ON LOVE; PART CDLXXVI
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.
(102) Jesus says: “Woe to them, the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in a cattle trough, for it neither eats nor [lets] the cattle eat.“
(103) Jesus says: “Blessed is the person who knows at which point (of the house) the robbers are going to enter, so that [he] may arise to gather together his [domain] and gird his loins before they enter.“
(104) They said to [Jesus]: “Come, let us pray and fast today!” Jesus said: “What sin is it that I have committed, or wherein have I been overcome? But when the bridegroom comes out of the wedding chamber, then let (us) fast and pray.“
(105) Jesus says: “Whoever will come to know father and mother, he will be called son of a whore.“
(106) Jesus says: “When you make the two into one, you will become sons of man. And when you say ‘Mountain, move away,’ it will move away.“
(107) Jesus says: “The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them went astray, the largest. He left the ninety-nine, (and) he sought the one until he found it. After he had toiled, he said to the sheep: ‘I love you more than the ninety-nine.’“
(108) Jesus says: “Whoever will drink from my mouth will become like me. I myself will become he, and what is hidden will be revealed to him.“
We left off in our last essay discussing the one hundred third saying from the Gospel of Thomas which we found to be of a similar nature to the ideas expressed in Matthew and Luke regarding one’s readiness, that IS being ready at ALL times for the coming of the Lord. Now this idea IS of course seen as eschatological by many but this IS NOT their true intent. We should note the very parabolic way that this entire sequence is offered in Matthew’s Gospel as well as the nature of the words that are used; in part there is discussion about the flood and of Noah and some possible comparisons made to this type of calamity; in another part there is reference to the ‘coming of the Son of man’ which is assumed to be the second coming of the Master but which is shrouded in the mystery of a tribulation of which little is said; of which we read only that it is “such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be“. The Master then speaks of the false Christs which should be interpreted as it is intended, as men whose only focus is on themselves, or rather whose focus IS NOT Truly on the things of God, and then, as a way of KNOWING Him in Truth He tells us that “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be“. Then, after this ‘tribulation’ we find that most obscure language that contains ideas that may have been thought to be possible in those days but which we KNOW CAN NOT happen in today’s understanding; we read that: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn , and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” Here today we KNOW the reality of the Sun and the moon and the stars and that if these things should happen that there IS no heavens left for the sign of the Son of man. These are Truly allegorical sayings that have some hidden meaning that may be better seen in the view of the man who IS NOT ready for his own demise.
And to further the allegory we find His words that tell us that it IS after these things that “he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other“. Perhaps this is the expected view of the man caught up in these ideas of demise, and for any reason, and perhaps this is especially the view of the man who would be the disciple but who does not do so ardently, the man who IS not ready. We should remember here that Jesus IS speaking to His disciples alone and in this we can see the greater reality of the failure of even one of these who was on the verge of his own glory, his own deliverance. Then, He says this to His disciples: “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled“. Here there is either a the general idea of this word generation as we understand it today or there is the idea of the age as this is rendered by some and which Strong’s recognizes as a figurative word meaning age 3. In this we DO NOT KNOW the True meaning; here on the one hand there are some that account this as the sacking of Jerusalem while others, taking advantage of Strong’s idea of the figurative use of the word, see this as the ultimate end which it is said that some disciples expected in their own day. That there will be an end to this cycle of manifestation is rather certain but it will not happen in the allegorical ideas above and we must ever be careful in viewing these things that are intentionally vague and which affect our every demise, our every loss of opportunity to be delivered and ultimately we should realize that of the very end He says: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:21, 27, 29-30, 31, 33-34, 36).
