A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favour is better than silver or gold.
The rich and the poor have this in common:
the Lord is the maker of them all.
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Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
and the rod of anger will fail.
Those who are generous are blessed,
for they share their bread with the poor.
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Do not rob the poor because they are poor,
or crush the afflicted at the gate;
for the Lord pleads their cause
and despoils of life those who despoil them.
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This is an optional Old Testament selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 18. If chosen, it will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a reader on Sunday September 9, 2018. It is important because Solomon’s wise mind was prophesying those who would become Apostles and Saints, through Jesus Christ.
The Hebrew Interlinear version of this proverb shows a mark of pause (a comma) in verse one. The Hebrew literally states: rather to be chosen a [good] name riches , than great rather than silver and gold favor loving .”
This can translate into conversational English as, “One should rather have a good reputation and the riches that comes with a good name , rather than be great based on the favor bought with silver and gold .” That is somewhat in alignment with the translation above, but here is a caveat to consider:
God leads wise minds to write what God wants, in the order of wording God KNOWS will be viable in all languages, simply by keeping the words that came from God in God’s order. Each word is then God’s word and each word has purpose that needs to be pondered.
That premise should always be considered when pondering every Holy Scripture. However, verse one’s first word is a classic example of how this works.
The Hebrew word “niḇ·ḥār” translates as “rather to be chosen” (from “bachar”). Before one attaches this word to the following implication of a “[good] name,” the question becomes, “Who chooses who?” The answer is that one should rather be God’s chosen, than to not choose to let God choose one.
The good “name” that comes from being chosen by Yahweh is “Israelite.” One has the good name of Israel, meaning “God Strives,” as well as one “Strives for God.” One expert on Hebrew believes “Is-ra-el” means “He Will Be Prince With God.”
Jesus has a seat saved within all his Apostle-Saints.
This is a viable translation when one sees how each Israelite was supposed to be a priest married to God. That failed until Jesus Christ became that earthly Prince With God, offering himself up so his Apostles could have his [good] name, as Jesus Christ reborn. Therefore, the prophecy of Solomon was (paraphrasing): “It is better to be chosen by God to be reborn as Jesus Christ and reap the riches of the heavenly realm, than to have greatness on earth be chosen to be measured in precious metals.”
When one sees Solomon writing a proverb about Jesus Christ, channeling God (and not even knowing it wasn’t a song modeled after his great fortune), then all the rest falls into place nicely. One has to be chosen by God and that means a proposal of marriage. One has to then choose God by accepting His proposal, with love in one’s heart. That truly makes one a priest for God, such that one acts as the Son of God, speaking for the Father, with no concerns about oneself. One then becomes the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This is seen in verse eight with the word “‘Av·lah,” which translates as “injustice,” but also “iniquity” and “unrighteousness.” Following the Hebrew word “zō·rê·a‘,” translated as “He who sows,” but equally stating, “He who plants seeds, give birth, or yields.” That word is stating that one has not given birth to the presence of the Christ Spirit within (righteousness), instead giving birth to the opposite. The motivation is then to serve self and not God. The product of unrighteousness is the “calamity” or “sorrow,” as self will always come up short. This is due to the “rod” (also translatable as a shepherd’s “staff”) will turn self-failures against others, to no avail. A bad shepherd will have that staff be the cause of his or her soul’s failure.
The opposite is then one who chooses God and becomes righteous. Rather than seeking to be selfish and demanding of others to give, one who is filled with the Christ Spirit will give and be “generous.” When verse nine states, “share their bread with the poor,” the aspect of “bread” (from “lechem”) is less about sharing morsels of physical bread [remembering the lesson of Jesus feeding the five thousand], but sharing the gifts of the Holy Spirit with those lacking it.
When one recalls the “riches” that come from choosing to serve God, and His having chosen one as His wife, one is not given plenty of extra foodstuffs to share. Certainly, sharing bread is a good deed, but sharing the Holy Spirit turns one from being impoverished spiritually to being another one chosen by God.
This act of sharing the Holy Spirit is furthered in verses twenty-two and twenty-three. When it says “not to rob the poor because they are poor,” it is saying not to keep God’s gift of the Holy Spirit for oneself. God gives it to one to share, so there is plenty to go around. The poor are those seeking to be filled, so to not serve God and give the riches that God has given one to give away, one would then be robbing the poor. Since an Apostle-Saint is oneself poor (without the Holy Spirit of God), to not pass on that gift would mean robbing oneself, returning one to an impoverished state of being.
The world is not through with this one.
When verse twenty-two says to not “crush the afflicted at the gate,” this is the story of poor Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus told that parable to the Pharisees because their responsibility (as priests and rabbis to Yahweh) was to feed the souls of the poor and the afflicted. Instead, they locked them out and let them die, wanting just the crumbs of bread that fell from the rich men’s tables.
When one shares with the poor and the afflicted, one goes to the one who have been outcast as a healing agent of God. All who God sends an Apostle to (to help) will be helped by God, not the messenger of God.
This is stated when verse twenty-three says, “Yahweh [the Lord] will fight [plead, strive] for their cause [of affliction].” If one has brought an affliction upon oneself, then God will bless that person with an epiphany. He or she can receive the Holy Spirit from realizing their faults and showing sincere penitence before God. Whether or not the affliction is removed [poverty will not be remedied by God giving gold and silver], one will learn to not let the affliction be an affliction upon their soul. Healing comes through salvation given by the Lord.
This is stated in verse twenty-three actually stating, “and plunder them those who plunder the soul of.” The Hebrew word “nephesh” means “soul.” The word translated as “plunder or despoils” is “qaba ,” is actually another form of an act “to rob.” When a “soul” is “robbed,” the only one who can “plunder” a soul is oneself, led by selfish egotism. This repeating of “despoils” twice (“ve·ka·Va’‘et-koe·’ei·Hem) then presents this robbing in two ways.
The body is not the self. The self is the soul within the body.
First, by opening one’s heart to Yahweh, one has to plunder one’s own self-ego [death before resurrection]. No one external to self can harm or remove one’s soul, even if the physical body is placed in jeopardy. This despoiling of soul-self means, second, that God can plunder the evils that have misled one’s soul. Evil influences act in the opposite way as do the holy influences of God. Removing self eliminates the evil influences, so God is willing to give His world to all His wives, but His wives must pay the dowry of sacrifice first.
As an Old Testament selection for the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for the LORD should be underway – one has chosen to serve God and take on the good name of Christ – the message is to help the poor. To grasp that in the deepest levels of understanding, one has to admit one is poor, as this will help recognizing another who is poor. To be poor, one has to sell everything one possesses and give to the poor, so one can follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
The greatest failure Christianity faces is found in its pride as a charitable institution. Americans boast of being the most giving nation on earth. Unfortunately, donations of money do little more than make the organizations of Mammon rich; taking advantage of poor Christians that are trying to share their bread with the world, while they struggle with that never-ending load to bear. In addition to giving money to the poor, churches pull out the violin of sorrow and remind their congregations of their financial needs.
A true Christians [defined by what Jesus said to the rich, young Pharisee (Luke 18:18-21; Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31)] has no things of value, because clinging to earthly possessions is a selfish endeavor. When one gives everything away, one is worldly poor. Of course, God does not plan on making one worthless, as God’s Spiritual riches includes what one needs to get by … and still have a loaf of bread to share with someone who seeks to come ask, “I know you are as poor as me, but how do you always have a smile and time to share with people?”
Being chosen by God means one has chosen to take a leap of faith. God never fails to provide a safety net to those who take that leap to serve Him.
This is an optional Old Testament selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 18. If chosen, it will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a reader on Sunday September 9, 2018. It is important because Isaiah prophesied that God is the only way to turn one’s life around, from mortal born of death to soul freed to everlasting life.
Verse four, as translated above, makes God seem to come like a white knight in shining armor. Humans then can be imagined as fair damsels held captive in towers by the black knight, screaming in fear, “Somebody save me!” Such an image is misleading and this is because the translation fails to accurately make the wording clear. This is because “elohim” [the Hebrew word that states “gods,” in the lower case and in the plural number] is incorrectly shown as “God.”
The Bible Hub Interlinear translation of Isaiah 35:4 states [with my adjustments]: “Say to those fearful hearted ､ not ､ do fear behold ､ your gods with vengeance ､ will come with recompense — gods this will come and save you .”
In this “’eloheichem” says, “your gods” [my bold] and “elohim hu” says “gods this,” where “hu” can be “this” or “he.” The repetition is complimentary, as each is different from the other, as a parallel balance of opposites. By stating “your gods” [the gods of self], this is the source of one’s fears. One then moves to the opposite of “you” to “he,” where all gods are subservient to Him [“gods he”]. When one then realizes that the word “hu” can additionally translate as “one,” this then can estate how multiple “gods” serve “one” God.
It was at the elohim retirement party that Lucifer got all huffy and took his posse of evil spirits to Hell.
The opposition is then between “you” and God, where “your gods” do not recognize “He” is the Lord of all gods.
It is important to realize the tendency is for human being to become lost because they serve multiple “gods” (“elohim”), rather than Yahweh elohim – the Lord of all gods. These “gods” do not need to be given proper names, such as Venus, Mars, Zeus, or Poseidon, as man kneels before the altars of philosophy, politics, and selfish greed, without even realizing any temple present. Fear is the motivation for those “gods of yours.”
The commandment of Deuteronomy 6:13 says [amended to show “gods”], “Fear the LORD your gods, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.”
There it is written “Yahweh ‘eloheicha,” as “Lord of your gods.” That says (in effect) “Lord of all gods of you.” This then commands all the Israelites to have no fear of any gods; only fear the Lord.” That law recognizes all human beings serve the lords of the material plane, but none of God children are to worship them, much less fear them. That means turning one’s back to God and being on one’s own.
By understanding that starting point that deems one of true faith, as a true priest of Yahweh, it is easy to see how Isaiah was writing about a wayward people that served many “gods” that brought them great “fear.” Instead of the peace and serenity of Yahweh in the hearts of those of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, they had bowed down to all kinds of gods (Baal’s minions that enslave a soul), which filled their hearts with evil doubts. It was to them that Isaiah said (as one with Yahweh in his heart and without fear), “Be made secure,” as opposed to holding onto the weakness they had allowed themselves to become enslaved to.
The separation of the word “al-,” where there is a long pause before this joins to “tirau’nakam” (“do fear behold”), says “no!” first. Not only does Isaiah say, “Hang in there,” as an implication that help is on the way, he stomps his foot down heavily, saying, “Not” is fear allowed to the children of God of lesser gods.
He was telling them to “Say “no” to fear!”
The pause then allows one to linger longer on “beholding fear.” That becomes like screaming, “SPIDER!” to a woman, when there is a spider on the floor. Seeing one puts a sudden, fresh fear of awareness into their soul, so they stop failing to realize the fear that has become so normal it has become embedded in one’s being. Being made aware of a spider’s presence lets one imagine how close one was to being bitten.
Isaiah was saying, “LOOK at the fear you have gripping you!” It is a call to “WAKE UP!”
After that jolt, Isaiah said, “Your gods have control of you with vengeance.” The spider is threatening to bite, after it finishes spinning its web. It will not be easy on one, as it comes to kill. It brings a violent end that must be understood.
Still, in the sense that one must fight fire with fire, the same statement then says, “You must use vengeance to rid yourself of your gods.” If the spider comes to kill, you need to kill it first.
Because it is you your gods have possessed and it is you who must evict them from your being. This means the wakeup call is saying to stop being you … at least the you that you have become. This means Isaiah said to kill the self-ego that brings forth so many neuroses and fears, which are manifest from trying to bring you everything you want. Those gods come when one is finding out that the self is not a god of anything but generating fears.
This is why verse four continues, to state, “will come with recompense.” This means there will be compensation due to your gods. Amends must be made for damages caused. The Hebrew word “gemul” translates clearly as “recompense,” but implies this means “deeds” will be necessary to remove fears. It states that one will be held responsible for taking the steps that will “benefit” oneself.
This means one must begin doing what is necessary to stop oneself from serving other gods and stop all the self-doubt. One has to show God that one actually wants to change for the better. Once those deeds prove to God one is sincere, then the “Lord of gods will come to save you.”
Pay what you owe and be thankful you saw the truth from the light of day.
Verse four is then the most important of this reading. By understanding one’s need to act first, before God will gallop in and take you out of the tower of imprisonment, salvation awaits one’s deeds. In that imaginary scene, rather than waiting helplessly for God to rescue oneself, it means one’s acts will have oneself standing outside the tower, waiting for a lift from God.
Still, by taking those steps to remove the self that fears other gods, one’s eyes and ears will be opened. All crippling fears will be removed, so one throws away the crutches of excuse for doing nothing. One’s silence is removed and one begins singing praises to Yahweh, as well as preach God’s insight to those seeking the truth. These verses tell of more opposites coming, due to the Christ Mind and the Holy Spirit
The water metaphors then mean that one will be filled with the love of God, as His wife. One has to love God for Him to return with His love. Water is the fluid element that is like life blood, flowing from the heart to all the parts of the body. The symbolism is that all the dryness of sin will be removed [Spiritual Baptism]. Streams will bring forth fertility, making one the fruit in an oasis. Pools will be like wells of living water, for oneself and other to share. The springs are the gush of love for God that had been so missed, when fears made one thirst for salvation.
As an optional Old Testament reading selection for the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s ministry for the LORD should be underway – one has no fear of lesser gods in one’s soul – the message here is to prove you want to save yourself, so God can give you His helping hand. So often it is easier to play Nell in a Dudley Do-right cartoon, and just lay tied by ropes on the railroad tracks.
As Flip Wilson used to say – “The devil made me do it! – it is easier to blame all our shortcomings on Satan, and praise God for all our rescues, when we actually do very little to get ourselves out of danger’s way. Nell’s ropes are of her own doing (in this analogy).
If one’s life is a series of crises, one after another, then there is very little one is doing to elicit God’s help. If God is indeed helping some poor soul, rescuing one from Satan’s grasp, then it is for the purpose of God using that one to teach others not to fear. God wants to use His wives like he used Isaiah. He does not want to litter the world with helpless failures, because they will inevitably blame God for their own mistakes. The saying, “Misery loves company,” was built on the moans and complaints of those who are too in love with fears to ever seek change.
A prophet like Isaiah, who was talking to exilic Jews or those soon to be taken to Babylon, was acting for God by telling them all was not lost. They certainly had lost their way and were being punished for not fearing only Yahweh, but they could retain their souls. One prophet (or a hundred prophets of God) was not going to undo centuries of waywardness. Still, God preserved the words He spoke through His prophet, so we could benefit from them today; just as those in captivity would eventually benefit when their freedom finally came.
In today’s world where the television news has mastered the art of fear mongering, and few Americans are not addicted to hearing the latest fears of the day, the world makes it easy to promote fear.
One cannot help but be heavily influenced to fear the gods of politics, religion, race, poverty, and material gains (et al). Isaiah and the other writers of Scripture stand in our lives as God’s prophets, who are speaking directly to us. They all are telling the same message, given by God, so this reading today is still valid.
The fears Isaiah warned us about are masked and shrouded by bad translations and weak attempts to address an everlasting need to be faithful to God. We are the blind, the deaf, the lame, and the mute. We struggle mightily to do what we need to do to save ourselves, much less help save anyone else.
Without good shepherds to guide us (Saints), we become emotionally dry towards God; although we might have a moist tear to shed for Jesus to come save us … again. The call this week is the same as every week – deny self, love God, be eternally cleaned of sin by the Holy Spirit, and go out into the world as a resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The only thing that stops anybody from being a Saint is fear.
Can you remember when you were a small child, set on a place that seemed to be way up high; being told by a loved one, “Jump! I’ll catch you”?
Did you hesitate then? Or, did you have enough faith to gleefully leap?
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.[ For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.]
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
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This is the Epistle selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 18. It will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a reader on Sunday September 9, 2018. It is important because James brings into focus one’s acts must be sincerely motivated (coming from God’s influence), or one is not truly being faithful. It is not simply acts based on belief that reward a soul, but those acts based on true faith, when there is no expectation of worldly reward.
