Misbak for Mikrwuab
እስመ ፡ ቅንዓተ ፡ ቤትከ ፡ በልዓኒ ፡ ትዕይርቶሙ ፡ ለእለ ፡ ይትኤየሩከ ፡ ወድቀ ፡ ላዕለየ ፡ ወቀጻእክዋ ፡ በጾም ፡ ለነፍስየ
zeal for thy house has consumed me,
and the insults of those who insult thee have fallen on me.
When I humbled my soul with fasting [Psalm 68(69):9,10 RSV]
Mikrwuab (synagogue) is the appointed title of the 3rd week of the Great Fast in the EOTC's tradition. Unlike the Temple, the synagogue is not host to animal sacrifices. Instead, psalm chanting (misbak) is the medium of worship, and the Tanakh (Law, Prophets, and Writings) are tools of instruction, teaching, and edification. However anti-institutional people want to make the Lord Jesus out to be, He still visited the synagogue and taught from a scroll of the Tanakh, which is the epitome of an institutional move. Lest my institution-touting brethren and sistren smile too widely, let me propose that the Lord Jesus' actions in the Holy Bible can be described as anti-institutional from within the institution. He is in but not of.
Let us delve into the psalm above.
What is the house of the Lord? What can we build for Him with our hands? You and nothing. He made you and I in His image and likeness so that we could become the resting places or houses or dwellings of His Spirit. The Jewish Zealots of the 1st Century wanted a messiah/christ/anointed one that would lead them in armed rebellion to overthrow the kingdom of the Romans. Instead, The Christ suffered at the hands of the Romans, so that He could put death to death and shame man-made glory and honor. If He is our role model, then zeal must mean daily loving submission. If He is not, then we do not deserve to wear crosses around our neck, sing His name before men, and self-proclaim the title Christian. If the houses of the Lord are human beings, and zeal is daily loving submission, then we must daily submit lovingly to human beings aka our neighbors aka everyone but me, me, me.
Forget looking outside the gates of Orthodoxy. Orthodox Christians mock the fasting seasons of the Church. Let us repent. All of us. A wonderful insight from Aba Thomas of the Virgin Mary's EOTC is that the Holy Bible does not say "and if you fast" it says "and when you fast" (Matthew 6:16-18). When we fast without paying for a billboard advertisement of it and joy clearer than water in the Caribbean Sea pours out of our faces, no one will be able to high-five or otherwise commend us for our "good deed". If they found out we are fasting, but we did not tell them, they may mock us and the God that we serve. This should delight us and never discourage us. The gate to eternal life is narrow. Many are called, but few are chosen. Don't ever expect the masses, even if they nominally buy-in to Orthodoxy, to follow The Way, The Truth (Righteousness), and The Life.
Furthermore, we must love each other.