Tramata (wounds): Wounded Little Ones

"Then Herod, ...sent forth, and slew all the children, ...in all of the coasts thereof."  Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted, because they are not."   Matt. 2:16-18

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.  Matt. 18:5

Iesous wept.  John 11:35

We must all pray for those who cannot articulate the tramata (literally, wounds) of abuse.  We must not merely remember them but we must pray or earnestly offer up prayers on their behalf that bespeak molested agony.

They do not possess the vocabulary to formulate bewildered suffering.  They will, however, at some point in the future bear witness with appropriate prophetic outrage to the enforced silence they were made to endure.  Through our prayers may they receive hope.

"Many are they who say of me, there is no help for (him.her) in God."  Ps. 3:33

"For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping..." Ps. 6:8b

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teachings, please visit his web site.

A Meditation for Those Who have Lost Their Homes

You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.  Heb. 10:34 

You drive...my people from their homes.  You take away my blessing from their children forever.  Micah 2:9

They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them.  They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance.  Micah 2:2

And the Iesous saith unto him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.  Matt. 8:20

These verses point out a frightening reality.  They read like a message from the current media.  The powerful can seize the property of the power-less at any time.

You may have lived in your home for many years and believed that the faithful repayment of your mortgage meant that your were increasing your "ownership" position and that the equity could be used at a future date for your needs.

You were not among those who used their homes as a loan instrument or for some frivolous manner.  But you saw your property decrease in value and found yourself upside down, that is you mortgage was greater than the market-value of your home.

Even with faithful repayment of your mortgage the letters began to arrive and you sought answers from your mortgage company, but no answers were forthcoming.  You sought counsel and appealed for time, but the courts were unwilling.  Faced with a dire predicament and still your mortgage company would not help you.  You were merely a loan number - nothing more.  Then the letter arrived stating that the law would force you out of the house if you did not vacate by a certain date.

You packed and left and walked into uncertainty believing that you lost so much accompanied by the embarrassment of the poignant stigma of being homeless.

You are dazed by the event and you are wounded by the experience made all the more difficult because of the frailty of your age or the presence of children who wonder what has happened to their home.

Beloved be encouraged because those who abuse the poor and needy those who have sought to initiate ruin in your life will have ruin repaid to them for their crimes.

Get up, be encouraged don't be stuck in the past, give your disappointment to Iesous, it is too hard for you to bear.

Get out there, and by faith brave the fear of rebuilding.  Remember Paul,  "I can do everything through the Iesous who gives me strength."  Phil. 4:13

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teaching, please visit his web site.

The Intrinsic Necessity of the Iesous

Luke 4:18

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach (evaggelisastha - preach or teach the Gospel) the gospel to the poor (oppressed, disillusioned, begging ones);  he hath sent me to heal (iasathai - to restore to bodily health and or spiritual health) to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."

This verse quoted from Isaiah, vs. 61:1, was read by the Iesous in the synagogue at Nazareth.  It was his inaugural address given to those who had watched him grow up.  This verse is filled with deep and rich spiritual wisdom.  For instance, the Iesous states that, "the Spirit of the Lord is upon him" in awesome power because of the scope of his public ministry.

The Iesous had come to proclaim the Word that is intrinsically unlike any other word.  The word that we may speak to ourselves may not be the word that is needed by us.  The Word of the Iesous does not rest in the ambiguity of mere change.  He has come to those who cower or crouch in fear.  This word is for those who are not in safety but who are threatened and seized by the terror of the unspeakable within and without.

Furthermore, he had come to preach (teach) deliverance (aphesin - forgiveness, to send off, or give release from a debt that cannot be repaid) to the captives (take at the point of the spear - a prisoner of war).

Lack of forgiveness without a doubt will make anyone a prisoner of war.  Please note that this is a self-induced imprisonment - to be free one must release one's captives.  The Iesous has come to grant those who have languished in self-imposed prisons for so long that an attitudinal hard heartedness toward someone due to some situation or event has made them powerless to grant release to themselves.  He has the word, the complete word that delivers one into rest from the malignant self-torture of unforgiveness.

Today, if you are in need of the Iesous he will meet you where you are.  You need not fear to come to him and confess your need of his power to deliver you from your personal disappointments and hurt.

