ON LOVE; PART CDXC
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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
We have now completed our look at the Gospel of Thomas where we find some very interesting ways of saying much of what we say here in this blog. As IS True with accepted gospels, Thomas’ Gospel is filled with sayings and parables that CAN NOT be seen clearly without some degree of spiritual discernment and for this one likely requirement IS that one look look at the words as though the ARE spiritual. Here we should KNOW that whatsoever the Master says MUST have a spiritual component as He IS the Spirit of God, that Soul that IS the Christ, expressing Light and Love and Power through the form of Jesus in the world of men. And this IS the great separation between men who teach and discuss scripture; that on the one hand there ARE those who see ALL through the eyes of the man in the world and who interpret things according to the doctrines that ARE erected to the convenience of man and, on the other hand, there ARE those who see scripture as an instruction in the Truth of spiritual Life and spiritual Living. It IS only the latter that can offer the Truth of the Master’s words and in this we should understand the latter as the disciple and the former as the man whose focus IS in the world. We should understand that ALL this works out in Life by degree; that there is a great middle ground which leads from the one, the disciple, to the other, the man focused in the self in the world. And this great middle ground is comprised as well by men who differ in their intent by degree; here on the one side are those closer to the former, the man whose focus IS in the world and on the other side those closer to the latter, closer to discipleship. It IS here that ALL men choose what it is that they will believe and attend to; the spiritually oriented will be attracted to the disciple and the True follower of God while the carnally oriented will be attracted to the teacher of doctrine for the convenience of the man and again this will work out by degree.
Of course there is also that large body of men that DO NOT see anything from a spiritual perspective at all; men whose lives are Truly secular and even atheistic. But ALL men ARE Souls whether they believe and understand this or not; ALL men are Life in form that will pass from this world regardless of their perspective on Life. It IS in this reality that ALL are Souls that we can try to see the struggle, the internal struggle, in which the purely carnal has seemingly won. This IS however an illusion; the Truth IS that ALL men ARE Souls, ALL men ARE spiritual by nature; and ALL men have conscience; it is only in the interpretation of these things that men will differ. It is difficult to overcome the years of nurturing that each man experiences and this too is by degree and very varied, and it is difficult as well to overcome the predilections of and the very nature of one’s own mortal self, his mental, emotional and even physical equipment. There is actually little difference between those men in this class and those in the classes above; the difference IS only in perception and from here a man can come to True spirituality as easily and as quickly as the man above in the ‘religious’ view albeit his spirituality may not appear the same. Here we should try to see that religion IS NOT the way but simply A means of achieving some degree of spiritual status and again, it matters not that one recognizes these things; they ARE at work nonetheless.
Or point here is to paint the picture of the doctrinally oriented teacher and commentator versus the Truly spiritually oriented as we discuss above and those who may follow each as well as the masses that will follow neither. From where does one receive his ‘spiritual’ or his religious guidance? In the end it is each man that sets his own course but unfortunately this can be greatly influenced by what one hears and sees and then comes to believe. It IS here that the ideas of the fruit of the Spirit and the Wisdom from above come into play and it is here where we find the importance of KNOWING what these things actually are. In our understanding, ALL of the Master’s teachings, ALL of His sayings and ALL of the right discernment of His parables MUST be seen for their spiritual value; there is nothing carnal in them whatsoever and in this light ALL who distort the Truth of the Master’s words for any cause and for convenience of men are ultimately doing a disservice to those who do follow. Likewise, ALL who interpret scripture in ways that DO NOT bring forth the True intent of Jesus words and the words of His apostles and, while one may view this as that it is better that one be led to God along the path of convenience than not to be led at all, this may not be altogether True.
Men will teach and discuss scripture from the many, many different doctrinal perspectives and there will be men who follow because this IS what they KNOW and believe or because it is the more convenient belief for them; this has ever happened and this will continue and the ONLY saving grace IS that this Life and this experience IS but a blip in time. And the men who are entrenched in the doctrines that they teach and discuss and interpret will NOT change unless they can open their own hearts and eyes and begin to see the better way which IS Love; Love as the Master teaches us. Love IS the great game changer, Love IS the Way and the ONLY Way to Truly change one’s heart. For the followers to understand this the leaders must teach it and discuss it and interpret the scriptures on Love in righteousness and not to the convenience of men. It IS in this Love that we will ALL find the spiritual reality that we are searching for and we are ALL searching whether we can realize it or not.
In our discussions on the Gospel of Thomas we have discovered that most all of the translations and most all of the commentary is along doctrinal lines and that there were but few times that we could see the spiritual reality in any of the available words. Of course this IS True as well as regards most all of the translations and interpretations of the accepted gospels as most all reflect only their own doctrinal perspective. In the discussion of Thomas we found many references to the idea that the writings of Thomas are Gnostic and that somehow this makes them less True than if they were along mainstream Christian lines. We found also that this Gnostic idea is used to place these writings into a later time period where there IS an actual Gnostic religion and here again that this Gnostic religion is inferior to that which was found along mainstream Christian lines. Most ALL of Gnosticism was considered as heretical by the early Church Fathers and since the Gnostic philosophy is different from Christian doctrine, it is seen as heretical by much of the Church yet today.
