#being exposed to water = baptism = rebirth

[pigeon-ponders]

i know shit looks bleak right now but the symbolism in ep11. the marauder exploding and in flames. hunter falling in the water. point of no return, indeed. i think major change is coming, especially for hunter.

[childofchrist1983]

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. - 1 Peter 3:18-22 KJV

Have you been treated unfairly? Have you ever been treated unjustly because of your Christian faith? If so, take heart! The Holy Bible reminds us that as Christians, we will be persecuted. It also reminds us that Jesus Christ also suffered unjustly. He was sinless and blameless, yet He suffered because of our sins. He did not simply suffer – He died for our sins. He did this so that we might come to know God and be saved. Yet, in the death of His human flesh, He was still triumphant! This act of mercy and grace is more than we can comprehend, but we are eternally grateful for it. When we suffer for Christ's sake, may we be reminded of Him, who suffered infinitely more than we ever will in order to draw people to God and be gifted eternal salvation and eternal life in Heaven. May Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ help us to share the Gospel Truth of His death and resurrection with the world. And when we are treated unfairly because of our faith and spiritual rebirth in Him, may we continue to press on, because we know that He also suffered and He loves us beyond measure and all we endure will be worth it in the end.

Leaning on Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ through prayer and His Holy Word and Spirit strengthens us and our knowledge and wisdom about God and His Gospel Truth, exposing these imposters. May God help us to seek and lean on Him daily to gain the strength, wisdom and spiritual discernment needed to expose Satan and his imposters who seek to destroy us and God's ultimate Truth. Everyday, we must remember to share Jesus Christ's Gospel Truth with the world and to thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for the grace that He poured out for us on the cross at Calvary. He has freed us from the burdens of sin and from the eternal damnation of Hell. In all we say and do, may all praise, honor and glory always be given to Him and His Kingdom of Heaven.

With renewed minds, hearts and wills, let us serve Him humbly and faithfully out of pure love and grateful rejoicing. May He remind us of His presence and to remain at peace, fully knowing that all will be well because He is always with us. Let us seek Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ today and everyday with all our heart and being, looking for His love, light and will for our lives with each step we take. Let us seek to please Him with our thoughts, words, and deeds and seek to advance His Kingdom of Heaven and His glory with our lives. Let us seek Him from a pure and humble heart, and when we so seek, we believe Him and His promise that we will find. May He help us all to be more sensitive to the teaching ministry of His Holy Word and Spirit, relying on Him and allowing Him to speak to us and guide us every step of our Christian journey.

God gave us the Holy Bible - His living and Holy Word - to let us know of Him and His abiding love and care as well as guide and prepare us for all our lives. May He help us encourage one another as we continue our walk with Him and our duty to Him daily. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for being present for all our new beginnings and all our lives. May He redirect any anxiety we feel as He provides countless opportunities for growth and change. May we humble ourselves before God always, asking Him to forgive our sins and make our hearts and lives anew through His Holy Word and Spirit. May He help us make Him and His Holy Word top priority, so we can grow spiritually and grow in our relationship with Him as we apply it to our daily lives. Thank God that we can focus on Him and everything about Him, for that is what keeps us sane and at peace. May our words and actions always be a reflection of Him and His Holy Word and Spirit and will.

May He help us to always walk in His grace and Holy Spirit, not by our own measure. May He give us the humble humility to know that our freedom and eternal salvation is found only in Him, so that His grace may sustain us, and we may never lose sight of His love and light and mercy. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for calling us to Him and to serve Him. May He equip us to do all that He has called us to do so that as He works through us, He may use us to produce fruit, to reach others, and to encourage all brothers and sisters in Christ. May He work all of these things in us and through us for His Kingdom and His glory. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all His creation, for His miraculous ways and for everything He does and has done for us! Keep the faith and keep moving forward in your walk with Jesus! He loves us and He knows what is best for us. Seek, follow and trust in Him - Always!

Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Word and for sending His Holy Spirit so that we might have His grace, not only to awaken us and transform our hearts in our spiritual rebirth and guarantee our eternity with Him, but to also call upon Him whenever we are in need. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all the reminders of His love and mercy and faithfulness within His Holy Word. He is bigger than any challenge or circumstance in our lives. Knowing this within our minds and our hearts, nothing can deter our faith in Him and His Truth. May we all accept Him and His eternal gift of salvation and ask that He would transform our hearts and lives according to His will and ways. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Spirit who saves, seals and leads us. May we always thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His almighty power and saving grace. For He is our strength, and He alone is able to save us, forgive our sins and gift us eternal salvation and entry into His Kingdom of Heaven.

May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world daily. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Holy Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful LORD, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

[lizardboy66]

watch me try to link pat’s outfits in bad buddy to his emotions here we go

Ok so pat’s primary colour is blue: it is his signifier. In any scene where pran’s feelings towards pat are in focus, he is wearing blue or the room is coloured blue (see episode 4). Pran’s primary colour is red, we haven’t seen pat in red much since he hadn’t realised his feelings UNTIL NOW but we did see him in red in flashbacks. When they are wearing their own colour that is usually an indication of either being in an environment in which they are comfortable, or in a scenario where their own feelings are the focus.

Pat ends the last episode and starts this one in mostly black and white. This is unusual, his outfits are normally very colourful. This represents his confusion and him forcing himself into a mould. To me this represents his compulsory heterosexuality, needing to change part of his core identity (his style) to fit with heteronormative society. In these scenes he is actively forcing his feelings for ink, but it isn’t working. White is often used in these scenes to represent a level of confusion but still a want to explore. White is his blank canvas. Black often comes up in situations where he is uncomfortable or the situation is made worse because of his actions or the circumstances. Black usually carries a negative connotation.

Then boom: red over the heart. Even though he is wearing the same shirt in the last scene, we only catch a glimpse of the red once he has his “oh” moment about pran. He is still overwhelmingly in black, he has a shirt over the red, it’s hidden. This is our first glimpse at pat’s emotional world.

He then returns to neutrals as he explores his feelings for pat. White is to him the colour of curiosity, of exploration. It’s a blank canvas on which he can experiment. In this scene he explores whether he can be jealous of pran, finds out that he can and bolts. Same.

Sleeves are also a funny one. This may be a stretch but hear me out ok. Whenever there is a scene with a lot more emotional intimacy for pat, he is usually sleeveless. He is more exposed in these outfits, more skin is showing. This could be a representation of how naked and unsafe he feels expressing his feelings and also links to his objectification of himself whenever he needs to cover up a serious emotion™️.

THESE OUTFITS!!! First of all I am not immune to pat’s arms. I’m not. But second of all look at all of that blue. Pat is again sleeveless, this scene also digs up some emotions in him that he isn’t comfortable exploring or thinking about. But he’s in blue. His feelings for pran at this stage aren’t about pran, they are about his own internal struggle with his queerness. Pran is protected by his sad feelings for pat, he uses the song they wrote together to win, he is weaponising his own feelings against pat, whereas pat is literally just in his feels rn.

The last blue outfit we see pat in is this. This scene is deeply hostile but also about concealment. He is hiding how hurt he is (since the shirt under this one is black) with his own colour and resorts to childish violence, as easy release for his complex emotions. Here he is still in his own head, dealing with his internal struggle.

Now pat isn’t clothes at all. First of all I am once again not immune to pat’s arms. Also boobs. But also water imagery is often used in queer narratives in a lot of different ways (see itsay) but here I think it’s a sort of baptism or rebirth. He is washing away all inhibitions, all fears, anything that would make him want to run and hide. He is finally confronting head on all of his confusing feelings that he hasn’t been able to make sense of for all this time.

And now he’s in red. He doesn’t need to hide his feelings anymore and his feelings for pran are no longer an internal struggle, but an external reality. He is sleeveless, he is vulnerable and exposed. Also there is a lot of black, this is a situation which could potentially cause problems and he knows this but that isn’t going to stop him. Gays? We win.

[agameforgoodchristians]

God holding your enemies’ heads under the water until the bubbles stop. (Exodus 15:1-12; 19)

TL:DR

Suffering is not redemptive, Salvation is.

After captivity and bondage in Egypt, Moses and Aaron’s battle with Pharoah’s magicians, plagues, Passover, and the letting of God’s people go, the Children of Israel find themselves at the banks of the “Red Sea,” with an army bearing down on them. What happens next is at the center of scholarly debate and controversy. There are many questions about this story that we won’t deep dive into. For example:

What is the name of the body of water in this text? The Hebrew says yam suf: Should we read this as the “Red Sea” or “the Sea of Reeds”?