For more information about Dr Rich and his teachings, please visit his web site.

Forgiveness: Release From the Debt that Cannot be Repaid

Matthew 18:21-35

Then came Peter (Petros) to him, and said, "Lord, how oft shall my brother (adelphos - one of the same womb) sin against me, and I forgive him, 'till seven times?"

"The Iesous saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seven times seven."

Therefore, is the Kingdom of Heaven likened unto a certain King, which would take account of his servants. 

And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children and all that he had and payment to be made."

The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, "Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all."  Then the lord of the servant was moved with compassion and loosed (apelusen - to set loose from a bond or imprisonment) him, and forgave (to send off from one) the debt.

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred pence: and laid hands on him, and too, him by the throat, saying, "Pay me that thou owest." 

And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all."  And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, "O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on they fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?"

And his lord was wroth and delivered him into the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.  So, likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses.

Some years ago I was involved in a ministry whose primary outreach was to those who were victims of the Holocaust of World War II.  When I first met with them it was a bitter-sweet experience.  I was privy to stories of unspeakable horror and survival.

I remember one woman who had been imprisoned in a camp during the war.  She stood out for me because during one particular meeting she stood up and spoke to the group.  She told the group of her experience in the camp and what she suffered and how through forgiveness she released her captors from their criminal abuse and disregard of her.

Interestingly, there was also a person in this group who was a prison guard at one of the camps.  He was there seeking a redemptive word.  He wanted forgiveness for his sin against his brothers.  Through this group he received the redemptive word that he knew he intrinsically needed.

The word 'forgiveness' in the Greek text is aphete and it means to send off from one.  When I release others from the bond that I am owed and send off from them the debt that cannot be repaid, I too, am released into life.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teaching, please visit his web site.

A Clinical-Digital Theology and The Brave New World of Neurotechnology

"...You percieve my thoughts from afar."  Ps. 139:2b

The human nervous system has finally mastered the art of employing thought to manipulate objects and even emotional states in real time.  You may think that this technology will be available sometime in the future but that is not the case.  That technology is available today and it has many far reaching applications.

It all began with the Electroencephalogram,or EEG.  “EEG refers to the recording of the brain’s electrical actitivty.  It’s been around for some time, and involves placing a maze of sensors around a person’s head often for neuroscience research, and usually in a lab.”

A neuro-engineering company has built a head set that translates brain activity into computer commands. The headset allows an individual to control machinery in real time by cognitive commands or using emotion.

This headset is one of the first technologiesl allowing machines to understand human emotion in real time.  “Wearing the headset, you can control computer applications or even chat with another person using an avatar showing your real expressions.”  “The most fascinating – and disturbing – thing is that its software can read emotional states like anxiety, frustration, excitement and engagement.  In the calibration software they are shown rising and falling on a graph in real time, like seismic readings.”

Applications have been suggested in industries such as aerospace, education and health care.  Some people with disabilities are already using the EPOC to control their wheelchairs.

We often talk about the psychoneuroimmunologic consequences of poor stress management it is now possible to know what certain stressors are creating within an individual in real time.  “Imagine a world where a physically impaired person can freely compete on a computer game like Street Fighter, a completely paralyzed person is able to communicate with their loved ones, or a Lexus plays the right music to calm you down when it realizes you’re stressed.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teachings, please visit his web site.

Mind Body Medicine of the Biblical Materials

Proverbs 14:30a

A sound heart is the life of the flesh (body).

Long before the disruptive epistemological fiction of Cartesianism with is subject-object dualism the ancient wisdom affirmed a unitary holistic cosmology as revealed in this powerful prescriptive statement.

The ancient Hebrew wisdom teachers knew the value of a 'sound' (or marpe' meaning health, healing, or cure) heart.  Interestingly, the word for heart is leb in Hebrew and Kardia in Greek.  This word has reference to the inner person and the attributes of the leb such as mind, memory, determination (of will) conscience, emotions or affect.

A sound heart is life to the body.  In other words a healthy (leb) inner person mediates that inner tranquility into the body.  Marpe' includes the attitudinal matrix of positive profit, that which is refreshing or restorative, deliverance, remedy, and gentleness.

