IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 804

ON LOVE; PART CCCXCIII

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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The Gospel of Thomas

These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke. And Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down.

(35) Jesus says: “It is not possible for someone to enter the house of a strong (person) (and) take it by force unless he binds his hands. Then he will loot his house.“

(36) Jesus says: “Do not worry from morning to evening and from evening to morning about what you will wear.“

(37) (1) His disciples said: “When will you appear to us, and when will we see you?” Jesus said: “When you undress without being ashamed and take your clothes (and) put them under your feet like little children (and) trample on them,  then [you] will see the son of the Living One, and you will not be afraid.“

(38) Jesus says: “Many times have you desired to hear these words, these that I am speaking to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will seek me (and) you will not find me.“

(39) Jesus says: “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!“.¹⁴

In the last essay we discussed somewhat the idea of the strong man as we read in the thirty fifth saying from the Gospel of Thomas. We noted how it is here offered without any context while in the synoptic gospels the context is in regard to the Jew’s chiding the Master over His ‘casting out demons’ claiming that Jesus does so by the power of the devil or of Satan. Now we should understand that in Matthew’s and in Luke’s versions of this event the Master does not hear them in their chiding but He knew their thoughts and responded to them in what the Apostle Mark calls a parable; we read:

• “And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?” (Mark 3:22-23).
• “But when the Pharisees heard it, they said , This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation” (Matthew 12:24-25).
• “But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation” (Luke 11:15-17).

Now it matters not that this happens in the same way in each of these versions as recalled by the apostles; it matters not that this is in direct action to the words or the thoughts of those who confronted the Master and it matters not who says these things, the people in general or the scribes or the Pharisees. It matters only that in response to the mood of the people and perhaps to their words that the Master responds in a parabolic way to them saying that it is not right to think that the evil would cast out the evil and He gives the example of a kingdom divided against itself, that it can not stand. As we see in the last post, both Matthew and Luke tell us that the Master then goes on to show Himself as the opposite of these and to hold up the idea that if their children can do these things as well, we assume He means His disciples here, that they must be devils as well. The finale here IS His saying that “But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you” (Luke 11:20) in both Matthew and Luke but Mark does not say this nor does he dwell on the dialogue save to say those things about the very idea of Satan casting out Satan and how the kingdom divided can not stand. The three here then go into the saying about the strong man and this then brings us back to our premise that in the dialogue above, from the healing performed by the Master to the finale of the Master’s saying on the Kingdom of God, the entirety of this episode can be seen as complete.

The next saying then, as a new thought, does not need to refer to these ideas of the Master’s reference to Satan and the parable that shows the unlikely nature of their contention that Satan would cast out Satan. As we see in Thomas’ Gospel where there is no context to this saying on the strong man; this can be a stand alone saying of which there are many scattered through the gospels and, in its own right, it makes so much more sense to see is this way. The very idea that the devil, that Satan, is the strong man gives much strength to the erroneous argument that Satan IS  a personality and that as such he has power over the man in the world. We must remember here that this IS a parable and not a statement of fact and if we can see the Master or the disciple or the man who strives to keep His words as the strong man, then this can ALL make much sense especially as it relates to the preceding sayings from Thomas’ Gospel which we see as the Master’s admonition to His disciples that they stand strong and that they stand tall against ALL that may come against them from without and from within. As the strong man, the disciple realizes that “his goods are in peace” and that if he can remain in this strength, that none can successfully come against him. Except that “a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him” (Luke 11:21-22), an attack that can only come from within the man himself; except the ways of the self and the self in the world can “first bind the strong man?” (Matthew 12:25-29), the disciple is safe. Remember again that this is a parable and that the ideas here of the stronger man and the exception created by the Master as for the one that can bind him are the same thought framed in a different way and here we can see the idea better in the framing from Mark where this is a negative that “No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man” (Mark 3:27). The framing of this in Matthew is as a question that asks “how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man?” (Matthew 12:29) and this gives us the same idea and while Luke looks for an even stronger man the point IS the same; that if the disciple keeps his focus upon the Master and the Truth, that none can come against him. And this is of course the same idea we take from Thomas, that one CAN NOT come against the strong man, the former thoughts, attitudes and actions of the world CAN NOT move the man who IS strong in the Lord.

From our perspective there is no value as a teaching by the Master in the opposite idea as it gives undo credit to Satan as the strong man as Vincent explained and it is ever the Master’s way to show the positive side in the reality of keeping His words. And while we may be wrong in our assessment of this saying from Thomas and the corresponding sayings from the synoptic gospels, we nonetheless have come upon a way of seeing our role as disciples and aspirants in the world; that we must be strong and not allow the former ways of the self and the self in the world to bind us or overcome us and drag us back into the illusion and the glamour of Life in form. Finally we have the simple statement of fact that some doctrine also attaches to these ideas of Satan from earlier where He explains the reality that Satan will not cast out Satan and why; the Master tells us according to Luke and to Matthew that “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth” (Luke 11:23). Here we see a general statement of fact that need not be tied to any previous nor succeeding saying and which thought is covered in another place by a similar saying by Mark who says more simply that “For he who is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40). The intent of these sayings IS clear and we will discuss these further in a future post.

