IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 790

ON LOVE; PART CCCLXXIX

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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.

(22)  Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples: “These little ones being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.”  They said to him: “Then will we enter the kingdom as little ones?” Jesus said to them: “When you make the two into one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside and the above like the below – that is, to make the male and the female into a single one, so that the male will not be male and the female will not be female – and when you make eyes instead of an eye and a hand instead of a hand and a foot instead of a foot, an image instead of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom].“

(23) Jesus says: “I will choose you, one from a thousand and two from ten thousand. And they will stand as a single one.”

(24) His disciples said: “Show us the place where you are, because it is necessary for us to seek it. He said to them: “Whoever has ears should hear! Light exists inside a person of light, and he shines on the whole world. If he does not shine, there is darkness.”

(25) Jesus says: “Love your brother like your life! Protect him like the apple of your eye!” ¹⁴

In the last essay we reviewed the rather short twenty third saying from the Gospel of Thomas and we were able to see it in the light of the Master’s sayings regarding the Truth that there are few who do become disciples from the Master’s perspective. He tells us in the words from the gospels that we reviewed in the last post where we related His ideas of “few there be that find it“ and “many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able“. While the approach is the different, that there would be “one from a thousand and two from ten thousand“, these words have the same intent as these numbers are but examples of the difficulty; there is no measurable relationship between them in this respect. There is a saying from our Tibetan brother’s books that give us a similar understanding and, while we do not KNOW in discipleship terms what the idea of Adept should mean, the gist of the saying is that they are rare; we read from a previous essay:

The greater point here is in the difficulty of finding that narrow way and that strait gate and there is a Great Truth in the Master’s caution to us that “few there be that find it“. This does not mean every well meaning person or every practicing Christian but it Truly means few. Some time back we published a statement that expresses this reality on a more worldwide scale that is not limited to the ideas and the thoughts of the Christian; this statement says: We are told by one of the Masters that a whole generation of enquirers may only produce one adept. We proceeded to point out that the adept can be seen by us as the disciple as he is described by the Christ, the one who forsakes ALL and the one who keeps ALL of the words of the Master; this is not the simple learning boy as the word is commonly understood to mean. The Master is quite clear on this distinction.

We addressed the Master’s idea that “they will stand as a single one” from the perspective of the previous sayings on the unity that is found individually in the making of ONE expression of the Soul in the world from duality of Life as the man in the world, the aspirant, who seeing double lives in the world as a man and in his heart as the Soul depending of the focus of the moment. This unity of inside and outside, above and below and even of male and female is the overcoming of that duality as the approach of the aspirant to Life in the world leading to the singleness of expression of the Soul in the world; that expression of the Love and the Power of the Soul as part and parcel of the ONE God. We also linked these ideas to the Oneness that is expressed in the Master’s words in the Gospel of the Apostle John where He tells us in several verses and in several ways of the unity and the oneness of disciples as a group; and not these Twelve only but ALL as He says in this verbal request of the Father that: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” and this is to ALL who follow them and keep His words.

We should also see in these words from Thomas’ Gospel, and from the words Master according to John’s Gospel, the ideas from the Mantram of Unification that we have used as our Quote of the day for many days now. Here we can see the ideas presented by several of the Master’s sayings according to the purported Gospel of Thomas; Unity, single-mindedness and unity of expression and, as we look ahead to the next two sayings, Love and the expression of that Light that carries with it the Love and the Power of the Soul in the world.

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 love.

The next saying, the twenty fourth, is yet another instance from this Gospel of Thomas where the disciples ask one question and the Master answers what seems to be a very different one. That there is a connection here and in the other instances should be clear if only from the fact that they are written together and we should note here that in Thomas vision of the Master’s teaching there is so far a reliance upon the questions and answer style which IS NOT apparent in the other gospels. Of course this should not be a reason to disbelieve that the Apostle Thomas is the source of these words as there is no set way to understand the Master as we see in the words of John as compared to the synoptic gospels and we should add here that from our perspective Truth is Truth and it matters not the source of the ideas and the words. We have thus far found many ideas in this gospel that agree with our own view of Life and often from new and different perspectives and we should add as well that we ARE NOT Gnostic but rather seekers after the Truth; Truth KNOWS NO such separations by religion or by culture….Truth simply IS.

