Tag Archives: Proper 27 Year A

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 – Serving Yahweh must be a personal choice [Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost]

January 22, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many.

“Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” The people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.

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This is the Old Testament selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for Year A, Proper 27, the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost. This will next be read aloud in church on Sunday, November 12, 2017. This is important as it clearly states that a Christian must serve only the LORD, totally, and there can be no variation in that service.

This selection begins by stating, “Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem.” This was a very special place, as Abram reached “the great tree of Moreh at Shechem,” where Abram built an altar and made a sacrifice to the LORD. (Genesis 12:6-7) This was where the LORD promised Abram’s descendants the land of the Canaanites.

The word “Moreh” is believed to mean “teacher” or “oracle.” The word “elon,” which is translated as “tree,” can mean specifically an “oak tree,” or generally a “tall tree.” As such, the site of Shechem (from shékém), indicates a “Saddle” or “Shoulder,” which sat between two ridges – Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. That resting place, situated between figurative shoulders and hips, is then important as the “Saddle” that was at a holy “tree.”

This makes Shechem similar to the place where Moses found the “burning bush,” on Mount Horeb. Moses was told to take off his sandals, because that was holy ground. The prophetess Deborah was said to get insights from God between two hills (near Beth-el, in Ephraim), under a palm tree. Shechem must also be seen as where a tree of prophecy invoked the voice of the LORD, making that place be holy.

A mighty oak tree and the Kabbalah Tree of Life

Shechem was in the land given to the Manasseh tribe, which was split into two parts, on both sides of the Jordan River. Western Manasseh was between the far northern and southern reaches of Israel. Joshua was a member of the Ephraim tribe, whose land was just south of the western half of Manasseh. Because Manasseh was in a central location in Israel, and because it was the holy ground where God promised Abraham that his descendants would possess that land, and it was a place that Abram built an altar and offered sacrifices, it makes sense that Shechem was chosen for purposes that are not clearly stated in the Book of Joshua.

It is also worthwhile to realize that this reading from chapter 24 comes well after the Proper 26 reading, from chapter 3. Chapter 23 states that Joshua is getting old and is about to turn the leadership reigns over to the leaders of each tribe. This is why Joshua “summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel” to Shechem. Twenty-eight years (give or take a few months) had passed since the crossing of the Jordan, and many wars had been fought (and won), which had then secured all the lands that were subsequently divided among the tribes.

With this setting understood, the reading today is under the heading “Joshua’s Farewell Address” (Chapter 23, NASB), while this specific text falls under the overview entitled “The Covenant Renewed at Shechem” (Chapter 24, NIV). This review of the history of the Israelites, from Abraham being called by God out of Ur, to that holy ground in Shechem, where the land of Canaan was promised, to being back in Shechem again, symbolizes the history of the Israelites had come full circle. Thus, it was a time of transition, where the cycles of time repeat.

As a time of transition, Joshua said, “Choose this day whom you will serve.” That led to him saying, “For me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

What do you seek? I seek the Holy Grail.
Who does it serve? It serves You.

That additional statement is a powerful statement to grasp.

Joshua had told the leaders of the twelve tribes that they came from ancestry that had worshipped many different gods in the past. He basically said, “Your flesh and blood calls you as a distraction. It takes your eyes off YaHWeH” and lets your brain think, “If it was good for ole granpappy, it ought to be good for me.”’

It is the common ancestry of all human beings, since God had elohim create animal men and animal women in their likeness. Man will always find a way to do what Man wants; and knowing the difference between Good and Evil will never keep Man from being tricked into serving little-g gods: gods of harvest; gods of fertility; gods of buildings; gods of property; gods of money; and all the gods of pride, envy, lust, gluttony, sloth, wrath, and greed.

It’s what Man does.

So, serving the LORD goes beyond the oral promises made to men long since gone. It goes well past physical agreements written or etched into stone; and it exceeds belief that someone died on a wooden cross, two thousand years ago (give or take a few decades). Serving the LORD is not what someone else did for you, so you could benefit without having to help anyone but yourself.

The cycles of time means the old is done and the new has begun. Holding onto the past means you have an imaginary deed to a Promised Land. It is the epitome of “What have you done for me lately?” The past is a dream that dissipates when reality wakes you up in the present.

“Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!”

Joshua said, “For me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

The use of “we” means the plural pronoun indicating only those whom Joshua could influence via teaching [i.e.: his family]. The power of that says the history of the world is the illusion – the dream – that is as fleeting as is mortal life on earth. The future is imagination of that which one wishes for, but has no foundation in reality.

The Lord makes the reality of NOW be known, when one is awake and alive with promise fulfilled, through being in touch with YaWHeH’s Holy Spirit. NOW lasts forever, when one’s soul loves God with its whole heart and the dream state of the world becomes the holy ground upon which one walks, which others cannot detect.

Thus, each individual has to be like Joshua said and: “Choose this day whom you will serve.” There is no better time than the present.

Of course, in the now, as one hears these words be read aloud in church or as one reads them here or in the Book of Joshua, chapter 24, as a Christian or a Jew (reading in English translation or in Hebrew on scrolls), the easy and fast answer is the same as Joshua heard shouted in unison by the leaders of the twelve tribes: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

“Here! Here!”

“Well said!”

“Same here!”

“I hear you, brother Joshua!”

“I agrees with the brother!”

“Amen to that!”

Forty years later … … prayers would go out from some last vestige of those who so gladly agreed to serve the Lord, when Joshua was old and gray (or grey). “Help us Lord,” someone cried, “for we have gone astray!”

That cycle of history repeated every 80 years: 40 years serving God, followed by 40 years serving themselves (little-g gods). They needed Judges to bail them out. They wanted a king, then two; and then they lost everything.

You cannot serve the Lord by edict, where someone says, “You must do this or you must do that.”

Governments do that, and all government-fearing citizens do the true patriotic thing, year in and year out: They hire a lawyer, and an accountant, and a financial advisor (or adviser) that recommends their actions, where all the letters of the laws are bent every which way. Governments purposefully write laws in gray (or grey), between the official looking black and white of legal legislation, because everyone knows the people love ways to get around the Law. The high and mighty are selected from among the low and feeble, so it is proclaimed okay to serve as many little-g gods as your heart desires. That way one is still (legally) able to say, “I am a Christian!” or “I am Jewish!”

“I have the receipts to prove it, dang it!” some say.

Jesus said it best: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24) However, Joshua said the same basic thing, well before Jesus.

Adolf wasn’t the only one not filled with the Holy Spirit to misuse Scripture. How many Americans today (NOW) would sacrifice the State or the Party, as a master destroyed? I say few, if any.

Joshua told all those Israelites, the leaders who had seen a few things firsthand over the prior 70 years (give or take a couple of years), from Egypt to Shechem: “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” Joshua said, “I know you guys. I’ve been there and seen how stubborn you can be.”

That says that you can only serve YaWHeH by being holy [i.e.: righteous; sanctified; saintly]. There can be no “two- hours sitters” (give or take a couple of hours), as those who sit in a church or synagogue pew for that long each week, who can call themselves “servants of the Lord.”

That goes for “the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel,” which translates in modern times (forevermore) as also going for “priests, pastors, ministers, rabbis, bishops, cardinals, archbishops, popes,” and anybody and everybody who is a leader of some religious tribe that professes complete devotion to the One God.

If you take 30 minutes off to make sure your tax receipts are in order, so you don’t miss out on any deductions; or if you take a couple of hours one day, shopping for the finest clothes to be seen wearing in church; or if you take a week off to look at exclusive properties near the beach, as an investment; or if you take 30 minutes to abuse a child sexually, or take the same 30 minutes to look the other way while that happens; or if you take a few hours to plan some political demonstration, because your fav politician-lawyer thinks your presence will have an impact on others; and so on and so on … then you are under the misconception that God does not see you serving yourself, over God.

