The Month of Pagumen
September 5, 2022
Midst all the months within an annual year, the thirteenth month Pagumen is unique in its nature as it has only few days but not thirty days alike the others. It has only six days in the Year of John and five days in the Year of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Accord our Ethiopian Orthodox Incarnation Church, this month is an extra month of a year and it considered as the last month in our country. However, the western countries considered it as additional days and divided it in the months of January, March, May, July, August, October and December in which each has 31 days.
The Amharic word of Pagumen comes from the term Greek word ‘Apagumene’ to mean “additional.” It is the time which we leave behind last year and enrich to the new year passing the season of summer and reach spring; so it is the resemblances of Judgment day.
The Month of Pagumen indicates the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ for righteous inherit heavenly God’s kingdom since summer is the resemblances ending of delinquencies, tribulations, travail and enrich new year. We pass on to the new year’s hoping to have new life which is the indication of hope inheriting the everlasting heavenly kingdom. On Judgement day, righteous are said “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34)
This month is the present from God and so we shall acknowledge its importance. It is in our will to be diligent for the salvation of our soul. This is to say we shall pray and fast much during this period. This remind us about the “Fast of Judith” which as widow saved the Israelis by praying and fasting. We shall do same to pass all the hardships in our lives these days.
Judith was able to defeat her enemy because she lived by the law of God and abide all His commandments. She prayed so that He could give answer to her inquirers and solve all her problems. During those days, the Assyrian King Nebuchadnezzar ordered his chief captain of soldiers Holofernes to decease the enemy, expand the boundaries, take present from those who believe him or otherwise to persuade who don’t accept his offer. The king maltreated the people of Israel in this way. It is just as we are being treated now days. We are being abused, mistreated, and tortured to death. We have been denied our human right, neglected and seized to have moral, material and spiritual rights. We are being treated as an outsider in our own country by those who seek to destroy faith, the real religion ‘Orthodox Tewahedo’ and Holy Church. What the Israel people did then was to cry aloud for God will hear them; just as we sobbed in pain when our holy Church burned, laities were massacred and our boundaries violated. But the Israeli people not only grieved but pleaded by wearing on sack cloth, laying ashes and on stones. Though holofernes seize not to torture them and then controlled captured the place of their water well. Later on even captured them unwillingly.
Whilst the Israel people were in anguish, they called upon God. In those days, the man called uzziah gave them hope informing to pray and fast for the Lord could hear their them. (Judith 2:2-28, 4:13) However, instead of accepting his thoughts, the people decided to battle and defeat King Nebuchadnezzar’s army or if not to surrender. In this time, the widow Judith heard and rebuke them saying, “Listen to me, rulers of the inhabitants of Bethulia. What you have said to the people today isn’t right. What is this promise you have made? How can you bargain with God by saying that you’ll surrender the city to our enemies if the Lord doesn’t send help within a certain time? So who are you to test God today and set yourselves up in the place of God in the midst of the people? You can question the Lord Almighty, but you won’t ever learn anything. 1You can’t sound the depths of a person’s heart or comprehend the thoughts of that person’s mind. How then will you search out God, who made all these things? How will you understand God’s mind and comprehend God’s thoughts? “No, brothers, don’t provoke the Lord our God, even if he chooses not to help us in the next five days. God has the power to visit us in however many days he wishes or to destroy us in front of our enemies. Don’t attempt to block the plans of the Lord our God. God isn’t like a human being who can be argued with, a person who can be threatened. Therefore, while we’re waiting for his rescue, we should call upon him for help, and he will hear our voice if it pleases him. There hasn’t been in our generation, nor is there today, a tribe, a family, a people, or a city among us who worships gods made with human hands as happened in times past. 19 This is the reason why our ancestors were handed over to the sword and to plunder, and they suffered greatly in the presence of our enemies. But we have known no other gods except him.
“Therefore, we hope that he won’t forget about us and our generation. If we are captured, so also will the rest of Judea be captured. Then our sanctuary will be plundered, and God will hold us responsible for its ruin with our own blood. He will bring the murder of our families, the captivity of the land, and the destruction of our inheritance down upon our heads, wherever we may be enslaved among the nations. Those who purchase us as slaves will consider us offensive and disgraceful. Our slavery won’t bring us favor. Rather, the Lord our God will turn it into a disgrace.
“Now, brothers, let us be an example to those whose lives depend on us. The sanctuary, the temple, and the altar depend on us as well. In the midst of all this, let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who is testing us just as he did our ancestors. Remember what he did with Abraham, how he tested Isaac, and what happened to Jacob while he was in Mesopotamia of Syria, tending his uncle Laban’s sheep? He hasn’t yet tested us with fire, as he did them to examine their hearts, nor has he taken vengeance upon us. Rather, the Lord afflicts those close to him in order to warn them.” Then said Ozias to her, “All that you have spoken, you have spoken with a good heart, and there is none that may gainsay your words.” (Judith 8:13-28, 10:23, 12:2,13:20)
Soon after fasted and pared wearing on sack cloth, laying ashes and on stones. On the third day, God revealed the wisdom of power to defeat the enemy of Israel. Judith has won her using her natural beauty. The power of faith can do miracles as we can observe from the story of Judith. It can pull out anyone from loads of scuffling. The resilient widow fought full army on their territory where she was victorious with only a spare with God’s wisdom and power. Judith primary pleaded the Lord for His aid though Sabbath and thus faced and deceased the enemy territory without any fear and doubt of defeat or fall. She became the patriot for the Israeli bringing peace.
Devoid of any qualm, we shall unite in faith to plead God for unity is strength. Just as Judith, we ought to wear sack cloth, lay ashes and on stones in praying and fasting. We need to fast “Fast of Judith” for Him to shield us from anguish and grief, the social conflict, to give us the peace, love and union we lost.
Moreover, on the feast of Archangel Saint Raphael, third of Pagumen, on the day of the ‘Opening of Sky’ we pray much for the mercy of angel intercede for our salvation and be baptized on that holiday as well.
May God have mercy on us, Amen!
