My Godmother Deborah enthusiastically insisted that I sign up for a Prayer and Life Workshop that she had previously attended, which she found to be greatly enlightening and beneficial for her. This workshop was created by a Spanish priest named Ignacio Larranaga, and teaches 15 different ways of praying:
- Prayerful Reading
- Meditative Reading
- Meditate and Live The Word
- Vocal Prayer
- Written Prayer
- Visual Prayer
- Prayer of Surrender
- Prayer of Inner Embrace
- Adoration in Encounter (Elevation)
- In The Spirit of Jesus
- Contemplation
- Praying With Nature
- Community Prayer
- Community Meditation
- Meditation
Although I already know and practice all of these forms of prayer on a daily bases, I figured that it is never harmful to have review, and especially from a different person, as they may teach me a new thing or aspect which I did not previously know–so I signed up for the workshop as my Godmother instructed. The workshop assigned daily homework throughout the week to be written in pen on paper in a “Spiritual Journal”, the assignments consisting of scripture reading, and writing the thoughts and emotions that came to that person as they read the readings, along with that week’s prayer type.
First Session – God of Tenderness
Prayerful Reading
Priest Talk Notes and Reflections:
In a recording of an English translation of one of the Priest’s talks, he was describing the life of Jesus, from that of his childhood, in which the priest made some statements about young Jesus that I found to be somewhat blasphemous (goes against Church teaching) and likely inspired by the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, with a young Jesus who is still learning and somewhat disobedient. This priest saying questionable and almost blasphemous things would later be somewhat regular, so what can I say, I sometimes disagree with this priest on some things. He continued on with the life of Christ going to his death and resurrection, and at one point towards the end of Christ’s life, said something which I very much liked and wrote down:
Those who receive the most attention from God are those who have been rejected from the synagogues, churches, and meeting houses, those whom others call evil and unclean.
Oh, I like that, I like that a lot! For those who know me, my history, and my calling, the significance of this to me is obvious. This perfectly describes me, and the people to whom I am spreading God’s Word.
Homework
These have not been new thoughts, this is just me writing down my midrash on these passages, the age-old understanding. There is so very little of me to personally respond, I have emptied myself out and died long ago. I am but a living vessel for the Spirit.
Isaiah 41:8-20
8 But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham my friend—
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth
and summoned from its far-off places,
To whom I have said, You are my servant;
I chose you, I have not rejected you—
10 Do not fear: I am with you;
do not be anxious: I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.11 Yes, all shall be put to shame and disgrace
who vent their anger against you;
Those shall be as nothing and perish
who offer resistance.
12 You shall seek but not find
those who strive against you;
They shall be as nothing at all
who do battle with you.13 For I am the Lord, your God,
who grasp your right hand;
It is I who say to you, Do not fear,
I will help you.
14 Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you maggot Israel;
I will help you—oracle of the Lord;
the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.
15 I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, full of teeth,
To thresh the mountains and crush them,
to make the hills like chaff.
16 When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off,
the storm shall scatter them.
But you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.17 The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will open up rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the broad valleys;
I will turn the wilderness into a marshland,
and the dry ground into springs of water.
19 In the wilderness I will plant the cedar,
acacia, myrtle, and olive;
In the wasteland I will set the cypress,
together with the plane tree and the pine,
20 That all may see and know,
observe and understand,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
I thought of all of the tribes of Israel, both during the Babylonian exile, and the 10 tribes now, especially my own Gad/Goth. When we (children of God, people) choose to start following Him, He meets us where we are and He, like a mother bird gathering her brood under her wings, gathers us up, drawing us in, retrieving us from our far flung exiles of disobedience to false loves, false pleasures, false joys that are attached to harmful ways of thinking and harmful things; He gathers us out of that and out of the dens of our enemies, of those who wish to use and abuse us, yet whom we (the children of God) by our foolish choices have chosen to dwell with, wrongfully thinking them friends, taken in by their false wisdom which is like a beautifully made-up but ugly spirited temptress, all lies, comforting lies, enticing us to follow the lust of the flesh, of unclean meats, of injustice towards others, of lack of caring, self-exaltation, and hatred of all. These wrongful thinking/false wisdom led/lead us into exile from God and His promises, His comforting true love and true joy, exile us to the house of our enemies, of those who hate us and would subdue us.
But when we return/teshuva/repent to God, and are reconciled to Him, He flies to our protection, wraps His loving arms/wings around us, and leads us home–to His love. He then, O loving Father and mother, Wisdom and Word, Catholic/Universal, Beginning and The End, God of all, Almighty, Elohim El Shaddi, like a savage mother bird attacks our enemies, our false understandings, prides, addictions, sins. Like a tribulum, a threshing board, full of sharp teeth and against an unyieldingly strong stone, He grinds them into powder, into blown dust and scatters them, blows them about with His strong winds and pitchfork–the wheat and the chaff are separated! All of those who laughed at us (the children of God) are brought low and shown to be fools; that is also to say that our sins which brought us low/to shame, are shown to be foolish things and to have been foolish pursuits. They are made as nothing–though they were seemingly as imposing as mountains, they have been rendered to nothing.
While in exile, the exile of our sins, we thirsted, we sought to be sated, but found no respite, for our enemies (sin) robbed us of the living waters of life; but God has given us The Living Water which quenches all thirst, and restored us, our dry and desolate desert (of our lives) are made lush and fertile, plentiful and rich in good fruits and we can rise up tall and erect like the noble ceders of Lebanon. The wasteland (of our lives) has become rich and prosperous in Him, and all will know and see, and understand that this is God’s love, His work, His joy, and His goal for us–God is love.
1 A miktam of David.
Keep me safe, O God;
in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord,
you are my Lord,
you are my only good.
3 As for the holy ones who are in the land,
they are noble,
in whom is all my delight.
4 They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5 Lord, my allotted portion and my cup,
you have made my destiny secure.
6 Pleasant places were measured out for me;
fair to me indeed is my inheritance.7 I bless the Lord who counsels me;
Psalm 16
even at night my heart exhorts me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me;
with him at my right hand, I shall never be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices;
my body also dwells secure,
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
nor let your devout one see the pit.
11 You will show me the path to life,
abounding joy in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
1 A psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.
2 In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths
for the sake of his name.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff comfort me.5 You set a table before me
Psalm 23
in front of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me
all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for endless days.
1 A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
2 O God, you are my God—
it is you I seek!
For you my body yearns;
for you my soul thirsts,
In a land parched, lifeless,
and without water.
3 I look to you in the sanctuary
to see your power and glory.
4 For your love is better than life;
my lips shall ever praise you!5 I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands, calling on your name.
6 My soul shall be sated as with choice food,
with joyous lips my mouth shall praise you!
7 I think of you upon my bed,
I remember you through the watches of the night
8 You indeed are my savior,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
9 My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.10 But those who seek my life will come to ruin;
Psalm 63
they shall go down to the depths of the netherworld!
11 Those who would hand over my life to the sword shall
become the prey of jackals!
12 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by the Lord shall exult,
but the mouths of liars will be shut!
Hosea 2:16-23
16 Therefore, I will allure her now;
I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak persuasively to her.
17 Then I will give her the vineyards she had,
and the valley of Achor as a door of hope.
There she will respond as in the days of her youth,
as on the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.18 On that day—oracle of the Lord—
You shall call me “My husband,”
and you shall never again call me “My baal.”
19 I will remove from her mouth the names of the Baals;
they shall no longer be mentioned by their name.20 I will make a covenant for them on that day,
with the wild animals,
With the birds of the air,
and with the things that crawl on the ground.
Bow and sword and warfare
I will destroy from the land,
and I will give them rest in safety.21 I will betroth you to me forever:
I will betroth you to me with justice and with judgment,
with loyalty and with compassion;
22 I will betroth you to me with fidelity,
and you shall know the Lord.
23 On that day I will respond—oracle of the Lord—
I will respond to the heavens,
and they will respond to the earth;
When we turn away from our sins and turn towards God (teshuva/repent), God leads us through the wilderness of sin, through the desolate un-nurturing place, and to the promised land of nurturing plenty. Like a beloved spouse, God shall lead us, comforting and encouraging, us, and we will trust (have faith in) Him completely, just as a small child does their parent, or a youth does their first love in the early days. God shall lead us out of the narrow straights (Mitzrayim), the hard place of bondage (to sin), and shall make visible and lead us through the gates of hope.
God wishes for us to know Him as one would the closest of spouse, as one who married in their youth with complete trust (faith), to be our “husband,” and not our “boyfriend,” our True Spouse and not some false one who attempts to lorf (ba’al) over others when in truth they have no right and no power, those false loves (ba’als/idols/sins). God will remove all thought of those from us with His great love, so great that those false loves shall become nothing to us compared to His great love.
God created all, He has dominion over all, and with His great love He shall remove all violence and strife from the land (us), and in Him we will find comfort, rest, and security–O our loving spouse!
Joshua 1:1-9
1 After Moses, the servant of the Lord, had died, the Lord said to Moses’ aide Joshua, son of Nun: 2 Moses my servant is dead. So now, you and the whole people with you, prepare to cross the Jordan to the land that I will give the Israelites. 3 Every place where you set foot I have given you, as I promised Moses. 4 All the land of the Hittites, from the wilderness and the Lebanon east to the great river Euphrates and west to the Great Sea, will be your territory. 5 No one can withstand you as long as you live. As I was with Moses, I will be with you: I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land I swore to their ancestors that I would give them. 7 Only be strong and steadfast, being careful to observe the entire law which Moses my servant enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go. 8 Do not let this book of the law depart from your lips. Recite it by day and by night, that you may carefully observe all that is written in it; then you will attain your goal; then you will succeed. 9 I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.
By Joshua (Yoheshua/Jesus/YHVH is my Salvation) trusting (having faith in) God, he was chosen by God to be the next prophet of God, and the one to lead the people into the promised land by passing over the Jordan. Likewise, it is by faith (trust) in Jesus (Y’shua/God’s Salvation) that we are lead by passing through the waters of baptism into the promise and paradise.
God (YHVH) is our deliverer (salvation/shua) (Y’shua), He does not abandon or forsake us. When we are firm and steadfast in His ways (taking care to observe the entire law/Torah/instruction He gave) and we do not sway from it, we will succeed, and not one (sin) will withstand (conquer) us. We are to keep His Instruction (Law/Torah) on our lips, recite it day and night (that is to say to read His Word, pray it, meditate on it, and live it out in our actions at all times), then we shall obtain our goal (unity with Him). Be firm and steadfast, do not be dismayed or fearful, for YHVH is with us wherever we go.
John 14:8-21
8 Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. 12 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, 17 the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. 20 On that day you will realise that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.
God is our deliverer (Y’shua/Jesus), therefore if you see the Son (Y’shua) you see the Father (YHVH). All salvation comes from God (Jesus comes from the Father) and his words (commandments/instruction/teaching) are not his own, but come from the Father who sent him. “The Word was with God and The Word was God”–John 1:1, therefore the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father, they are One (Echad).
If we love Him, we will keep His Commandments (John 14:15). When we have faith (trust) in Him and keep His commandments, we are filled with The Spirit of Holiness/The Set-Apart Spirit/The Holy Spirit our Paraclete/Helper/Advocate. Those that dwell in sin do not know this spirit/will to keep His Commandments (follow His Word) we shall be able to do all things (in accordance to His Word/all of the things He wishes of us/shall be able to do all of His commandments).
The world (of sin) may not be able to see him (God’s Word/God’s Will), but we will be able to see Him and He does not leave us abandoned, He does not orphan us, for God is our deliverer (Y’shua) and our deliverer is God (Y’shua), and He is in us.
Psalm 118:16-21
16 the Lord’s right hand is raised;
the Lord’s right hand works valiantly.”
17 I shall not die but live
and declare the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord chastised me harshly,
but did not hand me over to death.19 Open the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s own gate,
through it the righteous enter.
21 I thank you for you answered me;
you have been my saviour.
The Lord (YHVH) is truly right and just, He delivers and redeems, and repays the just and the wicked. He disciplines, that is to say that He teaches us, correcting our paths. The Lord strongly corrects us, our bad choices (sins) become very evident to us and it is a painful realisation of how deeply we have hurt God, others, and ourselves. Yet, He is a God of love, He chastises only to exalt (lift us up in love).
His chastisements are not to hurt us, but to help us, like the binding of a wound or a cast, they are not a prison, but protect from infection (sin) and set that which is broken, supporting it, holding it up so that it may heal correctly. Therefore we know that He does not punish us to death, but His deeds of everlasting loving-kindness (Mercy/cHesed) are worth everlasting proclamation of joy to the world. He makes way the path and opens the gates to victory (conquering our sins) and it is His victory, for He, YHVH is our saviour (Y’shua/Jesus), and He has answered our prayers (cries for justice).
Galatians 4:1-7
1 I mean that as long as the heir is not of age, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under the supervision of guardians and administrators until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. 6 As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
God is not an evil God, that is to say YHVH Elohim (our Almighty) is not an evil (harsh) Elohynu (Mighty one/master); we should not view ourselves as slaves forced to follow strict/harsh rules burdened upon us. It is the sins of our foolish youth which burdened us, weighing us down, crippling us. We are children of God (b’nei Elohim) and children of His Word (b’nei Mitzvah), Anointed Heirs (Christians) who gladly and freely choose to do His loving will. Through Jesus Christ (God’s Saving Anointing) we, Jew or Gentile, Abraham and sojourner, are heirs through adoption of and to The Father.
Isaiah 43:1-10
1 But now, thus says the Lord,
who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name: you are mine.
2 When you pass through waters, I will be with you;
through rivers, you shall not be swept away.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,
nor will flames consume you.
3 For I, the Lord, am your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your savior.
I give Egypt as ransom for you,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes
and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you
and nations in exchange for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
from the east I will bring back your offspring,
from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north: Give them up!
and to the south: Do not hold them!
Bring back my sons from afar,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth:
7 All who are called by my name
I created for my glory;
I formed them, made them.
8 Lead out the people, blind though they have eyes,
deaf though they have ears.9 Let all the nations gather together,
let the peoples assemble!
Who among them could have declared this,
or announced to us the earlier things?
Let them produce witnesses to prove themselves right,
that one may hear and say, “It is true!”
10 You are my witnesses—oracle of the Lord—
my servant whom I have chosen
To know and believe in me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
and after me there shall be none.
God created us, He formed (shaped/taught/built-up) us. We need not be afraid, for YHVH is our redeemer (Y’shua), He rescues us. He calls us by name, and when we pass through the waters of death, drowning in them, and rise up cleaned and renewed from the waters of rebirth (when we are drowning in the murky ocean of sins, and when we die to those in the living waters of baptism and are born again to Him), He is there with us throughout and always. When we are baptised through the fire of the Holy Spirit/Spirit of Holiness, and pass through the fires of persecution, He is there with us, protecting us from being burned, scorned, burnout, and from out spirit and holy fire being snuffed out. YHVH is our Saviour (Y’shua), our God (Elohim/Almighty). He conquers all sins no matter how powerful they may seem (represented by the nations of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba, the dark and narrow places of bondage), He conquers them for us, and for our return to His love because we are precious and glorious in His eyes (just as the kingdoms od Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba were viewed as rich and glorious in the eyes of the world, they are as nothing compared to our preciousness to God) because he loves us.
He will gather us up from every corner of the earth where we have been scattered (and no matter how broken, shattered, and torn apart we are, He shall heal and restore us, fix us, and build us up). He will gather us, His sons and daughters, to Him, like a mother bird gathers her chicks from danger and takes them to safety, comforting and nurturing us; all of us, His peculiar people, whom He created in glory, formed and instructs, and who follow Him in love and trust like a young bride does her groom.
God is our help, He leads and gives sight to the blind, and calls and gives understanding to the deaf, to all who choose to follow. In the end, even those who blind themselves to his presence, and those who stuff up their ears so as to be deaf to Hid Word, will be unable to deny that He is the Holy One, He is the Lord, He is the Most High, the God who says and does, whom not a single word or promise has not come to pass. We are His witnesses, who follow him out of love, have faith in and are faithful to Him, and understand that He YHVH is our saviour (Y’shua).
Second Session – If You Only Knew The Father
Written Prayer
Luke 15
1 The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, 2 but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 So to them he addressed this parable. 4 “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy 6 and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbours and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
8 “Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ 10 In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
11 Then he said, “A man had two sons, 12 and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. 13 After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. 14 When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. 15 So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. 16 And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. 17 Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. 18 I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ 20 So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ 22 But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. 25 Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. 26 He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. 27 The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. 30 But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ 31 He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. 32 But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
My beloved heavenly Father,
You are due all thanksgiving, for your boundless loving-kindness. For you love not only your faithful children who have been faithful to you their whole lives, but also those who after years and lifetimes of ignoring you and rebelling against you, have in faith (trust) returned to you. O Father of all love, you hold not their sins against them, you do not cast them out, but exalt them, raising them out of the ash-heap and shrouding them in your splendour.
You are all loving and all kindness, and for this you are rightly praised.
With greatest love,
Your child
Jack Danya Sabbas Ulfilus of The Passion of Our Lord and The Sorrows of Our Lady
Though my Godmother pleaded with me to share my writings and thoughts with the class, I could not, at least not today, it was not my place to do so, not God’s will. It was their time to speak, their time to share. Today was about lost sheep and lost, disobedient children returning to Him, this is not something I can speak on from personal experience, as the moment God came into my life, I came to Him and relied on Him always, and He would not let me go, not for a moment. It was their time to reveal, their time to heal, and I cannot get in the way of that.
I apologise Godmom, but I know that you will understand.
Later that day I told her this which I had written, and she completely understood and agreed that I made the right decision.
I did however give my commentary during a brief break in the class when my Godmother’s friend Elaina asked what the parables were about:
He is the Good Sheppard, and when a large group is staying safely where he has placed them, but one wanders off, Him knowing that the others are safe, He will go out to save that lost sheep, facing down any manner of rabid dog/wolf, or rushing rapids, or rocky clefts. He will rescue each and every one that cries out to him, and who turns towards him, and will follow. He will carry us to safety and mend us.
Heaven is like a wedding ring or a coin of great value, that when it is lost, we should stop all else, all look high and low, removing all clutter, all dirt, cleaning out every last inch of our lives until we find it again, and vow to do our best to never lose it. We will be filled with such joy that we will proclaim our gladness, celebrate, and advise others to clean out their lives and find this treasure and its joy.
Elaina directly asked about the son who was faithful to his father; I explained:
That son represents those who have followed God their entire life, being upset that God is showing so much tender love and forgiveness to his disobedient children who have returned to him. He is thinking, “But God, I have faithfully followed you my whole life and you seem to not show many any extra favour, but then this person who has disobeyed you their entire life, ignored you and spat at your advise, they now return to you and you show them so much love? What about me?!” And God reminds us that because we followed him our entire life, all he has belongs to us, and in faithfully following him, we have been saved from the hardships of addiction and extreme sin, because we listened to and followed his loving advise. Whereas the ones who did not listen, they had to suffer addictions and the pains of many bad decisions (sins), and being brought so low that they even yearned for the scraps of garbage given to swines. Due to their not listening to him, they suffered and were like one who was dead. So let us not be jealous, but rejoice in their return, and in the endless loving-kindness (mercy/hesed) of our Father; and just be thankful if you have been blessed with the wisdom of faithfully following his loving Word all your life and have thus been protected from the great pains of addiction to many sins and the consequences of such–be happy for yourself and your redeemed brother.
I know that this is the lesson for such a person as the obedient son, because as ever since I was 13 years old, I have been the obedient child, never swerving or swaying from The Word of God; but thankfully I knew this lesson and was not filled with jealousy for my redeemed brothers. I really love that this parable can be understood by both types of people, most seeing it from and understanding it from the point of view of the disobedient child, because that is what they have been; but even the obedient child will find such an important lessons from this parable.
Romans 8:28-39
28 We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who acquits us. 34 Who will condemn? It is Christ [Jesus] who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.”37 No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we are firm in perseverance in following God until the end, then nothing, not persecution or death, nothing will separate us from God. We know that God is faithful to us, because He gave us His Anointed Son up unto death for us.
God, YHVH Elohim, Almighty Father,
I have persevered in you all these years, and I shall continued to do so. I know that you are right and just, and faithful to your word. I do not know how it will all play out, but you do, and I have faith (trust) in you. Guide my steps, direct me, so that I may do your will.
Love your beloved son,
Jack Danya Sabbas Ulfilus of The Passion of Our Lord and The Sorrows of Our Lady.
Joshua 1:1-9
We were assigned this the previous week as well; so for my thoughts on it, read what I wrote last week.
Heavenly Father,
Wow! You are all love and you answer all prayers. I decided not to wait until tomorrow and start on this right after my previous letter; and then, Bam! You responded with Joshua being chosen to lead your people into the promised land, for he maintained faith in you, and a reminder for them all to maintain faith in you and continue to follow you.
Though in my previous letter I did not mention GotHaven and my frustrations and feeling lost like I don’t know what to do or when to act, that was what that letter was all about. And then you show me Joshua entering into the land and tell us to maintain steadfast. I love you!
Love,
Jack Danya Sabbas Ulfilus of The Passion of Our Lord and The Sorrows of Our Lady
Matthew 11:25-30
25 At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
To the ignorant who think themselves wise, the followers of God seem like fools, and God uses the foolish things to show to those who think they are wise, that they are fools. Those who think themselves wise and learned and take pride in their own wisdom often shut themselves off from God and His wisdom; but God reveals Himself to those who come to Him like children, trusting and eager to learn.
28 “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
Christ here is quoting from and therefore referring to all of Deuteronomy chapter 30:
11 For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you. 12 It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who will go up to the heavens to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” 13 Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” 14 No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.
15 See, I have today set before you life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I am giving you today, loving the Lord, your God, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and ordinances, you will live and grow numerous, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
Deuteronomy 30:11-16
Before quoting this, in Matthew 11:27 Christ points out how His and The Father’s will is one; therefore His Yoke which we are to take on is the same as His Father’s yoke which the Israelites were to take on, and as The Father said, it is not hard, but light, easy, in our mouths and hearts, we only have to carry it out. Why burden ourselves with the heavy labours of sin, rather than the light and joyous ways of God.
