ON LOVE; PART XDXIII

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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.

(46) Jesus says: “From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women there is no one who surpasses John the Baptist so that his (i.e., John’s) eyes need not be downcast.  But I have also said: ‘Whoever among you becomes little will know the kingdom, and will surpass John.’”

(47) Jesus says: “It is impossible for a person to mount two horses and to stretch two bows. And it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters. Else he will honor the one and insult the other. No person drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. And new wine is not put into old wineskins, so that they do not burst; nor is old wine put into (a) new wineskin, so that it does not spoil it. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, because a tear will result.“

(48) Jesus says: “If two make peace with one another in one and the same house, (then) they will say to the mountain: ‘Move away,’ and it will move away.“

(49) Jesus says: “Blessed are the solitary ones, the elect. For you will find the kingdom.  For you come from it (and) will return to it.“

(50) Jesus says: “If they say to you: ‘Where do you come from?’ (then) say to them: ‘We have come from the light, the place where the light has come into being by itself, has established [itself] and has appeared in their image. ’If they say to you: ‘Is it you?’ (then) say: ‘We are his children, and we are the elect of the living Father. ’If they ask you: ‘What is the sign of your Father among you?’ (then) say to them: ‘It is movement and repose.’” ¹⁴

As we ended the last essay, we begin this one; with the the next part of this fiftieth saying from the Gospel of Thomas which reads: “’If they say to you: ‘Is it you?’ (then) say: ‘We are his children, and we are the elect of the living Father” from our Patterson Robinson Translation and which is rendered in the Interlinear as: “If-they–should-speak to-you(pl) this- “You(pl) are (him)?”, speak this- ” We (are) his-sons, and we (are) the-chosen of-the-father who -lives“. There are several variations of this translation, some of which do not capture at all the meaning that we see IS intended; we read:

• “If they say to you: Who are you?, say: We are his sons, and we are the elect of the living Father’” (Blatz).
• “If they say to you, ‘Is it you?’ say ‘We are its offspring, and we are the chosen of the living father’” (Layton).
• “If someone says to you: ‘What are you?’ say: ‘We are the sons and we are the elect of the living Father’” ((Doresse).
• “If they say to you, ‘Is it you?’, say, ‘We are its children, and we are the elect of the living Father‘” (Lambdin).
• “If they say to you, ‘Is it you?’ say, ‘We are its children, and we are the chosen of the living Father‘” (Patterson and Meyer).

We use here our same point from yesterday where we see the idea of the question as it is posed in the Interlinear as the more probable and, while this does appear to be the same as the more direct “If they say to you“, the idea of “if they should” gives us the greater understanding that it is unlikely that any will ask whereby this then takes on more of the idea that this is a teaching about how the disciple should answer questions according ot the Master’s own parabolic manner.

We should look at this question as a follow up to the previous one where the query can be seen as we framed it; that seeing and perhaps partaking in the healing and the miracles of the disciples, the people wonder and ask from where they come and in this idea we should see the secondary question of ‘who are you’ thus we have the compound idea that they want to KNOW who these men are and where do they come from. Again, we should understand that these questions can be brought by the ordinary people or by the religious rulers or even some combination of these and to these types the Master’s teaching is ever by parable and by parabolic saying and this we should remember from the apostles’ words that tell us:

• “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them” (Matthew 13:34).
• “And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone , he expounded all things to his disciples” (Mark 4:33-34).

Now while many believe that it is only those things that are called parables or that are stories with a parabolic theme that are parables, this is a wrong assessment; the Master’s parabolic speech goes across most ALL of which He says that can have multiple meanings or that is said in obscurity as are these ideas from Thomas’ Gospel and this should be seen in the same way as  Jesus’ saying “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you” (John 6:53) and so many other like sayings. This idea behind this type of speech is simply put by the Master Himself as He tells His disciples that “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables” (Mark 4:11). It is in this light that we should see these ideas of the Master as He teaches this art of parabolic speech to His disciples.

The first answer then is that the disciple who heals and does these miracles comes from the Light, from that place where the Light begins, and it is this Light that you see when you look at them; you see the Light that is within them, the Light that IS the God Within. Of course the Master does not use so many words nor such extended explanation; He covers this Truth of the nature of the disciple in the more simple words that “outward by-his-hand himself; he-stood to-his-feet, and he-appeared forth in -their-image“, as the Interlinear renders this, and in this we should see this saying in the intended obscure terms; that they have come from the Light and it is this Light that you see in them. While we DO NOT KNOW how the man in that day may have understood this, we can be sure that it was not clear and while they may not understand the answer, the do yet remember that they saw and partook in the healing and the miracles which they KNOW as the work of God.

