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Welcome to “read the Bible – expand your mind:”

The Book of Common Prayer says that by sharing Holy Communion, Christians become “very members incorporate in the mystical body” of Jesus. The words “corporate” and “mystical” are key. They show that a healthy church has two sides, with the often-overlooked “mystic” side posing the question, “How do I experience God?” This blog will try to answer that.

It has four main themes. The first is that God will accept anyone. (John 6:37.) The second is that God wants us to live lives of abundance.(John 10:10.) The third is that Jesus wants us to read the Bible with an open mind. (As Luke 24:45 says: “Then He [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”) The fourth theme – another one often overlooked – is that Jesus wants us to do even greater miracles than He did. (John 14:12.) 

And this thought ties them together:

The best way to live abundantly and do greater miracles than Jesus is: Read, study and apply the Bible with an open mind. For more see the notes or – to expand your mind – see the Intro.

In the meantime:

July 7, 2025 – This time eleven years ago (2014) I did what may have been my first post on America’s Independence Day. I was riding a train north from New York City to Montreal, which meant I had to find my passport. In the process I found some interesting reading.

That included – on page 4 – the Preamble to the United States Constitution. It begins “We the People of the United States … do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Meaning that for the first time in history the People finally decided that they held Sovereign Power, not some temporary hired hand with a limited term of service.

Moving on, passport pages 8-9 are topped by a saying from George Washington, “Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair.” Unfortunately – as we’ve seen too often – the reckless and dishonest can also repair to the standard of freedom that America provides. 

Then there’s a quote on pages 16-17, from Teddy Roosevelt: “This is a new nation, based on a mighty continent, of endless possibilities.” Get that?  “Endless possibilities?” But to get over to that land of endless possibilities, our ancestors – the first immigrants, the people with enough gumption and nerve – had to leave behind the old and corrupt ways of “back where they came from.” (Another way of saying conservative types, but that’s a subject for another post.) 

Then there’s the last quote, on page 28, from the late astronaut Ellison Onizuka:

Every generation has the obligation to free men’s minds for a look at new worlds . . . to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation.

(Ellipses in passport.) But are we doing that? Are we opening up new worlds for our children and grandchildren? Are we working toward a future where the can look out from a higher plateau? Or are we saddling them with an national debt that threatens their future?

But down off the soapbox: Onizuka was part of the seven-member crew on the Space Shuttle Challenger that took off from Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986. The shuttle exploded when a flame-jet leaking from a solid rocket booster ruptured the liquid hydrogen fuel tank 73 seconds after launch. All seven crew members were killed.

Meaning the freedom of space travel showed itself as extremely dangerous, but as Thomas Jefferson said, “I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.” Which could be one of those off on a tangents for which I am well known. (At least to my own family.) But back in 2014 I added that all this was just another way of saying, “Sing to the Lord a new song.” (As it says in Isaiah 42:10 and Psalms 96:1, 98:1, and 144:9.) But could trying to sing a new song to the Lord be dangerous as well? Some people seem to think so. They prefer to go by the book” – which usually means “never beyond a literal reading of the book.”

In other words, some people today seem to think that rather than expanding our minds, exploring new worlds and enjoying freedom for all, it’s better to stick with the same old song. But as noted above, Jesus expects us to do even greater miracles than He did, and can you do that by “going by the book?” Or singing the same old song over and over again?

Which makes this a perfect time and place to bring up Independence Day:

Independence Day is a day of family celebrations [with] a great deal of emphasis on the American tradition of political freedom…  Independence Day is a patriotic holiday for celebrating the positive aspects of the United States…  Above all, people in the United States express and give thanks for the freedom and liberties fought by the first generation of many of today’s Americans.

(Hmm. A tradition of political freedom. The freedom and liberties fought for by the first generation of Americans…) But it’s also a religious feast day, as noted in the link Independence Day: “We commemorate the day the formal wording of the Declaration of Independence was approved and the document signed.” Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the Declaration, doing so in a way that (as one British writer said), “combines great prose, great politics, and great theology.”

But he wasn’t finished. In 1777 he went on to draft Virginia’s Statute for Religious Freedom. (Which he considered so important that it was “one of only three accomplishments Jefferson instructed be put in his epitaph.”) Needless to say, his proposal generated considerable debate. For one thing, the statute took away the power of Virginia’s state church – today’s Episcopal Church – so that all Virginians enjoyed religious liberty. But in passing the bill, Burgesses took note of the “impious presumption of legislators and rulers,” manifested in a desire to establish “their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible.” (Sound familiar?) 

And finally, the statute noted “that Truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself … and has nothing to fear from the conflict.” In other words, that religion is best that proves itself in the “free market place of ideas.” See Marketplace of ideas – Wikipedia. In further words, if your faith is true and sound, you won’t be afraid of a little competition.

