{"id":481,"date":"2019-08-19T23:29:43","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T23:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/?p=481"},"modified":"2019-08-19T23:29:43","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T23:29:43","slug":"lectionary-readings-for-tuesday-august-20th-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/2019\/08\/19\/lectionary-readings-for-tuesday-august-20th-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Lectionary Readings for Tuesday, August 20th, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

God’s Book of Eskra Chapters 28, 29, and 30<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Chapter 28<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Sakaya said: Without rites and ceremonies, a people is like a collection of musicians,
\nwith every one playing a different tune.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Without pledges to general rules, a community is like a farm without fences, where
\ncattle roam about, destroying the harvests.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Two things stand prominently before all men, about which there need be no dispute,
\nLight and Darkness. Whether ye call the Light, E<\/span>OLIN<\/span>, or O<\/span>RMAZD<\/span>, or G<\/span>OD<\/span>, or S<\/span>UDGA<\/span>, it
\nmattereth little, provided the idea eliminated hath reference to that which is T<\/span>HE <\/span>H<\/span>IGHEST
\nCONCEIVED OF<\/span>, Who is Ever Present, and is the Person from which all persons sprung. And
\nwhether ye call darkness <\/span>SIN, <\/span>or <\/span>EVIL, <\/span>or <\/span>SATAN, <\/span>it mattereth little, provided the idea
\neliminated is that which is the extreme opposite of light.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Without these two entities in view, to shun the one, and strive for the other, a
\ncommunity is like race-horses striving for a prize by running in circular capers, instead of
\ngoing on a well provided track.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Take no man nor woman into the family till first pledged to serve the All Person,
\nJehovih (Ormazd), with a full and willing heart.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

6. To shun satan and his emissaries, be circumspect.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

7. And when ye are come together, choose ye the oldest, wisest, best man, to be the father
\nof the family (community).
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

8. When matters come up for discussion, whoever speaketh thereon shall speak in the
\ndirection of light, and not of darkness.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

9. When asked further explanation on this, Sakaya said:
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

10. There are two modes of discussion before all men: One is to impart light, and
\nthe other is to abuse the opponent. The first is Jehovih’s, the second is satan’s method.
\nIn the family discussion, the latter method shall not be tolerated by the father.<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>11. After the discussion is finished, the rab’bah shall decree according to the light of the
\nFather in him.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

12. Sakaya was here asked: Why not decree according to the majority vote?
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

13. Sakaya said: That is the lower light, being the light of men only.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

14. For I declare unto you, ye can not serve both Jehovih and men. It is incumbent on
\nevery man in the community that entereth the discussion to speak from the higher light, as
\nhe perceiveth it, without regard to policy or consequences. And the same law shall be
\nbinding on the rab’bah; and though nine men out of ten side the other way, yet the
\nrab’bah’s decree shall stand above all the rest.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

15. When the discussion turneth upon rites and ceremonies, which the community may
\nadopt, or the music, or the discipline regarding funerals, or marriages, or births, the
\nspeakers shall remember that a family is composed of old and young; of sedate and
\njocose; and that every talent is created for the glory of the whole, and for the glory of the
\nCreator; and they shall enlarge their understanding, to embrace the whole. Remembering,
\nit is easier to walk beside a bull, and turn him in his course, than to come against him for
\nthe same purpose.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

16. One man hath joy in sacrifice (worship) by clapping his hands and dancing; another,
\nin poetry; another, in singing; another, in silent prayers. And yet, one hath no preference
\nover another in sight of Him Who created them, for they are His own handiwork.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

17. Consider, then, that ye provide a time and place in the community for all of these in
\ntheir own way, directing them holily. For if ye strive to bind them, that are of exuberant
\nspirits, not to dance and clap their hands, they will find vent in secrecy and to an evil end.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

18. Herein have the Brahmin priests been aiders and abettors of bawdy houses and of
\ndrunkenness and licentiousness; because they have sought to make you ascetics by
\noverthrowing your natural talents<\/span><\/p>\n

Chapter 29<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Sakaya said: Of a truth, I declare a new thing to you, but which was old thousands of
\nyears ago.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

2. That religion is nothing more nor less than rites and ceremonies in the discipline of a
\ncommunity. As when an army of soldiers are in training by their captains, when certain
\ncommands and maneuvers cause the soldiers to be as a unit in movement; so is religion in
\na community, through rites and ceremonies, made as a unit to carry out works of charity
\nand harmony and love and righteousness.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

3. And every member of a community, that taketh no part in its religion, is like an idler
\nmixing in with a company of soldiers, where his presence tendeth to evil.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Brahmin priests go about preaching, singing and praying before audiences, making
\ngreat show in the temples; yet none of these practice what they profess.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

5. From these evils learn ye, to do good; first, by living only in families, where all the
\nmembers practice what they profess.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

