What is self-righteousness?

You hear the command of God, and refuse to introspect. You do not, as Paul teaches, “look to yourself.”

You look to others.

You gossip. You nitpick. You complain. You find fault. You do everything under the sun but consider the one thing that is needful in God’s eyes:

The most likely possibility.

That you, oh man (or woman)—I mean, let’s be generous—oh bipedal humanoid earth mammal—you, and nobody else but you, are the problem.

But you do not consider this. You do not introspect. So when the voice of the Lord touches your heart, you “extrospect.”

You observe and consider the external world and external things.

What a lovely capitalist you make.

You are the perfect fit for judging others, for giving your opinion: for shopping, and critiquing what people do, how they talk, how they conduct their affairs, even how they look.

Extrospection is just another word for playing God—playing Judge.

To borrow and bend a line from Captain America:
“There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he is not you.”

Introspection, the extrospective theologian boasts, leads to prayer and fasting. Why? Because the extrospect worships the very control they seek through extrospection.

So prayer, for the extrospect, is not submission. It’s AIPAC money.
Fasting, for the extrospect, is not weakness. It’s a corporate PAC.

I have bad news kids. God the Father is not for sale. Jesus is not Bernie Sanders.

You’re not trying to fit into the system. And make things work.

The good news is, he will not sell you out. The bad news is, he cannot be bought.

This week, I’ll explore the Hebrew and Arabic functions that ground Luke’s use of the term deēseis in Luke 5:33.

Passage:

Οἱ δὲ εἶπαν πρὸς αὐτόν· Οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου νηστεύουσιν πυκνὰ καὶ δεήσεις ποιοῦνται, ὁμοίως καὶ οἱ τῶν Φαρισαίων, οἱ δὲ σοὶ ἐσθίουσιν καὶ πίνουσιν. (Luke 5:33)

And they said to him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but yours eat and drink.” (Luke 5:33)

Father Marc discusses Luke 5:33 (Episode 523)

Father Marc Boulos provides an update on upcoming episodes of “The Bible as Literature Podcast” and makes an important announcement about Father Paul’s podcast series, “Tarazi Tuesdays.”

He also shares that he is relaunching “The Bible as Literature Podcast,” emphasizing functionality and language, steering away from theology and narrative. He discusses the importance of understanding sacred texts through the study of grammar and the original languages, especially Hebrew and Arabic, and how this approach submits to the text of Scripture, facilitating table fellowship.

Article mentioned in the program:

Celebrating the Jewish Grammarians of Al-Andalus

By Blaise Webster

“Lately, much of my study has been dedicated to Hebrew and Arabic lexicography. I am fascinated by the close relationship between these two languages and how they create natural links between the Bible and the Qur’an. I am fascinated by how both texts use virtually the same vocabulary, share the same cultural milieu, and fundamentally share the same exhortation to submit to the one God and to serve the needy neighbor. It is a world that eschews divisive theologies and speculative philosophizing.”

Link: https://medium.com/@webproductions28/celebrating-the-jewish-grammarians-of-al-andalus-34fc4597443e

Father Marc discusses the triliteral ʿ-ṣ-b. (Episode 522)

Years ago, when I worked in the city, I took perverse pleasure in the prophetic absurdity of a small, dilapidated, prewar brownstone jutting out against the pristine, monied plaza of the Towers, built as money does, to cover the ugliness of human sin with the vanity of majesty and looks.

It was an ugly, filthy box, with fire escapes and all. I used to look to see if I could find an old Greek woman running a clothesline to hang dirty underwear out to dry for all the wealthy brokers to see—people who made their living funding all the genocides the Western media has long since perfected hiding from us—but I could never find that underwear.

Alas, the brownstone is gone, but the underwear is finally on display.

That church was not built by Greek sailors. It was camped in. It was an old brownstone that people prayed in. It was a tent of meeting and it was a threat to the city elite—to people who worship money.

It was ugly on the outside and beautiful on the inside.

“I remember in Romania we had a class on Christian architecture.”

“ How,” Fr. Paul asks, “could architecture be Christian?”

How, indeed?

“I mean, the dome is Roman, Greco-Roman, it’s not Christian.”

“The Orthodox like to speak about the dome, heaven descending upon earth. In the West, in Europe, they like much more the spires, you know, going up to God.”

“Ultimately, you start theologizing the stone.”

You know, stones. Rubble. The stuff left over after clergy bless bombs with holy water or politicians scribble little hearts with love notes like “finish them.”

That’s what happens when you start theologizing stones.

I prefer praying in prewar brownstones or whatever is available—free of charge, with a charge.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

(Episode 325)