That’s what I wrote in an earlier post, which is also a way of saying you can’t live up to, fulfill or implement either promise – the John 14:12 Promise of Jesus or the American Dream’s “endless possibilities” – if you interpret the Bible or Constitution in a closed, narrow, or “strict” way.

And speaking of competition, consider these two articles: Episcopalians criticise President Trump’s ‘big, beautiful Bill’,’ and US (Catholic) Bishops express deep concern over final passage of Budget Bill. Which leads to my mantra for the upcoming year: “I believe in Jesus Christ, the rule of law, and the Constitution!” And another note: The upcoming year would be ever so much more enjoyable if the political party that thinks it’s more Christian would do their duty and make the first moves toward becoming “ministers of reconciliation.” (2nd Corinthians 5:18.)

Here’s hoping that doesn’t turn out to be a pipe dream...

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The upper image is courtesy of Ellison Onizuka – Wikipedia. Onizuka (1946-1986) was an American astronaut from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, on which he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L. He was the first Asian-American to reach space.”

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

For this post I borrowed from 2014’s For Sunday of the July 4th weekend, On Independence Day, 2016, On Independence Day, 2018, and July 4, 2024 – and a “What would have happened?”?” Also – for some reason – On my first full day in Jerusalem, from June 2019.

I found some interesting reading when I Googled “freedom is dangerous…”

It’s the Same Old Song – Wikipedia gave some background. Best known for the 1965 Motown single by the Four Tops, the group’s tenor, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, recalled how the lyrics developed:

Lamont Dozier and I were both a little tipsy and he was changing the channels on the radio. He said, ‘It sounds like the same old song.’ And then he said, “Wait a minute.” So he took “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and reversed it using the same chord changes. The next day, we went to the studio and recorded it, and then they put it on acetate, shipped it out to disc jockeys across the country.

(Which goes to show that somethings a little “tipsy” can help creativity. Psalm 104:15, about God bringing forth food from the earth and “wine that gladdens the heart.”) Another note: “Pop music writers and bloggers have noted the similarity of the song’s main instrumental riff with the marimba riff in the Rolling Stones song ‘Under My Thumb‘ which was first released almost a year later, on April 15, 1966.” Which is one reason I love blogging: You learn lots of new stuff.

Wikipedia says a Mantra is “a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers.”

2 Corinthians 5:18 says “all things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

The lower image is courtesy of Pipe Dream – Image Results. See also Pipe dream – Idioms … Free Dictionary which defines the term as a “fantastic notion or vain hope.” The idiom is an allusion to the “fantasies induced by smoking an opium pipe … used more loosely since the late 1800s.”

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As noted in the opening blurb, this blog has four main themes. The first is that God will accept anyone. (See John 6:37, with the added, “Anyone who comes to Him.”) This is a consistent theme throughout the Bible. From the Old Testament, Psalm 9:10, “You never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.” (In the Book of Common Prayer version.) The second is that God wants us to live abundantly.  (John 10:10.) The third is that we should do greater miracles than Jesus. (John 14:12). A fourth theme: The only way to do all that is read the Bible with an open mind:

…closed-mindedness, or an unwillingness to consider new ideas, can result from the brain’s natural dislike for ambiguity. According to this view, the brain has a “search and destroy” relationship with ambiguity and evidence contradictory to people’s current beliefs tends to make them uncomfortable… Research confirms that belief-discrepant-closed-minded persons have less tolerance for cognitive inconsistency…

So in plain words, I take issue with what I call “Christian first graders.” Those who choose to stay in a kind of elementary-school first grade. See John the Baptist, ’24 – and “Christian First Graders,” for more. But the key point: “The Bible was designed to expand your mind,” not make it narrow. Also, there’s the idea that “Jesus was anything but negative. His goal was for you to grow and develop into all that you can be.” (For more on that see ABOUT THE BLOG, above.)

I’ve written on boot-camp Christians, the Literalists who never go “beyond the fundamentals.” But the Bible offers so much more than a narrow reading gives… (Unless you want to stay a buck private all your life…) Now, about “Boot-camp Christians” see Conservative Christian – “Career buck private?” The gist of that post: Starting the Bible is like Army Basic Training. You begin by“learning the fundamentals.” But after boot camp, you move on to Advanced Individual Training.” 

And as noted in “Buck private,” one of this blog’s themes is that if you want to be all that you can be, you need to go on and explore the “mystical side of Bible reading.*” In other words, exploring the mystical side of the Bible helps you “be all that you can be.” See Slogans of the U.S. Army – Wikipedia, re: the recruiting slogan from 1980 to 2001. The related image at left is courtesy of: “toywonders.com/productcart/pc/catalog/aw30.jpg.”

