Shalom my brothers and sisters,
In my last blogpost, I tried to get across to you the ancient Israelite understanding of the very nature of God – of Yahveh. Not just some impersonal, obscure or vague theological definition of God, but the real, living Yahveh of Moses and of all the prophets, whose lives were radically altered by what they experienced of the very Presence of Yahveh. The soul that is touched by the flame of God’s Glory is never the same afterwards.
It is this understanding of the living nature of Yahveh that the Jewish priests of ancient times were constantly aware of as they served in the Temple, and it drew the pious among them to act with a constant demeanour of loving reverence and humble awe.
Jacob the Pious (a.k.a. ‘James the Just’) who, by ancient tradition, was a Nazirite brought up and educated in the Temple by these self-same dedicated priests, possessed the very same knowledge and reverence of Yahveh as they did. In the de-Christianised version of James 2:1, Jacob the Pious says, “Your faith should be in the Glory of Adonai, not in people’s appearances” (Ig. Yq. 3:1).
By tradition, according to the ‘Jewish-Christian’ Clementine Literature, Jacob the Pious was a man whose very presence drew people to the conclusion that God was with him. His daily life displayed a simple yet devoted closeness to God – that he was, at all times, aware of the wondrous and awesome Presence of God in his life. People sought eagerly to listen to his words, or to touch the fringes of his tallit. He was a man of humble piety and devotion, who prayed daily before God while on his knees, so that ‘his knees became as callused as camel’s knees’.
No lay person would be expected to live such a perfect life of completely devoted service and piety as Jacob, but through the realisation of the awesome nature of who and what Yahveh is – because, remember, in the Israelite faith, Yahveh is a knowable God – every one of us can live a life which shows, through our simple words and actions, that God is with us, that we are devoted to living Yahveh’s values, and that Yahveh’s values matter in this world; that we are so drawn to the love, compassion and holiness of God, that we are moved to eagerly transform and change for the better.
Realising our Closeness to God
In what I am about to say in this section of my article, please do not think that I am denigrating anyone’s dearly held personal faith; I am simply trying to describe what I felt and experienced at different stages of my own life, which are relevant to the current stage of my spiritual journey.
Part of the subconscious, anti-Jewish propaganda that keeps people at a distance from Yahveh, is that the Jewish God is inaccessible and remote, and that the Christian God is much closer to human beings. I can only speak for myself, but comparing my own experience of God as a Christian, and then as a Talmidi Jew, it was the other way round.
Reading the Hebrew Bible’s descriptions of the power of Yahveh – how the Israelites were afraid to approach God’s heavenly Glory, for fear that they might die, makes most people come to the conclusion that the God of Israel is completely unapproachable, but such a perception would be mistaken. What the Israelites were referring to was the raw power of Yahveh at its full heavenly strength, but since the Presence of Yahveh is everywhere, any human being can approach the Glory of God in prayerful spirit, to be blest, cleansed, healed and renewed.
Yahveh our God is an accessible God, who delights in our presence. Although our physical bodies cannot approach the fire of God’s Glory, we can prepare ourselves spiritually, so that our souls can enter into the very heart of God’s Glory, and survive. Not just survive, but be renewed and reinvigorated with greater purpose.
When I was a Christian, the person of ‘Jesus Christ’ was so much at the forefront of everything – having it drummed into me that everything in the Hebrew Bible was all about ‘Christ’ – that the God I actually experienced in my heart, even in those days as a Christian, seemed like a mere sidekick to ‘Jesus’, a murky, unknowable, indistinct entity somewhere in the distant background. It always seemed to me that our Heavenly Father was deliberately being kept at a distance from us, but I never really questioned why that was; I guessed at the time that this was just the way things were.
Now, as a Talmidi, I feel the living God I was deliberately not allowed to know as a Christian. I was told that the Jewish God cannot possibly know what it is like to be human unless God became human. But then when you think about this claim logically, it is in fact saying that God is not omniscient, and only has a limited knowledge of us. So if God doesn’t know what it’s like to be human, then God isn’t all-knowing – basically, the God who doesn’t possess this knowledge cannot be God!
