ON LOVE; PART CDLXXV
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.
(102) Jesus says: “Woe to them, the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in a cattle trough, for it neither eats nor [lets] the cattle eat.“
(103) Jesus says: “Blessed is the person who knows at which point (of the house) the robbers are going to enter, so that [he] may arise to gather together his [domain] and gird his loins before they enter.“
(104) They said to [Jesus]: “Come, let us pray and fast today!” Jesus said: “What sin is it that I have committed, or wherein have I been overcome? But when the bridegroom comes out of the wedding chamber, then let (us) fast and pray.“
(105) Jesus says: “Whoever will come to know father and mother, he will be called son of a whore.“
(106) Jesus says: “When you make the two into one, you will become sons of man. And when you say ‘Mountain, move away,’ it will move away.“
(107) Jesus says: “The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them went astray, the largest. He left the ninety-nine, (and) he sought the one until he found it. After he had toiled, he said to the sheep: ‘I love you more than the ninety-nine.’“
(108) Jesus says: “Whoever will drink from my mouth will become like me. I myself will become he, and what is hidden will be revealed to him.“
Continuing our discussion of the one hundred second saying from Thomas’ Gospel, we should note that there is an entire list of woes addressed to the Jewish rulers by the Master and that perhaps this particular saying IS, along with the similar saying from Matthew and a previous saying from Thomas, the most profound accusation against them from a spiritual perspective. Seeing these three together again may help us to understand the importance of this single idea in that day and that based upon the importance that the Master gives here and in like sayings, this we should be looking at this tendency in every age:
- “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13).
- “The Pharisees and the scribes have received the keys of knowledge, (but) they have hidden them. Neither have they entered, nor have they allowed to enter those who wish to. You, however, be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves!” (Thomas 39).
- “Woe to them, the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in a cattle trough, for it neither eats nor [lets] the cattle eat” (Thomas 102).
Our commentaries pointed out the value of this saying as a tradition and even a fable from this a time period that appears to be the second century, some suggested that it preceded this and we pointed out that this just might be a Jesus original; we just do not KNOW. However, if we are to entertain the idea that this Gospel of Thomas is the words of the Master as they are recollected and understood by the Apostle Thomas, then we must see this in the same light as we see the Master’s sayings from the accepted gospels. Here in this saying we have the same intent as in the others above, the one from Matthew and the thirty ninth from Thomas, and perhaps here wc can see a unique technique and a different approach that we had not before noticed. In this one hundred second saying we have a parabolic explanation of a saying that is earlier expressed in plain language. Can we see perhaps that in the importance of this topic the Master converts it to a reality that they will understand? In the version from Matthew we find the straightforward accusation; perhaps too straightforward from the perspective of the Pharisees’ actual belief that they ARE doing the Lord’s work, that they ARE right and that they ARE showing men the Way. The same ideas can be seen in the thirty ninth from Thomas’ Gospel where the Master tells them that they have the keys but that they have hidden them while the Pharisees themselves believe that they have the keys and are using them properly.
Can we see this dynamic at play? Can we see that these Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes and lawyers whom the Master speaks against believe that it IS the Master that is gone astray and that despite His healing power and His apparent Wisdom, that He IS making Himself to appear in the place or the person of God? This IS the reality of the times in our view but one that IS NOT shared by the many who believe that the Pharisee is just evil and against God for their own benefit. The Pharisee and his ilk Truly are after their own benefit but not so much because they are evil as that this IS the way that they read their own scriptures that clearly tell them in many places that there are worldly rewards for their ‘righteousness’. We should understand here that the doctrines that they teach, as hypocritical as the Master sees them to be, ARE the Jews’ interpretation of the word of God and that the religious leaders were ‘set apart’ from the ordinary people to serve God and that this in itself can cause one to think more of himself that is necessarily True. And the Master acknowledges this idea that they believe that they are right as He tells His disciples that “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me” (John 16:2-3).
This IS the reality of the day and the Master tries to point this out to his disciples and to the Pharisees and rulers directly but they do not understand and this we KNOW by the reality of the gospel stories that end in Jesus crucifixion. And these are straightforward sayings that they do not get nor do they believe that the Master’s accusations ARE True. In this more parabolic saying from Thomas that we are discussing today, perhaps there is an attempt at showing by way of the animals just how the Pharisees are keeping men out. In the reality of the New Testament we have a view of the wrongdoing of the Pharisee and this IS likely a better view than they had of themselves in that day; while He did give them that lengthy list of woes, they did not see the Truth any more than the religious man today will see any Truth that is offered by anyone against his own doctrines and beliefs; not against the Truth but against doctrines that change and dilute the Truth as did the doctrines of the Pharisees and the Sadducees in that day. It IS in the dispensation of Love and brotherhood and forgiveness of ALL that the Pharisee’s ways are seen to be in error and we should note that they themselves eventually change; not their doctrines and traditions, many of which still hold today, but by their own application of them in Judaism as the Pharisee and the Sadducee and the chief priest fades into history with the siege and sacking of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in the latter part of the first century. Modern Judaism starts sometime later and while we DO NOT KNOW the inner workings of the religion with its own sects and denominations, it seems largely the same sans the general attitude of the Pharisee and his ilk.
In this saying we have a way of viewing this that perhaps can be better understood by the people of that day and in this we see our idea of a sort of reverse parable; as a real life example that can explain the straightforward language. This idea of the dog in the trough is clear and we can see him nestled in the hay; we can see as well how this dog, this Pharisee, is preventing the cattle, the people, from eating what food is in the trough. Added to this IS the reality that the dog will not eat the hay himself and in this we can see the reality that is in Matthew clearly accusative version. The stories related in the last post show this reality is possible in many more areas that this relationship between the Pharisee and the public and how this dynamic of one that is preventing others from having that which he does not even want himself is seen as a part of human nature and, here in our view of this, we should not so readily ascribe reasons to the attitudes of the Jewish rulers of the day which are more likely as we see above than they are the supposed evil and contrary nature of the Pharisee.
Our next saying, the one hundred third, does not have a True parallel in the accepted gospels although there are several that speak in similar language. There are several differences among our translations which can cause this to be understood differently and we present them all as:
- Jesus said: “Blessed is the man who knows [in which] part (of the night) the robbers are coming, that he may rise and gather his [ . . . ] and gird up his loins before they come in” (Blatz).
- Jesus said, “Blessed is the man who recognizes [which] district the brigands are going to enter, so as to arise, gather (the forces of) his domain, and arm himself before they enter” (Layton).
- Jesus says: “Blessed is the man who knows [where] the robbers are going to enter, so that he watches, he gathers his [. . .] and girds his loins before they enter” (Doresse).
- Jesus said, “Fortunate is the man who knows where the brigands will enter, so that [he] may get up, muster his domain, and arm himself before they invade” (Lambdin).
- Jesus says: “Blessed is the person who knows at which point (of the house) the robbers are going to enter, so that [he] may arise to gather together his [domain] and gird his loins before they enter” (Patterson and Robinson).
- Jesus said, “Congratulations to those who know where the rebels are going to attack. [They] can get going, collect their imperial resources, and be prepared before the rebels arrive” (Patterson and Meyer).
- Said-JS90 this: “a-blessed-one is(m) the-man, the-one who-knows that [in-which] part do-the-thieves come in, so [he]-may-arise &()-gather his-[kingdom], and ()()-bind him (self) upon-his-loins from-the-beginning, bef\ore-they-come in” (Interlinear Version, original).
We can see in these renderings some confusion in interpreting the idea from the Interlinear of “in which part” with some rendering this as what part of the house, as in door or window, and others rendering as what part of the night or when. Still others see this more as rebels attacking than as thieves while one takes this from the house to the district. There is a wide variety of ideas here and in another part as well where the Interlinear renders this as that the man may “arise &()-gather his-kingdom” while others see the individual. For this word that is rendered as kingdom, we should know that a part of it is missing and that the rendering is but a guess that some choose not to make as we see in Blatz and Doresse. Also, while this word is generally rendered as kingdom, and this is clearly right because of its reference to heaven, it is also rendered as domain in one other saying where such reference is not made. In the synoptics we are reminded of this saying which is framed differently but which has a similar construct:
- From Matthew: “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:42-44).
- From Luke: “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come , he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Luke 12:37-40).
The nature of these ideas from the synoptic gospels IS clear and that is to ever be ready; here the thief is but the parable’s face while the reality is shown clearly in the ideas that we KNOW NOT when the Lord comes. Here we should not be of an eschatological mindset only but we should see here our own demise as men in this world where we have opportunity to Repent or continue in our work…here the idea is that we CAN NOT let up in thinking that we may have the time. In Thomas we get only the parable and it is unfortunate that the words are unclear. The message however IS the same in its essence, be ready and here the added idea IS blessed IS the man who IS ready. the available commentary on this saying includes:
- Gerd Ludemann writes: “The beatitude picks up the woe from the previous logion. The logion is a free version of 21.5-7; Matt. 24.43-44/Luke 12.39-40 (=Q). It puts a new emphasis on the Q parallel by indicating the place (and not the time) of the attack. Perhaps Thomas could interpret this logion in a Gnostic way, starting from ‘know’.” (Jesus After 2000 Years, pp. 639-640).
- J. D. Crossan writes: “There are five major differences betwewen this version [103] and the preceding one [21]. (a) The form of 21c was metaphor succeeded by application, that of 103 is beatitude, beginning with the Greek loan-word makarios. (b) In 21c the protagonist is a householder, but in 103 he is simply a man, and there is no mention at all of a house. (c) In 21c the metaphor mentions a singular thief, but the application mentions the plural brigands or robbers. In 103 there is only mention of brigands or robbers, using the same Greek loan-word as earlier in 21c. (d) In 21c it is a question of knowing the time of attack, but in 103 it is the place of attack that is in question. There is, however, a textual problem here. The Coptic reads literally: ‘Blessed is the man who knows in what part the robbers are coming’ (Wilson, 1973:521). The problem is whether ‘part,’ using the Greek loan-word meros, is to be taken as ‘part (of the property),’ that is, ‘where’ (so Lambdin: 129), or ‘part (of the night),’ that is, ‘when’ (so Guillaumont, 1959:52-53). I am accepting the Lambdin interpretation because there are enough other differences between Thomas and Q on this saying to render intrusions from Q into Thomas on this point at least doubtful. (e) This is also an important point but it depends on an even greater textual problem, one of restoration rather than interpretation. In 21c the phrase ‘his house of his domain’ (tefmentero) appears, as was seen earlier. In 103 the protagonist sets out to ‘muster his menet [. . .].’ That is, the object of that action is uncertain because of a bad tear in the manuscripts outside top corner. Most translators attempt no reconstruction after ‘his.’ They simply leave a gap. But Lambdin proposes reading ‘muster his domain,’ presuming menter (domain, kingdom) as the missing word. If that reconstruction is correct, it is an important connection between 21c and 103, and it would indicate that 103 has infiltrated the application not only by the plural ‘robbers’ or ‘brigands,’ but also by the term ‘domain’ or ‘kingdom.’ I find this reconstruction very appealing, but there is a major problem in that the manuscript’s photographic copy evidences a fourth letter after that opening triad (mnt), a fourth letter that is mostly lost in the lacuna but which could not be e or r. Accordingly, although I accept Lambdin’s ‘muster his domain,’ I do so with some doubts.” (In Fragments, pp. 62-63).
- J. D. Crossan continues: “But even apart from that reconstruction, it is now clear that there are important content differences between Gos. Thom. 21c and 103. (a) That latter text concerns a man knowing the place where brigands will invade his property. Place, not time, is what is important. The former text concerns a householder knowing that a thief is going to attack his house. One could presume here that time (when) rather than place (where) is the significant point. But I would emphasize that time is not explicitly mentioned within the metaphor itself and that place would seem even more indicated in the application (‘find a way to come to you’). (b) That application in 21c links even more closely with the distant image in 103 than with the proximate and preceding one in 21c itself. One sees, in other words, a slight movement from explicit place in 103 to implicit time in 21c’s metaphor, but with 21c’s application still capable of moving in either direction.” (In Fragments, p. 63).
While there is nothing here to aid in our understanding of the intent of this saying, there are some thoughtful ideas regarding the words and the renderings as we discuss above. For us the greater parallels are to the idea from the synoptic gospels as in the twenty first saying from Thomas this part about the thief does not seem to be a part of the essential message of the parable but just an added part and this we discussed in some detail in In the Words of Jesus parts 785-787. We repeat the twenty first saying here; it is about the nature of the disciple and here the part on the thief is to say that when the master of the house learns of the thief, that it is these things will he do, while in our subject saying the Master is blessing the person for taking such action or for KNOWING that the thief will come.
Mary said to Jesus: “Whom are your disciples like?” He said: “They are like servants who are entrusted with a field that is not theirs. When the owners of the field arrive, they will say: ‘Let us have our field.’ (But) they are naked in their presence so as to let them have it (and thus) to give them their field.” ”That is why I say: ‘When the master of the house learns that the thief is about to come, he will be on guard before he comes (and) will not let him break into his house, his domain, to carry away his possessions.’ (But) you, be on guard against the world! Gird your loins with great strength, so that the robbers will not find a way to get to you.” ”For the necessities for which you wait (with longing) will be found. There ought to be a wise person among you! When the fruit was ripe, he came quickly with his sickle in his hand, (and) he harvested it. Whoever has ears to hear should hear” (Thomas 21).
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 are using yet another mantram as our new Quote of the Day and this is again one that we have posted many times. Here in the form of an affirmation we should be able to understand the intent which IS to make these realities as part of our everyday thinking and our everyday understanding of our nature. Here again, as we see in our words above on the Mantram of Unification, we have the same dynamics: Love, service and healing. Here however the motivation IS more upon the idea of service and when we can see that this service is offered in Love and that this service IS one of healing we can Truly understand this affirmation.
Affirmation of the Disciple
I am a point of light within a greater Light.
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine.
I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focussed within the fiery Will of God.
And thus I stand
I am a way by which men may achieve.
I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light, shining upon their way.
And thus I stand.
And standing thus, revolve
And tread this way the ways of men,
And know the ways of God.
And thus I stand.
From previous posts we repeat that today’s Quote of the Day is called the Affirmation of the Disciple and is spoken from the perspective of the Soul and not from that of the man in form. It is the Soul that we are in this life on Earth, housed in this ‘temple’ of flesh and it is the Light of the Soul that must flow through this ‘temple’ in order that we may say with the Christ “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) which is our goal and our destiny. Speaking then as the Soul we affirm our reality and true existence in God and in His Three Aspects of Light and Love and His Will. As this Light and Love and Will flow through our conscious personalities and forms we, as disciples, take on the nature of the second stanza being able to offer to the world a better way through our service and our Love for all, encouragement to righteousness through our strength of purpose, and the Light which shines in accordance with the Master’s instructions to “Let your light so shine before men” (Matthew 5:16) and illuminates the Path. Finally we realize that we are standing in this world and walking as men but, as conscious Souls in form, we know the way and the ways of God and are able to say with the Christ that “I am not of this world” (John 8:23).
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/
- 7 Dictionary.com Unabridged based on Random House Dictionary – 2011