Re: “mystical.” Originally the “liturgical, spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity.” Mysticism – Wikipedia, and the post On originalism.  (“What the Bible was originally about!”) See also Christian mysticism – Wikipedia, “In early Christianity the term ‘mystikos’ referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative… The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God.” As to that “experiential” aspect, see also Wesleyan Quadrilateral – Wikipedia, on the theological reflection method using four sources of spiritual development: scripture, tradition, reason, and “Christian experience.”

For an explanation of the Daily Office – where “Dorscribe” came from – see What’s a DOR?

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June 29 is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, honoring the “martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul.”  It’s an ancient celebration, and the date is “the anniversary either of their death or of the translation of their relics.” Remember that in January we celebrate each man – each saint – on separate dates, but in June we celebrate both men together:

On 29 June we commemorate the martyrdoms of both apostles. The date is the anniversary of a day around 258, under the Valerian Persecution, when what were believed to be the remains of the two apostles were both moved temporarily to prevent them from falling into the hands of the persecutors.

(See St. Peter & St. Paul, a link from Satucket.com.) So on June 29 we remember both men being martyred at about the same time, and their bodily remains being “translated” near that same time. (Early Christians moved the remains – called “relics” – into hiding so unbelievers couldn’t desecrate them. For more on “translation of relics” see my 2015 post.)

Back on topic: The Peter & Paul article said the Bible doesn’t mention the deaths of either man, “or indeed any of the Apostles except for James the son of Zebedee.” (Acts 12:2.) But early tradition said they were martyred at the command of Emperor Valerian in Rome, and buried there:

As a Roman citizen, Paul would probably have been beheaded with a sword. It is said of Peter that he was crucified head downward[. And thus as St. Augustine wrote,] “even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles’ blood…”

On the topic of scholars disputing, see Wikipedia on the Feast of Peter and Paul. It includes a link to the Incident at Antioch. That dispute – between two prominent Church Fathers – continues to this day. It involved circumcision as prerequisite for becoming a Good Christian. Specifically, the dispute involved whether all new non-Jewish converts – “Gentile Christians” – had to follow all the laws, rules and regulations of the Jewish faith to be real Christians. (Put another way, “legalism” versus “grace.”) As the Incident at Antioch article said:

[T]he issue of Biblical law in Christianity remains disputed to this day. The Catholic Encyclopedia states:  “St. Paul’s account of the incident leaves no doubt that St. Peter saw the justice of the rebuke…”  In contrast, L. Michael White’s From Jesus to Christianity states: “The blowup with Peter was a total failure of political bravado, and Paul soon left Antioch as persona non grata, never again to return.”

Wikipedia added, again, that the “final outcome remains uncertain resulting in several Christian views of the Old Covenant to this day.” And speaking of good Christians arguing vehemently – yet still able to work together – see Galatians 2:11-15, where “Paul Rebukes Peter at Antioch:”

When Cephas [Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned;  for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles.  But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction. And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy…

So in this case, Paul basically got mad at Peter for being two-faced about the Lord’s Supper. And there’s another aspect: Whether you are “saved” by following a set of rules and regulations, or by faith in Jesus alone. See The Controversy Over Faith And Works Continues. While some Christians say you are “saved” by following a set of rules, Paul clearly came down on the side of faith. Galatians 2:16: “Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” (But see also the Apostle James, that “faith without works is dead.”)

Then there’s the tension between Deuteronomy 19:16-19 and Ezekiel 3:16-19. 

Briefly, Deuteronomy 19:16-19 says if you accuse someone of a heinous crime – say, murder or heresy – and it’s not true, you will be punished as if you did the crime yourself. (You can’t blithely make false accusations and not face consequences.) For example, if you accuse someone – maybe a fellow Christian – of being a “heretic,” and that’s false, you will be punished as a heretic yourself. (Some conservatives have said liberalism is heresy, and some arch-conservatives called Billy Graham “Antichrist” for being too ecumenical later in life.) 

On the other hand there’s Ezekiel 3:16-19. There “Zeke” wrote about a Believer’s duty to warn others of the error of their ways. (“Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman.”) Briefly, if you don’t warn a fellow citizen of the error of his ways, and he keeps sinning, God will punish both of you.  But if you warn him and he keeps on sinning you will have saved your own spiritual butt: “They will die for their sin;  but you will have saved yourself.”