Now as a Talmidi, I feel Yahveh all around me, in the very air that I breathe. There is absolutely no comparison between my experience of God as a Christian, and my experience of God as a Talmidi. I know now that being told that the Jewish God was distant and remote was nothing more than deliberately mendacious disinformation. It makes me sad to have to ask, Why would Paullists want to keep me from knowing God?
Experiencing our God in the simplicity of daily life
Once you are allowed to know Yahveh, and you understand the living personality and nature of Yahveh, you realise that Yahveh is all around you; that is Yahveh’s natural place – alongside God’s children.
Yahveh is the God of wisdom and knowledge, so when you learn something new, you are receiving a gift directly from God. When you gain a new understanding or insight into something that has eluded you for a long while, it is Yahveh who has given you that understanding. When you solve a problem, Yahveh has helped you solve it through the knowledge that Yahveh has taught you throughout your life. Bless Yahveh whenever any of these things happen to you, and you will truly be blest!
Yahveh is the Creator, so when you stand in awe at the magnitude of nature, you are contemplating the works of Yahveh. When you stand in admiration of the night sky, and you are struck by the infinity of stars and the endlessness of space, it is the infinity of Yahveh that is taking your breath away. Then bless Yahveh!
Yahveh is the God of Love and Compassion, so when someone is moved to help you when you are in trouble, it is the heart that Yahveh has placed within that person that is drawn to you – you are in effect receiving help from God. Similarly, when you yourself are moved to help others, you are doing God’s work by delivering the love and compassion of Yahveh to your fellow human beings. Then bless Yahveh for that precious opportunity!
Yahveh is the God of the Breath of all Life, so when you are sitting alone in prayer, contemplating every breath that you breathe, you are contemplating a gift of God, who has given you life. Then bless Yahveh for the gift of life!
Yahveh is even in our work and our service, so when we are engaged in the task of our daily jobs, whether they are complex or repetitious, fulfilling or boring, important or lowly, the Presence of Yahveh is even in our work, because the reward for our work comes from God. Then bless Yahveh for the means of our sustenance!
Yahveh is our Provider, so everything we eat and drink is a gift from God. We bless our beloved Yahveh for what we have eaten and drunk, because we realise the ultimate source that it has come from – the Earth, which Yahveh our God has made as an act of love. Then bless Yahveh for the gifts of the earth!
Yahveh is the One who ministers to us in our trials and tribulations. In our grief, Yahveh is with us; in our pain, suffering and ill-health, Yahveh is with us, bearing us up. Yahveh is the Great Shepherd of the lost and the lonely, the Comforter of those in distress, and the Guide for those who cannot find answers. The signs of Yahveh’s blessed Presence are everywhere, once you allow yourself to see and read those signs! Then bless Yahveh, the Good Shepherd!
What happens when we try to approach God’s Glory while denying our wrongdoings
When our souls approach the Glory of Yahveh with reverence, humility, penitence and awe, the power of God’s Glory is like a breath of fresh air to the soul, which invigorates and renews us. But what happens when we have done wrongful things, are fully aware of those wrongs, and yet refuse to accept that what we have done is even wrong?
It is a very important spiritual principle that we cannot draw near to the Glory of God in a state of prideful unrepentance. God’s Holiness is so powerful, that we need to prepare ourselves to approach. God’s holiness burns away that which is impure within us, and if we approach God while denying that we have done any wrong, when in fact, measured against God’s noble values, principles and ethics, we actually have, then not only is the bad within us burned away, but the good within us suffers damage as well – the soul itself experiences real harm.
Now, it’s one thing to say this and believe it; it’s another to actually know what this means in real life – to recognise the signs of this harm.
The person who arrogantly enters into God’s Presence, while denying their wrongdoing with their head held high, becomes a cold and uncompassionate individual. They have no humility of spirit, and the fount of their empathy within them dries up and becomes as barren as iron. You have probably met this type of supposedly ‘religious’ individual!