Joshua, having been a common human being prior to becoming holy and righteous, prior to being able to hear the LORD, after being touched by Moses. He knew where the hearts of commoners (and their leaders) lay. Hearts are fleshy muscles pumping blood, before they become spiritual reservoirs that flow forth living waters. Joshua understood where the Israelites were bound and determined to go, whether they would admit it or not.

Joshua clearly said, “[YaHWeH] is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.”

But … but … but … Jesus said … didn’t he …?

This is because rule number one has been broken, “You shall not wear the face of any other gods before My face.” God will not forgive part-time believers or those of come-and-go faith. It means that you cannot have a drawer of godly faces that you decide are okay to wear, interchangeably, depending on the special occasion. By thinking it up to you to decide when it is okay to take off the face of God and slide on another face of your choosing, you just made mistake Number One.

God don’t like that.

This means the moral of this story of old Joshua renewing the Covenant (the Holy Agreement, which came with legally binding words) with the Israelites (and thereby all of their spiritual descendants, Christian and Jewish) can be summed up with this statement: “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

I have underscored and made bold the pronouns “you” and “your.” Please make sure you read those in the singular, as if old Joshua were having a face-to-face with you, individually. After all, nobody else in this world matters.

You think, therefore you are.” Everyone else – past, present, or future – is imaginary. Joshua wore the face of God, as His servant. Therefore, Joshua was speaking as if God where here NOW, telling you this.

This means that when we read the conclusion above: “So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem,” it was like when God spoke to Abram many years before. Abram built an altar and made sacrifices after the covenant of his descendants was made. Keep in mind that Abram had no – nada – zero – zilch – children then, meaning the agreement was based on the imaginary, not the real. Likewise, Joshua made the leaders of Israel throw their egos on the altar he made that day, as immediate acts that sealed that agreement (with new statues and ordinances spoken). Those leader sacrificed themselves on the altar built by Joshua, burning their egos in the flesh, so the smoke of their spiritual blood plumed towards heaven.

How would you like your ego cooked?

1 Thessalonians, Language, Teaching

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – The reincarnated dead without Anointment will gain another chance for redemption [Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost]

January 22, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

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This is the Epistle selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for Year A, Proper 27, the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost. It will next be read aloud in church on Sunday, November 12, 2017. This is important as it addresses the issue of death and the soul’s return to God, as understood by an Apostle and Saint.

Again, as I have done previously with the words of Paul, so we are forced to read what is written slowly and ponder translations that are valid, not what has been presented for us, let me simply present the above block (seemingly) paragraph in segmented fashion. Simply read this as the lines of a psalm that is slowly sung and let your mind’s eye see the message being unfolded before you. Read this before I offer an interpretation.

You can read along with the Interlinear breakdown of Greek and English here, and see how the translation above (the New American Standard Bible version) is compatible to the translation below.

13. I do not want you to be ignorant,
brothers,
concerning those who have fallen to sleep [that of death],
that not you should be grieved,
like are the rest,
those not having hope (confidence, trust, expectation).
14. If indeed we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
so also [we believe in] God,
those having fallen to sleep [that of death] for the sake of Jesus,
will bring (guide, lead away, go, carry) with him (the same).
15. This [statement of promise] indeed we declare to you in word of [the] Lord,
that [declaration] we the living surviving (left behind, remaining),
towards the coming (arrival, advent, presence) of the Lord,
all not shall proceed those having fallen to sleep [that of death],
16. because himself the Lord with a loud command (arousing outcry, word of command),
with the voice of the ruler of angels (archangel),
and with trumpet of God.
Will descend from heaven (the atmosphere, the starry heavens, the sky),
and the dead (lifeless, mortal) in Christ will rise before (at the beginning, first, in the first place).
17. Then we the living remaining (left behind, surviving),
together with them,
will be caught away in clouds for meeting of the Lord in air (air we breathe);
and so always with the Lord will be.
18. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

If you noticed the repeating word, “died,” good for you! The repetition makes this the theme of this reading selection. Certainly, by comparing the two versions of translation, you noticed the word “died” has been replaced with “fallen to sleep” on three occasions, with “died” being maintained the other time.

The use of “fallen to sleep” is used as a symbolic statement of “death.” That translation comes from the words “koimōmenōn” (1x) and “koimēthentas” (2x), which are rooted in the word “koimaó.” The word “koimaó” (which is a variation of “keimai” – “to be laid, lie”) means, “sleep, fall asleep, die,” implying, “I fall asleep, am asleep, sometimes of the sleep of death.”

This is not insignificant, as in John 11:11 we are told Jesus said. about the news of Lazarus being “sick,” “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” In John 11:4, the element of “death” was addressed when Jesus said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” Jesus being glorified by one falling asleep is an important message to hold onto as you read here how Paul wrote of that topic.

Jesus used the same Greek word as Paul used, referring to “having fallen to sleep,” with the word “thanaton” (rooted in “thanatos “) clearly meaning “death.” The word maintained in translation here, as “died,” is “apethanen.” Immediately, a completely different word is visible (other than variations of koimaó ) as having been translated exactly the same as if rooted in “falling asleep.” The word “apethanen” is a form of the word “apothnéskó,” which means, “to die,” implying a usage saying, “I am dying, am about to die, wither, decay.”

Because the New American Standard Bible translation has presented a translation of “died” four times, with no indication of differences in the Greek, the reader’s and/or listener’s mind believes the exact same meaning is the intent, creating mental imagery of dead people in coffins, and all the finality that comes from mortal death. It then is important to grasp that the one use of “apethanen” is used in verse 14, where Paul wrote, “If indeed we believe that Jesus died and rose again.” That states the common belief that Jesus died.

While Jesus was the name attached to a body of flesh and blood (like those possessed by Paul and the Thessalonians who had received this epistle), that state of finality (mortal death) did not end Jesus’ life. Because Jesus rose again, Jesus still lives. Jesus lives in the bodies of Apostles and Saints. Thus, the implication in that statement (lost in translation) is that death – to a Christian (Christ Jesus and those filled with the Christ Mind) – is like being laid down to rest on a temporary basis, just like one goes to bed, sleeps, and then rises again.

To read a long-winded sentence that says, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died,” it is easy to come away thinking, “I believe Jesus died and was resurrected, so that belief means God will take my soul when I die.” That is as common a mistake as is thinking, “Jesus died for my sins.”

If Jesus did not die (he rose again), then Jesus awaits to awaken you from the death that is guaranteed by your sins. Because the man Jesus was released from his physical body, his Spirit can continually rise again in others that die of sinful egos. The ego goes to sleep, so the Mind of Christ can live again.

Nothing Jesus said in the Gospels (especially the parables where people think like that and find out the sad truth) says that anyone can sin all they want, while going to Heaven is guaranteed by belief in Jesus. Paul (even if it seems like he is saying all you have to do is believe and go to heaven) is telling believers you have to be Jesus reborn to get that reward. It becomes a matter of seeing what you want to see, and that seeing then becomes the basis for believing.

Look again at verse 14 broken down into four segments. The first states, “If indeed we believe that Jesus died and rose again.” This segment begins with the Greek word “Ei,” which is a conjunction that relates this segment to the previous statement, “those not having hope,” which is a statement about those who do not have “trust, confidence,” or any “expectation” in eternal life. Thus, this segment depends on “If” that is the case,” “for as much as” that is the case, or as a direct reference to “that” lack of “hope,” then Christians indeed believe in a temporary state of death, because Jesus rose again.