Much else can be said here in regard to this eschatological view of the Master’s words and while we DO NOT KNOW what these sayings Truly mean, we do KNOW that we CAN NOT KNOW as well and this specifically as to the when. This IS a mystery from this perspective but it IS NOT a mystery from the perspective of the individual Life of a man in the world; from his own view of his own demise. It is subject parable that follows all of this in Matthew’s Gospel as Jesus tells His disciples to “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44) and here we should try to see the reality of His caution; that we DO NOT KNOW when this part of our journey will end. In this view we should be able to see the sheer waste of time that is spent doctrinally pondering, discussing and even preparing for (is such were possible) this climatic end of ALL. And the view on this apocalypse vary by denomination and sect and many work into their doctrinal view the even more obscure words from the Book of Revelation. Our point here is the Master’s point, that we should be ready, that our house should always be in order, and that when the end comes we are seen as the servant in the parable as we read: “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods” (Matthew 24:45-47).
In Luke’s Gospel these ideas are not so tied to the end of days but can be seen more readily as the end of one’s Life. Here we see this parable as a part of the overall teaching that takes us from “take no thought” to “seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you“, to furnishing for oneself the treasure in heaven as He tells us that “where your treasure is , there will your heart be also“. It is from here that we read that we should “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately“, that we should ever be ready. Next IS our parable that ends with “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Luke 12:22, 31, 34, 35-36, 40) which is the same reality as we have above; that same caution is offered here in a different context. Here in Luke we have the same ideas regarding our being ready. This is the greater point of the parable, of both parables, and we should see in these that the reality IS to be ready, ever ready, and we should be able to see clearly that it matters not which end may come as it is an end nonetheless; it is the end of one’s opportunity in this world to move forward as Sons of God into that greater reality of the “glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20).
And so we should see this in the words from Thomas Gospel as well. It is our view that the subject IS when and NOT where as regards this vague idea presented by the apostle as the idea of where in the house a thief might come in IS rather meaningless. And, while it is not stated directly the idea behind this is the readiness of the man and more so that this man IS blessed in his readiness. Again this IS a parable and the idea IS NOT in the outer story of the man and the thief; it IS in the idea that the man KNOWS that the thief will come, that he will see his own demise, and that he should have naught to do but gird himself when the time IS at hand. ALL else is ready and this man IS blessed in this readiness. And, if we should view this from the perspective of the Interlinear, this man does not need even to gird himself as we can read this as that he “may-arise &-gather his-[…], and bind him (self) upon his loins from the beginning, before they-come in“. The overriding point in ALL of these sayings and in ALL of the contexts IS that we should ever be ready and this is a thing that IS ONLY Truly accomplished by LIVING in His word and focusing upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True of the Kingdom of God. This IS the True readiness and while few can be seen at this point in any particular Lifetime, there is yet that other reality of striving, of moving forward toward this goal of readiness and of doing ALL that one possibly can with every opportunity. This IS the choice of everyman.
Our next saying, the one hundred and fourth, is another that presents itself as an obscure saying and one that can perhaps be seen as a clarification of others that we discussed earlier. Here there is no direct link to the synoptics except perhaps in the idea at the end regarding the wedding chamber. All of the translations say much the same thing and we will not present them here; the available commentary on this saying includes:
- Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: “Jesus is asked to pray and fast (see Sayings 5 and 14). Since he has committed no sin, he refuses, just as in the Gospel of the Hebrews (see page 33) he does not wish to be baptized, and in John 7:3-9 Jesus does not wish to go to the Feast of Tabernacles. However, fasting and prayer are permissible ‘when the bridegroom comes out of the bridechamber’ (cf., Matthew 9:14; Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:34-35). Since no Gnostic leaves the bridechamber (see Saying 75), this means that the Gnostic will never fast or pray.” (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 191).