The new sciences of psychoneuroimmunology, neurocardiology and psychosomatic medicine etc..., are reaffirming the timeless wisdom of the ancient ways.  A sound heart can be had by filling the inner person with the sound (healthy) wisdom found in the Biblical records.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teachings, please visit his web site.

A Meditation on the Divine Warrior

Isa. 42:14-16

"The Lord will march out like a mighty man, i.e. Man of War, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.  For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back.  But now like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.  I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up the pools.  I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.  These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."

Yaweh is a Man of War.  He is one who has fought many battles and therefore he is consummately skilled in warfare.  He stirs himself up in jealousy on behalf of those who belong to Him.  He yells the battle cry as he prepares for battle.  He does not speculate on the outcome of battle because he knows without a doubt that He will triumph over His enemies.

He restrains Himself until the appropriate time comes to go forth into war.  His attitude has slumbered for a long time.  But then the time comes when He will no longer hold back His righteous fury and go out to wage war on behalf of the blind and those held fast by darkness (acute evil that seeks to overthrow and destroy).

The blind have no sight because the consequences of sin has taken their sight.  The Divine Warrior will lead the blind into the unfamiliar paths of truth and justice.  He will also remove darkness, i.e. frustration and misery - those obstacles that betray on every side.

The mercy of Yahweh receives the blind and lights up the darkness of the soul.  In the New Testament documents, Yaweh manifested Himself as the Divine Warrior in the person of the Iesous.  The Iesous won the ultimate battle on the cross against the power of sin to separate us from the presence of God.

Since He has won the ultimate victory on our behalf, what temporal battle do you need him to win for you today?

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich's teachings, please visit his web site.

Contra-Disintegration: The Iesous will Re-connect Me to Me

John 4:4-29

Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Iesous therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.  There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water:  Iesous saith unto her, "Give me to drink."  For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy food. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, "How is it that thou being a Jew askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?"  For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.  Iesous answered and said unto her, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, "Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water."

The Iesous "must needs" (edei: denotes a compulsory necessity) go through Samaria in order to meet with a woman of another socio-cultrual background.  She was a Samaritan.  She was persona non grata with the nation of Israel.  She was descendant of the Northern Tribes of Israel who had become so enslaved to entrenched cultic worship involving unspeakable practices along with a professed worship of Yahweh that in 722 B.C. Yahweh over-threw them by the Assyrians.

The Iesous knew not only her historical past he also knew her own distinctive autobiographical narrative.  He must needs go through Samaria in order to meet her.  Therefore he sent away the disciples who were not yet ready to embrace the transcultural and transethnic nature of the Kerygma (Grace of God as revealed in the Iesous).  This woman was also persona non grata in her own community.  She went to this well when there was a well closer on the east side of town.

The Iesous arrived at the well first and he waited for this woman.  When she arrives he asks her to give him a drink of water because he was wearied with his journey (v. 6).  His request of a drink of water from her earns an interrogative response.  She is a Samaritan and he is a Jew and therefore there is a racial and religious barrier.  This is an impossible situation and the Iesous is at the center of it.

He answered and said to her, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, "Give me to drink; thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water."  He gently and gradually reveals himself to her.  He understands her resistance.  He is there at Jacob's well to give her the living water of a radically new (qualitatively new) life.

She asks for this living water and the Iesous tells her to "go, and call her husband, and come hither."  She said to him, "I have no husband."  The Iesous said unto her, "Thou hast well said, I have no husband:  For thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband; in that saidst thou truly."

The Iesous collapses her resistance by gentle accurate and undeniable truth.  The consuming lie or half-truths of her life must be confessed before she can move into the new life of the Iesous.  She lets go of the controlling lie of her life and receives from him the living water of new life.  Her life was so radically and permanently changed that she left her water pot and went into the city and said "Come see a man, which told me all things that ever I did.  Is this not the Christ?" v.29.

Today, the Iesous is waiting to meet with you.  There is no socio-cultrual or racial barrier that hinders you.  Do you want living water today?  Confess to him today what you have done, and your need of him.  Confess to him that the "life" that you are living now is not satisfying and that you thirst for a new life.  Just as he met this woman where she was, he will meet you where you are too.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teachings, please visit his web site.

The New Gestalt

Matt. 9:2

And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy (paralutikon - one who is dissolved), lying on a bed: and the Iesous seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee."