O God, YHVH, Heavenly Father,
Truly You confound the ignorant who falsely think themselves wise, by using that which they think is foolish to accomplish Your will. In me you have used the Goths, part of your scattered people Israel, whom the Norms, who falsely think themselves righteous, think that us Goths are evil fools; but you, Father has led me to lead the Goths in meek and humble righteousness in serving You, so that the self-righteous Norms may be proven to be the true fools in their anti-Christ behaviour.
So many wrongfully think that the Son has done away with the Father’s yoke and replaced it with a different one–but they forget that the Father and the Son are One and Their will is One. Christ fulfilled the law, that was his yoke, and we are to take his yoke upon ourselves and learn from him. Those who have the Son, have the Father also, and he is in us, just as the Father is in him, and for those who follow Him, all is possible, even greater work than were seen by the Son-John 14:12.
Father, we (people) can fulfil your commandments, statutes, precepts, and laws, if we just follow you as the Son followed you. Create in me a clean heart O Lord, wash me and I shall be white as snow. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Use me as an instrument of your desire–may it be done to me according to Thy Word.
Sincerely with love,
Jack Danya Sabbas Ulfilus of The Passion of Our Lord and The Sorrow of Our Lady.
Isaiah 60:1-22
1 Arise! Shine, for your light has come,
the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
2 Though darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds, the peoples,
Upon you the Lord will dawn,
and over you his glory will be seen.
3 Nations shall walk by your light,
kings by the radiance of your dawning.4 Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you—
Your sons from afar,
your daughters in the arms of their nurses.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant,
your heart shall throb and overflow.
For the riches of the sea shall be poured out before you,
the wealth of nations shall come to you.
6 Caravans of camels shall cover you,
dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and heralding the praises of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered for you,
the rams of Nebaioth shall serve your needs;
They will be acceptable offerings on my altar,
and I will glorify my glorious house.
8 Who are these that fly along like a cloud,
like doves to their cotes?
9 The vessels of the coastlands are gathering,
with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,
To bring your children from afar,
their silver and gold with them—
For the name of the Lord, your God,
for the Holy One of Israel who has glorified you.10 Foreigners shall rebuild your walls,
their kings shall minister to you;
Though in my wrath I struck you,
yet in my good will I have shown you mercy.
11 Your gates shall stand open constantly;
day and night they shall not be closed
So that they may bring you the wealth of nations,
with their kings in the vanguard.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you shall perish;
such nations shall be utterly destroyed!
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you—
the juniper, the fir, and the cypress all together—
To bring beauty to my sanctuary,
and glory to the place where I stand.
14 The children of your oppressors shall come,
bowing before you;
All those who despised you,
shall bow low at your feet.
They shall call you “City of the Lord,”
“Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”
15 No longer forsaken and hated,
with no one passing through,
Now I will make you the pride of the ages,
a joy from generation to generation.
16 You shall suck the milk of nations,
and be nursed at royal breasts;
And you shall know that I, the Lord, am your savior,
your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
instead of iron I will bring silver;
Instead of wood, bronze;
instead of stones, iron.
I will appoint peace your governor,
and justice your ruler.
18 No longer shall violence be heard of in your land,
or plunder and ruin within your borders.
You shall call your walls “Salvation”
and your gates “Praise.”19 No longer shall the sun
be your light by day,
Nor shall the brightness of the moon
give you light by night;
Rather, the Lord will be your light forever,
your God will be your glory.
20 No longer will your sun set,
or your moon wane;
For the Lord will be your light forever,
and the days of your grieving will be over.
21 Your people will all be just;
for all time they will possess the land;
They are the shoot that I planted,
the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.
22 The least one shall become a clan,
the smallest, a mighty nation;
I, the Lord, will swiftly accomplish
these things when the time comes.
When the people turn back to God and the light of His wisdom shines upon them and they rise up in His splendour and glory, then He shall gather them up from where they were scattered, their time of mourning shall end, the light of the wisdom of God shall shine on them as at noonday and they shall no longer need the sun by day, and night shall shine as brightly as noon. They shall radiate this light and other nations (peoples) shall be guided by this light.
all of the poverty of our lives shall be replaced with the riches of the Spirit, and our enemies (sin) brought low and made to bow before us (submit to us). Peace shall govern our lives, and justice shall rule our lives. God shall build up strong fortifications around us, He shall build us up, and we shall praise God (YHVH) our salvation (shua) (Y’Shua). YHVH our salvation (Y’Shua) shall be our light forever, we are the bud of His planting, the handiwork of His hands, and we shall be just and prosper, if only we shall listen to and obey His Word.
Father,
We long to see that day, to be gathered to you, and led by Your light. May we follow your light this day and every day, and guide the world to you. May we live lives of justice, and may thy kingdom come.
Sincerely with love,
Jack Danya Sabbas Ulfilus of The Passion of Our Lord and The Sorrows of Our Lady.
John 15:1-17
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. 2 He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. 3 You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. 4 Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 9 As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
11 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. 12 This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. 16 It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. 17 This I command you: love one another.
The Word of God is the “Tree of Life” to all who take hold of it (follow it), and God is the One from whom it proceeded. When we are grafted onto it, and it becomes our root, our very heart, then we bear good fruit. If one does not bear or only bears bad fruit, then He cuts them off and throws them into the fire, for they were already spiritually dry and withered. If however we remain in Him producing good fruit, we are pruned (refined, shaped, formed) by His Word so that we may be evermore shaped and reshaped becoming formed in such a way as to bear more and more good fruit (works). If one does not bear good fruit (works) then the Spirit (essence) of the root (God’s Word/God’s teachings) are not in them.
If we keep His commandments just as He has kept His Father’s commandments, then we shall remain in Him and He in us. To take hold of the Word is to let the Word take hold of us, and be in us, and one cannot bear good fruit without the Word of God being in them. His commandments are not hard, but very simple: love (care about) one another, just as Christ has loved us–He suffered for us and died for us, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” We are called to truly take hold of the vine (root of the Tree of Life) and take in its essence, and bear the fruits (works) of that essence (Spirit) which is love (caring), a true love (caring) which gives its all, even unto suffering and death.
We are no longer slaves (to sin), because slaves (to sin) don’t know what their master is doing; we are His friends, because we do know His Word, and we know why He says/gives His Word, it is love, love is the reason the Word is given, love of all, that is caring about and for all, and the rescuing/salvation/saving of all through His Word. To know the Word is to love (care), for the Son is in the Father, and the Father is in the Son, and God is love. Therefore, when we follow the Word, we increase in love (caring) and the Word is in us and we are (living) in (according to) it, and we have the Father’s love. To Follow the Word is how to love God, ourselves, others, and the whole world. It is not hard, all we have to do is properly (righteously) care for one another.
We are His chosen people, we are appointed to go and bear lasting fruits (works) of love/caring that will remain–love one another.
Father,
May we ever remember Your Word, and hold strong to it, following it, and teaching it to our children (branches that branch forth from us), that they may be connected firmly to you, the root, the Word, from which all nourishing goodness springs, a fount of life, living waters, from which all good fruits come.
Make me an instrument of Your love.
SIncerely with love,
Jack Danya Sabbas Ulfilus of The Passion of Our Lord and The Sorrows of Our Lady.
Psalm 103
1 Of David.
Bless the Lord, my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, my soul;
and do not forget all his gifts,
3 Who pardons all your sins,
and heals all your ills,
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
and crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5 Who fills your days with good things,
so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.6 The Lord does righteous deeds,
brings justice to all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
to the Israelites his deeds.
8 Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always accuse,
and nurses no lasting anger;
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins merit,
nor requited us as our wrongs deserve.11 For as the heavens tower over the earth,
so his mercy towers over those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we are formed,
remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like the grass;
he blossoms like a flower in the field.
16 A wind sweeps over it and it is gone;
its place knows it no more.
17 But the Lord’s mercy is from age to age,
toward those who fear him.
His salvation is for the children’s children
18 of those who keep his covenant,
and remember to carry out his precepts.19 The Lord has set his throne in heaven;
his dominion extends over all.
20 Bless the Lord, all you his angels,
mighty in strength, acting at his behest,
obedient to his command.
21 Bless the Lord, all you his hosts,
his ministers who carry out his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his creatures,
everywhere in his domain.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
The Lord is love (caring) bringing justice to the oppressed, His ways were revealed to Moses. God’s loving-kindness is greater than anything and it is everlasting–He favours (gives grace to) those who keep His covenant, who take care to fulfil its precepts.
“Bless the Lord (YHVH) all you messengers, mighty in strength (enduring) and attentively obedient to every command. Bless the Lord all of you multitude, ministers (helpers/aides/servants) who do God’s will.”–Psalm 103:20-21
Psalm 84
1 For the leader; “upon the gittith.” A psalm of the Korahites.
2 How lovely your dwelling,
O Lord of hosts!
3 My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and flesh cry out
for the living God.
4 As the sparrow finds a home
and the swallow a nest to settle her young,
My home is by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God!
5 Blessed are those who dwell in your house!
They never cease to praise you.
Selah6 Blessed the man who finds refuge in you,
in their hearts are pilgrim roads.
7 As they pass through the Baca valley,
they find spring water to drink.
The early rain covers it with blessings.
8 They will go from strength to strength
and see the God of gods on Zion.9 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.
Selah
10 O God, watch over our shield;
look upon the face of your anointed.11 Better one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
Better the threshold of the house of my God
than a home in the tents of the wicked.
12 For a sun and shield is the Lord God,
bestowing all grace and glory.
The Lord withholds no good thing
from those who walk without reproach.
13 O Lord of hosts,
blessed the man who trusts in you!
YHVH and His salvation (Y’shua) is all nurturing goodness like a spring of water for those who have lost their way, He is a refuge and better is one day in his courts than a thousand elsewhere. He is the light of the work and our protector, bestowing grace (favour) and glory. Withholding no good thing from those who faithfully follow Him. O Lord (YHVH) happy are those who trust (have faith) in you.
Third Session – Pilgrims of Faith
Vocal/Mantra/Chant Prayers
Reading during class
Exodus 33:7-23
Moses’ Intimacy with God. 7 Moses used to pitch a tent outside the camp at some distance. It was called the tent of meeting. Anyone who wished to consult the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down at the entrance of their own tents. 11 The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a person speaks to a friend. Moses would then return to the camp, but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, never left the tent. 12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you are telling me: Lead this people. But you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said: You are my intimate friend; You have found favor with me. 13 Now, if I have found favor with you, please let me know your ways so that, in knowing you, I may continue to find favor with you. See, this nation is indeed your own people. 14 The Lord answered: I myself will go along, to give you rest. 15 Moses replied, “If you are not going yourself, do not make us go up from here. 16 For how can it be known that I and your people have found favor with you, except by your going with us? Then we, your people and I, will be singled out from every other people on the surface of the earth.” 17 The Lord said to Moses: This request, too, which you have made, I will carry out, because you have found favor with me and you are my intimate friend.
18 Then Moses said, “Please let me see your glory!” 19 The Lord answered: I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim my name, “Lord,” before you; I who show favor to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will. 20 But you cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live. 21 Here, continued the Lord, is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. 22 When my glory passes I will set you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face may not be seen.
Moses asked how he could lead God’s people, and how they could be His people, and how they can be intimate friends with God if they have not seen His face; so God showed Moses His glory from His back, since no one could see His face and live. Moses asked for this even though moments earlier it said that he spoke with God ‘face to face’ that is to say, plainly, as one would a dear friend. So often people pine of how they long to see the face of God, how they long to know Him — when he is right there with them, speaking to them. We have His Word, and it speaks directly to us, sharing with us His most intimate and loving thoughts, desire, will, and instruction; we just have to embrace His Word. When we see His Word, we see Him, for His Word is in Him and He is in His Word, and they are One. When I was thirteen years old, The Angel of The Lord came to me, and with my spiritual eyes I saw it and heard it, and still speak with it/him. I try my best to follow His Instruction (Torah), and it is joysome and easy. I wish others could see His love the way that I see it; they can, if only they would look and listen to Him.
In today’s priest recording, he said something which I quite like:
A tourist knows where they will go, where they will eat, and sleep, but a pilgrim doesn’t know any of these things — like Abraham they faithfully follow God.
He then continued:
Zachariah’s faith (trust) was a childish one, needing support, evidence — even though Zachariah was old. Mary, though a 16 year old girl, had an adult faith, not needing any support.
I, Jack Danya Kemplin, though see this could be inversed, Mary having the complete trusting faith of a child, and Zachariah having the often skeptical faith of an adult. Often I disagree with this priest, and at times I find his words verging on heresy, though at other times I fully agree with him.
Two weeks after I wrote this another student in the workshop became very agitated and upsettingly declared that he vehemently disagreed with some of the things this priest was saying, and felt it was heresy. I tried to calm him down by letting him know that I occasionally felt the same way, but that was no reason to leave the class, as we are not asked to agree with everything a priest or even The Church says, but only to agree on the dogmas as set out in the creed; all of the rest we are permitted to disagree on. Despite my words, after that day he never returned to the workshop class.
This week we were to do the readings, and then while thinking about what we just read, to repeat a short line from the reading, as a mantra/chant to focus our thoughts and prayers. After I wrote out my thoughts and interpretation of each passage, I wrote the mantra/chant I chose.
Hebrews 11:1-40 (the whole chapter)
1 Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. 2 Because of it the ancients were well attested. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain’s. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and “he was found no more because God had taken him.” Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. 9 By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. 11 By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age—and Sarah herself was sterile—for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. 12 So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.
13 All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, 14 for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.” 19 He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol. 20 By faith regarding things still to come Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and “bowed in worship, leaning on the top of his staff.” 22 By faith Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke of the Exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.
23 By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25 he chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of the Anointed greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the recompense. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s fury, for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after being encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace.
32 What more shall I say? I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions, 34 put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders. 35 Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection. 36 Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth.
39 Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. 40 God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.
It is by faith (trust and faithfulness) to God that the ancients were well attested. They trusted in God and faithfully did what He asked/followed Him, even without seeing, even without ever living to see the results. They died not receiving what was promised, but seeing it from afar and trusting that God would be true to His Word. Their place, their home, was not here on earth, they were set-apart, strangers, outcasts from the world of sin, peculiar people who find their home in God. Once one sees or knows how lovely finding one’s place with God is, they would never desire to return to another place. God perceives something better for us than can be experienced or seen, it is the hope/faith which drives the prophets and the martyrs, and where we find home.
God, may we find our home in you.
Matthew 8:5-13
5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” 7 He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven, 12 but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.
The Centurion’s statement, “For I too am a person subject to authority…’Go’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come here’ and he comes, and to my servant ‘Do this’ and he does it.” showed that he understood how we are to show our faith in God: we are to know that we are subject to His authority, and when He says, “Go.” We are to go, and, “Come here.” We are to come, and, “Do this.” We are to do it — just as YHVH did in Numbers 9:17-23 with the Israelites in the wilderness. That is why Jesus says that the Centurion has shown more faith than the locals and that by such faith (trust and faithfully following God) from far off, people will come to God. Likewise, we must be of humble faith, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed”
Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my [soul] shall be healed.
Psalm 90
1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
I
Lord, you have been our refuge
through all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born,
the earth and the world brought forth,
from eternity to eternity you are God.
3 You turn humanity back into dust,
saying, “Return, you children of Adam!”
4 A thousand years in your eyes
are merely a day gone by,
Before a watch passes in the night,
5 you wash them away;
They sleep,
and in the morning they sprout again like an herb.
6 In the morning it blooms only to pass away;
in the evening it is wilted and withered.II
7 Truly we are consumed by your anger,
filled with terror by your wrath.
8 You have kept our faults before you,
our hidden sins in the light of your face.
9 Our life ebbs away under your wrath;
our years end like a sigh.
10 Seventy is the sum of our years,
or eighty, if we are strong;
Most of them are toil and sorrow;
they pass quickly, and we are gone.
11 Who comprehends the strength of your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear it inspires.
12 Teach us to count our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.III
13 Relent, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
14 Fill us at daybreak with your mercy,
that all our days we may sing for joy.
15 Make us glad as many days as you humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 Show your deeds to your servants,
your glory to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God be ours.
Prosper the work of our hands!
Prosper the work of our hands!
Our lives are but a blink to God, we live such short lives, cut short and made unbearably painful by our sins (poor choices/bad decisions), and deservedly so, for all of the wrong that we have done (wronged others, our unkindness, our uncaring, the times that we failed to help those in need, and the times we hurt others, hurt animals, and hurt the land, for all of these), we deserve every bit of His anger, we deserve every pain of our short lives; but we should be thankful for each day He mercifully (in loving-kindness) gives us and greet each day with loving hearts and try to gain some of His Wisdom (insights/light) and to see His Miraculous deeds, His glory to His children, and may the favour (grace) of YHVH our Elohim be ours.
Prosper the work of our hands!
A friend quoted this very psalm, Psalm 90, to me on the way to church, incredible! This Psalm is also often part of the Liturgy of The Hours which I pray every morning.
Romans 16:25-27
25 Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages 26 but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.
These verses do not appear in all manuscripts, and of the ones it does appear in, it is sometimes at the end of chapter 14, or 15, or 16. These verses therefor are possibly not originally a part of this letter and probably a later addition. The Church however concludes that whether Paul’s words or not, that they are an admirable conclusion to the letter.
The living Word of God manifested itself as told through the prophetic writings, Nevi’im, according to the command of the eternal God (His command/Torah) made known to all nations to bring about obedience of faith to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ (Yah’s Saving Anointing) be glory forever and ever, Amen.
Jesus made manifest and known to all that God’s saving command (Torah) is possible, achievable, and easy, one only needs to be faithfully obedient to God.
Bring about obedience of faith to the only wise God.
Acts 16:29-34
29 He asked for a light and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.” 32 So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. 33 He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized at once. 34 He brought them up into his house and provided a meal and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God.
When God miraculously gave the prisoners the chance to escape, none left at first, so that not only would the prison guard not kill himself, but so that he, at witnessing these works of God, and his family, would be brought to God.
What must I do to be saved?
Mark 5:22-36
22 One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” 24 He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
25 There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. 28 She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” 29 Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. 30 Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” 31 But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
35 While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” 36 Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
The woman, having a hemorrhage of blood for twelve years, that is a constant menstrual period for twelve years straight, would have been unable to be married or even sleep not to a spouse, she could not sit in any public chair and must remain secluded; if she touched a man he would be unclean for seven days. Never-the-less she believed that if she only touched Christ’s tzitzit of His tallis, that she would be healed. He felt the power go out from Him, that is to say He felt His garment become unclean, but was not upset, for by her taking action on her faith, she was healed. Our uncleanliness cannot make God unclean, and even while we are still unclean and in need of healing, we are to reach out to him, we are to put our faith into action, and reach out towards His commandments, and take hold of them, and we shall be healed and made clean. He can even heal those who are seemingly dead.
Do not be afraid, just have faith.
Psalm 84
1 For the leader; “upon the gittith.” A psalm of the Korahites.
I
2 How lovely your dwelling,
O Lord of hosts!
3 My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and flesh cry out
for the living God.
4 As the sparrow finds a home
and the swallow a nest to settle her young,
My home is by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God!
5 Blessed are those who dwell in your house!
They never cease to praise you.
SelahII
6 Blessed the man who finds refuge in you,
in their hearts are pilgrim roads.
7 As they pass through the Baca valley,
they find spring water to drink.
The early rain covers it with blessings.
8 They will go from strength to strength
and see the God of gods on Zion.III
9 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.
Selah
10 O God, watch over our shield;
look upon the face of your anointed.IV
11 Better one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
Better the threshold of the house of my God
than a home in the tents of the wicked.
12 For a sun and shield is the Lord God,
bestowing all grace and glory.
The Lord withholds no good thing
from those who walk without reproach.
13 O Lord of hosts,
blessed the man who trusts in you!
We should long (lovingly long/ache) to dwell with The Lord YHVH. yearning, pining, our heart and our ‘flesh’ crying out with how much we wish to dwell with Him like a bride and groom long to dwell with one another, like birds in a nest, God and His people are like lovebirds, the birds and the bees, they praise Him unceasingly!
Happy is the way for those who follow God like pilgrims faithfully trusting in His lead, and He never fails to refresh us with His inexhaustible wells of living water. He provides for those who lose their way, provides for the lost sheep of the flock, He restores us, heals us, gives us new life, and guides us. He looks upon the face of (blesses) His anointed (Mashiach/Massiah/Christ/Christians) and they see the God of Gods (Mighty One of mighty ones) on Zion. The Lord YHVH withholds no good thing from those who walk in His ways.
O Lord of hosts, happy are those who trust in you!
Forth Session – Woman of Faith and Poor Woman of God
Priest Talk Notes and Reflections
Self-image can be a source of anxiety, frustration, or depression. It is an idol, a false image; we must empty ourselves out and look to God and walk towards Him in His path. Like Mary, we must become the Ark of The Covenant carrying The Lord within us, fully within us, His blood intermingled with ours, our heart connected to His. When we carry Him like this, our self-image dies away, our worries die away, and we are made whole, we are completed.
Remember that you are carrying Christ within you–do not defile His Holy Temple!
Amidst the raging torrents, hold the blazing torch of faith high!
Luke 1:39-45
39 During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Mary (Mariam/Maria/Maryah) as the living Ark of The Covenant, the living Tabernacle, carried The Word of God and brought it to the house of the High Priest (Zachariah) and when The Word in The Ark (Y’shua in Maryah’s womb) came to the High Priest in the Temple (Yohannan in Elizabeth’s womb), the High Priest leapt with joy at receiving The Word of God. Filled with the Spirit of Set-Apartness/Holy Spirit, Elizabeth proclaimed, “Blessed are you amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!” and later it adds, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by The Lord would be fulfilled.”