How much time should be spent (if any) prioritizing the prose account of the events (chapter 14) compared to the poetic account (chapter 15) since they are different?

What do we do with the fact that there are clearly (at least) two different traditions/versions of about what happened in the chapter 14, as evidenced by the disagreement over how exactly the Egyptians were swallowed by the sea:

Version #1: God crashes the waters down upon them as they are in pursuit of the Hebrews (This is the version in The Prince of Egypt movie).

Version #2: God through confusion/panic into the hearts of the Egyptians, and when they turn to run, their chariots/feet start getting stuck in the mud, and then God releases the walls of water (An image repeated in Judges 5).

What does it mean for God to “harden Pharoah’s heart” here and early in Exodus, esp. since three (3) different Hebrew words are used? (Note: we might write this Card Talk one day. It’s fascinating)

Why do many mentions of this event later in the Bible not talk about the death of the Egyptians (for example Psalm 66:5-6 & 77:15-21)?

What is the significance of Moses’ staff?

Where the hell was Aaron for all of this?

These and many other concerns are fodder for Bible nerds to earn their PhDs and fight for tenure. However, the are not the focus of this Card Talk.

Instead, we are centering our attention on something more important: liberation.

The Divine Warrior: He Who Saves

The Divine Warrior motif is one of the oldest traditions in the Bible: God almighty in battle.

In these poetic stories, YHWH does not descend from the clouds, but rises from His stronghold in the southern mountains. With His armies, YHWH marches out to do battle, kicks butt, takes names, and then leads his people to safety (See Deut. 33:2, 26-29, Judges 5, and Habk 3:3-15).

In the poetry of Exodus 15:1-18, the Divine Warrior is first praised for His actions:

I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.

The poetic-narrative tells how the Divine Warrior crushed the Egyptians with the sea: repeating images of Pharaoh’s chariots, his officers, his army, the enemies of Israel, all being “cast into the sea,” and “sunk in the Red Sea,” how “they went down into the depths like a stone.” These were the works of the Divine Warrior, “the Lord, glorious in power.” However, that was not all that happened.

By the end of the poem, the Divine Warrior has lead His people in conquest of a new land.

In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed;     you guided them by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples heard, they trembled;     pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;     trembling seized the leaders of Moab;     all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away. Terror and dread fell upon them;     by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone until your people, O Lord, passed by,     until the people whom you acquired passed by. (vs 13-16)

The Divine Warrior leads His people out of bondage. This poetic account does not refer to the “promised land” as the prose account (chapter 14) does. Instead this area is referred to as the property of the Divine Warrior, His “holy abode,” land He now gives to His people.

You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession,     the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,     the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established. (vs 17)

The Divine Warrior has cowed the assembled nations, established His people at the foot of His mountain, and receives the praise due such martial superiority, “forever and ever” (vs 18). But this is not a story about conquest. At the heart of this poetry is the notion that God not only fights for God’s people, but that He liberates them.

The Divine Warrior is not out for revenge against His enemies, but is focused on the liberation of God’s people

Think back: why did the Divine Warrior get involved in the first place? Because people were suffering. Like Abel’s blood, their cries rose to God’s ear.

 After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them. ~ Exodus 2:23-25

The people cried out to God, and God took notice to free them. This is Hagar’s story. And Hannah’s. David and Daniel’s. Bartimaeus and the woman with the issue of blood’s stories.

Mine. Hopefully yours.

 Liberating Theologies

Silence is evil. Silence is the means by which the oppressor maintain his/her control.

At the heart of Liberation Theology (and theologies that liberate), is the belief that there is nothing inherently good about suffering.

Suffering is not redemptive, salvation is.

Read that again.

We must eschew shitty soteriologies that place suffering at the center of Christ’s work. People, pastors, priests, and pedantic arm-chair philosophers, who tell us that to be Christ-like means we must suffer. That we must hold our peace. Be lambs led to the slaughter. Expose our cheeks and backs, our palms and sides, to whatever blows the world would send our way.

