Ho'omana Health Ministries

 We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience

Teilhard de Chardin

Opening Prayer

I and my Father are one,

All that I am is found within my Father and my Father is within me,

I and my Mother are one,

All that I am is found within my Mother and my Mother is within me,

Father God, Holy Spirit Mother

Help each one of us today to remember who we are.

Amen

Opening Hymn

 You Can Relax Now

Message

During the last two sabbath messages, I have been telling the story of a wild, little nomad who was temporarily residing on a little island. The island can be paradise or a wintery, cold hard existence. The key to how the nomad experienced this existence was within her own heart. Through the story, of the nomad I  was attempting to rekindle within each of us the memory of our true selves. There is a spiritual child who resides in each of our hearts.

We are all children of the Father and Mother. We were created in the image of the One Creative Source. Just like in the story, we have a Mother Wind. She is the Spirit that speaks to each of us, nurturing and guiding us through our maturation process. Just like the story, we have a Father Sun. He is our creator and the Source of all power. Created in that image, our spirits are as free as our Mother, the wind and our creative potential is as powerful as our Father the sun.

We still have some growing to do, though. To whom much is given, much is required. If we have vast spiritual potential, then we must learn to harness that potential and use it correctly. With that in mind, the Great Creative Source provided a proper training ground for the children of the Divine. Our wild, free nomadic  spirits were confined to a little green island in the vast indigo sea of the universe. Our Father and Mother have placed us in this reality, this small physical realm, to learn lessons for eternity.

Unfortunately, in the transit from spiritual to physical beings it is difficult to hold on to the full Knowledge of the Divine within us. We are spirit children in a human world. There are so many dimensions that are a part of us, are all around us but are difficult to manifest in this realm. Like watching a subtitled movie, there is subtle information that is lost in translation. 

At birth, our spiritual eyes are open to all realities. As little children, many of us have eyes that still see. I still have dim memories of talking to angels and visiting the star children. But slowly the memory dims. We begin to accept the limitations of this physical realm as our own. We take on the burdens of this existence. In the process, we lost paradise. This is the story of Adam and Eve. The story is the story of all humankind. Spirits....immortals...who accepted chains of mortality by looking for answers in what was around them instead of what was within them.

Once we place the burden, the limitations of the physical world on our shoulders, it is difficult to remove. We are like birds with clipped wings and we have clipped them ourselves. Instead of soaring to the Sun on the currents of the Wind, we are grounded in this existence. All we see are the clouds.

One of the great lessons of this journey is to learn how to fly again in a world governed by gravity. We are to discover how to live in the limitless potential of God within the limited, confines of this reality. It is easy to fly in paradise where all is free and light and beautiful. It is much harder to fly in this heavy dense atmosphere. But we must learn. It is the essential lesson of our time here in this training ground.

Luckily, our Father and Mother have given us the tools we need to once again ascend past the clouds. There are three tools - Faith, hope and Love. The greatest of these is Love because God is Love. First we must have faith to believe we ARE the children of God. We must look beyond the physical. Look past the clouds and get a glimspe of Father Sun. We must remind ourselves that we were meant to soar in the heavens...not plod along the ground.

Next, once we are strengthend by faith, we can hope again. We can test our wings and strengthen them daily. Hope is keeping our eyes on the sky not looking at the ground. Hope is opening up the wings of our spirit and waiting for Mother Wind to take us up in a current of the Spirit up into the sky.

Lastly, once we have remembered who we are and strengthend our wings again, we must live as children of the Spirit. We live in Love. We become one with Love. We are Love. We fly!

Our Mother, the Wind of the Holy Spirit, is our tutor. She came to teach us the lessons. She whispers quietly to our spirit like a warm, gentle wind soothing our souls. She tells us to let go of our worries. Do not accept the burdens of this world. Instead, have faith in who you are - a child of the Great One.  Hold on to the hope of what you can be - your infinite potential. Lastly, allow God's Divine Love to flow through you and soar above the clouds. Soar into the Sun on the currents of the Wind.

Listen, now to the song our Mother is singing to each one of us, Her Children.

It is a song of Faith, Hope and Love

Scripture

 ¹⁴Yeshua said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." ¹⁵When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there....²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." ²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" ²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Matthew 19: 14-26

 ²³" (Yeshua said,) "Everything is possible for him who believes."

Mark 9:23

Final Thought

It is a challenge to find the inner spirit child through the clouds of reality. Sometimes the clouds get so thick that it is a dense fog all around us. Have faith.

Cultivate within You Seeds of Hope

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" The world is full of people who have never, since childhood, met an open doorway with an open mind"

E. B. White

Opening Blessing

Essentially this lesson is about choices so let us begin by choosing to bless ourselves and each other with love.

 Message

Once in another world in another time, there lived a little stranger who wandered lost in a strange land. She had once been a wild nomad who roamed freely on an island paradise. That carefree existence ended, however, when she was exiled to the cold, dark land of the giants. In this dismal new existance, she carried many heavy burdens on her back. The burdens slowed her down but she was not overcome by them because though she was small, she was very sturdy. Yes, she occasionally had to pause to shift the weight on her shoulders, but she would lift her head high, pull her dark curls out of her eyes, take a deep breath and trudge on.

Onward she plodded...ever onward. She refused to stop her journey because she carried a hope in her heart. She hoped to somehow return to the land of her childhood and find her paradise again. She thought that if she could find her way back, the burdens would evaporate. Then she would be free, full of joy and light-hearted again. Not too light, of course....not so light that she could fly. The little stranger had once believed she could fly. She knew better now. That had just been a little girl's dream. It had seemed very real at the time but, of course. it was not.  Noone can fly. A strange thing happened, though, once she understood that she could not fly, she stopped dreaming about flying.

Closing Prayer

Mother and Father call to us today. Show us the light within. Keep our vision pure and guide us through the door that you have already opened....the one that leads to the kingdom of heaven.

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When you come to the edge of all the light you have known, and are about to step out into darkness, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen;
There will be something to stand on, or you will be taught to fly.

I Believe I Can Fly

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There are rare moments in life when a light from beyond the veil reveals itself to our consciousness.

This flash of light imparts a new wisdom or insight that a was previously beyond our comprehension.

Some call these experiences  "intuition"...or gut instinct...or a synthesis of the sub-conscious. 

The scripture also has a name for this type of  knowledge. It is called wisdom. It is an understanding that comes without the aid of reason. It is imparted directly to our spirit from the Spirit. Today's message is about nurturing these flashes of light.

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. - Albert Einstein

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain

Opening Prayer

Scripture Reading 

Message

There is a place most human beings rarely visit. It is the place in which Wisdom resides. It is the throne of God...the seat of the presence of the Divine.  A fountain of living water flows out from the throne bringing healiing and life. Father God...the Source of All...is the one on the Throne. Our Holy Spirit Mother is the fountain flowing from the Father making the Source...the Wisdom of God... available to all. Yeshua said that those who drink from this fountain will thirst no more. One does not have to travel far to find this place. It is in close proximity to every person all the time. The throne of God is within everyone of us. WE are the temple of the living God. Our spirit is one with the Spirit. 

Each one of us was created in the image of God and a spark of the Divine was instilled in our spirit. God is there, readily available within each of us all the time. Yet, man rarely avails himself of this Wisdom. Humanity has contented itself with occasional glimpses of the Divine. In fact, momentary flashes of perception are often treated with suspicion rather than accepted as Wisdom from the throne. We are suspicious because we have been told a lie for thousands of years. Power hungry people have place themselves in positions of authority by making others believe that God is not readily available.

By pretending to provide exclusive access to God, religious leaders throughout history have been able to hold firm control over their congregations. As children of the Divine, it is our nature to want to commune with our Father and Mother. Fear of permanent separation from God, motivated the masses to provide offerings, favors and unending service to the religious elite. So the people were told that God only lived in temples or on specific religious sites. The priest were the only conduit...the only access to God's presence.

This was not the Divine plan. In fact it was not even truth. The original Essenes separated themselves from the religious authority of their day precisely because they refused to believe the lies. They did not accept the Priesthood or temple worship. They continued instead to individually seek a personal knowledge of the Divine known as the Way.

Once an elite upper class has established power, however, is difficult to fight them. The lies that are perpetrated to keep them in control, become irrefutable and accepted as fact. Yeshua's mission was to bring humanity back to a personal relationship with their Mother and Father. Through his life, he gave an example for all of us to follow. He called himself Son of Man because he taught that what he did was available to every human being. He said, " I and my Father are one".

So, too, we all are one with the Father. The Light, the Knowledge, the Wisdom is within us all. But too often, we wall off the temple of God within us and do not access ourselves to the treasures provided there. We have only ourselves to blame. As Yeshua described in the story of the prodigal son, we separate ourselves from our Father and do not listen to our Mother. It is our own choice to go after the things of this world... the rational physical realm...rather than feast at the table of God.

Most people today want to validate their "hunches" with rational data. They are not comfortable drinking freely from the fountain and eating at the table of Divine knowledge. We have separated ourselve because we have been told a lie...we have been told that we must find our own way. Our Father and Mother are still waiting for us, though. They are ready to take us back. Yeshua's mission was to help all the lost souls wandering along the various paths and guide them to the Way. Yeshua reminded us the search is over. The Father is here. The Way is within us. No wandering needed. At the death of Yeshua, they say that the veil in the temple that separated the holy of holies was torn from top to bottom.  The symbolism was that now every man had access to God's presence.

The truth was that the veil was an illusion created by man. Man always had access. The separation was his own. Instead of being content with flashes of light peeking out from the veil, we can live in the light. We do not have to wander down any paths. Just be still. The temple is within. Listen and KNOW

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Closing Prayer

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In the story of Noah, the first rainbow appeared in the sky after the great flood.  The rainbow was a sign of God's covenant with mankind to never again destroy the world by water. This beautiful bridge in the heavens was created after a period of destruction and despair to provide mankind with a symbol of hope and promise. 

It is implicitly understood that rainbows cannot appear without rain. First comes the storm, then in the calm moments when the sun reappears, the rainbow is seen. Into each life some rain must fall ....and then the rainbow! This message is about enduring storms and then looking for...and helping to create...rainbows.

Call to Celebration

Scripture Reading

  Message

Time is relevant and calendars are man-made utilities. However, according to the Gregorian calendar, the internationally accepted calender of our civilization, a new year has officially begun. Some purists claim that the new decade will not begin until the end of this year. However, popular culture has declared that the new decade began January 1, 2010.  It is a time of new beginnings, New Year's resolutions and fresh starts.

The New Year is a time to start over and we are ready! The world is anxiously searching for better days. We want to put the last decade behind behind us and move on. The first 10 years of this century were not kind. It was a very turbulent time. There were storms of all kinds. The beginning of this century brought huge natural disasters -tsunamis, hurricanes, tornados, volcanos, floods and other severe weather. There were man-made disasters as well - the world trade center bombing, the many terrorist actions, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the real estate crisis and the financial banking collapse to name just a few.

History reminds us, though, that turbulent times are part of the natural cycle. To everything there is a season. Our Father and Mother God have created consistent natural laws. Just like the cycle of human life, civilizations go through cycles of birth, growth, destruction and death. Nature, too, goes through its seasons. Each season has its own storms. After each storm, however, there are also periods of calm and sunshine. Here in Northern Arizona, we recently had an ice storm. It stormed all night long. The ice pelted down on the mesa and the wind blew in angry gusts. Power lines were torn down by the weight of the ice. Bushes blew across the roads. The next morning, however, the sky was clear and all was quiet. The sun rose over the mountains in a blaze of orange and pink. It shone so brightly on the icy snow that it dazzled the eye.

That sunrise was my winter rainbow. My heart was filled with calm joy and the peaceful awareness that all was well. At that moment I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be in life. Rainbows are the promise that better times are coming. Rainbows are the knowledge that there is a reason...that "all things work together for good."  And rainbows are everywhere. Rainbows can be made at will. Just shine some light through water and from the right vantage point, a rainbow will appear. In the storms in your life, whatever they are, shine God's light...Divine awareness...through the rain. Then if you have the right viewpoint, you will be able to discern the rainbow. Once you master the ability to see that rainbow, you can weather any storm. Serious illness.  Disease. Accidents. Catastrophes. Unemployment. Lost retirement savings. Death. Loneliness. Hardships. Personal problems.

Point of view is very important in seeing rainbows. You  have to have the right vantage point...to look at the situation from the right angle. Move a little in the wrong direction and the rainbow disappears. Yeshua says one must be standing on  a rock... a strong foundation... to weather a storm. Without the foundation, you will waver too much and the rainbow will keep disappearing from view.

 A couple of weeks ago, I was made aware of the importance of viewpoint and foundation when I started reading the book, Night. Night is a work by Elie Wiesel. It is an autobiographical account of his experience, as a young Orthodox Jew of being sent  with his family to the German Concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. This book had come highly recommended to me and I was looking forward to reading it. However, it was so dark and depressing that I had to stop. I could not finish it. The recurring themes were Mr Wiesel's increasing disgust with mankind and his loss of faith in God.

Now, I suppose with all the horrifying situations Mr Wiesel had to endure, he was certainly justified in his feelings. However, his feelings were not inevitable. He did not HAVE to feel the way he did. His feelings were a choice of viewpoint. I have read other works by survivors of the Holocaust who choice a very different vantage point. Corrie Ten Boom wrote of her experiences in the book, The Hiding Place. She was a Christian who was sent with her family to a German concentration camp for hiding Jews from the German Army. She found a purpose for her life and a renewed faith in God during her time in captivity.

Dr Viktor Frankl was a successful Jewish psychiatrist from Austria. Like Mr Wiesel, he and his family were sent to Auschwitz. He wrote of his experiences in "Man's Search for Meaning." It is an incredibly uplifting book. His entire family perished in the concentration camp. When it seemed that everything had been taken from him, Dr Frankl found the rainbow in the midst of the storm. He realized that he had the singular power to choose his own attitude and no one could take that away from him. He chose not to hate and he chose to hope. He chose to survive.

Storms rarely announce their coming. Storms of life come with swiftness and can be devastating. They are unpredictable, capricious and create all sorts of debris. Survival depends on the right foundation and the right attitude. Only then will you have the vantage point to see the rainbow....the promise hidden in the midst of the storm.

Song of  Celebration

Closing Prayer

Finally, Happy New Year - 2010

May you have a very Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year...and Find the Rainbows

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Christmas lights, advent candles, yule logs, candlelight Christmas eve services - light in different forms is traditionally associated with Christmas and for good reason. Light is the symbol of hope, spiritual illumination, warmth, and guidance. Light is the fundamental message of Christmas - light that triumphs over darkness.

Preparing for the Light

The Christmas celebration reminds us that in the coldest, darkest time of the year, God's light still shines. In fact it shines brightest in the darkness.

