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April 7, 2008
Remembering the Martyr Mar Paulos Faraj Rahho on the Feast of Mar Addai
Precious in the eyes of the Lord our God is the death of his revered one, and the passing away of his saint, the honorable apostle, he who competed in spiritual battle in all excellence and left the divine arena in victory, leaving us a choice trophy, one excellent and spotless: his revered and honorable body. And lo, his soul celebrates with the angels, and offers prayers on behalf of our souls. The two images used in this hymn are Biblical and, in fact, taken from St. Paul’s life. The first is the image of “fighting the good fight” or “running the spiritual race,” which is found, among other places, in Paul’s second letter to Timothy: “Bear your share of hardship along with me like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. To satisfy the one who recruited him, a soldier does not become entangled in the business affairs of life. Similarly, an athlete cannot receive the winner’s crown except by competing according to the rules.” (2 Timothy 2:3-5) The second image comes not from Paul’s writings but his deeds, which are described in the Acts of the Apostles: “So extraordinary were the mighty deeds God accomplished at the hands of Paul that when face cloths or aprons that touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.” (Acts 19: 11-12) The practice of honoring relics, that is the physical things that were near the saints or, as described here in Scripture, their skin itself, is one that our Church honors as well, and so our hymn calls the body of Mar Addai an “excellent and spotless trophy.” Of course, all of the honor due to martyrs and saints, and the power coming even from their bones is only a reflection of Christ and the grace he has poured out upon his body, the Church, and which comes to the human race through her, and so the final hymn commemorating Mar Addai ends as it should, with a glorification of the Master himself: Blessed is your commemoration, O splendid apostle, who was persecuted for the sake of the Truth, and who endured pains and afflictions, that you may be an inheritor of the Kingdom. Who is able to describe the course of your spiritual works, which you prepared in vigil, fasting and prayer? May your prayer be a shelter for the sinners who take refuge in you, and may we be worthy to lift up glory to your Lord who has exalted you! It is remarkable how the hymns in honor of the holy martyrs of the early Church apply so perfectly to those who today follow their example.
By Father Andrew Younan
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