Bullshit that says to be Christ-like you should

Always assume you’re just being too sensitive, too dramatic.

Be silent about the sexual harassment.

Stay in the abusive relationship.

Accept the glass ceiling and calmly wait your turn.

Know mass incarceration and police brutality is nothing like slavery, lynchings, segregation, or Jim Crow. Shares no common history. It’s “just how it is.”

Close your wallet and say “the poor will always be among us.” Vote against healthcare, “entitlements,” and a higher minimum wage.

Accept that not everyone deserves a marriage license or a wedding cake.

Understand that some people should be required to carry their birth certificates and stupid amounts of personal identification in order to use the bathroom, drive into certain states, be too close or too far from the boarder without speaking the king’s English and being too tan.

This is not being Christ-like.

It’s joining hands with an oppressor.

We must believe, as Breugeeman writes, that breaking the prevailing, unjust silences “begins the process that turns pain into joy” (21). Calling attention to injustice ends its tactic approval in communities, families, churches.

Liberating Work

During the Exodus, Moses and the people had work to do. They had to hold Biblical hope. They had to believe in salvation, believe that a better future was possible. Believe enough to put that faith into action.

Observing that first Passover took effort, as did packing up all their belongings, fleeing Egypt across a hostile environment while being pursued by Pharaoh’’s army. As did passing through those waters depending on God’s provision.

But it was all about passing through Egypt, and the waters, and then desert, not staying in them.

It’s about rebirth, like baptism.

So we must “work as if all depends on upon you. Pray as if all depends on God” (Nannie Burroughs) and remember that salvation is the focus, not suffering.

But what do we know: we made this game and you probably think we’re going to Hell.

“Mary,” by Take 6

 Oh, Mary, don't you weep.

Martha, don't you mourn.

Pharaoh's army drowned in the Red Sea

[dfroza]

A post shared by John Parsons

who writes of Hebraic roots in faith and hope (in God who is Love) in posts on his site [Hebrew for Christians] as well as on Facebook

and from this week’s Torah reading by Jews worldwide we see the point of a man seeking a bride for Isaac and how it points to the here & now as the Spirit gently invites all of us to “believe...” in the Son who is King (Lord) and is known from the Scriptures as the heavenly Bridegroom in God’s True and eternal story of rebirth.

John’s post from yesterday:

Though he is not explicitly named in the account, the "elder servant" commissioned to find a bride for Isaac was undoubtedly Eliezer of Damascus (Gen. 15:2). Eliezer (אֱלִיעֶזֶר), whose name means “my God will help,” is regarded as a consummate example of a godly servant, a picture of the Holy Spirit (רוּחַ הַקּדֶשׁ) sent on a mission to find a bride for the Sacrificed Seed of Abraham (i.e., the Messiah Yeshua). Eliezer dutifully departs on his mission and waits by the “well of water,” interceding on behalf of righteousness... He asks for a witness from heaven: “Let the young woman to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your jar that I may drink,' and who shall say, 'Drink, and I will water your camels' -- let her be the one whom you have appointed” (Gen. 24:13-14). Rebekah’s response of kindness and generosity (i.e., chesed: חֶסֶד) to a tired wayfarer demonstrated God’s choice. Note that the test concerned the inward character of the woman, not her status or beauty or other worldly factors. And since a single camel needs about 25 gallons of water and requires 10 minutes to drink, watering ten camels would require 250 gallons and at least a couple hours of work running back and forth to the well - no small task for anyone! Rebekah possessed Abraham’s qualities of gracious hospitality and diligence...

Eliezer’s prayer to find a bride for Isaac (the very first recorded prayer of the Torah) appealed for a miracle such as splitting the sea, but instead relied on the providential and “hidden hand” of God that governs the affairs of everyday life... His prayer at the well relied on God to direct him to a woman who, like Abraham, would extend compassion to a person in need (חֶסֶד). The Torah therefore reveals that far from being a coincidence or chance encounter, then, “before he had finished speaking, behold Rebekah...” (Gen. 24:15). “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isa. 65:24).