Before we begin the our Sabbath message, this song will prepare our hearts for the Christmas story of Light

Bending Toward the Light

Call to Worship

Doxology

Opening Prayer

Father and Mother, through out eternity You have been our light

In Your Divine Mercy, You have gifted each of us with a spark of Your light within our spirits

And have given us a Way to nurture the light

So that each of us has the capacity to become a bright torch guiding the Way for others

Holy Spirit Mother,

Rekindle Your light today.

Amen

Scripture Reading

 ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.

 ³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

 ⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

John 1:1-8

² The people walking in darkness
       have seen a great light;
       on those living in the land of the shadow of death 
       a light has dawned

Isaiah 9:2

 ⁵This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another...

1 John 1:5-7

¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

 Opening Hymn

People Let Your Light Shine

Message

Yesterday, the Christian world celebrated Christmas, the birthday of the Christ Child. Interestingly enough, most scholars do not believe that Yeshua Ha'Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah) was born on December 25th. The actual birth date of Yeshua was lost to antiquity. The early followers of the Way did not celebrate Yeshua's birth. Early Christians believed the celebration of anyone's birth was a pagan custom. Since the date of Yeshua's birth was not significant to them, it was forgotten for all time.

The first Christmas celebrations began several centuries after Yeshua's death. Many beleive the December 25th date was chosen as a deliberate substitution for an existing celebration of the birth of the sun god, Saturn. Others believe it was a substitution for pagan winter solstice celebrations. Because of these pagan connotations, the Puritans refused to celebrate Christmas. Many strict fundamentalist Christian groups still refuse to celebrate Christmas.  This attitude is unfortunate because it detracts from the greater message.

The dead of winter is an excellent time to celebrate a great Light revitalizing the world. As one reads the scriptures above, one can not help but realize that the message of Yeshua was fundamentally a message of light and hope. If the actual date of his birth is unknown, why not choose the darkest coldest time of the year? Winter is a time that celebrations of light flourish in other cultures why not use it to celebrate the coming of great light for Mankind? Light shines brightest in the darkness.

Man has a primal attraction to light. It is set deeply within our circadian rhythm to awaken with the sun and retreat from the darkness. One of our greatest discoveries was how to make fire. When mankind mastered fire, he had the ability to warm the cold and light the physical darkness of this world. Mankind has also searched for the same type of "fire" in the spiritual plane. Since the beginning of creation and our life on this earth, we have awaited the light of the seasons by searching for the spiritual light. In the dark of winter, we have chosen hope over despair...hope that a better season is coming...through celebrations of light. Throughout history we have celebrated new light in the winter solstice. The many winter festivals of light range from the Druids, to the Roman Saturnalia, to the miracle of light at Hannukah. So why not also celebrate the Holy Child of Light's birth in the midst of winter darkness?

By celebrating Yeshua's  birth, we are recognizing that light is more than the Sun. True light cannot be measured in kilowatts and amps. Light is a metaphor and it is a metaphor that our soul truly seeks.  Light is knowledge. Light is life. Light is light....light is God within us. Light is the real gift of Christmas. Light is our true identity. That is what Father and Mother God gave mankind with Yeshua's birth. We were given the chance to know our true selves.

A different and illuminating gift for each of us this Christmas would be the ability to understand this true identity...the light of God within. We are spirits encased in physical bodies. As spirits in matter, we were placed in this physical creation to learn and grow. As citizens of creation,  we have experienced and uncovered the secrets of form and matter, learning to create at a very fundamental level. Like children in a sandbox who form replicas of castles, we have been learning through the tools our Parents have provided in this playground. But we have been removed for so long from our spiritual origins that many of us have forgotten our true identity. Luckily, our Mother and Father graciously provide us with reminders. These reminders may only be a moment, a teacher, a word, a phrase, a picture or a sudden spiritual insight that allows us a fleeting glimpse into our true identity. In those moments, we remember we have the light within.

Yeshua was sent as the greatest reminder of all. He was the Light from above sent to reveal light is available to each man and woman. He reminded us are made in the image of the Mother and Father. We are light...like the great encompassing Light. Our mission is to be beams of light carrying information into the world, influencing and affecting all that we contact. This year, as Christmas comes and goes again, let us not forget the real message behind all the Christmas lights. Let us think differently. Let us recognize and identify that we are in fact a rainbow of light, and that within our light are specific tasks, purposes, behaviors, abilities and gifts we unconsciously radiate upon each other and all we contact.

During this season of giving let us realize we are the gifts of Holy Light. Let us shine for each other during our temporary lifetime on this earth. Let us understand our light and what our lights radiate that makes us so holy to one another. Let us shine without fear in this world. Yeshua said that we are not to hide our lights. Don't be afraid to shine.

Many say that they are afraid of failure. I think most people are actually afraid of success. Success means you have to continue to shine..that the world will count on you to shine and that requires a lot of work. It is a lot easier just to go on pretending to be meaningless. Here is a quote that I love from Marianne Williamson that says it all..."We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." 

So go ahead!! Celebrate the real Christmas spirit and SHINE!

 Closing Hymn

Go Light Your World

Final Thoughts

From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space.  It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe.  It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished.  ~Michael Strassfeld

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."
-- Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) German theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician

Light a Candle in the Darkness

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Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative (and creation). There is one elemental truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans...that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves all. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of incidents and meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would come his or her way. Whatever you can do or dream, you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.
~Goethe  

What lies behind us and what lies before us are of little importance compared to what lies within us.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Last week in our Sabbath message, we discussed the illusion of power versus real the real Power. We concluded that there is a true Source of Power. The true Power is the One who created us, and is within us. But that is not the end of the line. Like the power lines pictured above, We were not created and planted in this world just to receive power but to also transmit. Today's message discusses how we can recognize, harness and utilize the Power within.

Opening Hymn

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In our natural state, we are glorious beings. In the world of illusion, we are lost and imprisoned, slaves to our appetites and our will to false power.

Marianne Williamson

On this Sabbath, as the world is celebrating the first day of Hanukkah, a festival of light and hope, We will open the message with a Hanukkah  blessing

Opening Blessing

Closing Hymn

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Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
-- Melody Beattie

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.
-- Cicero

Thankful Thoughts

The fourth Thursday of November,  like most of the U.S., we celebrated Thanksgiving in our home. If you have been following the weekly Sabbath messages,  you know that I tried this year to make  Thanksgiving a more significant event than usual. Towards this goal, we had fasted for the week  prior to Thanksgiving and saved the food we would have eated to contribute to a food pantry. So we actually started our Thanksgiving on the day before by contributing food (and a little money) to the local Salvation Army kitchen.

As we left the Salvation Army office, I thought about years in the past when I had struggled to feed my own family.  I remembered one year that the hospital where I was employed surprised the staff with food baskets on Thanksgiving. I had tears in my eyes when I received my basket because until that moment, I wasn't sure how I was going to make a special meal for my kids. Another year, I had just moved to Germany. I moved for a government job and was told the government was going to pay all the expenses. I did not know that I had to front the costs and would be paid back later. It took every penny I had to pay the hotel bill. It was Thanksgiving day the next day.  The finance office would not be open until the following Monday. Luckily, I was able to take my travel orders and get my family into  the soldier's mess hall for Thanksgiving dinner.  I remember how relieved I was to not only have a way to celebrate Thanksgiving but just to have some food to feed my children. As I thought about those past years, I felt very grateful that this year I had  the resources to have a nice Thanksgiving meal and also had extra to share with others. 

Thankgiving morning, when I woke up, I walked the dogs, as usual. I am not a morning person so usually during these early morning walks with the doggies, I am barely functioning. I do it basically because I know walking is good for my health and if I don't walk in the morning, I often don't get a walk in at all. Also, we have very active pups and they are MUCH better doggies if they get their morning romp. This particular morning, however, I tried to make it a different type of experience. I kept my eyes open to my surroundings. I listened to the quietness around me in the desert mesa. I was appreciative of the pure joy of life expressed by the dogs as the ran and jumped and played. I watched the sunrise over the mountains in all its glory.  And, I thought to myself, "Is it always this beautiful?" At that moment, a jack rabbit peaked out from behind a scrubby bush with curious eyes as if to say, "Of course, you silly human, did you just realize that you have been missing out?"

When we returned from the walk, I had my morning coffee and muffin. That muffin was extremely satisfying after a week long fast. I thanked God the first time of many times that day for the joy of good food. After I ate, I sent out Thanksgiving day ecards to all the important people in my life. As I wrote the cards, I tried to be very mindful of the gratitude I felt for that person. I reminded myself of some particular aspect of that person that gave me joy or some moment in my life that the person made an impact.

Next, my husband and I had our dinner. We spent a few moment sharing the items in our lives that we were thankful for. Then we said grace and ate. Somewhere between the stuffing and the pumpkin pie, my mind began to wander. I thought about the contentment of sitting at the table in my warm house with peaceful music playing in the background. I thought about the joy and peace that had been growing in my heart that day. I thought about how good it is to take time to consider the good in our lives. I was reminded of quote I heard long ago. "Thanksgiving is not meant to be a day on the calender. Thanksgiving is meant to be a way of life. "

The happiness alive in my heart at that moment was the culmination of a day spent cultivating gratitude in my heart. Actually, it was the culmination of not just one day but a week of preparation. The week of fasting...doing without...helped me truly enjoy the feast. Deprivation provides the perspective that allows us to enjoy blessings. In the same manner, the difficult times in my past  that I recalled now, help make this present so sweet. But only if we can view those difficult times with an attitude of gratitude. That is the key.

I then recognized the Divine wisdom of the Essene Way. Essenes take great care to cultivate a correct spirit within. They begin their day communing with the Mother and ended the day communing with the Father. They believe in creating within their life a seven-fold peace: peace with body, mind, family, humanity, culture, Mother and Father. Being at peace begins with accepting and enjoying life as it is....being grateful for what is, what was and what will be.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."

Let us start now to cultivate that attitude of gratitude....the spirit of thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Invocation

Thank You, Lord

Scripture Reading

 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,
and to sing praises unto thy name, O most high:
To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning,
and thy faithfulness every night
— Psalms 92:1-2

Thanksgiving Prayer

Our Father and Mother

who are in heaven, 

and around us,

and within us

 Holy is Your Name.

Your Kingdom is upon us,

as is Your will.

Your are here on earth,

and in the heavens.

We are never in need

because You provide.

By forgiving our mistakes, 

You have taught us

to forgive others.

You lead your children

in the path of light,

and guide us away 

from the darkness

because Your kingdom

and power, and glory

are within us.

Amen

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 In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.

Albert Camus

My Dear Companions in The Way,

Last weekend, I was called away suddenly and unexpectedly and was unable to post the Thanksgiving Sabbath message. I received several concerned emails and I want to thank you all for worrying. All is well. Father and Mother simply had different plans for my Sabbath Worship.

I will post the message that I HAD intended for Thanksgiving Sabbath on the next week. In place of the November 27 message, I would like to share with you what happened last week. It all began in the Emergency Department on Friday afternoon (the day after Thanksgiving). An ambulance arrived with an 88 year old frail little lady in severe pain. She was in shock and needed to be flown out immediately for emergency surgery. Later, her 92 year old Hopi husband arrived. He had driven his old pick-up truck. When he was told that his wife was very ill and had been flown out to Flagstaff, he was distraught. He did not normally drive as far as he did that night. A trip to Flagstaff 140 miles away on a major highway was way beyond his ability.

He wanted to be with her but had no way to accomplish the necessary trip. He had out-lived his immediate family. His wife and he had never had children. They were alone in the world and had no one to call on for  help. So on a cold bleak winter night, with a storm coming in, my husband and I set off on an unexpected journey. A 92 year old Hopi gentleman whom we had never met before was our travel companion. We arrived at Flagstaff Medical Center just before the first real winter storm of this season.

My husband set off to find hotel rooms for the night. I accompanied our new Hopi friend. We walked to the information desk. The desk was set up on a pedestal and was almost as tall as this 5 foot Hopi elder. He looked so small and fragile standing there that it hurt my heart. His wife was in the Intensive Care Unit. We followed the directions to the unit. I had to gauge my steps to my Hopi friend's slow aged steps. We finally arrived to the door of the unit.

I picked up the phone outside the unit and announced our arrival. The automatic doors opened. I looked around and took in all the sights and sounds...the monitors, and ventilators and IV pumps....the brisk efficient staff carefully managing and surpressing any potential chaos. I smiled in recognition of it all.  As a former ICU nurse, this was familiar ground to me. The staff...any critical care staff... are my kindred spirits. The surroundings are home. 

Then I remembered my travel companion. I saw the fear in his eyes. His apprehension increased with every step. At that moment, I realized I was not there in that place at that time by happenstance. There was a beautiful Divine logic to this journey. I was there to guide my Hopi friend through the Critical Care world that was so familiar to me but so foreigh and alien to him. The verses from Isaiah that I had quoted during my ordination came back to my mind: 

^"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
       because the LORD has anointed me
       to preach good news to the poor.
       He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
       to proclaim freedom for the captives
       and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
       and the day of vengeance of our God,
       to comfort all who mourn,

 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
       to bestow on them a crown of beauty
       instead of ashes,
       the oil of gladness
       instead of mourning,
       and a garment of praise
       instead of a spirit of despair. "
      

I went to the nurse's desk and asked for his wife's room. She had just returned from surgery. Her small figure in the hospital bed was dwarfed by all the equipment surrounding her. She had a tube coming out of her mouth to help her breathe and tubes from her nose and stomach draining foul black liquid. The multiple IV lines emerged from her bed like plastic spaghetti.

Her little husband barely recognized her with all the equipment attached. He called her name and then asked me, "Is that her?" When I affirmed that it was her name on the door, he still looked lost. This was not new to me either. I have seen this reaction many times in the past. Family members often find themselves unable to relate to the lifeless, motionless body of their loved one. The body is so unlike it's former self that it almost seems like an imposter. I pulled up a chair and had him sit beside her. Then I pulled back the covers to reveal a small hand. It was a little bloated and puffy from all the fluid that had been poured into her to keep her alive but it was warm and when I placed his hand on top of hers I could feel him soften.

The next few hours he talked to me and to her. He recalled the beautiful life they shared. He was alternately angry, and sad and afraid...of being alone, of losing her, of her suffering. He also spoke tenderly of a life of love shared together....the travels while he was in the military, the hard times when they were first married, the accomplishments of their life. She never woke up but I told him I believe her spirit heard and felt him there. He agreed.  When the time came for her to leave this world, emotion overwhelmed him. He said, " I don't want to see this but I don' t want her to be alone. I told him, "It is OK, I will stay with her" "You go" So he said "Good-bye, Edith" with tears in his eyes. I took her hand from him and he shuffled off as fast as his 92 year old frame could carry him.