In verse one, the Greek written and translated as “My brothers and sisters,” is “Adelphoimou.” The capitalization does not place focus on James, as “My.” Instead, it places focus on “Brothers,” stating the importance that ALL Apostles are related because ALL have been reborn as Jesus Christ. They ALL, like James, have the same Holy Spirit, such that what is “mine” is also theirs.
While this does allow for ALL human beings of both human genders (males and females), to alter the text [the paraphrase of translation] because of modern pressures to bring equality to women, weakens the strength that comes from two words intended by God to convey “Brothers” as a powerful message that James wrote to Saints [then and now]. ALL to whom James wrote (including ALL who read these words today and forevermore) were Spiritual “Brothers” in Christ … not simply “brothers and sisters” of a church or synagogue … not simply men and women of religious philosophies.
It should also be recognized that the Greek word “mou” is the personal pronoun for “I,” in the possessive case. The Greek word “ego” is the first person pronoun from which “mou” stems. This should be understood as God stating through James that the “Brothers” aspect, as multiple beings in Jesus Christ’s name, is due to the common sacrifice of their self-egos (egoism), in order to become the Sons of God (regardless of human gender), returned to the earthly plane as Apostles and Saints. The “I” shared by ALL Saints and Apostles is Jesus the Anointed one within them each.
The first verse also does not act as a question, as shown above. James was not questioning the acts of anyone reborn as Jesus Christ. Instead, James stated, “not with partiality hold the faith of us Jesus Christ the [one] of glory.”
The Greek word “prosōpolēmpsiais” does translate as “favoritism” and “partiality,” but a question makes it appear that James is asking Saints if they show favor towards others. James did not imply that. The statement says that Saints-Apostles of Christ have no “personal favoritism” that determines their level of commitment to God. The statement is than meant to be read as recognizing no Apostle’s faith is based on selfish ego reasoning.
James was stating that Saints and Apostles “hold the faith” because they personally know Jesus Christ. It is his Spirit that has become “the [one]” that is their “renown” [from the Greek word “doxēs”]. Such “fame” does not come from the name of any Apostle, as none of the Saints were famous prior to their deaths. The one of their renown is the one whose name they are given – Jesus Christ. Saints and Apostles have a totally committed grasp on “the unspoken manifestation of God” [from “doxa”] that grants them the favor of God, as His Son reborn.
Verses two through four are stating the conditional that was standard to a Jew in a synagogue, where one was expected to react to the wealthy as having been blessed by God. The poor, on the other hand were not to be seen in that light. The Greek word “epiblepsēte” says what one “should” do, as what “might” be expected by assumptions. The Greek word “eipēte” is then stating what a Jew “should say, as the “answers” that are expected to be given that are not based on spiritual guidance but protocol.
James then questioned that hypothetical approach, where one differs towards to the rich and the poor (“diakrthēte” as “made distinctions”). Such choosing who to welcome and who to spurn was then posing the question to such professed holy men and women, “Have you not become judges with evil thoughts?”
Was this good or bad, Abe?
Again, James referred to “brothers mine,” then adding that this relationship is through “love” (“agapētoi” as “beloved”), which is divinely manifested. This second address follows the capitalized word “Akousate,” which means “Listen.” That capitalization denotes a higher level of hearing, which goes beyond the physical limitations of human ears. To “Listen” means one is different from ordinary peoples, as identified by the prophets [David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Jesus] who wrote, “They have ears, but cannot hear.” When one is reborn as Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of self-ego makes one wholly observant to the voice of God, through the Christ Mind; so listening to that holy voice is how one answers the question posed.
In the answer one’s heart listens to, we see how James wrote the Greek word equivalent to that word in Hebrew, used by Solomon in Proverb 22:1 (an accompanying optional reading), where “God has chosen” is stated. James wrote, “Theos exelexato,” which was a “choice” known by ALL Saints and Apostles; because “God has chosen” them to serve Him and because they had “chosen” to sacrifice self-ego and love God. It is a “choice” that must be made by two in marriage, to be together as one.
The aspect of “the poor” relating to God’s chosen is then stating how one becomes materially poor in a close relationship with God. Being Spiritually wealthy, having all past sins absolved and being given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, while promised eternal happiness in heaven, is the trade for giving up all desires for worldly things. Knowing “the poor” is who “God has chosen” led James to then ask his fellow Saints, “Was than not what he [God] promised to those loving him [God] … to be heirs of His Kingdom?”
James then drove home this point by asking, “Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?” All of those questions are stating that an Apostle-Saint is seen by the rich as being poor, such that outward material poverty cannot project the inner riches of the Holy Spirit. The grace of God is invisible to those whose sensory organs only work in the physical plane.
In today’s world, human beings filled with God’s love and his glory of the Holy Spirit does not show through. One does not walk down the street looking holy. Christians do not run up to a Saint-Apostle, like autograph hounds seeing an entertainment star or sports hero. Fans of Jesus Christ do not wildly exclaim, “Jesus! Can I take a selfie with you?!?!” This is because Saints always look like the poor, which makes the rich always want to take advantage of them and the common poor push them out of the way, as they scramble to follow the rich.
Those questions about the rich taking advantage of the poor then led James to remind his fellow Saints that were in the name of Jesus Christ, “You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”’ For Christians, this Scripture is immediately thought to be the words of Jesus, but James had never read anything that we know as the New Testament or the Gospels.
James and all of his brothers in Christ (males and females) knew this was a reference to Leviticus 19:9-18, where it is written, as spoken by Moses: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18) Moses had led the Israelites into a desolate place, separating them from the distractions of other peoples and the rulers of other nations. God wanted them to know the value of depending on others whose lives were likewise set amid the same harsh and barren surroundings.
In all the namby pamby preaching of political pastors, who see the world’s poor as being who Jesus was speaking of when he said “love your neighbors,” using this Biblical quote as a poison arrow by which their political opponents can be shot to death, the words spoken by Jesus are from the same God that spoke them through Moses. The intent never changes with the political climates of a world always filled with heathen nations, none of which have sworn an oath to Yahweh elohim – the LORD of all gods. Therefore, James was also telling Jewish Christians (James was not sent to spread the Word to Gentiles) that maintaining this love of fellow Jews was doing good (from “kalōspoieite”).
The message of James applies to Christians. Apostles of Christ, to whom his letter was written, were Jews that had been filled with the Holy Spirit. They were Christians in the truest sense; not only from having accepted Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, but from knowing Jesus Christ by being reborn as him. ALL Christians are this, as brothers in Christ, so ALL Christians are “neighbors” (from “plēsion”) because they live “near” to one another spiritually.
This closeness is less about spatial proximity, as in one small location of land (a neighborhood), but more about being “neighbors” in the closeness Christians experience with the One God. This makes a “neighbor” a “friend,” which is different from an enemy and different from family. Thus, Moses was not telling the children of Israel to welcome all caravans of peoples with the love that is to be held by Saints and Apostles for one another, but to love those who were likewise poor in a wilderness setting [poor, but in relationship with God].
The same command goes to Christians, meaning one should not project hatred onto those of other religious beliefs. One knows the world is filled with different peoples, nations, and philosophies. To each his own. One does well to see the lack of love in others – to oneself and to one’s God – as reason to thank God for the love between those whose lives are equally blessed by God’s love.
This difference is then stated by James as: “But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” This says that those who do not know the love of Yahweh are sinners, just as were ALL the Saints and Apostles before they committed to the One God of other gods. To pretend love of those who defame Yahweh (by not loving Him) is to sin and become selfish (in love of self and the self’s desire to please any and every one, except God and their fellow Saints and Apostles). One loves one’s enemies by allowing one’s enemies to hate them and to persecute them, acting as the rich of the world.
Willingly accepting an enemy’s beliefs as one’s own is cheating on God or divorce. An enemy’s beliefs being forced upon one is like rape. Because one appears materially poor, through sacrifice of self, one opens oneself up to abuse. In this way, one loves an enemy by accepting one has hatred in one’s heart, staying far away from that hater. One does not provoke anger in others purposefully. Partiality then shows an inner weakness and lack of faith, which project as selfish acts. As such, one’s true faith is demonstrated more in the face of war, than in times of peace.
James then went deeper into this vein of thought provided to him by God’s Holy Spirit. He wrote, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” In reference to the specific law he had stated earlier, to love one’s neighbors as oneself, James compared this commandment to two laws that are deemed to be of the Ten Commandments (Do not murder and Do not commit adultery). That comparison makes this commandment of loving a neighbor be seen as an equal, as ALL the commandments spoken by Moses are to be maintained. To break any of God’s Laws – which differentiates His children [priests] from the other peoples of other nations – means to turn away from God [divorce].
To turn away from God is to return to sin and a life that worships self. When one has denied self, this is not an issue. However, when one starts picking and choosing which laws are okay to bend and break, one is kneeling at the altar of ego, not Yahweh.
When James wrote, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty,” he pointed out that one’s actions speak for one’s commitment to God. Words only get in the way, when written on paper scrolls or rotely memorized. When one is a wife of God and walking behind His lead, one acts from the heart, not the head. The way one acts then determines the letter of the law.
Pled guilty to covering up child sexual abuse.
Whereas some might get all excited about an American concept of “liberty,” the meaning of “to be judged by the law of liberty” means God allows each human being the “freedom” (from “eleutheria”) to choose what laws one will obey and follow. That choice is then how one’s soul will be judged when one’s life on planet earth ceases to be in the body of flesh presently surrounding one’s soul. It means one has the liberty to worship God or not worship God. However, if one chooses to serve God, and God has chosen one to serve Him, one is NOT free to pick and choose which commandments one will follow, as Saints and Apostles fully understand the ‘All or Nothing’ rule.
This is confirmed by James stating, “For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” Since the word “mercy” is presented three times in translation, it demands one understand what “mercy” means.
The word “eleos” is translatable as “mercy, pity, and compassion.” This is not a word that should be interpreted as forgiveness, such as some allowance of sin that is based on a human’s discretion. For any human to determine what broken laws can be wiped clean, that would be selfish, would it not?
The word “eleos,” according to HELP Word-studies, properly conveys “mercy as it is defined by loyalty to God’s covenant.” Certainly, this is based on its usage in holy documents. By showing “no mercy,” then one is showing no ability to be “covenant loyal.” Therefore, a Saint-Apostle acts as God wills, through His Son’s Spirit controlling one’s self body, so covenant-love becomes the Triumph of judgment – one acts in accordance with God’s laws and God judges one with Spiritual wealth and eternal life.
This then leads to James asking the question that this reading is known for, and why it is chosen to preach: “What good is it if you say you have faith but do not have works?” In reality, this question is better stated (based on the literal written text) as, “What is the gain [or profit] if one says their faith is displayed in their works but those works do not?” This question fully addresses the issue of not showing the deeds that completely observe the commandments of God, through Moses.
Another word for “faith” (Greek “pistis”) is “fidelity.” That translation better shows how an Apostle-Saint is married to God, through love that promises total commitment and devotion. One’s “fidelity” is not the day-to-day words that repeat, “I love you,” as much as it is the daily acts of faithfulness. Marriage vows to God are His Commandments being fully agreed upon, with “faith” then being acts of observance; those completely matching one’s actions. Therefore, James is putting forth the question that cannot be answered in any way other than, “Faith without works is dead.”
“Till death do us part” applies to divorce too.
The word “dead” (from “nekra“) means the soul is condemned (as always when not committed to God) to experience the mortal end of a bodily existence. It means, rather than a soul forever going to some place like Sheol or Purgatory, it is sentenced to be reincarnated into another body of flesh that has a worldly “shelf life” that is temporary. All the wealth of possessions one slaved to amass are gone, with one’s soul having to start over. It means the judgment of not living up to the commandments of God [one’s Free Will allowance] is losing the fantasy of going to heaven when one dies.
James wrote, “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?”
Here, he actually wrote “adelphos ē adelphē,” which includes both “brothers and sisters.” The inclusion of “sisters” means James knew “Adelphoi” [the “Brothers” this reading began with] was both human genders, filled with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Because of the masculinity of God the Father and His Son Jesus, the presence of that Holy Spirit must be stated as “Brothers.”
This then points to those still without the loss of self-ego being told, “We are just like you, but God supplies our daily needs.” Those words spoken are empty if one is not seeing those who are poor, seeking God to choose them, need help with God passing onto them the Holy Spirit. A true Saint-Apostle must then reach out and act, as commanded by God, so His Son can touch more seekers of faith. This is how three thousand Jews were filled by the words of twelve disciples-turned-Apostles on that Pentecost day.
As the Epistle selection for the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry for the LORD should be underway – one is doing the deeds of faith – the message here is to see oneself in others. Knowing that oneself was also poor in spirit, while capable of feeding and clothing oneself without asking for help, it was when one sacrificed self-ego that then one became spiritually “naked and hungry.” One’s marriage to God is not dependent of any other human being’s influence, which puts one totally at the mercy [remember “covenantal-love”] of God, both to and from. One must have faith that God will act from an equal committed stance, fulfilling His vows to a new wife [a.k.a. a new addition to the Brothers in Christ family].
A relationship built on complete trust.
This is how the works and deeds of faith manifest in the world. The wives of God are all Christians, as His priests ministering to His needs. ALL are family, of the spiritual blood of Jesus Christ. ALL are neighbors in faith. God then leads His new wives to seek and find His other wives, who will also be led to receive them.
Together they act as one church, such that ALL support one another’s needs in a communal setting, not unlike that which surrounded Jesus of Nazareth and his family and followers. The naked are clothed in the robes of righteousness, made for them by those who wear the same clothing. The hungry have their spiritual needs reinforced by those who also have been enlightened to the meaning of God’s Word. That fellowship of support means each can say, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill.”
The problem that has befallen the churches of Christianity today is they feel a call to help the needy, as the works of faith. Because that does little more than put all churches on the list of “donation sources” (i.e.: charities) held by those who are addicted to sin, when none of the perpetual “needy” ever seriously consider a newfound life that is totally committed to God, the deeds of the churches are not the deeds of God. They are not acts of faith, meaning their results are dead.
It becomes a situation where sinners are welcomed with the love of neighbors, when it is regularly understood that the sinners are there to test one’s commitment to God’s commandments. God does not marry into Saints and Apostles that take on the name of His Son for the purpose of becoming priests that enable sinners to propagate. Charities help themselves more often than they help the needy: when not paying huge salaries to organizers, the donors are claiming their “gifts” as non-taxable. One cannot be given heaven, when one has already received worldly currency for helping the poor.
The communal setting of neighborhoods is lost. The total commitment to God, as an “all in” commitment that had all Apostles sell their possessions and give the profits to the poor – THE COMMUNAL NEIGHBORHOOD – so all Saints could go into the world as poor men with nothing material to offer, has been long lost. The “Church” has become the rich man with handout available. The poor go to there to get crumbs, not Spiritual uplifting. The “Church” is very comfortable passing out crumbs, while amassing large holdings of possessions and wealth.
And a crumb for you ….
A minister to the LORD has become like an endangered species. The “mating call” that goes out for other ministers to respond, now draws silence in return. The urge to share the love of God with another, so a true church can be formed simply by two or more coming together in the name of Jesus Christ, has morphed into club memberships with contact lists. Rare is a call answered with a howl back that says, “I am here! I love you brother of mine!”
Still, the world is where God sends His Saints and Apostles, and they never travel alone; not as long as Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in them.
Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
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This is the Gospel selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 18. It will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a priest on Sunday September 9, 2018. It is important because it shows how Jesus was sought out by both Gentiles and Jews, by seekers praying for help hearing news of Jesus having come near to them. Going to Jesus is symbolic of acting on one’s faith.
The city Tyre was in Phoenicia (the “region” now called Lebanon), as was Sidon. There were Israelites settled in the areas Jesus went, because both were cities of the Tribe of Archer. The path towards Decapolis was in land once part of the Tribe of Naphtali. This map shows the original allotment of lands to the twelve tribes and after Roman occupation.