Rebekah was willing to leave her family - all that she knew - based on an “otherworldly” promise. Her response to the invitation was simply: “I will go”(Gen. 24:58). This courageous willingness was likewise a characteristic of Abraham who was willing to leave his homeland in search of the greater things of God. Like Abraham, Rebekah was ger ve’toshav (גֵּר־וְתוֹשָׁב) - a “stranger and a sojourner” - who left everything behind in order to become part of God’s chosen family... [Hebrew for Christians]

11.22.19 • Facebook

and just as Rebekah chose to respond to God’s invitation that was sent through people to be united with Isaac, yet in Today’s reading of the 2nd chapter of Hosea (paired with chapter 11 of Luke as a chapter read from each of the Testaments of the Bible) we see a time of unfaithfulness of Israel toward God that includes a point of renewal (of baptism and rebirth) as well:

[Hosea 2]

“Rename your brothers ‘God’s Somebody.’

Rename your sisters ‘All Mercy.’

[Wild Weekends and Unholy Holidays]

“Haul your mother into court. Accuse her!

She’s no longer my wife.

I’m no longer her husband.

Tell her to quit dressing like a whore,

displaying her breasts for sale.

If she refuses, I’ll rip off her clothes

and expose her, naked as a newborn.

I’ll turn her skin into dried-out leather,

her body into a badlands landscape,

a rack of bones in the desert.

I’ll have nothing to do with her children,

born one and all in a whorehouse.

Face it: Your mother’s been a whore,

bringing bastard children into the world.

She said, ‘I’m off to see my lovers!

They’ll wine and dine me,

Dress and caress me,

perfume and adorn me!’

But I’ll fix her: I’ll dump her in a field of thistles,

then lose her in a dead-end alley.

She’ll go on the hunt for her lovers

but not bring down a single one.

She’ll look high and low

but won’t find a one. Then she’ll say,

‘I’m going back to my husband, the one I started out with.

That was a better life by far than this one.’

She didn’t know that it was I all along

who wined and dined and adorned her,

That I was the one who dressed her up

in the big-city fashions and jewelry

that she wasted on wild Baal-orgies.

I’m about to bring her up short: No more wining and dining!

Silk lingerie and gowns are a thing of the past.

I’ll expose her genitals to the public.

All her fly-by-night lovers will be helpless to help her.

Party time is over. I’m calling a halt to the whole business,

her wild weekends and unholy holidays.

I’ll wreck her sumptuous gardens and ornamental fountains,

of which she bragged, ‘Whoring paid for all this!’

They will soon be dumping grounds for garbage,

feeding grounds for stray dogs and cats.

I’ll make her pay for her indulgence in promiscuous religion—

all that sensuous Baal worship

And all the promiscuous sex that went with it,

stalking her lovers, dressed to kill,

And not a thought for me.”

God’s Message!

[To Start All Over Again]

“And now, here’s what I’m going to do:

I’m going to start all over again.

I’m taking her back out into the wilderness

where we had our first date, and I’ll court her.

I’ll give her bouquets of roses.

I’ll turn Heartbreak Valley into Acres of Hope.

She’ll respond like she did as a young girl,

those days when she was fresh out of Egypt.

“At that time”—this is God’s Message still—

“you’ll address me, ‘Dear husband!’

Never again will you address me,

‘My slave-master!’

I’ll wash your mouth out with soap,

get rid of all the dirty false-god names,

not so much as a whisper of those names again.

At the same time I’ll make a peace treaty between you

and wild animals and birds and reptiles,

And get rid of all weapons of war.

Think of it! Safe from beasts and bullies!

And then I’ll marry you for good—forever!

I’ll marry you true and proper, in love and tenderness.

Yes, I’ll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go.

You’ll know me, God, for who I really am.

“On the very same day, I’ll answer”—this is God’s Message—

“I’ll answer the sky, sky will answer earth,

Earth will answer grain and wine and olive oil,

and they’ll all answer Jezreel.

I’ll plant her in the good earth.

I’ll have mercy on No-Mercy.

I’ll say to Nobody, ‘You’re my dear Somebody,’

and he’ll say ‘You’re my God!’”