When we believe that what was spoken by YHVH shall be fulfilled, we are walking in faith, for we are trusting Him and obeying Him. When we do that, we are a nation of royal priests who greet His Word with joy and celebration like that of babes. That doesn’t mean that there are not great labours to come, nor that there will not be persecutions, trials, and great suffering and death, for all of these things come to pass; but when we walk in faith we shall endur all of these things and in our deaths defeat death, conquer it, and live in God, for He lived in us, just as The Word lived in and grew in Mary making her most blessed amongst women and it was declared that all generations will call her blessed. Likewise we must let The Word of God dwell within us and grow within us until it shines forth and we are blessed amongst men, for we heard The Word of The Lord and believed (and followed) it.
Matthew 2:10-12
10 They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 11 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
At seeing the guiding light of God and seeing that it leads to the child and Mary His Mother, we are overjoyed, for it is the fulfilment of what was prophecised. We pay homage and give to The Lord all of our treasures, offer to Him all of our gifts, and He is our salvation (Y’shua) who saves us from death.
Psalm 118
I
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
his mercy endures forever.
2 Let Israel say:
his mercy endures forever.
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
his mercy endures forever.
4 Let those who fear the Lord say,
his mercy endures forever.II
5 In danger I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is with me; I am not afraid;
what can mortals do against me?
7 The Lord is with me as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on my foes.
8 Better to take refuge in the Lord
than to put one’s trust in mortals.
9 Better to take refuge in the Lord
than to put one’s trust in princes.III
10 All the nations surrounded me;
in the Lord’s name I cut them off.
11 They surrounded me on every side;
in the Lord’s name I cut them off.
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they burned up like fire among thorns;
in the Lord’s name I cut them off.
13 I was hard pressed and falling,
but the Lord came to my help.
14 The Lord, my strength and might,
has become my savior.IV
15 The joyful shout of deliverance
is heard in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand works valiantly;
16 the Lord’s right hand is raised;
the Lord’s right hand works valiantly.”
17 I shall not die but live
and declare the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord chastised me harshly,
but did not hand me over to death.V
19 Open the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s own gate,
through it the righteous enter.
21 I thank you for you answered me;
you have been my savior.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 By the Lord has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice in it and be glad.
25 Lord, grant salvation!
Lord, grant good fortune!VI
26 Blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God and has enlightened us.
Join in procession with leafy branches
up to the horns of the altar.VII
28 You are my God, I give you thanks;
my God, I offer you praise.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
his mercy endures forever.
This psalm is sung during Passover/Pesach at the seder/dinner. It is a litany, calls and responses proclaiming the greatness of The Lord (YHVH) and His saving power (Y’shua). The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone…blessed is he who comes in the Name of The Lord…join in procession with leafy branches (palm frons) up to the horns of the altar. Give thanks to The Lord, who is good, whose love endures forever.
After this is Psalm 119 which shows us His eternal loving-kindness and how we can embody it and show it to others.
John 2:1-11
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 [And] Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. 9 And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.
Though it was not yet His hour, when the Mother asks of the Son, He does it. When all seems a bust and the time of joy appears to be prematurely coming to and end, He takes the baptismal cleaning living waters of the mikvah, fills them to the brim and turns them into the best of joy, the sweetest of wine which makes all previous joys be in comparison as bitter as vinegar–all we need to do is follow the wisdom of His mother and, “Do whatever He (The Word of God) tells you.”
Luke 2:41-52
41 Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, 42 and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. 43 After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, 47 and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus advanced [in] wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
In modern Judaism age 12 or 13 is when one has their Bar Mitzvah, when they complete their first full study of the Torah, give an oral essay on what they have learned, and affirm that they take on the responsibility of being a child of the commandments. The tradition of doing this is very old, how old it is, no one knows for sure, but it possibly dates back to the time of Christ. It is therefore possible that along with their going to the Temple as they had done all other years, that the reason this time was so memorable (besides them losing track of Him) is that it was also His Bar Mitzvah. He remained in the Temple, sharing His understanding of the Scripture, and astounded all who were there. It is interesting to note that in the original text it says, “Y’shua advanced wisdom and age, and favour (grace), before God and man.” He, “Advanced wisdom,” not, “In wisdom,” and, “And age” could be translated to, “Eternity,” and therefore it could read, “Y’shua advanced eternal wisdom and grace before God and man.”
Like His parents, lets hold the Word of God deep in our hearts and ponder them.
John 19:25-27
25 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
When we faithfully stand by the cross, the saving power of the lamb of God, and His passion, and are faithful to Him, a beloved disciple of Him, He says to His mother, “”Woman, behold your son.” and to us, “Behold your mother.” Just as the Father entrusted the Son to her care, the Son entrusts us to her care. At the time of her dormition she was taken up assumed into heaven by a choir of angels and crowned queen of heaven with stars and the moon at her feet (Revelations 12:1). From there she, like at the wedding of Cana, intercedes for us, and always points us towards her Son.
Psalm 145
1 Praise. Of David.
I will extol you, my God and king;
I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and worthy of much praise,
whose grandeur is beyond understanding.
4 One generation praises your deeds to the next
and proclaims your mighty works.
5 They speak of the splendor of your majestic glory,
tell of your wonderful deeds.
6 They speak of the power of your awesome acts
and recount your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abounding goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
9 The Lord is good to all,
compassionate toward all your works.
10 All your works give you thanks, Lord
and your faithful bless you.
11 They speak of the glory of your reign
and tell of your mighty works,
12 Making known to the sons of men your mighty acts,
the majestic glory of your rule.
13 Your reign is a reign for all ages,
your dominion for all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all his words,
and loving in all his works.
14 The Lord supports all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look hopefully to you;
you give them their food in due season.
16 You open wide your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is just in all his ways,
merciful in all his works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he destroys.
21 My mouth will speak the praises of the Lord;
all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
You YHVH Lord God are worthy of all praise, for you are a god of justice, lifting up the poor from the ash heap, feeding the hungry, and doing all wonders. You in our great goodness created all things and rule over all in great majesty and glory. You are all good and your Name worthy of all praise.
Fifth Session – From Surrender to Peace
Priest Talk Notes and Reflections
In Numbers 9:15-25 they moved when the cloud moved and stayed when it stayed. Surrender involves stifling impulses which are very real and strong–but if we stifle these impulses it will be beneficial. Say no to revenge, no to resentment, no to shame; in rejecting these impulses we gain peace. When we surrender these impulses our fear of loneliness, fear of failure, fear of being unloved, vanishes and those things which seemed enemies to us becomes our brothers and sisters, our friends, our parents.
For instance: my lack of a romantic partner turns from loneliness or drama, to tranquility and free time to dedicate to God, study of God, and helping others. It is not a source of anguish and bitterness, but of peace. This can be true of all situations. It is not giving up, but being open to the possibilities of the will of God, and His peace.
The more we resist something, the more we feel oppressed, the more we feel like a failure, the more angry we get, Stressing about something does not make dealing with it easier, but harder; so when dealing with something, do not be stressed, but do so with peace. Stress, fear, anguish, disappointment, and resentment are poisons which only poison ourself. When we remove those, we pluck out the thorn from our heart, and are surrounded in God’s peace.
Father, Father, I lay my life in your hands…
Psalm 31
I need to share all of this with my friend Daisy, because just yesterday while at Watson Lake her and I were talking on this very topic of surrender to God’s will. At this point, after reading to her the above, I should play the song “Abba I Lay My Life In Your Hands” by Tatiana. Then I need to let her read the entire section on self-surrender from the Encounter Prayer Handbook by Ignacio Larranaga from this class:
Act of Surrender
V – Self-Surrender from Encounter Prayer Handbook by Ignacio Larranaga published by Prayer and Life Workshops
In your hands, O God, I abandon myself.
Mould this day as the potter does.
Give it shape, and afterward,
if You so wish, break it.
Command, order.
“What do You want me to do?
What do You want me to avoid?”
Praised or humiliated, persecuted,
misunderstood or slandered,
comforted, hurt, totally useless,
following your Mother’s example,
the only thing for me to say is:
“Let it be done unto me
according to your Word.”
Give me the love that is above all things,
love for the cross.
Not a heroic cross that would satisfy my ego,
but the humble and crude everyday crosses
which I shoulder reluctantly.
Those that I encounter each day
in contradiction, in neglect, in failure,
in erroneous judgements and in indifference;
in rebuff and contempt from others,
in discomfort and in sickness,
in intellectual limitations and
in barrenness, in the silence of the heart.
Only then will You know that I love you,
even though I may not know it myself.
But that will be enough. Amen.
Surrender
The road that leads
to a friend is never too long,
nor too small the place where He loves.
If generous people set out to follow
the road that leads to You,
earnestly requesting from You
the gifts of the spirit, one after another…
We, on the contrary surrender
our heavy load to your total will;
and refuse to continue a journey,
in which we are constantly stopping
only to begin again.
We leave our impediments
at your doorstep.
O, my God, we entrust everything to You,
completely everything.
Dispose of it as You wish,
do not let us go back
to our own insecurities;
O God of Majesty! Amen.
Prayer of Surrender
Father,
I surrender myself to You.
Do with me what You will.
Whatever You do,
I thank You for it.
I am ready for everything and I accept everything,
provided that your will be done in me
and in all your creatures.
I desire nothing else, my God.
I entrust my soul into your hands.
I give it to You, my God,
with all the love of my heart,
because I love You,
and I so need to love You,
to surrender myself to You, to entrust myself
into your hands without measure,
with infinite confidence,
for You are my Father. Amen
Patience
Child,
if you seriously decide to venture
on the road to God,
prepare your soul
for trials that will occur;
sit patiently before his doorstep,
calmly accepting the silence,
absence and delays
to which He will submit you,
for gold is refined in the hearth.
Since You lived among us, Lord Jesus,
clothed with patience as a distinctive sign,
Patience is the queen of virtues
and the most precious jewel of your crown.
Give me the grace to peacefully accept
the intrinsic gratuitousness of God,
the bewildering road of Grace
and the unpredictable emergencies of nature.
I peacefully accept
the slow and staggering pace of prayer;
and that the road to holiness
is so long and difficult.
I accept with peace
life’s displeasures
and the lack of understanding from others,
sickness and death itself,
and the law of human insignificance.
That is to say: that, after my death,
all will continue as before, as if nothing has happened.
I peacefully accept
the fact of wanting so much and being capable of so little,
and that with great efforts
I will obtain only minimal results.
I peacefully accept the law of sin. That is:
I do what I do not want to do,
and I do not do what I would like to do.
In peace, I leave in your hands
what I should have been and was not,
and what I should have done and did not.
I accept in peace all the human incapacities
which surround me and restrict me.
I peacefully accept the law of insecurity and transience,
the law of mediocrity and of failure,
the law of loneliness and of death.
In exchange for this surrender; Lord, give me Peace.
Take Me
Take me, Lord Jesus, take me with all that I am,
with all that I have and all that I achieve,
with what I think and how I live.
Take my spirit,
so that it may cling to You.
My God, take me in my secret desires,
so that they may be my dreams
and my ultimate goal, my only aspiration and
my perfect happiness.
Take me with your goodness;
attract me to You.
Take me with your gentleness;
accept me in You.
Take me with your love; unite me to You.
Take me my Savior; in your suffering,
your joy, your life, your death,
in the night of your cross,
in the everlasting day of your resurrection.
Take me with your power; lift me to You;
take me with your fire; set me ablaze;
take me with your greatness,
so that I may lose myself in You.
Take me for the work of your great mission,
so that I may surrender myself completely to
the salvation of my fellow men and women,
and to any sacrifice at their service.
Take me, O Christ, my God,
without limitations and without end.
Take whatever I can offer You;
never give back to me what You have taken,
so that one day
I may posses You in heaven’s embrace,
hold You and keep You forever. Amen
Hymn of Abandonment
My Father,
today I lift my voice in song to You,
because, instead of daylight,
in lieu of the sun with its light and colours,
You have left me in the darkness
of the cold night.
I love You,
I adore You,
because the waves of the sea of your might
have flooded and destroyed
my dreams and my castles;
they have undone
the sweetest, the strongest,
the most sacred links of my existence.
I love You,
I adore You, and I bless You,
because instead of the warmth
of your tenderness,
the coldness of indifference
entered my garden. freezing every last flower.
Lord, my God,
I bless You and Praise You,
for in your holy and sweet will
You have permitted the shadows of dusk
to fade the richness of my youth;
because You wanted me to be,
not a star nor a brilliant and lovely chalice,
but a plain and insignificant grain of sand,
in the vast beach of humanity.
If one day I praised You in joy
and sang to You in the heart of this light
with which You have transfigured my life,
today I love and adore You
in the shadow of the cross.
I bless You in difficulty and work,
amidst the stones and the ruggedness of the ascent,
and the tears I shed today
are the sweet dew
from the centre of my grateful soul
that bless You in tedium and poverty,
in the grey shadows of sadness,
because in spite of it all
O Lord, you affectionately gave me
this infinite and blue vault
to shroud my misfortune.
Yes, I kiss with affection and self-surrender
these divine hands that hurt me,
because I firmly believe
that neither one hair nor one leaf falls
without the love will of the Father
who wisely conducts
the melodious and divine orchestra
of the universe.
Powerful and beloved Father,
from deep within
the ocean of my soul
I praise You captivated and grateful,
and I exult in a song of hope.
If one day You changed my plans
and programs,
if for a moment You put out the light of my flame,
it was because beyond the glimmer of objects,
of perfumes, of flowers that wither,
I see another more beautiful world
a Homeland in which the sun never sets
a Luminous House built upon
eternal peace.
I place myself in your hands;
do with me what You will. Amen.
What we thought would give us our most joy, perhaps could have been our greatest hardship — in realising this, be thankful that it did not come to pass. Accept that not everyone will like you, accept that not everything will go as planned.
In love I accept everything, let your will be done, into your hands I commend myself in silence and peace…”
Jeremiah 18:1-6
1 This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Arise and go down to the potter’s house; there you will hear my word. 3 I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel. 4 Whenever the vessel of clay he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making another vessel of whatever sort he pleased. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done?—oracle of the Lord. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.
We are like un-fired clay (Adam) which the Potter is forming: at times we may, in the fast pace windings of our lives, spin out of shape or get stretched out too thin and collapse, tear, or fall apart; but we are not yet cast into the fire, and through the sprinkling or immersion in water, and being brought forth again, He reshapes us again and again until we are exactly what He wants of us, exactly as He planned, and for the exact purpose He designed us.
Job 42:1-6
1 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.
3 “Who is this who obscures counsel with ignorance?”
I have spoken but did not understand;
things too marvellous for me, which I did not know.
4 “Listen, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you tell me the answers.”
5 By hearsay I had heard of you,
but now my eye has seen you.
6 Therefore I disown what I have said,
and repent in dust and ashes.
God can do all, and no purpose of His can be hindered, There are many things in this world and the hereafter which we cannot understand, but God knows all wonder and mysteries. We could hear all about God and still not believe, but when we truly come to see His wonders, we cannot deny them, and we disavow everything we ever spoke against Him, turn from those ways (repent/teshuvah) and go towards Him.
Psalm 131
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
Lord, my heart is not proud;
nor are my eyes haughty.
I do not busy myself with great matters,
with things too sublime for me.
2 Rather, I have stilled my soul,
Like a weaned child to its mother,
weaned is my soul.
3 Israel, hope in the Lord,
now and forever.
We should not be prideful, thinking ourselves wise, that we know it all, lest we be like a young child who leaps into the deep end of a pool and drown. We should be like the obedient child, ‘trusting and obeying’ (having faith) in God to tell us when to move forward, and doing so in small steps, steady and calm.
Mark 14:32-42
32 Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be troubled and distressed. 34 Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch.” 35 He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass by him; 36 he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will.” 37 When he returned he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” 39 Withdrawing again, he prayed, saying the same thing. 40 Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open and did not know what to answer him. 41 He returned a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough. The hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. 42 Get up, let us go. See, my betrayer is at hand.”
Sometimes while praying, even when we surround ourselves with our best friends and most beloved family, we are still troubled and distressed, and our soul sorrowful even to death; but perhaps it is only because we have surrounded ourself with such understanding and supportive loving-kindness that we are, with them remaining there and keeping watch, able to allow ourself to open up so deeply, able to fall apart so thoroughly, to come undone, so that with God’s strength emanating from them, His loving support holding us up, that we are able to properly mend, to be repaired and made whole again.
Christ suffered as much as anyone could, He is our brother, He wept and sweated tears of blood, crying, “If it is possible…take this…from me…” But surrendering to His Father’s will He said, “Not what I will, but what you will.” Like Him, we should submit to God’s will, knowing that it leads to love. We should be the best of friends, go out, and keep watch for at least and hour–watch and pray, lest we should undergo the test. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” withdrawn we pray. We rise up to the time and experience the passion of Our Lord.
Matthew 18:1-5
1 At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a child over, placed it in their midst, 3 and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
What is it that God seeks from us, what can we do to please God most? We are His children, that which He created–He desires for us to faithfully trust Him, love Him, and do what He lovingly instructs us, for it is for our own good and benefit as His Word comes from true love. When we trust Him completely and lovingly do as He says, this is completely beneficial for us and it pleases Him most; and when we bring another to love Him in this same way, He is overjoyed.
Psalm 31
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 In you, Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me;
3 incline your ear to me;
make haste to rescue me!
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to save me.
4 For you are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
5 Free me from the net they have set for me,
for you are my refuge.
6 Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, Lord, God of truth.
7 You hate those who serve worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.
8 I will rejoice and be glad in your mercy,
once you have seen my misery,
[and] gotten to know the distress of my soul.
9 You will not abandon me into enemy hands,
but will set my feet in a free and open space.II
10 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
affliction is wearing down my eyes,
my throat and my insides.
11 My life is worn out by sorrow,
and my years by sighing.
My strength fails in my affliction;
my bones are wearing down.
12 To all my foes I am a thing of scorn,
and especially to my neighbours
a horror to my friends.
When they see me in public,
they quickly shy away.
13 I am forgotten, out of mind like the dead;
I am like a worn-out tool.
14 I hear the whispers of the crowd;
terrors are all around me.
They conspire together against me;
they plot to take my life.
15 But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
16 My destiny is in your hands;
rescue me from my enemies,
from the hands of my pursuers.
17 Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your mercy.
18 Do not let me be put to shame,
for I have called to you, Lord.
Put the wicked to shame;
reduce them to silence in Sheol.
19 Strike dumb their lying lips,
which speak arrogantly against the righteous
in contempt and scorn.III
20 How great is your goodness, Lord,
stored up for those who fear you.
You display it for those who trust you,
in the sight of the children of Adam.
21 You hide them in the shelter of your presence,
safe from scheming enemies.
You conceal them in your tent,
away from the strife of tongues.
22 Blessed be the Lord,
marvellously he showed to me
his mercy in a fortified city.
23 Though I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your eyes.”
Yet you heard my voice, my cry for mercy,
when I pleaded with you for help.
24 Love the Lord, all you who are faithful to him.
The Lord protects the loyal,
but repays the arrogant in full.
25 Be strong and take heart,
all who hope in the Lord.
Into your hands I commend my spirit! YHVH you are our savior (Y’shua) and our help. You are our shield and rampart; you are our refuge, justice, and deliverance (Y’shua). You hear our cries and you deliver us; you see our misery, you hear our distress, you do not abandon, you set our feet in a free and open land.
Jesus/Y’shua referenced this psalm while He was on the cross, and verses 10-19 were likely strongly on His mind, how He felt and what He saw before Him.
Love the Lord (YHVH), all you faithful, the Lord protects the loyal (faithful who follow Him, who endure in doing what He says); but Je repays the arrogant in full for their transgressions. Be strong and take heart all who hope in YHVH.
Psalm 23
1 A psalm of David.
I
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.
2 In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths
for the sake of his name.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff comfort me.II
5 You set a table before me
in front of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me
all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for endless days.
YHVH is my caretaker and gives me all that I need, He safely leads me to nurturing things, His Word is grain (bread) and living waters which never run out. He restores our strength and corrects our path. Even during the darkest times of our life He is there guiding and comforting us with His Word of Instruction (Torah), and when we have Him we shall fear/honour no evil, and He shall give us Strength and courage. He anoints (sanctifies/christens) our heads (minds and hearts), He fills us beyond the brim with joy and His Word leads us to pursue only goodness and caring, all the days of our lives–this leads us to dwell with Him forever.
Sixth Session – Forgiveness-Love
Priest Talk Notes:
No more complaining, no more fighting with God, the time has come to surrender to Him peacefully and serenely. Abandoning resentment, and choosing to forgive and love leads to healing.
Prayers for the Holocaust
Prayers for the Holocaust from the Prayer and Life Workshop by Ignacio Larranaga
First: Acceptance of Parents
My Lord, if I have ever despised or been ashamed of my parents, from this day on, I accept them with tenderness and love. I ask forgiveness for my ungratefulness, and from your hands, I accept them in gratitude and with real emotion. Even though they may have died, I still welcome them and embrace them, I love them; I totally and completely accept them in the mystery of your Will. Thank You for the gift of my parents, and may their memory be blessed forever.
Second: Acceptance of My Body
My Father, source of my life, grant me the grace to be friend to myself. If I ever felt ashamed of the way that I am, I ask your forgiveness, Creator of my life and my existence. Forgive my callousness and ungratefulness. From this moment on, I want to feel contented with who I am, happy to be as I am. I praise You, I admire You, and I thank You for these hands, this face, this body in general. I bless You for having created me as I am. I surrender myself into your hands, happy to be as I am.
Third: Acceptance of Sickness and Death
My Father, Lord of life and death, grant me the grace to peacefully accept the painful mystery of life, illness, deterioration, and death; to accept them in silence and peace without complaints and without tears. I remember that your Son transformed the most negative and worthless things in the world, such as pain and death, into a fountain of redemption and eternal life. Also, from this moment on, I too want to transform my pain and my death into fertile fountains of redemption. From this moment on, I want to suffer with Jesus and like Jesus. Into your hands, my Father, I surrender my life and my death, my health and my sickness. Amen.