This narrative is also recorded by Mark 2:1-12, and Luke 5:17-26.  Matthew tells us that the Iesous had come into his own country v.1, and Mark records that he was in a house on this occassion.  Mark also related that there was no way for those who carried the paralutikon to get to the Iesous because he was thronged by an enormous crowd.  Luke states furthermore "and the power (dunamis - power or ability ) of the Lord was present to heal (iasthai - to cure, both bodily and spiritually healing) them" v.17.

"And they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him" v. 18b  Those who bore the paralutikon had to tap into the creative dimension of faith because the ordinary and normative route i.e. the door was blocked by the crowd.  They had come too far by faith on behalf of the paralutikon.  So they decided to take apart the roof and let him down through it and into the immediate presence of the Iesous.

The Iesous saw the faith of those who bore the paralutikon ad said to him, "man, they sins are forgiven thee."

In this situation, however, not in all situations, there is a correlation between the physical condition and spiritual condition of the paralutikon.

The Iesous tells him that his sins (harmatiai - ruin) that is, his behavior that violated God, others, and himself had caused the correlative somatization of sin-ful consequences.

Only the radical and new gestalt (something that is whole, that is complete) of the Iesous can both diagnose and cure at the same time.  "Thy sins be forgiven thee" therein lies the essence of the new gestalt.

Are you carrying within your person the guilt or stain of sins that have paralyzed your life?  The Iesous is here with the power of God to heal you.  He can forgive (grant release) and send off from you those sins and the consequent guilt and give you life in superabundance.

For more information about Dr. Josiah and his teachings, please visit his web site.

A Meditation for Those Who Feel They Must 'Stand Afar Off' from Iesous

Luke 17:12-19

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men (aner) who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up thier voices and said, "Iesous, Master (one of powerful authority), have mercy on us!" 

So when He saw them, He said to them,"Go, show yourselves to the priests."  And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed (ekatharisthesan - to clean thoroughly, completely).  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed (iathe), returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  So Iesous answered and said, "were not there ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?"

"Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"  and He said to him, "Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well (sesoke - completely whole in body and soul).

The public health laws during the ministry of the Iesous stipulated that due to the highly contagious nature of leprosy those so afflicted were to be isolated from society.  Therefore, 'they stood afar off' and called to the Iesous with the pathetic appeal, "...have mercy on us."

The Iesous answered their pitable cry for mercy with a command to "Go show yourselves to the priests."  They believes in the authority of the Iesous to end a diseased condition that rotted away their bodies and their spiritual condition too.

He gave them the redemptive word to go to the priest - the public health officials of that day.  In other words, go to those who know your condition.  They obeyed his word and received their collective request for healing on their way to see the priests.

The Iesous cleansed them, not only did he remove the disease that ravaged their bodies, but he also cleansed the wounds that the diseased state had done to their souls.  The work of the Iesous is the 'Cure of Souls.' He healed (Iaomai) or cured them,  He restored them to both physical and spiritual health (vs. 15).

Was there an event or experience in your life that has caused your to 'believe' that you are unclean, and therefore must stand afar off from the Iesous?

You may draw near to Him and call upon Him to have mercy on you and heal you of a condition that has caused you to think that life cannot and will not be better.  He knows the dark side of us all and what we have done to ourselves and others.  He knows that we have missed the mark of God's righteousness or rightness.  Let the Iesous cure your soul today so that you no longer have to stand afar off from Him.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich's teachings please visit his web site.

The Family of the Iesous

Luke 8:19-21


Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.  And it was told him by certain which said, "Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee."  And he answered and said unto them, "my mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it."

The public ministry of the Iesous was characterised by massive numbers of persons who gathered to hear his intrinsic word address their fragmented milieu.  On this occasion his mother and brothers had come to see him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. Anonymous voices told him that his family was there to see him.The response of the Iesous to the anonymous voices was used to speak about the importance of family in a transcendent manner.

In no way does he arrogate the biological family to a cursory marginalism.  On the contrary, the Iesous illustrates the unitary reality of the physical and spiritual.  The familial sphere is inclusive of those who 'hear' (akouontes) to hear with the ear of the mind in order to 'obey' and 'do' (poiountes), the producing and bringing forth something which when produced, has an independent existence of its own..