Then I looked at Edith and said, "It's OK. You can go now. He is ready" and within 5 minutes her heart stopped. Her husband came back about 10 minutes later. I said, " It's over. She is gone." He asked what time it happened. I told him the time of death.  He said" I knew it. Something told me to look at my watch right at that time"  Then He asked me,"So, you used to do this all the time?" I said, "Yes." He said, "How could you stand it?...all the suffering?" I said," When I share the suffering, I also share the beauty." Tonight I shared the beauty of a 62 year marriage.

He smiled and nodded quietly. "Yes, I see there is good...even in pain"

I called my husband and he picked us up. It was snowing steadily when we left the hospital. The flakes were big and soft  floating down from the sky. The ground was covered with white.  I thought about how good our Mother and Father God are to their children. In every storm in our life, God creates a shelter and shows us the beauty...if we look for it.

'You have been a refuge for the poor,
       a refuge for the needy in his distress,
       a shelter from the storm
       and a shade from the heat. "

Isaiah 25:4

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-Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

"Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude."

-E.P. Powell

This is the last Sabbath before the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving is founded on the Jewish harvest festivals. It is time to celebrate Divine provision. Unfortunately, our modern culture seems to have lost the original concept somewhere between the turkey and the football games. 

Let's take a few minutes today to remind ourselves of what it means to be truly thankful. 

Opening Hymn

                           Let's begin our worship time today with a  traditional Thanksgiving tune. 

I heard someone the other day describe Thanksgiving as America's annual "festival of overeating". It sad to think that the day supposedly set aside for gratitude has instead become a day of gluttony. That is the opposite of the original intent.  As I prepared the message last night, I became acutely aware of how this holiday has been transformed by our culture. I typed the word, "Thanksgiving" into  Youtube looking for appropriate music for this message. I got videos of food, stop-motion cartoons of turkeys, the Macy's parade and lots of irreverent goofy stuff but very few videos about thankfulness. That is a far cry from the spirit of the first Thanksgiving celebration.

The original Thanksgiving in this country was a feast of gratitude for God's provision. The Pilgrims were truly thankful for a harvest that was adequate to survive the winter. They came together on that first Thanksgiving feast and shared the joy of God's bounty. They sang psalms of joy like the thanksgiving psalms in the scripture reading. In those psalms, you see the true spirit of thanksgiving. The writers exhort us to "shout for joy", sing praise continually and worship as an appropriate reaction to recognizing God's faithfulness and Divine provision.

It is difficult to find the essence of the first Thanksgiving in the modern US culture. Maybe that is because we are so far removed from the struggle for survival that those first Pilgrims endured. Here on the Hopi reservation, the elders tell a story about the beginning of this world that illustrates this point. The Hopis believe we are living in the fourth world. Each previous world was destroyed when man forgot the good ways. The first world was destroy by fire and a breaking up of the earth. The second world was destroyed by ice. The third world was destroyed by a flood. Each time a few survived to start the new world. According to the Hopi, we now live in the fourth world.

Hopi mythology tells of a time after the end of the third world when most people had died. However, some people, including some Hopi, had been spared. They had been kept safe until the Earth's surface was again habitable. When the Earth was ready, these humans emerged on land and were met by a being named Masaw, who was tilling the soil. Masaw offered the groups of people different kinds of corn by which they might make their livelihood in this new fourth world. While others grabbed for the biggest ears of corn, the Hopi deliberately chose the smallest ear of blue corn.

The wise old Hopi ancestors' selection of the little ear of blue corn symbolizes their intent to live a life that would be difficult. Their harvest would be small for their efforts. However, they believed that this is a life that  endures. These ancient Hopi, fresh from the destruction of the third world, had observed that there are dangers inherent in an easy lifestyle. People become complacent, take their abundance for granted, and then lose their spiritual connection with the Source of their abundance.

The end result is that, over time, such people do not endure. Their greed leads them to hoard goods, ruin their environments and go to war with each other. Choosing a difficult life way...a way that requires much hard work for relatively small harvest, guards against greed by keeping people humble and grateful for what they have. To survive, such people must stay spiritually in tune with the Earth and keenly aware of the plants and animals around them; consequently, they endure beyond the lifetimes of the people who live easier lives.

Like the Hopi, the pilgrims lived in a harsh environment in which it required effort to survive. They were truly thankful for God's bounty. Out of that joy came a desire to come together. They had little but they wanted to share because they knew what it was like to do without. That is a great contrast to where we are in the United States today. We live in an age of selfishness because we have too much. The United States is a country of excesses. Even our landfills are overflowing. It is hard to appreciate what we have when there is even more all around us. TV ads and internet pop-ups keep reminding us  of all the things we don't have and yet most of us already have more things than we need or can properly appreciate.

We were not created to be self-absorbed. We were created to be one with the One. We were all given life by the same Breath and placed in this creation to follow the same path ...The Way.  There is no separateness in the Way. We are interconnected with all creation. When we lose the Way and start following our own path, it creates a disconnect with the Source. The Source is still there, but we have separated ourselves. We are not meant to be separate so we feel lonely and we do not know why. We try to fill the gap with things. It distracts us but does not fill the void so we look for more things.

What we really need is to return to the Source. Perhaps that is one of the lessons God has been teaching in the recent economic crisis. By removing some of our financial under-pinning,  God brought us back to reality. It provided us all as a nation a chance to reassess what is truly important. This thanksgiving is the perfect time to reassess and recreate the true spirit of thanksgiving within us. My husband and I recently read that there are now 50 million people in this country who skip meals unwillingly.  That number is the highest on record. More troubling is the fact that nearly one in four children in our country are not getting an adequate diet. Reading that caused us to rethink our blessings.

The psalms and scriptures above provide a good description of how to cultivate a heart of thanksgiving. The first step is realizing the Source of provision. As James said "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change" The one Divine Father and Mother is the Source. God is love and all good. He is the Sun and She is the Rain...faithful and everlasting. Finding  the Source is the beginning of thankfulness. Out of that knowledge, pure Joy begins to germinate in the heart. Next, we must cultivate that joy by tending it every day. Spend quiet time connecting to the Source. Use this time to remember the good. Looking at the good allows joy and gratitude to spring up and grow strong in our heart.   Lastly, as you daily tend the garden of thankfulness your heart,  joy and gratitude will bear fruit in your life in both words and actions. This is the harvest of thanksgiving.

Like the Pilgrims shared their bounty with the natives, thankfulness always bears fruit. Living in a spirit of thankfulness brings great peace. You are happy for what you have instead of grabbing endlessly for what you don't have. "Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness." Those who realize they are blessed naturally want to extend blessings to others. I challenge you this Thanksgiving to cultivate the true spirit of thankfulness then look around you for what you can sow in the lives of others.

Put some thought and time into how you can celebrate Thanksgiving this year by sharing instead of just taking. If you want a starting point, I will share with you the plan that my husband and I came up with.  As I said above, we were really touched when we read the article about hunger in the US. We have an abundance of food in our house and we had really forgotten what a blessing that is. So to remind us, we have been fasting for the past week and will continue to fast up to Thanksgiving day. Each day, we thank Mother and Father that we are CHOOSING to be hungry instead of having no choice. Then, we set aside all the food we would have eaten that day. We will give that food to a food bank in Flagstaff right before Thanksgiving. And on Thanksgiving day...I think we are really really going to be thankful for that meal.

Thanksgiving Thoughts 

So now take a moment to  review the good gifts you have been given, and think about the good gifts you can give.  Remember, Thanksgiving is an action word.

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 By Robert Frost

Opening Hymn

Before the message, take some time now to become one with the One, our Father and Mother

4 For it is She that teaches the knowledge of God, and is the chooser of His works.

There is a perfect path pre-designed for each human born into this creation. We were sent here for a purpose. Each of us has our own lessons and miracles to experience in this life. When the lesson is missed because we are too busy or too preoccupied, that lesson must be repeated. We also each have our own gifts, a piece of the Infinite within us. That innate Gift is our calling...what we are meant to share with the world.  Since the Infinite is made up of much more than physical. We can only truly understand our Gift...who we are... with a Wisdom that goes beyond physical experience. 

So how do we access Infinite understanding while we are encumbered with physical minds. The answer is we do not use our minds. Scripture says, those that are to know God must worship in "spirit and in truth" The Holy Spirit is Wisdom beyond the finite. She is the one that knows the path for us and can be our guide. She is Sophia. She speaks to us from a place that is beyond our mind's understanding. She is spirit and as such speaks to the spirit in us.

But to hear her, we must quiet the physical. The scripture also says to "Be still and know that I am God." That means we must  tune out the noise of this world. We must slow down enough to "hear" and "see" with the Spirit. Wisdom is there. She is ready and waiting to share. She wants to guide you to the hidden beauty of each day.... past the bend in the road. But you have to be willing to walk with Her.

Closing Hymn

Final Thoughts

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Water washing over the rocks and sand eventually changes the geography of the shoreline.

Spiritual insight flows over humanity in the same manner.

If enough of mankind can be gathered up in the same movement, a great wave of change can be created.

The force of such waves can alter the landscape of civilization.

"We know the battle ahead will be long,
but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way,
nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change."

Barack Obama after losing New Hampshire primary January 2008 

Opening Hymn

As we prepare for the message, let us come to God in this song and open our hearts to allow the Spirit to flow

Closing Prayer

Father and Mother,

Gather us up in Your healing, cleansing stream.

Make us one with You

So that Your will may be done

On earth as it is in heaven

Amen

Closing Hymn

Let us find our place again with God before we leave our worship today. Listen to His name and feel Her spirit flow in you. 

Final Thought

Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, a Socialist or a Libertarian, there were some good ideals that our nation rallied around in the last election. I urge to put aside all partisanship at this time and watch this video with new eyes.

 Recognize that this is the current of change that is flowing through our nation right now. We are in such a mess right now. We NEED the change. 

 Don't see the man. Listen to the thoughts expressed and search your spirit to find what you can do to help further the good ideals. Help us truly be one nation under God. 

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Opening Hymn

 ⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
       wash me, and I will be whiter than snow....

 ¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
       and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 ¹¹ Do not cast me from Your presence
       or take Your Holy Spirit from me.

       and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 51: 6-12

 ⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,
      for they will see God. 

Matthew 5:8

We moved from California to Arizona about two months ago.  Last week I finally unpacked the last box. It felt so good to finally have the house free of clutter. It just brought peace to my soul to be able to move about the house without having to walk around boxes or fear tripping into something. Now that the boxes were not in the way anymore, I felt impelled to go a step further. I cleaned the house from top to bottom...even washed the windows. I don't know how long it will last (especially with 2 dogs and 2 cats sharing our home) but for the moment, I am really enjoying this clean, organized household.

I was thinking while I was in the midst of this cleaning mode, "Wow! There really is some merit to the concepts of Feng Shui." As the clutter decreased, I could feel better energy flowing through the house. The next morning as I was in the midst of my morning communions, I realized that cleaning our bodies has a parallel effect in the spiritual realm as cleaning our house does in the physical realm. The human body is the house of the Holy Spirit. The Divine Spirit within us flows better and stronger when the house (our body) is clean.

The voice of God can resonate more clearly when the vessel is pure. The will of God is more easily followed when we are not encumbered by a lot of trash in our lives. That is why a simple, pure, clean lifestyle has always been a fundamental philosophy of the Essenes. The main reason that the Essenes separated from main stream Judiasm is because they did not agree with the unclean lifestyle. The Essenes recognized from the beginning that healthy bodies are a prerequisite for spiritual awareness. Enoch, the founder of the Essenes, lived such a pure life that his "eyes were opened by God so that he saw a vision of the Holy One in the heavens" (Book of Enoch)

Throughout the Torah, there are examples of the Essene precept of physical purity leading to spiritual awareness. The best example I can think of is the story of Daniel. While in exile in Babylon, Daniel and his friends chose not to eat the rich but unhealthy food of the Babylonian King's table.  Instead, they ate vegetables and  drank water.  As a result, they grew more physically healthy than those who ate the king's food. In this state of physical health, the Spirit moved so strongly through Daniel that he was able to have Divine visions  of the future. He also had spiritual perception that enabled him to interpret the king's dreams. His friends prospered mentally and spiritually as well and became the king's special advisers. Samuel is another example. He was separated to God at birth and was raised up following the Nazarite vow of no alcohol and pure living. He was so spiritually in tune that he could hear the voice of God when he was just a small boy. He later became the high priest of Israel.

Often in the scriptures, people are instructed to fast before some great spiritual feat can occur. There is a good reason for this. Fasting is the ultimate cleanse of the body. Denying the body food allows the body to utilize the energy no longer needed for digestion. The body then can mobilize and remove toxins and heal. Besides healing the body, fasting is a great discipline for the mind. It helps us to remove our attachment to physical needs and concentrate on the spiritual. After the first few days of fasting (which I have to admit are difficult) the body has cleansed from toxins, the appetite fades and the attachment to food diminishes. The mind is then free to put more awareness on the Divine instead of on the appetite. The mind and spirit are free to commune with God.

Many religions incorporate fasting as part of their worship. Even mainstream Judaism commemorates the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, with 24 hours of fasting. Essenes utilized fasting to a greater extreme than most religions, though. In fact, it was a usual practice of an inner core group of Essenes to fast 40 days a year.  Yeshua, as an Essene Master, fasted for forty days and nights in the wilderness before beginning his ministry. He was showing through his example that fasting leads to the ability to forsake bodily desires, attain clarity of body and mind, and achieve the highest state of Spiritual communion with the Father and Mother. Yeshua taught the disciples that the more one experiences the freedom of bodily desires in fasting, the easier it is to maintain that state when not fasting. Yeshua referenced this power of fasting in Mark 9:29 when he stated that certain difficult spiritual road blocks can only be removed "by prayer and fasting". 

According to Maslow's hierarchy  of needs, the physical needs (food, shelter, safety) must be met before a human can aspire to fulfill higher needs (social, mental, self-actualization). Extrapolating from this theory, humans must be physically healthy before their minds can function correctly. Minds have to function correctly before humans can have correct relationships with one another. Correct relations must be in place with one another before one can have a correct spirit. After accomplishing all these feats, one can attain the highest level of human accomplishment, which is oneness with the Divine. Then we can truthfully say, like Yeshua, "I and my Father are one". 

It is not an easy task. How do you stay healthy, clean and physically fit in a world full of pollutants, toxins, chemicals and junk food ? How do you stay mentally sound in a world of noise, stress, traffic and deadlines?  How do you maintain right relationships with others when responsibilities and financial obligations pull you away from those you love? No wonder evil has attained such a foothold in the modern world! Satan has created the perfect set of distractions to prevent God's children from harnessing the power within them.

It would be easy to give up. However, if we, as God's children, do not consciously strive toward spiritual awareness, we contribute to the problem.   Remember the second law of thermodynamics. Things that are left to themselves fall apart. Just try not cleaning your house. What happens?? Pretty soon it becomes such a mess you don't know where to start. But if you continue not to act, the food on the dishes get hard and moldy in the sink. Then bugs and mice start living with you. If you let it go long enough, the whole place falls apart.

The best thing to do is pick up every day. Don't let the process of destruction start. The same is true in the spiritual realm. The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is that good men do nothing. We must strive for spiritual awareness even in a world that screams profanities. Those of us who continue to follow the Way, in spite of the obstacles are the only hope for creation. Scripture says that all creation groans awaiting the transformation that is possible if God's children awaken to the power within them.

So, what are you waiting for? Get started now. Take the trash out of your life. Turn off the TV. When McDonald's calls don't listen. Wash out all the grime in your body with a juice or water fast. Then, put everything in order in your relationships. Finally, clean out the dust in your spiritual life. Go out in God's creation. Walk with the Father and Mother. Don't worry if it seems like not much is happening at first. Just keep consciously striving to make your life cleaner and quieter. Then you will be able to listen for the still small Voice. When at last, the noise is removed from your life and you are able hear the Voice, speak the words you hear. When the mud of inertia is cleaned up and you are able to feel the flow of the Spirit, move with the current. When the windows of your soul are cleaned and you are able to see the light, follow it. The world is waiting for the blessings of God's words and actions relayed through you.

Closing Prayer

The Nazarites made a personal choice to live their lives set apart from the world. They wanted their lives and their bodies to be clean vessels, ready for God to work through them. If that is your desire today, make your commitment to Father Yahweh and invite Mother Shekkinah to come and cleanse as you make this song your prayer. 

Final Thought

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Opening Hymn

                           Let's begin our worship time today with a  traditional Thanksgiving tune. 

Ancient scriptures frequently use the metaphors of harvest and of sowing and reaping. The concepts were readily understood by the people of the time. Most civilizations prior to this century lived according to the cycles of nature. In a predominately agricultural society of 1st century Judea, harvest was the most important time of year. It was the time to store the abundance and prepare for time of scarcity. It was the culmination of all the work of the year.

 In our century we have distanced ourselves somewhat from the cycles and patterns of nature. We live in artificially lit, climate controlled environments. We eat foods harvested half-way around the world in the middle of our winters. It is more difficult for us to relate to the importance of planting in the spring or storing crops for winter. It is unfortunate that our civilization has become so far removed from the natural world.  The delicate cycles of nature were put into place by Father and Mother God, who have a purpose in all that is created. Understanding the patterns of nature provides us a glimpse of the Divine Mind.

Yeshua used the concepts of the seasons frequently in explaining the work of God's Kingdom. To Yeshua's followers, the cyclic nature of life was an easily accepted and understood concept. Spring, Summer, Harvest and Winter were unalterable  and well understood facts. Human life, too, was understood to follow the same cycles. Just as there are four seasons in nature, there are four phases of human life. In infancy, life begins. It is the springtime of human life. The seeds are planted for the future. During childhood one experiences the summer days of  rapid growth.  In adulthood, one experiences the autumn of life where each man reaps the benefits of  his maturity. Lastly comes the senior years, the winter of life, where one can share one's accumulated abundance of knowledge and experience. In this phase, one can comfortably complete the cycle of life IF one has prepared appropriately.

All of God's creation follows the same patterns. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:1"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" There is a time to be born (Spring) and a time to die (Winter). Creation itself follows the same seasons. Our Father and Mother God, Creator and Nurturer of our world, have always been and always will be. All that has been created was nurtured and grew and died. This world is no exception. The Hopi tribe in which we live has stories of the previous creations of this world. They say there have been four manifestations of this world. The first creation was destroyed by the breaking up of all one land into many lands. A reference to the breaking up of land of the world is briefly referenced in the Bible as well. The Hopi legends say the second world ended in ice and the the third world ended in a giant flood.

After each world, there have always been some who survive to start a new world. We are currently living in  the fourth world according to the Hopis. They believe this creation, too, is preparing to end. Yeshua used the season of harvest as a metaphor for the age in which we live. Spring and summer are over. Now it is the season to prepare for winter. He frequently and emphatically stated that we live in the time of harvest.  He stated that the age of the sower was complete. Now is time of the reaper. It is time to complete the work of this age... to gather up, to store, to reap the abundance.

The implication is that there is much to do and the time is short. In our finite minds, it would seem to us that Yeshua was mistaken. If the time of harvest started with Yeshua, it has lasted almost 2000 years already. That seems like a very long time from a human perspective.

However, the human perspective is very different from the viewpoint of an eternal Divine Intelligence that has always been and always will be. This creation is one of many creations over many millenniums and many universes. From that perspective, 2000 years is next to nothing. Yeshua states that the next manifestation of this creation is a very important one. It will be what He called the Kingdom of God. In light of that, perhaps 2000 years of Harvest are necessary to prepare humankind and creation for this next manifestation - the new heaven and new earth.

Yeshua, Son of Man, was sent as a catalyst for the beginning of the Harvest age. He was our messenger and our guide to show us the Way. He told us to prepare, to help enlighten and guide. He warned us not to be complacent. In spite of what we see, harvest is here. Yes, it has been almost 2000 years since Yeshua first disseminated this message. His public ministry began at age 30 so, to be exact, he began spreading this message 1982 years ago. But the message is still valid.

In fact it is more valid today. Yeshua also provided us clues of when the next season, Winter, would begin. There will be wars and rumors of wars. There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. There will be earthquakes in diverse places. There is the sign of the fig tree (which many scholars believe to be the creation of Israel as a nation again in 1948). All of these are signs that this creation is breathing its last breath. Winter is here.

The Hopi's believe that winter began with the use of nuclear weapons in world war 2 and the creation of the UN. They interpret these two events as manifestations of the "great gourd of ashes" and the "house of mica in the east" that were foretold in their prophecies. I personally believe that the worldwide financial crisis that we just experienced was a tool that our Mother and Father God used to prepare us for winter. It was a way to wake up mankind from a materialistic mindset. It has helped us as a culture to understand the temporal nature of things. It is also pretty symbolic of winter in that all the abundance that we thought we had, suddenly died on the vine in one day of frost.

So how long will winter last? Do we have 2 years or another 2000 years before the death of this world? I personally believe it is going to be pretty swift. I also believe that the right to free choice which God has given man will have some determination on how long and severe this winter will be. This world is predestined to end. All things eventually die. But humankind can help determine the quality of life left in this world by acting correctly. Humankind can also make the winter much more painful by acting incorrectly.

Even if there is going to be another 20,000 years of this winter season before the Kingdom of God on earth, it should not really effect how we act.  Our purpose is still the same and our time available is still limited. The lifespan of man in this age is 70 to 80 years (if we are lucky). That is not much time to complete our life's mission. Each of us has been placed in this creation as part of the Eternal Plan.  We are not here by accident. There is a purpose and a plan to our life.  Before we were born, a special calling was engraved into our DNA by the hand of God.

Mother and Father God do nothing by accident. We each are a thread in the tapestry of God's great plan. Our lives have been intricately woven together into the fabric of this creation for a reason. Our task is to listen to the innate Divine calling within us. Find our purpose and do it. Even if it makes no sense, do it .  I write this blog for a reason. I don't know why. I just do it. You are reading it for a reason. Listen. Do what God calls.

Trust Mother and Father. Don't worry about the winter winds. Prepare as you can. God will see you through. 

Closing Hymn

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Opening Hymn

So the stock market and the banks are supposedly stable now. In spite of that, the unemployment rate went up to 9.8%. If they counted all the people who are under- employed and stopped looking for work, the rate would be about 17%. The real estate market still had not found its footing. Now the experts say there will be a new wave of defaults of commercial real estate as businesses go bankrupt. 

To say that these are uncertain times is an understatement. There are wars (Afghanistan and Iraq) and rumors of wars (Israel and Iran). Even Mother Nature is no longer reliable. The weather patterns have changed causing fires in the West and floods in the East. There are storms and earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Pacific. There is an ice shelf about to break off of Antartica. We cannot even count on something as predictable as our Sun. It has been letting us down. The current predicted solar cycle that was supposed to have started about a year ago still hasn't really manifested.

How do we as individuals (and as a society) handle such massive change. What is the correct reaction when everything you have relied upon is taken away? Here is the answer. Wait. Yes. I said wait.  Remember that the upheaval cannot last.  It will have to settle. Some people try to grab on to anything and hold on as tight as they can. But that kind of panic reaction is a waste of energy. God says to let go. Have you ever seen someone drowning? They panic, struggle, gasp for air, bob around looking for something to hold onto until they wear out. When I was in swimming lessons one of the first thing I was taught was a survival float. I stretched out over the water and barely moved to expend the least energy I could. That strategy maximized the time I could survive before being rescued.

We are children of God. We are not meant to flounder in the water. We are meant to float on the stream of the Holy Spirit. We just follow that flow and it will guide us to landfall.  The Prophet Isaiah had a different metaphor. He said "They that wait  upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will rise up on wings like eagles." Ever see an eagle fly? There is minimum expenditure of energy. The bird just flows with the currents of air.

Today is the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth) which will continue until next Friday, the 9th of October.  This feast commemorates the time that the Israelites left captivity in Egypt and wandered in the wilderness waiting for God to lead them to the promised land. The Israelites left most everything behind when they began this journey. They had to live on the land and rely on God for just about everything for forty years. To celebrate this festival we are told to build temporary shelters and  eat in them as if they were our homes.

What we are going through in this world today, is a transition from one age to another. It is much like the Israelites wandering in the desert. Just like Israel, some people are mourning what they left behind instead of looking forward. Many are scared, not sure of what is going to happen. But instead of running scared, stand still. Wait. If you allow yourself to be in tune to the Spirit, a light will guide you. You will find your way. It is part of the plan.

Final Thought

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"He who is of the opinion that money can do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money" - Benjamin Franklin

"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." - Ecclesiastes 5:10

In this era of financial crisis, many are taking a new look at their relationship with material wealth and discovering a healthier perspective between needs and wants.

Scripture Reading 

Message

 Yesterday the United States commemorated the anniversary of September 11th 2001. Most of us who were adults on 9/11/2001 can remember exactly what we were doing on that day eight years ago. Those moments and our reaction to them are preserved intact in our memories. If we bring those memories out again from the recesses of our minds, they are just as fresh as they were on that day. I can remember my own initial horror and then worrying for my children. I was concerned about how the graphic television coverage would effect them. I can recall precisely every detail of the look on my son's face as he turned from the TV and said, " Mom, the world is never going to be the same again, is it?" As I think of that moment, I feel the same hallow feeling in my stomach that I had that day, trying to think of some way to reassure him.

On that day, we were reminded of the one of the innate core values of humanity...the sacredness of life. All major religions recognize living beings as a manifestation or creation of the Divine Presence. Therefore, life...our sense of being...our presence in this universe...is a gift from above. That is why Sept 11 was so shocking. That is why those moments are etched so deeply into our psyche. We watched helplessly in horror as thousands of human lives were ended needlessly.

Sept 11, 2001 was not the first example in history where many lives were sacrificed without cause. Some, such as the holocaust of World War ll, were tragedies of much greater proportions. There have also been many other instances of misguided disregard for life in the name of God. The Spanish inquisition, the crusades and the "witch hunts" of Salem are just a few examples that come to my mind. The destruction of the World Trade Center was only unique because this was the first time such an event was televised live.

Edmund Burke, a famous British philosopher, stated that "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it". Our Mother and Father created this world as a cosmic school for souls. The task of each individual and humanity as a whole is to learn and grow from mistakes. So what  are the lessons of 9/11 and all the other past mass slaughters? Well, the primary lesson is to have proper values and motives. James 4 states that fights and quarrels among men are the results of wrong desires and motives. Wars and mass murder occur when misguided individuals place a greater value on their ideology or power, or money than on human lives. As we read in the scriptures above, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So how do we cultivate the correct values in our society? Yeshua stated that the first and most important law was to love the Lord with all of our heart and mind and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. So, according to Yeshua, our highest priority is to love God/Goddess and each other. This is where we should place our highest value. In all we do, in all we say, value God and others as much as we value ourselves.

One of the results of tragedy is it causes us to reassess our values. When a house is on fire the first instinct is to get what you treasure and run. We hold close to us what is truly important. Here is a question for you. On September 11th, 2001 did you think about your bank account or your new car or your wardrobe? Probably not. My first thought was for my children. Then, when I heard about the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, I immediately thought of my brother who worked in the Pentagon at that time. Then, like many Americans, I thought, " What can I do to help?" People are what became important...not money, not things.

September 11th provides an interesting contrast to our most recent national crisis. This past year we have experienced a different type of loss. This crisis was all about money and physical possessions. Many people lost houses or jobs. In the midst of all the loss, many of us learned a valuable lesson. The things we acquired were really not that important.

There is an old saying...money can't buy happiness. That is only partially true. Money CAN buy a certain basic form of happiness. It is hard to be happy when starving or cold. But after the certain basic survival needs are met, more money does not make a person more happy. In fact, sometimes after that point there is an inverse relationship. More money equals more possessions which then creates more obligation and more stress in order to maintain the things.

During the past year, I was living in California which was the epicenter of the mortgage crisis. Before I left California, the unemployment rate had risen to about 11 percent. I had the privilege of providing medical care to many recently unemployed individuals. Many of my patients lost their houses to foreclosure. Some were scrambling to sell cars and other possessions to make ends meet. Just about everyone of my patients were at a point in their lives where they were reevaluating what was important and what was expendable in their lives. It was often painful to watch the stages of grieving and loss. But often it was inspiring as well. As my patients lost things and realized the things weren't that important, they grew and became stronger.  Some felt freed after the huge mortgage payment was gone. Some learned how much they valued their families or spouses. All who were able to let go were transformed.

The economists say that the American public is not spending like we were before this crisis. Some are worried that we will never spend like we did before. I hope we don't. I hope we have learned the lesson. I hope we have learned that things...possessions... are not the basis of our wealth and security. I hope that we have learned that we should be placing less value on money and the pursuit of money and more value on caring for each other. "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and all these things....all the things you need...all the things necessary for happiness and life and fulfillment... will be added unto you.

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The Hopi Reservation is an island in the desert - a world of its own surrounded by the Navajo nation.  

The harsh desert mesas and the deep sense of isolation make one realize how dependent man is on the blessing of  Father Yahweh and Holy Spirit Mother.

So though the picture above looks a bit ominous, it is really quite a beautiful sight here on Hopi.

When rain clouds appear and the drops start to fall, everyone shares a deep heart felt joy.

It is good to be reminded in this way of what is real and essential in life.  

A Note From Vivian

Aloha to All My Essene Brothers and Sisters and to All Friends and Family,

I just wanted to take  moment to say how nice it is to be back on the internet sharing my spiritual journey with you. I also want to collectively thank everyone who wrote out of concern when Ho’omana Ministries went silent a couple of weeks ago. I am so sorry for causing unnecessary worry. During the time we were not on the "net", we finalized our move to far northeast Arizona. We are now settled on the Hopi Indian reservation.   We really never intended for there to an interruption in the Sabbath messages during this time. However, it took us a little longer than expected to get internet service back. We had to wait to get service set up in the house and there is no Starbucks hotspot  for miles!! Until very recently, the only internet we have had available was via spotty cell phone reception on my Blackberry Bold. I am sure there is a way to maintain a blog via Blackberry but I am not proficient in the technique yet! So I took an unexpected vacation from the ministry.

Father God / Mother Goddess knew what was best for me, however.  I think it probably would have been difficult to maintain my sanity, keep up the Sabbath messages  AND orchestrating this move. It is a shame that moving locations had to be such a burden. But this was not an ordinary move either. There was so much to consider. At one time, it was pretty simple to travel as an Essene. Back in the first century, Essenes took only a staff, one pair of shoes, and a robe for their journeys. Every where they went, they would find another Essene community that would supply their needs as they passed through the area. It sure would be nice if that system was still in place today. But since we know no other Essene brethren in the area, and since this particular move was to one of the most remote areas in the US, we tried to be think carefully and bring everything we would possibly need with us.

Now, the transition process is almost complete. We still have a few boxes to unpack. Overall, though, we are settled in our adobe desert home. We even have the luxury of high-speed internet service via satellite. Now that we have some time to reflect, we are considering just exactly what this journey meant to us and our ministry. Why did Father and Mother bring us here and what is the next step?

I can not say that I have the answers to those questions yet. I think I am just beginning to get an inkling...a small insight...to the purpose of living remote. I believe that one reason we were called here, is the same reason many Essenes of Yeshua's day went to the wilderness. The Essenes of Qumran and the Therapuetae of Egypt sought out the desert to get away from the contaminating influences of civilization. They wanted to live a more pure life. 

I have to admit that there is a simplicity....a purity....to this desert world. It brings you back to what real existence is all about. Subsisting here is not easy even in this modern age.  It requires a certain amount of self-reliance. We have had the electricity go out on us 4 times in our 2 weeks here. So now we are considering buying a generator. But we still need to figure out how to maintain enough fuel for the generator. I believe the ultimate answer will be solar panels. Then we will just need to rely on Father/Mother to maintain the abundant sunshine. Water is another matter. The water here is so alkaline that much of it is not drinkable. Many with money bring in bottled water. We invested in a water distiller which is more economical in the long run. But first you need to have water! 

The Hopis have had a very dry year. Many Hopi are subsistence farmers. The Hopi are the best dry farmers in the world. Still there are plots of corn all around that are dry and withered with no tassles...no ears. We had rain this week. That is when I took the picture above. Everyone was in bittersweet rejoicing. It was too late for the corn but the rain was still so welcome on the barren land. It will help refill the aquifers that supply the reservation.

The summer monsoon thunderstorms are majestic and beautiful. I find that my living room window or the view from the porch is great entertainment....better than any TV show. It is so amazing to me that the same rocks can look different every day depending on how the sun is shining. And each small wonder of nature that I observe, brings be back to the wonder and greatness of my Father and Mother.  I understand why the Essene believe working in their gardens is a form of worship. That is the lesson of living in the wilderness. Cities are monuments to man. The wilderness..creation in general....is a testament to God/Goddess.

That is what I have learned so far...and  as I learn of my Father and Mother I also learn more of myself...who I am. This centering of myself is probably another reason why we are hear. To know where you are going , you must first find out where you are. 

So that is a summary of my thoughts so far and I really have nothing else to share today. For the rest of the Sabbath worship time, I thought I would bring  you a few of my favorite worship moments from youtube. Enjoy!

Opening Prayer

Our Father and Mother

who are in heaven, 

and around us,

and within us

 Holy is Your Name.

Your Kingdom is upon us,

as is Your will.

Your are here on earth,

and in the heavens.

We are never in need

because You provide.

By forgiving our mistakes, 

You have taught us

to forgive others.

You lead your children

in the path of light,

and guide us away 

from the darkness

because Your kingdom

and power, and glory

are within us.

Amen

Worship Hymns

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The "Sermon on the Mount" is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the teaching of Yeshua and the heart of the Christian message. Scholars now accept that the lessons taught by Yeshua on that day originated in the Essene scriptures. The Sermon on the Mount was taken directly from the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Most of what we now call Christianity originated in the teachings of the Essenes. 

That is because the members of the early Church...the followers of the Way taught by Yeshua...were actually Essenes.

This lesson explains the shared Essene heritage of all Christianity.

This is the fourth installment of a series of seven introductory lessons in Essene studies.

Scripture Reading

 ¹¹"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:1-11

 [Blessed is he]...with a pure heart and does not slander with his tongue,

Blessed are those who hold to her [Wisdom's] precepts and do not hold to the ways of iniquity

Blessed are those who rejoice in her and do not burst forth in the ways of folly

Blessed are those who seek her with pure hands and do not pursue her with a treacherous heart.

Blessed is the man who attains Wisdom and walks in the Law of the Most High

He directs his heart towards her ways and restrains himself in her Corrections and always takes delight in her chastisements.

He does not forsake her when he sees distress Nor abandon her in the time of strain

He will not forget her [on the day of] fear, and will not despise her  when his soul is afflicted

For always he will meditate on her and in his distress he will consider [her].

Dead Sea Scroll 4 Qbeat

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.  ³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John 1: 1-3

And by his knowledge everything has been brought into being. And everything that is, he established for his purpose; and apart from him nothing is done

Community Rule of the Essenes 

Lesson 

The purpose of this lesson is to show how Father and Mother God laid the groundwork for Yeshua through the teachings and practices of the Essenes. We are fortunate to have an accurate understanding of ancient Essene beliefs from their own writings. The Essenes did a tremendous amount of writing. They wrote about their theology, their religious practices and their expectation of a coming Messiah and a new age. Essene scribes put many of the Hebrew scriptures into writing. Some of our earliest copies of these scriptures are from the Essene libraries. These scribes also developed their own commentaries to the scriptures. This gives us insight to Essene philosophy of that time. 

We are fortunate to have so many of the Essene writings because of the preserving powers of the dry desert climate.  Near the time of the Roman invasion of Judah, the Essenes felt the need to protect their writings from the invading armies. The Essenes hid their scrolls in clay pots in caves in the desert near Qumran. Qumran is in southern Israel near the Dead Sea. That is how these writings came to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The first scrolls were discovered in 1947 by an Arab goat herd. He was following one of his animals and stumbled into a cave where a treasure-trove of ancient documents was found. By a strange succession of fortunate incidents, these were quickly published, and made available to the world.

This set off one of the most intensive archeological hunts in history. Scholars and scientists hastened to the Judaean desert in search of additional Scrolls and were successful. Hundreds of Essene scriptures were recovered, all of which had been secreted in sealed jars about 69 A.D. Material was found in at least five caves. In Cave 4 alone there were enough original Essene scriptures found  to fill two volumes the size of the King James version of the Bible.

There was a great delay in the compilation and translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Many of the writings were not released to the public. Some believe this was a conspiracy by organized religion to prevent the comparison between the Essenes and Christianity. Now that more of the translations have been released however, there are some striking similarities.

In the scriptures above we see the similarity between the Beatitudes of Matthew and writings of the Essenes. Some of the contents of the Beatitudes can also be found in other Essene writings such as the Credo of the Essenes. An even more striking comparison is the excerpt above from John and the Community Rule of the Essenes. The Texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls were written much earlier than any of the Gospels of the New Testament. So it is obvious that the Essene writings were the source for later scriptures. Many of the New testament authors referenced the Dead Sea Scrolls in their writings. Sometimes they quoted the Dead Sea Scrolls word for word. More often, however, they would mirror the philosophy of the Essene writings.

These ancient Essene documents were the origin of many of Christ Yeshua's teachings. Only an Essene initiate would have had access or knowledge to the Essene scriptures. The scrolls were strictly limited to members of the Holy Order. That is why the Essenes took such great care to hide the scrolls from the Romans. The Essene teachings were shared only with the brethren and those who were initiated into the family were sworn to secrecy. This understanding is probably one of the strongest arguments that Yeshua was an Essene. If he quoted Essene scriptures, he had to be an Essene himself.

Here are some of the themes in the Essene writings that mirror the writings found in our Bible. They wrote of justification by faith and wrote about sons of light fighting an evil world. The theme of light and darkness, reoccurred throughout Essene writings. They saw themselves as children of light, refusing to compromise in an evil world.  They thought of themselves as preparing the "way of the Lord" by obeying divine truths.  Their writings had similar concepts as the New Testament books such as, righteousness, piety, the poor, the meek and other similar vocabulary.

The structure of Essene worship is also remarkably similar to Christian worship. The Essenes held assemblies and congregations. These words translate as "church". Yeshua says in Matthew 18:17 to "tell it to the church" before there was a Christian church. We infer from this that He was discussing the Essene church and that He was an Essene. The Essenes initiated their converts into the church by baptism in the same way that Yeshua was baptized in the Jordan by John. The Essenes also had bishops, deacons, elders, priests, disciples, scriptures, gospels, epistles, hymns and the list goes on. Please see the more detailed documentation of all the similarities at the end of this lesson. All this occurred many years prior to Christianity. In summary, the Essenes and Christians had too many features in common for it to be chance. 

Early Christian writers also left no doubt that Essenism and Christianity were the same religion.  Eusebius, a renown church writer of the fourth century, stated in his "History of the Church", 

"Those ancient Therapeuts (Essenes) were Christians and their ancient writings were our gospels"

Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, discusses the Essenes who he states were scattered far and wide and were in every city, being numerous in Judea in his time. He makes no mention, however, of any sect or religious order by the title of Christian. This group was not called by that name yet. Or if some of this group was starting to be called Christians, Josephus was not aware of it yet.

Philo of Alexandria describes a religion remarkably similar to Christianity and calls them Therapeutae (a form of Essenes) He compares them to other religions but never mentions the Christians. Why? because the Essenes were the group that would later be known as Christians.

Tacitus, in 104 AD is the first of the three hundred known writers of that era to make any mention of Christianity, Christ or the term "Christian". This was a decade after Josephus' last book. Until then, the name, Christianity, had not yet been widely recognized as something different from the Jewish Essene. What happened? Well, after the Roman invasion around 70 AD, many followers of Yeshua escaped into other lands and the gentile people from other countries began to  be converted. 

These non-Jew converts began to incorporate their own practices into their new religion. They added their own Holy days to the Jewish Holy days. They were not circumcised. Some ate meat. Some called Yeshua by his Greek name. The religion of these Gentile converts began to look different from the original Essene followers of the Messiah.  They were  called Christians from "Christ" the Greek word for Messiah.

Throughout history, Christianity continued to change its doctrine to fit the circumstances of the times.  Local customs continued to be added to the religious dogma. When the Emperor Constantine was converted, he decreed that Christianity would be the official religion of the Roman Empire.  He was not very picky, however, in how exactly the religion was practiced. He wanted to keep all his subjects happy. So a lot of compromising was going on. The hundreds of saints of the Catholic church are part of this compromise. As new lands were converted, the myths and legends were incorporated into the church. The heros and Gods of those lands became saints to appease the local populace. As the church and society became predominately patriarchal, it became unacceptable to have a female aspect of Almighty God. So our lovely Holy Spirit Mother was demoted to an almost divine Mary, mother of Jesus.

There were still Essenes that stubbornly held onto the original teachings. But as Christianity became the "official" way, the original Essenes became less popular and even persecuted. The scriptures says there will always be a faithful remnant. As the Essenes were persecuted, this remnant became smaller and smaller. By the 20th century, the true followers of the Way were almost extinct. But Father Yahweh needed a new generation to prepare the world for a new age. So Mother Shekkinah, our sweet Holy Spirit, guided a goat herd to a cave in the desert. And the old ways were remembered again.

"Thus saith the Lord; Stand ye at the crossroads and look, and ask for the ancient ways, where the path is good, and walk therein, there ye shall find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16 

Essene and Christian Parallels and Commonalities

Many thanks to my Essene brother at  The Nazarene Way for his assistance in compiling this list

1. The Essenes believed and taught it was their first duty to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Philo).

Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all else shall be added (Mt 6:33; Luke 12:31).

2. They abjured all amusements, all elegance, and all pleasures of the senses (Philo).

Forsake the world and the things thereof.

3. They lay up nothing on earth, but fix their minds solely on heaven (the kingdom of God).

Lay not up treasures on earth. (Mt 6:19)

4. They, having laid aside all the anxieties of life and leaving society, make their residence in solitary wilds and in gardens (Philo).

They wander in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth (Heb 11:38).

5. They neither buy nor sell among themselves, but give of what they have to him that wanteth (Josephus).

And parted them (their goods) to all men as every man had need (Acts 2:45).

6. They utilized baptism, not animal sacrifice, as a mode of repentance for the remission of sins.

And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; (Luke 3:3)

7. They forsook father, mother, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, for their religion (Eusebius quoting Philo).

Whosoever forsaketh not father and mother, houses and lands, cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:26, 33)

8. They being sometimes called monks was owing to their abstraction from the world (Eusebius).

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world (John 17:16).

9. They were called Ascetics because of their rigid discipline, their prayers, fasting, self-mortification, as they made themselves eunuchs (remained chaste).

There be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. (Mt 19:12)

10.They maintained a perfect community of goods, and an equality of external rank.

Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant (Mt 20:27).

11. They had all things in common and appointed one of their number to manage the common bag.

And had all things in common (Acts 2:44; Acts 4:32).

12.They detested all ornamental dress and considered it vanity of heart.

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, and putting on of apparel (1 Peter 3:3).

13. They would call no man master.

Be not called Rabbi, for one is your Master (Mt 23:8).

14. They said the Creator made all mankind equal.

God hath made of one blood all them that dwell upon the earth.

15. They renounced oaths, saying, He who cannot be believed with out swearing is condemned already.

But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. (James 5:12)

16. They would not eat anything which had blood in it, or meat which had been offered to idols. Their food was hyssop, and bread, and salt; and water their only drink.

That ye abstain from meat offered to idols, and from blood (Acts 15:29).

17. They took nothing with them, neither meat or drink, nor anything necessary for the wants of the body.

Take nothing for your journey; neither staves nor scrip; neither bread, neither money, neither have two coats apiece.

18. They expounded the literal sense of the Holy Scriptures by allegory. ( Symbolism)

Which things are an allegory. (Gal 4:24.)

19. They abjured the pleasures of the body, not desiring mortal offspring, and they renounced marriage, believing it to be detrimental to a holy life.

They that shall be counted worthy of that world and the resurrection neither marry nor are given in marriage. (Mt 22:30, Luke 20:35) The unmarried careth for the things of the Lord (1 Cor 7:32).

20. They strove to disengage their minds entirely from the world.

If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15)

21. They provide not for future subsistence, devoting themselves to the Lord.

Take no thought for the morrow, what ye shall eat and drink. (Matt 6:34)

22. They were ashamed to give the body sustenance, Regarding it as a prison.

Who shall change our vile bodies? (Phil 3:21).

23. They spent nearly all their time in silent meditation and inward prayer.

Men ought always to pray. (Luke 18:1). Pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17).

24. They vowed perpetual chastity and poverty, believing the poor were the Lord's favorites.

Blessed be ye poor (Luke 6:20). Hath not God chosen the poor? (James 2:5).

25. They devoted themselves entirely to contemplation in divine things.

Mediate upon these (divine) things; give thyself wholly to them (1 Tim 4:15).

26. They fasted often, sometimes tasting food but once in three or even six days.

Christ's disciples fasted often. Fasting is mentioned over fifty times  (2 Cor 11:27; 5:34).

27. They offered no sacrifices, believing that a serious and devout soul was most acceptable.

There is no more offering for sin (Heb 10:18).

28. They believed in and practiced baptizing the (spiritually) dead.

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead (1 Cor 15:29).

29. They gave a mystical sense to the Scriptures, disregarding the letter.

The letter killeth, but the spirit maketh alive (1 Cor 3:6).

30. They had many mysteries in their religion which they were sworn to keep secret.

To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom; to them it is not given (Mt 13:11). Great is the mystery of godliness. (1 Tim 3:16)

31. They taught by metaphors, symbols, and parables as not to reveal their inner teachings.

Without a parable spake he not unto them. (Mt 13:34)

32. They had in their churches, bishops, elders, deacons, and priests.

Ordain elders in every church (Acts 14:23). Deacons (1 Tim 3:1).

33. They would often sing psalms when assembled together.

Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms (Col 3:16).

34. They healed and cured the minds and bodies of those who joined them.

Healing all manner of sickness (Mt 4:23).

35. They practiced certain ceremonial purification by water.

The accomplishment of the days of purification (Acts 21:26).

36. They were clothed in white garments.

Shall be clothed in white garments (Rev 3:4).

37. They disbelieved in the resurrection of the external body.It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body (1 Cor 15:44).

38. They were the only sort of men who lived without money and without women (Pliny).

The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10). Christ's disciples traveled without money or scrip and eschew the lusts of the flesh.

39. They practiced the extremist charity to the poor.

Bestow all thy goods to feed the poor (1 Cor 13:3).

40. They were skillful in interpreting dreams, and in foretelling future events.

Your sons and daughters shall prophesy and your old men shall dream dreams. (Acts 2:17).

41. They believed in a paradise, and in a place of never- ending lamentations.

Life everlasting (Gal 8:8). Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth (Mt 13:42).

42. They affirmed, says Josephus, that God foreordained all the events of human life.

Foreordained before the foundation of the world (1 Peter).

43. They believed in Mediators between God and the souls of men.

One Mediator between God and men (1 Tim 2:5).

44. They practiced the pantomimic representation of the death, burial, and resurrection of God —Christ the Spirit.

With respect to the death, burial, resurrection of Christ, see 1 Cor 15:4.

45. They inculcated the forgiveness of injuries.

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).

46. They disapproved of war between brothers.

If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight (John 18:36).

47. They inculcated obedience to magistrates, and to the civil authorities.

Obey them which have the rule over you (Heb 13:17; 26:65).

48. They retired within themselves to receive interior revelations of divine truth.

Every one of you hath a revelation (1 Cor 14:26).

49. They were scrupulous in speaking the truth.

Speaking all things in truth (2 Cor 7:14).

50. They perform many wonderful miracles.

Many texts teach us that Christ and his apostles did the same.

51. They put all members on the same level, forbidding the exercise of authority of one over another.

Christ did the same (Mt 20:25; Mk 9:35).

52. They laid the greatest stress on being meek and lowly in spirit.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (Mt 5:5; 9:28)

53. They commended the poor in spirit, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and the merciful, and the pure in heart.

For proof that Christ did the same, see Matthew 5

54. They commended the peacemakers.

Blessed are the peacemakers. (Matt 5:9)

55. They performed cures, as signs and proof of their faith.

Christ's disciples were to cast out devils, heal the sick, and raise the dead as signs and proof of their faith (Mk 16:17).

56. They sacrificed the lusts of the flesh to gain spiritual happiness.

You abstain from fleshly lusts (1 Peter 2:11).

57. They broke bread as a ritual.

He (Jesus) took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it (Luke 22:19).

58. They were wont to sell their possessions and their substance, and divide among all according as any one had need so that there was not one among them in want, even as it is related in the Acts of the Apostles (Eusebius).

For whoever, of Christ's disciples, were owners of estates or houses, sold them, and brought the price thereof, and laid them at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made as every one had need. So Philo relates things exactly similar of the Essenes.

Neither was their any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the price of the things that were sold (Acts 4:34).

59. They enjoined, Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The Confucian golden rule, as taught by Christ.

60. They considered (all) men and women to be equal.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28)

61. They enjoined the loving of enemies (Philo).

Love your enemies. (Matt 5:44, Luke 6:27)

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In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we are taught that the work of God can be accomplished by unexpected sources. All that is required is a willing spirit and a tender heart.

Opening Hymn

 The story of the Good Samaritan is a parable of contrasts. Yeshua was making a point. An "expert in the Law" had come to Yeshua and asked a question in order to test Yeshua's knowledge. "Experts of the law" during Yeshua's time were usually of the Pharisee sect of Judiasm. They studied scripture and meticulously tried to observe what they read. Because of their rigorous study of scripture, the Pharisees felt sort of smug. They felt their knowledge gave them a superior position in society. Yeshua wanted to let this particular Pharisee know that  God has a different set of priorities.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, three people passed by the wounded man. Only one came to his rescue. It was not the Pharisee. As we said, the Pharisee has a great knowledge of God's word. But all that study did not teach the Pharisee how to love. He knew how to follow the law but he did not have a heart to help. The Levite passed on by as well. Levites were the Priestly caste of Yeshua's day. The Levite was born into religious hierarchy.  However, his birthright did not give him love and compassion. It was the third man, the Samaritan, who stopped and helped. Samaritans were despised by the Jews of Yeshua's time. Samaritans followed a parallel but different religion from the Jews. Naturally each side, both the Samaritans and the Jews, felt their religion was the "real " true form of worship. The rivalry between the religion of the Jews and the Samaritans fostered a strong distaste for each other.

Yeshua used the example of the Samaritan to explain what is important in God's eyes. "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7) God is love. So God looks for a heart that is filled with Love. When a heart is filled with love, it  will respond with correct actions. The Samaritan had not devoted himself to the study of the Scripture and he was not born into the best family. Those outward traits are not important to God and they certainly were not important to the hurt and dying man in the story. Only correct actions that come from a correct heart can make a difference. That is what helped the wounded man in the story. The Samaritans actions spoke for themselves. The Samaritan's heart was filled with love and compassion. That love naturally manifested itself in actions of healing, helping and giving.

The parable of the Good Samaritan was Yeshua's way of saying that God's ambassadors in this world are sometimes found in unlikely places.  Yeshua was reminding us that the spark of God resides within each of us.  Nationality, ethnicity, religious upbringing do not matter. The Spirit calls to each of Her children. All we have to do is listen. The wind of the Spirit will fan the divine spark within and let the flame grow. When the flame grows, the light shines and God is there.  You can not deny the light of God. It is easily recognizable. It is truth, love, compassion and goodness. When you see someone displaying these traits, that person is your neighbor. Love him.

Never mind what church he goes to, he is your neighbor. Never mind what he looks like, never mind the color of the skin...never mind all the outward stuff. It is the heart that matters. The light will shine out of that heart in actions and words. Look for the light. Then love the children of light wherever you find them. They are your neighbors. Love and support them as yourselves.

I first learned this lesson many years ago as a young ICU nurse. I was caring for a dying patient. He was an alcoholic and a person of another faith than the one I professed. The dying man asked for a chaplain. I hate to say this, but I felt a little cynical at that time. I thought to myself this guy finally wants to get "right with God" at the last minute. I called the chaplain on call. He was a priest and he came in to administer the anointing of oil for the dying. He seemed half asleep and like he was going through the motions. I thought to myself, "Boy, this is really a joke!" Then suddenly, I felt the presence of God in that ICU room. I was surprised. I looked at the priest. He was the same. Then I looked at the dying man and saw a gentle spirit of love emanating from this bloated, jaundiced alcoholic. He touched my hand and told me, "God loves you...remember what you feel". I knew God was speaking through this man. The lifestyle he had lived, the faith that he practiced didn't matter. He was using his last few moments on this earth to be a messenger of light. 

I learned that night to let go of some of my preconceptions and recognize that God can speak through anyone who is willing. Any human being is capable of divinely inspired acts or words. It really is just a matter of our choice. God gave us free will. We have control over that free will all of our lives. The Spirit is always there gently beckoning to our better selves. It is really our just our choice to listen or block Her out. That is what Yeshua meant when he said, "Those who have ears to hear, let him hear."  All of us have capacity to both great good or great evil.

God can send love through a murderer or a priest can commit heinous acts. We are reminded of this concept throughout scripture. A man like David who wrote beautiful songs to God, was also a murderer and adulterer. Saul, Abraham, Moses, and Samson were all flawed people who were used for Divine purpose. Shoot, God even spoke through a donkey at one point in scripture (look up the story of Balaam).

Discussion of the Message

Final Thought

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There is no such thing as chance; and what seem to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.

Friedrich Schiller (1759 - 1805)

Chance is perhaps the pseudonym of God when He does not wish to sign His work

Anatole France

The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it Intuition or what you will, the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why.
 

Albert Einstein

Preparation Hymn

Discussion of the Message

Closing Meditation

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This is the third installment of a series of seven introductory lessons in Essene studies.

Scripture Reading

Lesson 

My dear friends and fellow Essenes, it has been a bit of a strain continuing to create our Sabbath worship material while in the middle of moving to another state. That is state of Arizona, not state of mind! Well, maybe both. Anyway, it has been difficult to allow the normal amount of preparation time. Usually, I spend time all week long meditating on the subject for the next week service. Then it take approximately 8 hours of actual work on the computer to prepare a regular Sabbath service. It takes about 2 or 3 hours less to create a lesson because I do not spend time searching Youtube for appropriate worship videos.

This week I took a little short cut. I derived much of the material for this lesson from my Essene brother at the website, www.thenazareanway.com.  It is only appropriate as he truly is the expert on the Nazarean Essenes. I encourage you to visit his website sometime. He has an exhaustive amount of Essene research and study material available. He also has links to most of the Holy Scriptures that were not included in our modern Bible.

Today's lesson is quite important. It explores what was meant when the Bible referred to Yeshua as the Nazarean. In John 19:19-20 we read that Pilate, Govenor of Judea, had a sign created to be placed on the cross at Yeshua the Anointed’s execution. There are variations of the wording in different accounts of the incident. Of the four gospels about the event, the phrase in John 19:19-20 is the most informative. It gives the name Yeshua, states that he is of Nazereth, gives him the almost sarcastic title, "King of the Jews" and  tells us that this is written in three languages.

Most bible translations of John 19:19 have: “of Nazareth.” There are variations in the translated spelling and pronunciation of this word (i.e., Natsareth, Nazorean, Notzori, Notsree, etc.). The Interlinear Bible - Hebrew and Greek, by J. Green Sr., Hendirckson Publishers, has the literal Greek: ‘ho nazoraios’ translated into English as ‘the Nazarean’

Little is taught about the place where Yeshua the Anointed was from. The locations where his  ministry took place is recorded in the New Testament. But a reader seldom associates the adjacency of the locations within the two geographic regions of Yeshua’s ministry. Many scholars challenge the assumption that Nazareth was a literal place: a town or city in Gallilee. Here are the facts that challenge the belief that Nazareth was literally just the place where Yeshua grew up.

1) There is no place called Nazareth in the Old Testament.

2) The term Nazarene or Nazarenes is not found in the Old Testament. This can be easily verified by looking in James Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

We know that present-day Nazareth is located in the region called Galilee in Northern Israel. Galilee is the biblical land given to the tribe of Zebulun in Johsua 19:10-16. In those passages there were twelve towns and six villages mentioned, but not Nazareth. This indicates Nazareth did not exist then as a town or village at that time.

Nazareth is not found among in the sixty-three towns of Galilee mentioned in the Talmud which was written much later, about AD 200-300. This might be for a variety of reasons. The Old Testament ends with the death of the last prophet Malachi. It was about 400 years later that the birth of Yeshua occurred. The Rabbinic writers of the Talmud may have not included him or where he was from, because they did not accept him as the prophesied Messiah.  The rabbis heritage is of the Pharisee lineage and did not accept Yeshua's teachings. Nazareth (correctly pronounced ‘Nats-a-reth’) appears 29 times in the New Testament but only in the Gospels and in Acts. The word ‘Nazarene’ and ‘Nazarenes’ appear once. But, most scholars think the first book of the New Testament was not available in Greek until after AD 67.

The Jewish historian, Josephus lived after the death of Yeshua from 37 to 100 AD. He traveled widely, visiting forty-five cities in the first century. He mentions Yeshua only once in his Antiquities of the Jews, but does not mention Nazareth.

Ancient Nazareth has not been identified archeologically. Only a suspected site has been reported in Bible Archeology Review magazine. All these facts has caused at least one author to conclude that the evidence for a first century city, town, or village called Nazareth, does not exist - not literary, historically, or archeologically.

How do these facts fit with what is commonly understood in the New Testament? Was there an ancient town of Nazareth? If so, where was it located? If not, who were the Nazarenes? Why were Yeshua the Anointed and his followers called a ‘sect’ by the religious establishment? Why was it said of Yeshua: “what good can come from a Nazarene? Why did Nazareth not grow and become more well known with the normal increase in population?

The Essenes, however, were radically different from the Sadducees and Pharisees and openly opposed their theology and doctrines. They also questioned the spiritual integrity of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Bible is silent on the Essene sect and most people did not know they existed until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran. Yet, there is reliable information about when they came into prominence, their traditions, deeply rooted convictions, beliefs, writings, and specific locations where they existed.

The word Essene is a collective term. At the time of Yeshua there existed three distinct Essene groups. They were: The Theraputae of Egypt, the Essenes of Qumran, and the Essenes of Mount Carmel. Josephus and other classic writers tell of the Essenes and their intense appreciation for the inspired Law of Yahweh, and that they: “strove to be like the angels of heaven.”

There were certain attributes that all Essenes had in common. All opposed slavery and believed in the equality of all humankind. As a general rule, Essenes opposed the sacrificing of animals and the eating of flesh. Their highest aim was to become fit temples in which Holy Spirit of God could dwell and florish, to be healers and to perform cures, especially spiritual cures.

There is much evidence that Yosef and Miriam belonged to the Northern Essene sect and Yeshua was raised within this sect. Certainly it is hard to refute that Yeshua the Anointed had at least regional exposure to the Essenes of Mount Carmel in Northern Israel. It is clearly the area where Yeshua lived and studied. While the Northern Essenes had ongoing contact with their brethren in the South, Yeshua was not raised and trained at Qumran as some in the modern Essene movement want to believe. A map provides confirmation of this point.

The location of present day Nazareth is near the foot of Mount Carmel and not far from Lake Galilee, whereas the location of Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Qumran is in southern Israel. Further, the travels of Yosef, Miriam, and Yeshua is reasonably well documented:

Prior to the birth of Yeshua, Yosef and Miriam are said to have lived in a place identified as Nazareth which is in Northern Israel. If this identification is a place name, it must have been a small, little known, settlement. If it had been a city, town, or even a large village surely its presence would have been recorded. At the end of a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the Feast Days (Atonement, Trumpets, Tabernacles, Great Last Day) in the autumn, Miriam gave birth to  Yeshua. Rome utilized these holy convocations, which occurred after the harvest, as an occasion to collect taxes. But that year Rome also required a registry of allegiance to the Emperor by those with linage to the royal family. Miriam was of the house of David.

Being warned that Herod was going to kill baby Yeshua, Yosef took Miriam and fled southwest into Egypt. Specifically where they went is not recorded in the scriptures. After the death of Herod, the family returned to Nazareth. Yeshua apparently grew up in Nazareth but scripture records he visited the Temple in Jerusalem when he was twelve years old.

Yeshua launched his public ministry in Capernaum near Lake Galilee in northern Israel. As a grown man, Yeshua journeyed to southern Israel to a place not far from Qumran where he was immersed in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. After his baptism, Yeshua returned to northern Israel. There, in the region between Lake Galilee and Mount Carmel, he conducted his ministry.

Yeshua again journeyed to southern Israel when he knew the time had come for a confrontation with the authorities in Jerusalem, and it was during this visit that he was arrested, tried and crucified. It is a long journey from the area near Mount Carmel to Jerusalem. It is nearly the entire length of the nation of Israel, to travel on foot from Lake Galilee to the Salt Sea. There were no paved roads, the climate was hot half of the year, and the elevation varied. All things considered, a journey from northern to southern Israel for religious observance was no easy thing two thousand years ago.

It is not commonly realized, but nearly every major event recorded in New Testament about the life of Yeshua the Anointed - except for his birth, baptism, and death, occurred in northern Israel, in the region between Mount Carmel and Lake Galilee. This is the area where the vast majority of Yeshua's verbal teaching occured. For instance, one of Yeshua's most famous set of teachings, the sermon on the Mount, occured on Mount Carmel. Here are a few of the other well known events that occured in the Northern region of Israel:

1) The miraculous feeding of 5,000

2) The wedding at Cana where Yeshua turned water into wine

3) The anointing with oil by Mary Magdalene

4) The calling of Andrew and Peter, Phillip, Nathaniel, and Matthew

5) The sending forth of the twelve and the sending of the seventy-two disciples

6)  The healings of the leper and the man with palsy

7)  The teaching of the Lord's prayer to the Apostles

The scriptures show that Yeshua the Anointed lived most of his known life in northern Israel. Yet the scriptures do not give a specific link with the Essenes of Mount Carmel. Perhaps this link was not necessary because at that time it was a well understood fact that those who came from the small communities around Mount Carmel were of Essene heritage? Some scholars postulate that the small community identified as Nazareth was not so much a place name as an identification of the type of people at that site. Nazareth is derived from a word meaning "set apart". Perhaps the community of people at the foot of Mount Carmel were identified as Nazoreans because as Essenes they were "set apart" from the traditional Jewish sects of Pharisees and Saducees. Perhaps they were given this identification because they were a special set apart group of Essenes - the sect of Nazarenes. 

The word Nazarene bears some resemblance as well to Nazarite as in the "Vow of the Nazarite" described in Numbers 6:1-27. The vow of the Nazarite was a voluntary vow made by those wishing to separate themselves to the Lord. The length of the vow was determined by the person making the vow. There were three requirements: dietary restrictions, no cutting of hair and set apart from unclean. Perhaps many of the devout Essenes that settled at the foot of Mount Carmel took upon themselves a special and more set apart lifestyle than the average Essene? 

Yeshua certainly taught a religion that went beyond the parameters of the Law. He taught love, mercy and forgiveness.  That set him apart from the religious establishment of the day.  Certainiy these teachings are in keeping with all Essene doctrines.  There is an important fact, however, which shows Yeshua was not a Qumran Essene. That fact is: John the Baptist did not recognize Yeshua. This non-recognition by John has been widely pondered because Yeshua was John’s cousin. It is commonly assumed their families had fellowship, and surely fellowship would have occurred at the feast days. But it seems not so.

There is near unanimity amongst scholars that John the Baptist was an Essene from Qumran. Why would they conclude this? Scholars point out that the Essenes at Qumran often raised or adopted orphaned male children. The New Testament informs us that after Herod had John the Baptist’s father, Zachariah, murdered, John “went to live in the desert.” Obviously, a small child could not survive alone in the desert, so it is concluded that John was raised by the Essenes at Qumran. The Essenes at Qumran choose to be a cloister because of their religious differences with the Sadducees and Pharisees. The community did not participate in the affairs at the Temple.

There is other circumstantial evidence that John the Baptist was from Qumran. Qumran is not far from where the Jordan River connects with the Salt (Dead) Sea. Tradition tells us John performed his baptisms near this location. John lived in the desert southwest of the Jordan where Qumran is located. John’s dress and diet was plain. He is alleged to have been a vegetarian. The ‘locust’ he ate are said to have been the fruit of the Locust tree. The Locust tree is also known as the carob tree. Its edible seed pods are also known as St John's fruit. John's method of baptism (immersion) was similar to the Qumran Essene’s ritual bathing several times a day. The Qumran Essenes were called ‘Baptists' because of this ritual.

John’s prophetic theology also matches what is known of the Essenes at Qumran. In the ‘Community Rule’ of the Essenes of Qumran, one of the writings found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, it states their goal as: “To prepare the way for the Messiah in the desert wilderness... to prepare a people to meet the Master.” Similarly, in the New Testament, John the Baptist declares in John 1:23 “I am a voice crying out in the desert wilderness, make straight the way of Yahweh.”

There are parallels between Eliyah and John the Baptist. Isaiah, who lived hundreds of years before John and Yeshua, prophesied that before the ‘Messiah of Peace’ would manifest himself to Israel, two things had to occur. First, a group of people must “prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Then, Eliyah must return to earth to prepare the way and announce the coming of the Messiah. An astute reader of the New Testament is aware that Yeshua the Anointed declared that John the Baptist is the returned Eliyah.

Even an astute reader, however, is probably unaware of this interesting and not widely known fact. The place on the east bank of the Jordan River where it empties into the Salt Sea and where John performed his baptisms, is the same place where, about 800 years previous, Elijah ascended into heaven in a ‘chariot of fire.’ Eliyah is also said to have worn a camel hair robe and was unshaven.

If indeed John the Baptist was raised in the cloistered monastery at Qumran, isolated for years from family members, it could explain why he did not recognized his cousin Yeshua. This would not have been the case if Yeshua had ever stayed at the Essene community at Qumran. The Essenes at Qumran and the Essenes at Mount Carmel had distinct differences in practice.

The Essenes at Qumran were a strict monastic commune for celibate males. Most other Essene Communities - such as at the foot of Mount Carmel  consisted of families. Essenes were ecumenical and naturally had different rules. It would be logical to conclude that Yosef and Miriam would have been influenced by the Northern Essenes at Mount Carmel, therefore it would be expected that the life and teachings of Yeshua would be similar. Being from Nazareth and in an area inhabited by Northern Essenes can explain why Yeshua would be called a ‘Nazarene.’ It would identify him as being from this distinct group of Essenes.

Before further considering Nazareth, the Essene community at Mount Carmel, and the name given to the Essenes from there, one must be aware of other related information. It is known from the writings of Philo, a Jewish Philosopher who lived about 2000 years ago, there was an Essene community of “Theraputae” or “healers” at Lake Mareotis in Egypt. It is thought almost certainly this community provided a sanctuary for Yosef, Miriam and baby Yeshua when they fled Southwest into Egypt. Yosef surely would have known about the Theraputae. It would have been the logical place to go because it was a commune with like-type Essene beliefs, and because it was beyond Herod’s jurisdiction.

After Herod died, the family returned to Northern Israel and settled again in Nazareth. According to The Armageddon Script the word ‘Nazarene’ came to be applied to Northern  Essenes in general and to those from that area. The Northern Essene’s settlement near the foot of Mount Carmel where Yeshua lived probably later became known as Nazereth because of its distinction of being the hometown of the most prominent Nazarene, Yeshua. Perhaps this is the site where modern-day Nazareth is located.

Thus, a ‘Nazarene’ is a ‘Northern Essene’ associated with Mount Carmel, and Yeshua the Anointed being from Nazareth became known as‘Yeshua the Nazarene’ in John 19:19-20. In the New Testament book of Acts, the early converts from Judaism are called “the sect of the Nazarenes.”

From the statement in the New Testament: “nothing good comes from Nazareth” the Sadducees and Pharisees in Jerusalem apparently held Nazarenes in low regard. This may have been because they were collectively grouped with the Essenes who had refused to make animal sacrifices at the Temple. It may have been because Nazarenes were from a remote rural area. Also, they tended to be independent of the dictates of the religious establishment in Jerusalem who prohibited the using the name of the Father Yahweh in prayer, as Yeshua the Anointed did  in his prayers.

In Luke 4:16 there is mention of Yeshua entering a synagogue in Nazareth on the Day of Sabbaths (Weeks, Pentecost). That day would have been the ‘First of the Sabbath,’ now called Sunday. It was the fiftieth day and the morrow, counting inclusively with the day of the Elevated (Wave) Offering made during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Yeshua read from the scroll of Isaiah:

“The spirit of Yahweh is upon me, because he appointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh...”

The reading was recognition of the fulfilment of the prophecy in Yeshua the Anointed. But after the reading his ‘chastisement teaching’ caused him to be put out of the synagogue, led out of Nazareth, and almost thrown over the brow of a hill.

This incident prompted Yeshua to note that "a prophet is not acceptable in his own homeland." He continued to preach and teach in the surrounding area, however, and the area is still identified by the "set apart" sect of Nazarenes. The Nazarenes came to the Holy Mount of Carmel to live holy lives that would prepare the way for the Messiah. Their efforts were rewarded when Yeshua, the Anointed One arrived. These Essenes, as keepere of the true faith and seekers of the Way, were privileged to bring into the world the One who guided us all to the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

Some other interesting facts

Is it known how long the ‘Nazarenes’ existed?

In the fourth century Epiphanius, the Catholic Bishop of Constantia, wrote a book called Panarion. In it he mentions there were then ‘Nazarenes’ related to the ancient order of Essenes, that the followers of Yeshua the Anointed “were known as Nazarenes,” and that “the sect of the Nazarenes” existed prior to Yeshua’s birth. But rather than admit that the Nazarenes were the true custodians of the teachings of Yeshua, Epiphanius denounced them as heretics because what they taught was not then according to Catholic dogma. The Nazarene remnant seems to have been hunted down and killed before and during this time.

What is known of Mount Carmel?

The literal meaning of Carmel in Hebrew is ‘garden paradise.’ In The Religion of the Semites by  W. Robertson Smith, Mount Carmel was considered so holy that spilling of human or animal blood, or harm to a tree, or to natural life there, was forbidden. These rules applied not only to the Northern Essenes, but also to anyone who climbed the mountain. Permanent dwellings were not permitted on the mountain. Those who lived there are said to have stayed in temporary dwellings or tents.

In The Life of Pythagoras written in the 2nd century by Jambichus, we learn that the young seeker,  Pythagoras visited an Essene sanctuary on Mount Carmel:

Pythagoras then climbed Mount Carmel where he evidently received powerful teachings from the Northern Essenes; for when he returned to the ship, the sailors, who had hatched a secret plan to sell young Pythagoras into slavery, were mesmerized by his spiritual luminosity and unable to harm him. The sailors, according to Jamblichus, believed Pythagoras had become “supernatural.” Pythagoras went on to become an exponent of vegetarianism, fasting and other Essene practices. Thereafter he and his followers wore only white linen garments, as did the Essenes on Mount Carmel.

As mentioned earlier, the Northern Essenes held to certain religious practices which did not agree with the Sadducees and Pharisees at Jerusalem. What likely most offended other Jews was the steadfast refusal of the Essenes to offer animal sacrifices at the Temple...so adamant were the Essenes on this point it eventually led some to separate themselves and to establish of a kind of sanctuary on Mount Carmel.

One of the reasons the Essenes chose Mount Carmel was because of its connection with Eliyah the prophet. Many years earlier Eliyah had a school for prophets in a cave there. The cave could have been the ‘sanctuary’ of the Essenes. The location of what is said to have been Eliyah’s cave is known and can be visited today. As Eliyah was the sole true remnant of Israel, so too did the Essenes believe of themselves as they made their way to Mount Carmel. And, just as Eliyah had built the altar on Mount Carmel with twelve stones - one for each tribe of Israel, so the Essenes likewise could hope to restore true worship there.

A few miles from the base of Mount Carmel the Essenes apparently had a settlement of permanent structures for their families, and perhaps it was, or came to be called, Nazareth. It is in the “hill country” where apparently only few choose to live. One of the reasons Nazareth did not grow significantly over centuries is because the only reliable water supply was one small spring, until modern times.

The Catholic monastic order of “White Friars” currently established on Mount Carmel moved there in the 12th century. They adopted vegetarianism and the white robes of the Essene monks that still survived when the friars arrived. The Catholic “Carmelites” assert that Yeshua was an Essene and he was raised on Mount Carmel. Such information is available from various sources including The Essene Christ by Upton Ewing, the Catholic Carmelites’ own history books, and the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition, vol. 5., pg. 358.

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This lesson is the second installment in a series of introductory Essene studies.

 The foundation series will provide background history and an understanding of the fundamentals of our worship to those who are new to the Essene Way. 

This study time will replace our Sabbath message today. 

Our church leader, Rev. Vivian, is traveling in Arizona searching for a new location in which to base the ministry. 

Call to God

Click below. Listen and recite the invocation in Hebrew along with the cantor.  Let the words resonate within you. Open your heart and prepare to study with Wisdom.

   "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one"

 Deuteronomy 6:4

 Prayer

Our Father and Mother

who are in heaven, 

and around us,

and within us

 Holy is Your Name.

Your Kingdom is upon us,

as is Your will.

Your are here on earth,

and in the heavens.

We are never in need

because You provide.

By forgiving our mistakes, 

You have taught us

to forgive others.

You lead your children

in the path of light,

and guide us away 

from the darkness

because Your kingdom

and power, and glory

are within us.

Amen

Scripture Reading

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
       because the LORD has anointed me
       to preach good news to the poor.
       He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
       to proclaim freedom for the captives
       and release from darkness for the prisoners, 

 ² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
       and the day of vengeance of our God,
       to comfort all who mourn,

 ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
       to bestow on them a crown of beauty
       instead of ashes,
       the oil of gladness
       instead of mourning,
       and a garment of praise
       instead of a spirit of despair.
       They will be called oaks of righteousness,
       a planting of the LORD
       for the display of his splendor.

 ⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins
       and restore the places long devastated;
       they will renew the ruined cities
       that have been devastated for generations.

Isaiah 61: 1-4

 ¹⁶He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
 ¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
      because he has anointed me
      to preach good news to the poor.
   He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
      and recovery of sight for the blind,
   to release the oppressed,
    ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

 ²⁰Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Luke 4:14-20

Lesson 

This lessons explores a sect of 1^st century Essenes known as Therapeutae. The Therapeutae and Therapeutridae (the female members of the sect) were an early pre-Christian Essenic order. The Therapeutae were healers, mystics and ascetics who lived especially in the area around Alexandria. Most of what we know of this sect has been derived from the writings of  the Jewish philosopher, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria. Philo knew of the group from personal experience. Philo lived from 20 BC to 50 AD. He was a Jew from an aristocratic family that had lived in Alexandria for generations. He is our only ancient source on the Therapuetae. Fortunately he provided a very detailed description of their lifestyle.

Philo was a skilled philosopher and a prolific writer. His work was highly valued by the Jewish community and the early Christians and as a result many of his writings have survived intact. Philo described the Therapeutae in one of his writings, "De Vita Contemplativa" (On the Contemplative Life") circa AD10. From him we learn that the Therapeutae had a well established community on a low hill by the Lake Mareotis close to Alexandria, the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt. Philo was also aware that there were many other communities of Therapeutae established in other regions. Philo stated that "this class of persons may be met with in many places, for both Greece and barbarian countries want to enjoy whatever is perfectly good." (Philo, para.)

Philo explained the etymology of their name as meaning either physicians of souls or servants of God. The Greek word, from which Therapeutae is derived, θεραπεύω, can be translated either "to heal" or "to serve'. Philo differentiated the Therapeutae from other Essenic communities by their lifestyles. The other Essene groups led a more practical and active life. They raised families and participated in the community. The Therapeutae, on the other hand, were dedicated to contemplative life. As such, the Therapeutae are considered the forerunners of current monastic orders.

The practices of the Therapeutae that were described by Philo are often pointed out as the first picture of Christian monastic life. Eusebius of Caesarea, was the first to give the Therapeutae this distinction. Eusebius was a bishop in Palestine around 300 AD. He is often considered the "Father of Church History" due to his work of recording the history of the early church. Eusebius was so sure of his identification of Therapeutae with Christian monasticism that he concluded that Philo, who admired them so much, must also have  been a Christian himself. He did not realize that Philo's essay was written when Yeshua was just a small child! This only serves to emphasize, however, that the Essenes were indeed the precursor and creators of the early church of the Way.

In describing the Therapeutae, Philo writes, "They lived chastely with utter simplicity. They first of all laid down temperance as a sort of foundation for the soul to rest upon and proceed to build up other virtues on this foundation." They were dedicate to the contemplative life. Their activities for six days of the week consisted of disciplined practices, fasting, prayers, and study of the scripture. Philo states, "the entire interval from dawn to evening is given up by them to spiritual exercises". "They read the holy scriptures and draw out thought and allegory for their ancestral philosophy, since they regard the literal meanings as symbols of an inner and hidden nature revealing itself in covert ideas" (Philo, para. 28)

Like the first Christian hermits of the Egyptian desert, the Therapeutae lived alone rather than communally as the later monastic communities would do.  They gathered together on the Sabbath for prayer and a common meal. Then once every 7 weeks (49 days) they would meet for an all night vigil in which they would serve one another. Philo stated, "they are not waited on by slaves, because they deem any possession of servants to be contrary to nature. For she has begotten all men alike free" (Philo, para 70) The renunciation of slavery was a common philosophy in Essene and early Christian congregations.  The Therapeutae also renounced all property as did the early church of Yeshua.

The Therapeutae had a great reputation for healing. They enjoyed great health themselves as well. In Philo's view the reason for this health and for their ability to heal others was the lifestyle that they lived. He stated that the Theraeutae "professed an art of healing superior to that practiced in the cities". Their art of healing derives from the simplicity of their way of life. Escaping the noise of the city, they embrace the natural way, living in the gardens, enjoying the fresh air and the calm and beauty of the countryside. Apart from that, they have the opportunity to practice inner solitude, not because they are misanthropes, but because they are aware that "in every city, even the best governed, is full of turmoils and disturbances innumerable which no one could endure who has ever been once under the guidance of wisdom".

Various formative influences on the Therapeutae have been conjectured. In addition to the five books of Moses and the psalms, the Therapeutae utilized other holy books. They also had a method of numerology that they incorporated into their philosophy.  Book of Enoch and Jubilees exemplify the Hebrew tradition for the mystic values of numbers and for allegorical interpretations, without having to reach to Zoroaster or Pythagoreans.

There is obvious correlation between the healing ministries of the Therapeutae and the ministry of Yeshua. Yeshua is associated  with many miracles in the course of his ministry. The bulk of His miracles were healings or various cures. There are also a large number of exorcisms, three raisings of dead persons to life, and various other miracles that all include the healing of either the mind, the body or the soul. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Yeshua spent his early childhood in Egypt. Joseph and Mary, as Essene Jews, would most likely have fled to communities of similar philosophy. They fled to the Therapeutae, the Essene healers of Egypt. 

It is appropriate then, that Yeshua, the great healer, when he began his ministry, would stand in the synagogue and read the scripture from Isaiah 61 that we read in the scriptures above. Read the words again and you will see it is all about healing. He was sent to  give sight to the blind, "bind up the broken hearted" (emotional healing), comfort those who mourn" (healing grief), and "restore the places long devastated" (heal society).

The Therapeutae were the epitome of Essene society in their holiness and purity. They devoted themselves to study and worship of God. It was out of this purity of lifestyle that they were able to heal others. One can not be a healer until one is already whole.   Yeshua was the epitome of a Therapeutae. Through His life and His ministry to others he provided us with a road map- the Way, to heal ourselves. Then, He went a step further. He commissioned His disciples to go out and share the good news of the Kingdom of God AND heal the sick. Healing is an integral part of the ministry of God's chosen. With the joy, security, and strength that come from finding our place in the family of God, comes responsibility. Those who are made whole are to tend the wounded in this world. As followers of Yeshua, we have the same calling delineated in  Isaiah 61.  I encourage you to read those words again aloud now.  Make them your own.

You see, we have not just been studying about an ancient order of Jews that died out in the 1st century AD. We have been learning about eternal principles and guidelines that began before creation. These are principles of correct choices, upright lifestyle, and pure living that lead to enlightenment of spirit.  It is the Essene path that was followed by Enoch, Noah, Moses, and a multitude of others. As called, chosen and enlightened souls following the Way of Yeshua, YOU are Therapeutae and Therapeutridae 

The Healing Miracles of Yeshua

Healing of a woodcutter's foot; Infancy Gospel of Thomas

Playmate killed and raised from dead; Infancy Narrative of James

Cure of centurion's son (servant) Mt 8:5–13 Lk 7:1–10 Jn 4:46–54

Cure of a demoniac Mk 1:23–28 Lk 4:33–37

Cure of Peter's mother-in-law' s fever Mt 8:14–15 Mk 1:29–31 Lk 4:38

Cure of a leper Mt 8:1–4 Mk 1:40–45 Lk 5:12–19

Cure of a paralytic at Capharnaum Mt 9:1–8 Mk 1:40–45 Lk 4:12–19

Cure of a sick man at Bethesda Jn 5:1–15

Healing of a man's withered hand Mt 12:9–13 Mk 3:1–6 Lk 6:6–11

Raising of the son of the widow of Nain Lk 7:11–17

Healing of a blind and dumb demoniac Mt 12:22

Expulsion of demons in Gadara Mt 8:29–34 Mk 4:35–41 Lk 8:26–39

Raising (curing) of Jairus' daughter Mt 9:18–26 Mk 5:21–43 Lk 8:40

Healing of a woman with a hemorrhage Mt 9:20–22 Mk 5:24–34 Lk 8:43

Restoration of two men's sight Mt 9:27–31

Healing of a mute demoniac Mt 9:32–34

Exorcism of a Canaanite (Syro-Phoenecian) woman Mt 15:21–28 Mk 7:24

Healing of a deaf-mute Mk 7:31–37

Restoration of a man's sight at Bethsaida Mk 8:22

Exorcism of a possessed boy Mt 17:14–21 Mk 9:13–28 Lk 9:37–43

Healing of the blind man Bartimaus Jn 9:1–38

Healing of large numbers of crippled, blind and mute Mt 15:29

Healing of a woman on the Sabbath Lk 13:10–17

Raising of Lazarus from the dead Jn 11:1–44

Healing of a man with dropsy Lk 14:1–6

Healing of ten lepers Lk 17:11–19

Healing of two blind men at Jericho Mt 20:29–34 Mk 10:46–52 Lk 18:35

Healing of High Priest's servant's ear

Of all the miracles of  Yeshua, only five do not include a healing or a cure. They are also the five miracles of Yeshua that are considered metaphors or pictures of a greater spiritual lesson. In other words, they were a way for Yeshua to drive home a great spiritual point. These miracles were:

Turning water into wine Jn 2:1–11

Feeding the 5000 Mt 14:13–21 Mk 6:34–44 Lk 9:12–17 Jn 6:1–15

Calming a storm at sea Mt 8:23–27 Mk 4:35–41 Lk 8:22–25

Converting bread and wine into his Body and Blood Mt 26:26–30 Mk 14:22–26 Lk 22:14–20 1 Cor 11:23–26

Walking on water Mt 14:22 Mk 6:45–52 Jn 6:16–21

Selected Excerpts from Philo's Writings on Therapeutae

(To read the full essay click here)

(1) Having mentioned the Essenes, who in all respects selected for their admiration and for their especial adoption the practical course of life, and who excel in all, or what perhaps may be a less unpopular and invidious thing to say, in most of its parts, I will now proceed, in the regular order of my subject, to speak of those who have embraced the speculative life, and I will say what appears to me to be desirable to be said on the subject, not drawing any fictitious statements from my own head for the sake of improving the appearance of that side of the question which nearly all poets and essayists are much accustomed to do in the scarcity of good actions to extol, but with the greatest simplicity adhering strictly to the truth itself, to which I know well that even the most eloquent men do not keep close in their speeches.

Nevertheless we must make the endeavour and labour to attain to this virtue; for it is not right that the greatness of the virtue of the men should be a cause of silence to those who do not think it right that anything which is creditable should be suppressed in silence.

Regarding The Name Therapeutae

(2) Now the lifestyle of these philosophers is at once displayed from the appellation given to them; for with strict regard to etymology, they are called Therapeutae and Therapeutrides,\1/ either because they profess an art of medicine more excellent than that in general use in cities (for that only heals bodies, but the other heals souls which are under the mastery of terrible and almost incurable diseases, which pleasures and appetites, fears and griefs, and covetousness, and follies, and injustice, and all the rest of the innumerable multitude of other passions and vices, have inflicted upon them), or else because they have been instructed by nature and the sacred laws to serve the living God, who is superior to the good, and more simple than the one, and more ancient than the monad; (3) with whom, however, who is there of those who profess piety that we can possibly compare?

Search for Comparison with Other Religious Groups

(7) Again, what shall we say of those who worship carved works and images? the substances of which, stone and wood, were only a little while before perfectly destitute of shape, before the stone-cutters or wood-cutters hewed them out of the kindred stuff around them, while the remainder of the material, their near relation and brother as it were, is made into ewers, or foot-pans, and other common and dishonoured vessels, which are employed rather for uses of darkness than for such as will bear the light; (8) for as for the customs of the Egyptians, it is not creditable even to mention them, for they have introduced irrational beasts, ...(9) And though they actually see that these animals are born, and that they are in need of food, and that they are insatiable in voracity and full of all sorts of filth, and moreover poisonous and devourers of men, and liable to be destroyed by all kinds of diseases, and that in fact they are often destroyed not only by natural deaths, but also by violence, still they, ...though rational men, they worship irrational beasts; though they have a near relationship to the Deity, they worship creatures unworthy of being compared even to some of the beasts; though appointed as rulers and masters, they worship creatures which are by nature subjects and slaves.

II. (10) But since these men infect not only their fellow countrymen, but also all that come near them with folly, let them remain uncovered, being mutilated in that most indispensable of all the outward senses, namely, sight. I am speaking here not of the sight of the body, but of that of the soul, by which alone truth and falsehood are distinguished from one another.

(11) But the therapeutic race [Greek genoV], being continually taught to see without interruption, may well aim at obtaining a sight of the living God, and may pass by the sun, which is visible to the outward sense, and never leave this order which conducts to perfect happiness. (12) But they who apply themselves to this kind of service, not because they are influenced to do so by custom, nor by the advice or recommendation of any particular persons, but because they are carried away by a certain heavenly love, give way to enthusiasm, behaving like so many revellers in bacchanalian or corybantian mysteries, until they see the object which they have been earnestly desiring.

(90) This then is what I have to say of those who are called Therapeutae, who have devoted themselves to the contemplation of nature, and who have lived in it and in the soul alone, being citizens of heaven and of the world, and very acceptable to the Father and Creator of the universe because of their virtue, which has procured them his love as their most appropriate reward, which far surpasses all the gifts of fortune, and conducts them to the very summit and perfection of happiness.

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Opening Hymn