ON LOVE; PART CCCLV
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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The Gospel of Thomas
These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke. And Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down.
(4) Jesus says: “The person old in his days will not hesitate to ask a child seven days old about the place of life, and he will live. For many who are first will become last, and they will become a single one.“
(5) Jesus says: “Come to know what is in front of you, and that which is hidden from you will become clear to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not become manifest.“
(6) His disciples questioned him, (and) they said to him: “Do you want us to fast? And how should we pray and give alms? And what diet should we observe?“
Jesus says: “Do not lie. And do not do what you hate. For everything is disclosed in view of <the truth. For there is nothing hidden that will not become revealed. And there is nothing covered that will remain undisclosed.“(7) Jesus says: “Blessed is the lion that a person will eat and the lion will become human. And anathema is the person whom a lion will eat and the lion will become human.” 14
As we discussed this fifth saying by the Master from the Gospel of Thomas we cited some of the Master’s words from the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel regarding the idea of the mysteries that are in His words but which are not seen by ALL; mysteries that the Master says are for disciples as He tells them that “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11). From this perspective we can see that this saying from the Apostle Thomas’ Gospel, as one directed toward them, would be more realistic than as if it were told to the average person who hears only the story and must discern it from his worldly vision. Of course, this is the intent of any parable for the average man, that he come to understand its True meaning but this is a realization that must come from his own Inner self, his own Soul, and will not be found in the story itself nor in interpretations of the story that only see the apparent parts. This being said, we should see the reality here then, that these words from Thomas Gospel are, like the parable itself, directed at ALL but with different expected results; for the disciple and the aspirant that he would see the deeper meaning as it is presented, that he would see right through the story and that this seeing would unlock the hidden and even the very hidden ideas encapsulated in a seemingly carnal tale. And, for the average man, that he would see the story and in pondering this could catch a glimpse of the Truth and pursue it till he can understand and it is in this that the hidden ideas can become clear. These ideas can are made yet clearer by this next saying from Matthew:
“For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear” (Matthew 13:12-16).
Here we have new meaning for the first thought above as “whosoever hath, to him shall be given” can be seen on multiple levels and as a confirmation if you will of that which Thomas says. “Come to know what is in front of you” can be seen in the same light as having and “that which is hidden from you will become clear to you” can be seen in the idea of the ability of KNOWING to bring then “more abundance“. The Master goes on to offer the converse of this which is simply to say that if you don’t see what IS in front of you, if you remain on the strictly carnal path, you will steadily lose that ability to see. Commentary takes these ideas and shows them as having or not having grace which word is for us a doctrinal catch all that has no substance in its varied meanings and IS NEVER used by the Master Himself and, if its interpretation IS as a free gift from God, then ALL have grace as ALL are divine and this then becomes more a of realization. Commentary aside, we should be able to see our premise in these words which is similar to that which we have heretofore stated but can be seen in this use in more specific terms and in close relationship to the words from Thomas’ Gospel. Here it IS clear that the Master IS speaking of parables and sayings and this is not always the case with these words. The Master goes on to color His words for added meaning and here we should find a greater understanding of seeing “what is in front of you” even in the view as the average man; seeing over the clamor of Life in the world to which ALL are subjected. In Thomas we should see the admonition that we “Come to know what is in front of you” and not the passive statement that can be made to say merely IF. It is in the admonition that we take pause and look, and in that looking see, and in that seeing KNOW, and in that KNOWING find yet greater revelation; and this works for ALL men, the disciple, the aspirant and the average man who will ALL see from a different perspective. Here, we also have a relationship to the second of the Master’s sayings from Thomas’ Gospel where we read: (2) Jesus says: “The one who seeks should not cease seeking until he finds. And when he finds, he will be dismayed. And when he is dismayed, he will be astonished. And he will be king over the All“. In the various renderings of these words we noted that the dismay is also seen as troubled and even disturbed and if we look at these words in relation to the Greek text which renders as marvel, we can likely see the idea at the end of the saying from Matthew above: “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear“. Here, while Jesus IS speaking to His disciples, he would be saying such to any and to ALL that are gaining vision.
This next saying, number six, is a confusing one from the perspective that the Master does not answer the questions posed to Him but chooses to offer a greater understanding on seemingly different topics. The Master IS asked about fasting and praying and alms-giving which ARE three topics from the Sermon on the Mount as we read in Matthew’s Gospel, topics which are pointed to the idea that neither the disciple nor any man should give, nor pray, nor fast in the ways as had become the ways of the Jewish religion and we should see that these traits were not confined to the Pharisee and the other religious rulers of the Jews although this is likely their way as well and was likely an allowed way of expression. The Master says:
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray , use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him….. Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18).
Now perhaps it IS because the Master brings up these ideas in the Sermon that His disciples are asking these questions regarding their own conduct, not that they do not understand that they must not be hypocrites nor that they should do anything to be seen by men and perhaps praised, but rather that they should do these things at all and we should note here that the idea of what should they eat is not covered anywhere in the New Testament. In the Sermon the Master frames ALL as when you do these things and not if the form of an admonition to do so although there are various ideas on this. We can assume here that the disciples KNOW these ‘rules’ of fasting, praying and giving and that the question then is ‘do you want us to do these things’; they may be asking for greater understanding however, the question on prayer IS answered in the sequence above where the Master teaches them how to pray. So then we are in a quandary over the questions and an even greater one regarding what appears to be the Master’s answers, answers that DO NOT seem to address the questions asked at all.
