ON LOVE; PART XDXXX
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.
(58) Jesus says: “Blessed is the person who has struggled. He has found life.”
(59) Jesus says: “Look for the Living One while you are alive, so that you will not die (and) then seek to see him. And you will not be able to see (him).“
(60) <He saw> a Samaritan who was trying to steal a lamb while he was on his way to Judea. He said to his disciples: “That (person) is stalking the lamb.” They said to him: “So that he may kill it (and) eat it.” He said to them: “As long as it is alive he will not eat it, but (only) when he has killed it (and) it has become a corpse.” They said to him: “Otherwise he cannot do it.” He said to them: “You, too, look for a place for your repose so that you may not become a corpse (and) get eaten.“
(61) Jesus said: “Two will rest on a bed. The one will die, the other will live.” Salome said: “(So) who are you, man? You have gotten a place on my couch as a <stranger> and you have eaten from my table.” Jesus said to her: “I am he who comes from the one who is (always) the same. I was given some of that which is my Father’s. I am your disciple! Therefore I say: If someone becomes <like> (God), he will become full of light. But if he becomes one, separated (from God), he will become full of darkness.“
(62) Jesus says: “I tell my mysteries to those who [are worthy] of [my] mysteries. Whatever your right hand does, your left hand should not know what it is doing.“
In the last essay we made it to the final part of the sixty first saying from the Gospel of Thomas where we find some difficult things to understand. First is the part that tells us that “I am your disciple!“; in our version above this appears as though it is said by the Master while in other translations we find the idea that this IS said by Salome and this by direct reference. While we do not KNOW the opinion of the others that do not declare the origin, it is our thought that this must be the words of the Master as in ALL other sayings that we have discussed there has never been this question left to the reader; Thomas is careful to show us these changes in speaker. Our second reason for our understanding that these are the Master’s words is the very nature of the words as a spiritual teaching that would come from the Master as do the similar sayings from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. As we said, we can rationalize the idea of Jesus taking this disciple role with Salome when the idea of disciple is defined in the simpler way of the student, the learner, and here we can see that the Master IS perhaps learning of the ways of the world from Salome and perhaps especially the ways of the woman in the world. We KNOW only this small part of the dialogue between these two and, if we look carefully, we can perhaps sense the idea of a lesson for the Master in the response of Salome to His spiritual statement that begins the saying; a lesson perhaps that says that if you speak like this to those like me who do not clearly see, we are going to need to KNOW who you ARE and where you come from. This is of course the actual dialogue.
The next part of difficulty is in the world rendered as destroyed by the Interlinear and one other translator along with the ideas of the rest that mimic their rendering of the Coptic word that the Interlinear renders earlier as equal. We noted that while the appearance of these words in the Coptic language is similar, they are different words and the tying these together by some translators shows us that there is uncertainty in this rendering of destroyed. We noted as well that this IS the only place that this word appears in the entire gospel leaving us with no view of it in other contexts. In the end of our last post we made the comment that in ALL cases, the idea of the former word should be the polar opposite of the latter word as in the idea that light is the polar opposite to darkness and in this we refer to the ideas from Matthew and Luke where we have single and evil as opposites and here in Thomas where we have destroyed and divided. Here we can easily relate the idea of evil as we understand this, which IS as one being focused in the ways of the world and as similar in function to the word sin, with divided which would reflect the opposite of the single-minded focus of the man on his own spiritual reality which IS the hallmark of the disciple. In ALL these sayings we have that reality that it is the disciple who IS full of Light and that the man focused in the world is full of darkness and here in the simplicity of the Master’s words we must understand that this too operates in Life by degree….the closer one comes to discipleship, the greater the focus and the striving toward the Kingdom, the greater the Light and then conversely, the stronger the focus is upon the self and the self in the world, the greater the darkness. We should try to see here in this saying, as well as the similar in the synoptics, that the Master is pointing to the opposite poles of evil and single and is leaving it to us to see what IS in between.
This still leaves us with the problems with the rendering of destroyed or with any of the other words chosen by the translators and while the idea is properly portrayed by our rendering above, the word itself is still troublesome as is the word in the first verse that is rendered as the one who is equal in the Interlinear and as the one who is (always) the same above along with other various translation ideas. We leave this in this way, we do KNOW what the Master is saying and we do have related ideas in the synoptics but the words here in Thomas are unclear. Nonetheless, the ideas that we have presented are sound and the idea above from Patterson and Robinson does capture the gist of the Master’s message.