Thus a dilemma. If you tell someone “you’re going to hell for being a heretic” you could end up in hell yourself. On the other hand if you think someone may be committing the Unforgiveable Sin – and you don’t warn him – you may be punished for the “sin unto death” yourself. (Could it be a matter of extremely careful grammar? “Excuse me, I think you may be guilty of…”)

What you end up with is one more dynamic tension in the Bible. Which leads to this conclusion: The Bible isn’t one book giving a “one size fits all” set of answers to all life’s questions. (What many people expect.) Instead it’s a library, containing at least 66 different books, depending on the translation and whether it includes Apocrypha. And aside from John 6:37 and Romans 10:9, those books often raise more questions than provide answers. That includes Gloomy Gus books like Ecclesiastes and Job, both of which most people find extremely depressing.

Which is to say the Bible recognizes that sometimes life is unfair, and that quite often Bad Things Happen to Good People. But all that seems necessary for spiritual growth. To grow – whether spiritually or physically – we need to set up, meet and overcome resistance. (In Weight Training you literally kill muscle cells, which then grow back stronger.)

Thus the Bible’s dynamic tension is a form of spiritual resistance training, so that the more you train the more you will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. (2d Peter 3:18.) Bottom Line? Real life isn’t simple, and the Bible’s 66 books reflect that. Fortunately we have good old John 6:37 and Romans 10:9 to fall back on. (“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Emphasis added.) Which makes it a lot easier to deal with the Bible’s Dynamic Tension.

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The upper image is courtesy of Two Scholars Disputing by REMBRANDT Harmenszoon … (web gallery of art.)  The explanatory section added that the most likely explanation of the painting is that it “represents St Peter and St Paul in conversation,” or even Argument:

Rembrandt omits the attributes by which the two apostles were traditionally identified, he relies only on their physical characteristics … and on what they are seen to be doing, that is earnestly discussing a text which the one (St Peter) is explaining to the other.

For other input see also canvasreplicas.com/Rembrandt, and Two Scholars Disputing by REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van Rijn.

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

For this post I borrowed from On Peter, Paul – and other “relics” (June 2015), John the Baptist, Peter and Paul – 2016, from June 2019, On a wedding in Hadley – and John, Peter and Paul, and On “John T. Baptist,” Peter and Paul – 2021. See also On the Bible’s “dynamic tension,” from March 2019. The latter included some conservatives saying liberalism is heresy. As to Billy Graham called “Antichrist,” see October 2018’s A Soldier of Christ – “and BEYOND!” Also Unholy war: The few evangelicals who stood up to Trump, noting that later in life Billy “expressed regret at his close connections to politicians and warned against being beholden to one party. The elder Graham’s granddaughter Jerushah was a vocal critic of Trump.”

The article What does “faith without works is dead” mean? – Bible Hub says that James 2:17-26 “does not imply that works earn salvation, but rather that true faith, once received, will necessarily manifest itself in outward conduct.”

The lower image is courtesy of Dynamic Tension Charles Atlas – Image Results. See also Dynamic Tension – Wikipedia, and Charles Atlas – Wikipedia.

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June 26, 2025 – Last June 24 was the Feast Day for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. It celebrates the birth of John, “a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus, whom he later baptised.” But first John’s father Zechariah had to be struck dumb. That event came before John’s nativity, his being born; in fact even before his conception.

(As Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”)

John’s father was a member of the “priestly order of Abijah,” and he and his wife Elizabeth were righteous before God but also old and childless. Then God sent the angel Gabriel to tell Zechariah he was about to become a father. But Zechariah had his doubts: “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.“ And that was why he got struck dumb. As Gabriel said, “Since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born.” (Luke 1:20.) He got struck dumb because he doubted. (He should have accepted on faith what was, to him, counterintuitive.) So what happened?  

The time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced…  [T]hey were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John…”

Which provides a valuable life lesson: If you won’t listen to an angel sent by God, at least listen to your wife! As shown by Luke 1:64, saying that right after Zechariah wrote out John’s name, “Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God.” Then came his Benedictus (Song of Zechariah), “the song of thanksgiving uttered by Zechariah on the occasion of the birth of his son, John the Baptist.”

[John] was to be a prophet, and to preach the remission of sins before the coming or the Dawn from on high.  The prophecy that he was to “go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways[,”] an allusion to the well-known words of Isaiah 40:3 which John himself afterwards applied to his own mission (John 1:23)…

Luke’s account ends with Luke 1:80, saying the child John “grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.”

Wikipedia added that this Feast comes three months after the March 25 Annunciation, when “Gabriel told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy.” (He was one busy angel.) On the flip side, it comes six months before Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus. Also, the “purpose of these festivals is not to celebrate the exact dates of these events, but simply to commemorate them in an interlinking way.” Finally, Wikipedia added that this Nativity is “one of the oldest festivals of the Christian church, being listed by the Council of Agde in 506 as one of that region’s principal festivals, where it was a day of rest and, like Christmas, was celebrated with three Masses: a vigil, at dawn, and at midday.”