The question is  “Show us the place where you are, because it is necessary for us to seek it.” and this can be seen in response to other teachings as we will note in the comments. Here we should see the reality of the Master’s words that “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:26) which is spoken to His disciples rather than such sayings as “Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come” (John 7:34). Again we should note the confusion in the disciples understanding of the parabolic sayings of the Master as this idea of where is certainly not a place and this IS True in every instance that this idea of where is used. And this of course should be seen to include the question by the Apostle Thomas in John’s Gospel as well where we read: “Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? ” (John 14:5). Here Thomas’ question is in regard to the Master’s comments after the supper where He is telling them of the crucifixion and of the Truth of the resurrection and His Ascension which will mark the beginning of their lives in True discipleship and the question is in immediate regard to the Master’s words: “I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know“. Here, before Thomas question, the Master assures them that they DO KNOW; and after it the Master gives us this Truth which is much misunderstood and this misunderstanding is the cause of much Christian confusion and self inflicted harm; the Master says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:3-4, 6).

In ALL this we can sense the confusion and hence this question in Thomas’ Gospel which may just be the same question and another part of the answer and here we should note that neither answer outwardly addresses the questions ask but rather reveals deeper spiritual meanings. Let us look here at some of the comments offered on the saying from Thomas’ Gospel before we continue:

• Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: “The disciples ask to be shown where Jesus is, just as in John 13:36 Simon Peter asks where he is going, in John 14:5 Thomas asks about the way, and in John 14:8 Philip asks to be shown the Father. Jesus replies by urging them to ‘hear’ the hidden meaning of his words. They already possess spiritual illumination within themselves, for they have spiritual ‘eyes’ (Saying 23). Thomas paraphrases a saying of Jesus about the eye in Matthew 6:22-23; Luke 11:34-36. For the ‘luminous’ body of the gospels he substitutes the Gnostic conception of the ‘luminous-man’ (Pistis Sophia, chapter 125). Their light illuminates the whole world because they are ‘the light of the world’ (Matthew 5.14; another quotation of this verse is in Saying 33).” (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 145-146).
• Jean Doresse writes: “Or better, ‘the place where thou art’ may be intended to refer to God Himself; in Hebrew God is often referred to by the paraphrase Maqom, which means ‘the Place’. In this case, the disciples will be asking him how close he is to the Godhead, and Jesus replies, alluding to himself, that the light which he sends into the world is the proof that the divine Light is present in him.” (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 373).
• Gerd Ludemann writes: “The disciples do not need to look outside themselves, but as people of light they have light in themselves just as much as the light figure Jesus (cf. 77.1). Indeed, without this particle of light there would be darkness in the world. This statement seems to contain an indirect command to engage in mission in the world (cf. 33.1-3).” (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 602).
• Funk and Hoover write: “The concept of a person bearing a spark of light that recalls one’s origin and determines one’s nature is a gnostic commonplace. While reminsicent of other sayings about light, especially in the Gospel of John, it is here clearly a gnostic formulation.” (The Five Gospels, p. 487).

• Stevan Davies writes: “According to saying 24 people may actualize the light within them and thus see the world and themselves in terms of the light of creation. They will see the world in reference to its beginning perfection, stand at the beginning (saying 18), and need no future attainment. They will know themselves to be sons of the living Father (saying 3) — that is, the image of God, no longer male or female and having made the male and female into a single one, they will enter the kingdom of heaven (saying 22).” (http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm). “According to Gos. Thom. 24 one learns that those seeking the place where Jesus is ought not seek Jesus himself, but will find what they seek within themselves, the primordial light which, when actualized, illuminates the world.” (http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm).

From our perspective, understanding that the Light is of the Soul and is the activity of the Soul Within the disciples in the world as we see in our chart below, we can have a better understanding of the depth of this saying as the answer to Thomas question. Again we have the Master’s parabolic approach both here and in the similar sayings in the accepted gospels where the Master tells us these things about the Light:

• Speaking generally to the crowd the Master says: “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
• As the Master prepares to heal the man blind from birth He says again: “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).
• And again to the crowd He proclaims: “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness” (John 12:46).

