ON LOVE; PART CCCLXXXIX
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.
(30)Jesus says: “Where there are three gods, they are gods. Where there are two or one, I am with him.“
(31) Jesus says: “No prophet is accepted in his (own) village. A physician does not heal those who know him.“
(32) Jesus says: “A city built upon a high mountain (and) fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden.“
(33) Jesus says: “What you will hear with your ear {with the other ear} proclaim from your rooftops. For no one lights a lamp (and) puts it under a bushel, nor does he put it in a hidden place. Rather, he puts it on a lampstand, so that everyone who comes in and goes out will see its light.“
(34) Jesus says: “If a blind (person) leads a blind (person), both will fall into a pit.”14
We begin our 800 th essay of our series entitled In the Words of Jesus again with the purported words of the Master from the Gospel of John. We discussed the thirty first saying in the last essay which is similar to sayings from the accepted gospels in the first part but similar only to the Gospel of Luke in the second part where we found them to be much the same although spoken from a different perspective. In our view the Master using those words from Luke’s Gospel: “Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself” (Luke 4:23) because of His sense that He was unappreciated as a teacher and a healer by those people who KNOW Him. Here it is like their saying to Him that He should heal Himself as He is the one in need. On the other part of this saying we should try to see that the idea of healing and of teaching is wrapped together into that single word prophet that is used in the other accepted gospels; only Thomas Truly totally separates them as while Luke does mention healing he seems to rely upon the idea of the prophet to explain the Master’s remarking on the proverb.
The bottom line here is that this is a rather universal Truth and that any who go home to their roots are held in much the same way if they have later success. And this is likely the point from the perspective of the gospel writers as they try to show that while most all common men appreciated what Jesus could do for them and their families, those who presumed to KNOW Him best could not and this goes to show that they really did not KNOW Him at all. Here Mark has much the same to say as does Matthew regarding the ideas in the minds of those who supposedly knew Him when: “From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him” (Mark 6:2-3). In Luke’s Gospel however there is greater crisis as he makes this report of the Masters coming to Nazareth:
“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you , No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent , save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up , and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way” (Luke 4:16-30).
In the this graphic story as presented by Luke we get a deeper flavor for what these people are thinking and how they are reacting to the man who left as a neighbor and returned as the Messiah, at least in His own report. Here they not only chide Him but they threaten to kill Him as well. There is an important lesson in these renditions of this event for us ALL and the more of it is in understanding and Love than in the stories themselves as the Master tells us that this is a trait of men that we, as disciples of the Lord, MUST understand.
The next saying, the thirty second, is again similar but different to what we read in the accepted gospels and we should link this to that saying from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel where the Master tells us “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid” (Matthew 5:14). This is the only saying in the accepted gospels that approaches the idea of the one from Thomas saying: “A city built upon a high mountain (and) fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden” although there are other sayings on things hidden that may have a place here in our discussion:
- “for there is nothing covered , that shall not be revealed ; and hid, that shall not be known” (Matthew 10:26).
- “For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad” (Mark 4:23).
- “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad” (Luke 8:17).
Although each of these sayings is offered in a different context, they do appear the same as we look at them alone and we will develop this idea further on; first let us look at the commentary on this saying from Thomas’ Gospel and then compare it to the most similar one from Matthew:
- Gerd Ludemann writes: “The saying has a precise equivalent in Greek. It seems overloaded by comparison with the parallel Matt. 5.14. Therefore Logion 32 may be of later date in terms of tradition. Gnostics had no difficulties in seeing themselves as inhabitants of a fortified city which could not be shaken.” (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 606).
- Joachim Jeremias writes: “The saying is meant to encourage Jesus’ disciples, and preserve them from despondency. They are citizens of the lofty, eschatological city of God (Isa. 2.2-4; Micah 4.1-3), a city which no earthquake, nor hostile onslaught, nor even the Powers of Hell (Math. 16.18), can shake, and whose light streams through the night, needing no human efforts. Having the gospel, they have all they need.” (The Parables of Jesus, pp. 217-218).
- Joseph A. Fitzmyer writes: “There is no reason why the saying could not be regarded as authentic, but it is more likely a secondary expansion of Mt 5:14. I find it hard to see any connection between this saying and Mt 7:24-25, which has been suggested by various commentators.” (Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament, p. 403).
- R. McL. Wilson writes: “Fitzmyer also regards it as a secondary expansion of Matthew, while Grant and Freedman think it based on Matthew, but that ‘it has become mixed up with something else in the course of transmission.’ On the other hand Puech notes that Vaganay, working on the basis of the Greek fragment, had already suggested that it came from independent tradition, and he himself suggests that it may be older and more complete than Matthew. Quispel has detected several parallels in other writings, some of them already noted by Harnack and others in their studies of the Greek, and these must lend support to the view that we have here an independent tradition.” (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, p. 61).
- Funk and Hoover write: “The underlying saying about a city that cannot be concealed probably goes back to Jesus. It is based on a common sight in the Near East: one sees mounds protruding from the plain or valley floor everywhere; they mark the sites of ancient cities. When a city succumbed to an enemy seige, the new occupants simply leveled off the stones and clay bricks of which the walls and buildings of the previous city had been constructed, and built on top of the debris. Over the centuries the mound (it is called a ‘tell’) would grow to considerable height since it was held together by the outer walls that were continually reconstructed to fortify the city. The saying about the fortified city on a hill is preserved by both Greek Thomas and Coptic Thomas as an independent saying. Since the original context has been lost in both Matthew and Thomas, we cannot determine what it meant on the lips of Jesus.” (The Five Gospels, p. 492).