Hence the next question which again we take from the Interlinear; remembering the healing and the miracles and not understanding the answer, the people may ask  “You(pl) are (him)? ” which can be seen as them asking if the disciple then is God or the Christ. Here, while the answer is clearer as it shows the relationship between the disciple and the Master or the Father, the disciple is to say that he is the Son, the Child of God AND that he is the elect as well. While we understand the idea of the elect and the chosen as a being a function of the decision of the man to choose the Repentant Life of the disciple, these DO NOT understand this as such and would likely see this as many still DO today; that God chooses one above another; perhaps in this day they could see this as based upon the Repentant Life. The disciple’s answer here then is that he must acknowledge that he IS NOT  the Light nor the Giver of Light but that he is a child of that Light and a chosen one who can do what the people have seen done. Those that can will understand this but otherwise the questions will continue as the one who DOES NOT understand will not grasp this idea of a child of God nor the idea of being chosen to do His work; this all remains for him a parable.

The next question here is similar to that which we find in the synoptics where the Jews ask the Master for a sign that will show them His relationship to the Father. In one such gospel entry we read the Master’s response as “And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation” (Mark 8:12); this occurs just after the feeding of the four thousand with but a few loaves and a few small fishes and we can assume here that this IS the cause for the Master frustration and His answer as well. Here in Thomas’ Gospel the Master must teach them that they do not give a sign for the sake of a sign but to rather just give this obscure answer of the nature of God in the world. In the phrasing of this question by the Master we should see that this one would be asked by the man who sees somewhat the idea of the Light being within the disciple from the first question and it is in this that they ask “What is the sign of your Father among you?” which is better rendered as “What is the sign of your father within you?” as the idea of among serves no purpose in this dialogue. The Interlinear renders this as: “What is the-sign of-your(pl)-father which-is-in-yourselves?” and again this idea of within or in the disciple is in relation to the sequence of questions and the answer that it is the Light that is seen in their image, their appearance to them. The answer here to this last question is likely meaningless to most ALL men.

For us, we also can but guess as to the reality of the answer which the Interlinear renders as “A-movement it-is, and-a-repose“. We KNOW and we understand that the whole of this creation is in constant motion and this is seen in the constant progression of ALL that we can see in every level of reality that we can grasp and understand. There is the progress of evolution of the form; the evolution of mind and the evolution of the emotional nature of the man as the emotions give way to the mental aspects of Life. We see the constant motion to the more divine, the greater expression of Love in the world and the prospects for yet greater. We see the motion of the atom and the Earth, the Solar System as an entity that has not only its individual motion of the Sun and the planets revolving around the Sun but its movement through the Galaxy as well and then the movement of the Galaxy itself toward some unseen and unknown goal. This IS the movement of God that can be seen by man and as one’s divine expression should grow then grows man’s ability to see yet deeper into the Reality that we humbly call God.

And what of repose which is rendered by some as rest but which word seems to be a more limited term, repose includes rest and there is another Coptic word that is rendered as rest. Repose then can mean that there is a rest from this motion, a time of stillness and this may be True in the Grand Scheme of Eternity and there are some ancient Hindu teachings that do speak of the activity and then the inactivity of God in His creation as based in Great Ages of Manifestation followed by periods of the Un-Manifest. It is unlikely this would be the idea that the Master is teaching as there is naught so esoteric in what we KNOW of the disciples’ understanding; the better idea would be that the disciples are to tell the people who may ask that the sign of God within him IS in the constant motions and divine progression of the Life of the disciple and that in this motion and progression there is naught but peace, stillness, tranquility and harmony plus any other like word that can be understood within this idea of repose.