Fourth: Acceptance of Personality (forgiveness-love)
My Father, into your hands I place myself, with the little that I am, happy to be as I am. If I have ever felt sadness or embarrassed about myself, I ask your forgiveness for having been ashamed of the work of your hands. I thank You for making me capable to think and to know that I am a carrier of your divine and immortal breath. Grant me the grace to forgive-love so many things about myself, which, until now, have annoyed me so much. Into your hands, I place the little that I am, happy to be as I am, friend of myself. Thy will be done.
Fifth: Acceptance of My Own History
My God, Lord of my life, grant me the grace to transform pain into love. Those who never understood me, those who could never accept me, and always rejected me, those who attacked me with lies, half-truths, total slander, those who gave me sleepless nights and days full of tears…from this moment on, I want to transform all of those painful memories into an offering of love, and silently deposit them into the depths of your will.
Thy will be done.
The soul’s resistance, the heart’s resentments, life’s rebellions, inner struggles, private conflicts, aspects of personality not sufficiently assumed, life’s painful memories not sufficiently healed, turmoil, tears, my soul’s wails. I want to reduce them all to silence, in honour of my love for your holy and mysterious will. Thy will be done.
Everything that I was and shouldn’t have been, everything that I did and shouldn’t have done, everything that I said and shouldn’t have said…a;; that…I place them forever into the eternal oblivion of your heart. Thy will be done.
Those people who hurt me so…
Those first enemies…
That first failure and then the other one, which was the worst one in my life…
That mistake which I regretted so much afterwards…
Those undertakings that collapsed and we all know whose fault that was…
Those ideals that I was never able to attain…
My Lord, my Lord, at this moment all of that bloody, painful mass, be transformed into a fragrant offering and placed forever with love upon the altar of your will. And let this moment be my second rebirth, because my past will remain forgotten and erased forever; everything will begin anew. Like a newborn child, today I can start to walk freely and happily.
In your name, Lord. Amen.
Sixth: Forgiveness in the Spirit of Jesus
O, Holy Spirit, almighty power of God, in this moment may my feelings be the feelings of Jesus.
My Lord, Jesus, You who died and were resurrected, and who is present here at this moment, enter into my being. Possess me completely. Make Yourself vividly present in my body and my spirit, and take complete control over my feelings, my thoughts, what I am, and what I have. At this moment, let your feelings be my feelings; your emotions, my emotions, your eyes my eyes, your arms my arms.
Christ Jesus, almighty and loving Lord, calm this storm of resentment and hostility that I feel towards that person. I want to feel what You feel for that person right now, what You felt when You died on the cross for their salvation. Pardon that person from the depths of my being. Transform my feelings into your feelings, forgive and love that person from within me, instead of me, with me. I want to forgive that person like You do, love them like You do, feel what You feel for that person. I want to see that person through your eyes and embrace them with your arms. I care for them. I understand that person. I forgive that person. I love that person, like You, my Lord.
That person, You and I, all as one; the three of us in a tight embrace: that person, You and me; I, You, and that person; You, that person and I in an identifying embrace; more than pardon, I understand that person, I love that person, I love that person…
Psalm 119:105-109
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light for my path.
106 I make a solemn vow
to observe your righteous judgments.
107 I am very much afflicted, Lord;
give me life in accord with your word.
108 Accept my freely offered praise;
Lord, teach me your judgments.
109 My life is always at risk,
but I do not forget your law.
Though our lives are greatly afflicted and always at risk, Lord God YHVH Elohim, Your Word is as a lamp lighting the path to righteousness and justice; Your commandments, ordinances, and decrees are justice, are righteousness, are love. Therefore, we your children shall faithfully vow to follow all of them, every aspect of Your Word, every day of our lives, out of pure love, they are not a burden, but are a joy.
Luke 12:22-32
22 He said to [his] disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. 24 Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds! 25 Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span? 26 If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. 28 If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? 29 As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. 30 All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. 32 Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
This has been one of my favourite passages from my youth; I share it often with others, as many are plagued to paranoia with fears caused by the horrible false teachings of the Protestant churches which leave their flocks perpetually scared of some dark evil figure enslaving them, torturing them, and killing them–but I do not fear, I do not worry, for The Lord is with me. This passage directly instructs us to not worry about any hardship, for worrying about them will not make them any easier, and worrying or being afraid shows a complete lack of trust/faith in the Lord.
I have spent most of my life homeless and under attack, but never feared, never worried about how I would get what I need or how I would survive, because the Lord is with me, and I am with Him.
Hebrews 10:5-10
5 For this reason, when he came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
6 holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in.
7 Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
Behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”8 First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. 9 Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Here Paul quotes Psalm 40:6-8. I vehemently disagree with how most “Christians” interpret this passage. God takes away the first (our desire to do sin) to establish the second (the Law which is His will) — is the correct understanding of this. This is made clear when one reads the rest of Psalm 40 verse 8, “I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” Paul only quotes the first half of the verse, and therefore when those who claim to be “Christians” are not family with the original text that Paul is quoting, and are only reading Paul, they are missing the conclusion of the statement, they are missing the point.
Yet, we know that Paul is familiar with this part of the psalm, as he references it elsewhere, and Christians are in fact very familiar with him saying it, as they will often quote, “”God has now written his law on our hearts.” but they will wrongfully interpret this verse to mean, “God’s written Law was done away with and replaced with a new one written on our hearts!” and use this as an excuse to ignore the Word of God and instead go by their conscious, even though Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” and Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding.” So we cannot go by our own understanding of what feels right in our hearts, because we too often would pick what society makes easy, and what is physically pleasurable to our flesh.
To understand what Paul is saying here, we must read the context of that verse in Psalm 40, and the similar statements made by Jesus in Matthew 5:23-24 in which He makes the same point the prophet Isaiah was in Isiah chapter 1. They are both also referencing psalm 40, same as Paul here. With the context of Psalm 40, Psalm 51, Isaiah chapter 1, and Matthew 5:23-24, it is clear that God does desire sacrifice and offerings, but only when we are following His commandments of love for our fellow man and all of the creatures of the planet and the earth itself.
“God’s law being written on our hearts” was not some new “Christian” teaching or something just bestowed after the death of Christ by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; not only was it already said in Psalm 40:8 by David (the writer of Psalms), but in saying this both David and Paul were quoting Deuteronomy chapter 30, which is part of the Law, part of the Torah. So this is not a “new teaching” it is not a “New Covenant.” Do you think Paul was not familiar with The Word of God? He was a Pharisee, an expert in The Law. Paul was therefore calling us to ever the more strongly follow the Law, and reminding us that sacrifices and offerings are a slap in the face to God if we are hating our fellow man, mistreating the land and animals, and ignoring His sabbaths and high holy-days. We must do away with our former disobedience and idolatry and do the will of God as He commands in His Law.
John 8:1-11
1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. 4 They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. 7 But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. 10 Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more.”
I was just speaking of this to a friend of mine the other day. She asked me about Mary Magdalene, and I mentioned how tradition attributes many nameless women in the gospels as being her. My friend then asked, “How did Magdalene and Jesus meet?” I told her, “Magdalene is said to have been cured by Jesus from many demons…” and, “…since she is often conflated with the woman accused of adultery, that it is often considered to have been demons of lust.” I then explained that I interpret that woman as having been falsely accused of adultery, as even though they claimed to have caught her in the act, none of these men brought her before the Sanhedrin, and therefore likely did not have the two or three witnesses required to have her legally stoned to death. A few days later at daily Mass the readings were that of Daniel and Susanna and then this passage. In his homily the priest compared the two stories, saying that Susanna was wrongfully accused of adultery, but that this woman was in fact guilty of adultery. I however see the story of Daniel and Susanna as the Old Testament mirror of this story, and therefore as proof that this woman was also innocent, just as Susanna was innocent.
In this passage Jesus sees a group who is attacking a woman while they are not following what the Law says as to how to handle their accusation. So he stops them by writing out their own sins, and challenging them that if they have not likewise sinned, then they may cast the first stone. All then withdraw, unable to accuse her in any way which would be acceptable and in accordance with the Law; Christ does not accuse her either.
This reminds us to not gossip, to not commit the sin of The Evil Tongue, and not to condemn without evidence. For if others did so to us without evidence based on the evil tongue spoken against us, would we not all be stoned to death? We must not condemn others based on rumours.
Psalm 119:33-40
33 Lord, teach me the way of your statutes;
I shall keep them with care.
34 Give me understanding to keep your law,
to observe it with all my heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for that is my delight.
36 Direct my heart toward your testimonies
and away from gain.
37 Avert my eyes from what is worthless;
by your way give me life.
38 For your servant, fulfill your promise
made to those who fear you.
39 Turn away from me the taunts I dread,
for your judgments are good.
40 See how I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life.
All of His commandments, statutes, laws, decrees, and rules are holy, good, beneficial, and worth following diligently all the days of our life. “Direct my heart towards your decrees and away from unjust gain.”
John 3:1-8
1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
This passage is of course traditionally understood as referring to baptism or as Protestants call it, “being born again.” We must die to the desires of the flesh, die to ourself and what we want, and be reborn into a new spirit, the spirit (will/desire) of what God wants.
Psalm 119:97-112
Mem
97 How I love your law, Lord!
I study it all day long.
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my foes,
as it is forever with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
because I ponder your testimonies.
100 I have more understanding than my elders,
because I keep your precepts.
101 I keep my steps from every evil path,
that I may observe your word.
102 From your judgments I do not turn,
for you have instructed me.
103 How sweet to my tongue is your promise,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through your precepts I gain understanding;
therefore I hate all false ways.Nun
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light for my path.
106 I make a solemn vow
to observe your righteous judgments.
107 I am very much afflicted, Lord;
give me life in accord with your word.
108 Accept my freely offered praise;
Lord, teach me your judgments.
109 My life is always at risk,
but I do not forget your law.
110 The wicked have set snares for me,
but from your precepts I do not stray.
111 Your testimonies are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.
112 My heart is set on fulfilling your statutes;
they are my reward forever.
We are to love God’s teaching, study His Torah, and gain His wisdom, for all of His laws lead to good. His Law/Torah is a joy to our hearts, and our hearts are set on fulfilling His law, for they are our reward forever.
Seventh Session – Day of Review and Community Prayer
No priest lesson; prayer style is all of the ones we have covered or whatever one the person likes most.
Colossians 1:15-20
15 He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
16 For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
18 He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
19 For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
20 and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
[through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven.
The Word of God (His Torah) is how we get to know Him, it is the very image of who He is, for what He stands for is the image of who He is–it is therefore in reading His Word that we can see the image of the invisible God, in gazing at, looking at His Word we are gazing and looking at the invisible God and seeing Him.
All things were created by, in, and through His Word. His Word was therefore the firstborn of all creation. All things, in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, were created through Him for Him. In Him all things hold together.
The Church is the body of Christ, and He is her head, and he is to be preeminent (most important/the first to come to mind) above all things–that is also to say that the assembly of the Anointed (Christians/Messianics/followers of God/the children of Israel) are to keep God as their head, and the Word of God is to be preeminent, the most important, the first thing at the front of our minds, frontlets before our eyes, His Word (Torah/Instructions) are the most important above all things–in His Word all things hold together, in it all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through His Word He reconciles all things for Him, making peace by the sacrificial blood on the crossbeams, reconciling all those on earth and those in Heaven.
Psalm 36:6-13
6 Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven;
your fidelity, to the clouds.
7 Your justice is like the highest mountains;
your judgments, like the mighty deep;
human being and beast you sustain, Lord.
8 How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
9 They feast on the rich food of your house;
from your delightful stream you give them drink.
10 For with you is the fountain of life,
and in your light we see light.
11 Show mercy on those who know you,
your just defense to the upright of heart.
12 Do not let the foot of the proud overtake me,
nor the hand of the wicked disturb me.
13 There make the evildoers fall;
thrust them down, unable to rise.
The Word of God is a fountain of life, and in His light (wisdom) we see light (wisdom). His Word is a delightful stream which never runs dry, an eternal feast of rich food, it is pleasing, nutritious, and gives life, it is healthy for us, it restores our health, restoreth our soul (life), His love is endless, higher than the highest mountains, deeper than the deepest depths of the sea, full of all meaning. We find safe refuge under His protective wings. His justice and righteous judgements and decrees, his teachings of justice and righteousness are the source of all kindness and sustain life. If we follow them, we will be kind and sustain all life on earth, we will seek justice for those in need and defend those of honest heart.
Lord, do not let pride (stubbornness, me thinking myself the most important) take foot in me, do not let it take hold of me or root in me, please do not let it overtake me, nor let sin/wickedness take hold of me. Let the evilness within me fall away, cast down, never to rise.
Sirach 2:1-7
1 My child, when you come to serve the Lord,
prepare yourself for trials.
2 Be sincere of heart and steadfast,
and do not be impetuous in time of adversity.
3 Cling to him, do not leave him,
that you may prosper in your last days.4 Accept whatever happens to you;
in periods of humiliation be patient.
5 For in fire gold is tested,
and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation.
6 Trust in God, and he will help you;
make your ways straight and hope in him.7 You that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy,
do not stray lest you fall.
I was just speaking with a friend today and she said almost these exact words and I affirmed them to be true and righteous words. Interesting enough, she must have been inspired by God and The Spirit, as she was raised in a church in which Sirach was not included in Holy Scripture, and she therefore has never read it. These words which she spoke which exactly mirror these, are strong and comforting words–I feel deep sorrow and sadness for every troubled soul who is denied the comfort of these words by a church who removed these words from scripture.
Romans 8:15-21
15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. 19 For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; 20 for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Both Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 declare that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; therefore His will, what He wants, what He desires cannot change. If God wanted us to do something in the past, to live a particular way, then that is still how He wants us to live. God removed His people from the slavery of Mizraim (Egypt/Narrow Straights) and brought His followers to the freedom and blessing of following Him and His ways, as expressed/taught in His commandments. We therefore did not receive a spirit of slavery (The Law/His Commandments are not slavery) to fall back into fear (of slavery to the narrow straights of sin), but you received a spirit of adoption (by becoming b’nei mitzvot/children of the commandments, we become b’nei Elohim/children of God), through which we cry, “Abba, Father!” And by adopting His Will (His Commandments) as our will (our desire), by gaining this Set-Apart Spirit (Holy Spirit/desire for set-apartness), this Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit/desire/will that we are children of God.
Now, many ignorantly in their laziness say, “Those were for Israel only!” But they ignore what else Paul says in Galatians 3:26-29 and Romans chapter 11:
26 For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:26-29
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Of course not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew…11 Hence I ask, did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not! But through their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. 12 Now if their transgression is enrichment for the world, and if their diminished number is enrichment for the Gentiles, how much more their full number.
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry 14 in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch of dough; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place and have come to share in the rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. If you do boast, consider that you do not support the root; the root supports you. 19 Indeed you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is so. They were broken off because of unbelief, but you are there because of faith. So do not become haughty, but stand in awe. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. 22 See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but God’s kindness to you, provided you remain in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated one, how much more will they who belong to it by nature be grafted back into their own olive tree.
25 I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not become wise in your own estimation: a hardening has come upon Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, 26 and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The deliverer will come out of Zion,
he will turn away godlessness from Jacob;
27 and this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”28 In respect to the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but in respect to election, they are beloved because of the patriarchs. 29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
Romans 11:1-2,11-28
When we become children of God, we become Abraham’s descendants, adopted by faith (trust and faithfulness) as children, grafted into Israel, and as such, having God’s Instruction (Torah/Law) written on our hearts (made our only desire), we are no longer slaves to sin, but freed from that desire to sin we can now freely follow the will of God as He instructs in His Instruction (Torah).
…we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8:16c-17
We are children of God, and joint heirs with Christ if only we suffer with him. Therefore one cannot say that Christ has freed us from all suffering, on the contrary, because we are heirs with him, we will suffer, but we will suffer for the glory of God. Creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption (sin) and share in the glorious freedom (from sin) of the children of God. If:
Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
1st John 3:4 NKJV
Then by following The Law (Torah) we are freed from slavery to the corruption of sin and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. Therefore, the children of God, no matter whether they are Jew or Greek (Gentile), are grafted into Israel, becoming descendants of Abraham, and children of the Covenant (b’nei mitzvot), and just as Jesus fulfilled The Law, we must live as He lived, even facing persecution even to the point of death (and dying to ourselves/our will as well), so as to suffer with him and thus become joint heirs with him, children of God.
Psalm 103:1-4
1 Of David.
Bless the Lord, my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, my soul;
and do not forget all his gifts,
3 Who pardons all your sins,
and heals all your ills,
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
and crowns you with mercy and compassion
YHVH, may all bless and praise His Holy Name! He pardons all transgressions, forgives all debts, heals all ills, and delivers us from the pit, the grave, hell, and surrounds us with love and compassion, filling our lives with goodness and blessings. For this all life (souls) owe Him praise and thanksgiving.
Philippians 2:1-11
1 If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. 3 Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, 4 each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.
5 Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
6 Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
7 Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
8 he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
9 Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Here Paul adjures/begs the congregation to not needlessly argue or quarrel/fight, and to not be prideful or self-serving, but to be peaceable, humble, and community driven. He gives the example of Jesus who in his humility and service to others was in the form (image) of God. By following the Word of God, and living a humble life of lovingly serving God and others in the way God instructs, we grow into the form/image of the Word of God and therefore into the image of God, as we were intended to be–in doing this we become who we are meant to become.
1st Corinthians 13:1-13 (the whole chapter)
1 If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, 5 it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, 6 it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. 9 For we know partially and we prophesy partially, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. 12 At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. 13 So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
No matter how eloquent of a speaker I am, if I speak without love (caring about and wanting to help my fellow man) then my words will be as meaningless and hurtful as clashing racket. If I had the gift of prophecy, or all the knowledge in the world, but did not care about my fellow man, then all of my knowledge would be useless, and my faith would be meaningless. If I gave up all things and even sacrificed myself, but it was all in vainglory and not because I cared for others, then all of my sufferings would be meaningless.
When you care about others, you are patient, kind, not jealous, not prideful, not rude. If we truly care about others we will not act from a mindset which is selfish and for our own gain, always screwing others for our interests, and looking for how something or someone will serve us; but rather only for how we can help them. If we care about others we will not be quick-tempered, not hold grudges or brood over wrongs, and we will not find pleasure in the pains and misfortune of others nor would we take pleasure in vengeance. We will endure all things, and hope for and believe that even those who hate and persecute us may turn to goodness.
Knowledge and eloquence fails and fades, but love of others, true love, truly caring, never fails. so let us put away such childish things as impatience, cruelty, jealousy, pride, rudeness, selfish self-seeking, quick-temperedness, grudges, brooding over past wrongs, and the desire for vengeance, and know that caring about and helping one another is the most important thing above faith and hope.
Eighth Session – Adoration of Encounter
In intimacy we come together with The Lord–like in Song of Songs, just Him and us alone in adoration and full attention solely on Him, our every thought only on Him.
Psalm 84
1 For the leader; “upon the gittith.” A psalm of the Korahites.
2 How lovely your dwelling,
O Lord of hosts!
3 My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and flesh cry out
for the living God.
4 As the sparrow finds a home
and the swallow a nest to settle her young,
My home is by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God!
5 Blessed are those who dwell in your house!
They never cease to praise you.
Selah6 Blessed the man who finds refuge in you,
in their hearts are pilgrim roads.
7 As they pass through the Baca valley,
they find spring water to drink.
The early rain covers it with blessings.
8 They will go from strength to strength
and see the God of gods on Zion.9 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.
Selah
10 O God, watch over our shield;
look upon the face of your anointed.11 Better one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
Better the threshold of the house of my God
than a home in the tents of the wicked.
12 For a sun and shield is the Lord God,
bestowing all grace and glory.
The Lord withholds no good thing
from those who walk without reproach.
13 O Lord of hosts,
blessed the man who trusts in you!
This psalm was assigned for the third session and thus my commentary on it can be found there–of course with its theme of ‘pining for the Lord’ it connects well with ‘Adoration of Encounter’ as we lovingly long to adore our Lord and yearn for that intimate encounter of embrace and becoming one (echad) with Him.
2nd Corinthians 3:18
18 All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.
We are like a bride longing for the day that the Lord Our Beloved Spouse lovingly lifts the veil from our face and we gaze upon Him, knowing Him face to face, becoming one (echad) with Him, full of His glory, full of His Spirit (will/desire/essence), no longer a child, but grown and transformed in the fullness of Him!
1st Timothy 1:12-16
12 I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry. 13 I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief. 14 Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost. 16 But for that reason I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.
The Anointing Salvation (Christ Jesus/Mashiach Y’shua) of the Lord (Adonai) Our Beloved to whom we are espoused is so endlessly merciful (loving-kindness/Hesed), as to forgive and take us in when we had been unfaithful and in our willing ignorance casted Him aside; yet when we in tears return (teshuva) to Him, He lovingly lifts us up, wipes away our tears, and soothes, and comforts our hearts, consoling us, and strengthening us with His strength. He favours (gives grace to) us, indeed His favour, faith, and love for us is abundant in ‘His Anointing Salvation’ (Christ Jesus).
Isaiah 26:7-9
7 The way of the just is smooth;
the path of the just you make level.
8 The course of your judgements, Lord, we await;
your name and your memory are the desire of our souls.
9 My soul yearns for you at night,
yes, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn;
When your judgement comes upon the earth,
the world’s inhabitants learn justice.
Lord (YHVH), it is to you and Your Name, and Your Ways that the righteous, those full of justice, look! For Your Ways, your righteous and just decrees make straight and smooth the path of righteousness. Your judgements are truly right and just, always and forever–it is right and just to always give you praise O Lord.
O how my soul yearns for you in the depths of the night, like lovers, yes, my spirit (innermost regions) yearns for, longs for, and keeps vigil for you, always, especially in the night! How I long for my entire world to dwell with you, in your very decree and command, to live according to your will, your desire.
Isaiah 60:19-20
19 No longer shall the sun
be your light by day,
Nor shall the brightness of the moon
give you light by night;
Rather, the Lord will be your light forever,
your God will be your glory.
20 No longer will your sun set,
or your moon wane;
For the Lord will be your light forever,
and the days of your grieving will be over.