The Book of Hosea, Chapter #2 (The Message)

[triumviratuse-blog]

water & its relation to characters in preacher

yes... i’m gonna be that person-- this will probably be an over-analyzation, but if there’s one piece of literary symbolism that is most often used in media, it’s that of water. and more specifically for preacher, rain and swamps. get ready for some “meta-reaching:”

when it comes to preacher, weather often plays an important role-- whether it be w/ the SOK and the tornado that killed him or cassidy’s inability to step out into direct sunlight without combusting, oftentimes nature acts as a hand of God, more or less (ironically enough in a show where God is missing and supposedly roaming earth to tour jazz bars). 

now, this isn’t anything new-- literature such as The Great Gatsby and The Awakening utilized water symbolism to its utmost ability, acting as harbingers in a way for the character’s demise. its important to note, before i go on, that rain/water isn’t always a negative symbol-- it was practically born in western society from the biblical symbolism of “rebirth” following baptisms (which we also got to see in preacher). primarily, water acts in 2 ways: to nurture or to destroy. either a person exposed to rain will be “reborn,” indicating a shift in their life of some kind, or they will die-- often-times for no good reason. death by or near water often symbolizes a death without meaning, an unfair demise that brings nothing in exchange. 

now, continuing with this, we must go all the way back to season 1, episode 8 (”Finish the Song”). i may be very wrong about this, but its one of the only times I can actually recall characters being exposed to rain... fiore and deblanc. it is raining as they make their way to the “travel agency,” and as we all know, despite being characters that we assumed to be immortal, they both were killed by the SOK. deblanc’s death in particular harkens to a “useless death,” as there was no reason for the SOK to kill him other than for the fact that the SOK is a soul-less monster. fiore survives his initial encounter w/ the saint, and is ultimately changed-- for the worst. after this, we see that fiore has lost his will to live now that his partner and lover is dead. fiore was “reborn” in the worst way possible here-- suicidal and without motivation or drive. 

more recently, we have the SOK trapped in a swamp. he has been reborn in a sense even before this, having gained a part of jesse’s soul. however, with this submersion into water, i think this signals that there will be a major shift in the SOK��s motivations. he’s not looking to get into heaven anymore-- when he gets out of the swamp (and he will), his only goal will be to make jesse custer suffer.

tldr; so i’m not saying we should worry about characters that get exposed to water or rain... but at the same time, we should be weary when the weather in preacher acts less as a plot device and more as an indicator for things to come. given that rain/water is a common symbolic device, i don’t doubt the show’s writers have given enough thought to at least connect some of the major thematic plots with this symbol. 

[1dhomeroom]

The Meaning Behind Harry Styles’ Solo Album Artwork 4/15/2017 by Maria Sherman

In the life of a Directioner, no day holds more significance than March 25. In 2015, it was the day Zayn Malik announced his departure from One Direction. In 2016, it was the day he released his debut solo LP.

In 2017, March 25 was the day Harry Styles announced a solo single via a cryptic TV ad, in perhaps the most Harry fashion: a dark room, a fog machine and a somber, descending piano melody, with moist black clothing clutching his body, and the date April 7—when “Sign of the Times” would arrive, soon to take over pop radio – appearing on screen. It seems that even though post-hiatus One Direction operates on a strict schedule, utilizing dates with familiar weight, there’s always an element of surprise. We’ve been waiting for solo Harry, but no one could’ve anticipated his arrival.

The latest in the solo Styles saga is the reveal of his self-titled album release date, May 12, along with its 10 -ong track listing and artwork – both its cover and what can be assumed to be the back side, a smaller image where the tracks reside. Like everything in the One Direction universe, it’s sparked a myriad of theories, and the imagery certainly warrants investigation. Lucky for you, we’ve taken the time to unpack Harry Styles, the meaning behind the images.

Before getting into the album cover, we should look back to the single artwork for “Sign of the Times.” Styles is little more than a clothed silhouette, head tilted and staring off into some red, apocalyptic horizon, standing waist-deep in water. On his sides, in the close distance, are two hands, placed on either side of his body, palms up. They appear to be Harry’s – there’s the faint blur of a tattoo and carefully placed rings, Styles’ signature style. It’s unclear if it’s a body fighting drowning, or perhaps trapped underneath the surface of the water, but it appears to be a struggle, Harry watching his past self with potentially calm acceptance. That reading would make sense: perhaps the floating body is Harry as One Direction heartthrob and the silhouette is Harry now, emerging above the water anew.