In the end here we should try to see that the idea of these questions is not because they will be asked by the people or the rulers but rather in case that they are asked or ‘should they be asked’ and the prescribed answers ARE the Master’s teaching the disciples which we call above the art of parabolic speech. We should note by the many references to His speaking in parables that this art IS a necessary part of the disciples training especially in this day where there are likely few who can pull away from their preconceptions as Jews and understand the deeper Truths of the Kingdom of God. Can we see in the Master’s actions and in His teaching here to His disciples the reality of His saying: “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6)? As we close this for today, let us look at John Gill’s understanding of these words:

Give not that which is holy to the dogs
Dogs were unclean creatures by the law; the price of one might not be brought into the house of the Lord, for a vow, ( Deuteronomy 23:18 ) yea, these creatures were not admitted into several temples of the Heathens. Things profane and unclean, as flesh torn by beasts, were ordered to be given to them, ( Exodus 22:31 ) but nothing that was holy was to be given them, as holy flesh, or the holy oblations, or anything that was consecrated to holy uses; to which is the allusion here. It is a common maxim with the Jews, Here the phrase is used in a metaphorical sense; and is generally understood of not delivering or communicating the holy word of God, and the truths of the Gospel, comparable to pearls, or the ordinances of it, to persons notoriously vile and sinful: to men, who being violent and furious persecutors, and impudent blasphemers, are compared to “dogs”; or to such, who are scandalously vile, impure in their lives and conversations, and are therefore compared to swine;

neither cast ye your pearls before swine.
But since the subject Christ is upon is reproof, it seems rather to be the design of these expressions, that men should be cautious, and prudent, in rebuking and admonishing such persons for their sins, in whom there is no appearance or hope of success; yea, where there is danger of sustaining loss;

lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you:
that is, despise the admonitions and reproofs given, and hurt the persons who give them, either by words or deeds; see ( Proverbs 9:7 Proverbs 9:8 ) . The Jews have some sayings much like these, and will serve to illustrate them; “do not cast pearls before swine”, nor deliver wisdom to him, who knows not the excellency of it; for wisdom is better than pearls, and he that does not seek after it, is worse than a swine.”

Can we see in Mr. Gills words from his Exposition of the Bible the reality of the parable as the Master uses it? That these very words that we can see as a part of His teaching on using parabolic speech is not yet understood?

The next seven sayings from the Gospel of Thomas are these which bring us to the halfway point:

(51) His disciples said to him: “When will the <resurrection> of the dead take place, and when will the new world come?” He said to them: “That (resurrection) which you are awaiting has (already) come, but you do not recognize it.”

(52) His disciples said to him: “Twenty-four prophets have spoken in Israel, and all (of them) have spoken through you.” He said to them: “You have pushed away the living (one) from yourselves, and you have begun to speak of those who are dead.“

(53) His disciples said to him: “Is circumcision beneficial, or not?” He said to them: “If it were beneficial, their father would beget them circumcized from their mother. But the true circumcision in the spirit has prevailed over everything.“

(54) Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor. For the kingdom of heaven belongs to you.“

(55) Jesus says: “Whoever does not hate his father and his mother cannot become a disciple of mine. And whoever does not hate his brothers and his sisters (and) will not take up his cross as I do, will not be worthy of me.“

(56) Jesus says: “Whoever has come to know the world has found a corpse. And whoever has found (this) corpse, of him the world is not worthy.“

(57) Jesus says: “The kingdom of the Father is like a person who had (good) seed. His enemy came by night. He sowed darnel among the good seed. The person did not allow (the servants) to pull up the darnel. He said to them: ‘Lest you go to pull up the darnel (and then) pull up the wheat along with it.’ For on the day of the harvest, the darnel will be apparent and it will be pulled up (and) burned.“

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.

Values to Live By

A Love of Truth—essential
for a just, inclusive and progressive society;

A Sense of Justice—recognition
of the rights and needs, of all.

Spirit of Cooperation—based
on active goodwill and the principle of right human
relationships;

A Sense of Personal Responsibility—for
group, community and national affairs;

Serving the Common Good— through
the sacrifice of selfishness. Only what is good for all
is good for each one.

The world of the future depends on what each one of us chooses to do today.

From a previous essay and Quote of the Day we reprise these words:  It is interesting to note that the ideas of the Quote of the Day embody much of the Master’s teachings and can set the stage for the beginning of each man’s revelation and realization of the Light of the Soul; that is, that by the intentional practice of these ‘rules’ of conduct one can put himself in the position of a follower of the Master and an keeper of His word and this regardless if he has ever heard of the Christ or wants to be affiliated with any ideas Christian. By keeping these sound principals of Life in mind and practicing them a man can lift himself up above and beyond the world of men and into the world of the Good, the Beautiful and the True as it exists for those in whom the Christ Within, the God Within, is awakened. Ponder on this.

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/