You may have met someone who claims to be religious, and yet they constantly judge others, refuse kindness or help to certain groups of people, or become obsessed with the rules and regulations of religion, while ignoring the true heart and just principles of their faith; they are the ones who think that they alone know the true path to God; these are the people who dared to approach God’s Glory, while denying to God that their wrongdoings were even any kind of sin.
These are the kind of people who maintain a demeanour and mindset that denies others the right to enter the kingdom of God, but neither are they able to enter the kingdom of God themselves. They exclude people from God’s love, and turn religion into something that is angry, hurtful, burdensome, punitive and ultimately, destructive. Turning religion into these things, desecrates the Holiness of God, but they continue in their offence – they continue trying to approach God’s Glory again and again, while staunchly maintaining their intransigent and destructive ways; they proudly show how faithfully devoted to God they are, and all the while, more and more of their soul becomes damaged; it is a vicious cycle that they refuse to see or acknowledge.
In short, if you encounter a cold-hearted, angry and judgmental religious person who lacks any kind of godly compassion, those are the outward signs of someone who has tried to approach the Glory of God over and over while in a state of hatefulness; they have denied the fact of their sin, and as a result have been harmed by God’s Glory.
The Presence of God in Yeshua’s Life
There are sadly still too many religious people who enjoy rejecting people and looking down on them, deluding themselves that they are doing God’s work by keeping such people away from God. They should be reminded that the prophet Yeshua didn’t go to the religious and the observant, or those who attended Synagogue every Sabbath waving a Bible in their hand; Yeshua ministered to the outcast and the rejected, whom religious people judged to be unworthy of God’s love.
Yeshua said that the second greatest commandment was, “Love your neighbour as yourself”. The person he was debating with didn’t want to be bested in argument (Lk 10:29), so this other person scoffed at Yeshua and said, “So who is my neighbour?”
Ask yourself who you hate – which entire groups of people do you despise, and believe shouldn’t be allowed into human society – and then ask yourself, would you be willing to have them as your neighbours? Would you also be willing to show them kind regard, and treat them as you would wish to be treated yourself, just as God commands us?
If someone from that group of people you hate was bleeding and dying on the side of the road, would you even stop to help them, in the same way as the Samaritan did in Yeshua’s parable? Or would you just walk on by, like a ‘good, bible-believing religious person’?
“Why do you call me ‘Master’, and yet do nothing that I say?” (Lk 6:46)
If we claim to be Followers of Yeshua, then that means we are called to follow the ethical teachings of the Prophet Yeshua. One can either choose to stand outside like the Pharisees, shouting abuse at those groups of people you hate, while your Master himself is dining inside; or you can go inside, and join Yeshua with the prostitutes and tax collectors. Yeshua ministered to the outcasts and the rejected of society. So as a Follower of Yeshua, I am called to do the same.
If there is someone you hate, for no reason other than who and what they are, then I will eagerly go and embrace that person and welcome them into the Kingdom of God, because Yeshua would have done no less. It’s not confusing or complicated. What’s complicated about being kind to strangers? What’s so confusing about being a decent person?
“Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Because Yeshua was human, there is a chance for us to be like him
If you follow Paullist, trinitarian theology, then you believe that ‘Jesus’ was a god. Therefore, everything he did – his compassion, his reaching out to the outcasts, his love for the forgotten of society – was all because he was a god, and the high ideals he fulfilled are far beyond us, because we ourselves are not gods. We have the excuse that we are only human, and so we cannot be expected to fulfil the sacred ideals that he did.
But then you realise that no, Yeshua was not a god, he was a human being like us, and yet because he experienced the Presence of God in his life, he felt moved to fulfil Yahveh’s ideals. He reached out to the poor, the lost, the abandoned, the rejected, the abused, and he embraced them. He didn’t do those things because he was a god; he did them because he loved God and God’s ways so much, that he was moved to do what God expected of him as a child of God. And all of us are children of God!