From our writing regarding the Gospel of Thomas, one could conclude that we have a greater affinity for the Gnostic view than for the doctrinal Christian view and this IS a Truth but here we DO NOT see the Gnostic religion which itself is a doctrinal approach, but rather the essential philosophy of Gnosticism. In fact, it could be said that we view the entirety of the New Testament from a rather Gnostic perspective as it is today defined. From our source of commentary and other documents that we used in our study of the Gospel of Thomas we find these ideas in relation to the question ‘Is the Gospel of Thomas Gnostic?’ They answer:
It all depends on what you mean by Gnostic. If you mean by Gnostic the belief that people have a divine capacity within themselves and that they can come to understand that the Kingdom of God is already upon the earth if they can come to perceive the world that way then Thomas is Gnostic. But if you mean by Gnostic the religion upon which the Nag Hammadi texts are based, a religion that differentiates the god of this world (who is the Jewish god) from a higher more abstract God, a religion that regards this world as the creation of a series of evil archons/powers who wish to keep the human soul trapped in an evil physical body then no, Thomas is not Gnostic. This differentiation is very important, because some scholars reason that if Thomas is Gnostic (in the first sense) then it is Gnostic (in the second sense) and, as they believe, Gnosticism (in the second sense) is a second or third century heresy, they conclude that the Gospel of Thomas is heretical, late in date, and without very much historical value in regard to Jesus of Nazareth ‡.
Our perspective is the first one but in one’s reading of the doctrinal ideas of the Gnostic religion, one could see some relation to a misunderstood reality. Of course we see the accepted gospels in the same way and we believe that it IS these Truths, that the Kingdom IS here and now and that ALL men have that same divine capacity within which is from our perspective the Soul of man, the Christ and the God Within, and the Kingdom in the Father and the Son reside.
Granted there ARE some rather cumbersome sayings in Thomas Gospel and the cumbersomeness IS NOT helped by the translation problems and differences nor by the lack of suitable English words to express Coptic ideas, but these same things are True of the accepted gospels and the epistles of Jesus apostles; it IS only the language that changes. That Thomas actually wrote this gospel, that he IS the apostle Thomas from the Gospels, is no more or less certain than the similar questions about Matthew and his gospel; it is by the conviction of the early church that this Matthew is so considered and it is by this same conviction that Thomas words are heresy. While we have the utmost of respect and reverence for these early Church Fathers and can glimpse the issues with which they had to deal and the balance that they had to strike, both politically and amongst themselves, we DO NOT agree with much of what they have said and that they have done. We are of course many centuries removed and perhaps our views would have been the same as theirs in that day; we can also glimpse the effect of the carnal nature, the convenience of men, that is incorporated within the pronouncements of their doctrines and the authoritarian rule that they had over the whole of the church in the post apostolic days. Is this the way that Christianity had to begin? we DO NOT believe that is was, we believe that the same human tendencies that afflicted the Pharisees before them afflicted the early Christian ‘authorities’ who thereby created their vision of Christianity, a vision that IS in many ways contrary to the teachings of the Master Himself.
There is naught that any of us can do however to change the past although at times that does seem the easier task, easier than is that to change the future. Men are locked into their positions and from a Christian perspective there are many different ones, many different doctrinal approaches practiced and taught by the many different denominations and sects. Likely one of the worst things that a man can do yet today is speak against the beliefs of another or against their religious doctrines and perhaps this IS why there has been little or NO change from the archaic doctrines of the Church Fathers nor from the authoritarian pronouncements of the reformers. A sea change is necessary today to bring the church that takes His Name upon itself into an era where the doctrines actually reflect what it IS that the Master teaches us and it IS only in this change that the people of the world can become free. Free to try to grasp the Truth of their own divinity and to grasp as well the reality of the Kingdom of God.
This freedom comes to us ALL as we come to understand the Truth of a man’s essential divinity as a Soul and that it IS this divinity that Truly defines him. This freedom comes from seeing and understanding the equanimity of men, of the True men as Souls, and the realization that the temporal worldly thoughts, ideas, actions and things are just that, temporal. The Master teaches us on these things clearly and by parable, but most do not see, teach nor discuss them from the needed spiritual perspective. The greatest freedom and the greatest triumph of a man over the temporal nature is found in Love, in that Love that the Master elevates to the status of the Great Commandments; that Love that IS the essence of his divinity, that Love that sees one’s brother as himself, that Love that sees itself in the Golden Rule; that Love that IS at the heart of ALL of the Master’s words and must come to be in our hearts as well. It IS this Love that can and will overcome ALL differences and lead us to that necessary unity of Life in God. In closing today let us try to see ourselves in these words from the Master; in His prayer to the Father for the benefit of His disciples:
- We KNOW first that we are included here in this prayer as Jesus says: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word“. Can we understand the dynamic result of this idea, that those who follow the Master forever after, those who keep His words, are counted as ARE those disciples in that day.
- And the prayer of the Master here then IS for us as well as for them in that day; these things ARE however Truly realized ONLY in Truly keeping His words; in ever striving for the greater Truth. He prays: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17: 20, 21-23),
It IS ALL about Love.
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!
- ‡ Gospel of Thomas FAQ by Peter Kirby; http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/thomas/
- † 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.
