👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾About #Zemene #Tsige (#What is #Mahlete #Tsige?)
(Part 6)
Beloved followers of the Orthodox faith, peace and grace be upon you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.Today, through the blessing of the Holy Spirit, we share a lesson on the sacred season known as Zemene Tsige, the Season of the Flower a time of renewal, grace, and the revelation of divine mysteries.May every soul who reads this be enlightened and strengthened in faith.
3. Reproof (Tegsats)
When Abba Tsige Dengel wrote Mahlete Tsige, there arose heretics known as the Dekike Istifa. They blasphemously taught that the Cross and the Holy Virgin should not be honored or venerated.
In response, the righteous Emperor Zera Yacob, defender of the faith, gathered a great council. There, the truth of Orthodoxy triumphed, and the heretics were defeated by the wisdom of divine doctrine.
✍🏾 Abba Tsige Dengel preached the miracles and glory of our Holy Lady during Mahlete Tsige, teaching and rebuking the deceivers with divine authority. Among his many words of wisdom, he proclaimed:
The righteous rejoice when they see God avenge their enemies. That is, to show the power of His miracles. If so, how can live those heretics who despise Her miracles and do not honor her . ?
This recalls the command of Scripture:
“Whoever curses his father or mother shall surely be put to death.” (Exodus 21:17)
✍🏾 If one who dishonors their earthly parents deserves death, how much greater will be the judgment upon those who speak against the Virgin Mary, the Mother who bore the heavenly God, nursed Him, endured suffering, and brought life to the whole world?
4. Mystery (Mistir)
In this part, we contemplate the divine mystery revealed through the Virgin . The God who was spoken of in both the Old and New Testaments fulfilled His promise through the Incarnation when the eternal Word took flesh from the Virgin Mary. The ancient prophecies and symbolic figures of Scripture find their fulfillment in her. Let us behold some of these mysteries:
4.1. The Covenant with Abraham
“You shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you.
Every male among you shall be circumcised.
It shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.” (Genesis 17:9–11)
✍🏾 The promise made to Abraham “In your seed all nations shall be blessed” was not fulfilled through Isaac.
If salvation had come through Isaac, he would have died for mankind and redeemed the world, and there would have been no need for Christ to come.
Therefore, the promise given to Abraham was fulfilled when Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. Through her pure body and soul, God was united with humanity. She became the vessel through whom the blessing to all nations was accomplished, and the curse upon mankind was lifted.
✍🏾 The circumcision given to Abraham was an example of baptism. In those days, circumcision was the sign that separated believers from unbelievers; today, baptism is that sacred mark which distinguishes the faithful from the nations.
✍🏾This holy baptism, which makes us children of God and heirs of His Kingdom, we have received through the mystery of Christ, who was born of the Virgin.
Thus, the Savior called the Seed of Abraham and the Sign of the Covenant was born through her, fulfilling the ancient promise.
✍🏾The Evangelist Matthew, in his first chapter, clearly reveals that the Virgin Mary, who bore Christ, is indeed the promised seed of Abraham. Through her, the covenant was completed and the blessing of salvation given to all the earth.
Continues 👇🏾