There are passages in the Bible which, at first glance, may appear either looking as a poor translation or clearly leave us quizzical, as far as their meaning is concerned.
Yet, sometimes, after reading them again we may suddenly be enlightened by a piercing vision of the core meaning of the passage.
This often requires of a broadening of the initial perspective.
For example, in Deuteronomy 7 ; 9 : ‘Know therefore that the Lord your God is God’ may sound as a self explanatory obviousness repeated for no reason following a tautological pattern like ‘know the Bike you ride is your bike’…
However, can we welcome the possibility that this passage refers to the reassuring process of the Holy Book aiming at comforting the practice that God’s people have.
‘Be reassured, know that what you are doing is right, know that you are on the way , that you are not following a wrong path’.
This is a sentence of recognition from master to disciple, a quick smile pointing to the Heart of Life.
©FJ April 2022
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Many thanks to all
I am curious.
Your concept of a « holy » text. To me, once I regarded it as such. Now, I find there is no one thing, or no one place, more « holy » than another.
« Holiness », in my mind, speaks rather of our reactions than anything intrinsic in that to which we react.
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The master I used to follow said we create holiness.
When we enter a place, we can make it a holy place,
I agree with you, there is no extrinsic holiness.
For holiness is an inner resonance.
However spiritual a text may be, there s no holiness as long as it doesn’t resonate in an inner place made holy..(through practice, through grace, through being given the grace of practice…)
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Years ago, I was told of an incident where a female acquaintance was visiting Glastonbury with a male friend.
Glastonbury is something of an attraction for certain sorts of pagan types.
They were at the Chalice Well when another female objected quite strongly to the male’s presence there. She considered it desecrated a « holy place ».
I’ve been to the Chalice Well myself, years before this happened.
It’s a hole in the ground.
Had the female at the well grasped the concept of « holiness », she would have realised that it is no more or less sacred than any other part of Glastonbury or beyond. At that point, she would have recognised one, very simple, fact.
The Chalice Well is a hole in the ground. As such, it was desecrated only by her exclusivity.
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