This John went on in later years to become famous for eating Locusts and Wild Honey – “symbolizing his detachment from worldly comforts and reliance on God’s provision” – and for wearing a garment of camel hair. But in the end he was famous for his head being chopped off at the behest of Salome, of whom more below. Which I suppose is part of a “prophetic mission and ascetic lifestyle.” Or as one Christian mystic said, “It is to vigor, not comfort that you are called.”

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And now some loose ends for this 2025 version. First off, this morning’s Daily Office included Psalm 119:126, “It is time for you to act, O LORD, for they have broken your law.” And boy did that sound timely! Also, years ago I got a CD of Gregorian chants by the Benedictine Monks Of The Abbey Of Saint-Maurice. Lately I’ve been listening to it a lot. On a similar note: A helpful hint for handling the often-hostile Public Discourse these days? “As a good Christian I try not to hate people just because they have a different opinion.” But I can prophesy a response by some, to which you can add, “Or demonize people, just to ease my conscience – for hating people just because they have a different opinion.” (In the meantime you might meditate on Salome…)

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The upper image is courtesy of the link – Benedictus (Song of Zechariah) – in the Wikipedia article, Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The caption: “Detail of Zechariah writing down the name of his son (Domenico Ghirlandaio, 15th century, Tornabuoni Chapel, Italy).”

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

For this post I borrowed from Nativity of John the Baptist – 2015, On “John T. Baptist,” Peter and Paul – 2021, On John “T. Baptist” – 2023 (et alia), and John the Baptist, ’24 – and “Christian First Graders.”

On camel’s hair, see What is a Hair Shirt? – Historical Index: A “coarse garment intended to be worn next to the skin, keeping the wearer in a state of discomfort and constant awareness:”

Originally, these garments were known as cilices, in a reference to the Latin word cilicium, meaning “covering made from goat’s hair.” Early shirts were made from sackcloth or coarse animal hair so that they irritated the skin, and later versions integrated additional uncomfortable features such as thin wires or twigs. Several characters in the Bible wore hair shirts as demonstrations of religious faith, and the practice was picked up by devout members of society and the Church. The term “cilice” is now used more generally for any object worn to increase discomfort.

Re: “To vigor, not comfort.” Here’s the full quote on the life of a new Christian:

Hearing now and again the mysterious piping of the Shepherd, you realize your own perpetual forward movement…  Do not suppose from this that your new career is to be perpetually supported by agreeable spiritual contacts, or occupy itself in the mild contemplation of the great world through which you move. True, it is said of the Shepherd that he carries the lambs in his bosom; but the sheep are expected to walk, and to put up with the bunts and blunders of the flock. It is to vigour rather than comfort that you are called.

From Evelyn Underhill’s Practical Mysticism, Ariel Press, 1914, at page 177.

The Psalm 119:126 translation is from the Book of Common Prayer Psaltery.

Re: Gregorian chant. For a sample, ️Gregorian Chant. Christian Meditation Music. Relaxation.

The lower image is courtesy of Salome – Wikipedia. The caption: “‘Salomé,’ by Henri Regnault (1870).” The article added that this Salome (III) was…

…a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, who was the son of Herod the Great, with princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great, and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New Testament, where she is not named, and from an account by Flavius Josephus. In the New Testament, the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas demands and receives the head of John the Baptist.

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Welcome to “read the Bible – expand your mind:”

The Book of Common Prayer says that by sharing Holy Communion, Christians become “very members incorporate in the mystical body” of Jesus. The words “corporate” and “mystical” are key. They show that a healthy church has two sides, with the often-overlooked “mystic” side posing the question, “How do I experience God?” This blog will try to answer that.

It has four main themes. The first is that God will accept anyone. (John 6:37.) The second is that God wants us to live lives of abundance.(John 10:10.) The third is that Jesus wants us to read the Bible with an open mind. (As Luke 24:45 says: “Then He [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”) The fourth theme – another one often overlooked – is that Jesus wants us to do even greater miracles than He did. (John 14:12.) 

And this thought ties them together:

The best way to live abundantly and do greater miracles than Jesus is: Read, study and apply the Bible with an open mind. For more see the notes or – to expand your mind – see the Intro.

In the meantime:

June 12, 2025 – Last June 8 was Pentecost Sunday. The following Wednesday, June 11, was the Feast Day for St. Barnabas, who some call the “Apostle of Second Chances.” There’s more on St. Barnabas in a bit, but first a word or three about Pentecost. The word comes from the Greek for “50th day,” and it’s always celebrated 50 days after Easter Sunday.  (Seven weeks and a day.) And it’s been around a long, long time. (Over 2,000 years?) See Pentecost – Wikipedia:

Pentecost is the Greek name for the Feast of Weeks, a prominent feast in the calendar of ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai. This feast is still celebrated in Judaism as Shavuot. Later, in the Christian liturgical year, it became a feast commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ … as described in the Acts of the Apostles [verses 1-13 et seq.].

