ON LOVE; PART XDI
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
The Gospel of Thomas
These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke. And Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down.
(40) Jesus says: “A grapevine was planted outside (the vineyard) of the Father. And since it is not supported, it will be pulled up by its roots (and) will perish.“
(41) Jesus says: “Whoever has (something) in his hand, (something more) will be given to him. And whoever has nothing, even the little he has will be taken from him.“
(42) Jesus says: “Become passers-by.“
(43) His disciples said to him: “Who are you to say this to us?”….”Do you not realized from what I say to you who I am? But you have become like the Jews! They love the tree, (but) they hate its fruit. Or they love the fruit, (but) they hate the tree.”
(44) Jesus says: “Whoever blasphemes against the Father, it will be forgiven him. And whoever blasphemes against the Son, it will be forgiven him. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither on earth nor in heaven.“
(45) Jesus says: “Grapes are not harvested from thorns, nor are figs picked from thistles, for they do not produce fruit. A good person brings forth good from his treasure. A bad person brings (forth) evil from the bad treasure that is in his heart, and (in fact) he speaks evil. For out of the abundance of the heart he brings forth evil.“14
In the last essay we came upon the forty second saying from the Gospel of Thomas which we found translated in two ways by the Interlinear Version that we use, a first time that this has happened, and there is a least one translator who agrees with this although he is not one of the six that we have access to. The versions are:
- Said Jesus this: “become passers-by.”
- Said Jesus this: “come into being as you (pl) pass away.”
While we find it possible to use either of these as the True translation of the Master’s purported words, we do lean to the latter, as the former IS incorporated into so many of the other sayings by the Master both here in Thomas and in the accepted gospels. The idea of passers-by is also subject to misuse as we see in the commentaries that we posted where the idea is related to withdrawing from the world or becoming an ascetic which we define as self-denial of most all things in Life as a religious practice. Passers-by can be defined in other ways that ARE less strict and not only physical disciplines and which would be more in line with the example set by the Master as well as His teaching to His disciples, that they should be out in the world thought not of the world and that they should NOT be looking out for betterment for the self. The Master’s teaching that we “take no thought” (Matthew 6:24) should be of use here as in this we see that we should not care about eating, nor wearing, nor any ideas of Life whatsoever, that we should not plan and scheme and dream about the betterment of the self in any way, and in this we can be passers-by from a worldly perspective. We can see this as well in the way that the Master sends forth the Twelve and then the Seventy as His instructions include:
- “Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence” (Matthew 10:9-11).
- “And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place” (Mark 6:10).
- “And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house” (Luke 10:7).
The first saying here is clearly stated, especially in the first part where the instruction is that the disciples should take nothing that they do not absolutely need with them; no money of any kind and here the Master cites some different kinds of money so that there can be no misunderstanding. He tells them that they should not take an extra coat, nor shoes beside what they wear and no staves and one would think that these things are among the pleasures of the traveler. We should note here that the idea of this is much the same in ALL the gospels and that the reason IS clearly stated as: they are workers in the field of the Lord and “the workman is worthy of his meat” which goes to say that ALL that they may need will be provided. Most importantly however is this next idea that is framed a bit differently by each apostle and which meanings build upon each other a picture that wherever the disciple finds himself, in whatever house and with whatever people and provisions, he must stay there; “there abide till ye go thence“, “there abide till ye depart from that place” and finally as Luke tells us ever so clearly: “Go not from house to house“. Here we should see that the disciple IS NOT to seek better but to accept what is offered graciously and without regret and in this ALL we can see the idea of being a passer-by, we can see that this is to do as one is instructed in the world, participate, to do so not wanting nor desiring any more that one may need. And, perhaps so that we today can understand that this attitude works, we read toward the end the Master’s words to His disciples: “And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing” (Luke 22:35).