I am a Goth: “No longer shall the sun be your (my) light by day, nor (even) the brightness of the moon shine upon you (me) at night.” It is the Lord YHVH who is our light (guiding wisdom) forever! For with Him/Her the days of our mourning shall be at an end, and it will be irrelevant whether it is day or night, for all shall be joy and comfort, all shall be well in that great love!
Luke 24:13-28
13 Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, 14 and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. 15 And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, 16 but their eyes were prevented from recognising him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. 22 Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. 24 Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
So often, so many people go through life questioning why seemingly bad things happen, blind to God’s will and to what must take place for that to happen. They cry, weep, and complain because things have not gone as they would have liked, not trusting (having faith) in God, nor seeing things through His eyes. The suffering was necessary, the loss was necessary, and in the seeming failure is victory; only in dying can one truly be born again, only in losing everything can one be truly found, only in giving up everything can one truly gain everything–but not in the eyes of man.
I have given up and lost everything, and yet I have everything–I am full of love.
Psalm 123
1 A song of ascents.
To you I raise my eyes,
to you enthroned in heaven.
2 Yes, like the eyes of servants
on the hand of their masters,
Like the eyes of a maid
on the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes are on the Lord our God,
till we are shown favour.
3 Show us favour, Lord, show us favour,
for we have our fill of contempt.
4 Our souls are more than sated
with mockery from the insolent,
with contempt from the arrogant.
YHVH is our saviour (Y’shua)! Though others may hate us, rudely insult us and arrogantly holding us in disdain and contempt; He shows us favour after favour, and like a bride we swear to lovingly wait at His hand forever, obedient to His will, He is our everything!
Ninth Session – In the Silence of the Presence
Contemplative Prayer
Priest Talk Notes:
Prayer is a gift and an art. Praying with words is easy, but quieting oneself to hear God is something some find challenging. The enemies of prayer are impatience, inconstancy, and hopelessness.
1 “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire labourers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ 5 So they went off. [And] he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. 6 Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ 8 When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ 9 When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. 10 So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ 13 He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? 15 [Or] am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Matthew 20:1-16
In God’s kingdom nothing is payed for because nothing is earned, it is all a gift. In the Parable of The Workers, they work for various hours, some 10 hours, others 2 hours–the 10 hour worker if asking God why the 2 hour worker got the same, God would say that what the 2 hour worker got was a gift, and what the 10 hour worker got was a gift–nothing can be earned, it is all a gift from Him in His Kingdom.
Many abandon God and prayer (relationship with Him) because there is no ratio between effort and result, no correlation, you can pray constantly and do a thousand good deeds and still not get what you want, yet another can pray only once and get the miracle they requested—it is all a gift of grace, and this is so counter to the ways of the world.
I really like this interpretation of the Parable of the Workers, because as an Anarcho-Communist, I favour a gift economy where people do whatever they can for the good of the community, and in return they get all of the things they need, and basically anything they could ever want (within reason, greed is not okay). He made that parable a good illustration of my reasons for a gift economy, because we, as children of God, deserve to live, to have shelter, food, healthcare, etc. regardless to how useful others may think our contributions to society are, as long as we are doing our best to contribute what talents we have. Some have many talents, some little, but we are all called to use and contribute what we have been given. But the current Capitalist world which is built upon greed is unable to recognise the wonderful and simple contributions of the disabled, the elderly, the artist, the story-teller/writer, and therefore damns them to die in the gutters, this is unjust and not the way of God, not the way of the mitzvot which is a way of blessing and loving-kindness. We must see Christ in each of these people and show them loving-kindness. When we see people like this, then we love as God loves, and realise that all is a gift, and our stony hearts melt away to fountains of loving-kindness, oceans of mercy, and we are all filled with blessings that overflow out from our hearts and hands.
Those who know me, know that I am a hard worker, dedicated to volunteering to do whatever I can to help in any way I can; so they know that I do not promote laziness. Who cares if I get some great reward, or get nothing, as long as I am helping others, I don’t care what I do or don’t get. And that is works of faith, ones done out of love of God and love of my fellow man, not works of vanity done for ones own gain. And that is how we are to serve God, how we are to fulfil the mitzvot, not for our own gain, not for some reward of heaven or to avoid hell, but because we love God.
In November 2020, I spread the mulch over Brian’s yard for the pavilion, I worked so hard that I actually, honestly, truthfully, lost all feeling in my fingers for a week and a half. I did this for Natzarim Yahshua Family Fellowship after I was kicked out, with full knowledge that they would likely never know that I did it for them, and that it would not help me get back in it; but that was fine, as I did it out of love of them, without expectation of benefit. As Jesus/Y’shua says in Matthew 5:46-47 and Luke 6:32-34, “If we only do good things for others, only if they will do good things for us in return, what reward is there in that, for even the heathens do that.”
Contemplation is pure communion, oneness with God, no need for words or thoughts which partially convey God; instead the person becomes one with God, there is no need of words, thoughts, reflection, one just becomes silent in the presence of God, in great union with Him, again like silently embracing one’s spouse, becoming one with no words, no name, both within and without, fully in us and fully surrounding us, enveloping us in complete love. We are open to Him, He enters us, searches us, fills us, loves us. We are attentive to Him and Him to us, densely present, we look at Him, He looks at us, inundating us, suffusing us, let us be loved!
Hidden Presence
Hidden Presence from Encounter Prayer Handbook by Ignacio Larranaga
You are not there.
We cannot see your face.
You are there.
Your Rays burst in all directions.
You are the Hidden Presence.
O presence always hidden and always clear;
O Fascinating Mystery
towards which every aspiration focuses.
O Intoxicating Wine
that satisfies all desires.
O Unfathomable Infinite
that soothes all delusions.
You are the Furthest and Closest of all.
Your substance dwells
in my entire being.
You bestow existence
and constancy upon me.
You penetrate me, You surround me, You love me.
You are around me and in me.
With your active presence You reach
the remotest and deepest zones
of my intimacy.
You are the soul of my soul,
the life of my life,
more me than I, myself,
total and totalising reality,
in the midst of which I am submerged.
With your life giving force
You penetrate all that I am, all that I have.
Take me entirely, All of my all,
and make me
a living transparency
of your Being and of your Love,
O most beloved Father!
Psalm 139
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
Lord, you have probed me, you know me:
2 you know when I sit and stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
3 You sift through my travels and my rest;
with all my ways you are familiar.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
Lord, you know it all.
5 Behind and before you encircle me
and rest your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
far too lofty for me to reach.7 Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence, where can I flee?
8 If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;
if I lie down in Sheol, there you are.
9 If I take the wings of dawn
and dwell beyond the sea,
10 Even there your hand guides me,
your right hand holds me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light”—
12 Darkness is not dark for you,
and night shines as the day.
Darkness and light are but one.13 You formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works!
My very self you know.
15 My bones are not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
fashioned in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw me unformed;
in your book all are written down;
my days were shaped, before one came to be.17 How precious to me are your designs, O God;
how vast the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sands;
when I complete them, still you are with me.
19 When you would destroy the wicked, O God,
the bloodthirsty depart from me!
20 Your foes who conspire a plot against you
are exalted in vain.21 Do I not hate, Lord, those who hate you?
Those who rise against you, do I not loathe?
22 With fierce hatred I hate them,
enemies I count as my own.23 Probe me, God, know my heart;
try me, know my thoughts.
24 See if there is a wicked path in me;
lead me along an ancient path.
YHVH God, knows us more intimately than anyone ever could: He penetrates our deepest recesses, fills our innermost regions; surrounds, encircles, envelops, and embraces us completely, both our front and behind–He is our rear-guard and He goes before us as our defence, our protector, and our saviour (Y’shua). He knows our innermost thoughts, like intimate lovers we don’t have to say anything–He already knows. His hands are always on us, soothing and comforting us, and He is with us wherever we go and when we are at rest, He is there with us when we are relaxed and while we are erect–He knows all our ways, He knows our heart.
You O Lord (YHVH) preciously created all things! From the depths of the earth you fashioned, full of wonders beyond number, countless as the sands of the sea. You knitted me in my mother’s womb, you alone saw my every bone and most secret places. You see and know my every day, my every action, and in you every day is made wondrously, you shape all perfectly, your ways are perfection! You love the righteous and hate the wicked, therefore may I love what is good in your eyes, and may I detest the very thought of me doing what is evil in your sight. May I never take advantage of another, or seek my own glory, may I never swear faithless oaths or deceitfully invoke your name. Father, correct any way which may be crookedly malformed within me, and lead me in your true, just, and righteous ways from Bereshit. If I were ton fly up to the highest heavens you would be there, in the deepest grave I would find you, you span the depths of the sea and from the place where the sun rises to the place where it sets. May your hand always guide me and give me strength.
If I say, ‘Surely darkness shall hide me and night shall be my light–night to me is what day is to others.’ Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one.
Psalm 139:11-12
Genesis 18:1-10
1 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. 2 Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, 3 he said: “Sir, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. 4 Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest under the tree. 5 Now that you have come to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.” “Very well,” they replied, “do as you have said.”
6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick, three measures of bran flour! Knead it and make bread.” 7 He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. 8 Then he got some curds and milk, as well as the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them, waiting on them under the tree while they ate.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There in the tent,” he replied. 10 One of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.
This passage is often used by Trinitarians as biblical proof that God is triune, as it says, “The Lord appeared to Abraham,” and Abraham saw three men. This of course doesn’t explain how Abraham could see the face of the Father and live, something which would contradict both old and new testaments–Exodus 33:20, John 1:18, 1st John 4:12. It is therefore as scripture directly says, they are angels/messengers, regardless to the nature of God.
Some Messianics who are in favour of eating cheese with meat also claim that verses 6-8 is proof that eating meat with cheese and milk is acceptable. However scripture often tells us of things which people are not to eat or wear because these things are holy (set-apart) for God or for the priests. We will notice in these verses Abraham and Sarah do not eat of this, but only the angels–this might mean that meat and milk together is a holy dish, set-apart, not to be eaten by man.
Lastly, we of course should note that all is possible for God, even that which would seem ridiculous by practical understanding, such as an elderly woman who no longer menstruates being able to conceive and have a child–God answers prayers and brings joy.
1st Kings (3rd Kings) 19:9-15
9 There he came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the word of the Lord came to him: Why are you here, Elijah? 10 He answered: “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.” 11 Then the Lord said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord—but the Lord was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 after the earthquake, fire—but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound.
13 When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, Why are you here, Elijah? 14 He replied, “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.” 15 The Lord said to him: Go back! Take the desert road to Damascus. When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
The wicked king of the now fallen into idolatry northern kingdom of Israel, has slain the prophets of YHVH Elohim (The Lord God) and only Elijah has escaped with his life. God asked why Elijah was there, and then passed by Elijah, not in a horrible storm, nor earthquake or fire, but in a soft whisper, and told Elijah to go out and do His will. We are not to be afraid or live in fear allowing that to prevent us from doing the Will of God (see also the parable of the talents), we are to go out and do His will, regardless of the danger, for YHVH is our stronghold and our salvation.
Exodus 3:1-15
1 Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as fire flaming out of a bush. When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being consumed. 3 So Moses decided, “I must turn aside to look at this remarkable sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called out to him from the bush: Moses! Moses! He answered, “Here I am.” 5 God said: Do not come near! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father, he continued, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 But the Lord said: I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry against their taskmasters, so I know well what they are suffering. 8 Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them up from that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now indeed the outcry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Now, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 God answered: I will be with you; and this will be your sign that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God at this mountain. 13 “But,” said Moses to God, “if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what do I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses: I am who I am. Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.
15 God spoke further to Moses: This is what you will say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.
This is my name forever;
this is my title for all generations.
The burning bush was engulfed in the blazing fires of the light of God, yet contrary to the name, the bush was not burning, it was ablaze but not consumed. Like this bush, we are to burn brightly with the light of God, with that Anointed light of Yah’s salvation of us, yet this blazing light does not destroy us, it consumes us without consuming us, burns within and without, yet we are never burned-out, and the voice of God comes forth from us, the Anointed Voice of Salvation! He is what He is, YHVH Elohim of all creation, the Mighty One of all creation, creator of all, the Elohim of our Fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
1st Corinthians 3 (the whole chapter)
1 Brothers, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, 3 for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving in an ordinary human way? 4 Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?
5 What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. 7 Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. 9 For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, 11 for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. 15 But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written:
“He catches the wise in their own ruses,”
20 and again:
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
21 So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, 22 Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, 23 and you to Christ, and Christ to God.
The Anointed Salvation of God (Christ Jesus) laid down the foundation from which we are to build up our lives as a temple of worship and sacrifice honouring God. Whether we build upon it with hay (bad works) or gold and gems (good works) is up to each of us, but know that it will be tested by fire (tribulation/hard times) and God shall see how we have constructed our lives as a temple to Him, poorly or with great care and love of Him. The one who is tested by fire (hard times) and remains, will receive his reward and one shall be saved by being tested by fire. We are the temple of God and we are to be set-apart (holy), wholly for Him. “Anyone who destroys God’s temple. God will destroy that person.” Therefore do not give up in building a life set-apart to God, do not allow others to destroy that within you, and don’t destroy that within others.
Luke 11:38-42
38 As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. 39 She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. 40 Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” 41 The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. 42 There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
Martha burdened herself with so many perceived concerns and worries over things that she thought needed to be done, but Mary understood that Yah’s Salvation (Y’shua) was the most important thing, to which all worries and tasks fall away.
Psalm 90
This was also assigned in session 3, so my commentary can be found there.
Tenth Session – The Beginning, the Centre, and the End
Prayer of Inner Embrace
Priest Talk Notes and Reflections:
Like Moses was shown the temple and instructed on how to build it; we are shown the Word of God embodied in Christ and He instructs us on how to build our lives into a temple of sacrifices to God. He served His Father, He did not speak of Himself or exult Himself, but only that of His Father in Heaven.
Whoever needed His help, had it–the weeping women, the thief on the cross, His mother at the foot of the cross. Whoever requested His help, received it; the poor, the suffering, those in need of justice, received His love and care as He lived with the poorest of the poor, those most in need. We aren’t supposed to just be emotional about these things, but to help fix things with solutions in our actions, like he did.
Luke 7:36-49
37 Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. 41 “Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty. 42 Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon said in reply, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.” He said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. 47 So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” 48 He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
A similar story is told in Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12:1-8, it is debated as to whether these are all the same incident, or if some are a different case of another woman doing this, If they are all in fact the same event, then in the gospel of John it says the woman was Mary of Bethany, and tradition often conflates Mary of Bethany with Mary Magdalene, saying that they are the same woman. I agree with tradition, I believe them to be the same woman. In this the Pharisee Simon The Leper accuses the woman of being an unclean woman of many sins; this also supports the tradition that she was a woman accused of prostitution, though as I already covered, I conclude that like Susanna she was falsely accused, though I do not deny that she was cured of many demons, some possibly being demons of lust.
In the account according to Luke, Jesus gives the Parable of The Debt Collector who forgives two men of their debt, one owing a small sum, the other a significant. He makes the point that the one whose significant debt was forgiven, would be much more grateful. Likewise, regardless to what kind of woman it was believed this woman was, her debts (trespasses/transgressions/sins) were as completely forgiven as those of the most righteous Pharisee who transgressed very little; and because God is so merciful/lovingly-kind, she was so grateful and honouring Him in a way that the others were not.
It doesn’t matter whether we in the past sinned very little or a million times, what matters is that we recognise those sins, turn away from them and turn towards God and His ways (teshuvah), and He in His loving-kindness will forgive our sins, regardless to how many or how bad. For this great loving-kindness (mercy/hesed) we should be ever so grateful.
Matthew 14:13-20
13 When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. 14 When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 [Jesus] said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” 17 But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” 18 Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” 19 and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full.
The disciples want to send the people away to buy their own food, but Christ shows them that no matter how little they have, that they can still feed the people. People are hungry, hungry for His Word, starving for His Word, and they cannot get it elsewhere, they have to get it from Him, from the Word of God. When we feed them from the Word of God, we will find that it never runs out, and that with it we can completely fill the twelve tribes so that they lack nothing and are completely restored. By eating of the bread of the Word of God, we will be completely restored, and completely filled, and lack nothing.
Mark 2:13-17
13 Once again he went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. 14 As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 15 While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. 16 Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 Jesus heard this and said to them [that], “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Some in their pride did not understand why a reputable man would eat with the ill-repute; but Jesus explained that just as doctors see the sick, not the healthy, likewise what service can He be for those who already follow God correctly? Like a doctor, He is most in need by those who have sinned most, who have been the most led astray, lost. We cannot let pride or fear allow us to become moral failures who are too afraid of the dirty, the poor, and sinners to help anyone. We must not be afraid to bless people with God’s blessings, to not be afraid to help people out of the dirty ash-heap, and bring them to the cleansing living waters of salvation.
Psalm 118
This was assigned in the 4th session, so my commentary to it can be found there.
Matthew 11:1-6
1 When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns. 2 When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him 3 with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 4 Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. 6 And blessed is the one who takes no offence at me.”
Jesus/Y’shua did not pridefully boast of His greatness, but asked that they look at His works to see who He was. Likewise, we should not boast, but how we are should shine forth like a bright light in all that we do, in healing and cleansing others and bringing good news to the poor.
Bringing good news to the poor is not simply telling them, “Jesus died for your sins so that you could be saved!” For telling them that is meaningless, it does not help them–James makes this very clear in his letter. No, the good news is that God, YHVH, is a god of loving-kindness, of compassion, and mercy, and He hears their pleas for justice and help, and He will rescue them, He will redeem them, He will save them (Y’shua), and he sends us, His Anointed Ones (Christs/Christians) as the body of Christ (as the Anointed body/Anointed assembly) as His hands and feet, His ears, eyes, and mouth–we see the injustice, we hear the cries for justice, we speak out for justice giving a voice to those who have none, we go out to where the injustices are occurring, and we are the hands that help end the injustice and lift the people out of the ash-heap, and plant them on steady ground, on a solid foundation; that foundation is The Lord (YHVH) and His Word of salvation (Y’shua). We bring them to the cleansing living waters of baptism (tevilah in a mikvah), and support them, give them stability and strength which comes from Him.
He is doing all of these things, it is He, we are simply the body, and He is the head. We must reach out, we must spread this good news–we must not let fear of harm or fear of the unclean cause us to be moral failures. Because it is His Teachings and His Will, his Spirit which dwells within us and gives us the dynamic power of action, that passionate fire blazing within us which causes us, His hands, to do His will, we cannot boast! But if we must boast, if we must blow a horn, let us not toot our own horn, but blow a horn of praise (shofar) for YHVH’s salvation (Y’shua). Let us not speak of any greatness of our own, but let His works through us stand as a witness to all of His Power and His Salvation (Y’shua) working in us–this is how we spread the good news.
Mark 1:40-45
40 A leper came to him [and kneeling down] begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” 42 The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. 43 Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. 44 Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” 45 The man went away and began to publicise the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
After cleansing the leper, He commanded the man to fulfil the laws (Torah), another sign that after being cleansed by Y’shua we are to go forward fulfilling the laws of the Torah, not to be restored, because we have already been restored, but out of love of Him.
Psalm 91
1 You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shade of the Almighty,
2 Say to the Lord, “My refuge and fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
3 He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare,
from the destroying plague,
4 He will shelter you with his pinions,
and under his wings you may take refuge;
his faithfulness is a protecting shield.
5 You shall not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor the pestilence that roams in darkness,
nor the plague that ravages at noon.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
near you it shall not come.
8 You need simply watch;
the punishment of the wicked you will see.
9 Because you have the Lord for your refuge
and have made the Most High your stronghold,
10 No evil shall befall you,
no affliction come near your tent.
11 For he commands his angels with regard to you,
to guard you wherever you go.
12 With their hands they shall support you,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You can tread upon the asp and the viper,
trample the lion and the dragon.14 Because he clings to me I will deliver him;
because he knows my name I will set him on high.
15 He will call upon me and I will answer;
I will be with him in distress;
I will deliver him and give him honour.
16 With length of days I will satisfy him,
and fill him with my saving power.
The Lord YHVH is our saviour (Y’shua), He saves all who know Him and trust (have faith) in Him. Our refuge and our stronghold, he protects us under his wings, defends us from the slings and arrows, and the traps and snares of all those who attack us. His Word is our safeguard and our deliverer, saving us from the traps set by our enemies, from the vipers and poisons which entrap and bound us, the sins and addictions which hold us prisoners and pollute us. His Word, His Word saves us! We must follow The Word of God, it rescues us from our sins. The Word of God corrects us and calls us out from our narrow place of idolatry and harmful self-pleasures, and guides us into love, love of all, and true everlasting pleasure and peace.
Eleventh Session – Free to Love
Priest Talk Notes and Reflections:
If one prays and are agitated, they likely are praying in the wrong way, leading to little to no change or improvement. In contrast God always leaves us unsettled, never leaving us where we are stuck in our narrow straights (Mizraim) and leading us out, moving us, and in unsettling us He gives us peace. So instead these people, while thinking that they are following God, are instead bowing down and worshipping the false god of self, unchanging, stuck in their narrow ways which bind and bond them, shackle and imprison them–this is why they remain frustrated. We need to go to The God who challenges us, who demands change, who unsettles us and calls us out, who corrects us and instructs us, bringing us out from where we are and to some place new. We need to grow in wisdom and love, meekness, humility, and forgiveness. In growing in this love we come infused with peace, joy, and fulfilment–we are unified in harmony with God when we give up resisting and allow God to unite with us giving us the image of Christ (Anointed/Christian).
We need to have compassion like Jesus, not living for ourself but for others, so overwhelmed with compassion that we must leap into action, healing the wounds and the hearts, helping the needy of all time, for they are Him; when we help them, we are truly, truly helping Him; when we turn down them, we are turning down Him. We must be like Him, serving them, and in doing so, we are serving Him. We need to truly and sincerely love them as Him, serve them as Him, care of them as Him. We need to become infused with Him, let Him overcome our every being. We must live with our arms wide open to the poor–wide open like Christ on the cross, wide open like Christ welcoming the children, wide open as a group hug, wide open full of gifts, full of food, full of love, welcoming them in–always feeding them, eating with them, giving them rest and love, and peace–in doing this we shall have peace.