Other notes: It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks. (Described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1–31.) It’s also called the Birthday of the Church.

Before the events of the first Pentecost … a few weeks after Jesus’ death and resurrection, there were followers of Jesus, but no movement that could be meaningfully called “the church.”  Thus, from an historical point of view, Pentecost is the day on which the church was started.  This is also true from a spiritual perspective, since the Spirit brings the church into existence and enlivens it.  Thus Pentecost is the church’s birthday.

(What is Pentecost?  (Patheos).) Another name for Pentecost is Tongue Sunday, partly because of the “tongues of fire,” as told in Acts 2:3. But another reason was the “speaking in tongues” – glossolalia – that occurred that day. Acts 2:4: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” But those there weren’t just babbling, as some today seem to think. Instead they spoke in concrete, known languages. As a result, people from many different nations could understand them. See Acts 2, verses 8-11:

“How is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs – in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

(See also 1st Corinthians 14:19, on the potential abuse of that “gift,” where the Apostle Paul said that while he was glad he could speak in tongues, in church “I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.”)

So as of Wednesday, June 11, “Happy Umpteenth Birthday, Church!”

Moving on to St. Barnabas, he wasn’t one of the original 12 apostles, but is regarded as one of the first 70 (or 72) Disciples. He was also one of the most respected men in the first-century Church, “after the Apostles themselves.” But his biggest contribution may have been welcoming Paul – originally called Saul – into the early church, despite Paul’s “baggage.”

“Saul” was a leading persecutor of the early church, as told in Acts 8:3: “Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” Then came Acts 9:1-2, where Saul, “still breathing out threats of murder … went to the high priest and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”

But on the way – to drag Christian prisoners back to Jerusalem – Saul-Paul had his Damascus Road Experience. The result? From being a hard-core enemy of the early Church, Paul became “second only to Jesus” in spreading the Gospel to the far corners of the known world. Which might never have happened if it hadn’t been for the intervention of Barnabas.

The Bible first mentions him in Acts 4:36:  “Joseph, a Levite, born in Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (son of encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and turned it over to the apostles.” And the site Barnabas the Apostle – Justus added that even after Paul’s Damascus Road experience, most Christians in Jerusalem “wanted nothing to do with him. They had known him as a persecutor and an enemy of the Church. But Barnabas was willing to give him a second chance.” (Which is pretty much what Jesus is all about.)

In short, if it hadn’t been for Barnabas willing to give Paul a second chance, he might never have become that Church’s most important early convert, if not the “Founder of Christianity.” But then came an ironic twist, after Barnabas gave that new “Apostle Paul” his Second Chance:

Paul and Barnabas went on a missionary journey together, taking Mark with them. Part way, Mark turned back and went home. When Paul and Barnabas were about to set out on another such journey, Barnabas proposed to take Mark along, and Paul was against it, saying that Mark had shown himself undependable. Barnabas wanted to give Mark a second chance [as he had with Paul] and so he and Mark went off on one journey, while Paul took Silas and went on another. Apparently Mark responded well to the trust given him by the “son of encouragement,” since we find that Paul later speaks of him as a valuable assistant (2 Tim 4:11; see also Col 4:10 and Phil 24) .

So again, we too might just call Barnabas “the Apostle of Second Chances.”

Then too Barnabas was known for a power to heal and to encourage others. See The Power of Encouragement: Lessons From the Life of Barnabas. As noted, the original Apostles called him “Son of Encouragement,” and that’s a trait we could use more of today. (Also a power to heal some of today’s wounds in the national discourse.) And we could use someone in power who would use that power to lift our spirits and encourage and support us to be our best.

Even it – for that to happen – it may take a Damascus Road experience. Therefore,

Keep on praying!

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The upper image was first courtesy of Pentecost Sunday Images – Image Results. But see also El Greco – Pentecost, 1610 at Prado Museum Madrid Spain. The caption – gleaned from past posts – is from Wikipedia, in turn gleaned from the following: “The Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost is celebrated on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) from Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31).”

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

For this post – as to Pentecost Sunday – I borrowed from 2015’s On Pentecost – “Happy Birthday, Church,” from Pentecost 2020 – “Learn what is pleasing to the Lord,” On Pink Floyd – and Pentecost Sunday, 2021, and On Pentecost Sunday – 2024. As to St. Barnabas I borrowed from 2014’s On St. Barnabas, On D-Day and St. Barnabas – 2021, and June ’24, St. Barnabas and second chances. See also Barnabas – Wikipedia. The Lectionary site St Barnabas, Apostle adds this Collect:

Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well­being of your Church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“70 or 72.” See Who were the 70 (or 72) disciples in Luke 10? – GotQuestions, and Seventy disciples – Wikipedia: “The number of those disciples varies between either 70 or 72 depending on the manuscript.”

