ON LOVE; PART CDLXV
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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.
(89) Jesus says: “Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not understand that the one who created the inside is also the one who created the outside?“
(90) Jesus says: “Come to me, for my yoke is gentle and my lordship is mild. And you will find repose for yourselves.“
(91) They said to him: “Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you.” He said to them: “You examine the face of sky and earth, but the one who is before you, you have not recognized, and you do not know how to test this opportunity.“
(92) Jesus says: “Seek and you will find. But the things you asked me about in past times, and what I did not tell you in that day, now I am willing to tell you, but you do not seek them.“
(93) “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, lest they throw it upon the dunghill. Do not throw pearls to swine, lest they turn <them> into [mud].“
(94) Jesus [says]: “The one who seeks will find. [The one who knocks], to that one will it be opened.“
(95) [Jesus says:] “If you have money, do not lend (it) out at interest. Rather, give [it] to the one from whom you will not get it (back).” 14
In the last essay we discussed the Master’s ideas behind the ninety third saying where we find that this is largely similar to the words of the Master in the Gospel of Matthew and, although Thomas’ appears as a truncated version, we should be able to see the same intent and implications. We read in the commentary from Thomas the various ideas on how this saying IS approached as they tell us that both the Gnostic and the Christian, authorities we would presume, were fond of this saying, and it was applied to secret doctrines, to Baptism, and to the Eucharist (R. McL. Wilson). We understand of course that this IS not the Master’s intent in saying this as there is at the time no secret doctrines and no doctrine of baptism nor of the eucharist. We also looked a Vincent’s remarks regarding this saying where we get more of a historical perspective of the meaning of the dog and things holy as well his view of the ideas behind what has become a proverb of sorts in words like pearls before swine; these ideas likely have little to do with the Master’s saying save the example set in this parabolic saying where there is a relationship between things holy and the pearls and between the dog and the swine. The message is of course deeper as we perceive it in our own interpretation from early on in our blog and which essentially says that: The message here then should be to give, but to give in wisdom and understanding, to all who come. To those who are ready give much and to those who are not give only what they can accept.
This is the way we see the teachings of the Master and this is how we see our own responsibility as aspirants and disciples insofar as direct communication to others by sermon or by teaching individuals and groups 0f people. The whole of the idea as we see this is largely different in today’s electronic world than it was in Jesus’ day and we have grown to this point as the literacy of the masses and the invention of the printing press and the computer has propelled the race of men. Here we should try to see a different dynamic at play as any and ALL can pick up a book that speaks about some obscure spiritual subject whether they are ready for it or not or, in this electronic age, can have access a blog such as this or some internet site. Here is an example of the need for scripture to grow into new and more modern times as this saying IS NOT intended to squelch the dissemination of ideas and here today we would rely upon the virtual desire of one who IS NOT ready to see obscure teachings to seek not them out nor show any interest in doing the necessary reading. And, in our experience this IS largely True; to one who IS not ready for a departure from their own KNOWN doctrines, these ideas that we present would be of no interest and would not be understood. This still leaves us with the reality that in direct communication we must ever be careful as there is much in the psyche of man that sees such things differently in this format than in having to pick up a book and read.
Any other view of this saying will likely cause one to be a judge of another’s psyche or motives which IS NOT in tune with the overall teachings of the Master who tells us about Repentance and His own attitude toward this saying: “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). In this we should understand that in the Truth of sin as one’s focus upon the self and the self in the world, this means to bring men to the Truth of God and, if we see our role in His example, this should be our motivation as well. And the importance of this is encapsulated for us in this saying that sets forth the reality of this Repentance: “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10). There is no judging of the motives of others in these ideas, there is only the steady role of the teacher as a disciple of the Lord and in the saying that we are discussing we should find some form of instruction in how to accomplish this role. We of course see this as we have presented; that we should give, but to give in wisdom and understanding, to all who come. To those who are ready give much and to those who are not give only what they can accept. By contrast we look here at the ideas of John Gill who in his Exposition of the Bible tells us:
- Regarding Give not that which is holy to the dogs we read: 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;
- On the next part, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, we read: 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.
- Finally on lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you we read: 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 ). 8
We should try to see that by taking these attitudes as disciples and aspirants we are acting contrary to the Master’s teaching on Love, on judgement and even on the deep reality of His teaching that “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35). We should see in this saying the idea that is also promoted by the author of the Book of Hebrews; that as aspirants and disciples we DO NOT shrink back, especially in fear ,which we read as:
- “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:35-39).
- “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
These ideas that are presented here by the writer are also spread throughout the writings of the other apostles but nowhere is so straightforward a manner as this and here the message IS that if we are focused upon the Lord and the things of God, that naught of this world can nor will Truly affect us as Souls which IS the Truth of our lives. In this we should see the several times that the Master tells us as disciples and aspirants to “fear not” and this as well from the Gospel of John: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). In these ideas we should see the reality of our current saying from Thomas and from Matthew; NOT as a command to NOT share but as a caution on how to share and so long as one is sharing with prudence and Wisdom, there should be no fear of any. This then IS what we see in this saying from Thomas Gospel and the more graphic presentation from Matthew; it is a caution to be ever prudent and Wise.
Our next saying, the ninety fourth, is one that we have just discussed to some degree as a part was attached as a the beginning of the ninety second saying; here it is a stand alone saying from the Master that is more a match to the synoptic versions which we repeat here:
- “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
- “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Luke 11:9-10).
As we noted in the last post, these words in Matthew’s Gospel follow upon the last saying we discussed and although we made this remark in regard to the last saying and the one prior, it is here True as well. Here we can see the order of Thomas following the order of Matthew but this is relationship is meaningless unless we can find some continuation of the Master’s thoughts. In Luke we have a different situation however as he places this saying just after the Parable of the Friend At Midnight which we covered in some detail in In the Words of Jesus parts 149-149. In this parable that is thought by most to be about persistence, we see a greater Truth that feeds into this, our next saying; the man of the house gives the three loaves because he is asked by a friend who in turn accepted his own friend as company at midnight for the very same reason. Likely neither wanted to comply but they do because of this friendship which can be further interpreted as GoodWill and as Love. We should not try to interpret this parable as to include friends arriving or asking in the middle of the night but rather that there IS NO wrong time to ask in Love; here in this story it is for carnal things but they are things of GoodWill and this should be the tenor of the idea for us to see in the deeper understanding which IS clarified in the next saying which we see above. Of course here we should see the reality of spiritual things that are asked for in spiritual ways and this is made clearer as the Master continues to say “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13).
Thomas recollection of the Master’s words is again an abbreviated approach that is thought to say these same ideas but we should know here that much of the text is missing from the original manuscript as is noted in the bracketed parts of this from Blatz: “Jesus [said:] He who seeks will find, [and he who knocks], to him will be opened“. We should understand here that the idea of knocking comes solely from the understanding of the synoptic versions and this is rendered differently by the other translators but all basically mean the same idea. There is scant commentary on this saying:
J. D. Crossan writes: “There is a lacuna in this text because the left bottom center of the manuscript page is missing. But the restoration is probably as certain as such things can be. The restored ‘[he who knocks]’ presumes the Coptic [pettohm e]hun (literally, ‘knocks inward,’ see Crum: 458b), and this is still residually visible in the final tip of the -h- and the complete -un. And ‘will be let in’ is, literally, ‘they will open to him,’ which is normal circumlocation for Coptic’s absent passive voice (see Guillaumont, 1959:49; Wilson, 1973:520).” (In Fragments, p. 100).
Mr, Crossan offers us a strong case for seeing this as we have above and it IS in this saying that we find a great Truth for our spiritual lives. That it IS in seeking that we receive and it IS in knocking that we can expect to find entry. In the completeness of these thoughts from the synoptic gospels we see the addition of asking and the idea here is the same; in seeking, in knocking and in asking we are focusing our attention onto the things of God and we should add here that any who may believe that this works for the things of the world and for the self in the world as well, is sorely mistaken. Here we should note that in asking for carnal comforts or favor of most any kind, one IS focused upon the things of the world and, while one may receive what is asked for, this IS more a coincidence or the result of some carnal mental power than it is of the divine nature. Here we should see as well that if it IS our intent to live the spiritual Life, that we will not be seeking such worldly comforts and favor. There is much to the power of the mind and the emotions in the world that we DO NOT understand, some of this was perhaps better understood in the past but this has faded as the race of men becomes more mentally and logically focused. In this we should try to understand that the powers of the priests of Egypt in Moses day and the powers of the sorcerer in Paul’s day are not fictional and we should understand as well that these are easily overcome by the Power and the Love of the Soul.
The overriding point here is that if one is intent on the spiritual Life, these ideas of seeking and knocking and asking are our powerful tools of advancement and these can be summarily stated in our single word from the Master…that we strive. As one strives toward the Kingdom and discipleship one is continually asking and seeking and knocking and in this saying we find our assurance that our answers and revelations will come and that the doors will be opened. The Apostle James sets these ideas on a spiritual note for us as he says: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8). In this saying we should see the Truth of focus; that if the focus of the asking is not upon this Wisdom from above, if that focus is unstable and variable, then it is not focus at all in James’ terms. And this IS the nature of spiritual advancement that we seek and we ask and we knock for; it IS ONLY when our focus IS upon that which we are asking for, seeking after and knocking on to be opened to us that we will receive. There IS NO magic thing here as we might see in the things of the world, there is only one’s sincere approach to God and whether we see this as a continuation of the last saying as a part of the Sermon on the Mount or as the saying that explains for us the reality of the Parable of the Friend At Midnight that can show us that we receive these things of God because we ask, we should understand that asking and the seeking and the knocking ARE the only price and there IS NO shame in asking for the right things, this IS a powerful saying as we try to understand our Way on the Path to 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.
Today we repeat the Mantram of Unification as our Quote of the Day and we should note the very Christian ideals that are embraced by these words; not the doctrinal Christian ideals but rather the ideals annunciated in the words of the Master and of His apostles. This idea of ONENESS IS a component part of the Love that the Master teaches as He tells us that we should Love ALL and this ideal is repeated by His apostles who clarify it and expand upon it in their pronouncement that we should NOT show respect to persons that we should not prefer one above another, and this of course includes groups of persons who may differ from us in color, in nationality, in religion….in any way. We are told this by the apostles who tells us that God DOES NOT show such favor to individuals nor to groups as we read that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) which IS here offered in the context that ALL are treated equally. There are several instances of this saying interweaved with the idea that we should Love our brother, our neighbor and one another as these ideas are framed and, with this stated concept of this respect, we should be able to glimpse what we have been preaching here in this blog and which is the Truer nature of this Love. We should understand that in our zeal to be among His disciples that we must pay keen attention to the totality of the Master’s words which tell us that we should “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) and it is in this reality that we should understand this idea of respect, that if this is the Way of God that it should be the way of man as well. And, if this were not clear enough, the straightforward words of the Apostle James helps us saying “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors” (James 2:9).
This IS the greater Truth of this Mantram of Unification; that we understand the reality of our ONENESS, our essential Unity, that we Love as the Master teaches, that we allow the Inner man, the Soul, to be the controlling force in our lives; that we come to see the Truth, that we break down the walls of illusion and glamour and eliminate ALL things that separate us from the Truth and from each other. And that we Love and encourage that Universal Love which is our essential destiny by our own example and in ALL that we say and do.
Mantram of Unification
The sons of men are one and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate;
I seek to serve and not exact due service;
I seek to heal, not hurt.
Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events,
And bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time.
Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men loveet love prevail.Let all men love.
The Mantram of Unification is a meditation and a prayer that at first affirms the unity of all men and the Brotherhood of Man based on the Fatherhood of God. The first stanza sets forth several truly Christian ideals in Unity, Love, Service and Healing. The second stanza is a invocation to the Lord and to our own Souls asking that from the pain (if there can truly be any) incurred in focusing on the Spirit and not the world will come Light and Love into our lives and that we begin to function as Souls through our conscious personalities. We ask that the spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes and also that the Love that we bring forth, individually and as a world group, can be seen by all and ultimately in all. Finally, in the last stanza we ask for those things that are needed for Love to abound. Vision and insight so that we can direct our attention properly; revelation of the future in the sense that all can see the Power of Love in the world; inner union so that we do not fall back into the world’s ways, that we faint not; and that a sense of separation, the antithesis of brotherhood, ends as we know it today. Let Love Prevail, Let All Men Love. Spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 14 The Gospel of Thomas; Translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson; http://gnosis.org/