The next saying, the sixty second is a combination of two seemingly unrelated points which are somewhat covered in the accepted gospels. We break this into its parts as:
- “I tell my mysteries to those who [are worthy] of [my] mysteries“
- “Whatever you right hand does, your left hand should not know what it is doing“
The first part of this saying is not complete in the Coptic text and the idea of worthy is added by most all translators and we will proceed with this rendering as we have no other option for this saying. There is but one comment on this saying:
F. F. Bruce writes: “The first sentence is similar to the canonical saying about the disciples receiving the mystery of the kingdom of God which remains a riddle to outsiders (Mark 4.11 f.; cf. Matthew 13.11 ff.; Luke 8.10); but here the esoteric doctrine of the Gnostics is meant. The second sentence in the canonical tradition (Matthew 6.3) enjoins secrecy in generous giving; here it forbids the spreading of the esoteric doctrine beyond the privileged circle.” (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 137-138).
Mr. Bruce’s ideas here seem to be founded in his own belief that Thomas’ writings ARE of later Gnostic origin as he claims that both the mysteries and the idea of keeping things close are related to the Gnostic beliefs only. Here, while there may be some connection between the mysteries and the ideas of the right and left hand, these do seem unrelated to us as the part about the right and left hands is an internal idea of doing and the gist of this is in the way that one should not broadcast what he does and not necessarily what he KNOWS and this idea is also covered for us in the synoptics albeit in a different way. From the synoptics we find these ideas regarding the mysteries:
- “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matthew 13:11).
- “And he said unto them, 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).
- “And he said , Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see , and hearing they might not understand” (Luke 8:10).
All of these are in reference to the idea that the Master teaches by parable and each implies that it is to the disciple that the mystery is revealed. We should note there that in Matthew this is said after the Parable of the Sower is told to the people and before the Master offers a clearer yet still parabolic explanation to His disciples; here we should understand that the revelation is one that the disciples should have from the outset, that they should KNOW. This IS made clearer for us by the words of the Master in Mark’s version of this which IS in the same setting and in response to the same question; after this answer above He says to them: “Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?” (Mark 4:13). Here, although the Master does go on to explain the parable, He is saying to His disciples that they SHOULD KNOW the Truth behind this without further explanation. Luke’s version is much the same though he does add the end part that says that both the disciples and the multitude are hearing the same words but that they, by virtue of their discipleship, will KNOW the hidden Truths while the multitude will hear the same and NOT understand. This IS the reality of the parable and this is the reality of the revealed KNOWING for those whose focus IS upon the Lord, the KNOWING of the disciple.
In Thomas version we should see the idea of worthy in the same way that we have come to see the relatedness of being accounted worthy of the Kingdom and discipleship as we understand these things from the words of the Master. Here we should see the idea that “I tell my mysteries to those who [are worthy] of [my] mysteries” in the same light as we see this in the synoptic gospels above, that the disciple, “those who [are worthy]” will naturally understand the deeper meanings as well as that other reality that there are mysteries that ARE ONLY revealed to His disciples as we read again from Mark that: “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). Here we should pay special note to the idea of “he expounded all things to his disciples” and that it IS these, His disciples, who ARE the worthy.
That other part from Thomas that tells us that “Whatever your right hand does, your left hand should not know what it is doing” can be seen as a Truly spiritual saying from the perspective of the disciple who DOES ALL things for the sake of DOING ONLY and not for any other reason. This idea is offered nearly verbatim in the Master’s instruction about giving as He tells us: “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” (Matthew 6:3). We should understand here that although Mr. Bruce and perhaps others do see this as pertaining to this idea of alms only, there is the deeper reality found in His words that go before this and that follow:
“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….. 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 5:1-6, 16-18).