- R. McL. Wilson writes: “Prayer and fasting are more or less emphatically condemned in logia 6 and 14. The obvious canonical parallel is the saying in Mark ii. 18-20, spoken in reply to a criticism that the disciples of Jesus, unlike the Pharisees and the followers of John, were not engaged in fasting. The introduction has been re-written, and indeed we can see the beginnings of such re-writing in Matthew and Luke as compared with Mark; all that has survived is a modified form of the prophecy that the day will come when the bridegroom is no longer present, and then will be the time for fasting. The first sentence of Jesus’ reply here, however, is quoted by Jerome as occurring in ‘the Gospel according to the Hebrews . . . which the Nazarenes use,’ which gives further support to the view that there is some connection between the two documents. The passage in the Gospel of the Hebrews, however, refers to the baptism of John: Jesus declines to go because He has no consciousness of sin, and therefore no need of baptism for remission of sins. Moreover, some scholars attribute the quotation to the Gospel of the Nazarenes. In the present state of our knowledge the relation between these two documents is by no means clear. Bauer notes that at one point, where we can check Thomas against both the Gospel of the Nazarenes and that of Matthew (logion 39), Thomas by reading ‘wise as serpents’ instead of ‘wiser than serpents’ agrees with Matthew.” (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 84-85).
- F. F. Bruce writes: “The saying expresses the same negative attitude to external acts of piety as Sayings 6, 14 and 27. It is similar to Jesus’s reply to the criticism of his disciples for not fasting in Mark 2.18-20, but prayer is here added to fasting. The canonical mention of the bridegroom, which is purely parabolic, is amplified here by reference to the bridal chamber, which (as we have said in the comment on Saying 75) played an important part in the special vocabulary of some Gnostic groups. The opening words of Jesus’s reply (‘What sin have I committed . . . ?’) resemble his reply in the Gospel according to the Hebrews that he should join his family in seeking baptism at John’s hands.” (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 150).
- J. D. Crossan writes: “I distinguish between dialogue and story even though the latter may easily contain the former. What is significant, however, is that the former need not contain the latter. And this becomes especially important for the gnostic transmission of the Jesus tradition. Compare, for example, how the dialectical dialogue of Gos. Thom. 104 appears as a dialectical story in Mark 2:18-20 and is heightened there by the presence of Mark 2:18, which is omitted in Matt. 9:14 = Luke 5:33.” (In Fragments, p. 205).
- Helmut Koester writes: “The first part of Jesus’ answer in Gos. Thom. 104 is evidently a later expansion. The second part corresponds to the last sentence of this pericope in Mark, albeit without the explicit reference to ‘that day’ with which Mark points to the day of Jesus’ death. There is no reference in Thomas to the disciples of John and the Pharisees. At least with respect to the latter, there would have been no reason for Thomas to delete it, had it been a part of his text or tradition.” (Ancient Christian Gospels, p. 110).
- Stephen Patterson writes: “Initially the saying seems to be in agreement with Thom. 14:1-2 in rejecting fasting and prayer. One is reminded here of the tradition in which Jesus is accused of being ‘a glutton and a drunkard’ (see Luke 7:34; Matt. 11:19 [Q]). But then 104:3 seems to shift the position of the text: at some point fasting will be appropriate. But when? Does the “bridal chamber” refer to that ritual of initiation known from Syrian and later Gnostic Christianity? Could it be that although Jesus did not fast, here initiates into Thomas Christianity are encouraged to do so? Or does Thom. 104:3 refer in some enigmatic way to the death of Jesus (cf. the parallel tradition in Mark 2:20), so that one may fast after Jesus’ death? Perhaps. Still, fasting is not uncommon as a pious practice; even if it is somehow encouraged in 104:3, this is hardly indicative of a full-scale asceticism among Thomas Christians.” (The Fifth Gospel, pp. 61-62).