Re: Paul as “second only to Jesus.” See articles including How Much Did Paul Influence Christianity? | Cold Case Christianity: “Few individuals have had as much impact on Christianity as the Apostle Paul. Traditionally credited with authoring thirteen or fourteen books in the New Testament,” he was a man of immense influence, “second only, perhaps, to Jesus.” And some have gone so far as to describe him as the “founder of Christianity.”

On Barnabas and encouragement, see also The Power of Encouragement: St. Barnabas – eicatholic.org.

Re: “Therefore.” According to the Britannica Dictionary the word is “somewhat formal” and means “for that reason : because of that.” Examples: “The cell phone is thin and light and therefore very convenient to carry around.” Or “Payment was received two weeks after it was due; therefore, you will be charged a late fee.”

The lower image is courtesy of Barnabas – Wikipedia. The caption: “‘Barnabas curing the sick‘ by Paolo Veronese, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, c. 1566.”

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As noted in the opening blurb, this blog has four main themes. The first is that God will accept anyone. (John 6:37, with the added, “Anyone who comes to Him.”) This is a consistent theme throughout the Bible. From the Old Testament, Psalm 9:10, “You never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.” (In the Version in the Book of Common Prayer.) The second is that God wants us to live abundantly.  (John 10:10.) The third is that we should do greater miracles than Jesus. (John 14:12). A fourth theme: The only way to do all that is read the Bible with an open mind:

…closed-mindedness, or an unwillingness to consider new ideas, can result from the brain’s natural dislike for ambiguity. According to this view, the brain has a “search and destroy” relationship with ambiguity and evidence contradictory to people’s current beliefs tends to make them uncomfortable… Research confirms that belief-discrepant-closed-minded persons have less tolerance for cognitive inconsistency…

So in plain words, I take issue with what I came to call “Christian first graders.” Those who stay in a kind of elementary school, and maybe even never go beyond first grade. See John the Baptist, ’24 – and “Christian First Graders,” for more detail. But the key point: “The Bible was designed to expand your mind,” not keep it narrow. Also, the idea that “Jesus was anything but negative. His goal was for you to grow and develop into all that you can be.” (For more on that see ABOUT THE BLOG, above.)

literalists who never go “beyond the fundamentals.” But the Bible can offer so much more than their narrow reading can offer…  (Unless you want to stay a Bible buck private all your life…) Now, about “Boot-camp Christians.” See for example, Conservative Christian – “Career buck private?”  The gist of that post is that starting the Bible is like Army Basic Training. You begin by“learning the fundamentals.” But after boot camp, you move on to Advanced Individual Training.” 

However, after boot camp, you move on to Advanced Individual Training. And as noted in “Buck private,” one of this blog’s themes is that if you want to be all that you can be, you need to go on and explore the “mystical side of Bible reading.*” In other words, exploring the mystical side of the Bible helps you “be all that you can be.” See Slogans of the U.S. Army – Wikipedia, re: the recruiting slogan from 1980 to 2001. The related image at left is courtesy of: “toywonders.com/productcart/pc/catalog/aw30.jpg.”

Re: “mystical.” Originally, mysticism “referred to the Biblical liturgical, spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity.” See Mysticism – Wikipedia, and the post On originalism.  (“That’s what the Bible was originally about!”) See also Christian mysticism – Wikipedia, “In early Christianity the term ‘mystikos’ referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative… The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God.” As to that “experiential” aspect, see also Wesleyan Quadrilateral – Wikipedia, on the theological reflection method using four sources of spiritual development: scripture, tradition, reason, and “Christian experience.”

For an explanation of the Daily Office – where “Dorscribe” came from – see What’s a DOR?

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May 31, 2025 – The last post said the next major feast days are Ascension Day – this year Thursday, May 29 – and two days later the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. (Mary’s visit to the expectant mother of John the Baptist.)  And that this post would cover those two feasts, so here goes.

First off, Ascension Day always comes on a Thursday, 40 days after Easter. It’s a major Feast, and it’s ecumenical. (“Universally celebrated.”) More precisely, it’s celebrated on the 40th day of Eastertide, the 50-day church season running from Easter Day to Pentecost Sunday. And in terms of importance it ranks up there with the Passion, Easter, and Pentecost.