6. As the world goeth, it is easy to preach and call it religion; but the fruit must be
\nmeasured by the city or the state, that is saved from sin. Who then, of all the priests in the
\ntemple, can say: Here is a community saved from sin!
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

7. If they can not do this, then they are themselves hypocrites and blasphemers.<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>8. Satan calleth out from a dark corner, saying: Remain thou within the wicked world,
\nand leaven the whole mass.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

9. Again he calleth out from a dark corner, saying: Go thou away from the wicked world,
\nand live as an ascetic, praying alone, living alone.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

10. Again he calleth from a dark corner, saying: Thou and thy friends are too pure to
\nmix with the world; go ye away privily, and let the world take care of itself.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

11. Now, I say unto you: Do none of these things; and, in the same breath, I say: Do all of
\nthem.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

12. Let your community remain within the world, that it may be a proven example that
\nlove, peace, plenty, and happiness are possible on the earth. Let the community be
\nsufficiently ascetic to attain the beatific state, which is the triumph of spirit over the flesh.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

13. And, as to the third proposition: Take ye no part in the governments of men, of kings,
\nor queens. Neither fight ye for them, nor against them.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

14. For they live under the lower law; but ye shall live under the law of Jehovih as He
\nspeaketh to the soul of man.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

15. Neither shall ye have kings, nor queens; these belong to the world’s people.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

16. Lastly, and above all things, live not for the corporeal man, but for the spiritual man;
\nremembering ye are not yet born, but are in embryo, shaping yourselves for the
\neverlasting life.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

17. Whoso practiceth not the higher law, will not escape the tortures in hell; but whoso
\nliveth the higher law will pass on to Nirvania, where dwell Gods and Goddesses of
\nendless light.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

18. Flatter not yourselves that ye shall suddenly reform all the world. Ye can at most but
\nreach an arm’s length.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

19. Three doctrines have been, now are, and ever shall be on the earth; they are: First, the
\nFaithists’, who know the All Person, Ever Present; second, the idol worshipers’, who
\nmake the Creator into a man in heaven, and not present but by proxy of certain laws; and,
\nthird, infidels’, who believe in nothing they cannot take up in the hand, and weigh.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

20. The Faithists beget Faithists, the idolaters beget idolaters, the infidels beget infidels.
\nFor these three conditions are but outward manifestations of the spirit; the infidel is
\nnearly devoid of spirit; the idolater hath one grade more of spirit; but the Faithist hath
\nspiritual ascendancy.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

21. Since the highest best good things done in the world, come of the order of Faithists,
\nbe ye circumspect as to marriage, that your offspring incline more to spirituality than to
\nearthliness.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

22. But such matters come under the higher law, and can be understood only through the
\nsoul.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

23. Also, hath practice proved that the laws of a community must die with the death of
\nthe rab’bah, and that new laws must be made by the new rab’bah. And, in no case, shall
\nthe law of precedent, of things past, apply to things present. For this is making slaves of
\nthe living, to those that are dead. It is making the wisdom of the dead greater than the
\nwisdom of Jehovih.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

24. When a rab’bah retireth from office, it shall be considered the same as a death, for it is
\nthe termination of his rule.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

25. Nor shall a rab’bah have any privileges or emoluments, over and above any member<\/span>
\nof the community; nor one man above another; nor one woman above another; for there
\nshall be no partiality, even in favor of the learned and good, over and above the ignorant
\nand the less good. For ye are all brothers and sisters; children of One Father, created by
\nHim in His own way and for His own glory.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chapter 30<\/span><\/p>\n

1. For four years Sakaya preached, traveling from the east to the west, and from north to
\nsouth; and wherever he went, great multitudes came to hear him, for God had so prepared
\nthem.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

2. And there went with him seventy-two disciples, who were also inspired of God, to
\nlearn the wisdom of Sakaya’s words. And the people of Vind’yu were stirred up as they
\nhad not been from the time of Capilya.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

3. And it came to pass that the priests and magicians of Brahma sought to condemn
\nSakaya, saying: The oracles and the spirits of the dead declare, his words are not true
\nwords. Moreover, if he were of the Holy Ghost, he could show signs and miracles.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

4. So God gave Sakaya signs and miracles, even to showing the spirits of the dead, who
\ncame and stood beside him whilst he preached; and the spirits spake also, declaring
\nSakaya’s words were of Jehovih. And the multitude saw the spirits, and heard them speak.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Sakaya said: Of a truth, I do not come of the Holy Ghost; I come of the actual Person,
\nJehovih (Ormazd).
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Then God gave to Sakaya power of the D<\/span>EATH <\/span>C<\/span>AST<\/span>, whereat his own spirit went out of
\nhis corporeal body, and stood in the presence of many men, and was seen by them; and
\nhis spirit spake to them, and they heard his words.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

