The Significance of the Nineveh Nombu for us today
Although the least in terms of the number of days of fast,
the "Nineveh Nombu" is one of the most important fasts in the Syrian
Orthodox Church tradition.
Fasting is meant to be a sign of our giving up of our ego
or `selves' for the sake of others. They are, in other words,
occasions of self-emptying or `kenosis' of which the supreme example
is Jesus Christ himself (Phil.2).
Prayer and fasting are two cardinal corner stones of a Christian
life. The what , the why and the how of prayer and fasting are
clearly explicated in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt.6). Prophet Isaiah
brings home to us the concrete manifestation of a genuine spiritual
life, itself rooted in prayer and fasting.
Exposing the hypocrisy and the pseudo-spirituality of the people of
his time, the prophet challenges them to observe lent and fasting
the way God wants them to observe it:
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
And to strike with a wicked fist
Such fasting as you do today
Will not make your voice heard on High
Is such the fast that I choose
A day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush
And to lie down in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast
A day acceptable to the LORD?
Is not this the fast that I choose
To loose the bonds of injustice
To undo the thongs of yoke
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless to your house
ŠŠŠ(Is.58:4-7)
Fasting is an occasion for us to live through the pain of poverty and
starvation. For most of us, fasting has become an easy option
of `dieting', which many of us do need to shed the extra kilos that
gain, given that we all live in a consumerist society such as
today's. As my own spiritual guru, the late lamented Yakoob Mar
Themotheose thirumeni, taught me, fasting should enable us to feel
the pain of hunger, which, in turn, will make us compassionate to
the poor and the hungry. Unfortunately, we have lost this dimension
of serving the poor some where along the lines. May this time
of "Moonu Nombu" be a time for us to reclaim and recover this lost
sense of charity and compassion towards the less privileged and the
needy among us.
The story of Jonah has many lessons for us. Let me highlight just
one of them here. All human beings have some sense of pride and ego
within themselves- a false sense of prestige. Prophets were no
exception to this rule- Jonah certainly wasn't one. He knew that his
obeying God's commandment to preach in Nineveh had some risks
involved with it. He knew quite well that his God was a
compassionate God. He was asked to bring the message of God's anger
and wrath onto the people of Nineveh. He knew that when people would
regret their ways of living and return to the LORD, they would be
forgiven and redeemed. It happened exactly the way he `feared'. For
Jonah it was a matter of great disappointment.
His ego was hurt, his `name' affected and pride shaken. He wanted
God to punish the people as he had prophesied so that `his' words
would come true. But God thinks and acts beyond our perceptions and
calculations. Jonah was much more concerned about his prophecy being
fulfilled than God's compassion towards the people and their
welfare. It is a clear case where even prophets get their priorities
wrong. This, in fact, is a grave temptation for all of us,
especially for those who work in the vineyard of the LORD- a desire
to keep our `selves' in tact, to get our predictions right, even at
the cost of the ruin of others around us. We should always strive
for the wellbeing of others even if it comes at the expense of our
pride and name.
This is the challenge of all feasts, especially the Nineveh Nombu,
to risk ourselves for the sake of the gospel and Christ,
particularly for the poor and the downtrodden in whom Christ can be
encountered in our daily lives.
May God have mercy upon us, be gracious to us, and accept the fast of the
Holy Church, as HE accepted the fast of the people of Nineveh and spared
them.
Koorilose Thirumeni
http://www.niranamdiocese.org
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