Perhaps the idea of these questions is being overly scrutinized by us and others here and perhaps we should be looking at this from the perspective of the disciple, one who KNOWS the rules of fasting, praying and giving and KNOWS as well the idea of the Lord’s Prayer, one who is observing as well the ways of the people and perhaps wondering if in the absence of an admonition, that they should be doing these things. And in the idea of prayer, perhaps the question is not what shall we say but rather how shall we do this ? by following the traditions of the Jews ? the ways of the disciples of the Baptist ? or in some other way. The same regarding eating where we can better understand these words as a question regarding the rather voluminous dietary laws of the Jews, a subject upon which the Master does not touch. From the disciples perspective these are perhaps valid questions of conduct on which the Master had not given discernible instructions
The Master’s answers of course bear no discernible relationship to the questions as Jesus addresses them saying: “Do not lie. And do not do what you hate“. Trying to see some other reality here rather than just assuming as the commentators do with some of them saying that there is an error in the text and that this saying and number fourteen have been somehow confused, or as some of these ideas:
- Jean Doresse writes: “‘nothing hidden will fail to be revealed’ no doubt refers to hidden virtues such as those mentioned by Jesus: they are preferable to ostentatious practices of piety, and will one day be made public.” (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 371)
- Jack Finegan writes: “The reply of Jesus in Line 19, ‘and what you hate, do not do,’ is evidently derived from Tob 4:15, ‘And what you hate, do not do to any one,’ with omission of the words, ‘to any one,’ which reduces the saying from a form of the ‘Golden Rule’ to a self-centered saying.” (Hidden Records of the Life of Jesus, p. 247)
- F. F. Bruce writes: “In this and other sayings (cf. Sayings 14, 27, 104) it is insisted that true fasting is abstinence from evil words and actions, not from indifferent things like food. The negative form of the golden rule, ‘Do not [to others] what is hateful to yourselves’, appears repeatedly in early Jewish ethics, e.g. Tobit 4.15 (‘What you hate, do not to any one’) and Hillel’s words in TB Shabbath 31a (‘What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow; this is the whole law; everything else is commentary’).” (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 115)
We offer these as an examples of commentary on the Gospel of Thomas and we can take from the tone that at least some of these are in agreement with the mainstream church as to these words not be attributable to the apostle but that they are later Gnostic texts.
ALL of this commentary aside and in the same spirit that we look above at the question from the disciples perspective, let us look at this answer from the Master’s perspective, away from doctrine and tradition which we KNOW ARE NOT Jesus way. We begin here with the word lie, a word that is likely more complex than the untruth or the false witness and which should be seen as leaning toward deception and, in this context, self-deception as well. In combination with the idea that one should “do not do what you hate” we can get a glimpse of the idea that this IS the Master’s answer to His disciples…that none of these things matter, fasting, praying, giving nor eating, so long as you are not deceiving even oneself, nor doing that which you hate. Can we see here that one should NOT do a thing because others do it in religion nor even concern oneself with what is done but that one should do what he believes is right and good and True. Pray whenever you may want, eat whatsoever you desire, fast as the need is revealed and give as you wish; these are the teachings of the Master and there is nowhere in the Gospels that He says aught that is contrary to this.
The next and confirming thoughts are rendered differently by others who choose to say “all things are disclosed before heaven” or “for all things are plain in the sight of heaven” in place of what we have above: “everything is disclosed in view of <the truth>“. In the middle idea it is perhaps easier to see the intent here, that a lie or a deception IS revealed in “sight of heaven” and here we can see a similar understanding to the Apostle Paul’s words saying: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7) where this same Truth is revealed. Can we see the idea of NO pretense, NO deception of others or of oneself in all of these ideas on which the disciples had questions. And can we see the reality that whatsoever a man does, he does before God; there is no place to hide as the God Within is seeing and experiencing and even suffering with ALL that a man does in this world.
So this saying is not what it appears to be then, it is not a group of questions that the Master chooses not to answer but rather just offers a random teaching. Jesus answers ARE to the specific questions in His normal parabolic way and His meaning must be discerned in the Light of the Soul. We have touched upon some understanding here of these words and surely there is yet deeper reality here that we DO NOT yet see. Our next saying, number seven, is even more perplexing at first glance than this present one and perhaps some right discernment will come as we discuss this as did with these words today.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect of God |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
Way
|
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
Repeating a Quote of the Day from the past that has some significance in relation to what we are discussing here, that the Kingdom of God and therefore God is within us ALL. Here Lord Tennyson poetically tells us just how close God Truly IS and how it is that we touch Him
Speak to Him, thou, for He hears, and Spirit with Spirit can meet
Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.
(Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1809–1892)
From the poem The Higher Pantheism which puts forth the authors spiritual belief. Whether we agree with him or not, the quote if spiritually perfect for all of Christianity as well as any other world religion.
For us today this saying shows us the closeness of the spiritual self to the Father and then too the closeness of the spiritual self with the personality of man. We may like to think of God as something outside and above but the reality, as we have seen in so many of the sayings of the Master, is that God is with us and in us and we need only to let ourselves be drawn. And, if we can use these words from the Gospel of Thomas here we can perhaps see much: “When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will realize that you are the children of the living Father.“
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 14 The Gospel of Thomas; Translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson; http://gnosis.org/