Now there is another part of this saying that does not quite jive with our presentation on this idea above, that we should follow in the example of the Master and His instructions to His disciples, and that is the following verse which we read as: “Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one” (Luke 22:36). The tenets of this verse are contrary to ALL that the Master has taught them and this from His idea words of “take no thought” to the Master’s straightforward words that tell us: “resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also…..Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:39, 44). Can we see the point here, a point that is covered by the idea that this saying IS contrary, that the Master does not pursue this course as the apostles accede to this worldly view saying: “Lord, behold, here are two swords” which is to say to Jesus that ALL his teaching has NOT been learned, that they are ready to fight. We read then the Master’s response and His own frustration with this as He says to them “It is enough…..And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation” (Luke 33:38-40).
As this is not our subject for today we end this part with our ideas that His teaching is True, the disciples did not need the things that He told them not to bring and they lacked nothing in their journey; Perhaps we can come back to these thoughts in a future essay. From the perspective of the world they were passers-by. If then this is the right translation of these words from Thomas’ Gospel, this is our understanding of how they would work out as a teaching by the Master. However, as we discussed in the last essay, the other translation does seem to us to be more in line with a teaching from the Master especially in the type of language and tone that Thomas uses to recollect His words. If He is telling His disciples that they, and we, should “come into being as you (pl) pass away“, we should be able to see some of the ideas that we discussed in the last essay in His words in addition to those ideas that are found mostly in Paul’s Epistles from the perspective of the same type of language. These are of course modeled after the teaching of the Master and are intended to amplify and clarify His word. The Master’s dialogue with Nicodemus about being born again is an example; when understood in its True Light we can see this second birth as the birth of the Kingdom in the Life of the man in the world, that he no longer sees the world, it passes away, and the man now sees the Kingdom in his Life, and the Love and the Power of the Soul as His way of Life; here the man Truly comes into being. Many of the Master’s parables allude to these ideas, the Prodigal Son lets the world pass away as he comes into being in the Kingdom of his Father; and the good ground from the Parable to the Sower as compared to the other types of ground is another example. Here the good ground is the coming into being of a Son of God as he “heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit” as compared to the other types of ground that must pass away and which are likened to the man who “heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22-23).
Perhaps men spend too much time looking for words that match rather than ideas that coincide as we do today. In our view here and yesterday both of these translations are workable in the context of being a teaching from the Master but, as we have said, we believe that the latter is the better rendering of His words into English. The next saying, the forty third, is another that is obscure and difficult to understand; first the question is odd as is the tone and it appears to be well out of place coming from disciples of the Master; and, then, Jesus answer is a confounding one as well. Again, we try to find similar ideas in the accepted gospels and as we go about seeing ALL these sayings from both sources as they are the words of the Master, we should see as well that ALL the writers have access to ALL of His words yet they do not report on All of them or, when then do speak of the same thing, we find differences in presentation. In this question part of this saying we again have similar ideas presented in the accepted New Testament. The available commentary for this saying includes:
- Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: “In this saying we have a highly artificial construction. It takes its point of departure from John 8:25, where the Jews ask Jesus who he is; they know neither him nor his Father (John 8:19). Thomas has transferred the question to the disciples so that Jesus can say that they are ‘like the Jews.’ The Jews do not understand that the nature of the tree is identical with that of the fruit (Matthew 7:16-20; Luke 6:43-44). And in both Matthew and Luke the discussion of trees and fruits is followed by a rebuke to those who call Jesus ‘Lord’ but do not obey him. It looks as if Thomas has consciously tried to make his meaning more mysterious than that reflected in the gospels.” (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 156).
- F. F. Bruce writes: “This disciples’ question is like that of the Jews to Jesus in John 8.25; Jesus’s answer, with its implied insistence that tree and fruit are of the same kind (cf. Saying 45), may be derived from the saying in Matthew 7.16-20 and Luke 6.43 f. The anti-Jewish sentiment recognizable in several places throughout the Gospel of Thomas becomes quite explicit here.” (Jesus and Christian Origens Outside the New Testament, p. 130).
- Funk and Hoover write: “This exchange between Jesus and his disciples is polemical, as the hostile question in v. 1 indicates. Jesus responds by comparing the disciples to Judeans. The figure of speech employed draws on a common proverb to the effect that there is no separating the fruit from the tree it grows on. A comparable figure of speech is employed in Thom 45:1-4 and its many parallels.” (The Five Gospels, p. 497).