These comments are concerned with the authenticity of the saying and the comparison to Matthew’s similar saying but there is little of help in understanding its intent nor its similarity to the ideas of the Master nor His intent. The commentary by Mr. Jeremias is the closest to True commentary but we see a bit of a doctrinal stretch here. Here is Thomas we find a rather parabolic approach to the Master’s words as we can be rather certain that He is not speaking about a city but us using the idea of the city for a comparison as He does in Matthew. In Matthew however we have the comparison presented for us in the idea that the disciple IS “the light of the world“, a Light that CAN NOT be hid as it stands higher and brighter. This idea is made clearer as the Master continues His thought to say that “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16). This is the same idea that we should take from the Master’s saying from Thomas Gospel except that there is no reference to Light; in Thomas the reference is strength, fortitude, readiness and whatsoever other words for the ideas of high and fortified that one can think of in this context. The idea from both is that the disciple should not shrink back but should be ever visible, ever shining bright, and always ready to serve as required which is spoken of in Matthew as good works.
The saying from Thomas is a stand alone saying as are most of those that we have thus far covered and here we must rely upon the saying itself for its meaning and its intent but we can use what we KNOW of the Master’s teaching to help us to understand since His intent does not change. Here we can see that Jesus is instructing His disciples, not on the nature of the secure city as this IS NOT His way, but on the nature of the visible and strong disciple, a disciple that CAN NOT be hid. ALL of the translations of this saying including the Interlinear and the Greek are the same save the literary adjustments made by the individual translators and the Doresse version, as one that makes some literary changes, can help us a bit in understanding the Master’s intent; Mr. Doresse frames this as: “A city built on a high mountain, and which is strong, it is not possible that it should fall, and it cannot be hidden!“. Here we get the more definite picture of strength and its inability to fall in the idea that it IS NOT possible and this is the nature of the disciple as we find in Matthew; not the city. In another parable from Thomas this same word that is rendered here as fortified is used in the negative about a grape vine and there the idea of not fortified is a non sequitur; in this saying, the fortieth, this word is translated as: not established, not sound, did not grow strong, unsound, not supported and not strong in the various translations and we can likely see these same ideas from a positive view in our subject saying where most all use the idea of fortified.
What then of the city that represents the disciple? Can we see that here they are established, sound, strong and supported and in these that it IS NOT possible for them to fail nor fall nor be hidden because they stand tall and display their good works. Can we see Jesus telling His disciples that this is how they must be? In Matthew again the idea is Light, that the disciples should shine and display their good works but there are several other ideas on being hid as we mentioned above. There is not space here today however to develop these ideas and to finish our thought as well so we put this other part off until the next post. Here we have established from the perspective of Thomas writing that this saying is a parabolic instruction to the disciple to stand tall, to be strong and to be visible in his work. Here as in Matthew the visibility is the result; in Thomas the result of standing tall and strong in the Lord and in Matthew the result of letting one’s Light shine. We should remember here that there ARE reasons beyond the general idea of discipleship that should here be considered and among these is fear and these are the same fears that we ourselves may have as aspirants who are ‘stepping out’ and taking on the cause of Love and brotherhood and service and the rigors of becoming a disciple. For the disciple in Jesus day this was likely just as True and, in addition there is the factor of falling back into the world as this struggle exists for both them and us. In their day however there was the additional fear of subjection to the persecution that they would have to endure at the hands of the Jews and the Romans who governed them.
This latter idea will come clearer with our next discussion but the first two, the fortitude to stand tall as His disciples and the strength with which we fight off the ways of the world, are covered for us in these words from the Apostle Paul who give the Galatians this teaching which also touches on the idea of persecution:
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Galatians 6:10-17).
Here in Paul’s words is the rather practical instruction to the disciples at Galatia, an instruction that clarifies and amplifies the instructions of the Master that they be strong and that they should stand in that strength and fortitude.
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.
O Thou Who givest sustenance to the universe,
From Whom all things proceed,
To Whom all things return,
Unveil to us the face of the true Spiritual Sun
Hidden by a disc of golden Light
That we may know the Truth And do our whole duty
As we journey to Thy sacred feet.
As with any ancient manuscript from a foreign land, there are many interpretations and translations of The Gayatri available. The version that appears here comes to us in every day English and without the need to have a Sanskrit reference as a key; it is constructed so that all can understand it and use it.
The Gayatri is really quite simple and straightforward in the form that we have here. It begins, as does the Lord’s Prayer, with an acknowledgement of the Majesty of God as the Giver of all Life and as our Source of all things. We ask only one thing in this prayer; that the true spiritual light of God be unveiled to us so that we may see it clearly. The Sun is the giver of light and life to our planet and all that is on it and, just as each of our forms veils the Spirit within, we ask to see and to know the Light that is behind the Sun that which we see.
In saying this we believe that by seeing the true Spiritual Light that we will be able to see and to know the Truth that is in that light. This is the Light that the Buddha and then the Christ brought to us through their lives on Earth. This is the Light that shines in our hearts from our own spiritual selves, the Christ Within.
We close by acknowledging that we have a duty to God, to our brothers and to His Plan and it is this duty that we will perform when we realize the truth as we journey back to God.
Others have said about this prayer that “The Gayatri is one of the oldest invocations, or mantrams, know to man. It carries the power of purpose, the plan of love and the light of truth. It reveals human relationships as vertical alignment with the source of all Energy and horizontal service in the right use of energy. It is a potent tool for use with the inflow of new age energies” (from The Gayatri prayer card of World Goodwill; NY, NY).
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/
