A LION'S LOVING LIFT
There is an old folk tale popular among the
Jews. Once the Jews of Jerusalem had to endure a severe famine. Many died due
to starvation. The Jewish Council met to discuss the situation and recommend
remedial measures. It was decided to seek urgent help from the Jewish colonies
of different countries to meet the crisis. A holy Rabbi was deputed to collect
money from the Jews of Egypt. He readily agreed and started the tedious journey
through the desert. For safety he joined a caravan of merchants mounted on
camels. They travelled through the desert following their regular route. They
refreshed and renewed their supply of food and water at the oases on the way.
By the evening of the
first Friday of their journey, The Rabbi announced that the Holy Sabbath Day
has started. The Rabbi was very particular about observing strictly the rules
and rituals of Jewish Rabbis. Thus he had to stay away from travel and work and
engage in prayers and reading of the Holy Scriptures till the evening of
Saturday. He requested the fellow travellers to stay with him, have a rest for
a day and join the celebration of the Sabbath. But they were in a hurry and
left immediately, angrily refusing his request and leaving the poor Rabbi all alone
in the desert. He immersed himself totally in the prescribed prayers, hymns, meditations
and the rituals of the Holy Sabbath.
When it was dark, a fierce lion appeared
before the Rabbi. Though frightened by the fearsome sight, he continued to
recite his prayers and hymns. The lion behaved cordially and silently witnessed
the prayers. He gave a piece of bread to the lion which the lion accepted
gracefully like a tame domestic animal. The Rabbi spent the next day reading
the Holy Books of the Torah. By evening on Saturday, he recited the concluding
prayer. The lion then came near him and lowered his body as if to invite him to
mount on the lion's back. The Rabbi mounted on the lion, carrying his personal
bag with him. The lion ran swiftly through the desert carrying the Rabbi on his
back. The lion stopped when they reached the Caravan which had left the Rabbi
on the way.
The travellers were frightened to see the lion
and were struck with wonder to see the Rabbi travelling on the lion. The lion
slowly lowered his body to let the Rabbi dismount from the lion's back. With a
mighty roar the lion ran away into the desert and disappeared from their sight.
Realizing the sanctity of the Rabbi, the travellers bowed down and fell at his
feet and asked his pardon for abandoning him in the desert. The Holy Rabbi came
to be known as ARIEL, meaning 'the
lion of God' combining the Hebrew words 'ARI'
for 'lion' and 'EL' for God.
The Holy Scriptures
indicate several instances when God used His creations, including the animals
to protect His children. Daniel was saved from the hungry lions {Daniel 6: 16-27} and Balaam was transformed
through the words of the donkey {Numbers 22:
12-35}.
Jesus rose from the dead "on the first
day of the week." Because it is the "first day," the day of
Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the
"eighth day" following the Sabbath it symbolizes the new
creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the
first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's Day Sunday: {Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC):
2174}.
Sunday is expressly
distinguished from the Sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for
Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the Sabbath In Christ's
Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and announces
man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery
of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ {CCC: 2175}.
The Sabbath which
represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by Sunday
which recalls the new creation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ {CCC: 2190}.
The
Church celebrates the day of Christ's Resurrection on the "eighth
day," Sunday, which is rightly called the Lord's Day {CCC: 2191}.
"Sunday... is to be observed as the
foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church". "On Sundays
and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the
Mass"{CCC: 2192}.
"On Sundays and other holy days of
obligation the faithful are bound... to abstain from those labors and business
concerns which impede the worship to be rendered to God, the joy which is
proper to the Lord's Day, or the proper relaxation of mind and body" {CCC:
2193}.
The institution of Sunday helps all "to
be allowed sufficient rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural,
social, and religious lives" {CCC: 2194}.
.........................................................................................................
© By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin
University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala,
India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's
College, Kanjirappally, Leo. S.
John and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally,
Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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