The second segment then states how that resurrection was possible. Only God could cause a dead Jesus to rise again with life. Therefore, to believe in that miracle of the Resurrection, so also God is believed. Jesus did not raise himself from a state of being dead for three days (72 hours). God raised His Son.

Those two beliefs are more than simply the result of someone being told to believe in the resurrection of Jesus and the power of God. Keeping in mind that Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and he was writing to Christians in Thessaly who were likewise filled with the Holy Spirit of God, everybody was on the same page when Paul wrote, “those having fallen to sleep for the sake of Jesus,” he meant those who died like Jesus did – filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Greek word “dia” has been translated as “for the sake of” here, but as “through” in the NASB translation. The word means, “through, on account of, because of,” implying “through, throughout, by the instrumentality of, by reason of,” and “for the sake of.” The word is a preposition that is often used as a prefix, such that its use indicates “successfully across” (to the other side). Therefore, Paul was stating that for death to not be without “hope” or “expectations,” then one has become one with Christ Jesus, so one’s soul simply goes to sleep, to be resurrected in Heaven, because of that Christ presence within oneself.

From that realization, the fourth segment is clearly stated, such that we know Christ Jesus “will lead away with him,” “the same” as Jesus Christ “died and rose again.” Even for those who have no “hope,” they too will be “guided through” the soul’s removal from their dead mortal flesh, in an experience that is spiritual and heavenly. However, the impression given above (by the NASB), “God will bring with him those who have died,” is not stated; but to infer that meaning, one then has to realize that God will only keep those who have died as His Son reborn, with the rest recycled back into the mortal realm (reincarnation).

Paul then said that this promise of eternal life in Christ is the “word of the Lord,” which means it comes from God the Father, but was spoken by Apostles as Christ the Son. That “word” is truth, and when Paul then said, “we the living left behind,” “the living” means all those filled with God’s Holy Spirit, so those born of mortal bodies – “born of death” – had been made “living,” because they were then “alive” in Christ. That is the meaning of “towards the presence of the Lord,” as Paul explaining “we the living.”

The last segment of verse 15 begins with a double negative, “no not” or “no lest” (“ou mē”), with “ou” also capable of being an indication of “all” (rather than “no”). As such, this then acts as a statement to be read two ways.

First, it says that “those having fallen asleep” (without the “presence of the Lord”) “will not proceed” to Heaven, while equally saying second, “all [that do] not expect” death, when “those have fallen asleep,” (because of the “coming of the Lord”), they will be the ones to go to Heaven. The double negative is then a reflection that not everyone (“not all”) who says they believe in Jesus and God will be saying “yes” to the “presence of the Lord” (due to the work that commitment involves). That failure to say “yes” means, “no” “not” going to Heaven.

Verse 16 is then Paul telling of that “presence of the Lord” or the “coming of the Lord.” The first segment fails to see the importance of each word, when we think it says “the Lord with a loud cry.” We need to slow down and see the words saying, “because himself the Lord with,” where “himself” is not the Lord, but the one “the Lord is with.”

We get caught up in the imagery of God being this nebulous, separate entity on a cloud somewhere in the sky, but “the coming of the Lord” and “not” having to be recycled at death is “because the Lord is with oneself.” When one experiences God within, then there is a “loud” and clear “word of command” one hears. It is not some sound that is audible, as vibrations registered in decibels. It means that Christians let loose the “word of the Lord, loudly.”

It is then the Apostle who takes on the “voice” of the “ruler of angels,” and it is the “angels” sent by God that bring the whispers of the Mind of Christ. The one filled with the Holy Spirit then becomes the one who “trumpets” their faith in “God.”

At that point, “God will descend from the spiritual heavens,” in the ether that is the breath of life those born “dead,” as “mortals.” By God coming down from above, His entrance into one’s heart means that one “will rise for the first time in Christ.” With that presence within, one stops fearing death and begins living as the resurrection of Christ.

When Paul wrote, “Therefore encourage one another with these words,” the “words” were about who dies and goes to Heaven. Not everyone gets to go to that spiritually everlasting paradise. Only those who become Jesus Christ reborn get that reward. There are only rooms set aside in Heaven for those who gave up selfishly living their mortal lives, so Jesus could return again, as the judge of who is “living” and who is dead. (See 1 Peter 4:5 and 2 Timothy 4:1)

The Greek word “parakaleite” is translated here as “encourage.” It can also mean “to call to or for, to exhort,” implying “I send for, summon, invite; I beseech, entreat, beg; I exhort, admonish; I comfort, encourage, console.” Paul was sending this letter to drive home the point to the Thessalonian Christians that they need to preach that message. No only should those filled with the Holy Spirit know their deaths are little more than falling asleep, waking up in Heaven; but, more importantly, they need to “encourage” those who are “like the rest” of humanity, “those not having hope,” that becoming a reborn Jesus is the way of “hope.”

This letter, again, was written for all who will read it, through all times, in all places. If you think you have Heaven solved and all you have to do to get there is believe Jesus died and was raised again, it is like thinking your beauty will pass that final exam, the one that will graduate you from the first grade to a doctorate in some field that means early retirement and exclusive homes on a paradise beach. You have to sacrifice to get the things you want in life … put in a lot of work, more mental than physical. Why would you think that same principle would not apply for the attainment of a spiritual goal?

The biggest problem the world has today is thinking. Heads filled with Big Brains ache when they read the epistles of the Holy Bible. To alleviate that ache, brains turn Greek words into English (or any other language, I presume, including that understood by Greek people) that makes Scripture say what they want to hear be said.

Those brains take the word “brothers” and turn it into “brothers and sisters,” so the sex organs of mortals – those born to die – are accommodated. It is so hard to see how all male and female Christians – those reborn as Jesus Christ – are all “brothers,” due to all being reborn as Jesus, the Son of the Father.

Commentaries of this selection that can be found published online focus on the “comfort of Jesus coming” to those who “have died” and to those left grieving the dead. We like to think that faith in Jesus will bring that deliverance, after it is time for us to leave this materialistic place we so fondly call home.

If we are still living to see it, then we expect Jesus to come down on a cloud at the end of the world and Rapture us, so we can watch all the heathen be fried like ants under a magnifying lens.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha,” they can say then, “Told you so, suckers!” “You should have believed!”

Otherwise, we think it is all a matter of “We believe. We die. We go to Heaven.” Since all moms are Saints, we will be greeted by mom, and she will probably have a hot apple pie ready for our arrival!

If you wait until death to find Jesus coming, then expect to be popping out of your new momma sometime soon afterwards. God will review all the common mistakes that mortals make; and, then <poof> your soul is in a mortal body again!

Everyone needs to read all the parables Jesus told and put themselves in the setting as the “fool,” rather than seeing themselves as Jesus talking about fools. The parables all say, “Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today.” Tomorrow is too late, as tomorrow may never come.

The only way to rest in peace is to know mortal death just means going to sleep, because the soul has a place reserved in Heaven. Those reservations require one’s ego taking a long, deep slumber, so God can send His Son in to make one’s body walk for the Lord and one’s tongue talk for the Lord. Now is the time to secure that reservation, because there is no better time than the present.

Language, Matthew, Teaching

Matthew 25:1-13 – Vigilant and devoted bridesmaids [Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost]

January 22, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

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This is the Gospel selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for Year A, Proper 27, the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost. It will next be read aloud in church by a priest on Sunday, November 12, 2017. It is important because of the warning of preparedness, as told in the parable of the ten bridesmaids.

This parable seems quite straightforward, in the sense that it paints a clear picture of being prepared for when the bridegroom comes, which appears to be Jesus in allegory. Of course, nothing is Scripture is that simple, as there is deeper meaning always embedded in the specific verbiage used. Every word coming from Jesus, and remembered by Matthew, came from the All-Knowing Mind of God. Each word of Greek is perfectly chosen.

In fact, one can see such knowledge as allegorically mentioned in this parable, as the oil that the lamps burn for light. Light is metaphor for the truth. One assumes that some oil is already in the lamp, which had been lit in the evening. By there being ten different lamps, this becomes metaphor for ten different ways the same words written in Greek can be made available to “light” one’s way in translation. However, meditation that goes beyond the apparent and ponders the scope of meaning that is possible from the Greek, then that acts as an extra “flask of oil” from which the “light” of truth can shine.

This Gospel reading is presented on the same Sunday as the story I interpreted about Joshua, who in his last year of life told the leaders of the Twelve Tribes, “Choose to serve God, or choose to serve the gods of others.” It also goes along with the first letter Paul sent to the Christians of Thessaly, where he wrote words that were read in church as saying “died,” but in reality three times the word implying death was used, metaphorically saying, “having fallen asleep.”

Can you see how this parable strongly links to those themes, when the bridesmaids have fallen asleep, with half having extra oil, and half only having the oil that was already in their lamps? Can you see how “to become drowsy and sleep” is the same metaphor of death? Can you see Jesus telling a parable that warns to be prepared for that time of death, which all mortals cannot escape?

In the interpretation I wrote referring to 1 Thessalonians 4, I wrote how one only needs to look at the parables that Jesus told and place oneself in the story “as the fools,” rather than as Jesus – the one telling the story. I had not read this Gospel accompaniment at that time; but as I prepared to write this, I saw the word “fool” used. Exactly as I stated prior, one has to ponder, “How am I one of the five bridesmaids that were foolish?”

This brings us back to the point that I have made previously, where we are all called to marry the King (and become his Son), as was the allegory in the parable of the Wedding Banquet. That thought, humanly mistaking the proposal to be to marry Jesus, causes manly men to stand up and pronounce, “That is gay! No man can marry another man!” Meanwhile, all the female Christians (especially Roman Catholic nuns and nuns of other denominations) gleefully proclaim, “I am already wearing the ring of marriage to Jesus Christ!”

As I have said, sex organs play no role in spiritual matters. When Jesus told Nicodemus that being reborn did not mean finding some physical way to get back into the mother’s womb, he was heard saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) Jesus was not talking about bridesmaids being exclusively females because sex organs are not “born of water and the Spirit.” That says “water” is symbolic of “love,” and “the Spirit” is the Holy “Spirit.”

Love of God brings the Holy Spirit, as the marriage of the Son to the human being of faith, devotion, and submission – the traits of God’s bridesmaids. That marriage of one’s heart with God – a Holy Union – in turn allows one entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. That was what Jesus was talking about to Nicodemus – being reborn is what gains entrance into God’s Kingdom (Heaven). Therefore, the bridesmaids are symbolic of Christians that have sacrificed their self-egos, to be married to God.

In this way, anyone who thinks like Nicodemus and wonders how an old man can get back into his momma’s womb (via momma’s sex organ) is as “foolish” as a bridesmaid without extra oil for a lamp. Think of it as some male Christian saying he will marry God and have God’s baby Jesus Christ be born in him, but then that “fool” never gets the extra oil of Scriptural knowledge, to help him through the threshold of death, or “having fallen asleep” like Lazarus (the one Jesus loved) did.

When we read, “When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,” one can assume they took a lamp that had some oil already in it, so the lamp was able to shine a light for a few hours. All ten bridesmaids have lamps, so the similarity means all ten are led by the light of religion. That religion represents belief in the One God, YaHWeH, the LORD. So, they are either Jewish lamps or Christian lamps today, while Jesus was talking to Jews then.

Simply by having a lamp does nothing for anyone, so being Jewish or Christian in name only (by birth), with no knowledge of what that means as an adult, means one is not deeply committed to God. No holy light leads one’s path through life. One is (figuratively) still “playing the field,” and “keeping one’s options open.” One is a bachelor-bachelorette and not a bridesmaid (remembering that sex organs do not matter).

The oil that is already in the lamps should then be seen as one’s personal knowledge of what one’s religion says to believe. As such, all active Christians carry the knowledge that fuels the light that shines faith in God. Jews carry around lamps that are full of the oil that reflects memorizing 613 commandments, sent from God through Moses. In this way, the extra oil that five of the bridesmaids have with them is the oil of the New Testament, which fuels the light that shines faith in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God. The foolish bridesmaids do not carry that extra oil.

Still, the five foolish bridesmaids can be broken down into five different types of Christians and Jews. These can be compared to the seven churches, to which the Spirit of Jesus told John to write letters (in The Revelation). The Jews that reject Jesus as their Messiah, while remaining devout in their adherence to the laws of Moses, simply do not have that extra oil needed to get them beyond death, into Heaven. This was the reason Jesus preached in parables to such holy Jews in Jerusalem, to no avail. But, Christians who mirror those Jews in Jerusalem today, who maintain devotion to amassing fortunes and things, through a misguided belief that God blesses His believers with things, they are not being filled with God’s Holy Spirit; and that means a “foolish” waste of holy oil.

When the ten had waited so long they had “became drowsy and slept,” this then states symbolically that the “delay” leading to that point of rest was a lifetime of waiting “to meet the bridegroom.” The Greek word that is translated as “slept” is “ekatheudon.” That is rooted in the word “katheudó,” which Thayer’s Greek Lexicon states is used: euphemistically [as], “to be dead,” and metaphorically [as], “to yield to sloth and sin, and be indifferent to one’s salvation.”

This hints at the weights placed upon human beings, as mortals, such that the “drowsiness” is brought on not only by the deterioration of bodily parts, from age, but the weariness that comes from denying oneself the lures of the world (being faithful and true to the bridegroom), as well as succumbing to them (secretly cheating on one’s verbal commitment). It is a lifetime of temptation to worldly things that wears one out and makes one tired.

To then hear Jesus say, “At midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps,” the symbolism of “midnight” has to be grasped. The actual Greek words written are “mesēs de nyktos,” which says, “the middle of the night.” That can be simplified as “midnight,” but a viable implication of “nyktos” (from “nux”) can be “midnight,” by itself. As such, the simplification makes one miss the point of the word “mesēs” (form of “mesos”), where “in the middle” becomes less a statement of time of day, and more a statement about being in transition, from life to the afterlife, when “in the middle” means the transition of death.

Seeing “the middle” from that perspective, then one can grasp how death is that period of darkness when an absence of light surrounds one’s soul. This is termed “spiritual dryness,” but St. John of the Cross, OCD, wrote a poem that has been called “The Dark Night of the Soul.” An article on that poem and its topic explains: “The term “dark night (of the soul)” in Roman Catholic spirituality describes a spiritual crisis in the journey toward union with God.” The same “crisis towards union” can be seen in this parable told by Jesus.

Jesus, the teller of this parable, said, “There was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him,’” which can be read as Jesus Christ making that cry of alert. Seeing that as the voice of the Christ Mind exclaiming, “Good News!” is then confirmed when Jesus said at the end of this story, “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” This is clearer when the Greek text is found to add, “in which the Son of man comes,” (“en hē ho huios tou anthrōpou erchetai“), words with translations omitted, as they have not been included in the NASB translation above.

This parable then projects the future, when Jesus told his followers, while on the other side of the Jordan, about the death experienced by Lazarus. Jesus said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” (John 11:11) That parallels this story that tells allegorically of vigilance. The Lazarus story ended when we read, “There was a shout,” as John wrote, “He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.’” (John 11:43)

The slumbering bridesmaids were awakened by a shout to “Look!” or “Behold!” or “See with the Mind of Christ!” (which is the intent of “horaó”). In both stories, the command was to “Come out,” which is an invitation to leave the darkness of death, but also the darkness of mortality. That command is to enter the heavenly realm of eternal life.

Kate Bush Video Waking the witch

In the statement, “Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps,” the Greek word “ekosmēsan” is translated as “trimmed.” It is the past tense of the word “kosmeó,” which means “to order, arrange,” implying “I put into order; I decorate, deck, adorn.” The word “trimmed” is then used like “trimming the Christmas tree,” and not like cutting a wick, or pulling the wick of a lamp out, so it can be re-lit. According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, this specific usage implies “to put in order,” as well as “to make ready” and “prepare” the lamp for the meeting of the bridegroom. This is where adorning the lamp ceremoniously would mean putting the extra oil into effect, as that was what would make meeting the bridegroom possible.

We know that is the case, because we read how Jesus then said, “The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’” Because the “fools” said that, as a command to “Give,” this makes an important point of what makes a “fool” “foolish” and not “wise.” People expect to be given Heaven. They expect to be “placed, allowed, put, bestowed, granted, and permitted” (among other possibilities stemming from “Dote,” rooted in “didómi”), rather than having to do work themselves.

Can you hear St. James saying, “Faith without works is dead”? (James 2:14-26)

One can be given many things, but entrance into Heaven (the Kingdom of God) requires the work of the wise. This means being “wise” comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit, with all the “smarts” of the Christ Mind guiding one’s works. It is that presence of the Christ Mind’s “wisdom” that gives the five “wise bridesmaids” that “flask of oil.” That “oil” anoints them with the talents of the Holy Spirit, to prophesy and to understand prophecy, which is the fuel that “lights” their way to Heaven. It is the Holy Spirit that “adorns” the “lamp” of religion and simple faith.

Matthew 11:25 writes of Jesus saying, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” There, “sophōn kai synetōn” says “cleverness importantly intelligence” is the mistake of thinking a Big Brain will be all the ‘oil’ one’s lamp needs to stay awake until the bridegroom comes. God does not come to meet those fools. God does not propose to those who fall in love with convoluted masses of synapses that only serve mortal existence. God proposes to “little children” whose faith is not hindered by the limits a human organ presents one’s soul. Children are those who are neuter gender and not those who have not become limited to love that follows the lead of a sex organ.

In one commentary that I briefly skimmed over, the refusal of the five “wise bridesmaids” to “Give” lamp oil to the five “foolish” ones was seen as selfishness or petty bickering and jealousy. This is not the case at all.

To grasp that, I want you to think now of the story Jesus told about poor Lazarus, who in life sat at the gate of the rich man, begging for the crumbs off his table. In death, it was the rich man who begged Abraham’s Spirit to let Lazarus “Give” his tongue a touch of “cool water.” When Abraham refused, because the chasm between Heaven and Hell was too wide for Lazarus to cross, the rich man still wanted Lazarus to “Give” notice to his still living brothers, so they might change their ways (which were the ways of all rich humans).

In this parable, the five “wise bridesmaids” have to be seen exactly like poor Lazarus is seen, after death. None of them were able to “Give” what was not theirs to “Give.” It was not a matter of selfishness, but the lesson that requires one earn that which one is “Given.” Lazarus earned reward, while the rich man earned punishment.

The translation presented by the New American Standard Bible (NASB) has the “wise” saying, with an exclamation point, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us.” This is not what is written. The capitalized first word of this reply is “Mē¦pote” (root being “mépote”) which means “Lest.” It implies, “Lest at any time” and “Perhaps,” with the connotation of “Not” beginning their reply (without that being exclaimed).

The Greek written literally states the reply to a command to be “Given” the Holy Spirit, in the form of lamp oil. The written words say, “Not cannot no [a triple negative] it is assistance for us and you.” That does not say there is not enough to be shared. It says there is plenty to go around, but they “cannot” “Give” that which the “wisdom” allows them to know: “not is it assistance for me and you.” The statement of reply says, “No cannot [for] it is not to suffice for us and you.” The “wise bridesmaids” knew, through the Christ Mind, that each individual must work for the unlimited shares that God has to Give.

The completion of the “wise bridesmaids’” reply, “you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves,” states this individual responsibility to secure the holy oil necessary, by which one can enter Heaven. The literal translation says this in two segments: “but go rather to those selling,” and then “buy for yourselves.”

When one is hearing an allegory told, it is natural to think in normal, human terms; so when one hears lamp oil needed (a commodity), then it is natural to go to a lamp oil “dealer” to purchase that. In this story, we visualize some stupid girls running in darkness, trying to get an oil shop to open up and sell them some lamp oil. However, the metaphor of “oil” is spiritual oil, or holy oil.

This means the “sellers” and “dealers” of holy oil are churches and synagogues. Therefore, the lack of work done by the “foolish” is being pointed out by those of “wisdom.” The ones who said they were “Giving” away “get to Heaven oil without working for it” I.O.U.’s are those who never “Gave” them the Holy Spirit’s “oil.” They could not give what they did not themselves have; or they refused to give what they selfishly thought they had – scholarly knowledge – not wanting ignorant commoners to be special like them. If you have the extra flask of oil and you are still alive, then you Give it away to those who seek it.

This, certainly, was a slap to the face of the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes and Temple priests in Jerusalem, as Jesus was speaking allegorically in parable. That was because it pointed the finger of “wisdom” at the lack of spiritual competence in those religious leaders.

Nicodemus, identified by John as “a man of the Pharisees” and “a ruler of the Jews” (John 3:1), was asked by Jesus, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things (the spiritual meaning of being reborn)?” (John 3:10) This made Nicodemus one of those getting rich off selling the “oil” of Mosaic Law; but he and his pals never had in stock (as a commodity to sell) “spiritual oil,” the kind that anoints one for entrance into the Kingdom of God.

Jesus demonstrated how selling in the Father’s house was unappreciated.

Because the Holy Bible is a Living document, that which was written in ancient times, of ancient people, still applies at all times, to all people. The eternal value of Scripture is as Paul wrote to the Hebrews of Rome: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrew 4:12). Therefore, this slap at the leaders of Judaism in Jerusalem, by Jesus speaking in parable, is equally a slap at all religions professing belief in YaHWeH, the One God (the “lamps” of religion) that keep their flocks filled with costly physical “lamp oil” (like the vendors of the marketplace, selling shares of responsibility in the costs of buildings and programs), and do nothing that anoints the believers with the spiritual oil that prepares them to go beyond mortal death.

Those who are “wise” have become so by coming in touch with someone with the Holy Spirit. Jesus passed that onto his Apostles (who became Christ Jesus reborn), and they passed the Holy Spirit onto those they contacted (such as Paul and the Thessalonians). Apostles today have been led to Scripture, by those teaching programs of churches in the denominations of Christianity (readings, sermons, Bible studies, etc.); but the Holy Spirit does not come by trick or by human command.

Individuals have to show God their sincerity in wanting to become His bridesmaids-in-waiting, so that the extra flask of holy oil (the Holy Spirit) will be born within them. That rebirth of Christ Jesus in Apostles sends those Apostles out to “Give” that same opportunity to others. However, all who receive the Holy Spirit have to prove themselves as worthy, through the works of evangelism.

By the time one reaches that point of slumber, ready to meet the bridegroom they have worked so hard to please, there is no place a soul can go and “buy” or “purchase” the Holy Spirit. When Jesus said, “You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13), we see now how that means you cannot “purchase” a ticket to Heaven. You cannot reserve a room in the Father’s house with a credit card.

Seeing how the bridesmaids’ slumber is reference to death, after being told to go and “buy for yourselves,” the only place those five “foolish” souls could go was their own funerals.

Their souls would then hover over those grieving their passing, only to find prayers being recited over their physical corpses, as they were being lowered into the ground. Those souls then returned to the place of the wedding banquet, bringing with them the words spoken by priests, ministers, pastors, preachers, and rabbis, asking God to receive them.

Prayers are good. Prayers are helpful to the living. However, prayers for released souls are more for those left remaining in grief, than of any benefit for the dead. A prayer cannot trump the requirement of being in possession of the Holy Spirit.

Reading, “Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you,’” that says those “virgins” (actual meaning of the word “parthenoi,” which is translated as “bridesmaids”) had supposedly set themselves apart from other lords, as committed to marry the bridegroom (God). While they promised their hearts to God, and confessed to others that was where their hearts were, the truth exposed (“Amēn legō” – “Truly I say”) is that they never did as promised nor publicly proclaimed.

God did not know those souls intimately. They were still “virgins,” “bridesmaids” with no real, committed relationship with the Lord; AND remember – we are not talking females for marriage. ALL are “virgins” until God consummates a relationship by sending His wives-to-be His Son and His Holy Spirit. The allegory of that is there must be possessed an extra “flask of oil.” Without that to light the lamp to Heaven, God can truly say, “I have not known you (in the Biblical sense).”

You have to be reborn as Christ Jesus to gain entrance into Heaven.

Jesus then said, as the storyteller who spoke for the Father, “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” “Keep awake” means do not die before you have become baby Jesus reborn in the flesh. Do not die before the Holy Spirit has used you as an Apostle, to bring other bridesmaids-in-waiting to the Lord.

Keep awake because you never know when death will make it too late to run to the church and get some Holy Spirit. You need to be prepared beforehand.

Language, Matthew, Teaching

Matthew 25:1-13 – Virgins of Christ

January 11, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

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I addressed this reading that is scheduled as the Proper 27, Year A, Gospel reading in my 2017 interpretation. I stand behind my words then and recommend any who are seekers to read them.

This reading will next be read aloud in church by an Episcopal priest on Sunday, November 8, 2020. That will constitute the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost, the same ordinal number when read in 2017; but in 2014 it represented the twenty-second Sunday numbered after Pentecost.

In my analysis now, I want to focus on just a few aspects presented in this parable; but first I again must point out that Jesus spoke in parable about the proposal of marriage. That is why this reading if sometimes called the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids. The picture I have attached to the heading of this article depicts ten young girls, or virgins, each holding a lamp. When one reads “bridesmaid” or “virgin,” the first impression is of females. Because it is parable, that notion should be dismissed.

Think of ten as one, where that is subdivided into two paths one can go towards being ‘engaged’ to marry Yahweh.

Knowing the focus is not set fully upon females, but all human beings, another mistake is commonly made. The “bridegroom” is not Jesus, as the assumption generally is made. The “bridegroom” should simply be seen as the complement of “bridesmaid,” such that a “bridegroom” is masculine essence [Spirit], while the “bridesmaid” is feminine essence [a soul in flesh]. Seeing that makes it easier to grasp the Greek word “nymphiou” as representative of the wife-to-be, whose husband-to-be is proposing to take the soul away from the flesh, like a daughter is given away in marriage. A husband then gives the wife a new name to go by, which is symbolic of a soul having been named mortal but after marriage to God takes on the eternal name of Christ.

Human marriage, as an institution of Holy Matrimony, is all about having children [sorry homosexuals]. The physical act of sex after marriage is meant to bring about a child. To royalty, a male heir is all important in marriages. A child is the result of sperm and egg uniting, in a bond that can never be separated. A new human body of flesh is given a soul by God’s grace. God is therefore the true officiant of that marriage, as God is the Creator of all life on earth. Spiritual marriage is all about being reborn as Jesus Christ, where soul and Holy Spirit unite and create an eternal bond that can never be parted.

Getting to that point of the most Holy Matrimony is why Jesus told this parable to his disciples.

In Matthew’s twenty-fourth chapter, the final day of inspection of the Paschal Lamb was completed. The Sadducees and Pharisees had looked Jesus over closely and found no blemishes. They made no encounters on the fourth day; so Jesus walked to the Mount of Olives with his followers, where he explained the Temple of Jerusalem would be destroyed. In Matthew’s twenty-sixth chapter, we read of the plan made by “the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest,” as to the butchering of that sacrificial Lamb of God. Thus, in between, in Matthew’s twenty-fifth chapter, Jesus was speaking to those who expressed faith in him, with love and devotion.

The disciples were not those who were clearly opposed to Jesus or completely unknowing of who Jesus was. Thus, the disciples (who were all males) were like bridesmaids, promised the kingdom of heaven. A question must have arose about that promise, which is what led Jesus to make a comparison between the two, in a series of parables then told.

In the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus spoke in metaphor. Here, it was of “bridesmaids” [also known as “virgins”], some “wise” and some “foolish.” Then, he would speak of a master with slaves that would be given “talents” in differing amounts, with all expected to be used to promote the master’s business [presumably a vineyard?]. Two of those slaves would be deemed “good and trustworthy,” while the third would be called a “wicked and lazy slave.” Finally, Jesus spoke of the coming of the “son of man” (not capitalized – “huios tou anthrōpou“), when like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats [which is done in the evening, before dark], so too would be the souls of the faithful be culled by Christ the king. Then will be set those who “are blessed by my Father” (“the righteous”) at the “right hand” and the rest to the “left hand,” those who would end up being sent “away into eternal punishment.”

All of what Jesus said to his disciples is read aloud in churches for all who claim to be Christians to hear today. It is as meaningless to non-Christians today, as it would have been to the Temple leaders back then. Bridesmaids (or virgins), slaves, and farm animals must be seen as possessions of an owner, where an owner has a special relationship with those he possesses. One who is not a believer in God will not understand the metaphor in the correct manner. Thus, Jesus spoke privately to those in relationship to him, to whom he was the master, but a master who loved his followers [like a husband to a wife and vice versa]; conversations he would not have had with anyone else.

All of this means that Christians, who are Jesus’ disciples today, supposedly in a close relationship of mutual love and affection, fall into one of two categories that will become evident when Judgment Day comes. A Christian is either a wise or foolish bridesmaid, a good and trustworthy or wicked and lazy servant, or one blessed by the Father (a sheep) and promised heaven or one not blessed and destined for eternal damnation (a goat).

Know that, when you ponder the meaning of these words.

Realize that as Jesus spoke, Judas Iscariot was listening to them. Understand that there was a good possibility that Judas did not have a clue that God was speaking through His Son about him, when the metaphor of foolish bridesmaids, wicked and lazy slaves, and selfish goats was spoken. Judas would then be just like many so-called “Christians” who I know, those thinking their failures to fully commit to God are not failures at all. They think that because they wear priestly garments or give regularly to a church organization.

The soapbox of righteousness upon which many so-called Christians stand can just as easily be toppled, as Judas would find; his noose of sins wrapped tight around his neck when his realization that Jesus was talking about him metaphorically dawned on him. “What have I done?” snapped him to a dark place.

Jesus did not tell the parables remembered in Matthew 25 to his disciples because he was too naïve to think all his followers were faithful marriage partners. God knows all and Jesus spoke for the Father, realizing not everyone calling themselves a follower of his was as promised. “I do” to some means once the fun stops, then its time for ‘talking the talk and not walking the walk’. God spoke through Jesus knowing that Judas was a lamp without extra oil, a wicked and lazy user of God-given talent that was intended to be used to lead others to God, and therefore a goat destined to be separated into the “Go to Hell” pile. God knows the world is full of Judases.

If a cold shiver just went down your spine realizing that, then now is the time to hear the call to totally submit to marriage to God [meaning confessions of unfaithfulness cease forevermore].

With that sermon preached, see yourself as a bridesmaid, no matter what sex you are. If you think because you have a penis you are exempt from that designation, then you just designated your sexless soul to condemnation. Expect that soul to remain where it is – cast into the outer darkness that can never be a lamp that shines the light of truth into the world of death – destined to be reincarnated over and over, born to grow new teeth that will forever gnash when death comes a calling again.

A “bridesmaid” is a “virgin,” based on the meaning of the Greek word “parthenois.” According to HELPS Word-studies, the intent of the word is “(figuratively) believers when they are pure (chaste).” This is the distinction of one’s soul and not relative to anything of human flesh. Chaste is as chaste does. Chaste is then the wedding robes worn, which is metaphor for righteousness.

It is vital to realize that one being a “bridesmaid” has nothing to do with how often one has had sexual relations (or lusts thereof), which flow like the waters over Niagara Falls after boys and girls reach the human state of puberty. Rather than think of a virgin in terms of whether or not one has had sexual relations with another human being, one should think in terms of souls entering flesh [the repetition of reincarnation]. In that sense, one should realize the eternity of a soul means it has ‘had sex’ with one body of flesh after another, ever since first separated from God Almighty to experience the illusion of the material plane. Reincarnation should make one feel like a prostitute (regardless of human gender), because sexless souls give life to both genders of human beings (over epochs of time).

The ones who think they have been born into the wrong body in this life [who make foolish demands for third-party bathrooms] are simply still attached to their past life gender. Therefore, being a “bridesmaid” or “virgin” means one has to accept the invitation of the king to attend the wedding banquet, for the first time. If it is easier to commit under the guise of marrying the king’s son, that will still be a first experience. In reality, it means marrying God and becoming His Son reborn, which is a Spiritual form of union. It is a commitment to be chaste, for the purpose of getting off the reincarnation merry-go-round and returning to be one with God again.

When you understand that your soul is the “virgin” state of willingness to sacrifice self for a higher cause, one is then committed to God as a “slave” waiting for the master’s instruction, like a sheep brought into the fold of new shepherd, whose voice one must learn to heed. One’s body of flesh (regardless of human gender) then becomes marked as “taken.” That is the metaphor of putting on the wedding robes or carrying a lamp.

The light produced by a lamp (“lampadas” means “lamp, torch, lantern”) is then akin to taking a talent of wealth and multiplying it (not burying it in the ground, or hiding a lamp under a bushel basket). When Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” (John 8:12) he is the light that shines from the lamp of one’s being [a rebirth essential]. Therefore, a true Christian is one who is a lamp of God, which give the light of His Son to the world as an identifying mark of one’s commitment to God through monogamous marriage.

That commitment to marriage then leads one to wash one’s flesh free of sin [a ritual cleansing or baptism by water]. In Jewish laws, ritual cleansing was often done by women after sloughing off a wasted egg. A mature woman was deemed a sinner that needed to be washed clean because she lost an egg, one given to her by God for the purpose of His making it a body for a returning soul. As such, a “virgin” becomes representative of a new egg that is in place and ready to be impregnated by God’s Holy Spirit. That is what makes a body of flesh be metaphor for an egg that needs to be transformed. It also reflects how a lost opportunity for a soul in a body of flesh, which does not be an offering to God, is sloughed off through death, washed clean through reincarnation. Therefore, men and women who fail to marry God during a lifetime both have ‘periods’ that represent failures that needs to be ritually cleansed.

Because there are many who accept the messenger-delivered invitation to marriage, the parable of the wedding banquet told of one [a man] who arrived without putting on the robes of righteousness, the symbol of commitment to marriage. Jesus had Judas sitting in his ‘banquet room’ on the hillside of the Mount of Olives who he knew was not dressed appropriately. Likewise, Christianity has those who pretend to be lamps, but are really not. Those can be described as false shepherds, hired hands, and those who are filthy with sin but love the idea of having to do nothing more than say “I believe” and get a free ticket to heaven. They enter the banquet hall with expectations, but it soon becomes obvious they are not truly committed. When God the king called that one man out, he called him “Friend,” which meant “Pretender.”

This is where the lamp oil comes into play.

According to HELPS Word-studies, the Greek word “elaion,” which typically means “olive oil” (Strong’s definition and usage), means “(figuratively) the indwelling (empowering) of the Holy Spirit.” The same word literally means a physical oil and metaphorically means a spiritual essence. It is the dual meaning of one word that makes the foolish bridesmaids be lamps with physical oil, whereas the wise bridesmaids are lamps filled with the Holy Spirit. It is the duality that separates the wise from the foolish.

This separation (as with the good and trustworthy slaves, versus the wicked and lazy slaves; as well as the helpful sheep and the selfish goats) says the lamps with olive oil were only yielding the light of written words that were memorized: laws, songs, and soundbites of Scripture. The lamps filled with the Holy Spirit were shining the light of truth: living according to the laws, constantly singing praises to the Lord, and teaching others the deeper meaning of Scripture every chance they had. One was Big Brain foolish, while the other had the heartfelt wisdom of the love of God. One group’s light was the flashiness of a con man and pretender (reflected light), while the others’ had the inner glow of Saints (a halo or Moses’ face of God).

Could it be that brides wear a veil to hide the face of God, like Moses did?

In the article I posted in 2017, I placed focus on the coming of the bridegroom in the middle of the night as being metaphor for one’s death and the transition of a soul from a body of flesh. I will not repeat that here; but know that those lamps filled with God’s Holy Spirit are more than bridesmaids or virgins awaiting marriage, but they are bodies of flesh animated by souls that have already been merged with God, reborn as Jesus Christ – the true meaning of being Christian. Those who are not so filled at the time of death, thus not already married to God [cue the soundbite of an Evangelical minister telling listeners to wait for the second return of Jesus], well their souls are told, “Honey, you got the wrong god. I don’t know who you are. I thought you married the world you live in. See ya.” [door slam soundbite]

That means the ones who light their lamps with the olive oil of flimsy sermons, prepared by those who kneel at the altar of COVID19 fears and worship in the temple of plotting the demise of hated politicians, they never took the time to get filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not an elective course offered in seminaries. Being filled with God’s Holy Spirit can seem like the swoon of first love, but that feeling is fleeting, like when an injection of heroin dissipates. Life has its ups and downs, but being filled with the Holy Spirit, reborn as Jesus Christ, is that something extra that always keeps God’s light of truth shining so others can see.

The Holy Spirit is then the difference of oil used by the lamps of the religious. Anointing oils are physical (olive oil) and used symbolically, in place of the real thing. A lamp, lantern, or torch produces physical light that is fueled by physical oil, but a spiritual lamp shines the light of truth that cannot be measured in photons, waves and rays. The Holy Spirit is the extra fuel, carried in another “vessel” – the soul. Carrying around a vessel filled with extra olive oil is difficult. It is like trying to memorize the whole Bible, when it is much easier to just light the lamp on Sunday mornings at 7:00 and then snuff out the flame at noon (game time!). That saves the physical oil for longer usage on one ‘tank.’