Our next saying is one that we have often discussed from the accepted gospels and in this we find a sort of mantra for the disciple and the aspirant that Truly desires that High Calling. This is the saying from Luke and from Matthew that is worded as “take no thought” but which is deemed by doctrine to say ‘do not worry’ or ‘do not be anxious’ and other platitudes to that effect. From the perspective of the man in the world it is much more sensible to see it this way as to “take no thought” is a concept that is difficult to understand until one is on the Path and striving toward that strait gate. From the perceptive of the aspirant however this saying is a constant reminder that one should not concern himself whatsoever with the things of the world and should not be striving after glory in that sphere by planning and scheming as does the man whose focus IS these things of the world. Here in Thomas’ Gospel the saying is simple and limited in scope but it is our reminder of the whole of the idea as we read in context:

• “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap , nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:24-34).
• “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Luke 12:21-31).

In both of these versions of this saying by the Master we begin with a thought about the world and the things of the world; in the one the choice of “God and mammon” and in the other an admonition to the hearer that he not “layeth up treasure for himself” but rather look to God. And, in both there is the ending that one should “seek ye the kingdom of God” and that in such seeking one will find ALL that he needs in the world. This IS the Master’s message and the idea of worry or concern, or being anxious is but the creation of doctrine. While he does not agree with his own ideas as he leans toward doctrine in the end, Vincent tells us: Take no thought (μὴ μεριμνατε); The cognate noun is μέριμνα , care, which was formerly derived from μερίς , a part; μερίζω , to divide; and was explained accordingly as a dividing care, distracting the heart from the true object of life, This has been abandoned, however, and the word is placed in a group which carries the common notion of earnest thoughtfulness. It may include the ideas of worry and anxiety, and may emphasize these, but not necessarily ⁴. It is in the ‘abandoned’ idea, why abandoned we don’t know, that we find our True meaning and one that works in the context that these ideas are offered; earnest thoughtfulness however also fits well with our understanding here as in the idea of earnest we find: serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous ⁷. So what then is the message? don’t think earnestly about these things of the world and don’t divide your care so as to distract the heart from the true object of life….is this not the same message as “take not thought” from the perspective of don’t even think about these things?

And this idea of worry and concern, this idea about being anxious, has crept into the renderings of the Coptic words from Thomas as well where the various translators tell us:

• “Be not anxious from morning to evening and from evening to morning about what you shall put on” (Blatz).
• “Do not worry from dawn to dusk and from dusk to dawn about what you (plur.) will wear” (Layton).
• “Have no care, from morning to evening and from evening to morning, about what you shall put on” (Doresse).
• “Do not be concerned from morning until evening and from evening until morning, about what you will wear” (Lambdin).
• “Do not fret, from morning to evening and from evening to morning, [about your food–what you’re going to eat, or about your clothing–] what you are going to wear. [You’re much better than the lilies, which neither card nor spin. As for you, when you have no garment, what will you put on? Who might add to your stature? That very one will give you your garment.]” (Patterson and Meyer).
• “Do not worry from morning to evening and from evening to morning about what you will wear” (Patterson and Robinson).
• “Do not take care from morning up to evening, and evening up to morning for what (it) is which you will put upon yourselves” (Interlinear Version).
• [Jesus said, “Do not worry f]rom early u[ntil late no]r from ev[ening until m]orning. Worry neither [for y]our [food,] what [you] will eat, [nor] for [your] c[lothes,] what you will wear. [You are] [mu]ch gr[ea]ter than the [lil]lies wh[ich n]either ca[r]d nor s[pi]n. When you have n[o c]lo[thing], what do [you wear]? Who can add to your time of life? H[e it is who w]ill give you your clothing” (Greek Fragment).

Several things we should note here: first is that most all use the idea of worry, concern and anxiety in their translations as this is the common understanding from doctrine and where the thoughts are upon the worldly Life and, from this perspective their case is sure; however from the perspective of the aspirant and the disciple this is wholly in error as it is for the man who desires this High Calling. In Luke’s version we can see the idea of doubt covering worry and anxiety and concern as an added idea as the Master says: “neither be ye of doubtful mind“. Secondly we should note that in the Interlinear the words are “do not take care” and while we can not tell what the True verbatim rendering should be, we can say that in this idea of care we should see Vincent’s ‘abandoned’ idea above and our own idea that one should not pay any attention to these things, that one should not focus upon these things, but one should rather see the Master’s ever so clear words “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness“. Finally we should note that in the Greek fragment the words ‘Jesus said, “Do not worry f‘ are added by the translator and we DO NOT KNOW what was intended in this place and, the second instance of this word worry in this translation is from the word elsewhere rendered as nor which is repeated earlier and later as nor; here in the words rendered as “Worry neither” the actual word is nor and this rendering is most likely a take off upon the original non existing word worry.

Here the overall length of the Greek fragment is much greater and more similar to the synoptic versions and why this is so we do not KNOW. However, perhaps there is some idea to be found it the wording of the Coptic where the idea of to wear clothing is assumed from the words “put upon yourselves“. In the context of the other versions from the synoptic and the Greek, one can see the idea of wearing but in a stand alone verse this idea of to put upon oneself can have many different meanings as we can see in several of the sayings from the Apostle Paul who tells us that we should “put on the armour of light” (Romans 13:12) and other such sayings. We will explore this and look at the commentary in the next essay.

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!

• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁷ Dictionary.com Unabridged based on Random House Dictionary – 2011
• ¹⁴ The Gospel of Thomas; Translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson; http://gnosis.org/