Water returns in both the album cover and back image. On the front, Styles appears to be half submerged in a pastel pink bath. His back remains facing us, but it’s much closer now, and unclothed – it’s the most un-tattooed part of Styles, giving off a feeling of additional nudity, as there’s no black ink artwork to give off a particular individualism. It’s worth noting that the popular headline to describe the image was “topless,” usually a gendered term to connote an exposed cis woman’s chest. There’s something distinctly feminine about the reading of the cover.

Water – being wet – is also something almost uniquely femme. Female pop stars are usually the ones dosed in water, when men do so, it’s usually those with some gender-bending and/or queer qualities (think George Michael) or for the sole purpose of, more often than not, hetero-female enjoyment (fellow boy band heroes the Backstreet Boys or Justin Bieber all the time.) Harry Styles is a heartthrob, and placing him in water is a move certainly open to sexualization, but given the bath-like qualities of the image and his positioning away from the viewer, it feels more voyeuristic – and in some ways, melancholic.

The water itself isn’t a clean, crystalline clear color. It’s opaque with pink, a blush shade, a bit more joyful than a gold rose. It’s the same color that’s been the source of thinkpieces for the last few weeks, a color deemed ‘millennial pink,’ a hue that has become popular with brands targeting that particular age demographic. It could be that Harry genuinely enjoys the color – and we’d put our money on it, he’s always had femme-like qualities – or is simply a shrewd businessman. Or both.

But it’s not just a pink background. It’s pink water. Historically, pink water is a type of wastewater that exists only in toxic environments: its color is discharged in situations of demilitarization, when TNT dissolves in water. It’s unusable, and turns brown when exposed to too much sunlight. It’s unclear if Harry has any topical aspirations, but bathing in what could be considered war waste gives off a distinct message. “Sign of the Times” feels like a song about the end of the world, and this unclean water imagery doesn’t feel too far off from that idea. Let’s not forget that Styles is playing a role in the upcoming World War ll film, Dunkirk, too.

That brings us back to the positioning of his body: angled, face obscured. His hands are folded as if in a reflective state (usually of regret, a sober shrinking of the body) or in prayer – both are deeply intimate situations to catch someone in. If he is in the latter prayer position, water takes on another meaning – there’s something reminiscent of a baptism. Covering your face is either a fear of exposure, or someone getting ready for rebirth.

Perhaps not the main focal point of the cover, but where the eye is drawn, is to the only thing Harry is wearing: a double necklace, its pendant flipped to reveal a lotus flower. Harry is no stranger to pendants – from his paper airplane necklace to match early partner Taylor Swift to his key, cross and pearl jewelry – but here, the flower seems to have new importance; it must, or it wouldn’t exist so prominently (even the long hairs on Harry’s neck drip downward, an arrow to the image.)

In One Direction fan world, the popular opinion is that the lotus flower refers to the lotus in Buddhism, a symbol of purity, a flower that exists in murky, obscured waters and connotes spiritual awakening. The back cover of the album confirms it – Harry is seen dipped deeper in the pink water, as it nears his collarbone. Around him are lotus flowers floating in the pink water. We see his face for the first time, but only a percentage of it, his damp hair obscuring much of it. He’s only showing us what he wants us to see.

So what does it all add up to? There are certain obvious themes Harry wants us to pick up on, like the vulnerability of exposed skin, water, murk, rebirth. The images themselves are much more artful than any of One Direction’s albums, existing in a space of newfound maturation – or perhaps it was always there, and Harry just now has the freedom to explore it. One thing is for certain: we’ll need to listen to learn, and our ears our perked.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7760476/harry-styles-solo-album-artwork-analysis

[dfroza]

A tapestry of Love

is out in the open. it has been made perfectly clear. and it is only seen through baptism eyes of Light in the humility of a child (as a daughter or son of God)

A point that is seen in the reading of an ancient Letter as Today’s chapter in the book of Colossians

Chapter #2:

I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn’t make any difference. Know that I’m on your side, right alongside you. You’re not in this alone.

I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.”

I’m a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I’m on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ.

[From the Shadows to the Substance]

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.

So don’t put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.

Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.

So, then, if with Christ you’ve put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? “Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this!” Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they’re just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.