With this reading beginning at verse 24, in the middle of Mark’s seventh chapter, there is a liberty of paraphrase taken that has us hear recited, “Jesus set out and went away.” The actual Greek of Mark (Simon-Peter’s story teller) states, “From there also having risen up , he went away”. The change keeps one from asking, “Where was there, from which he went away?”
The answer is Jerusalem, which is where Jesus went for the second (maybe third) Passover of his ministry, the first accompanied by disciples. This reference is not casual statement of transition, as it is worthy of analysis.
In Mark’s sixth chapter, Jesus fed the five thousand pilgrims that had begun flooding the areas surrounding Jerusalem, in preparation for the Passover-to-Shavuot observances. It would have been typical for the pilgrims to stay through the two months that surrounded two events that spanned fifty days. That means Jesus would have had plenty of Jews to minister to in Jerusalem or back in Galilee, but he left and went far north, “into the region of Tyre (and Sidon).” [“and Sidon” is an aside that is left out of the translation above.]
The reason is then stated as “From there,” which was Jerusalem in Judea. Over a week’s time (written by Mark in 7:1-23), Jesus had “raised up” those he encountered there. The word “also” (from “de”) means not only in Jerusalem, but also prior in Galilee, in Nazareth, in Bethsaida, in Capernaum, and in Gennesaret (Mark 6). The Greek word “anistémi” (“having raised up”) not only states Jesus “got up from lying down,” but it more importantly implies that he “caused to be born” and “gave rise” to others.
The important purpose of this to be written [knowing Mark was a man of minimal words] says then that Jesus caused those who had been destined to face mortal death to be reborn in spirit and be given new life. That was the good Jesus did. Still, he also raised the ire of the ruling class of Jerusalem, who were beginning to be quite displeased with the following Jesus was amassing.
When Jesus had begun his ministry the year before, Nicodemus had followed Jesus out of town, probably to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus [of which John wrote], seeking to recruit Jesus into affiliation with that ruling body (the Sanhedrin). Jesus had refused then; now he was accusing the Pharisees and scribes of being defiled, due to the actions that come from within them. Therefore, Jesus went to Tyre because he had done the works of faith in Galilee and Judea AND he had caused the Pharisees and scribes to increase their clandestine efforts to spy on Jesus, hoping to catch him breaking a law.
Jesus went to a region where Israelites lived, but the rulers of Jerusalem had little reach. Because this region (then Syro-Phoenicia) was not far from Nazareth, one could assume that Jesus had relatives that lived there, or someone he knew from an encounter in Jerusalem (who was staying there the fifty days) and had written him a letter that allowed him and his disciples to stay in his home. This would explain why Mark then wrote, “[Jesus] entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there.”
Since the Greek word “oikian” means “house, household, or dwelling,” that would be different from an inn or campsite for travelers and imply Jesus was welcomed there in some way. Further, the use of “ēthelen” says that Jesus “wished, wanted, desired, intended or designed” to stay in Tyre anonymously.
We can still see you.
When we read, “he could not escape notice,” the better translation says, “he was not able to be concealed (or hidden),” where “lathein” states, “hidden, concealed, or escape notice.” While his “intent” would have been to not raise attention to himself, as the Son of God, sent to the Jews to announce “the kingdom of God has come near,” Jesus could not hide that purpose. God demands His Apostles go out and minister to the seekers.
When we then read, “a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him,” this is because the attraction Jesus generated in Galilee and Judea was immediately attractive to the Jews of Tyre. Without any prior fanfare having those people laying palm branches on the street for Jesus’ entrance, he came in ‘under the radar’ but then quickly was healing the sick and opening the hearts of those who had been neglected all their lives, led by rabbis who knew nothing more than the words of the Torah, not the deeper meaning. This common ability of Jesus to attract crowds of followers is how the Syrophoenician woman (a Gentile) knew that a man of God was in town.
When we then read, “she came and bowed down at his feet” and “she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter,” take a moment and capture this scene in your mind. The woman displayed subservience to a higher power and pleaded her wish before that power. The woman prayed to Jesus for help. The word “ērōta” means, “she asked, she made a request, and she prayed.” The word implies “she questioned,” which is like petitioning her Lord (from bowed subservience) through prayer.
Assuming her petition to Jesus was, “Lord, please help me by removing the demon that has possessed my little daughter,” it can be confusing to read that Jesus responded by stating, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Often, the responses Jesus gave have this ability to seem like he did not hear what was said to him clearly. However, as always, the response by Jesus means we should ponder what he said; like so often our prayers to God are answered, just not in the way we wanted the answer to be manifest.
There was a “little daughter” that was the object of the mother’s prayer. By Jesus saying “children” (from “tekna”), it would seem that Jesus is answering her pray, saying (in effect), “Children should not be possessed by demons,” acknowledging the woman has a legitimate request. However, the word “teknon” is a statement that references the “descendants” of Israel, as the “children” of God. We are told that the woman, due to being of the Syrophoenician “race or origin,” is classified as a “dog,” with her “little daughter” considered to be a “little dog or puppy” (one of the “kynariois”).
This makes this statement by Jesus be comparable to the one he made, recorded by Matthew, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6, NASB) The Greek word used then was “kysin,” which was not a cute house dog but a “scavenging canine.” The implication was as “a spiritual predator who feeds off others.” Still, cute puppies filled with demon spirits will grow into these dangerous dogs, of which Jesus referred. Therefore, seeing this comparison means Jesus responded to the Gentile woman’s prayer, in effect stating that the One God, Yahweh, answers prayers petitioned by His faithful, before He grants the wishes of those who do not truly believe in Him.
When the woman heard Jesus’ statement, she immediately caught the true meaning and realized that her gods were what classified her (and her child) as those who did nothing that demanded her lineage (pedigree?) be devoted to laws of righteousness. Without defending her heritage, the woman said back to Jesus, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
The word translated as “Sir” is “Kyrie,” which is better translated as “Lord.” Still in a posture of subservience, the woman replied to Jesus as her “Master.” When she then said, “even the dogs under the table,” she acknowledged her lineage demanded she not worship other gods than those he ancestors worshiped. She accepted that that blood meant she and her kind were “under the table” of the Supreme God, not worthy of being seated at the table as God’s children. Still, she held no animosity towards the God of the Israelites, as she saw their commitment to Yahweh as worthy of being a model to live by. Therefore, she had heard of a Jew healer being served on the table of the Israelites and she went like a little puppy to beg for crumbs the children of Israel might pass down.
When Jesus heard this Gentile woman response, knowing in her heart she was speaking from a sincere emotional longing to know the God of Israel, but was forbidden, he was pleased with her words. Jesus knew the woman feared her daughter might become a scavenging canine in the unforgiving world of her people, who knew no true God. This caused Jesus to say, as the authority sent to earth by Yahweh, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.”
In that statement, the literal Greek has the word “hypage” separated between commas [according to the Bible Hub Interlinear presentation]. This is translated above as “you may go,” but the root word (“hupagó”) is more a statement of passing, as “you may go away, you may be gone, you may depart, and you may die.” Because the woman had spoken “the word” (“logon”), meaning “the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit,” more than simple uttering human words, this woman’s self-ego had been allowed to “go away,” making her an Apostle of the LORD, taking with her the Holy Spirit that made her as devoted to Yahweh as Jesus – a reborn Christ.
By Jesus saying, “the demon has left your daughter,” he was announcing that God had answered her prayer. The demon had left her daughter through her faith in the God of Israel and so the mother could pass the Holy Spirit onto her “little daughter,” raising her family from being scavengers of righteousness, to being those who set the table of God for others to be served.
We then read, “So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone,” the word “lying” is translated from “beblēmenon.” That stems from “balló,” which means the woman found her daughter had been “thrown or cast” onto her “bed or mat,” from the force of the demon having left her.
It implies that the “little daughter” has been wild and uncontrollable, due to the demonic possession, but the mother’s newfound faith and righteous state of her soul had caused the demon to itself become sick, rushing out of the girl from its own fears. Due to all the restlessness caused by the demon, the girl would have been relieved and remained in a state of peaceful rest on her sickbed. The symbolism here is that the daughter had also died of self-ego, giving her the faith of her mother and the protective presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
This encounter with the Syrophoenician woman then transitions to Jesus leaving Tyre. The translation above states, “Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.” While that is stating the time had come for Jesus to head south to his home in Capernaum, staying to the east of the Jordan River, where the Jerusalem influence was weak, his going further north, to Sidon, is left to the imagination. However, the literal language offers more insight.
Verse 31 states, “And again having departed from the region of Tyre , he came through Sidon , to the sea the (one) of Galilee through the midst of the region of Decapolis .” In that first segment, the word “exelthōn,” translated as “having departed,” can also state, “having come out.” This is a parallel word to that stated prior – “apelthousa” – where verse 30 said the woman (in essence) “had departed” from Jesus, to go home. The immediate implication is that Jesus had made himself known as a healer (“having come out”), as demonstrated in the demons having been “cast out” of the “little daughter.” All of this took place in “the region” that was Syro-Phoenicia, the same region of Sidon. This means “again” (from the Greek “palin”) is a word stating a “further” act of healing that would result from the first.
When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-42), the offering of the Holy Spirit (living waters that never need to be refilled) was so soul enriching that the woman asked Jesus (and his disciples) to spend more time with her whole town of Samaritans.
The same result should be seen in the Syrophoenician woman, whose news of her daughter having been healed spread to her kin in the same region, where a deaf and speech impeded Syrophoenician man lived in Sidon. This aspect of Gentiles being healed by Jesus is why “Jesus ordered them to tell no one,” because he was sent first for the children of Israel. The overall plan was to spread the Holy Spirit to all who would seek to serve God (including Gentiles), but that spread was to take off later. Still, the joy of the Holy Spirit flowing through God’s new Apostles was impossible to keep silent about.
This is how one should see that the Tribe of Archer blended into the Phoenician culture, which made many be religious but not completely devout to the Laws of Moses. The Samaritans knew of the Messiah promised to the Israelites, which means there were similar quasi-Israelites in the region now called Lebanon. This spread of God’s children into places that the Temple Jews saw as traitorous to Mosaic Law and Yahweh made them outcast publicly, but they still felt closeness to Yahweh, while bearing the guilt of their forefathers’ decisions. Jesus was drawn by God to Tyre, just as he was drawn to hold a conversation with a Samaritan woman at a well, because God knew the hearts of all seekers and where to send His Son to touch those hearts with His blessings.
This means that Jesus’ plan to return to Galilee would mean a slight detour to the north, to visit a man who, like the woman whose little daughter was possessed by a demon, prayed to the God of Israel for healing. Most likely, the Syrophoenician woman knew where this man lived, such that she led (or she had someone else lead) Jesus to him, accompanied by others she knew.
It is important to grasp the symbolism of a deaf Gentile, one who was also unable to clearly speak, due to his deafness. The metaphor is the man was unable to be led by religious mores or laws that were spoken to him. Had he been Jewish, or had access to reading Jewish holy texts (doubtful, due to his physical ‘sins’), he might have spoken the truth in ways that made no sense to those who had learned what to say Scripture meant. Because the man was not affected by what he could be told, he was not defiled by misinterpretations. The ones who led Jesus to this man probably knew he had something valuable to offer others, but the communication breakdown between him and others needed to be healed. Therefore, just as the woman was made a Saint set into a Gentile world, a woman was unable to speak freely to all; not like a man could.
We read, “[Jesus] took [the deaf man with a speaking impediment] aside in private, away from the crowd.” The crowd represented not only the noise of those who wanted to get a close view of Jesus’ work, but more the presence of “common people” (from “ochlou”). Even in complete silence (the world of the deaf man), there was psychic noise that was present; not all of which would have been positive thoughts. The privacy was so Jesus could hear the thoughts of the deaf man and he could hear those of Jesus. This would be why Jesus “put his fingers into [the deaf man’s] ears.” That touch was not because others had asked Jesus “to lay hands on him,” but because Jesus had to connect with the man through physical means first, before any spiritual change could occur.
When we read that Jesus then “spat,” the meaning should be understood as, “To express contempt or animosity, especially by ejecting matter from the mouth.” [American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.] Jesus was hearing the demon that was blocking a man of God from hearing and being heard. As a result of Jesus’ communication with the man, he reacted with disapproval for that demon. His disapproval then “spat” the demon out of the man’s brain.
After Jesus had removed that demon, with his fingers still physically touching the deaf man’s ears, we read, “touched his tongue.” This is a separated segment that literally states, “he touched the tongue of him,” where “hēpsato” is less a physical touch, but more figuratively, as “touching someone (something) in a way that alters (changes, modifies) them, i.e. “impact-touching.” [HELPS Word-Studies] The power of removing a demon blockage then deeply touched the man, so he could hear. The first words he heard spoken were when Jesus looked up to heaven, sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
Symbol of a heart opening.
We then read that “immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.” The word translated as “plainly” is “orthós,” which properly says “rightly.” It is a statement of the man speaking “correctly” and “without deviation.” We should read this and understand that Jesus was not healing people as some parlor trick, just to show people he could heal the sick and cause the lame to walk. Instead, the man began interpreting Scripture “correctly,” in the privacy of Jesus and himself. The man was freed from a demon that did not want the truth be told. Jesus then spiritually touched that man so he could go out and preach the Word of God for all to hear. He began speaking in the same way as would the Apostles on Pentecost day, after the Holy Spirit touched their tongues like as of fire.
After Jesus and the healed man rejoined the crowd, we read, “Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” The segment that literally states, “more abundantly they were proclaiming,” this is due to the spread of the Holy Spirit being like fire set upon dried wood. The spread, once started, would burn as long as there were new seekers to add fuel to that fire. In the same way that the healed man began speaking “correctly,” he was verifying Jesus, as when the people said, “Well he has done everything,” the Greek word “Kalós” also means “Correctly and Rightly,” so they both spoke from the same source of Truth. The capitalization states the importance of being “Honorable, Commendable, Nobel and Rightly” in all things that a servant to God does.
As the Gospel lesson for the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for the LORD should be underway – one has been freed of demons that keep one from serving God – the message here is to living in the border region that searches for scraps of righteousness in one’s life and serve the LORD with all one’s heart. This means being able to see an affliction in oneself and know the only way to change for good is through serious prayer and begging.
For Christians in America, who are vastly Gentiles with a wee bit of knowledge of the Laws of Moses, this reading should resonate loudly. American Christians are like the Syrophoenician woman, who lived in the region that was primarily pagan, with strong ties to a pagan culture. While America does not build altars to the multiple gods of Baal, many American Christians prostrate themselves before American Idol, NCAA sports teams, and the parties of political persuasion [et al the gods we say mean nothing, but yet there we go, once again kneeling before the gods of the common people].
In that regard, American Christians are the dogs under the table that live off the crumbs that fall from a Communion basket. Wafers are passed down to the cute puppies of Jesus, by the children who sit at the table as priests, pastors, ministers, and preachers. Why do American Christians enjoy being under the table, rather than sitting at it?
The call of this reading is “Ephphatha!” One must “Be opened!” and Receive the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, one is just groveling as a house dog of a church, until some traumatic event causes one to lose all beliefs and be outcast, forced to become a scavenging canine. Nothing holy is to be given to those dogs. However, if one can truly become a seeker and have God send a Saint into one’s region, one needs to be able to speak “the word” that can save one’s soul forever.
American Christians stand as those who wish to be raised up, but there is a demon spirit that blocks the brains of many, keeping them from clearly seeing the meaning of Scripture. That meaning has to be seen by each and every human being that ever expects to do the works of faith, and in return be blessed by God. All who sit and listen to sermons regularly presented on Sundays [or a few times a year], but then, ten minutes later, could not (and would not dare to) pass that meaning onto someone who was an outcast of a church is then equally a deaf person. That demon keeps one from clearly speaking the Mind of Christ and being an Apostle for the LORD. It keeps one a dog begging for crumbs fed to the children, but crumbs can never satiate one’s hunger.
A minster for the LORD has to go out into the world abundantly proclaiming the truth of the Word. This should be done, even if someone representing a reborn Jesus Christ says, “You have not yet graduated from seminary, so keep your thoughts to yourself a little longer.” One needs to know Jesus Christ personally – AS JESUS CHRIST RESURRECTED – to experience the joy and elation that comes with personal experience, not simply some things learned about him. When that has filled one’s being, there is no holding one back.
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold.
The rich and the poor have this in common:
Yahweh is the maker of them all.
Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
and the rod of anger will fail.
Those who are generous are blessed,
for they share their bread with the poor.
Do not rob the poor because they are poor,
or crush the afflicted at the gate;
for Yahweh pleads their cause
and despoils of life those who despoil them.
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This is the Track 1 optional Old Testament selection for the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 18], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If chosen, it will be paired with Psalm 125, which sings, “The scepter of the wicked shall not hold sway over the land allotted to the just, so that the just shall not put their hands to evil.” This set will be read before the Epistle selection from James, which asks, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?” All will accompany the Gospel reading from Mark, where Jesus said, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
I wrote about this in 2018. I stand behind my views then, as they still apply well today. The commentary can be viewed by searching this site. I will not re-interpret these verses; but instead, I will add some additional thoughts about what I see now, which I did not see then.
Reading my posting, I see that I made several references to “Holy Spirit” and “Jesus Christ.” This Ordinary after Pentecost season (and before) I have become more strict in my translations from the Epistles, where those words readily appear. I now see the truth of each being two separate, capitalized words in Greek, meaning each word is vital to grasp separately. First of all, the “Spirit” (some form of “Pneuma”) is the extension of Yahweh into the material plane, when the word is capitalized. There is “spirit,” which is not only a “soul,” but other non-material presences that aid Yahweh’s plan, which makes the physical universe be the playground of eternal “spirits,” where they bring the pretense of life to dead matter.
When the “Spirit” of Yahweh enters into and possesses a soul (a presence that comes from willing commitment and divine marriage), then a soul-flesh entity will act in ways that are “Holy.” In short, it is not the “Spirit” that is “Holy,” but the soul’s flesh acting in ways that please Yahweh, allowed by the soul through divine marriage. The word that translates as “Holy” (Hagios”) means: “sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated):–(most) holy (one, thing), saint.” [Bible Tools] Therefore, the same words [“Spirit Holy” or “Pneuma Hagios“] can be read as “Spirit of a Saint.”
As for “Jesus Christ,” reading how often I said that it sounded as if I thought the ‘last name’ of “Jesus” was “Christ.” I no longer use those words together, in the same way I now call what I used to call the “Holy Spirit” the “Spirit of Yahweh.” By understanding “Jesus” and “Christ” are two separate, capitalized words, one can see “Jesus” in the same light as “Spirit.” Because one places focus on that name, one sees how the name means “Yah[weh] Will Save” or “Yah Saves.” I pointed out a similar translation in the article of 2018. However, one must realize the meaning of “Christ” is “Anointed one,” whereas “christo” means “anointed one.” Samuel “anointed” David with physical oil; but it was Yahweh who “Anointed” David with His Spirit, meaning one is physical and one is spiritual. Every Patriarch and Prophet, as well as every Saintly Apostle, is so because of having become an “Anointed one” of Yahweh. The resurrection of the soul of “Jesus,” who was THE Christ, automatically makes the soul-body be transformed into another “Christ.” How ever many souls represent the resurrected “Jesus” is how many “Christs” there are in the world. Therefore, I now see it as wrong to lump two capitalized words of Scripture together, as it gives the wrong impression.
I write this in a commentary about Proverbs 22 because I used those terms in a commentary about this reading in 2018. I wanted to clarify my new views. That does not negate anything I wrote in 2018, as the same essence of “Jesus” and “Spirit” were conveyed, in terms that most people still use, although slightly wrong. Another such wrong use if the written name “Yahweh” being lessened to a translation as “Lord.” While I am sure that the minds of Christians read “Lord” and think “God,” the reality is the Old Testament names the specific God of Israel. The Hebrew letters written are “יְהוָֽה,” which transliterate as “Yah-weh” [the capitalization is not the truth of an alphabet without capital letters, but an honor given to that name]. The problem that I now see in the misuse of “Lord” is anything can be a “lord” over one’s body of flesh. Demon spirits can possess a soul and turn it and its body of flesh into a slave to sin, where such a demonic possession [seen many times in the Gospels and Acts] needs to be cast out. Therefore, to one led by such a “Lord” as Satan, reading the generality of “Lord” can make Scripture seem accepting of such demonic possessions. This means using the proper name, as “Yahweh,” brings a soul closer to the truth that must be known. In the above text, I have restored the name Yahweh, where it was written in two places.
This Proverb is twenty-nine verses long. The Episcopal Church elders (of old) pared this length down to only six of those verses, in three sets of paired verses. This reading, of those specific verses, is only read on this Sunday in the lectionary cycle. In all, Proverbs will only be read eight times in the lectionary cycle, with only six times coming on a set Sunday. To me, this is a statement that the writings of Solomon are not to be leaned heavily on, in order to find one’s faith in Yahweh enhanced. It should be seen that Solomon was not a great priest of Yahweh, because his brain was so large. Still, the truth of Yahweh does shine forth in his writings, even if he was most likely unaware of that presence.
In verse one, it is more likely that Solomon was not writing wisdom about the “good name” of Yahweh. He was probably writing about having been born a prince, whose name he inherited as king. He was of the Davidic lineage and thus more than all the silver and gold that came with any firstborn male, born into a wealthy household of a father of substance and position, Solomon was allowed greater abilities to act, because he became king. By seeing that, verse two’s mention of “Yahweh” says both the “rich and poor” have their social status given to them by Yahweh. More than a statement of praise to the One God of Israel, that acknowledgement should be seen as Solomon saying God made the poor poor and the rich rich, therefore because Solomon was King of Israel, Yahweh had blessed him above all the “common” people.
It is from this first pair of verses that touts Yahweh as the “maker” [from “‘ō·śêh”] that we skip forward to a pair of verses that place focus on “he who sows inequity,” compared with one “who has a generous eye.” The impression given is that the evildoer will be beaten by the “rod” of Yahweh, as the “sorrow” or “shortcoming” [from “’ā·wen”]. Meanwhile, the one with a “giving” disposition will be “blessed” [“yə·ḇō·rāḵ”], such that giving bread to the poor brings a soul redemption. While there is certainly truth to the deeper meaning of these words written, they guide many to think that issuing punishment is only done by the wicked, causing many to idolize the axiom “spare the rod,” where they then think evil deeds can be balanced by good deeds, such as the wealthy giving a small portion of their wealth to others [“alms for the poor”], rather than give their souls completely to Yahweh. Again, in this set of verses, a focus is placed on the rich and the poor, where it appears Yahweh blesses His servants with wealth, so they can rise to govern the people and order the poor be cared for.
In the final pair of verses, the wisdom shared by Solomon says not to “rob” [“tiḡ·zāl”] or “crush” [“tə·ḏak·kê”] the poor, who can then be seen as “afflicted” ones. To the contrary, Solomon says “Yahweh will plead their cause.” This “contention” [from “yā·rîḇ” meaning “strive, contend”] is then projected as a “plundering” [from “qaba”], which says Yahweh is also a “robber,” who steals the souls of the ones who “rob” and “crush” the poor and afflicted. This gives the impression of Yahweh being the one who serves kings like Solomon, who makes the rich the protectors of the poor, by using Yahweh to do their bidding as kings. It projects Yahweh as some knight in service to a human ruler.
The truth that can rise to the top of these words from a large human brain means the “rich and poor” in Solomon’s eyes are reversed in Yahweh’s view. Spiritual wealth comes from souls submitted to Yahweh as His wives [male and female bodies of flesh]. To “rob” one who is materially poor, but spiritually rich, means to take advantage of one who serves Yahweh. It says the “affliction” such a soul-flesh entity has is a refusal to sell its soul for material gains. It is then those who are rich in Spirit that “contend” for “Yahweh,” as His Saints on earth. It is through their presence that those poor in Spirit, yet rich in material wealth, can have their demonically possessed souls be “plundered,” thereby leading them to see the light of truth, after casting out their worldly lusts.
In the years since 2018, I have grown less enjoyment from anything that has to do with Solomon. His wisdom is a reflection of the world’s worship of intelligence, masquerading as divine insight. The reliance on science, when yesterday’s wonders most often become tomorrow’s embarrassments, having to admit a failure of intellect (once again, and again), is worship of a false idol or dead god. I can see how little the lectionary focuses on Solomon; although it is important to see the seeds of evil having been planted into the son, as a necessary reduction of a kingly line for materialistic peoples who were no longer servants of Yahweh by marriage of their souls to His Spirit. One has to comb thoroughly through all the knots of his intellect to find the truth deeply embedded by Yahweh. It is like the work necessary to open an oyster, looking for slimy food, but finding a pearl. It is more work than I enjoy doing, for such little reward.
As an Old Testament possibility for the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for Yahweh should already be well underway, the lesson here is to see the world through the eyes of the rich and the poor. The common view is like Solomon had, which is to think knowledge (store-bought from some seminary, graduating with a diploma to be a hired hand for some religious organization) makes one the protector of the ignorant, huddled masses. The lesson is to see how poor one is, when all one does is try to figure out how to produce miracles that solve all the world’s problems [in the name of Jesus Christ, presumably]. True Spiritual wealth comes from giving one’s soul to Yahweh out of love and devotion, and Him accepting that soul, knowing it truly submits to His Will. True wisdom comes from getting one’s big brain out of the way and admitting how stupid one is, when one tries to enter ministry with only a brain to guide one. That is the truth of robbing the poor; and, for such actions one’s soul will be self-plundered.
This is the Track 2 alternate option for the Old Testament reading for the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 18], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If chosen [as a year consistently offering the Track 2 option], it will be paired with Psalm 146, which sings, “Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, for there is no help in them. When they breathe their last, they return to earth, and in that day their thoughts perish.” Both will precede the Epistle reading from James, where he wrote, “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” All will accompany the Gospel selection from Mark, where Jesus healed a deaf man with a speech impediment, leading to Mark writing, “Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well.”
I wrote a commentary about this reading and posted it on my website, back in 2018, the last time this reading came up in the lectionary cycle. At that time, I addressed the two places where forms of “elohim” were written, but translated incorrectly as “God” [in the singular, rather than the plural indicated]. At that time, I was still feeling my way through understanding the insights sent to me about “elohim.” Since then, I have come to a better understanding that means the 2018 writing needs to be slightly tweaked. I stand behind what I wrote three years ago, because my views are still applicable to the words of these verses in Isaiah today. I welcome all to view what I wrote then and compare those words to what I add today. The article can be viewed by searching this site.
The Episcopal Church has chosen not to number the verses, other than list the range of verses in the heading. I have placed the verse numbers in brackets. I will reference the verses by those numbers. The addition of an “a” following the number “7” means the remainder of verse seven is not part of the reading. Therefore, the verse read aloud ends with a semi-colon, not a period mark.
My views on elohim are to see them as souls who have committed to a higher power and become married together, as two in one. The higher power then has complete control over the soul and its flesh. All elohim are the creations of Yahweh, but not all elohim are married to Yahweh’s Spirit. Satan is an eternal angel, which is an elohim of sorts, as a higher power that is able to influence a soul to accept his spirit within. If that happens, then a human being becomes a demonically possessed elohim. The writings of Isaiah here can allude to this danger, which is what I reflected upon in the 2018 commentary. However, in these verses, I now clearly see the call of Isaiah was for one to become a soul married to Yahweh and experience the benefits of that divine marriage and most holy possession.
Not read today is verse two, which says [in part], “They shall see the glory of Yahweh, the majesty of elohenu.” The statement about Yahweh means the elohim forms used subsequently are those who have become the extensions of Yahweh on earth. That can only come from a marriage of their souls (individually) to His Spirit. The form written here, “elohenu” is stating the collective possessive, as “our gods,” but should be seen as the possession of souls by Yahweh, as “us gods of Him.”
This understanding can then be brought forward to verse four, so it literally begins by saying, “say to those fearful-hearted , be strong not do fear ; behold! elohekim vengeance will come”. In that, the Hebrew translated as “fearful-hearted” is “lə·nim·hă·rê-lêḇ,” which more aptly says, “those whose hearts hasten.” The rapid beating of a heart can mean “fear,” but so too does a heart beat fast when one is in love, especially when emotions swell in the young and inexperienced. In such cases, a state of fear can mean feelings experienced, those one has not learned how to deal with. When one realizes the Hebrew word “leb” means “heart,” while also being metaphor for “inner man, mind, and will,” this becomes a love of God, but a fear of what a soul should do next. This can then lead to a true fear of the world, when one does not pursue heartfelt emotions for Yahweh. Therefore, David is singing a recommendation to the young children of Israel to “be strong,” which means enter into a spiritual marriage with the greatest ally possible.
When David then sang out “behold!” (which comes with its own English exclamation point, unwritten in Hebrew), this word must be seen as more than a statement of “seeing.” When it is love of God that is felt by a soul, then there is nothing material to “see” with human eyes. This means the word is a statement of “experience,” which is that step beyond heart-fluttering attraction and the anticipation of what will happen next. In that step, one’s soul becomes embraced by Yahweh’s Spirit, so the young girl’s imaginations of romance [and all human flesh equates to the young girl state of being] are like the definition of “belief,” which immediately rises to a state of “faith,” knowing the wonder, power, grace, and presence of Yahweh. True “faith” is impossible without that Spirit being received within one’s soul.
This then leads to the form of elohim that is “elohekim,” meaning “your gods.” This is the second-person statement of a personal relationship with Yahweh, as one of His elohim; but this relationship is now established as mutually possessive, such that a distant God has become “yours” alone. This is now David stating a divine marriage has bonded his soul with Yahweh forever. While this marriage is one soul’s eternal commitment to become the wife of Yahweh [as the greatest King, He can have an infinite number of wives – human gender not part of a soul, so wives means the souls of male and female humans]. As one of many, a wife becomes addressed as a Yahweh elohim – the gods of Yahweh.
The last word in this string that equates to verse 4a says, “vengeance,” which gives this verse a harsher resonance, to which I gave more attention in my 2018 analysis. The point of “vengeance” in a positive light says the innocence of a soul has been returned by divine marriage with Yahweh. His Spirit will not join with a soul in the flesh, without that soul submitting itself fully and totally to Yahweh’s Will. While I have painted a picture of young love and pure innocence, that can only be attributed to a soul, with nothing about the desires of the flesh, nor the filth that can infest an adult brain being part of this divine union. As such, “vengeance” becomes applicable to the past life a soul has led, as a prisoner of sin in a world of temptations, with the soul’s jailer being Satan and his wiles. From a soul having “beheld” the presence of Yahweh, that evil history will be exorcised.
This view is confirmed when the second half of verse four literally sings, “the recompense elohim, he will come and save you”. The NRSV seems to have taken the words saying “vengeance will come” and intuited that to mean “terrible” forms of “recompense” (a word as a noun meaning “compensation or reward given for loss or harm suffered or effort made”) “will come.” There is nothing written that can translate as “terrible,” meaning the NRSV paraphrase has made that assumption wrongfully. The “benefits” (an alternate translation of “gemul,” or “recompense”) come from being one of Yahweh’s “elohim.” The foremost “recompense” is Salvation and forgiveness of past sins. Therefore “Yahweh will come,” meaning into one’s soul-body, and one’s soul will be saved. The Hebrew transliterated as “wə·yō·ša·‘ă·ḵem” means “to be delivered by him.”
Verse five then sings of this “recompense” or the “benefits” that will enter one’s life. When the verse literally sings, “then shall be opened the eyes of the blind , and the ears of the deaf shall be opened,” this must not be seen as physical eyes and ears. Because the soul has fallen in love with Yahweh and become married with His Spiritual presence, the eyes with which things have been seen were blind before being divinely elevated. The ears that before heard the Torah recited to them in the synagogue will then hear the truth coming forth, like never heard before. This sings praise about being led to understand spiritual matters, which is the only way to begin to act in righteous ways. Obviously, there is nothing “terrible” about having elevated eyes and ears.
Verse six then literally sings out loudly, “then shall leap like a deer the lame , and joyfully sing the tongue of the mute ; when shall burst forth in the wilderness waters , and streams in the desert”.
Again, this must not be taken as physical statements, but as metaphor. Without a soul being married to Yahweh and having the benefits of His Spirit within, one’s soul-body is crippled and unable to walk righteously. To be able to “leap like a deer” means any obstacles the world places before one, impeding the path sent down by Yahweh, the soul now easily springs over them, just like a deer leaping over a fence in a farmer’s field. The “mute” are those who are the rabbis and teachers, who cannot answer to the truth of Scripture. Those silent “tongues” will then be filled with joyful noises that explain the meaning of the Word, for all to hear. This means the dryness of a soul-body is a lack of emotions bursting out from within; but the love of Yahweh that comes from marriage to His Spirit brings forth a flood of spirituality that is uplifting and replenishing. This is like Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, “I can give you living water, a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The first half of verse seven then literally sings, “and shall become the parched ground a pool , and the thirsty land springs of water”. In this, the focus turns from the body of self and shines on “the ground” and “the land.” This is then singing about the ministry of a saint, whose soul-body has become a fountain of the living waters eternally supplied by Yahweh. When one does see the connection to Jesus telling that he would supply this eternal water, where water is necessary for life on earth, then David was singing as a soul that had been reborn as Jesus, well before the man named Jesus was born. This makes the name “Jesus” be the eternal essence of the man, as the name means “Yah[weh] Saves.” This means the Son of man is, has been, and forever will be the soul born into another soul – a wife of Yahweh – so all who have become the wives of Yahweh will be the resurrections of the Son of God in the flesh.
As an optional Old Testament reading that can be chosen to be read on the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own ministry for Yahweh should already be well underway, the lesson is to go beyond the girlish infatuation with God and become His Son through marriage. One must become the fountain of truth that waters the world around one. Ministry cannot be where one goes to some well of religion (a church building) and passes out free cups of physical water – the equivalent of a sermon about canned meaning of Scripture (which everyone has heard before and gets nothing more from one than a day’s worth of religious [not quite holy] water). That always leads to thirst returning the next day. Ministry is about touching the souls of others, so they marry Yahweh and become resurrections of Jesus – the living waters of Yahweh’s Spirit.
My brothers and sisters Adelphoi mou, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters adelphoi mou agapētoi. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. [ For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.]
What good is it, my brothers and sisters adelphoi mou, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
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This is the Epistle selection to be read aloud on the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 18], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will be preceded by one of two pairs of Old Testament and Psalm readings, called Tracks 1 and 2. Track 1 places focus on a proverb of Solomon, which credits Yahweh for the creation of both rich and poor. Its Psalm sings praises to Yahweh as coming from those pure of heart. Track 2 places focus on a song of Isaiah, where he sang of fears being replaced by living waters, when a soul weds Yahweh. The Psalm sings of the benefits that come from servitude to Yahweh. All will accompany a Gospel reading from Mark, when Jesus went to Gentile lands and healed a girl with an unclean spirit and made a deaf man hear.
I wrote about this reading and published my views the last time this reading came up in the lectionary cycle, in 2018. That commentary can be read by searching this site. Those observations still apply, so I welcome all to read it and offer comments and suggestions, questions and corrections. For this analysis, I will only focus on a few elements. Please feel free to compare the two.
In my 2018 commentary, I addressed the issue of the NRSV [and the Episcopal Church] having transformed the words written by James – “Adelphoi mou” – into “My brothers and sisters.” The words written clearly translate into “Brothers mine,” or “Brothers of me.” There is absolutely nothing written that says “and sisters.” I want to advance what I wrote in 2018, because I believe this needs to be divinely understood as being Yahweh moving James’ hand to write, not James being gender-phobic.
Last Sunday the Gospel reading from Mark pointed out how Jesus called out the Pharisees and scribes, who came to him complaining that Jesus’ disciples were eating without first washing their hands, as being “hypocrites.” They had made up a general doctrine that was based on the Mosaic laws that were intended solely for the Levitical presence within the Tabernacle. Therefore, Jesus called them “hypocrites,” and then quoted Isaiah to them. The focus of that quote says the failure of a religion is always based on big-headed leaders doing lip-service to Yahweh, while changing the laws to suit their own needs. That practice is now on display by “hypocrites” changing “Brothers mine” into “My brothers and sisters.”
F.Y.I.: “hypocrite” means, “1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion. 2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.” [Google search]
James was writing to the first ‘Jews for Jesus’ or the first true Christians, all who were born and raised Jews. James was not writing a letter to Gentiles who had been transformed by their souls marrying Yahweh and being filled with His Spirit, then giving birth to the resurrected soul of Jesus, therefore all becoming Yahweh’s Anointed one [i.e.: each a Christ]. While it was true that the society of Jews at that time was one that addressed the menfolk publicly, it was not exclusive of the wives and daughters (even the children). Peter made a point of writing (on occasion) of “sisters,” but only when that difference in human gender needed to be addressed. James, in like manner, was not excluding anyone because of their human sex organs not being that of an adult Jewish male. Reading the Epistles with a brain that seeks human precepts on doctrine will make physicality take precedence over spirituality; and, that should be avoided.
I have consistently, for some time now, explained that souls in bodies of flesh need to marry Yahweh and become His brides. In that way, males and females alike are feminine essence as a neuter soul taking on the gender of the material realm, which is feminine. The feminine receives spirit, as seen in a baby receiving the breath of life at birth. As such, spirit is masculine essence that penetrates the feminine flesh. Yahweh being the Father, as the Creator of all that is spirit and matter, must be seen as the epitome of masculine essence. All human souls are called to submit to Him in divine marriage, as brides-to-be (neuter gender souls in feminine bodies of flesh that are either male or female by physical sex). Just as men wed virgin women, so there is a husband and wife (mother-to-be) resulting, so too does Yahweh seek souls to penetrate and bring forth His Son [no daughters allowed].
This means that a soul in a body of flesh [both genders] is the wife that becomes penetrated by the Husband. It is a rebirth of the soul, similar to the change of state that comes from the breath of life entering flesh at physical birth. This marriage becomes how one can call Yahweh one’s Father [just as a baby has identity with its biological father]. Yahweh is the Father who (through the penetration of His Spirit with a soul) impregnates a soul with a twin soul – that of Jesus. This becomes the rebirth of Jesus, as the resurrection of his soul with the soul of a wife to Yahweh [born (again) from above]. This rebirth makes a wife become Jesus reborn – ALL OF THEM! Therefore, all who are true Christians [reborn Jesuses] are then “Brothers” [not “brothers and sisters], because Yahweh is masculine, as is also the divine soul of His SonJesus.
The capitalization of “Adelphoi” must be read as an important statement about “Brotherhood.” Capitalization in divine Scripture [New Testament, as Hebrew has no capital letters] means a divine level of meaning must be applied. The divine level of meaning read into “Brothers” is all are the children of God [male Sons in Spirit reborn], so all are related to the same Father. Because Jesus is the Son of man, all human souls who have become reborn as Jesus are also Sons of man [not daughters of man]. Because it is the soul of a wife of Yahweh [in the bodies of males and females they come] joined with the resurrected soul of Jesus [only the masculinity of Yahweh, as His Son] the result is a soul that is no longer neuter gender, but masculine [regardless of what sex organs a body of flesh possesses]. Because Yahweh is ‘God enough’ to do this to many souls in the flesh, and Jesus is ‘soul enough’ to be resurrected wherever the Father says “Go,” the result is who James wrote to.
Therefore, the capitalized word “Brothers” is a statement about divine relationship, when all souls, regardless of their human genders, are reborn as “Brothers” in that Spiritual family. All are the Christ of Yahweh [a soul Anointed by Yahweh’s Spirit] , because they have been deemed worthy bridesmaids, whereby the gift of the Spirit is a Holy Baptism that removes ALL past sins, due to a bridesmaid PROVING a commitment to serve the Husband through deeds of loving submission, for eternity (something only souls can claim). That Spiritual Cleansing by Spirit makes the wife-soul’s flesh transfigure from a dump heap of sin to a Temple in need of a High Priest (and Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.”) This means the resurrection of Jesus’ soul with their soul is to enter purified, sacred, and hallowed ‘ground’ to become the Lord that maintains that forgiveness of sin, by never again allowing that wife-soul to become swayed by the temptations of the flesh. That Anointment (in Greek) means a new presence of “Christ” in the flesh is “Jesus” (a name meaning “YAH Saves”), which is to be “in His name” (of divine union), as the Son reborn from above; and, that is the truth of the name “Christianity.” To truly be Christian means to be one who has Jesus as his or her Lord, where the wife-soul speaks not for the self, but as the Son, who speaks for the Father. Pretenders to this truth are false shepherds.
People who have no personal experience with the presence of Yahweh’s Spirit, because their souls have not done the required testing of their sincerity for such a divine union, think of Scripture in human terms. The changes that always take place in society are then reasons for religious leaders to amend the Word to suit societal norms and acceptances. Priest who do not want to offend the women of their parishes (women are the ones who give the most cash and are more inclined to name churches in their wills) have led to this change in English translations. Therefore, those who recite “brothers and sisters” are standing before their congregations in the same way some Pharisees and scribes stood before Jesus, telling him their “human precepts of doctrine,” which honors themselves, only giving Yahweh lip-service.
Three times in these selected verses James wrote “adelphoi mou.,” In two subsequent presentations it is presented in the lower case spelling. The same interpretation of “brothers” should be seen. This then brings focus to the word for “brothers” three times being immediately followed by the word “mine” or “my.” The Greek possessive pronoun “mou” is rooted in the word “egṓ,” which translates in the first person as “I.” Because a marriage of a soul to Yahweh means one must surrender one’s “ego” or identification as “I,” the “ego” (or the “soul”) becomes possessed by Yahweh. The twin soul of Jesus becomes the replacement “ego,” so each “I” is as him, as the Son of man. This is the genitive case being used, where all “Brothers” are like James, having all given their “egos” or “selves” [mou” can mean “ourselves”] to Yahweh, lowering their faces of “ego,” raising up the face of Yahweh as the face they wear to the world [that face Spiritually looks like Jesus]. This face is equally worn by men and women, whose neuter gender souls have become merged with the masculine Spirit of Yahweh and His Son. In that way, James stated they were “Brothers” by all sharing the common sacrifice of “self” [a “self” is a “soul”] to Yahweh, becoming His possessions, so all are “in His name.” [That is a statement of marriage, where the feminine takes on the name of the masculine in that union.] That name is “Jesus,” which means “Yah[weh] Saves.”
I have added these clarifying remarks because Christianity has been reduced to an image, an icon, or an idol of its origins, which has come because of people pretending to know some things, when they know nothing of value. Yahweh knows all about souls being incarnated in bodies of flesh that demand different sex organs, so the species can be regenerated in the material realm. Yahweh breathes souls into dead matter, allowing dead matter to be animated with a form of life, until that dead matter is no longer able to sustain a residence for a soul. Therefore, Yahweh knows there are males and females that serve Him; but Yahweh led a true Apostle to write “Brothers” for a reason that must be truthfully discerned. However, some panderers of human precepts of doctrine have felt the need to correct Yahweh.
Relative to this awareness is last Sunday’s reading from James, in his first chapter, where he wrote, “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.” Certainly, James was addressing the Jews who had persecuted Jesus to death, as the religion they had been born into was that which had become so degraded centuries earlier that Yahweh sent prophet after prophet, to both the Northern and Southern kingdoms, to tell them they had made so many changes in the meaning of Mosaic Law that they had reduced their religion to a state of worthlessness. Still, because James was writing what Yahweh instructed him to write [as His wife-soul in marriage], the Mind of Yahweh is all-knowing and was then well aware of the degradation that would come to the religion called Christianity. Yahweh knew then what would become now (and beyond). Just like the religion of the nations headed to ruin, and their brothers and sisters who were returned Jews also headed to ruin, the road to ruin is one paved with the worthlessness of human precepts of doctrine that do little more than give Yahweh lip service. Therefore, as the path Christianity is on now is the same path of old, it is surely headed to ruin as well.
When a soul’s call is to marry Yahweh – the simplicity of Moses and the simplicity of Jesus – that call has been reduced by human ideas that reject complete commitment. It welcomes precepts that avoid using the proper name “Yahweh,” preferring to call Yahweh some generic “lord.” Such generic use could just as easily be applied to Satan. Because Satan requires nothing more than a soul to say, “Okay,” rather than “I do,” a soul marrying Satan brings worthlessness. It cannot even teach its members the name of their God, who calls their souls to marry Him: Yahweh. Yahweh is not some demon called “drug addiction,” or “homosexuality,” or “gang murderer.”
[Note: YHWH is what was told Moses, when Moses asked, “Who do I say sent me?” It means, “I AM WHO I AM.” This means Moses was told, “Whoever asks what Authority brings you? You say, “I AM” the Authority as “I AM WHO” you are “WHO” moves his lips as “I AM” speaking. What Jesus repeated about his speaking for the Father, because the Father was in him, is the equivalent of Jesus answering “Who are you?” by saying, “I AM WHO I AM.”]
When “Brothers ourselves” gets reduced to “my brothers and sisters” [a lie, if James was not writing to biological family members], Christianity has no way of being Sons of man [in men and women as married souls of Yahweh], as Jesus reborn. When “Jesus Christ” is seen as some fictional character in heaven, sitting on a throne next to God (with “Christ” being his last name), there is no way the truth of Christianity can ever resurrect. When the Spirit of Yahweh is not seen as the most important addition to one’s soul, as His Spirit that makes one walk a path of righteousness – BE HOLY – calling it instead a “Holy Spirit,” which is like God and Son [a group of ‘three manly mans’], then that Spirit can never be one with one’s soul. Ruin is then neigh.
In verse ten, James is shown [NRSV] to write, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” Sin creates the ‘weakest link’ that leads to infidelity. That is a statement that says, when one’s soul has submitted totally and completely to Yahweh, it is then Yahweh’s Spirit that controls the body of flesh; and, that means the Law is written on one’s heart [soul], so that body of flesh never ventures beyond the directions of Yahweh. Every example James gave of the Jews obviously being self-led sinners says they have absolutely no right to preach good and evil to anyone else. The same conditions exist today. Being a homosexual is a sin. Sinners cannot be saints, because their souls are married to Satan. Those who pander to homosexuals (because they tend to make a lot of money) are likewise sinners. The churches have become dens of sin. No leaders are filled with Yahweh’s Spirit; so, no leaders are leading others to be souls married to Yahweh and stop sinning forevermore. They cannot do that! They don’t know how to teach that.
When a soul is married to Yahweh, one only eats the fruit of the Tree of Life. The knowledge of good and evil comes from the Mind of Christ; but oneself cannot eat that forbidden fruit.
This whole reading comes down to a question of “faith.” There is no “faith” without personal experience. One can believe in Yahweh all day long; but until one’s soul has been penetrated by Yahweh’s Spirit – AND MADE HOLY – one is just talking one’s opinion about what one heard another say. Belief is hearsay. Marriage with Yahweh’s Spirit is faith; and, faith does not come because one is pretty and rich, as if Yahweh wants some of what one has. Marriage, penetration, the rebirth of Yahweh’s Son is not so one can brag about how wonderful one is [“If Jesus was here today, he would agree with my opinion.”]. A soul becomes one with Yahweh [FOREVER] because one is going to be a minister (priest) for Yahweh, which means WORKS. Thus, James wrote [NRSV], “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”
The aspect of death means a soul has been born into a body of flesh, which is dead. Matter has no life in it, whatsoever, beyond the eternal life a soul brings to dead matter. What James said is a soul that is in dead matter, without the presence of Yahweh’s Spirit [and thereby His Son] is then one only spouting ideas and opinions of belief [“pisits”]. Pistis without Yahweh’s union with one’s soul is simply the breath of life in matter that will die, releasing that breath to return into more dead matter [reincarnation]. The presence of Yahweh’s Spirit leads a soul’s body of flesh to acts (or works)of “faith” [“pistis”]. That means a soul alone in dead matter can have no more than “belief.” So, when that dead matter falls away from that soul, then that soul gets reincarnated [or worse … eternal damnation]. Faith, on the other hand, means salvation for a soul when it is released from its dead flesh.
[Note: When John’s fourteenth chapter tells how Jesus said to his disciples, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever” (John 14:16, NIV), this does not mean the soul of Jesus would float up to a cloud throne in Heaven, where he would plead, “Daddy, please let my disciples come here.” It is a promise that those souls released by their dead flesh will stand alongside the soul of Jesus before the throne, where Jesus’ presence with that soul eternally will ask “the Father,” I AM WHO I AM have come with your wife-soul to join You with us forever.
When Jesus then said, “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26, NIV), this says Jesus will speak for a wife-soul brother, as the Lord (paraclete as a “close beside intercessor” Advocate) sent by “the Father” via “the Spirit to Sacred” (from Pneuma to Hagion – a Cleansed Temple, forgiven of past mistakes), in my name (“Jesus,” meaning “Yahweh Saves” souls from its flesh); so, everything done (the “works” of faith) by a minister in the name of Jesus Spiritually, as a Christ reborn from above, will be I AM WHO I AM speaking through the mouth of a Saint that looks nothing like picture book Jesus (maybe in a female body of flesh!). That becomes the works of faith that speak just as the disciples heard Jesus say, “I speak for the Father who is in me.”]
As the Epistle selection to be read aloud on the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry to Yahweh should already be well underway, the lesson is clear: Stop thinking you know some things, when the only thing known of importance is the presence of Yahweh’s Spirit after divine marriage. All opinions of belief cease at that time. One enters ministry as the hand of God on the earth, which is not meant to teach right from wrong. Knowledge of good and evil is the fruit of death and banishment from heaven. The only point of ministry is to teach others to give their souls to Yahweh and then let Yahweh lead their lives righteously.
Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
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This is the Gospel selection to be read aloud by a priest on the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 18], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow one of two pairings of Old Testament and Psalm readings. The Track 1 option is a reading of Proverbs, which paints a picture of Yahweh creating the rich and the poor. The Track 2 option sings a song of Isaiah that encourages a soul to find the benefit of Yahweh’s salvation. Both Psalms sing praises to Yahweh’s glory. The Epistle reading will come from James, where he said faith without works is dead.
I wrote about this reading in 2018, the last time it came up in the lectionary cycle. It can be found by searching this site. I stand behind the words written then, as they still give needed insight into the meaning of this reading. The amazing beauty of divine Scripture is it can always offer new views and deeper insights, many of which were not seen fully times read before. It is from a fresh perspective that I will now add a few notes of observation to that seen in 2018.
The insight that just came to me is the imagery of the story of “The road to Emmaus,” where pilgrims were returning to their homes, after the Shavuot festival had ended. Just as Cleopas and his wife Mary walked with a stranger [who was Jesus resurrected, not looking like the nephew they had known from birth], the length of a trip and the conversations shared was what I saw could have happened in this event. Walking with pilgrims who sought more than a vacation trip led to Jesus and his disciples walking north with other Jews who lived in that direction. My insight now allows me to see Jesus traveling with someone from Trye, whose soul yearned for the truth; and, after having witnessed Jesus acts and heard his words during the Passover-to-Shavuot season, he and his family invited Jesus to walk further with them, inviting Jesus into their home.
This insight makes this venture beyond Galilee now appear as a parallel to the road to Emmaus story, when Jesus was invited into the home of Cleopas and Mary; and, we know how in that story as Jesus blessed and broke the bread, he then disappeared. It was the soul of Jesus having risen within a stranger, who was left to finish dinner alone, after Cleopas and Mary hurried back to Jerusalem; or, it was a ghost or spirit that was Jesus’ soul [not looking like his physical flesh], which <poof> vanished as soon as Cleopas and Mary realized who it was. That disappearance would then say those two family members received the soul of Jesus within their souls [a divine possession], which sent them scurrying off, back to Jerusalem. This same imagery needs to be how to view these miracles in Tyre [Sidon].
When we read, “[Jesus] entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice,” the impression given and received is Jesus was in hiding. In 2018, I wrote about Jesus having ruffled the feathers of the rulers in Jerusalem, so he was ‘laying low’ so not to be spied on. Prior to these words from verse twenty-four being stated, Mark wrote of Jesus “having risen up,” from “anastas,” which is translated in this reading as “Jesus set out.” This word means more than the simple act of moving. Instead, it reflects on the divine presence of Yahweh in Jesus having been elevated. In that elevation, his divine aura drew followers, one of whom lived in Tyre. Thus, the word translated as “having entered” [“eiselthōn”] is less about Jesus the man physically walking inside a building; it should be read as a statement about the divine Spirit exuding from Jesus spiritually, “coming into” that household and family.
The element of the story now, where readers are told that Jesus “did not want anyone to know he was there,” says Jesus’s soul-spirit had joined with those souls who had opened to receive him. That presence was not for them to proudly boast about, as it was an unseen presence of Jesus reborn within them, which could not be explained by the powers of rational thought. That presence was not intended to be known, but instead be a sense of happiness that is unexplainable. I see it as comparable to a woman first becoming pregnant, but that physical change takes more time for one to be comfortable sharing that new state of being.
When Mark then added, “Yet he could not escape notice,” those souls who had received his soul-spirit knew a new presence had overtaken them, which filled them with joy. There was no mistaking that this newfound sense of well-being came from them becoming friends with Jesus; they just could not explain it so others could understand. This is then the elation Cleopas and Mary felt when Jesus likewise became one with them, causing them to run to the other followers of Jesus. This comparison came to me and made this reading make more sense to me.
By realizing the soul-spirit of Jesus had extended to those souls who sought a closeness with Yahweh, having been led to find Jesus because of their devotion, one sees the household in Tyre was Jewish. This is how the feeding of the five thousand, which took place prior to the recent Passover-to-Shavuot season, was the miracle of Jesus’ soul-spirit having been transferred into his apostles. That exchange began when he commissioned them to go out into ministry as interns, returning to Capernaum shortly before that miracle event. The spreading of that soul-spirit – a possibility quite within the capabilities of Yahweh the Father – was not limited to only those who followed Jesus around. It was spread to all the Jews who came to Jesus – led by their love of Yahweh – so the promised messiah [“mashiach” – the “anointed one”] would be delivered to God’s chosen people. Those who Jesus healed were left with a remembrance that could never be forgotten. That ‘token touch of memory’ was their receipt of Yahweh’s Spirit, passed onto them by Jesus.
The spread of Jesus’ soul-spirit to a Jewish household in the mixed region of Tyre led to that presence being felt by all seekers of truth, which extended beyond the Jews [the scattered remnant of Israel, the fallen Northern Kingdom] to the Gentiles. That presence was soon felt by a “Syrophoenician” woman, a Gentile. She felt the same presence as did the family who had walked the road home from Jerusalem with Jesus [and entourage]. She sought to also know the presence of Jesus and the God offering his soul-spirit to the world.
Realizing she was a seeker of truth, to read that “she begged [Jesus] to cast the demon out of her daughter,” only to read that Jesus said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” That comes across as harsh and uncaring. However, that is not the case at all.
What Jesus told this seeker was the “dogs” were the rulers of Jerusalem, whose reach extended into every synagogue in Judea and Galilee. The “dogs” [Greek “kynariois,” meaning “little dog, house dog”] must be seen in the same light as when Jesus told his disciples [and others listening at his ‘synagogue by the sea’], “Give not that which is holy unto dogs.” [Matthew 7:6a] There, the Greek word used was “kysin,” which is more in line with a mongrel or unwanted “dog.” The Hebrew word for “dogs” is “keleb” transliterated as “lak-ke-leḇ,” such that Exodus 22:31 tells what to do with “meat of the field torn [by beasts].” It should be fed to the “dogs.”
This means Jesus was calling a seeker (Gentile as she was) one of the “children” (“tekna”), not one of the “dogs.” That was a statement about the innocence of a seeker, such that the “food” or “bread” (“arton”) she sought was not physical, but spiritual. Having not long ago read from John’s Gospel about Jesus telling the “dogs” who followed him they needed to eat his flesh and drink his blood, Jesus said he was “the bread from heaven.” Jesus was therefore the food for the children who should be fed first; and, that was the ministry of Jesus. He fed spiritual food to all seekers who were led by Yahweh to find him, as they were to be fed first, not the dogs or swine that were the beasts who would turn him into meat in the field torn later.
When the woman replied to Jesus, saying, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs,” she was not referring to herself as a “dog.” Jesus did not hear her say that either. Both of them knew the meaning of “dogs” as being metaphor for those who refused to offer the benefits of their One God to Gentiles. The “dogs under the table” were the Jews who were themselves “children” starving for spiritual food. What “crumbs” of insight the ‘big dogs’ had fall from their muzzles onto the ground (by accident or mistakes taught by the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes and rabbis). Those nuggets of truth were quickly gobbled up by the other Jewish “dogs” (“kynaria”), so the “children” beyond Judaism, who were seeking spiritual food from the Jews, found nothing was spared for anyone else.
Because this exchange between the Gentile woman and Jesus [a Jew] is not easily seen in this light [thus not routinely preached this way], such that both were saying the same thing in their use of “dogs,” it is important to see the truth come forth when Mark then wrote, “[Jesus] said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” The daughter was not even there, as the woman had to go home to find out her daughter had indeed been cleansed of a demon spirit. That means “touch” was not necessary.
Jesus was the spiritual bread of life, the bread from heaven. It was his presence that drew seekers of truth to be fed his soul-spirit, so they could drink in the emotion of his holy blood [spiritual, not physical], with Jesus not being meat of the field torn, but a divine transference of soul-spirit into one’s being. The children who would be fed first were those who did not seek physical bread, but those souls who sought to know Yahweh personally. Thus, the bread of heaven was not words preached to be heard, nor was it the sight of Jesus physically to be seen; it was the power of prayer delivered, eaten by those of faith who sought the soul’s freedom from a world that preyed on the faithless.
This non-physical, non-sensitive related presence is then the way Christianity began. It was not passed on by any need to come into the physical presence of Jesus of Nazareth. Just as the vision of Jesus disappeared when his soul merged with the souls of Cleopas and Mary, so too did Jesus stay in the household of the family of Jews in Tyre (Sidon), after his body had left. In the same way, Jesus had spread his soul-spirit into his disciples, so they could heal and preach without his being there in person. It was Jesus’ soul-spirit in his disciples [eleven at least] that fed spiritual food to the five thousand, while Jesus watched from above [on the mount by the sea plain].
The metaphor of this is then shown in the man brought to Jesus, after he and his followers had moved south to Decapolis (a region between Gaulantis and Perea). The man was deaf, but he tried to speak without hearing. His speech was therefore impeded. That man’s story is not fully told, but it can be intuited.
Jesus would not have gone to a place that was not where Jews lived. Not far to the south, from where Jesus regularly preached (when the tourist season was ongoing) at the flood plain on the eastern shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, was the city of Hippos; and Hippos was in the region of Decapolis. It was one of the ‘ten cities’ of that region. It should be noted that the Jews saw anyone with an imperfection, such as being deaf, as being a sinner; so, this man brought to Jesus would not have been allowed inside a proper Jewish synagogue.
Like the lame man Jesus healed by the pool and the lame man Jesus healed outside the Temple, when resurrected within the soul-body of Simon-Peter, it was the responsibility of family to carry such a sinner around, placing his mat down and then setting him on the mat to beg. At the end of the ‘work day,’ they would come and take him back home. Between handling, if their presence demanded them enter a holy place, the family would go ritually clean themselves for having touched a sinner. This was a daily routine that was unavoidable. This deaf man was no exception to that rule; and, his family likewise suffered from their association to someone seen by their neighbors as a sinner.
Because Hippos was an established town and a port on the sea, word of Jesus preaching nearby would have been how some Jews there came to listen to Jesus preach from the mount overlooking the flood plain. Pilgrims from distant places would arrange to live with relatives, so returning pilgrims might have been those who found Jesus and told those in Hippos of his strange ministry [John the Baptist like]. Most likely, a family of Jews in Hippos invited Jesus to come stay with them, whenever he was in town and needed a place to stay. The relatives of the deaf man with a speech impediment would have lived near those who had come to know Jesus; and, when they heard Jesus was in town, that would be when they took the deaf man to Jesus, to be healed.
Such an act would have been as much a healing of the family, as it would be for the deaf man alone. If the man could be restored and no longer be viewed as a sinner, a huge load [the onus of sin] would be lifted off that family’s shoulders. Still, the symbolism of his plight needs to be seen in the light of the Gentile woman who shared with Jesus how the ruling Jews were “dogs,” and therefore all the Jews they led were also of the same “dog” breed. Because the man had been deaf, he could not hear the worthless garbage preached by the “dogs” of the synagogue, had they allowed him inside. Being deaf was in his favor, in that regard. To then see that the deaf man tried to speak, he must have had something he wanted to say. Still, his defect [maybe not from birth] most naturally would mean his impediment was the inability to be taught speech [or be corrected], because he could not hear. His attempts at speech says he had much to say; but he did not know how to say it. In a way, the deaf man was one of the “children” who needed to be fed spiritual food from the presence of Jesus.
When we read Mark write, “[Jesus] took him aside in private, away from the crowd,” the Greek word translated as “private” is “idian.” The word stems from “idios,” which actually means, “one’s own, belonging to one, private, personal.” According to HELPS Word-studies, this word is defined as such: “ídios (a primitive word, NAS dictionary) – properly, uniquely one’s own, peculiar to the individual.” This needs to be understood as Jesus not saying to the gathering, “Excuse us. We’re just going to stand over here without all the noise that could distract this deaf man.” It should be understood as the soul-spirit of Jesus entering the man’s body, so the man was no longer a soul alone with a defected body of flesh. He was then spiritually joined by Jesus. The man became Jesus reborn.
It is at this point when the third-person pronouns used – “his finger, his ears, he spat, and his tongue” – are not to be read as actions taken by Jesus of Nazareth. The ambiguity implies “he” was Jesus, but the spirituality of Mark’s words intentionally allow for “he, him, his” to be both Jesus’s soul and the soul-body of the deaf man. For anyone who was there watching this ‘private’ meeting, for them to tell what happened they probably would have said, “I don’t know what happened. We were all standing there with Jesus and then our deaf family member began putting his fingers in his ears. Then he spat on the ground, and stuck out his tongue and touched it with his finger. The next thing we knew is our family member began talking and hearing us talking to him!” The man had become Jesus; so, the request by the family members for Jesus to lay his hand on him happened without physical touch. Jesus, as the hand of Yahweh, touched the man’s soul when the two became one.
When Mark wrote that Jesus began “looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened,” this series of words in Greek include “anablepsas, estenaxen, and Dianoichthēti,” in addition to the Aramaic “Ephphatha.” The first two words state, “having looked up” and “groaned (within himself).” While the impression given from this text implies Jesus looked up into the sky, the deeper truth says the deaf man’s soul was enabled to see the divinity of Yahweh, as the Son reborn. The direction of “up” is not physical, but spiritual. It should be read in the same way Mark earlier wrote, “Jesus got up and went to Tyre.” Jesus did not simply “go up” to Tyre, his soul-spirit had become elevated Spiritually. His ministry had been elevated higher than it had been before. Therefore, it was not Jesus who inwardly groaned, but the deaf man, after the deaf man’s soul had “Looked up” Spiritually.
The Greek word “stenazó,” from which “estenaxen” comes, means, “to groan (within oneself).” HELPS Word-studies states: “stenázō (from 4728 /stenós, “compressed, constricted”) – properly, to groan because of pressure of being exerted forward (like the forward pressure of childbirth); (figuratively) to feel pressure from what is coming on – which can be intensely pleasant or anguishing (depending on the context).” They then add as an aside: “This term ‘denotes feeling which is internal and unexpressed.’” This makes it clear (to me) that it was the deaf man making this inner groan, before pushing out his healed new self, giving birth to Jesus’ soul resurrected [before Jesus died physically – possible for Yahweh].
Both “Ephphatha’ and “Dianoichthēti” bear the same meaning, which is “Be opened up.” Because both words are capitalized, they both take on a divine level of meaning, such that it becomes a higher statement about “up” than was a vision of heaven represented by raised eyes. The unseen element in these words is a statement of “Being,” which is saying the soul of the man became “Opened up,” as the Son of man, as Jesus reborn. To be the opposite would to be closed, which rejects the penetration of Yahweh’s Spirit. To “Be Opened Up” means to “Receive the Spirit.” It means to give birth to the new you [that is not you].
Mark then is shown to write, “Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.” This gives the impression that Jesus was again trying to lay low and under the radar of the Jerusalem elite, matching the verbiage of verse twenty-four saying, “[he] did not want anyone to know he was there.” That is still not the case.
The Greek word repeated here is “diesteilato,” which has been translated as “he ordered.” In reality, the root word “diastelló” means “to set apart, to distinguish, to charge expressly” (Strong’s Definition). Still, the application of usage means the word says, “I give a commission (instructions), order.” As such, Jesus “commissioned” the family of the formerly deaf man, just as he had “commissioned” his apostles, sending them out in pairs with explicit “instructions” as to what to do. When this is then tied to “no one they should tell,” the same words can also translate as “nothing to speak.” This means the Spirit of Yahweh was within them, as extensions of His hand on earth – as Jesus reborn – so there was nothing they needed to say [from their brains – based on what they had heard before] in order to do the same for others. They had the same powers to bring other souls to “Be Opened!” and they needed no words to make that happen. Yahweh would tell them what to do and say.
When this is followed by Mark writing, “the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it,” the same substitution of “commissioned” needs to be seen as Jesus continuing to put his soul-spirit in the others related to the formerly deaf man. They too were filled with the Spirit of Yahweh, reborn as the Sons of man, so the more souls Jesus touched (without words or other sensory abilities) the more were there newly born Christians in the world. They simply had to go forth into the world that they were already in; and, Yahweh would lead them accordingly. They were the first wave of Apostles, following after those who were fed by the sea before the Passover, as the true beginnings of Christianity, before the world knew that name as a religion.
As a Gospel reading selection for the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for Yahweh should already be well underway, the lesson says to receive the Spirit. Be Opened Up! The only way to be in ministry as Jesus, as a servant of Yahweh on the earth, is to become Jesus reborn. That ministry does not call for one to get a diploma from an educational institution. That ministry does not require one to interview with vestries and church hierarchies, in order to find a paying job with credentials that allow special parking and income tax benefits. That ministry does not even require one go about trying to speak, when one’s tongue has never be taught to do so publicly. Ministry to Yahweh means being His Son and letting Him do the talking and doing.
1 Those who trust in Yahweh are like Mount Zion, *
which cannot be moved, but stands fast forever.
2 The hills stand about Jerusalem; *
so does Yahweh stand round about his people,
from this time forth for evermore.
3 The scepter of the wicked shall not hold sway over the land allotted to the just, *
so that the just shall not put their hands to evil.
4 Show your goodness, Yahweh, to those who are good *
and to those who are true of heart.
5 As for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
Yahweh will lead them away with the evildoers; *
but peace be upon Israel.
——————–
This is the Track 1 accompanying Psalm that will be read aloud in unison or sung by a cantor on the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 18], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If Track 1 is chosen, this song of praise will follow a reading from Proverbs, where Solomon wrote, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” They will precede the Epistle reading from James, where he wrote, “For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” All will accompany the Gospel reading from Mark, when Jesus entered a home in Tyre [Sidon] and then told a Gentile woman whose daughter had a demon spirit, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
This is another of David’s “Songs of Ascent,” which means it would have been a ritual song of prayer as Israelites slowly walked up the steps carved into Mount Ophel, in the City of David, going to the Tabernacle to pray or make offerings. In these five verses, David had the Israelites sing the name of their God, writing “יהוה” four times, which transliterates as “Yah-weh.” That Hebrew name, “Yahweh,” does not translated into English as “Lord.” A “Lord” is anything or any spirit that controls a soul and its body of flesh. In the accompanying Gospel reading to this Psalm is the story of Jesus healing a Gentile daughter, one who was possessed by a demon spirit. That demon spirit was the girl’s “lord.” Therefore, that generic term is an insult to Yahweh; and, I have restored that usage in the above English translation.
Verse one literally translates into English as such: “those who trust Yahweh ; like mount Zion cannot be moved , forever dwells .” In this, the root Hebrew word translated as “those who trust” is “batach.” According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the meaning of this word is: “A primitive root; properly, to hie [an archaic word meaning “quickly go”] for refuge.” This says “those who trust” do more than just see Yahweh as an icon or statue erected in the public square, but know Him by name and experience Him as real, protective, and worthy of complete trust. David then sang this “trust” in Yahweh was “like mount Zion,” which brings two words together, where each must be seen individually as important.
Frist, a “mount” comes from “har,” which can mean a “mountain” or a significant “hill.” This is not specific, but a general state of elevation. From a “mount” one is strategically advantaged, because the high ground offers a greater scope of vision, where movements can be seen in advance of them reaching where one is. Thus, the “trust” establish is “like” being able to see things that commonly would not be seen beforehand, so preparation becomes possible, avoiding the regrets that come from hindsight. Second, David used the word that is translated into “Zion,” which is “tsiyyon.” This is read as the proper name of Mount Zion, which was the “hill” that naturally formed the initial boundary for the City of David. However, that specificity needs closer examination.
The City of David was situated between two rock outcroppings that are called Mounts Ophel [to the north] and Mount Zion [central and to the south].
The word that is most closely related to “zion” (in Hebrew – “sayon”) means “dry place, sign post, or tradition.” However, the name of Zion is thought to have preexisted the Israelites, such that the name of the place is relative to a “fortress,” with the Arabic root (“s-w-n”) meaning “to protect or defend.” [Abarim Publications] This takes one’s mind back to Jerusalem having been named Jebus, ruled by the Jebusites, whose “fortress” was what David took to be his city. It was there that David determined to move the Ark into the Tabernacle placed high upon Mount Ophel. Therefore, David is singing about the “trust” a soul has in Yahweh being the same elevated protection of a “fortress” that has both physical and spiritual elements.
When one recalls the Jebusites were most likely Yahweh elohim chosen to defend the Israelite peoples in the land promised to them by Yahweh, David is now singing about the Israelites having received the same elohim protection through their own souls’ having placed their “trust” in Yahweh – through divine marriage to Him. This is the insight that comes from the word that singularly has meaning – “Zion.” It is the name of holy ground; and the flesh of a soul married to Yahweh becomes holy ground, which is elevated “like a mount.”
When David then sang out this protection “cannot be moved,” this was less about the physical strength and immobility of the specific place Mount Zion is [the City of David], because David took that “fortress” to make it his city. By changing hands it “moved.” The permanence is then more about a soul having united with Yahweh’s Spirit, which last forever; and, that presence cannot be removed from one’s soul, once joined in holy matrimony. This is why every time David sang “lə·‘ō·w·lām” (“olam”) in one of his Psalms [meaning “long duration, antiquity, futurity,” translated as “for ever”], this sings of eternity. Eternity is a statement about Yahweh joined with a soul that has been promised a release from captivity in the physical realm.
In realizing the depth of meaning that comes from the first verse in this Psalm, it should be seen that those who translate the Hebrew text Psalms of David have a tendency to give names to them, which relate to the first verse verbiage. The BibleHub heading identified Psalm 125 as “So Yahweh Surrounds His People” (my restoration of “Yahweh,” replacing “the Lord”). The NRSV calls this song “The Security of Yahweh’s People” (same here, with “Yahweh” replacing “God”) and the NASB calling it “Yahweh Surrounds His People” (ditto as with BibleHub). All of this “security” comes from Yahweh “surrounding” the souls of His wives [animated human flesh], making them be “fortresses” of Yahweh upon the earth.
With these intuited titles seen, verse two then literally sings, “Jerusalem , as the mountains surround so surrounds Yahweh his people , from now until forever .” Here, it can be seen that the focus placed on eternity is repeated (from “‘ō·w·lām”). When the metaphor of verse one was “like a mount,” now it is “as the mountains surround.” This is where some titles reflect this encompassing presence of Yahweh. As for “Jerusalem,” the meaning behind the name says, “In Awe Of Peace, Teaching Peace.” [Abarim Publications] It must be realized that Melchizedek was the King of Salem, who resided in the fortress city of Salem, a word that means “peace” (from “shalom) or “to be or make whole or complete” (from “shalem”). Thus, the segregation of this word, as a one-word statement, says it represents the place that was the City of David, but more importantly the place on the earth where heaven touches, bringing a soul great contentment as where shelter can be found. This protection is enveloping, as the presence of God’s love being one with one’s soul.
Verse three then literally sings in English, “for not shall rest the scepter of wickedness , upon the allotment of righteousness intend not to send the righteous to iniquity their hands .” Here, the Hebrew word “šê·ḇeṭ” (“shebet”) is translated as “scepter,’ when the word can also mean “rod, staff, club, and/or tribe.” The use as “tribe” brings in the divisions of Israel, as the descendants of the different sons of Jacob, where David was a son of a Jesse, from Bethlehem, a town in Judah, a Tribe of Jacob. That lineage made David a Judean tribesman that ascended to be king of both Judah and Israel. As the second King of Judah, David sang that Yahweh’s eternal promise to the children of Israel [meaning the elohim that elevated Jacob from sinner to saint] was only to those who would transform from wickedness to righteousness. Therefore, no ruler of those people could ever be less than Yahweh – His surrounding presence of divinity – or it would become ruled by “wickedness.”
In the second half of this verse, the traditional translation is to intuit “land” into the word “gō·w·ral” (from “goral”), which simply means “a lot (for casting).” The NAS Exhaustive Concordance shows this same word being translated Biblically into these meanings: allotted (2), allotted portion (1), choice (1), land (1), lot (53), lots (15), lots and the lot (1), and territory allotted (2). Only in a few instances is “land” made the focus. The “allotment” is not intended to be placed on property in the material universe, but on “righteousness.” That state of being is opposed to anything less than, which is then “wickedness.” While the twelve tribes of Israel were allotted divisions of land, by casting lots, none of those “tribes” of people were given land by peoples who already lived there. Their presence was allowed (allotted) by Yahweh, because they were the descendants whose soul were elohim and had inherited the name meaning “He Retains God” (“Israel”). Thus, the promise made by Yahweh – through the marriage commitment document – the Covenant – was that to souls, not to bodies of flesh. Those souls descended from the elevated holy ground that ascended from Jacob into Israel were given eternal ‘property’ in heaven, in return for their service as His elohim on earth.
The history of the nations of Israel and Judah is recorded, so we know they would certainly become led by “scepters” of “wickedness.” Those nations and its peoples would be collapsed into ruin, with all lands lost and its peoples exiled and enslaved. This was then prophesied by David, as the voice of Yahweh in song, when he foretold, “intend not to send the righteous to iniquity their hands.” In that, the Hebrew word “lə·ma·‘an” (from “maan”) states the “intent” or “purpose” of placing the children of Israel into a safe area where they could properly develop into priests of Yahweh. Their placement in Canaan was for them to become fully righteous peoples, through marriage to Yahweh. That region was where Salem was, where the Jebusites resided underground; so, the children of God would have elohim assisting their spiritual growth and development. Still, that placement brought forth the intention to prove their merit as God’s children, bringing out “the hands” of Satan, who would tempt (thereby test the children) with lures “to iniquity.” As such, the “purpose” and “intent” was to make Yahweh elohim; but that also allowed for the creation of Satanic elohim, who would evict the peoples drawn “to iniquity” from the lands their impure souls had been sold, thinking a spirit could posses matter [i.e.: land].
By David seeing that threat to the souls of the Israelite peoples under his lead, verse four then sings [literally translated into English]: “do good Yahweh to good ; to be upright in their hearts .” Here, one should be prompted to recall Jesus being addressed by the rich, young Jewish leader, who asked Jesus, “What good shall I do, so that I might have eternal life?” Jesus asked him back, “Why ask me about good?” Jesus then said, “There is only one who is good,” which inferred Yahweh. That answer given by Jesus matches what David wrote here, which says, “do good Yahweh to good.” That says for one to follow the Commandments, then one must have complete “trust” [faith] in Yahweh, through divine union with His Spirit, so one does not act selfishly. Instead, one does the acts commanded by Yahweh, which is His goodness extended upon the earth. This is then the fulfillment of a soul being married to Yahweh, where “uprightness” is “righteousness,” which comes from one’s “inner man” or “soul” [the truth of “heart,” from “libbah”].
The final verse [five] then literally translates into English as saying, “and for those who turn away from crooked ways , shall lead them to walk Yahweh with the workers of iniquity ; peace upon Israel .” In the first segment of words in verse five, David recognizes that evil temptations exist for all human beings on earth. Only those who have married their souls to Yahweh have the power to “turn aside” or “turn away” from the temptations to veer from the straight and narrow path of righteousness and wander aimlessly in “crooked ways.” All will become sinners, due to the inability of a soul to resist temptation alone. The soul must know sin in order to willingly choose to turn away from it.
That then leads to David saying, “shall lead them to walk Yahweh,” which says both the inner voice of Yahweh will “lead them,” while also saying they will become extensions of “Yahweh” who “walk” on the earth. They will “walk” amidst those who are the “workers of iniquity,” not to cast blame on sinners [as would the rulers of Jerusalem who encountered Jesus], but to be examples of righteous living, those who were transformed and then resist evil, regardless of the temptations to wickedness. They would be the truth of “peace” on the earth, as well as the truth of the meaning of the name “Israel” – “He Retains God.”
For this song of praise to end with the word “yiś·rā·’êl,” the tendency is to capitalize it into “Israel” and let readers see glory in the name of a nation of peoples. There can be no truth to the word, other than it to be a divine name given by an angel of Yahweh to one who has defeated the inner man [a soul cannot be feminine, as it has nothing to do with reproductive organs that only pertain to the flesh] in a struggle against “crooked ways” and the path of “righteousness.” Jacob was a sinner. Therefore, the descendants of Jacob the sinner were the “hands of iniquity” whose “scepters” brought ruination upon the people falsely claiming to be “Those Who Retain God.”
None of the descendants of Jacob were given anything [material or spiritual] by Yahweh. They serve Satan; and, that service corrupts their souls. For this reason, the current reproduction of a false nation, led by corrupted souls [Zionists, who are anti-religious], calling itself “Israel” is another curse upon the souls of Jacob’s descendants. All who claim to be Christians also condemn their own souls by supporting the theft of land and the killing of innocent people [bringing the threat of global retribution that will affect all] that goes by the name “Israel.” There is no truth to that name. No nation can have a soul; thus no nation can retain God. Only individuals can make that claim; and then, only those whose souls who have married to Yahweh can make that claim truthfully.
As a companion Psalm to the Proverb reading that paints a picture of Yahweh being a slave to Solomon, who granted him his wish of supreme intelligence, making him be one of the blessed rich people, endowed with the responsibility to institute social programs to care for the poor (while always keeping them poor), the lesson here is to see Solomon as one of those “scepters” who led “wickedly.” The words of Solomon have the touch of Yahweh in them, but only those led by Yahweh can bring that truth to light. David sang this song as a prophecy that his own son would need to pass the test of “iniquity,” in order to prove his “eternal” commitment to Yahweh. Marriage is a total commitment; and, David sang that one’s soul (“heart”) must be fully committed to Yahweh, which is to love God with all one’s heart, all one’s mind, and all one’s soul.