Therefore, relational intimacy with Iesous is not merely a desire to see him with outward perception.  It is inward perception that is primary,  Family likeness is not that our DNA has united us in a genetic bond.  Family likeness is determined by one's heart (kardia) - to hear the Word of Theos and do it.

Have you experienced rejection by a family member or loved one?  Do you feel abandoned by those you believe should love you?  Do not toss yourself into the abyss of self-rejection.  Please hear that God loves you and the Iesous is His proof that He has not abandoned you.  Today - at this very moment choose to believe God loves you.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich, please visit his web site.

The Lost Coin

Luke 15:8-10

"... what woman having drachmas, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?"

"...when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, "Rejoice with me.  I have found the piece which I lost (apolesa)."

"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner (harmartolo) that repenteth."

A crowd drew near the Iesous to hear with the ears of the mind (heart).  And as he spoke to those who wanted his redemptive word critics drew near too who maligned the Iesous and said to the crowd, "This man receiveth sinners and eats with them."

The parable of the lost drachmas was one of three parables given on this occasion.

Please note that the woman had lost one of her drachmas.  It was a precious monetary unit of value.  It was a piece of silver to be used to support her livelihood.  She, therefore lit a candle, and then swept the house anxiously and diligently in an effort to recover her lost coin.  Her efforts 'paid' off and she recovered the lost drachma.  She called her friends and engaged them to join her in celebration. 

The Iesous then stated, "Likewise, or in this manner, there is joy in the presence of the angles of God over one sinner that repenteth."

The poignant 'likewise' represents the transition of the parable from the mundane to the realm of spiritual wisdom.  The words 'lose' and 'lost' are key in this parable and denotes not something that was merely misplaced, but something that was 'destroyed' by being lost.  In other words, the lost one stamped, as it were, with the divine image (imago dei) is out of place and therefore ruined until restored to its rightful place - with the Creator - Iesous.

Until you, the coin, is returned, you are "lying lost, useless, and unaware of your worth."

You may feel right now that no one values you because you have believed lies about your value.  Maybe you have believed the word of critics.  You may say, "I was lost through sexual abuse."  "I was lost through verbal abuse."  Or, "I was lost when I was abandoned by loved ones."  Maybe you were lost through drug or alchola abuse.  

Know this truth, above the controlling lies of the critics, the lies we have believed about ourselves, the Iesous loves you and values you.  He receives all who will allow his word to become the healing agent within.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich, please visit his web site.

A Meditation on Faith and Doubt

"And one of the multitude answered and said, "Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a mute spirit:  And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him; and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out: and the could not."

He answereth him, and saith, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I suffer you?  Bring him to me."

And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tore him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.  And he asked his father, "How long is it ago since this came unto him?"  He answered and said, "of a child.  Oftentimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us."

Jesus said unto him, "If though canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."

And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

Mark 9:17-24

A desperate and grief-stricken father brought his son who was seized by a malevolent spirit to be healed by the mathetais (disciples) of Iesous.  They could not help either the father or the son.

The father then meets the Iesous and tells him a story of harrowing torment that his son has suffered through the presence of a malevolent being.  And thereafter the father said to the Iesous:  "but if thou canst do anything have compassion on us and help us."

The child's condition was an obvious and pathetic presenting problem.  But the father's words to the Iesous revealed a deeper phenomenon.  The Iesous knows that both the father and the son have compelling needs.  Both are in need of deliverance.  Both are tormented, and are co-sufferers.  There is the interplay of torment between the father and the son.  Their emotional synergy is exemplified by "...have compassion on us, and help us."

To this plea coupled with doubt the Iesous answered, "if thou canst believe (pisteusai)" present indicative middle in the Greek Text.

A work of powerful self-examination and collapse of old boundaries is placed before the father.  Then the Iesous adds, "...all things are possible to him that believeth."

The anemic faith of the father is exposed.  He is no longer able to hide from himself.  He cries out the the Iesous:  "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

The word "help" in our text is the Greek word 'boethei' and it means: "to run to aid another."

Are you stuck by doubt and have you tried to hide from it?  You are not alone!  The Iesous is not threatened by unbelief.  The confession of faith and doubt is a crisis of faith.  Ask for help today, and He will run to aid you.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich, please visit his web site.

