👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾"#Zemene #Fre " from Meskerem 9–15
Beloved in the Lord, children of the holy Church, hear now with understanding the teaching given to us in this sacred season, the Season of Fruit. The days from Meskerem 9 to 15 are known in the Church as the Season of Fruit. It is not by accident that the Fathers of the Church named this time so, for the visible creation itself preaches a hidden mystery. The earth, in these days, adorns herself with harvest: crops ripen, trees bend under their burden, seeds fall to the ground, and beasts of the field feed from them. Yet beneath the veil of plants and fruits lies a lesson for the soul, teaching us how we too are called to bear fruit worthy of eternal life.
The Meaning of the Season
The Season of Fruit is the time when plants sprout, blossom, and yield their harvest, when mankind, cattle, and even the wild beasts are nourished by the bounty of the earth. In the same way, the Church in these days feeds the faithful with sermons and teachings that unfold this mystery, showing us that all visible things preach to us the invisible.
The Order of Plants
The fathers divide plants into three types:
Those peeled by a fingernail, like the lemon, the banana, the taro.
Those reaped with a sickle, such as wheat, teff, barley.
Those cut down with a scythe, like the olive, the warka, the wanza, the cedar.
Their nature, like our own, is composed of the four elements: wind, fire, water, and earth.
Because they are created from the wind, they blossom in the wind and bring forth fruit.
Because they are created from fire, some of them give off fire when struck against one another.
Because they are created from water, they produce moisture and sap.
Because they are created from earth, when they are cut down they decay and return to the soil.
The Mystery of Fruit
In the same way their fruits differ:
Some produce in themselves (wheat, barley, teff).
Some on their sides (sorghum, corn, beans).
Some within their belly (pumpkin, squash).
Some by their toil beneath the soil (onion, radish, carrot, potato).
Thus the Church interprets Genesis 1:6–13, showing that every form of growth is an image of spiritual truth.
Man as Plant
For the Scriptures compare man to plants:
The swiftness of man is likened to the speed of the wind.
The anger of man is likened to the fire .
The steadiness of man is likened to the calmness of water.
The end of man is likened to the patience and mortality of the earth.
And as the seed must rot to bring forth fruit, so man must die to be raised incorruptible. Hear the Apostle Paul: “It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:42–44).
Fruits and Christian Conduct
As not every plant produces equally, so not every believer shines with the same conduct. Some are barren, some produce little, some produce abundantly. Fruit is the image of good works and of eternal reward. Many live carelessly in sin, some struggle toward virtue, and few, like fathers and mothers in holiness, persevere to great excellence.
Saint Paul exhorts: “He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6–10). The farmer reaps what he sows; so also each of us shall receive according to our works. The Apostle James adds: “Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient until he receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient; establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (Jas. 5:7–8).
Continues 👇🏾