If you believe that God’s ways and God’s values matter in this mortal life, then you will work towards emulating the compassion that Yeshua had towards his fellow human beings. We can assume that at certain points in his life, he experienced the same challenges, fears and problems that we ourselves face. He would have been confronted by the same trials, pains and sadnesses that we encounter in life. And yet by drawing on the strength which Yahveh our God is ever willing to give all of us, Yeshua rose up to become the best version of himself.
Reconnecting with your heavenly self
All of us already have a blueprint for the best version of ourselves within us, eagerly longing to emerge from the forgotten shadows of the soul.
In the blogpost I wrote about the anatomy of the human soul, one part of the soul I mentioned is the ‘heavenly self’ – that part of the soul (neshamah) which cannot be corrupted by one’s life on earth. It is that part of the soul which always remains pure, but sadly, it remains dormant in most people. In the Hebrew Bible it is referred to as, ‘the glory of the soul (Pss 7:6, 16:9, 30:13, 57:9, 108:2 – in Xtian bibles, the verse number is one less). In order to more completely rejoice in the goodness of God, David calls on this part of his soul to awaken (Ps 57:9).
This is the part of you which still contains a piece of heaven – a memory of the perfect and wonderful being you were before you came to earth. It is this part of your soul that remembers your closeness to God at that time, and which can be awakened to enable you to live a life more completely in God’s Presence. Living, acting and breathing in the Presence of God’s Glory, means living a life which is completely open and aware of God’s Presence, each and every moment of one’s waking day. When you are aware that God’s Presence is always with you, you are moved to become something better.
Connecting to God through prayer
There are some people who are completely unable to feel or experience God when they are by themselves; they can only ‘feel’ God when they are with other people. Then there are some people who can only feel God when they are alone, but never when they are with other people. Yet others are able to feel God, both when they are alone, and also when they are with other people – and the God they experience in both cases is the very same God, with the very same personality under both sets of circumstances.
Yeshua often went off by himself to pray alone. He also taught his followers to pray together. From his example, I would say that both forms of prayer are important – praying alone, and praying together with others; they both have their own benefits. Holding both as of equal importance, helps you to discern which feelings you are getting directly from God, and which are the feelings that only come either from other human beings, or from your own human heart.
Does the God you pray to agree with everything you believe? Does the God you worship agree with all your personal values and prejudices? This sadly is the case with religious fundamentalists, whose god only exists to rubber stamp their hatreds and biases. The living God, the real God, would sometimes cause you to be challenged, and make you question things – this state of affairs is not something to be feared, but something to be embraced, because it is Yahveh who is causing you to learn Truth.
You can then dare to imagine what might be the best version of yourself – one that has been untouched by all the frailties and traumas of life, one that is happy and unafraid, one that is full of the life that Yahveh instilled in you at the creation of your soul, before you were ever born. You can imagine this version of you which is strong and confident, unburdened, filled with the love that God feels towards all living things. Whatever this perfect blueprint tells you that your perfect self was designed to be, you can find it through prayer and meditation.
Letting go of what we think is impossible
There is perhaps one stumbling block that prevents us experiencing God, or from walking beside God in our lives – because we think that our perfect, heavenly self is a long-forgotten and impossible goal to achieve.
But that perfect, heavenly self is still within you; you just have to find it, realise it, and reconnect with it. It is the part of you that lives with joy in God’s Presence. It is the part of you that already knows how to walk in the Presence of God, because that is its inherent nature. You are inherently a good person; Yahveh created you to be a good person, and you already have the ability to recognise the Good that comes from God.
Conclusion
Knowing the great magnitude of Yahveh’s living power, does not mean that God is unapproachable or inaccessible. God is closer to us than our own breathing. Anyone who is able to approach God with a humble and penitent heart, recognising that we are flawed, yet more than willing to let go of whatever may lie in our wrongful past, and embrace instead the perfect ideals of Yahveh, is someone who will be able to draw near to the Holiness of Yahveh in spirit, so that their soul is cleansed and renewed by the Glory of Yahveh.
I sincerely pray that on this Theophany Day, your heart and soul will be filled with the Glory of Yahveh to overflowing! Blessed be Yahveh our Saviour forever! Amein!