- Gerd Ludemann writes: “With an image corresponding to 45.1, in v. 3 Jesus compares the disciples with Jews who want to separate tree and fruit or fruit and tree. However, for the disciples it is a matter of knowing Jesus exclusively from his words (v. 2) as they are to be found in the Gospel of Thomas.” (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 611).
These commentaries do not help us with this verse as all seem to say that it is strange and while they look to John 8:25 we do not see this relationship as this saying from John is spoken to the Pharisees and the Jews who had confronted him and, although the words may be similar, the context is way off. In our view here we should try to see this question by His disciples in a less confrontational way than it is presumed to have been presented as “Who are you to say this to us?“; most translations however do agree here including the Interlinear which frames it as “you are who that you speak these (things) to us“. The leaset confrontational version seems to be from Doresse who renders this as “Who art thou, who tellest us these things?” and based upon our understanding of the relationship between the Master and His disciples we definitely should try to see this as non-confrontational as Doresse renders. Or, perhaps we can see this as the a kind of opposite that we find in the Master’s saying above where He is seemingly advising the disciple to go against His own teachings. Perhaps they say this as Doresse understands this and the right attitude is just lost in translation as we KNOW that they KNOW who He but also that they are ofttimes confused and seem to need clarification.
Regardless, we do have the question and we will assume that it is a non-confrontational one based in what we DO KNOW from the totality of scripture. There are several places in the Gospels where it is revealed that the disciples DO NOT KNOW who, or better DO NOT understand who, the Master Truly is and we find this idea at play at the time of the Transfiguration where it IS only Peter who can answer and who IS commended for His answer. We read: “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:15-17). This IS after the disciples are on the boat with the Master, tossed with winds and where Jesus comes to them walking on the water; here, as a group they say: “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33). Can we see here our point that there is not so much a NOT knowing who He IS but rather there is a lack of understanding of just what this means. And we see that this confusion and lack of True understanding continues as we read this exchange from John’s Gospel which is after the Supper and near the end:
“These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God” (John 16:25-30).
There is nothing in these words that He had not said to them before yet here somehow the disciples appear to see more clearly, here again they claim to KNOW who He IS and, as we KNOW from our further reading, they sort of lose track of this idea as well when they don’t believe that He is resurrected and are fearful at His presence after His resurrection. Uncertainty abounds in the minds of the disciples and this while He tells them many things about Himself and shows them many miracles. This is the more likely tone of the question in the Gospel of Thomas, that the disciples are uncertain and their asking is more in awe of Jesus sayings and doings as they wonder aloud: Who is this? This IS as they say in the ship after the Lord quiets the winds and calms the sea: “And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” (Matthew 8:23-27).
Over the course of His ministry many people come to Jesus as a teacher from God or as a prophet but few apparently understand who He Truly IS even though he has told them as much and we can see this idea in John’s Gospel, in the above saying mentioned in the commentaries. But, as we say above this question is from His disciples who are also told many things that say clearly that He is the Christ, things that they most apparently DO NOT Truly understand and we close here for today with this:
“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake” (John 14:7-11).
And after this they still DO NOT understand as we see in our other entries above.
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.
We repeat here a Quote of the Day that we spent much time with over the course of our essays. In this affirmation we find the Truth of discipleship as we have been ever been expressing and here we can relate our themes of the last few days; “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we approach the Kingdom and discipleship in the nature of the little child, in humbleness, meekness, unashamed in any way and unassuming. The message that this imparts for us today IS that it IS the Soul that is at work in the world of men as it expresses to some degree the purpose, power and the will through Life in this world. These words are from a meditation offered to his students by our Tibetan brother and in which we find greater understanding of the message of the Master. This IS Truly the way of the disciple.
My Soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.
My Soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.
I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love.
All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.
My will is one with the great Will of God; that Holy Will requires that all men serve.
And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.
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/