The standard Gospel reading for the day, Luke 24:44-53, tells the story:

Jesus said to his disciples, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you… Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day…”   Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven…

Note the words saying Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures,” followed by words that the disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” (That’s the euaggelion, the Good News!) I found two good articles on the subject. The first, Why Does the Ascension of Jesus Matter? – BibleProject, says that we as Christians are “invited to ascend into this way of living,” that is, ascend to where the “followers of Jesus become the place in the world where Heaven and Earth overlap.” (Emphasis added.) The second, The Ascension of Jesus – What was the Meaning and Significance, said the event was the “climatic, crowning event of [Jesus’] exaltation, and the necessary precursor to his continuing work through the Spirit and the church.”

Then too there’s the Wikipedia article, Ascension of Jesus. It refers to the Apostle’s Creed, which says in part that Jesus “ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.” This idea “provided an interpretative frame for Jesus’ followers to make sense of his death and the resurrection appearances.” Or as theologian Justus Knecht wrote:

Our Lord went up Body and Soul into heaven in the sight of His apostles, by His own power, to take possession of His glory, and to be our Advocate and Mediator in heaven with the Father. He ascended as Man, as Head of the redeemed, and has prepared a dwelling in heaven for all those who follow in His steps.

In other words, if Jesus hadn’t “ascended to Heaven,” we wouldn’t have a place to stay when we get there. (By faith, expressed in Romans 10:9, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Period.)

Turning to the Visitation, where Mary visited the mother of John the Baptist (this year celebrated Saturday, May 31): It’s discussed in Visitation (Christianity) – Wikipedia:

The Visitation is the visit of Mary with Elizabeth as recorded [in] Luke 1:39–56.  It is also the name of a Christian feast day[,] celebrated on 31 May…  Mary is pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist.  Mary left Nazareth immediately after the Annunciation and went “into the hill country” [of Judah] to attend to her cousin.

Wikipedia added, “In the Gospel of Luke, the author’s accounts of the Annunciation and Visitation are constructed using eight points of literary parallelism to compare Mary to the Ark of the Covenant.” (Which I didn’t know.)  And the Blessed Virgin Mary article added that Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Mary responded with what became known as Magnificat. In turn:

John the Baptist, still unborn, leaped for joy in his mother’s womb. Thus we are shown, side by side, the two women, one seemingly too old to have a child, but destined to bear the last prophet of the Old Covenant … and the other woman, seemingly not ready to have a child, but destined to bear the One Who was Himself the beginning of the New Covenant, the age that would not pass away. (Emphasis added.)

 In turn the Magnificat echoes several Old Testament passages, including allusions to “the Song of Hannah,” in 1st Samuel 2:1-10. (Not to mention “the Book of Odes, an ancient liturgical collection,” but not to be confused with the Odes of Solomon.)

Note also that another big feast day is coming up on June 8, the Day of Pentecost, also called Whitsunday. I’ll cover that in the next post, but in the meantime consider this painting of Mary reciting the Magnificat with John the Baptist’s parents “looking on in the background.”

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The upper image is courtesy of the Wikipedia article, Ascension of Jesus, with the full caption:  “Jesus’ ascension to heaven depicted by John Singleton Copley, 1775.”  

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

For this post I borrowed from The Visitation – 2016, 2017’s Ascension Day 2017 – “Then He opened their minds,” also Mary’s Visitation – and Pentecost – 2017, and On Ascension Day, 2024. A side note: In the 2024 post I explored the idea of “life after life,” especially “after a grueling event years ago. My nephew was riding in a car, the car plunged into the Chattahoochee River north of Atlanta, and he was trapped inside… That tragic death shook my faith.” Strangely enough – to some anyway – I found comfort in the First law of thermodynamics, which says energy is neither created nor destroyed, it simply changes form. (I came to figure the human soul is a form of energy.) See also On “her spirit returned” – and Ascension Day, from 2023. It explored at greater length such topics as Ensoulment and Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”

The lower image is courtesy of Mary’s Magnificat James Tissot – Image Results, and more especially Magnificat of Our Lady Painting by James Tissot—A Catholic Commentary. (“Catholic Art Blog[:] The Moment of the Magnificat,” by Patrick Werick (July 21, 2011),” which noted: “French artist and illustrator James Tissot captures the moment the blessed Virgin Mary recites the Magnificat while visiting her relations Elizabeth and Zacharias (notice them looking on in the background):”

Tissot was known for spending time in the Holy Land and painting a plethora of scenes from the life of Jesus Christ. What particularly sets him aside from other artists’ renditions of the life of Christ is his authenticity in displaying accurately the ethnic garb and customs that were in place while Jesus walked the earth. 

See also The Magnificat (Le magnificat) – Brooklyn Museum, and James Tissot – Wikipedia.

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