This morning to afternoon I was invited to a house of mourning, to remember and send off my friend’s mother; who happens to be my father’s age. The ge’ez rite funerary liturgical service was held at St. Mary’s EOTC on Slauson Ave. in Ladera Heights; the Black Beverly Hills. I do this to honor my friend’s request, and to fulfill the word of the good book,
Better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart. Ecclesiastes 7:2 NKJV
Remember, in the Semitic tongues, the heart is the throne of thoughts. This is a call to think on these words, over and over again.
The leading presbyter leeqe gubaé aba samuél read aloud from the gospel according to Matthew chapter 25:1-13. An assistant presbyter, megabé ailaf tekeste, heralded the text for the congregation in Amharic. Here it is in English:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
There are a minority of biblical scholars who say Matthew and other parts of the New Testament were written in an Aramaic, even a few who say Biblical Hebrew. YHWH knows. Most say Greek. So, let’s keep that assumption (no not that one), for now, and be open to being proven wrong going forward.
In Greek, oil and mercy are homophones. There are no accidents and incidents when it comes to Scripture in its original tongues. There may be some in translation. May the Lord know us, and count us amongst the virgins with oil, at his second coming!
In the video above, we find melake selam des’aleñ so enamored with our sister recently reposed in the Lord (mentioning her close ties and continous prayer watch with the late great his beatitude archbishop zéna’marqos of Seattle), that after more than two hours of liturgical singing, contemporary spiritual singing, preaching, and biographical readings aloud, he added a selection of a traditional spiritual song from Saint Jared the Aksumite (likely from the Ethiopic Book of the Dead mentioned recently on this blog).
O Woman, great is your faith, Daughter of Israel (her baptismal name is inserted into the hymn), may it be for you as you have placed your trust in righteousness, and for the sake of Christ, you have done the will of the Most High, so that you can see his city-state, so that you may enter, Intelligent One of the Son of God
I have missed a few words hither and yonder, but this is a good paraphrase, at least, of the Ge’ez he sung. Stay blessed.
O Woman