The Book of Colossians, Chapter 2 (The Message)

and the paired chapter of the Testaments with this is Isaiah 50 where we read of choosing not to fear by fully trusting in Love (although it is the beginning of True wisdom to fear God, to have reverence toward our Creator)

[Who Out There Fears God?]

God says:

“Can you produce your mother’s divorce papers

proving I got rid of her?

Can you produce a receipt

proving I sold you?

Of course you can’t.

It’s your sins that put you here,

your wrongs that got you shipped out.

So why didn’t anyone come when I knocked?

Why didn’t anyone answer when I called?

Do you think I’ve forgotten how to help?

Am I so decrepit that I can’t deliver?

I’m as powerful as ever,

and can reverse what I once did:

I can dry up the sea with a word,

turn river water into desert sand,

And leave the fish stinking in the sun,

stranded on dry land . . .

Turn all the lights out in the sky

and pull down the curtain.

The Master, God, has given me

a well-taught tongue,

So I know how to encourage tired people.

He wakes me up in the morning,

Wakes me up, opens my ears

to listen as one ready to take orders.

The Master, God, opened my ears,

and I didn’t go back to sleep,

didn’t pull the covers back over my head.

I followed orders,

stood there and took it while they beat me,

held steady while they pulled out my beard,

Didn’t dodge their insults,

faced them as they spit in my face.

And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me,

so I’m not disgraced.

Therefore I set my face like flint,

confident that I’ll never regret this.

My champion is right here.

Let’s take our stand together!

Who dares bring suit against me?

Let him try!

Look! the Master, God, is right here.

Who would dare call me guilty?

Look! My accusers are a clothes bin of threadbare

socks and shirts, fodder for moths!

Who out there fears God,

actually listens to the voice of his servant?

For anyone out there who doesn’t know where you’re going,

anyone groping in the dark,

Here’s what: Trust in God.

Lean on your God!

But if all you’re after is making trouble,

playing with fire,

Go ahead and see where it gets you.

Set your fires, stir people up, blow on the flames,

But don’t expect me to just stand there and watch.

I’ll hold your feet to those flames.

The Scroll of Isaiah, Chapter 50 (The Message)

and the number 50 reminds me of the alphabetic number of the letters TWG from an Oklahoma license plate [TWG 181] which was on a Mazda MPV that i drove up until October of ‘07

and to add to this, Today’s Psalm 11 for july 11 contains 7 verses that reflects upon the date 7.11

A song (a poem) about finding refuge in Love amidst the chaos of this world and its lies that can turn into false accusations or harrasment that is brought up against people who hold grace as their treasured innocence (rebirth)

Song of the Steadfast

For the Pure and Shining One, by King David

Lord, don’t you hear

what my well-meaning friends keep saying to me:

“Run away while you can!

Fly away like a bird to hide in the mountains for safety.

For your enemies have prepared a trap for you!

They plan to destroy you with their slander and deceitful lies.

Can’t you see them hiding

in their place of darkness and shadows?

They’re set against you and all those who live upright lives.”

But don’t they know, Lord,

that I have made you my only hiding place?

Don’t they know that I always trust in you?

What can the righteous accomplish

when truth’s pillars are destroyed and law and order collapse?

Yet the Eternal One is never shaken—

he is still found in his temple of holiness,

reigning as Lord and King over all.

He is closely watching everything that happens.

And with a glance, his eyes examine every heart.

For his heavenly rule will prevail over all.

He will test both the righteous and the wicked,

exposing each heart.

God’s very soul detests those who love to resort to violence.

He will rain down upon them judgment for their sins.

A scorching wind will be their portion and lot in life.

But remember this: the Righteous Lord loves

what is right and just, and every godly one

will come into his presence and gaze upon his face!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 11 (The Passion Translation)

to be concluded with a set of lines from Today’s chapter in the book of Proverbs about kindness and truth:

A God-Shaped Life

When you’re kind to others, you help yourself; when you’re cruel to others, you hurt yourself.

A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 11:17, 28 (The Message)

my reading of the Scriptures for july 11, day 21 of Summer and day 192 of the year that mirrors the alphabetic number 192 of the words “Central Park Tulsa” or CPT which is where i was living at this time a decade ago on the 17th story: