ON LOVE; PART CDLXXXI
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.
(109) Jesus says: “The kingdom is like a person who has a hidden treasure in his field, (of which) he knows nothing. And [after] he had died, he left it to his [son]. (But) the son did not know (about it either). He took over that field (and) sold [it]. And the one who had bought it came, and while he was ploughing [he found] the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whom he wished.“
(110) Jesus says: “The one who has found the world (and) has become wealthy should renounce the world.“
(111) Jesus says: “The heavens will roll up before you, and the earth. And whoever is living from the living one will not see death.” Does not Jesus say: “Whoever has found himself, of him the world is not worthy“?
(112) Jesus says: “Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul. Woe to the soul that depends on the flesh.“
(113) His disciples said to him: “The kingdom – on what day will it come?” “It will not come by watching (and waiting for) it. They will not say: ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and people do not see it.“
(114) Simon Peter said to them: “Let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life.” Jesus said: “Look, I will draw her in so as to make her male, so that she too may become a living male spirit, similar to you.” (But I say to you): “Every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.” 14
In our last essay we discussed the our ideas on the similarity between the one hundred eighth saying from Thomas Gospel and the ideas set forth by the Master in His dissertation on ‘eating His flesh’ and ‘drinking His blood’ as we find this in the Gospel of John. The few available commentaries on this saying related this to the “rivers of living water” that the Master tells us of saying that “out of his belly shall flow” (John 7:38) for the man who believes on Him; here of course we must remember the Truth of this believing which IS in a word that we keep His words. This link can be made but here we should see that this water flows from the disciple and not from the Master as one would understand from this saying which we read as:
“Whoever-drinks out of-my-mouth, he-will-come-to-be in-my-way;>I also(I), I-will-come-to-be as-he is,>and those-hidden will-appear to-him” (Interlinear Version; original).
Other commentary linked this to the words that the Master speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well; here Jesus is explaining to the woman who He is that she is speaking with; the dialogue goes thus:
“There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink . (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink ; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw” (John 4:7-15).
There is much unnoticed depth in this exchange where we can see the universality of the Master’s message and His teaching; that while He is born into Judaism He IS NOT of the same mind as the Jews regarding the Samaritans and through this we should see that He regarded ALL men. In this simple exchange we see the very Nature of the Master in His own words, that He IS “the gift of God“, the Love of God made manifest to men, and the reality of this Gift is yet to be fully realized. Here again the idea of the commentary on the Gospel of Thomas leaves us short as there is no direct relation to the Samaritan woman’s asking and the ideas from our current saying but this IS closer than was the former idea. In our view we see this differently and we relate this saying to that other revelation by the Master that must be understood in the same way as IS this from Thomas’ Gospel; that one must partake of the Master and here there is little difference between “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” and our saying above that tells us that it IS he who drinks from the mouth of the Master shall have this same Unity, that he will be one with the Master and that the Master will be ONE with him. This IS the reality of this saying; this Unity and this ONENESS that is found by partaking of the Life of the Christ.
And here is where the doctrines fail as they see this in the reality of the body of the man and not in the Truth of the Christ and by extension the Christ Within who IS part and parcel of that same Christ that dwells in the body of the Master Jesus. In both these sayings, from Thomas and from John, we must see the parabolic value and while the doctrines seek to relate this to the physicality of the crucifixion or the tenets of the Last Supper, we should see the Truth and the reality of partaking in the Nature and the Life of the Master. And, if we study His words overall, we will find this partaking at the heart of most ALL of His sayings. This saying from Thomas’ Gospel then IS NO more strange or obscure than are these words from the Gospel of John and NO more parabolic than those ideas nor the ideas above on the “rivers of living water” flowing from the belly of the man who keeps His words nor the “living water” offered to the Samaritan woman at the well. This IS of course the same idea that is offered in the Master’s words at the Last Supper. While this has been ritualized by the various doctrines of the denominations, this was surely NOT His intent. Jesus IS offering the sharing of bread and of the wine in a solemn gesture of reminding them ALL and us as well that we should partake of the bread and the wine in the Spirit of His offering and as He sacrificed His own mortal Life in service to His brethren, in service to mankind, so should they and in this we can see the ultimate of His teaching on forsaking and the Truth in His words, His admonition, that we “take no thought” (Matthew 6:24, Luke 12:22). The established rituals and their various meanings are secondary to these ideas for us as aspirants to discipleship, for those that would Truly follow Him, and the reality here is the same that IS found in these ideas above from the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of John; partake in the nature and in the Life of the Christ and of course one’s own Christ Within.
Our final group of sayings from the Gospel of Thomas is listed above and the first one is a sort of expansion upon one that we find in the Gospel of Matthew where is it found in a series of simple statements regarding the nature of the Kingdom of God. Thomas however gives us an expanded version that shows that the Kingdom itself has hidden this treasure in the field. We must of course remember that this IS a parable and in this one there are again differences in translation that can alter one’s understanding. We discussed this idea of interest and the various ways of viewing this saying in our essay on the ninety fifth saying and we repeat here the two translations that we cited then:
- Jesus says: “The kingdom is like a person who has a hidden treasure in his field, (of which) he knows nothing. And [after] he had died, he left it to his [son]. (But) the son did not know (about it either). He took over that field (and) sold [it]. And the one who had bought it came, and while he was ploughing [he found] the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whom he wished” (Patterson and Robinson).
- Said-JS97 this: “the-kingdom, she-compares to-a-man who-had-he there in-his-\-field a-treasure ( )hiding, he-being not-knowing about-him;>and after-his-death, he-left-him to-his-son. The-son knew not. He-took-the-field which-was-there; he-gave-her a way, > and whoever-bought-her, he-came ()plowing; he-fell on-the-treasure. Did-he-begin to-give-money (at-interest) to-those-he-loves()” (Interlinear Version, original).
Two significant differences here; first in the idea of the son who either sells the field or gives it away to another and the word that is rendered here as give is also as give in other sayings; perhaps we find this change to sell because of the following thought that the other had bought it. Second there is the idea of the last part which we previously discussed which speaks of interest, a word which is always rendered parenthetically by the Interlinear so as to show the uncertainty. This is not our primary point here however as we wee that this IS framed as a question in the Interlinear and as a statement in the other translations. There is much commentary on this saying that we will look at some of these before we proceed:
- Marvin Meyer quotes Aesop’s Fable 42 as a parallel: “A farmer who was about to die and who wished to familiarize his sons with farming summoned them and said, ‘Sons, in one of my vineyards a treasure is hidden.’ After his death they took plows and mattocks and dug up all of their farmed land. They did not find the treasure, but the vineyard repaid them with a harvest many times greater. The story shows that what is gotten from toil is a treasure for people.” (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 107).
- Joachim Jeremias quotes a parallel in Midr. Cant. 4.12: “It (i.e. the quotation from Cant. 4.12) is like a man who inherited a place full of rubbish. The inheritor was lazy and sold it for a ridiculously smal sum. The purchaser dug therein industriously and found in it a treasure. He built therewith a great palace and passed through the bazaar with a train of slaves whom he had bought with the treasure. When the seller saw it he could have choked himself (with vexation).” (The Parables of Jesus, p. 32).
- Joachim Jeremias writes: “Whereas in Matthew the parable of the Treasure in the Field describes the overwhelming joy of the finder . . . in the Gospel of Thomas, under the influence of the rabbinic story, the point is entirely lost: the parable now describes the rage of a man who has failed to seize a unique opportunity.” (The Parables of Jesus, p. 33).
- Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: “It might mean that the kingdom which the Jews, or people in general, could have known was given to others [cf. Mt 8:11-12, Lk 13:29] . . . The ‘lending at interest’ at the end of the story would then be spiritual, for taking interest is rejected in Saying 92. On the other hand, it might mean that unless you look for the treasure within your own field it will pass to others who will profit from it. The second interpretation seems more probable.” (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 194).