Of course in the center of this discourse which we leave out is the Lord’s Prayer that is below as our Quote of the Day and the Master’s words on forgiveness; it IS these words above however that require our attention in regard to the Master overall teaching here. The whole of this idea of right hand and left is found in the thoughts presented in each of these three things; almsgiving, praying and fasting, and we should understand that this Truth of the conduct of the disciple DOES NOT end with these words. The crux of the Master’s admonition is that we should do nothing for the recognition of others; in giving we should not give in view of others so “to be seen of them“; men should not pray before others “that they may be seen of men” and understood as religious or whatsoever one may desire to be seen as in prayer. And, when and if a man should fast, he should do so in a way that he would “appear not unto men to fast“. In this saying then: “Whatever your right hand does, your left hand should not know what it is doing” we should see the reality of keeping things close, the reality of not doing anything as a show for others. We can see as well another idea in the synoptics that can tie this to the first part of this saying from Thomas’ Gospel above; the Master tells us: “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). Here we have the idea that we should not reveal the mysteries of Life and of the Kingdom which we may get in revelation to those who ARE NOT worthy to receive them and who would likely NOT understand them and who may perhaps misuse them. From our perspective, while this last idea is a True and useful one, this is not the intent of this saying from Thomas perspective.
Our next group of sayings from the Gospel of Thomas are:
(63) Jesus says: “There was a rich person who had many possessions. He said: ‘I will use my possessions so that I might sow, reap, plant, (and) fill my storehouses with fruit so that I will not lack anything.’ This was what he was thinking in his heart. And in that night he died. Whoever has ears should hear.“
(64) Jesus says: “A person had guests. And when he had prepared the dinner, he sent his servant, so that he might invite the guests. He came to the first (and) said to him: ‘My master invites you.’ He said: ‘I have bills for some merchants. There are coming to me this evening. I will go (and) give instructions to them. Excuse me from the dinner.’ He came to another (and) said to him: ‘My master has invited you.’ He said to him: ‘I have bought a house, and I have been called (away) for a day. I will not have time.’ He went to another (and) said to him: ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him: ‘My friend is going to marry, and I am the one who is going to prepare the meal. I will not be able to come. Excuse me from the dinner.’ He came up to another (and) said to him: ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him: ‘I have bought a village. Since I am going to collect the rent, I will not be able to come. Excuse me.’ The servant went away. He said to his master: ‘Those whom you invited to the dinner have asked to be excused.’ The master said to his servant: ‘Go out on the roads. Bring (back) whomever you find, so that they might have dinner.’ Dealers and merchants (will) not enter the places of my Father.“
(65) He said: “A [usurer] owned a vineyard. He gave it to some farmers so that they would work it (and) he might receive its fruit from them. He sent his servant so that the farmers might give him the fruit of the vineyard. They seized his servant, beat him, (and) almost killed him. The servant went (back and) told his master. His master said: ‘Perhaps <they> did not recognize <him>.’ He sent another servant, (and) the farmers beat that other one as well. Then the master sent his son (and) said: ‘Perhaps they will show respect for my son.’ (But) those farmers, since they knew that he was the heir of the vineyard, seized him (and) killed him. Whoever has ears should hear.“
(66) Jesus says: “Show me the stone that the builders have rejected. It is the cornerstone.“
(67) Jesus says: “Whoever knows all, if he is lacking one thing, he is (already) lacking everything.“
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 present here again what we call the Lord’s Prayer and do so as it relates to our ideas above on the Millennium Development Goals. One could say that it is the responsibility of God to take care of these billions of people but this one would be short sighted and unawares of the Truth of the Master’s words and the Word of God. In the Truth that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) we should see that He did not do this to these people, it is the natural way of the Plan of God that puts men where they can best progress and in this time of much escalated population growth we find the situations that we find. From the Master’s words on Love and in sayings like that from John which clearly tells us that: “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:17-18); we should be able to see our own role here and, for those of us who can believe that we are aspirants to discipleship, we should be able to see it ever clearer in this prayer as we pray that His Kingdom would come, the Kingdom that is within us ALL, and that His Will be done which IS our Will if we are among those who DO keep His words and strive toward the realization of the Kingdom of God for He does tell us clearly that “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). And, we should note that the ideas of us and we in the rest of this prayer are in reference to ALL men, ALL of the nearly 7.2 billion that are here in this Earth today….and so IS the idea of OUR.
- Our Father, which art in heaven,
- hallowed be thy name;
- thy kingdom come;
- thy will be done,
- in earth as it is in heaven.
- Give us this day our daily bread.
- And forgive us our trespasses,
- as we forgive them that trespass against us.
- And lead us not into temptation;
- but deliver us from evil.
- [For thine is the kingdom,
- the power, and the glory,
- for ever and ever.]
- Amen.†
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/
- † From the Gospels of Matthew and Luke; this version is from the Book of Common Prayer of 1662