A Meditation on Rest

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will rest you.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek (power under control) and lowly in kardia (heart): and ye shall find rest unto your souls (psuchais).  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11: 28-30).

The primacy of persons and their distresses and anxieties are of central concern to the Iesous.  While some may focus upon or believe that change is the most pressing need of persons the Iesous knows otherwise.  He knows that the most vital need of persons in this world is rest from its intrinsic mosiac of suffering and conflict. 

In the Greek Text the verb 'rest' is anapauso.  Anapauso means:  To cease or to desist, to restrain something or to leave off.  The prefix 'ana' of this important word means:  To lift from a lower to a higher place.

The Iesous knows that this life is filled with incredible hardships and disappointments that threaten to overwhelm and collapse our bravest resolves.  He gives rest from that which would crush us. 

"I will rest you" united with the imperative of "Come unto Me" is the invitation of Grace.  His promise is that "you will find rest unto your souls." 

Are you tired of being (ontic) tired emotional discontent, fearful, and withdrawn from life?  May I suggest that you accept His invitation of rest through Faith in Him.

A Meditation on The Powerful One, The Weak One and The New One

Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk (without strength, powerless, weak) of blind, halt (limping) withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.  When the Iesou (Jesus) saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, "Wilt thou be made whole?"

The impotent man answered him, "Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool; but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me."

The Iesou (Jesus) saith unto him, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk."  And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked; and on the same day was the Sabbath.

The narrative of the impotent one is a powerful action picture of the Love of God.  This man, the weak one, was found by the Iesous at Bethesda, "The House of Mercy."

He had been in his condition for 38 years.  The etiology of his condition is not stated by the writer.  However, the behavioral result of his condition is clearly given to us.  He could only lay there, forlorn and isolated in "The House of Mercy."

The Iesous observed him and thereby acquired an experiential awareness of his condition.  The Iesous knew that he had been seized and held captive in embattled and chronic passivity for so long that he had become undifferentiated from his condition.  Today physicians talk of patients who become identified with their condition.

The Iesous said to The Weak One "Wilt thou be made whole?"  The Weak One could not give a direct answer to a direct question.  He could only answer Iesous out of the sphere of his chronic condition.  He answers with pronouns, wedded to negative statements.  (I..me...I...me...) vs 7.  The Iesous speaks into his chronic languor the powerful word of resurrection. 

We don't have to have the perfect answer when God visits us.  If  you have been held fast in a spiritually weak condition for a long time and have waited for God to speak in resurrection power He has through the Iesous.  He has the Word that will enable you to be made whole (created new).

A Meditation on Spiritual Balance

Luke 10:40-42

But Martha was encumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, "Lord, doest thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?  Bid her therefore that she help me."

And the Iesou (Jesus) answered and said unto her, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things'.  but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Martha was encumbered.  The Greek text suggests that encumbered means:  "to drag all around or to distract with care."  Her condition or personal state of being revolved around her work.  Her work demanded her constant attention.

She was fragmented and frustrated by the constant imperative of work.  She no longer controlled her work-day, her work-day controlled her.  She was so absorbed by work that the Divine Presence in her midst was only the means to an end. 

Her prayer, her petition to the Iesou was a complaint and a demand that his divine intervention be used to summon her sister into her encumbered situation.  Distraction and frustration had frozen Martha's ability to relate to her Lord, her sister, and herself.

Notice, that Martha never uses her sister's name in her frustration-prayer-petition.  She uses pronoun's like 'my sister', 'her', and 'she'.

When relationships are sacrificed on the altar of work, the encumbered ones demand that the unencumbered ones become as they are - fragmented by much work.

The Iesou answered and addressed Martha's need and not her frustrated desire.  The undistracted Iesou called the distracted Martha by her name and compassionately pointed out her situation.  He pointed out her raging anxiety and her perpetual disturbance about so many things.

His differential diagnosis concluded that:  "But one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Mary understood that work must be balanced by cultivation of a rich spiritual relationship with Iesou.  And he wanted the heart of Martha to be set free from things that demanded her soul.  Martha's preoccupation with many things gave her no satisfaction.

We must all learn to balance our lives with appropriated dedication to work and appropriate attention to the necessity of spiritual wisdom in our lives through the Person of Christ.

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