We must seek out the ugly, the unattractive, the neglected and abandoned, the burn victim with the ugly face, the stroke victim with a shrivelled arm and limp, the meth addict with the broken and blackened teeth, the person with AIDS, the self-medicated with drugs paranoid schizophrenic who writes gibberish, claps, and laughs to themself–we must love them! I tell you, many of these people are angels in disguise, looking for us to invite them in and show them hospitality. We must see our Lord in them, and serve them as Him, love them as Him.
But these are not the only people who are poor; there is also those who are materially wealthy but poor in spirit. We are also to minister to (help) these, but in a different way. This ministry may be the harder one, as they often suffer from the leaven of Herod and of the Pharisees: in their great material wealth they may be callous, hardhearted, and stiff-necked. They may have hearts of stone without compassion, without caring for their fellow man. Like a Mohel we are called to help God circumcise their hearts, to remove the stony flesh and replace it with a soft, caring flesh. Like any circumcision, this can require skill and be painful. Like Christ to the Pharisees, we will have to rebuke them with the Word of God, and we will have to help re-educate them, teach them the love of their fellow man, love of the poor, and that we are called ton live lives of love, caring, and justice, helping those in need, leaving food for them, giving them a place to sleep, clothing to wear, and visiting and comforting the sick and those who are in prison.
We must, as Christians, never forget that our Lord was arrested, charged with crimes, put on trial, declared guilty, and sentenced; let us never forget that our messiah was a prisoner–Yes, yes, love Christ The Prisoner!
We must remind those who are materially wealthy of this, and pray that they gain deep love and compassion for their Lord who is in prison, who is facing the death penalty, who is reviled, spat upon, declared a menace to society, hated by organisations who claim to follow God, he walks everywhere with his posse, he is dirty, he has a beard and long hair, he is often around prostitutes and those of ill-repute–this is our Lord! Once we realise this, and truly see Him in them, then the stony heart melts away and is replaced with pure love.
This can be a hard lesson, especially for those who are materially wealthy. We must share the Good News with these people who are spiritually poor too. We must confront them, rebuke them, crack open their stony hearts, tear off the stones, tear them off with compassion, tear them off with a passion! We must allow God, through us, to bring the high and haughty low, to humble them and see the error of their ways. After that, they may then help rebuild others, and in doing so they may rebuild themselves in the way of righteousness, in the image of Christ. My heart and prayers go out to all of those who take up this task, as it is not an easy one; but as Christians we are not called to do that which is easy, but to that which is hard; let us lift up the cross and follow Him.
So let us pray that God will unsettle us, that he will call us out, call us to change our ways and confirm to His ways, ways that go counter to the way of the world, counter to what our flesh desires, counter to what is pleasing to us, that he calls us out from our narrow place, out to wander through the wilderness of Sin, to meet Him up on the mountain, and look to Him to provide as we make our way to His promised land.
Dear God, YHVH Elohim, be the God/Elohim/Mighty-One of my life, up-root me, and plant me in Your good soil, let me die to self, die to my own ways, and be reborn into Your way. Amen.
Matthew 9:35-38
35 Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. 36 At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the labourers are few; 38 so ask the master of the harvest to send out labourers for his harvest.”
“The harvest is abundant but the labourers are few;” Dear God, may we be your labourers, doing your will, and may through us, You gather together and harvest many souls (lives).
We must lovingly labour for the Father, we must be filled with compassion for those who are troubled and abandoned, and we must tend to this crop, give it water and nutrients, take care of it, watch it, protect it, shield it from the bitter cold and the blazing sun; from pests, scavenging harpies, and festering worms, we must fend these off; we must protect them and provide scaffolding, infrastructure to support them, hold them up until they are strong enough to stand on their own; this support shall help them to grow correctly, not crookedly, upright, not laid-over or off; and will shape them so that they may produce good fruit. The Word of God Instructs us on how to support others, we are to make sure that they have food, make sure that they have housing, if they are sick we are to comfort them, if they are in prison we are to visit them, and if their mode of transportation breaks down, we are to help them out of the ditch. We must be good labourers, otherwise the harvest will wither and rot in the field. So let us faithfully go out, lovingly work for God, and harvest His wheat and His fruit. Amen.
Psalm 143
1 A psalm of David.
Lord, hear my prayer;
in your faithfulness listen to my pleading;
answer me in your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgement with your servant;
before you no one can be just.
3 The enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground.
He has made me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.
4 My spirit is faint within me;
my heart despairs.
5 I remember the days of old;
I ponder all your deeds;
the works of your hands I recall.
6 I stretch out my hands toward you,
my soul to you like a parched land.
Selah
7 Hasten to answer me, Lord;
for my spirit fails me.
Do not hide your face from me,
lest I become like those descending to the pit.
8 In the morning let me hear of your mercy,
for in you I trust.
Show me the path I should walk,
for I entrust my life to you.
9 Rescue me, Lord, from my foes,
for I seek refuge in you.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
May your kind spirit guide me
on ground that is level.
11 For your name’s sake, Lord, give me life;
in your righteousness lead my soul out of distress.
12 In your mercy put an end to my foes;
all those who are oppressing my soul,
for I am your servant.
The Lord faithfully listens our prayers, He hears our cries for help, and He answer us with His justice.
“The enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground. He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead. My spirit is faint within me; my heart despairs.”
Psalm 143:3-4
O, how these verses remind me of the days of persecution from my youth–how the wicked Norms pursued me like rabid dogs in a hunt, how they snapped at me and struck me, stomped me and crushed me, kicking me to the ground, and covering me in filth. They did this to so many of my kinsmen, to Ameris in Florida, my beloved Stefani in Montreal, Sophie in England, and that one girl in Mexico. And then the Norms wonder why he seem antisocial, why we seem to hide away in the dark corners, and cemeteries, feeling more at home amongst the dead, the dead like Sophie, and that girl in Mexico, and Brian Deneke in Amarillo, saints and martyrs, we are dead to the world, and for us darkness is like noon-day. Yes, we look back, remembering the days of old, and pondering all God’s mighty and wondrous deeds–the works of His hands! We stretch out our hands towards You, O Lord, our souls like a parched land Crying For Rain, longing to be made into Wetlands! Hasten to answer us, Lord, for our spirits grow faint and fail! Please do not hide your face from us! We have become like those who are lowered down into the grave. We trust (have faith) in You, Your mercy (loving-kindness) is our only light. Your ways are the only path that we should walk, and we entrust our lives to You. You are our refuge, our deliverer from all our foes, from the enemy and the pit. Teach us to do Your will, may your kind spirit guide me, and be our foundation, level and solid. For your name’s sake, Lord, You give us life!
O God, in your unending goodness, in Your righteous justice You lead our souls out of distress, and from all that which oppresses our souls! YHVH our salvation (Y’shua)!
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 41 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ 44 Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ 45 He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ 46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
This, this is my most favourite passage in all of Scripture! This should be the motto of all Christians, of all followers of Y’shua–this is the Good News, that YHVH is a god of justice and love, and He teaches us justice and love, and calls us to do it! Those who claim to be Christians should read this and tremble! This is His message, let the world take heed. This is how we enter into the kingdom of heaven, how we gain eternal life. I try to live this with every action of my life, this is my motto, it is my actions, it is who I am.
Luke 15:1-31
This was also in the Second Session.
John 8:1-11
This was in the Sixth Session.
Psalm 131
Also assigned in the Fifth Session.
Ephesians 4:1-6
1 I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, 3 striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: 4 one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Four years ago I was speaking to my dear friend Josiah, of us following God, and I said, “I must be worthy of the Lord!” Josiah, having been raised Protestant, responded with the standard Protestant response, “No one can ever be worthy.” I, knowing that I was directly quoting scripture, took out my phone, and typed, “Worthy” into my Bible’s search bar, and I read to him the various passages in the Tanakh, and those said by Jesus/Y’shua in the Gospels, and by Paul in his letters, where they all said that we must “live in a manner worthy of the call [we] have received.” Yes, we must strive to be perfected in the Lord, we must endure in His perfection, and walk in a manner worthy of our Anointed calling. For if we do not walk in this manner, then we are not following Him, we are then not enduring in him. We must walk in His ways, and we must endure; so like Paul in this passage, I urge you to live in a manner worthy of this call.
Twelfth Session – Loving Like Jesus Loved
Before the recorded priest talk, we were assigned to read and reflect on 1st John 4:7-21:
1st John 4:7-21
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. 8 Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. 10 In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.
13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. 14 Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. 15 Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. 16 We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 17 In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
These verses, as well as all of the first letter of John, have always been very important to me as they tell us exactly what the anti-christ is and it is anyone who claims to love God, yet has hatred in their heart for their fellow man–we must prevent the anti-christ from forming within each of us, the anti-christ we must defeat is ourself. We must remember that the surviving manuscripts of the New Testament are in Greek, and in Greek, same as in Hebrew, “Christ” simply meant, “Anointed” and there were many Christs in scripture, kings, prophets, and high priests were all Anointed ones, Christs. Through Jesus/Y’shua and the Holy Spirit/Spirit of Set-Apartness, we have been given that Anointed spirit, dying to our own will and being reborn into that of Christ/Anointment (Christian). Therefore, when we claim to be of that anointed spirit, but hate our fellow man, we are not anointed, but anti-anointed/anti-christ–this is the only anti-christ in scripture, and it is plural, there were many even at the time that John wrote this letter 2,000 years ago.
The figure in which most Protestants are referring to when they say The Anti-Christ, is never called such in Scripture, he is instead called The Beast. In most ancient languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin, there were no separate numerals for numbers, each number was depicted by a letter of the alphabet, and there was a game where people would use a number that could be calculated to spell out a word, name, or phrase, this was called Gematria.
Wisdom is needed here; one who understands can calculate the number of the beast, for it is a number that stands for a person. His number is six hundred and sixty-six.
Revelations 13:18
However, in the Latin manuscripts, instead of the number 666, it gives the number 616–this was not an error. At the time John was writing this letter, the Emperor of Rome was badly persecuting Christians, and he was so perverse and evil that he has gone down in history as one of the most evil men to ever live; in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek he was called Neron Kaisar, in the Hebrew alphabet it is נרון קסר NRON QSR, which when interpreted numerically represents the numbers 50+200+6+50+100+60+200=666, it likewise equals that in Greek and Aramaic; in Latin however, his name was Nero Kaiser, which adds up to 616–so both numbers are correct, The Beast is Nero. The Greek term χάραγμα (charagma, “mark” in Revelation 13:16) was most commonly used for imprints on documents or coins. Charagma is well attested to have been an imperial seal of the Roman Empire used on official documents, those who did not possess the certificate of sacrifice (libellus) to Caesar could not pursue trades; likewise, the face of the Roman Emperor was imprinted (marked/charagma) onto all coins in the empire, and at this time Judea was a part of the Roman Empire, so to buy or to sell one needed to have the mark of the Beast/Nero.
Emperor Nero of course died in 68AD, and therefore there is no need to worry about him coming back and taking power. 666 appears two other times in scripture, both in the Old Testament: the first time is has to do with Solomon towards the end of his reign, when he starts multiplying his wealth, his women, and his horses, something which God commands kings to not do. These foreign wives leads Solomon’s kingdom and children into idolatry, which ultimately leads to the breakup of the kingdom and the exile and scattering of the people. The other time that number appears is in regards to Nebuchadnezzar, another corrupt idolatrous king. So if one wishes to believe that there will be such a future figure, we see from this, what kind of person they will be, a greedy, lecherous, corrupt leader. But if such a figure arises, what will we do about it?
Well, what can we do about it? Nothing! And if there is nothing we can do about it, should we waste time worrying about it? Nope! If you believe Scripture says such a figure will arise, then you should already know that there is nothing you can do to stop it, as God is never wrong. So, we cannot stop The Beast (if there will even be a future one, remember it may just be talking about Nero); but what we can do, each of us, is to stop ourselves from becoming anti-christs. Each day, we must reflect, take account of our actions, and ask ourself, “Am I truly a follower of God, or am I just claiming that while in actuality I am not following His teachings?” We cannot just say, “I follow Christ.” We have to actually follow Him, to do what He instructs, to live as He lived, to love as He loved, and to refrain from the things that He refrained from–this is what it means to follow someone. When we follow God’s ways, we are marked with the Set-Apart mark of the followers of God, and when we remain marked with that, we will not be marked with the lawless/wicked/evil mark of The Beast, which is lawlessness, disobedience to God. So be not marked with disobedience to God, but with the mark of faithfulness to God, if you love Him, you will follow His commandments–love one another, as Christ loved you.
Priest Talk Notes and Reflection:
We must leave the Egypt (Mizraim/Narrow Straights/Bondage) of selfishness, and go to the land of God’s Love (Y’ahavah).
31 …Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 [If God is glorified in him,] God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. 33 My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you. 34 I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. 35 This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:31-35
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
John 15:13
God is calling us to come out of the bondage of the narrowness of selfishness, and to go out and love one another selflessly, yes even to the point of annihilating (killing) one’s ego (Ego is Latin for self), we are called to die to ourself, be born again in the Anointed Spirit/The Spirit of Christ, and the love of God (‘Y’ahavah). We are to love with a Godly love, self-sacrificing love, selfless love, blessing our enemies and doing good unto them, in doing this we shall be given God’s shalom/peace and find paradise.
Renounce our instincts for vengeance, die to self for the good of others–we must love them as He loved us, no greater love than this, that one would lay down their life for another. When one is yelling at us, insulting us, badmouthing us, accusing us; we must not hate them, we must not be angry with them, our heart must go out to them, mercy (loving-kindness/hesed) must stream forth from our hearts, flow from us, radiate. We must help them, in love and compassion, understanding and kindness–when we do this, we accept Jesus, when we go to the unattractive and ill-mannered, and help them, and show them kindness, and when one yells at and insults us, but we remain silent and return to them understanding, comfort, and compassion, in this we accept Jesus.
I therefore implore you, accept Jesus! Accept Him into your heart, allow Him to fill every inch of your being. To allow Him in, you must allow your self (ego) to diminish. Die in Christ, and be reborn into Christ (anointing). Leave Mizraim and enter into Y’ahavah, for Yah Saves (Y’shua).
I have worked with the homeless for many year, and many of these people are broken in some way (but aren’t we all broken due to Adam’s transgression? Aren’t we all flawed, all feeling like a piece of us is missing, that there is something out there which we are longing for to make us feel whole? Some of us knows what that is which we are all seeking), some are dealing with trauma due to childhood and adult abuse, others are suffering from physical or mental ailments, and due to all of these things many self-medicate in ways which can be harmful–lost souls, crying out, searching for peace/shalom and love/ahavah. People who are lost and broken, crying out and struggling, often have emotional outbursts, and sometimes project their pain, hurt, trauma, and abuse onto others. Often I am yelled at and accused of things; but knowing all of these issues which people deal with, I do not defend myself, I die to self, I let them yell, I let them cry, I let them weep and break down, and then I lovingly comfort them and help build them back up, giving them peace.
When we do this, we shine and radiate with the loving-kindness/mercy of God, and we kindle in their hearts the flame of the love of God, so that they too may glow with the blazing love of God. I implore you, die to self, stop defending yourself, stop talking back, stop trying to clear your name or get even; just love and comfort. You will see that this will grant peace, peace from God.
The Grace of Fraternal Love
Encounter Prayer Handbook by Ignacio Larranaga
Lord Jesus,
It was your Great Dream that we be one like You and the Father, and that our unity be fulfilled in your unity.
It was your Great Commandment, your Last Will and distinctive banner for those who follow You: that we love one another as You loved us; and You loved us as the Father loved You. That was the source, the measure and the model.
With Twelve, You made a family of pilgrims. You were truthful and sincere with them, demanding and understanding, but most of all You were very patient.
Just as in a family,
You warned them against dangers,
You encouraged them in difficult times,
You rejoiced in their success,
You washed their feet,
You served them at the table.
First You gave us the example and then You gave us the commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.
In this new family or fraternity, to which we belong today in Your Name, You are a Gift from the Father, and we accept You as our Brother, Lord Jesus. Then, You will be the strength and the joy that bind us together.
If You are not living amongst us, this community will collapse like an artificial structure.
You renew Yourself and come to life in each member, and for this reason we strive to respect each other as we would respect You; and your presence will question us when unity and peace are threatened in our midst. Therefore, we ask that You remain very much alive within our hearts.
Tear down the high walls of selfishness, pride and vanity that stand between us. Keep away from our doors the envies which obstruct and destroy unity. Deliver us from inhibitions. Calm our aggressive impulses. Purify our original instincts and allow us to feel as You felt and to love as You loved. You will be our model and guide, O Lord Jesus.
Give us the grace of fraternal love: may a sensible, warm, and deep current run through our relationships; may we understand and forgive each other; may we encourage and enjoy each other as sons and daughters of the same mother. Do not allow obstacles, withdrawals, nor blockages in our path, but rather let us all be open, loyal, sincere, and loving, so that trust may grow like a shady tree to cover us all, brothers and sisters in one home, Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus we achieve a warm, happy home which will rise as a city on a mountain, as a prophetic sign that your Great Dream has been attained and that You, Lord Jesus, are alive amongst us. Amen.
1st Corinthians 13 (whole chapter)
This was also previously assigned, my commentary on this is there.
1st John 3:18-24
18 Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. 19 [Now] this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him 20 in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. 21 Beloved, if [our] hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God 22 and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. 24 Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.
Actions speak louder than words: a person can say a thousand times that they will do something, or stop doing something, or that they love you, but if it isn’t backed up by actions and deeds, then their words meant nothing. It is the same way when it comes to following God, we can say all we want, “I follow God!” or “I proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord!” but if you don’t back it up with actions/deeds/works by actually following Him, by actually making Him lord of your life, then your declarations mean nothing to God.
Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.
1st John 3:18
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? 17 So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. 20 Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.” 24 See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? 26 For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
James 2:14-26
The Lord said:
Isaiah 29:13
Since this people draws near with words only
and honours me with their lips alone,
though their hearts are far from me,
And fear of me has become
mere precept of human teaching,
7 Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:
Matthew 15:7-9
8 ‘This people honours me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.’”
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
Matthew 7:21-23
See that our words are meaningless if they are not backed up by actual action, because words can be lies, but actions/deeds/works are truth. We must truly proclaim that He is Lord in our every action and deed; when our fellow man is in need, we cannot just “send thoughts and prayers” we actually have to do something to help them. Truly following God and truly helping others, this is how we will know that someone is a follower of God, not by their words. We must not eagerly condemn others, not even our enemies, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything; we do not, we do not know the hidden traumas and sufferings which people are dealing with, and therefore cannot easily judge them. We will be judged as we judge others:
1 “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. 2 For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. 3 Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? 5 You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5
If we eagerly condemn others, or we knowingly choose to do the opposite of God’s teachings while claiming that we are following Him, then come the day of judgement our hearts will condemn us. So let us truly follow Him, so that our hearts will not condemn us and we can have confidence in God “and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit (Holy Spirit/Spirit of set-Apartness/Set-apart Will/desire to do His will) that he gave us.” 1st John 3:22-24.
Colossians 3:12-17
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. 14 And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Our actions/deeds/works tell who we are, and in seeing them, one can see who we truly are; someone can say that they are good all that they want, but when we see their good works that is when we truly know that they are a good person. Likewise, a person can say that they are following God, but when we can truly see that they are following God, then no one can truthfully deny it. Our actions are like clothing with which we dress ourselves, outward signs of who we are on the inside, a visible sign/fruit of our faith. I must therefore take off the garments/actions of sin and the flesh, and clothe ourselves with spiritual garments/actions–we must be set-apart to God, we must be heartfelt, compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patience, and forgiving, living lives of true love/charity/caring and mercy/loving-kindness, for this is the bond of perfection. We must let the Anointed peace of Yah’s Salvation control our hearts, this which calls us into one body, and we should let the Anointed Word dwell in us fully enriching us with all its wisdom, which teaches and admonishes us. We therefore shall in thanksgiving praise YHVH with psalms and hymns, both in word and in deed, not for a reward, not in fear of any punishment, and not in self exaltation, but in the name of Y’shua with deep love in our hearts to God giving thanks to God the Father through the son.
Psalm 131
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
Lord, my heart is not proud;
nor are my eyes haughty.
I do not busy myself with great matters,
with things too sublime for me.
2 Rather, I have stilled my soul,
Like a weaned child to its mother,
weaned is my soul.
3 Israel, hope in the Lord,
now and forever.
Taking David’s example as to how to ascend to heaven, we must not be prideful, must not think ourselves self-sufficient or better than even the most lowly. We must not think that we are all-knowing, we do not have the answers to all of the great mysteries of the workings of creation or of eternity and existence–these matters are known only to YHVH Elohim, The Lord God. We must not worry about all of these things, and not become distressed by the hardships of life or when things don’t go our way; instead we are to take comfort in the loving embrace of The Lord, contentment in the succour of His nurturing Word, the Wisdom (Hokmah/Sophia) of which sustains us like the milk from a mother’s bosom, this Word streams from the very heart of God’s Salvation (Y’shua). Close to His Salvation are we, we feed upon His Word, upon the Word of God, and we hope in the Salvation of YHVH (Y’shua), now and forever. That is how we shall ascend to heaven.
1st John 2:3-11
3 The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: 6 whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.
7 Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you, for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. 11 Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
I cannot stress this enough:
The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to live just as he lived.
1st John 2:3-6
Jesus/Y’shua fulfilled the Law/Torah/Commandments in every way, and “Whoever claims to abide in him out to live just as he lived.” If we say we “Know Him” that is to say, “Have a personal relationship with him” yet we do not keep His Commandments, then we are a liar, we have no relationship with him. But when we keep His Word, then we are perfected in His love. Keeping His Commandments is how we know that we are in union (relationship) with him.
Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
1st John 2:7
He wrote no new commandment, He did not add to or subtract from that which was written, He gave no words of His own, but only those of His Father who sent Him. The commandments He gave us were the old commandments that we had ‘from the beginning’ (Berashit/Genesis). Instead, what he tells us is all of the old ones in a new way which makes it abundantly clear what their goal is, why they were given, like tearing away the veil, like looking face to face instead of in a dark and cloudy mirror–yes the darkness of ignorance and lawlessness/wickedness/Torahlessness/sin is passing away, and true light/wisdom/Instruction/Torah is already shining. Whoever says he is ‘in the light’/enlightened/wise, yet hates his brother/’fellow man’, is still ‘in the darkness’/’mentally darkened’/ignorant. Whoever loves his brother/’fellow man’ remains ‘in the light’/enlightened, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall (from grace). Whoever hates his brother is ‘in darkness’/ignorant; he walks in darkness/ignorance and does not know where he is going because the darkness/ignorance has blinded his eyes. Therefore, these eternal commandments from old, said in this new unambiguous wording, is this: Love God by keeping His Commandments, love yourself by keeping His Commandments, and love your fellow man by keeping His Commandments, and do not be filled with the ignorance by disobedience to God’s Commandments, the act of which shows hate/contempt for God, yourself, and your fellow man. Love one another as Christ has loved you.
John 13:13-17
13 You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. 14 If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. 16 Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
We may call Him Rabbi (teacher) and rightly so, for indeed He is our Rabbi. He is The Word of God, and we are to do as He commands; Jesus/Y’shua, The Word of God, is our model to follow, he fulfilled the Law, and we must live just as he lived. He, who is our teacher and master came not to be served but to serve; likewise we must not desire to be served, but to serve–to serve God by following His commandments which tell us how to correctly serve one another in love, and how to serve the least amongst us, those who are most poor and in need of justice, including the foreigner residing amongst us.
Christ and the Disciples walked everywhere, long distances, with sandals; their feet were dusty or muddy, cracked and blistered, and stinky; and he took a bowl and a jug of water, knelt down, and lovingly held them, and washed them. His Disciples were fishermen, traitors (tax collectors), outcasts (Samaritans), the visibly ill (lepers) and prostitutes, and He washed their feet.
A servant is not greater than their master nor any messenger (of God) greater than the one who sent him. Therefore, just as he served on, humbling himself down to clean the nasty crust from the feet of the visibly ill, the outcasts, and prostitutes, and heard their cries for help and for justice; we too are called to do the very same, not just in prayers or words, but truly in our very actions, in the very works of our very own hands. It is by doing this that we show that we have faith in Him and follow Him, and have a relationship with Him–if you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
John 13:31-35
31 When he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 [If God is glorified in him,] God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. 33 My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you. 34 I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. 35 This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus/Y’shua glorified/exalted/lifted-up God with every action of His life, and if one glorifies/exalts/lifts-up God thusly, God will also glorify/exalt/lift-up him/them in Himself, and he will glorify/exalt/sanctify him/them at once.
Without giving any new commandment, he gave us the old commandments worded in a new way, telling us in the simplest form what the commandments all show us how to do: love one another–As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are His disciples, if you have love for one another.
Thirteenth Session – Poor and Humble
Praying with the Psalms
Priest Talk Notes and Reflections:
Only the humble are free, only the humble are happy, they sleep on a bed of serenity because they are free, truly free, because they are free of themself, they have died to themself, killed their vanity and desires for self-gratification, and they live on little, requiring little, needing little. They do not fear death, because they have already died to themself and live for God and to care for others. Only a poor person can truly serve the poor, because they have chosen the poor. The first reaction that a poor person has when seeing a person in need is compassion, they suffer with them, they give what they can, help where they can. They live amongst them, with them. We should search out the unpopular in the same way that others seek out the popular, we should live out Matthew 25:31-46:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 41 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ 44 Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ 45 He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ 46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
This is my favourite passage in all of scripture, it is my Christian motto, my John 3:16, it is The Gospel which I proclaim. If all Christians took Matthew 25:31-46 as their motto, this world would be a better place, and everyone would love God and follow Him. Many say that the gospel can be summed up by John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave up his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life.” And yes, that is indeed good news, but that verse becomes meaningless and expresses nothing if the person you are saying it to doesn’t know anything about God or Jesus. Matthew 25:31-46 on the other hand tells us just what God and Jesus stands for, justice, caring, helping, and loving and caring for the least amongst you as you would the greatest and most beloved. When we know that is what the Father and the Son stand for, and what they call all of us to be, then we are filled with an ocean of mercy (loving-kindness/hesed), and swoon because we are so filled with burning passionate fire of the Holy Spirit.
I empty myself out, I live amongst the homeless, helping them in every way I can–when I have a home, I let them live in it as if it were fully their home, my shelter that I ran from my home being called Mi Casa Es Su Casa-My House Is Your House; when I have food, I share it with them; when a scared drugged up girl was wandering around topless and in panties, I gave her the shirt off of my back and I was shirtless; I have gone to jails, and I have brought the Eucharist to the elderly sick and dying. This is my life, I love it, and I wish that I could do it more. I wish everyone knew of this great love and how to achieve it. I implore you, followers of Y’shua (Jesus), take Matthew 25:31-46 as your motto.
To Serve
Encounter Prayer Handbook by Ignacio Larranaga
O Christ, give me a noble heart
to better serve You.
A heart that is strong enough
to aspire to great ideals
and not to mediocre options.
A heart that is generous at work,
viewing it not as an imposition,
but rather as a mission You entrust me with.
A heart that is noble in suffering,
a brave soldier before its own cross,
a sensitive Cyrenian helping others to carry theirs.
A heart that is open to the world,
understanding its frailty,
but immune to its maxims and seductions.
A heart that is generous towards men and women,
loyal and attentive toward all,
but especially obliging and dedicated
toward the poor and the humble.
A heart that is never self-centred,
but always dependent on You,
happy to serve You
and to serve my brethren, my Lord,
all the days of my life. Amen.
The Grace of Humility
Lord Jesus, meek and humble.
From the dust I feel controlled by this unquenchable thirst to be admired, the urgent need to be loved by others. My heart is full of impossible dreams.
I crave for redemption. My God, have Mercy.
I simply cannot forgive;
resentment consumes me,
criticism hurts me,
failure devastates me,
rivalry frightens me.
My heart is conceited. Give me the grace of humility, my Lord, gentle and meek of heart.
I do not know the origin of this insane appetite to impose my will, to eliminate any rival, to consent to vengeance. I do what I do not want to do. Have mercy, Lord, and give me the grace of humility.
Enormous chains encircle my heart; this heart subdues and takes over all that I am and all that I do, everything that surrounds me. And these appropriations generate so many fears in me. Poor me, owner of myself! Who will break my chains? Your grace, my poor and humble Lord. Give me the grace of humility.
The grace to forgive with my heart. The grace to accept criticism and contradiction, or at least the grace to doubt myself when I am corrected.
Give me the grace of self-examination.
The grace to remain undisturbed by scorn, neglect, and indifference; to truly feel happiness in being unknown; to discourage feelings, words, and actions of self-satisfaction.
Lord, open free spaces in me so that they may be filled by You and my brothers and sisters.
Then, my Lord Jesus Christ, give me the grace to slowly acquire an unattached and open heart like yours; a meek, patient, and kind heart. Christ Jesus, gentle and meek of heart, make my heart like yours. Amen.
This week the participants should dedicate themselves to becoming familiar with the Psalms, praying them as they were taught and practised.
Prayer and Life homework
Having your Spiritual Journal in hand and use the Brief Guidelines frequently. Don’t confine yourself only to the Psalms that are mentioned; devote yourself to finding many others, that touch your soul deeply.
Only one question will dwell in your mind and heart this week: What can I do for the poor?
Diligently seek the underprivileged with the same enthusiasm that others seek the privileged. Seek the forgotten and abandoned with the same spirit that Jesus did, offering them companionship, tenderness, health, food, goodness and understanding. Think that Jesus is going with you: He is within you, and you are within Him. Make yourself present, as though Jesus Himself is present, wherever the circumstances call for it: in a nursing home, in a mess hall, in a hospital, in a prison…make a phone call to offer a word of hope and consolation to those who may be undergoing difficult moments in their marriage or other painful family crisis. Defend the oppressed and mingle with the humble. When anyone knocks at your door, receive them like Jesus Himself would. During this week, don’t refuse alms to anyone who asks you.
Psalm 16
1 A miktam of David.
Keep me safe, O God;
in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord,
you are my Lord,
you are my only good.
3 As for the holy ones who are in the land,
they are noble,
in whom is all my delight.
4 They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5 Lord, my allotted portion and my cup,
you have made my destiny secure.
6 Pleasant places were measured out for me;
fair to me indeed is my inheritance.7 I bless the Lord who counsels me;
even at night my heart exhorts me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me;
with him at my right hand, I shall never be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices;
my body also dwells secure,
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
nor let your devout one see the pit.
11 You will show me the path to life,
abounding joy in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
YHVH, You are my Elohim el-shaddi, You are the Almighty in my life. May I never turn from your face, from your grace/favour, from your ways, for you YHVH are my saviour (Y’shua), you keep me safe, my safeguard and my refuge. Overshadow me, may I lift you up above all things, and most of all above myself; may I disappear and vanish within you–please consume all of me within you as I consume Your Word, take you in, and your body, blood, soul, and divinity envelopes me, and You are within me and I within you–You are my only good.
All that is good comes from you, and all that comes from you is good (that is to say beneficial); Your Word is like a well of living water which never runs dry, like a fig tree which always produces good fruit, every time one puts their hand to it they always find something nutritious, nurturing, and good–that is Your Word; it is manna from heaven, the bread of life; the rich and joyous fruit of the vine: these are The Word of God.
Holy and righteous, full of justice, are those who unite themselves with Your Word, those who enter into the land of Your promise, and in them who delight only in You, You find delight.
Those who delight in other things, making them mighty (elohim) in their life above you, in their misguided search for delight, they only multiply their sorrows. In their reckless way, as they put to their lips their various elohim/mighty ones/gods of intoxication–strong-drink, cannabis, shrooms, meth, acid, and opiates leading to sacrifices in the form of drunken stupors, brawling, arguments, sexual assaults and the murder of unborn babies created out of their reckless lust, these things are all sacrifices to the gods of self-pleasure, to Ego (self), to Ennui (boredom), Addiction, Bacchus (drunkenness and lust), Mammon (greed), and Moloch (sacrificing children in exchange for more power over one’s life), and all of the pain, tears, trauma, self-harm, abuse and infanticide created in the pursuit of these things are the pouring out of blood libations (drink offerings) to these gods of false pleasure, false joy, false acceptance, and false love. I refuse to offer such sacrifices, refuse to cause such pain to myself and others in the name of self-gratification–YHVH You are my Elohim, my Mighty One above all things, and may my life be a living sacrifice to you! The Word of God is what I put to my lips, the drink which fills my cup and my allotted portion, and through Him, and with Him, and in Him is my path. Pleasantness, joy and delight pour forth from Him, and in Him I find rejoicing inheritance as He brings me a place of serenity and peace.
I love the Lord YHVH who saves (Y’shua), He counsels, consoles, and comforts me; in His shadow I find rest, at night He soothes my heart. He is my strength and my protector, and in Him I rejoice. His ways are good and healthy to body, mind, heart, and soul, and he lifts the poor from the gutter, from the ash-heap, leading us in His path of life, abounding joy and delight in His presence.
YHVH Your Word is my delight, may I never abandon you in pursuit of harmful self-pleasure and prideful ego, but may I dwell in your presence and at your right hand forever.
Psalm 130
1 A song of ascents.
Out of the depths I call to you, Lord;
2 Lord, hear my cry!
May your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, Lord, keep account of sins,
Lord, who can stand?
4 But with you is forgiveness
and so you are revered.5 I wait for the Lord,
my soul waits
and I hope for his word.
6 My soul looks for the Lord
more than sentinels for daybreak.
More than sentinels for daybreak,
7 let Israel hope in the Lord,
For with the Lord is mercy,
with him is plenteous redemption,
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all its sins.
I wish to ascend to You, O Lord, out of the depths I call to you. my soul longs for you, and I hope in Your Word, your redemption (Y’shua) and mercy. You hear the cries of the poor, cries for justice and mercy, and you redeem them! When we turn to You, and cast aside our wicked ways for Your ways, you blot out our transgressions, cover us in Your forgiveness, and lovingly accept our praises. When we go to our brother who has transgressed against us, and forgive them their trespasses, you find this sacrifice most acceptable; when we follow you in love and faithfulness, you show favour/grace upon us. For all these reasons we praise and glorify you, YHVH of Hosts.
To You do I look, to you do I watch for, as you break forth like the dawn, coming over the hills, over the mountains, You are our hope and our redemption.
Psalm 86
1 A prayer of David.
Incline your ear, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and oppressed.
2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 be gracious to me, Lord;
to you I call all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant;
to you, Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 Lord, you are good and forgiving,
most merciful to all who call on you.
6 Lord, hear my prayer;
listen to my cry for help.
7 On the day of my distress I call to you,
for you will answer me.8 None among the gods can equal you, O Lord;
nor can their deeds compare to yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
to bow before you, Lord,
and give honor to your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous deeds;
and you alone are God.11 Teach me, Lord, your way
that I may walk in your truth,
single-hearted and revering your name.
12 I will praise you with all my heart,
glorify your name forever, Lord my God.
13 Your mercy to me is great;
you have rescued me from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, the arrogant have risen against me;
a ruthless band has sought my life;
to you they pay no heed.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth.
16 Turn to me, be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the son of your handmaid.
17 Give me a sign of your favour:
make my enemies see, to their confusion,
that you, Lord, help and comfort me.
The Lord YHVH hears the cries of the poor and oppressed, and He answers them. All who trust (have faith) in Him and faithfully look to ans serve Him, shall be saved. He shows loving-kindness (mercy) to all who turn to (teshuvah) Him, He is good and forgiving, and shows favour (grace) to His servant on the day of their distress. YHVH is our saviour (Y’shua), He is a good of compassionate justice, He hears the cry of the poor and oppressed, and He answers them! YHVH alone is mighty (elohim), He is the god/elohim/mighty-one who says, and does! There will come a day when all will see His might, and honour His name.
YHVH, teach me Your ways, for Your way is truth, and I wish to walk in Your path, with no other desire but to do Your will and honour Your Name. I wish to praise You with my every being, every thought purely of You, every action to honour and glorify Your heavenly and holy Name.
You rescue from the depths of the pit, lift us up, rescue us from that place of death-like darkness and despair, and in Your great compassion lead us to lives of true purpose. When the arrogant and ignorant ruthlessly attack us, You are our shield, You protect us from those who do not listen to Your loving Instructions (Torah)–make those who persecute us to see their ignorance, to know their confusion, and see the error in their way of hate. Lord, you help and comfort us.
You are a compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth. Turn to (bless) me, be gracious to me, fill us with Your strength, O Lord our Saviour (Y’shua), who bestows grace (favour) upon Your children.
Psalm 42
1 For the leader. A maskil of the Korahites.
2 As the deer longs for streams of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
3 My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
When can I enter and see the face of God?
4 My tears have been my bread day and night,
as they ask me every day, “Where is your God?”
5 Those times I recall
as I pour out my soul,
When I would cross over to the shrine of the Mighty One,
to the house of God,
Amid loud cries of thanksgiving,
with the multitude keeping festival.
6 Why are you downcast, my soul;
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my savior and my God.7 My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I remember you
From the land of the Jordan and Hermon,
from Mount Mizar,
8 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your torrents,
and all your waves and breakers
sweep over me.
9 By day may the Lord send his mercy,
and by night may his righteousness be with me!
I will pray to the God of my life,
10 I will say to God, my rock:
“Why do you forget me?
Why must I go about mourning
with the enemy oppressing me?”
11 It shatters my bones, when my adversaries reproach me,
when they say to me every day: “Where is your God?”
12 Why are you downcast, my soul,
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my saviour and my God.
This is one of my favourite psalms, I love it because my relationship with God is like a romantic one, and also like food and drink–He sustains me, and I long constantly for Him. “As the deer longs for running streams, so I long, so I long for you.” The Lord is my food, He is my drink, the bread, the joyous cup of the fruit of the vine, and the living waters; and the longing, the longing like a bide and groom longing for their wedding night, seeing Him come over the hills, over the mountains, lifting the veil, singing The Song of all Songs. When can I enter and see the face of God? My soul thirst for God, tears have been my bread day and night.
The scoffers who beat us and kick us down snarl and sneer, “Where, O where is your God?! If God is on your side and cares about you, then why is He letting us do this to you?” They chuckle with a gleam in their eye.
But they cannot see that the words spoken were true,
I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the religious meeting places; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is doing God a favour. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.
John 16:1-4
In April 1999, the Norms started lynching, beating, raping, molesting, and harassing my friends and I, and indeed they did this to my entire people, killing some of us and causing others to fall into deep depression and despair, and kill themselves. As the Norms did this, they said that they were doing these things because they followed God, because they followed Jesus, and that they thought we were evil, devil worshippers. Just as the Pharisees said that Jesus/Y’shua were casting out demons with the power of demons and that he was a blasphemer; yes, they called Him a devil worshipper, and they harassed Him and His friends, and accused them of crimes, and had them arrested, and killed Him and the majority of His friends.
If the world hates you, realise that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin; but as it is they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me also hates my Father. If I had not done works among them that no one else ever did, they would not have sin; but as it is, they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But in order that the word written in their law might be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without cause.’
John 15:18-25
I am not greater than my master, because they hated and persecuted Him, they shall do likewise to me, and they shall do so for His names sake. When this was happening to my friends and I, I understood it as, “And those who persecute you, will do so in my name, but they do so because they do not know me, nor the Father who sent me.” Just as those who persecuted Him thought they were following God and were persecuting Him because they thought that would make God happy; likewise, those who persecuted my people, thought that they were following God and persecuted us because in doing so they thought they were doing God a favour; but they did this so that the scriptures may be fulfilled, “they hated me without a cause”, and “because they persecuted Him, they shall persecute us likewise.” And in seeing the Scripture fulfilled, I did not fall away/lose faith/fall into despair as some of my friends and some within my culture did, but instead my faith (trust and faithfulness) was all the more strengthened; and I knew that our persecutors were antichrists, for in the 1st letter of John it says that there are many antichrists, for they claimed to be followers of Christ, but the way to know that they are not followers but antichrist is that they hate their fellow man and do not actually follow Christ’s teachings. Therefore I knew what they were, and what I am, and my faith was strengthened! I took this, and I began to teach the good news to my people, that we were followers of God, not those Norms, and we are outcasts because He has chosen us out of the world, set us apart, made us His peculiar people! We are the children of God, we are Goth (Gad) sons and daughters of Israel.
Those times I recall as I pour out my soul, how before I found those passages I would cry out in the night, “Why do you forsake me? Why must I go about mourning with the enemy oppressing me?” They shattered my bones, my adversaries reproached me, saying, “Where is your God?” I cried torrents, deluging tears to fill the great depths of the deep seas, waves of tears to match the waves of their attacks, their feet battering my body like the shore–then The Word came to me and caused my spirit to ask, “Why are you downcast, my soul, why do you groan within me? Wait for God, my saviour and my God (Y’shua).”
At that I crossed over the Jordan to the shrine of the Mighty One, to the house of God, amidst loud cries of thanksgiving, and began keeping His festivals and His Ways. By day the Lord sent me his mercy, and by night His righteousness was with me! I will pray, and give thanks, and praise to YHVH my saviour (Y’shua).
For all of this, I love God, and long for Him like a deer longs for running streams, He sustains me!
Psalm 123
1 A song of ascents.
To you I raise my eyes,
to you enthroned in heaven.
2 Yes, like the eyes of servants
on the hand of their masters,
Like the eyes of a maid
on the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes are on the Lord our God,
till we are shown favour.
3 Show us favour, Lord, show us favour,
for we have our fill of contempt.
4 Our souls are more than sated
with mockery from the insolent,
with contempt from the arrogant.
“Show us favour, Lord, show us favour (give us grace, give us grace), hear us, and redeem us, save us, O Lord, save us, deliver us!” We cried in that moment, for we had our fill of contempt, our souls were sated with mockery from the insolent, and the arrogant. To you, O Lord YHVH and Your Salvation (Y’shua), we raise our eyes, to You enthroned in heaven! We look to you like babes crying for the comfort of their mother, for the protection of their father! We are your servants and your heirs, so our eyes are on YHVH our Elohim, till we are shown favour (receive His grace).
Psalm 36
1 For the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
2 Sin directs the heart of the wicked man;
his eyes are closed to the fear of God.
3 For he lives with the delusion:
his guilt will not be known and hated.
4 Empty and false are the words of his mouth;
he has ceased to be wise and do good.
5 On his bed he hatches plots;
he sets out on a wicked way;
he does not reject evil.6 Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven;
your fidelity, to the clouds.
7 Your justice is like the highest mountains;
your judgements, like the mighty deep;
human being and beast you sustain, Lord.
8 How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
9 They feast on the rich food of your house;
from your delightful stream you give them drink.
10 For with you is the fountain of life,
and in your light we see light.
11 Show mercy on those who know you,
your just defence to the upright of heart.
12 Do not let the foot of the proud overtake me,
nor the hand of the wicked disturb me.
13 There make the evildoers fall;
thrust them down, unable to rise.
So many people walk around, claiming to follow God, claiming that they are dead to sin; yet they have changed none of their ways to align themselves with God. Sin directs their hearts, they do as they please, ignoring The Word of God, ignoring His loving Instruction (Torah)–they honour him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. They choose to shut their eyes to His Word, they won’t even read it, saying, “Oh, it was done away with!” or “It no longer applies!” Yet God said His Word was Everlasting, that until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest part of the smallest commandment will be removed from The Law (Torah). They live in this delusion, thinking that their guilt will be “covered up”, not known or hated. Empty and false are the words of their mouth, they hate their fellow man and spew false teachings, lies, unwise and wicked. They sets out on a wicked way, they do not reject evil: on their bed they hatch plots, seeking unjust vengeance on innocent people, and suppressing and hurting those who are in most need.