We should note here that all of these saying and more regarding the Master’s own words on Light are from the Gospel of John who sees in these words an importance that is perhaps missed by the writers of the synoptic gospels who treat the idea of Light differently:

• Speaking to His disciples and ALL that are within hearing the Master says: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid” (Matthew 5:14).
• Continuing this thought the Master tells them of their very duty as disciples saying: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
• And we should remember that without this reference to Light the Master tells us “And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?”  and this is said just after the Master explains to the disciple the Truth of the Parable of the Sower and where He defines the disciple and the True follower saying: “these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred” (Mark 4:21, 20)
• Finally, speaking to His disciples and the gathered people the Master says: “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light” (Luke 11:33-36).

In ALL of these we see the idea of Light as an aspect of the Inner man. There IS Light in the world and it is within each of us as men in form and that Light is a part of the Trinity that is the True man and which shines in ALL of the disciples thoughts, attitudes and actions. The Light is the potency of the Holy Spirit and this is the activity of the Life within the form, the Light of divinity. And the Master tells us ALL to display that Light, to let it shine before men and it IS in this light that the good works are seen and it is in this Light that the good works exist. Many see the idea that “the Light of the body is the eye” as the physical eye but this is not the case and there IS NO part of the physical body of the man that IS divine; it is the Life and the Light from within that IS divine. To this end we should see the metaphorical idea behind the Greek word ophthalmos  which is translated as eye and which can be see the mean: the eyes of the mind, the faculty of knowing ² according to the lexicon; Strong’s give us a similar understanding saying that ophthalmos means: eye, the organ of sight; by extension the faculty of mental perception and understanding ³. Our understanding here is different however as we see that it is the consciousness, the heart as the Master calls it elsewhere, as it looks out as the Soul’s portal on the world which is the summation of ALL senses, their synthesis in the mind of man, which when full of Light are so because of the focus of the man on the things of God and the Soul as the source of Light and, when the focus is upon the world and the self and the things of the world, the man is filled with darkness.

We should see these same ideas in the words from Thomas’ Gospel as the Master says “Light exists inside a person of light, and he shines on the whole world. If he does not shine, there is darkness“. The “person of light“, or man of Light as others render this, IS the disciple. This Light is the same as we discuss above, it is the Light of the Soul, the Christ Within and when this is the focus of the man the Light shines as we see above and when the focus is carnal there is but darkness emitted from the man in the world. This is the working out of duality which we see in the Life of the aspirant and, as we discussed in the last essay, perhaps the disciple as well up to some point of achievement. From our perspective the Light is ever there, there IS Light in every man, there is the Soul in every man, there is the Christ and the God and the Kingdom Within every man but these ARE only visible if the man lets them shine forth by his focus and his good works.

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 reprise here a Quote of the Day that we have not used for quite some time along with the scripture references and our original comments. There is no greater tool in our possession than to Love and there is no greater understanding of this Love as in our expression of GoodWill.

GOODWILL IS

LOVE IN ACTION

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: James 2:8

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Galatians 5:14

Our Quote of the Day is a stylized version of the footer that has been a part of this blog from the beginning. It is in a few words our motto and our slogan and as we have posted so many times, it is the method par excellence of bringing about a world in Peace and in Harmony. The words of the Master that accompany our motto here are the source for our understanding of GoodWill and our method of practice and the words of His apostles are their echo of the second part of the Greatest Commandment as enunciated by the Christ. Let us all strive to do our part for in so doing we are doing as the Master instructed; we are striving to enter at the strait gate into His Glorious Kingdom.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ¹ Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913
• ³ Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – 2001
• ¹⁴ The Gospel of Thomas; Translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson; http://gnosis.org/
• ** A TREATISE ON WHITE MAGIC OR THE WAY OF THE DISCIPLE BY ALICE A. BAILEY COPYRIGHT © 1951 BY LUCIS TRUST