7. And whilst his spirit was thus out of his corporeal body, another angel of God came
\nand inhabited it, and spake before the multitude.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

8. Now, after these signs came to Sakaya, he preached again, and traveled four years
\nmore, showing these things wherever he went.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

9. And on these occasions he explained the spirit of things, and the different heavens
\nwhich he had visited. And he showed unto many that it was not imagination; for he left
\nhis corporeal body, and went in spirit to far-off cities and country places, showing his
\nspirit in regions hundreds of miles remote, and he was recognized in the communities
\nwhere he appeared.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

10. For there were learned men in those days, and they traveled to the places named to see
\nhis spirit, to witness if such a thing could be; and hundreds and thousands of them
\ntestified it was true.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

11. Sakaya said: Of these matters be ye most expert in observation; for though they be
\nproved to you, yet I declare to you, they are as nothing. For even magicians and spirits of
\ndarkness can attain to the same miracles.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

12. Nor is there in such wonders one single virtue, that would contribute to make the
\nworld better, or happier.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

13. For the spirits of the lower heavens, like mortals, have multitudes of doctrines; and,
\nfor the most part, they know nothing of the higher heavens, Nirvania, which I proclaim
\nunto you.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

14. Nor is the testimony of a spirit more valuable to you than is the testimony of a mortal.<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>15. But consider ye the words and doctrines of spirits and men; for that only is good
\nwhich provideth for ameliorating the condition of the family and the state.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

16. For it is given unto you by the Father, that ye can begin your own resurrection whilst
\nye are here in the corporeal body.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

17. Consider, then, what ye can do that will raise you in spirit; for this is resurrection.
\nFirst, to purify yourselves; second, to do all the good ye can; and third, to affiliate.
\nWithout these, there can be no resurrection.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

18. Or, having two of them, and lacking in the third, there can be no resurrection.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

19. To live the highest best one knoweth; to practice sharply the convictions of the heart:
\nthese are the working-tools of resurrection. To live not the highest best one knoweth; to
\npractice not what one is convinced of, is hypocrisy; these are like stones tied to the neck
\nof a man in deep water.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

20. In all, Sakaya preached and practiced fourteen years; and he founded seventy-two
\ncommunities.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

21. And all the members thereof were sworn against war, and against caste, and against
\nidleness, and to worship only the Great Spirit, Ormazd. And he gave them many rites and
\nceremonies.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

22. And then Sakaya said unto the Creator: I know Thou hast in some mysterious way
\ninspired me to do all I have done. Therefore, all the glory is Thine. How best, O Father,
\nmay these great truths be impressed upon mortals, that they will not soon forget Thy
\nwords through me?
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

23. Then answered God to Sakaya, saying: By thy death by the hand of the idolater.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

24. Sakaya said: Then, O Thou, Who createdst me alive, provide Thou my death as Thou
\ndesirest.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

25. Then God cut asunder the cord of light that extended to the heavenly throne in
\nParadise. And suddenly now the Brahmins conspired against Sakaya, and they went
\nprivily and poisoned his food with the blood of swine, killed with poison.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

26. And Sakaya ate thereof, not perceiving it; and he was taken with a bloody flux and
\ndied.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

27. And his disciples took his body, according to the custom of the country, and burnt it,
\nand scattered the ashes thereof to the four corners of the world.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

28. And in the night thereafter, God sent a million angels into the field of ashes, with a
\nheavenly ship of fire, and they took the spirit of Sakaya therein, and bore him up to the
\nthrone of God.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

END OF THE HISTORY OF SAKAYA.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

God’s Book of Eskra Chapters 28, 29, and 30 Chapter 28 1. Sakaya said: Without rites and ceremonies, a people is like a collection of musicians, with every one playing a different tune. 2. Without pledges to general rules, a community is like a farm without fences, where cattle roam about, destroying the harvests. 3. … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[46,40,39,34,36,35,38,33,41,31,32,47,50,48,44,45,43,42],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-lightofgod","4":"post-481","6":"format-standard","7":"category-lectionary-readings","8":"post_tag-calendar","9":"post_tag-daily-readings","10":"post_tag-eloih","11":"post_tag-faithism","12":"post_tag-faithist-church","13":"post_tag-faithists","14":"post_tag-jehovih","15":"post_tag-kosmon-era","16":"post_tag-lectionary-readings","17":"post_tag-oahspe","18":"post_tag-oahspe-bible","19":"post_tag-observances","20":"post_tag-religion-of-light","21":"post_tag-sabbath","22":"post_tag-united-covenant","23":"post_tag-united-covenant-of-light","24":"post_tag-yeshua","25":"post_tag-yoshu"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":482,"href":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481\/revisions\/482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}