The Lord of Justice hear the cries of the poor and the oppressed, and His mercy reaches to heaven, His faithfulness too! His judgements are like the mighty deep! He sustains us (the poor and the need, the oppressed and the persecuted) with His precious mercy, we take refuge in the shadow of His wings. We shall feast on the rich food of His house, from His delightful stream of Living Water He gives us drink. For The Word of God is the fountain of life, and in His light (wisdom) we see light (wisdom), He is our hope (light). He shows mercy (loving-kindness) on those who know Him (through His Word).
Do not let the foot of the prideful overtake me, nor the hand of the wicked disturb me! Make the evildoers fall; thrust them down, unable to rise! And may they only rise in You, when they turn towards (teshuvah/repent to) You, O YHVH.
Psalm 103
1 Of David.
Bless the Lord, my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, my soul;
and do not forget all his gifts,
3 Who pardons all your sins,
and heals all your ills,
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
and crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5 Who fills your days with good things,
so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.6 The Lord does righteous deeds,
brings justice to all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
to the Israelites his deeds.
8 Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always accuse,
and nurses no lasting anger;
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins merit,
nor requited us as our wrongs deserve.11 For as the heavens tower over the earth,
so his mercy towers over those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we are formed,
remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like the grass;
he blossoms like a flower in the field.
16 A wind sweeps over it and it is gone;
its place knows it no more.
17 But the Lord’s mercy is from age to age,
toward those who fear him.
His salvation is for the children’s children
18 of those who keep his covenant,
and remember to carry out his precepts.19 The Lord has set his throne in heaven;
his dominion extends over all.
20 Bless the Lord, all you his angels,
mighty in strength, acting at his behest,
obedient to his command.
21 Bless the Lord, all you his hosts,
his ministers who carry out his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his creatures,
everywhere in his domain.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
This was already assigned in the second session; but I wrote little on it, so perhaps there is more that I can say.
The Lord is righteous, He brings justice to all the oppressed. His mercy (loving-kindness/hesed) is endless towards those who honour Him, and He removes all sins. Our compassionate Father knows how we are formed—we are His clay, mould us! The Lord’s mercy is everlasting toward those who honour him. His salvation (Y’shua) is for those who keep his covenant, and remember to carry out his precepts, obedient to his command, ministers who carry out his will–He made known His ways to us. Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger, abounding in mercy. He is forgiving and loving! Therefore, we shall bless the Lord with all our deeds, bless his holy name! Do not forget all his gifts, He pardons all our sins, and heals all our ills, YHVH redeems (Y’shua) our soul/life from the pit, and crowns us with loving-kindness, He fills our days with good things, renews us as babes born again.
Fourteenth Session – Leaving the Nets
Community Prayer and Community Meditation
Priest Talk Notes and Reflections:
God’s Kingdom is on earth when all mankind brings their hearts/minds and will into accord with that of God. As the body of Christ, we help carry out the plan of salvation: we are invited to build His Kingdom of love. We are not called to be conquerors, but servants, not theologians, but witnesses, we must be humble, we must be intimate with God, spend time knowing Him through His Word, and share it not as a clanging cymbal making ruckus noise, but as loving, supportive, and caring help–helping fan the flames of the burning love and illuminating light of the Lord–in doing this, we help build His kingdom.
Luke 10:1-2
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy[-two] others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the labourers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out labourers for his harvest.
I uphold the importance of the Septuagint: Until the Protestant reformation in the year 1,517AD, the Septuagint had been the base-text for all Christian translations, and all of the oldest Christian writings use it (or texts in agreement with it) rather than the Masoretic Text. Protestants first used the Masoretic Text as the base-text for a Christian Bible translation in 1,536AD, thinking, “You can’t get any closer to the originals than Hebrew.” But this was flawed thinking, as the surviving Hebrew text at the time, the Masoretic Text, dated no earlier than 900AD, almost a thousand years after Christ. Since then, Archaeologists have discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls which are also in Hebrew and date from 100BC-100AD, and they are often textually more in line with the Septuagint than they are the Masoretic. There are surviving texts of the Septuagint dating to as early as 300BC, making it, though a translation of the Hebrew into Greek, our earliest surviving text reflecting what the Hebrew text at one time said. The finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls giving us Hebrew texts confirming these earlier variants is proof that the Septuagint should not be ignored when it comes to Biblical translations.
The word, “Septuagint” comes from the short form of the full name of the translation, which in Latin is, “Vetus Testamentum ex versione Septuaginta Interpretum (The Old Testament from the version of the Seventy Translators)” from the Ancient Greek, “hē metáphrasis tōn hebdomḗkonta (The Translation of the Seventy)” and thus Septuagint means Seventy. It was called this because the Septuagint was translated three-hundred years before Christ by either seventy or seventy-two Jewish Levitical priests who were hired by the Alexandrian government to make a Greek translation of the Hebrew religious texts for the Library of Alexandra. Each of the 70 or 72 Levites was placed in a separate tent to translate the text, and when each finished and the translations were compared, they all matched word for word, this was seen as a miraculous sign of its accuracy. This text was used by mostly Greek speaking Jewish diaspora outside of Judea, and later by Christians for hundred and hundreds of years. Now this doesn’t mean that the Hebrew text is unimportant, as since Hebrew was the original language, there are many nuances and insights that can be taken only from the Hebrew text; but with the Masoretic text differentiating slightly from the oldest known texts, it would be a mistake to go solely based off of the Masoretic.
So, 300 years before Christ The Word of God was spread to Jews and Gentiles throughout the world through The Translation of the Seventy[-Two]; and now here, in Luke 10:1, “After this the Lord appointed seventy[-two] others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.” the brackets are there because some of the earliest manuscripts we have of Luke 10:1 say, “Seventy” and other manuscripts say, “Seventy-two”. This passage seems to confirm the legitimacy of the Septuagint, indicating that just as the Septuagint (Seventy[-two]) was appointed and sent out ahead of Christ to the nations, proclaiming The Word of God, so now Christ was sending out his disciples in the same number. Just as the 12 Apostles represented the 12 Tribes of Israel, the 70 or 72 Disciples represent the Levitical priests who translated The Word so that it may be shared with the world. This is a strong indication of its legitimacy.
“The harvest is abundant, but the labourers are few…” God loves all of His creation, and wants to save them, rescue them from the abyss; but He also calls us to be the body of Christ, calls us to the Great Commission which is to spread His Word to the ends of the earth–we are called to be labourers for His harvest; but so few answer the call, so many claim to do so, but then they turn away from the plough.
Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plough and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62
But they then fall away, for “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” and the labourers are few. Let us die to the flesh and fear no evil for The Lord is with me–let us labour constantly for The Lord.
Luke 9:1-6
1 He summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal [the sick]. 3 He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. 5 And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” 6 Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.
This is the beginning of The Christian Church, of The Great Commission, the sending out of the twelve Apostles/Bishops, with power (dynamic force/action) and authority given to them to exercise demons, cure diseases, and preach the Gospel–this of course to varying degrees also extends to each of us as well. We are to trust (have faith) in God completely, not worrying about what we are to eat, or drink, or wear, and we are to ask for loving-kindness from our fellow man, and if they are following God, they will receive us warmly and eagerly share all in common with us, and if we remain in The Lord, we will also not take advantage of their charity/loving-kindness, and we will likewise share all with them. If they however are not willing to welcome us, then they do not have The Lord in their hearts and are unwilling to receive him, then we are to shake the dust from our feet in testimony (witness) against them. So let us go out, full of the spirit of God’s set-apart will, full of action, doing His will, fulfilling mitzvot of loving-kindness, doing deeds of righteousness and justice, helping the poor and the needy, teaching the ignorant wisdom (dispelling the darkness and filling it with light), healing the world, anointing it, and bringing about the messianic age, the kingdom of God.
John 4:1-29
1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptising more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself was not baptising, just his disciples), 3 he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
4 He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 [The woman] said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the well is deep; where then can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; 14 but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” 17 The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ 18 For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking with you.”
27 At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, 29 “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?”
During the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, when God’s people were returning from the Babylonian exile, it was decreed that the men were to divorce their foreign wives and disown the children born of them (Ezra 10:2–3). Because the tribes of the southern kingdom of Judea had only been in exile for 70 years, they still knew of those who had not intermingled; but because the tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel had been in exile for more than a generation, the Judeans questioned whether any of those of the northern tribe were unpolluted. The Judeans therefore declared that the descendants of the Northern tribes were replaced by foreigners and that these people, now known as Samaritans, were not permitted to offer sacrifice at the Temple on Mount Zion. So the Samaritans, using the corrupted Torah of Jeroboam, declared Mount Gerizim to be God’s Holy Mountain. From that moment the Samaritans believed that the Jews were heretical people in error, and the Jews declared the Samaritans to be a people polluted by Goyim and heretics. Because of this Jews would not eat with Samaritans, or eat food butchered by them or drink wine made by them, declaring such things touched by them to be unkosher in the same way as if they were from gentiles/goyim.
It was at a well that Abraham’s servant was given water by Rebecca as a sign from God that she would be Isaac’s wife, it was at a well that Moses helped Zipporah and her sisters and they offered him drink, and she became his wife; now Jesus asks the Samaritan woman drawing water from the well of Jacob, “Give me a drink.” That is to ask not only to take drink from her, but asking for such from her at a well is possibly asking her to merry Him. She responded, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink? (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.)” He answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” He is inviting her to merry The Word of God (which is described as living water, because it is a well of wisdom, given to the children of Jacob to drink from, a well of wisdom which never runs dry, a free gift from God to those who follow him), inviting her to become espoused to God, to enter into that Katubah/contract of devout intimate relationship and dedication. Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this (physical) water (from the physical Well of Jacob) will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give (The Word of God given as a well of Wisdom to the children of Jacob, the living waters of Yah’s Salvation [Y’shua]) will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
When the woman asked for this water, Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” That is to ask to whom her nation has espoused itself. She answered, “I do not have a husband.” To that he replied, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” In this he was referring to how it had been five generations since the exile, and instead of being espoused to the God of Zion, they had worshipped at Gerizim instead, and Gerizim is not their husband/lord/mighty-one/elohim/God, but the elohim of Zion is their true husband/lord. To this, she responded, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain (Gerizim); but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem (at mount Zion).” They are seemingly talking about her husband, and then the conversation without transition becomes about where her ancestors worshipped verses where the Jews worship–this confirms that she understood the meaning of this conversation as I have described; and this understanding is further confirmed by Jesus himself in his prophecy to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” He foretold her of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on Mount Zion in 70AD, and since the Temple at Mount Gerizim was destroyed by the Jews on the orders of John Hyrcanus in 111 BC, if the Temple at Zion was destroyed, then neither people would have a Temple in which to worship. Without a Temple, then they could only worship in spirit/will and truth/actions towards God, themselves, and others.
She then states that when the Messiah comes, he will be able to tell them at which location God is to be worshipped. Jesus then con firms that He is the Messiah. She first knew of him as merely a man, then came to persevere him as a prophet, and now she knows that he is the Messiah. At this she left all behind and proclaimed, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?” And many Samaritans believed.
There is currently no physical temple in which to worship YHVH. Therefore, we must make our bodies, our lives, living temples full of sacrifice to YHVH Elohim and His Salvation (Y’shua) with which we are redeemed from bondage. We do this through our faithfulness to His Word, within and without, not just in word, but with our actions and deeds, coming not from a place of vanity seeking self exultation or desire for reward or to avoid punishment, but out of pure love for God, ourselves, and our fellow man.
1st Peter 2:9
9 But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
As followers of YHVH Elohim we are grafted into Israel, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy (set-apart/peculiar) people, indebted heirs of Him who brought us out of ignorance and into His wonderful wisdom–for this we praise Him, for He has delivered (Y’shua) us, and we shall proclaim His kingdom.
1st Peter 4:7-10
7 The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and sober for prayers. 8 Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.
Above all, let our caring about and caring for one another, in word, in action, and deed be intense! All 613 mitzvot (commandments) are God’s loving Instruction (Torah) as how to love Him, ourselves, and our fellow man with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our might; therefore love (truly caring in word and deed) covers a multitude of sins–that is to say that if you truly care about and love God, yourself, and your fellow man, and act in accordance with that love, internally and externally with your actions, then you will be fulfilling all of the commandments and therefore you will no longer be sinning, your sins will be covered up. We are to be hospitable to one another without complaining, and without desire for anything in return, without desire for reward, gratitude/thanks, without expectation–for when we do it with those in mind, there is no reward, no benefit, as then it is for vain reasons; all of our actions must be purely out of love with no expectation of reward, for it is not our works which save us, but our loving ‘trust and faithfulness’ (faith).
“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace (favour).” As an Anarcho-Communist who favours a Gift Economy, I of course abundantly agree with this statement, as it matches the Anarcho-Communist slogan, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” We are one people, one body, and we should each freely use our gifts to serve one another, freely, for the good, well-being, and betterment of all. Why would we do this? Because we love one another. If we love one another, we will freely serve one another, dying to ourself, to our ego, to our own self wants, and give to others freely. When we do this, then we receive God’s blessings, we are fully provided for, and we shall not fear nor shall we be in want of anything, for The Lord is with me. We are called to serve others out of love–love one another.
Mark 3:13-19
13 He went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve [whom he also named apostles] that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons: 16 [he appointed the twelve:] Simon, whom he named Peter; 17 James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, 19 and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
Apostle comes from the Greek word for Messenger. He appointed twelve messengers, one for each tribe:
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Matthew 19:28
These messengers were to go out to the furthest regions of the world where the tribes had been scattered, to spread the news of their redemption, calling them to return/teshuvah/repent from their sinful ways, teshuvah to YHVH, teshuvah/return to their home[-land]; messengers/apostles sent to cast out the demons from the tribes, to cast out their idolatry, cast out their pagan practises, and return to Yah’s way. Likewise, we are called to do the same.
Mark 1:35-39
35 Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and those who were with him pursued him 37 and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” 39 So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
We are called out! Called out of our comfort zone, called out of ignorance and into wisdom, called to leave all behind and follow Him. We must leave all idolatry behind, stop worshipping our pride, our ego, money, possessions, and stop letting fear prevent us from doing good, for when we do that, we are worshipping fear, and fearing something is honouring it, and we are only to honour God and to do what He has called us out to do–to love one another, do good unto one another, teach one another, and to teach others how to love Him and do likewise. This is what we are called out to do; so let us be not afraid, come, and follow YHVH’s path of Salvation! Let us return to God!
Fifteenth Session – Desert
Praying with Nature
I helped our guide, Rosangela, pick the location of Watson lake Prescott, Arizona. We were to meet there at 5:00 AM to watch the sunrise; I was the first to arrive at 4:20 AM, it was nearly pitch black with only the lake barely visible. As I stood there waiting for the others to arrive, I watched as the sky became brighter and brighter, bringing sheen to the lake and colour to the trees. At around 4:50 AM, others began to arrive, it was only five of us: Rosangela, Lisa, Rita, Laura, and myself. Lisa was the first to arrive after me, and she said, “I feel like we are the last remaining contestants on the TV series Survivor.” I replied, “Well, Paul does say in several of his letters, ‘Only those who endure to the end shall be saved.’ ” We continued to talk for another few minutes about similar statements in the Bible. Others then arrived and we began.
Rosangela pulled out her guide book, a portable speaker, and her phone to play the music. The four of us stood huddled together across from her, and sang psalms and religious songs as the sun continued to rise. We were instructed that each of us were to go off on their own, separate from the others, and pray in nature by ourselves, alone with God and nature. I was the only one familiar with the location, so I lead the others to the stairs going down to the lake, and pointed to the bathroom so they would know where it was at. Each descended the stairs about 15 feet apart, and I came down last. After reaching the lake, the three women walked to the left, the distance between them growing; I walked in the opposite direction.
I entered a scenic setting of thick foliage and tall, dense trees emerging from the water, the air filled with the sound of birds calling. As I walked through this, the sun finally broke over the mountains, and its beam shot across the lake; though it was mostly hidden by the massive trees growing out the water. I thought to myself, “The women, who are seeing this ray shooting across the lake without trees, must be in awe of its beauty.” I then came across a gilded iron cross memorial for some woman on the bank near the rear of the lake, completely hidden in the depths of the trees. I stood there for a bit before returning to the trail and moving on. I saw felled trunks so large that I could nearly live inside of them, and felt as though I were peering through a Louisiana swampland or even a rain-forest.
I emerged from the forest and into grasslands that ran across the back of the lake, overshadowed by distant mountains. I then came across a fork in the path, one leading to a broad, flat, smooth path for jogging and biking, the other narrow, winding, and with a sign warning that it was fir advanced hikers only–I chose the harder narrow way. It was called Lakeshore trail and lead into the Granite Dells with picturesque scenery. In the back of a little cove, I saw a bench which said, “Sit, relax, in honour of Rita.” Since the previous week an elderly woman I brought communion to, Deacon Mike’s mother Rita, died, and there was also a woman in this group named Rita, I figured that perhaps this was a good place to indeed sit and have deep prayer time. In order to drown out the tinnitus, I decided to play music on my phone which I know puts me in a deeply religious state. I played music by Heartcry of David Collective, Sarah Liberman, Misha Goetz, and Miqadim, most of the music in Hebrew. I longed, I cried, I praised, and I stood in awe of God’s majestic and glorious creation. I sang psalms, and even sang the Song of Songs twice.
Getting up from the bench, I continued on my trek. Within two minutes it lead me up some rocks and instructed, “Follow the white dots.” The rock climbing continued, and got more and more difficult, soon I was climbing a seemingly endless vista of granite mountains, without the single hint of water or any human life. In this high walled rocky environment I had no phone service whatsoever, no way to contact anyone if anything happened, and no one with me, possibly no one to come by for quite some time. Hour seemed to pass like this, and the rock-faces just continued to get steeper, and the dots told me to climb higher and deeper into the mountains. I however knew from the original sign that this path would lead back to where I was to meet back up with my friends. I looked at the clock on my phone and it was 8:00 AM; I knew that if I was to make it back in time for our 9:30 AM rendezvous, that I had to stop taking pictures and videos, and quicken my pace.
I already knew that I wasn’t going to make it back in time, but turning back now would be just as hard and take twice as much time, so I knew I had to drudge forward and finish on this narrow and hard path which I began. It told me to climb mountain after mountain with no sight or sound of my destination. A few times I heard water, but it turned out to only be streams and waterfalls, majestic, but not the final destination, and I was quickly lead back into the rocky clefts. Exhausted, yet trying to keep my pace, my feet began to fail and I fell, sliding down steep rocks, scraping my hands on jagged boulders, nearly falling on a cactus. My hands and fingers swelled up and I was dizzy with thirst and heatstroke, my breath laboured, and I got lost several times, having to double back and find the path again–I could not give up.
At last I saw the lake again, and winded down the cliff. I felt a rumble in my pocket, my phone had signal again, and I answered the call, “Jack, we have been trying to call you, are you okay?” Rita asked.
“Yes, I will be okay now. I was in an area where I did not have any signal, but I am out of it now, well at least mostly, but enough that I know I will be safe.”
“Okay, see you soon.”
She began to hang up, but I cut it, “No, no I did not say that, I did not say that you will see me soon, but you will see me.”
“Okay” She hung up.
I continued down, and came across the first person since I began this trek, a thin and fit man with rock climbing gloves on, who was just beginning this trail from the opposite direction. I told him of my weariness, and my friend’s concern, but he assured, “Don’t worry, you are close.” I then passed four other people who reassured the same. Finally I made it to the mouth of the trail, but I was at the wrong shore!
I saw the trail resume, winding back into jagged cliffs high above the water, and I reluctantly continued. I passed a few trail-map sign posts that had the maps ripped off of them, and I quickly got lost again; I could hardly see from the glare of the sun and the sweat in my eyes, and my mind was clouded from the heat and thirst. Since at this point my phone was working, and I was completely lost, I opened my map application on my phone, and looked at where I was with the GPS, and for the closest road. I followed it to the parking lot for the shore that I had came across earlier, and from there walked down the road until I got to a hill with a gazebo on it which I knew overlooked the shore which my workshop-friends were at. I walked up the hill, and down the other side, which I know like the back of my hand.
I came to the benches near the bathroom, where the women were sitting, stumbling over to an empty one, nearly falling, my leg shaking. The women showed great concern for me, offering me water and throwing a wet cloth over my face. They read from the Bible, and the guide book. Rosangela then gave each of us a bookmark with writing from Ignacio Larranga on it. Each of us vowed to strengthen our effort to follow Christ, and to see him in the least amongst us. After closing prayers, each, after checking on how I was doing, began to leave. Rosangela stayed behind, and we discussed how soon I could become a guide like her. After about a half-hour she left, and I stayed behind for about another hour so my body could rest and my mind clear up enough for me to safely drive.
I drove to Taco Bell, where at entering a young woman, with a smile that spread from ear to ear, excitedly shrieked, “Jack! It is so good to see you!” I reminded her that I have face-blindness, and asked who she was. She responded, “Leah!” I instantly realised who she was, the homeless woman whom I helped two years ago who back then at that time was heavily pregnant and gave birth. I told her how at first arriving back I asked several people if they knew her and how she was doing, but that no one seemed to know. She assured me that she now had a place and was doing much better–I was very happy to hear that. At that I heard a voice from behind ask, “Hey Jack, could you give me $5 to get something to eat?”
I turned around and saw a homeless man in a motorised wheel chair who I knew from the Salvation Army shelter from this past winter. I told him, “I will do you better than that, order anything from the menu, don’t worry about the price.” He ordered two Chalupa Supremes with extra guacamole on both, totalling $12; I asked if he wanted anything more, but he, thanking me, said that was enough. I ordered a black bean burrito and a lemonade for myself. As we ate he told me of his continued heart failure, and how the dozens of pills the doctors have prescribed for him was causing liver failure as well. He told me that the previous day he was having major heart trouble again, and a fire truck was called out to help him. He said that one of the paramedics who worked at the fire department offered to let him live at their house, but that he didn’t get the man’s phone number and now was going to go to the fire stations to see if he could find the kind man again. He left to find the man, and a few minutes later Leah left.
I drove to Sacred Heart, and as the bells chimed the hour of Divine Mercy, I sang the chaplet, “…Y’shua I trust in you!” And then I waited for the Paschal mission.
Jack Danyá Kemplin's blog 