- R. McL. Wilson writes: “As Cerfaux noted, this version departs radically from that of Matthew and finds a closer parallel in a Rabbinic story of the second century. Grant and Freedman find it difficult to see what the story meant to Thomas, but a Gnostic interpretation is not hard to discover. If the kingdom be identified with gnosis, the knowledge that is latent in every man, but which only the Gnostic can truly be said to possess, we have a treasure hidden from the original owner and his son (the psychic or the hylic?), awaiting the coming of the Gnostic who was able to receive it. An alternative is offered by Bauer, who with Doresse refers to the Naassene use of the parable. Like the mustard seed and also the leaven( logion 96), the treasure is the kingdom, understood in a Gnostic sense. The purchaser is Christ, who bought the field in His Incarnation, laboured in it in His Passion, and by casting off the body of flesh in His return to heaven has found the treasure. The taking of interest is forbidden in logion 95 (cf. Matt. v. 42, Luke vi. 34), but is plausibly explained by Bauer as the imparting of gnosis by Christ to his followers. Of this parable Bartsch observes that it has undergone a transformation and shows no relation either in form or in content to the synoptic version.” (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 93-94).
- F. F. Bruce writes: “This version of the parable of the hidden treasure (cf. Matthew 13.44) has a novel ending. The treasure, like the pearl in Saying 76, is the true knowledge; if those who have this within their grasp do not avail themselves of it, it will pass to others who will profit by it.” (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 152).Funk and Hoover write: “In Matthew, by covering up the treasure and buying the field, the man deceives the original owner. But he sells all his possessions in order to acquire the field with the hidden treasure. In Thomas’ version, the ultimate purchaser of the field launches a despicable occupation: moneylender. Thomas 92 specifically prohibits moneylending as an acceptable practice. In both versions of the parable, the treasure comes into the possession of someone with dubious moral credentials. This is comparable to the behavior of the shrewd manager in another of Jesus’ parables (Luke 16:1-8a), who swindles his master in order to provide for his own future. Surprising moves such as this, in which Jesus employs a dubious moral example, appear to be characteristic of Jesus’ parable technique.” (The Five Gospels, p. 530).
- Charles W. Hedrick writes: “The Treasure in the Gospel of Thomas is easily understandable in the cultural context of first-century Judaism (or early Jewish Christianity) and has parallels to be found in other parables of Jesus that emphasize transversion, or reversal, of values. Thomas’s parable stresses the sudden finding of the treasure and seems to commend the resourceful response of the individual who found the treasure, i.e., the loaning at usury, by making it the climax of the parable. The loaning of money for interest would certainly conflict with Torah where one is not permitted to loan at interest to a fellow Israelite. In that sense the motif becomes a shocking element in the parable, assuming that it was addressed to Jewish audiences, and such language is attributed to Jesus elsewhere. The point of Thomas’s version of The Treasure in a Jewish context would seem to have been the impact of suddenly, unexpectedly finding a fabulous treasure (=the kingdom of God). I suppose it would correspond to winning a lottery with a large purse. Such an event completely reverses values. It turns the world upside down. It challenges and changes the old customs and former values, religious and otherwise. Farmers (peasants) become bankers, heirs are abruptly disenfranchized and cherished religious beliefs are discarded. Other parables of Jesus that reflect a similar twist are The Good Samaritan, Pharisee and Publican, The Vineyard Laborers, The Palm Shoot, and Grain of Wheat.” (“The Treasure Parable,” Forum 2.2 [1986], pp. 52-53).
- Helmut Koester writes: “The original parable of the Hidden Treasure, however, is not actually quoted by Thomas. If one considers Gos. Thom. 109 as a quotation of that parable, one arrives at a judgment like Jeremias’s, who called it ‘utterly confused.’ But Jeremise already recognized that Gos. Thom. 109 is actually a reproduction of a rabbinic parable where the story describes how angry one can get if one misses such an opportunity. The story, otherwise widespread in folklore and in the complex legal Talmudic discussion about ownership of treasures found, has been deliberately changed by the Gospel of Thomas. It says nothing about the angry reaction of the first owner of the field (who is actually dead when the treasure is discovered!), but emphasizes that the two original owners of the field ‘did not know about the treasure.’ The contrast in the parable is, therefore, between not knowing and finding, that is, ‘knowing.’ Since ‘treasure’ has at this point in the story clearly become a metaphor, the following ‘lending money at interest to whomever he wished’ must be understood metaphorically as the communication of knowledge.” (Ancient Christian Gospels, p. 105).
There is much here that relates this story to rabbinic traditions and attempts to show that this is unrelated to Matthew’s verison but ALL seem to ignore the idea that this IS a parable and that that man with the hidden treasure is likened to the Kingdom of God. Here we should see that there must be a strong departure from the worldly thoughts of these words as the Kingdom CAN NOT logically NOT KNOW of this treasure and here perhaps we should take the idea that this can be a worldly type of treasure with which the Kingdom, as the man, has no interest. Neither does his son have any interest and so when he inherits it he has no use for it and he gives it away to others. This then would be the reality of the story; the one who does receive this field does have an interest and does find the treasure and it is here we are considering this a worldly treasure. The question is rhetorical; this man receives a free gift and what shall he do with it? shall he “begin to-give-money (at-interest) to-those-he-loves()“. The moral here in this view is in this idea of the free give from the Kingdom of God, from the man who represents the Kingdom, the original owner of the field.
There ARE several ways to view this but this seems the most reasonable if we are to consider the man who owns the field as the Kingdom, and thereby God, and then consider that the son IS the Christ. They CAN NOT NOT KNOW of the treasure and so we must then find some other rational reasoning for this story line which we are assuming here is that it IS NOT that they DO NOT KNOW that it is there, but that the spiritual DOES NOT consider the carnal. Neither the Father nor the Son have any interest in the things of the world and neither does the disciple whom they teach but, at the same time, we should see that they DO understand the needs of the man in the world. Considering that the parables of Jesus are, ALL of them, in regard to spiritual things, then we should be able to see ourselves in this as the man who buys the field, the man who finds the treasure and then gives it ALL away, not at interest, but freely in accordance with the Master’s other sayings and here we can either see that we are fully in accord and that we Love ALL or that we just give to those who may ask. It matters not how we render this final word; as the one who wants what we have or as the one that we Love which IS then ALL men; both of these views are covered in His words.
In the ninety fifth saying which we read according to Layton’s translation and the Interlinear we find this same idea of lending and of interest and the idea as well that this IS NOT what the disciple or any follower of the Lord should do; we read:
- “If you (plur.) have money, do not lend it out at interest. Rather, give [it] to one from whom you will not get it back” (Layton).
- [Said-JS84 this:] “If have-you(pl)-money, do-not-give (at-interest). >Rather, give [it/him to-he]-who-[you(pl)-will-take() not from-his-hand” (Interlinear Version).
We should be able to see this same idea in the Interlinear Version of our current saying when we view the ending as that rhetorical question. We can find NO redeeming quality for this saying if it is viewed any other way and this especially when we understand that these are spiritual words that invoke the Kingdom of God.
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.
This is the Prayer of Saint Francis which we repeat again from a previous post as our Quote of the Day. If we were all to accept these ideas as guiding Lights in our lives, we would be expressing the Love and the Faith that the Master teaches. It is attributed to the 13th-century saint Francis of Assisi, although the prayer in its present form cannot be traced back further than 1912*. Regardless of the True authorship, the sentiments revealed in this prayer are genuine and are in keeping the intent of the teachings of the Master and His apostles. We should note here that the dying is not necessarily the death of the body but the death of the carnal man in the world when one is born again. In this context we read this about Saint Francis: Francis was the son of a wealthy foreign cloth merchant in Assisi, and he lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man, even fighting as a soldier for Assisi. While going off to war in 1204, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life**. Here is the antithesis of the rich young man of the gospels. While he may not have authored this prayer, many do attribute it to him and in reading about his Life one can easily see these ideas in his heart.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen
This is a prayer that is Truly in line with the teachings of the Master and the ideals encapsulated in this should be those that govern our lives and our prayer should be that ALL can see Life in this same way. We should try to see the reality of these words in the verses above regarding feeding and visiting the least of His and our brethren; in these words is a deeper meaning, as clearer expression of Love and, we should look at the Master’s words above as an expression of Love and not merely in the terms that He presents as this is the intent of the entirety of His teachings.
Additional background information on Saint Francis of Assisi can be found in a rather lengthy article in the Catholic Encyclopedia; a link to this is provided below.†
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/
- † Link to New Advent http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06221a.htm*
- Wikipedia contributors. “Prayer of Saint Francis.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 24 Jan. 2013.
- **Wikipedia contributors. “Francis of Assisi.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 24 Jan. 2013.