The foolish bridesmaid did not have their spiritual “vessel” (the Greek word “aggeion,” meaning “receptacle, flask” i.e.: body of flesh) with them when it got late into the night. They did not know that meant their a need to sacrifice their self-egos so God could fill their soul vessels with the high octane Holy Spirit oil. They oil cans used to store extra oil was left behind or empty [the fools!]. But then they were stuck seeing only the physical solutions to spiritual matters, which is the curse of fools, lazy souls, and those only trying to get more of the world for themselves.

The physical oil American Christians use for light today is petroleum based, as fuel. American Christians often use their fuel to set ablaze the fire of Scripture. They enjoy igniting that light as a weapon for sport. Instead of rays of insight emitted from their human lamps, American Christians shoot flaming arrows of righteous condemnation wickedly at others [like the Pharisees did in Jesus’ time on earth]. It is one thing to run around shooting Biblical arrows at all you hate (friend or foe), proving “I know my Scripture!” (from a library of opinions in your study at home), but to be so free and easy with darts and stingers means you better have the real stuff in you [insight from the Holy Spirit], to back it all up. Otherwise, when the arrows run out and the enemy [death] is at the doorstep, you best have smeared the blood of Christ over your doorpost or [to use a Lenny Bruce line], “You’re gonna die, kemosabe.” [See what I said earlier about reincarnation.]

When Jesus told his disciples that the wise virgins told the foolish ones, “You had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves,” AND “they went to buy it,” think about that for a moment. The fools actually went out in the middle of night, looking for someone to sell them spirituality. They were foolish to the end, never once realizing that “you cannot buy your way into heaven!”

Of course, the place one goes to buy the written law, the songs that make the toes tap to a melodic beat, and favorite Scriptural quotes is to a church building or to the person who runs one. That is where some priest, minister, or preacher [rabbis too] will be found whittling down Holy Bible selected readings to a bitesize portions – about as big as a small, thin wafer, easily washed down by a sip of wine. That sold [usually only available on Sundays] is the message that always says, “Don’t bother yourself with studying Scripture, just place an offering in the tray and go home knowing you are saved.” Buying more of the watered down version of Christianity [baptisms with water sprinkled onto human babies] still will not get a soul to shine the light of truth. Marrying a church building-organization-proprietor is not the same as marrying God Almighty. You get what you pay for. A vessel that is still empty of truly Holy Oil!

——————–

Again, I want to say that I wrote about this reading in 2017. The same meaning then is the same meaning now. I have tried to add to that here and feel that I have. However, at this time [2020] I feel a strong need to share this “extra oil” now with any and all who have personally known me, either from having been in the same school, church, or town, able to recognize me on sight, regardless of whether or not you having ever spoken a kind word to me.

If you know me, then you knew my wife.

My wife was alive in 2017, but she knew she was going to die from terminal cancer. As I write this, the first anniversary of her death is approaching. If you know me, then you know that my wife was an Episcopal priest, who was forced into disability retirement, due to her diagnosis. My wife and I were married, not only as man and woman, but as souls that were fully and completely devoted to God. Therefore, my wife and I were … and are still … married to God; our vessels always kept full and nearby.

This reading from Matthew 25:1-13 now sparks my “indwelling (empowering) of the Holy Spirit,” such that I am strongly feeling a need to share that my wife was a wise bridesmaid whose lamp was filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit. She had an extra vessel that she always kept near her: when she went through discernment, when she went through seminary, when she went through ministry, and when she went through the darkness of impending death – meaning the known coming loss of family and friends [most who had already stayed far away].

Her lamp never stopped shining brightly. When she heard the call, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him,” I held her hand. I gave her away to the bridegroom. Her body has left this world, but her Holy Spirit has remained with me.

My wife’s most divine soul wants me to ask all you who know me, “Why do you think you are gods?”

She wants to know how much the marketplace sells a “thank you Robert” for these days, because the price must be so high that casual “friends” cannot afford to give those away. Why would anyone calling himself or herself Christian ever bury the talent of kindness, love, and caring? Does the Parable of the Talents make you hear the voice of God (the master) calling you wicked and lazy slaves?

Everyone my wife knew loved her. They loved her to death, because she so freely gave of her Holy Spirit to ease the pains of others. The “weak in spirit” flocked to her, to be touched by her light of truth; and she gave to them all as they needed.

What did you give her in return? The cancer of rejecting her husband, after her death?

You are blind to how the cancer she got was because of you. My wife died so you could have more time to commit to God, just as did Jesus. “Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do.” She would have it no other way. It is what Saints do!

Over the past year, there have been a few who have ventured onto the thin ice of acknowledging that I exist in this world. I appreciate those gestures of kindness. It saddens my heart, however, to see these writings that I post here on WordPress, which I share with my wife’s MANY friends [I have only a few] on her Facebook account, rejected.

I share the insight of the Holy Spirit in her name (with her approval spiritually) and in return we both see an absence of friendly response. It signifies a silence that loudly screams “We loved your wife, not you! We can’t stand you! Kill her Facebook page and let us keep empty vessels, with only physical olive oil in our lamps.”

Kill the messenger is a most human response to a message unwanted. And Jesus said, “A prophet is not a prophet in his hometown” because no mortal with a vessel empty of God’s Holy Spirit wants to hear anyone speaking as if he or she does have the Holy Spirit.

Kill the messenger!

Just as my wife did not enter the priesthood to get accolades or to be showered with praises, I do not write interpretations of Scripture to be told how much my words are loved. My wife and I both always spoke what the Father told us to speak, just as did Jesus. The Father has us speak the words of truth because Christianity is filled with foolish bridesmaids, wicked and lazy slaves, and goats that do nothing that isn’t self-serving. God never speaks through humans to make humans be recognized as gods on earth, because most will be crucified with persecution.

My wife presented herself to you as Mary the mother of Jesus; and you called her Mother out of respect for that presence. Do you reject me because I speak here like an no-nonsense Father, one who knows it is best not to spoil the child?

I use the rod of truth. David told God “thy rod comforts me.” The rod is not made to smash a clay pot that is flawed; but it can do that it need be. The rod and the staff are tools of shepherding, to save those lost and keep evil wolves away.

Does the truth of the Gospels hurt your feeling so much it turns your hearts to stone and your brains to hate?

Are you Judas, planning to sell out anyone who no longer tells you what you want to hear for some pieces of silver? How much do you sell your favoritism for? What is the going rate for self-worth?

My wife and I were two sides of the same God. She wore the smile, as I wear the frown.

God wears many faces. Be careful which faces you slap, which faces you pity, and which faces you scorn. Most certainly, lift up the veils that cover the faces of those you love and adore, so you can see the truth that hides underneath. You never know whose face is hiding God and Jesus Christ beneath, just as you never know who wears the face of Satan.

The most important face to be determined is yours. You should wear the face of God, because to wear your own face means you are the god you worship. That is an empty vessel with no truth of Christ within.

To wear the face of God is to be truly Christian. Then, if you reject a fellow Christian, there are protocols that must be taken: one to one; a small group to one; the whole assembly to one. None of those steps call for silence and backstabbing rejection, first or last.

May the peace of the Lord always be with you, especially when your time of slumber comes; and it will come to all mortals.

#twentythirdSundayafterPentecost #Matthew26 #Matthew25113 #John812 #wiseandfoolishbridesmaids #tenvirginsparable #Matthew24 #Proper27YearA #Matthew25

Explaining the Readings

Tag Archives: Proper 27 Year A

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 – Serving Yahweh must be a personal choice [Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost]

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – The reincarnated dead without Anointment will gain another chance for redemption [Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost]

Matthew 25:1-13 – Vigilant and devoted bridesmaids [Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost]

Matthew 25:1-13 – Virgins of Christ

The Episcopal Lectionary Discerned