Some of these commentaries tie this saying to others from Thomas’ Gospel, the sixth and the fourteenth especially, where the subject of prayer and fasting and even alms giving is discussed. The context here however IS NOT the same; in six there is a question regarding doing such things by the disciples and which in that saying it IS NOT answered, at least not directly as we read: “His disciples questioned him, (and) they said to him: ”Do you want us to fast? And how should we pray and give alms? And what diet should we observe?“ Jesus says: “Do not lie. And do not do what you hate. For everything is disclosed in view of <the truth. For there is nothing hidden that will not become revealed. And there is nothing covered that will remain undisclosed.“” (Thomas 6). If one tries one can find a link between the question here and the answer by the Master and perhaps the reality IS found in the short answer that they “Do not lie. And do not do what you hate“. We can see here a reality that we may have missed when we discussed this earlier and that is that one should NOT do these things merely because they are tradition as in this the prayer or the fasting and even the almsgiving would be but a lie and, if the disciple KNOWS this, that he should hate doing so and then of course he should not do them. In the fullness of our reading of Thomas, this can well be the reality of His answer. In the fourteenth saying there is a different dynamic and while some believe that this is the Master’s answer to the questions of the sixth, we so not see this as being so save by the subject matter itself. We read the fourteenth as: Jesus said to them: “If you fast, you will bring forth sin for yourselves. And if you pray, you will be condemned. And if you give alms, you will do harm to your spirits. And if you go into any land and wander from place to place, (and) if they take you in, (then) eat what they will set before you. Heal the sick among them! For what goes into your mouth will not defile you. Rather, what comes out of your mouth will defile you” (Thomas 14).
In our discussion of this saying we took the view that this is a single and complete thought about the conduct of the disciple when he is out and about on his own. We noted that they should not be able to give alms as they go forth with no money; we noted that they should not fast as the instruction continues into saying that they should “eat what they will set before you” and that in the idea of prayer there is a link to the Master’s instruction to heal and his need to tell them that “what comes out of your mouth will defile you” and in this we can see this as praying instead of just DOING; praying instead of just healing. We also linked these ideas that are against these traditional ideas of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to the Master’s specific instructions on NOT doing things things in any traditional way; that the prayer should be in one’s closet, the alms given so that none know and the fasting done so that ALL are unaware of ones fasting. These are ALL important parts of the Master’s teaching and it is perhaps this last part that we can find in the one hundred and fourth saying where the invitation is that they should pray and fast together and openly. These ideas on prayer, fasting and almsgiving ARE NOT seen by the doctrinal church nor by the commentaries above. These things are really no more condemned here in Thomas Gospel than they are in the synoptic gospels; the Master’s ideas are merely presented in a different way.
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.
We are using yet another mantram as our new Quote of the Day and this is again one that we have posted many times. Here in the form of an affirmation we should be able to understand the intent which IS to make these realities as part of our everyday thinking and our everyday understanding of our nature. Here again, as we see in our words above on the Mantram of Unification, we have the same dynamics: Love, service and healing. Here however the motivation IS more upon the idea of service and when we can see that this service is offered in Love and that this service IS one of healing we can Truly understand this affirmation.
Affirmation of the Disciple
I am a point of light within a greater Light.
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine.
I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focussed within the fiery Will of God.
And thus I stand
I am a way by which men may achieve.
I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light, shining upon their way.
And thus I stand.
And standing thus, revolve
And tread this way the ways of men,
And know the ways of God.
And thus I stand.
From previous posts we repeat that today’s Quote of the Day is called the Affirmation of the Disciple and is spoken from the perspective of the Soul and not from that of the man in form. It is the Soul that we are in this life on Earth, housed in this ‘temple’ of flesh and it is the Light of the Soul that must flow through this ‘temple’ in order that we may say with the Christ “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) which is our goal and our destiny. Speaking then as the Soul we affirm our reality and true existence in God and in His Three Aspects of Light and Love and His Will. As this Light and Love and Will flow through our conscious personalities and forms we, as disciples, take on the nature of the second stanza being able to offer to the world a better way through our service and our Love for all, encouragement to righteousness through our strength of purpose, and the Light which shines in accordance with the Master’s instructions to “Let your light so shine before men” (Matthew 5:16) and illuminates the Path. Finally we realize that we are standing in this world and walking as men but, as conscious Souls in form, we know the way and the ways of God and are able to say with the Christ that “I am not of this world” (John 8:23).
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/
- 3 Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – 2001
