
Assistant Deacon James 2: 14-fin
Assistant Priest: Acts. Acts 10: 1-9
Arc Priest: Jn. 2 : 2 – finish …. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem
. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” 18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”…..
Note: what about you? Do you have the zeal for the house of God? Do you do what is appropriate in the eyes of God with your body, which is the temple of God also?
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God , God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 1 Corinthians 3: 16.
Part I
The Holy Tewahdo Orthodox Church
A Church is “ place of worship, house of God, house of worship”. It is a place where God is totally praised and worshiped [Isaiah 56:4, Matt 13:1]. Church is “that was left to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ that we may continue to live in His light and promises within the safeguard and teaching that He Himself give it to the disciples” [ H.E. Bishop Angaelos]. Nowadays, people forgetting that the Church to be the “Living, breathing, functional and active body of Christ”, want to have “spirituality” or “be good” without the Holy Church. St. Cyprian, the great martyr bishop of Carthage, said, “Anyone who leaves the Church of Christ behind cannot benefit from the rewards of Christ. Such people are strangers, outcasts, and enemies. You cannot have God as Father unless you have the Church as mother. If any had been able to escape outside Noah’s Ark, there might have been a way of escape for those who are outside the Church.” There is only one Church, and outside its bounds salvation is impossible: “Extra ecclesiam nulla salus – outside the Church there is no salvation” (St. Cyprian: ‘On the Unity of the Catholic Church’). As a matter of fact, you are not safe from evil spirit if you take a refuge in just spirit and become “spiritual”. Because the most evil and dangerous being is a pure spirit. He is called the Devil.
We need to remember it is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who instituted the Church to connect Himself to us; connect God to you, and you to God. The Church is a vehicle through which God reveals Himself, His truth and His will. Our Lord Jesus Christ has established His Church so that it would be a visible, recognised body with characteristics of Holiness, Unity and apostolicity that transcend the sinfulness and other imperfection of its individual members saying, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” [Matt 16:18]. Then He gave the authority to His chosen disciples through the Church because He is the Husband to the Church and the Church His bride [Eph 5:15]. Whatever is His, is hers – saying “ Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” [Mtt 18:15-18]. After He gave them the authority He commissioned them to preach the world saying, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Mtt. 28:18-20]. The Church was then as it is now, an assembly of faithful and body of Christ, nourished on His body and blood. Jesus Christ has founded the church through his life, teaching, death and resurrection and later He wed Her to Himself through the Holy Spirit and perpetuates His presence through His sacraments, generating holy souls, raises those dead in sin to life and continually feeds His children with the truth to know and be present in the Love of the Father.
This is an article that will try to answer some questions raised in a discussion. Who or what do we call a Church in the Orthodox Tewahdo Church? What are the biblical verses to support this idea? Why are we still using the Arc of Covenant in our Church? Why Do we call Saint Mary the Second Heaven?
1. The temple of God in the sky [in Ariam]- one of the seven skies where God is praised and worshiped by the seraphim and cherubim].
Isaiah 6:1-4 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” Here the prophet was talking about the temple in Ariam.
Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
In these verses, we understand that there is a temple in the heaven and it has His covenant “Tabot” within. This is one of the main reasons why we still have a Tabot in our church. If the Heavenly church has one, why on earth shouldn’t we keep it?! Some people may say that the presence/usage of Tabot after the New testament is outdated. Based on the view of other “Christians” groups, there were arguments against keeping the Tabot after the New testament. The answer has already been answered in the above verse.
1. We see that having a Tabot in the church is a symbol of the heavenly Jerusalem of which resides a tabot within; This we can see when the Evangelist John writes saying he saw one in the Heavenly church (Revelation 11:19).
2. There is no word in the bible that says we don’t need the Covenant of God any more. Instead, God in His words says:-
Ephesians 2:20. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.
Tabot was first given to our Father Mussie, and God made this covenant as a foundation of His church when He came to earth.
Matthew 5:17. “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
In the above two verses we understand that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came to fulfill the prophecy that was foretold by our forefathers not to wipe out what He laid as a basic foundation of the Holy church during Old Testament.. Therefore, we can say that having a Tabot in a church is His word and His will, and we can easily say a building without the Tabot, His Covenant, is not a temple of God . To call a building a church, it must have TABOT.
2. The second temple of God is a building that has His covenant, Tabot in it [ Earthly Holy Church, the Heavenly Jerusalem Holy Church].
We must all understand that it is the Tabot that makes the building a church. King Solomon was the first who built the first building as a temple of God. But it was King David who thought of building a house for Ark of God.
Psalm 132:2 How he swore to the Lord, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the Lord, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
2 Samuel 7. The king (David) said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.” Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. However, King David couldn’t build it for he had committed a Sin. However, God promised him. “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
From above two verses one can understand that King David was thinking to build a house to the Ark of God Covenant, not just a building for worshiping. Then later his son, King Solomon built the house of God.
1 King 8:20 So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt .” As his father wished King Solomon built the temple dividing it into three parts where he put the Ark of Covenant in the holiest of holy.
Importance of Church in the New Testament- Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the apostles have gone to church to pray, this shows us that we must also go to Church to pray and worship God.
John 2:14-16 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”
Act 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
3. Holy people also can be called as a temple of God .
1 Corinthians 3: 16. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God , God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
We can call a person as a temple of God only when God’s Spirit are dwelling in them. A person who defies and break God’s law can not be a temple. In order to be called a Temple of God one has to have fruit of the Holy Spirit which are “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..”(Galatians 5:22-23). S/He has to have a zeal for God , God’s law and God’s house.
4. Holiest of Holy virgin Mary ( her womb) is also a temple of God . In order to understand this, one should remember what make a building a temple. It is the Tabot, His Ark of covenant. Tabot is a Word of God written on a two plate given to our father Moses. By the same talk, A Word of God came and become Human and God in St Mary’s womb[Union by Tewhado- Without Mingling, Confusion, Alteration or Transmutation] (John 1:1, 1:7 , ). King David explains this as “God has chosen Her to be His resting place forever; He has desired Her Womb for His dwelling place (Psalm 132 13 -15 ). In short, The word of God, [God Himself Jn 1:1] Jesus Christ came and rest in Her womb, the Womb is like a Tabot. Therefore, if a building which has Tabot can be called a Temple of God , by the same talk we can say St Mary who has bore the Word of God in Her womb is a Temple of God too . [not alone She, who bears our Lord Jesus Christ in Her womb, we sinner are being called as a temple of God ]. Above all, God who resides in heaven has come and bore in St. Mary womb for 9 months and 5 days- for this reason, St. Mary is called the Second heaven.
5. The gathering ( Congregation) of Christians and Angles is also called as a Temple of God
Ephesians 2: 19-22. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, In whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
The gathering of Christians on the earth and Angels in Heaven to praise and worship God is also considered as a temple of God, because God’s Spirit dwell on those who gather to worship and adoration his name.
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.
O Lord! Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake. [Ps. 79].
Tewahdo Orthodox Spiritual Journey
From Fast of Nineveh to Good Friday
Tewhado Youth Outreach Ministry | TYOM
Written by Deacon Medhanie Haile