I will sing praises to leholay while I have my being.
2 [3] Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, *
for there is no help in them.
3 [4] When they breathe their last, they return to earth, *
and in that day their thoughts perish.
4 [5] Happy are they who have se-el of Jacob for their help! *
whose hope is in Yahweh elohaw;
5 [6] Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *
who keeps his promise for ever;
6 [7] Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *
and food to those who hunger.
7 Yahweh sets the prisoners free;
[8] Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind; *
Yahweh lifts up those who are bowed down;
8 Yahweh loves the righteous;
[9] Yahweh cares for the stranger; *
he sustains the orphan and widow,
but frustrates the way of the wicked.
9 [10] Yahweh shall reign forever, *
elohayik, O Zion, throughout all generations.
Praise Yah!
[Hallelujah!]
——————–
This is the Track 2 accompanying Psalm that will be read aloud in unison or sung by a cantor on the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 18], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If Track 2 is chosen, this song of praise will follow a reading from Isaiah, where the prophet sang, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.” That will precede the Epistle reading from James, where he wrote, “You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”’ All will accompany the Gospel reading from Mark, when Jesus healed a deaf man and we are told, “Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
In the above translation into English, it should be noted that eleven times I have entered bold type that states either “Yah” or “Yahweh.” In verses one, four, seven, eight, nine and ten there are eight times the NRSV translator [as well as all others, I’m sure] improperly translated “Yahweh” [the transliteration of the written text – “יהוה”] as “Lord.” The generic use of “Lord” demeans the One God whose name is “Yahweh,” as named by all Old Testament writers of Hebrew. The word for “lord” is “adon,” which is not written; and, any spirit that controls a soul in human flesh is a “lord,” which is never a good entity if it is not Yahweh. In addition to the eight times David wrote “Yahweh,” he wrote “hal·lū-yāh” to begin this song and again to end it. The common English translation is “Halleluiah!” but in reality this is two words hyphenated together, which mean “praise YAH.” “YAH” is a short way of saying “Yahweh” [not “Lor”]. Finally, in three places David wrote a form of the plural Hebrew word that says “gods,” while writing the singular “god” once. These amount to (generally) “elohim” and “el.” I have replaced the translations of “God” to state what was actually written.
Psalm 146 has ten verses. The NRSV shows it as having ten verses; and, the Episcopal lectionary page indicates its translations come from that translation. However, they have combined verses one and two into verse one, making it appear there are only nine verses. I have placed brackets with bold numbers that reflect the true verse numbers; and, all subsequent references to verses by number will be to the truth, not some church creation. As to verses one and ten, the NRSV translates the Hebrew “hal·lū-yāh” as “Praise the Lord,” which the Episcopal Church has published as “Hallelujah!”
The truth of what the first verse says is this [in Hebrew]: “hal·lū- yāh hal·lî nap̄·šî,’eṯ-Yah-weh.” In that, twice is written “halal” [as “hallu” and “halli”], which Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance says is the verb meaning “make boast self, celebrate, commend, deal, make, foolish glory, give light, be make.” It is properly used as “to shine, to be boastful, to praise, of self-confident boasting, and of glorifying – making one’s boast in.” [Brown-Driver-Briggs] All of this meaning means “praise” is not something demanded by instruction, such as someone yelling out, “Sieg heil!” and a bunch of German-speaking robots stick their right arms in the air and repeat, “Seig heil!” It is self-motivated inspiration, coming from the presence of a bright inner light, so David was not singing out for others to “praise Yah!,” he was himself doing that. The eruption of “praise Yah” must be seen as a statement of personal experience, not some rote command that gets tiresome (when one does not feel the reason to give praise).
A soul praises Yahweh by “Being There” with Him, meaning one doing what He says then praises Him.
By understanding this aspect of “praise” or “shine forth” as a statement that comes from within, the first verse’s first segment of words says, “praise Yah praise my soul.” In this, the Hebrew word “nephesh” means “soul,” but also implies “living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, and emotion.” (Strong’s) Simply by seeing that a soul is not a set of lips attached to a tongue and a set of lungs, David was expressing his “living being” as the “light” of Yah[weh]. The “praise” was the elation that sprang from a most divine presence that was Yahweh on earth – in David. By being an extension of Yahweh, from His Spirit having been poured out upon David’s “soul,” David was “praise of Yah praise of light.” This is then confirmed by David adding, “’eṯ-Yah-weh” [“אֶת־ יְהוָֽה”], which says “Yahweh is” the union of “Yah and soul.” Therefore, verse one is David singing of his Spiritual marriage to his One God.
Verse two then sings literally, “I will praise Yahweh while I live ; I will sing praises to my elohim as I exist beside .” Here, the element of “living” must be seen as relevant to eternal “life,” which is an elevated state of being from an eternal soul possessing a material body of flesh. The flesh is death in waiting, as no human body can retain a living soul forever. This means David’s first segment places focus on that eternal gift of life that his soul had received from Yahweh [his Anointment], so as long as his flesh sustained breath, then David’s existence would be “praise” of Yahweh on earth. The light would shine as he lived. Thus, the second segment of words sings of his psalms written, which did not come from his brain, but from his being a Yahweh elohim, who was writing the Word of praise through David, for others to sing.
Verse three then literally sings, “not do put your trust in princes ; in a son of man nothing not salvation .” This, following verse two ending with a focus on “my elohim,” where the only way to become one of Yahweh’s elohim is to join with His Spirit, says this divine union cannot be duplicated through human marriages, such as having allegiance with a worldly leader would be. David was a “prince” [intuited translation from “nadib”], when he was ‘adopted’ by Saul. David was “noble” [the truth of “nadib”] as a king. This means that those Israelites who did as David said, because they put trust in him, rather than marry their souls to Yahweh and realize the truth of faith from love of God, would likewise fall from grace when David would later sin and his lineage be condemned.
When David wrote, “bə·ḇen-’ā·ḏām,” as “in son of man,” this is a statement about every human being on earth. All are “sons” because a soul, being an eternal spirit [not physical], is of masculine essence, being breath of life from the Father. This then says all male and female bodies of flesh are “sons of man,” as “children of mankind.” Since all human beings have a soul in flesh, none are eternal, in the sense that all living bodies of flesh are born to eventually die. The point of mortal life is to find eternal “salvation” or “deliverance” [from “tə·šū·‘āh” or “teshuah”]. Therefore, one’s “trust” [“batach”] cannot be placed in anyone or anything that is lesser than Yahweh, because nothing less than Yahweh can yield eternal life [the theme of verse two].
Verse four then sings [literally translated], “leaves his breath he returns to his ground ; in day that destroys his thoughts .” This verse says why one’s soul cannot be led by another mortal being. The reason is no mortal is able to defeat death. As soon as one’s “breath of life leaves” [“tê·ṣê rū·ḥōw”], when one becomes ‘dearly departed,’ the flesh “returns to the ground.” As the saying goes: “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” The princely ruler, like everyone else, leaves a corpse behind, when its soul “departs.” The “day” [“yom”] of significance is then chiseled into a tombstone, as when one’s life ended; and, from that time on there will be nothing new added to the list of “ideas” or “thoughts” that come from that human’s brain-lips. Those bodily parts of speech are no more.
The literal English translation of verse five is then, “blessed , the god of Jacob for his help , whose hope , in Yahweh his elohim.” In this verse there are both singular and plural forms of “el.” Because the name “Yahweh” is associated with “elohim” [as “’ĕ·lō·hāw” – “his gods”], the words “še·’êl ya·‘ă·qōḇ” are then not talking about an upper-case “God.” This relates to why “Yah-weh” does not translate as “Lord,” because Jacob had his own “god” [“še·’êl” – “whose god”] that was himself [self-worship] or a demonic possession [an unclean spirit as lord]. It is vital to realize that Jacob was a sinner, who cheated, stole, and lied, before his lower-g “god” was wrestled away from him, to be replaced by the divine possession of a Yahweh elohim, when his spiritual name became “Israel” [“He Retains God”]. Therefore, David was singing about how “blessed” Jacob was, by having his worldly “god” be replaced with the “hope” [“seber”] that came from his being renamed “Israel,” as a Yahweh elohim. The same hope of Jacob was given to David’s soul, and the offer of that hope was then extended to all who would thereafter sing this song from their hearts.
Verse six then sings out literally, “who made heaven and earth , the sea and all that is within , who preserves truth forever .” This is an important statement about Genesis 1, where all the scholars who read Moses, him having divinely given instructing to be written “gods created,” where the word “elohim” is written thirty-two times, with nary a mention of “Yah-weh.” Those Yahweh-less souls of scholars, who kneel and worship their “god” intelligence, read “gods” and then correct divine text to say “God.” Because their fleshy brains think there could have been no “gods,” they reduce the omnipotence of Yahweh, with a stroke of their pens. The truth is this: the “elohim” were created by Yahweh. Yahweh is stated in Genesis 1:1a, as “in the beginning created elohim,” [“bə·rê·šîṯ bā·rā ’ĕ·lō·hîm” from “reshith bara’ elohim”], without His name needing to be mentioned. Who else could have “created elohim“? David is then confirming what was written in the Torah, by says “Yahweh elohaw” [Yahweh’s elohim] as being those divine creations of Yahweh “who made heaven and earth.” That confirms Jacob as another of “his elohim” [“elohaw”], created by Yahweh, in human flesh.
In the second segment of verse six, the “sea” must be seen as a separation from the Genesis theme, with the assumption being wrong to think “all that is within” refers to the fish in the sea. That is not the point here. The use of “sea” [“hay·yām” as “yam”] is not physical, but spiritual; because Yahweh did not create all that was made on the first six days of Creation. His elohim did (by His design). This means the “sea” takes us back to Psalm 104, where verse twenty-five referred to the “sea” [“hay·yām”] and verse twenty-six referred to the Leviathan, which was metaphor for the “sea” of “elohim” Yahweh unleashed upon the world and all that is in it. Therefore, the third segment is David singing about the presence of Yahweh within his soul-being, which gave David access to all truth that is forever preserved.
Verse seven then sings, “who brings justice to the oppressed , who sets bread before the hungry , Yahweh sets free those imprisoned .” Following the use of “lə·‘ō·lām” [from “olam”] at the end of verse six, meaning “forever” or the “long duration, antiquity, futurity” of eternity, the singing of “justice” [from “mishpat”] speaks of Judgment upon death, when a soul is released from its body of flesh. Those who have been “oppressed” in physical life, due to having sinned or having been persecuted from refusing to be influenced by worldly traps, the soul out of a body of flesh is free. This freedom comes to all eternal souls; but that release then leads to “judgment” [the truth of “mishpat”].
By seeing how this release of all souls at death is freedom, the second segment says all souls will be judged on how well they fed upon the “bread set before” them by Yahweh. Those who hunger for spiritual food [which should be all Israelites, including those named Christians] will have been nourished by the “bread of life” and become Yahweh elohim. Those who instead hungered for material “food” will have found that also set before them. This then says Judgment will be based on the type of “bread” hungered for in mortal existence.
The third segment of words in verse seven then sings of the length of “freedom” a soul receives. Those who fed on the “bread of life” will have become Yahweh’s hands on earth, thereby released forever from reincarnation, able to remain one with Yahweh in heaven. Others will not be so fortunate, as they will “those imprisoned” again, as only marriage to “Yahweh sets one free.” The prison is a body of flesh; and, the jailers are the temptations that rattle the cage bars.
In should be easily noted, based on my having restored “Yahweh” in the above English translation in bold type, that the third segment of verse seven begins a barrage of uses of “Yahweh” that are repeated in verse eight, before singular uses are found in verses nine and ten. Three uses of “Yahweh” lead each of three segments of words, which must be seen as the food set before a soul while it is in a body of flesh. Verse eight then literally sings, “Yahweh opens the blind , Yahweh raises those bowed down , Yahweh loves the righteous .” In that, Yahweh allows one to see the truth, which allows one to live according to His Will, thereby gaining the freedom of all souls who bow down before Him in marriage and live righteously from a marriage of “love.”
Verse nine then begins with continuation of this series of “Yahwehs” written, literally singing, “Yahweh preserves the sojourners , the orphan and widow he relieves ; but the journey of the wicked he makes crooked .” In the first segment of words, Yahweh is the preservative [from “šō·mêr” as “shamar”] that gives a soul insights that prevent one from being lured into wicked ways. The use of “gê·rîm,” the plural of “ger,” meaning “immigrants, aliens, strangers,” thereby “travelers,” speaks of an incarnation of a soul in human flesh. Because the flesh is bound to die, it is only a temporary home, such that a soul is a “sojourner” in one’s body. To keep a soul from getting lost ‘in the moment’ and selling a soul for temporary pleasures, Yahweh “keeps watch” for His wives.
In the second segment of words, the metaphor used is that of “orphans,” which can be seen as those who are “fatherless.” Likewise, the “widows” are metaphor for women who have lost their husbands. This means the “relief” that comes from marriage to Yahweh is He becomes the Father of those souls reborn as His Sons [in both male and female bodies of flesh] and the Husband of those souls whose material ‘gods’ are all dead, seeking redemption and eternal salvation through marriage to His Spirit.
In the third segment of words, the element of “crooked” [from “yə·‘aw·wêṯ” or “avath”] speaks not of a mortal life of waywardness, but of the judgment that comes from such an illusionary ‘life.’ The truth of the word is “to be bent,” meaning “bowed” into a U-shape. This then reflects on those souls not married to Yahweh being freed upon death, but then returned to the physical realm [that of death animated], as reincarnated souls. All that had been gained will have then been lost, meaning a soul will have to start all over again. As always, the purpose of reincarnation is to seek Yahweh, find Him, marry one’s soul to Him, and gain eternal freedom in judgment.
The tenth and final verse then sings literally, “shall be king Yahweh forever , your elohim Zion dwelling of all dwellings , praise Yah .” In this, the word “Zion” [“ṣî·yō·wn,” from “tsiyyon”] should be read as the archaic [pre-Israelite] meaning as “fortress.” It should not be given the specificity of a mountain named in Jerusalem. When this is understood, the first segment of words places focus on Yahweh being one’s soul’s “king,” which was what Yahweh told Samuel when the Israelites wanted a human to reign over them (like other nations). Eternal salvation is only possible when Yahweh is one’s “king.” For that to be the truth, then one’s soul marries Yahweh and His throne is within one’s soul-body, as an “elohim fortress” that is a divine “dwelling,” which can not be replaced by other “dwellings,” as would be reincarnated bodies in future lives on earth. For that judgment of freedom, that soul will be like David and “praise Yah.”
As the companion Psalm for Isaiah’s song of salvation and redemption through Yahweh, when the faithful will find all their pains and sufferings soothed, the lesson of Psalm 146 is to listen to David and realize life is only illusionary when a soul is animating a body of flesh. The call is to marry Yahweh and become His wife, giving birth to oneself as His Son [regardless of one’s present human gender]. One has to be elevated to the state of a Yahweh elohim, who are all souls who do the work of Yahweh on the material plane. That means being filled with His Spirit and letting Him lead one’s soul in ministry, which demands one walk a path of righteousness. That path cannot be mimicked or walked alone. Attempting that will lead to the misery of coming back to start all over again.
As a reading for the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry to Yahweh should already be well underway, the lesson is to “praise Yahweh.” One does not do that by memorizing prayers to orate publicly or by reading the latest scholarly insights published, relative to what Scripture means, because all of that work is taking what others have done and using it falsely as one’s own work. One’s own work is selfishness and single, afraid of marriage to Yahweh. To “praise Yahweh,” one must be one with Yahweh, letting one’s self-ego go, in submission to His Will. Then, the only opinion that matters is the truth of Yahweh, which flows from one’s righteous self, without forethought or memorization. To teach others to marry Yahweh, one must have the personal experience of Him. Artists depict that personal experience as a halo around one’s head. The halo takes the place of a human brain. A halo means one is a Saint, which David referred to as Yahweh elohim.
Explaining the Readings 