Monthly Archives: September 2013

ON LOVE; PART CCCLXXXIII

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.

(26) Jesus says: “You see the splinter that is in your brother’s eye, but you do not see the beam that is in your (own) eye.  When you remove the beam from your (own) eye, then you will see clearly (enough) to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

(27) “If you do not abstain from the world, you will not find the kingdom. If you do not make the Sabbath into a Sabbath, you will not see the Father.”

(28) Jesus says: “I stood in the middle of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found all of them drunk. None of them did I find thirsty. And my soul ached for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their heart, and they cannot see; for they came into the world empty, (and) they also seek to depart from the world empty. But now they are drunk. (But) when they shake off their wine, then they will change their mind.”

(29) Jesus says: “If the flesh came into being because of the spirit, it is a wonder. But if the spirit (came into being) because of the body, it is a wonder of wonders. Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has taken up residence in this poverty”¹⁴

In the last essay we looked at the first part of the twenty seventh saying from the Gospel of Thomas and although on the surface it appears to be unique and obscure, when it is viewed as the parabolic saying that it IS, it can be easily linked to various sayings by the Master from the accepted gospels. In the idea of fasting as most translators frame this, or as abstaining as it is rendered above, we have the result and not the cause of the intent of the Master’s True message. We KNOW from His words in the accepted gospels what it takes for the man in the world to come to the realization of the Kingdom and there are several ideas here that all can be brought to a single word:

• “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Here we should understand that the righteousness of the Pharisees was based in their doctrines and not in the Truth of the laws given by Moses nor the precepts of the Prophets. These doctrines were the stylized human creations based loosely in the Truth but made as convenient for men much as Christian doctrines; and the Master rails at this by repeating for them the words of the Prophet Isaiah saying: “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7). We should understand here that the Pharisee and the other religious rulers of the Jews do not see things as does the Master and that most of these men Truly believe that they are the righteous. Hence the idea from the Master IS given for the man who seeks the Kingdom; that he should “exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” which we should understand as being more righteous, or, better, more Truly righteous, not more in quantity.
• “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Here in this most True understanding of the requirements for the man who Truly seeks the Kingdom IS the single most necessary ideal and one which CAN NOT be accomplished by the will of the flesh; one may be able to force himself to obey the more physical laws as did the religious in Jesus day, but the more subtle ideas of Love and compassion and mercy are also a part of His words and thereby the Will of the Father. To accomplish these more subtle ends one must per force have his Life focused upon ways of God, his heart must be such that he does for the doing and not for any expected reward. The Master speaks out to the Pharisees and scribes on this as well saying: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these” (Matthew 23:13). We should note also how the Apostle Luke frames this for us in regard to the weightier matters as we read the Master’s words in Luke’s Gospel as: “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God” (Luke 11:42).
• “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4). There is not much more that we can say regarding these words from the Master that we have not said many times before. We should see in the child the antithesis of the nature of the one who has come into his own personality in this world, an event that changes the innocence of the child and his humble nature into the ways of the man who IS, as IS the entirety of the creation of men in the world, “made subject to vanity” (Romans 8:20) which IS the illusion and the glamour of Life. We should see here that the little child is not yet made subject as he has not yet come to the realization of the self as the center of ALL things. And the Master’s message is that to attain the Kingdom as an man that one must revert to this humble and unassuming nature of the child which IS accomplished by changing the focus of one’s Life from the self and the self in the world and to the things of God.
• “Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:23-24). Here the Master tells us who “shall hardly enter” and that is the rich man, the man whose focus is likely on the amassing of wealth and possessions in the world and here we should understand that this idea of rich is relative to the social status of the man in the place where he is so that there are many across the socioeconomic scale that will qualify here. The idea is somewhat clarified in Mark’s Gospel where the extra idea of “how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:24) and while many who have or who desire riches may hold this saying as a safe harbor for themselves, the reality of His intent here is to the idea again of focus; that this trust is not whether one puts his faith in riches but rather that one relies upon them as his way of Life. We should note here that this verse has some different versions based upon the translators ideas; the King James is as we have here but the Revised Version sees this verse in this way: “And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!“; leaving out the part of “trust in riches“. This difference is based upon the weight given to the different source documents where some do and some do not contain this phrase on trust. For greater understanding of this one can go to http://bibledifferences.net/2012/08/10/44-how-hard-it-is-to-enter-the-kingdom/ and we should ever understand and remember the doctrinal effect as this works our in bible translation.

And finally we add this from Luke’s Gospel: “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back , is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Here IS the stark reality of focus and of intent; here we should read the reality that the Kingdom can not be just a passing thought, it must be the ONE desire. It IS only in this view that one can overcome ALL of the things of the world and it is in this overcoming that we find the fasting as this overcoming is from the heart. And, of course, our single word IS focus; it IS focus that creates the disciple and it IS focus that attains the Kingdom of God. It IS focus, focus upon the Kingdom, that provides the wherewithal to fast.

The next part of this is a bit more obscure. While there is no straightforward relationship to the accepted gospels, much as we found in fasting above, there is also a limited understanding of this word Sabbath upon which to build. However, as we begin here we should keep in mind that the Master seemingly goes out of His way to do things on the Sabbath that the Jews believe to be against the law of Moses and that He has several things to say about the Sabbath that are against their doctrinal beliefs. Let us begin here with some ideas on the definition of Sabbath:

• The Hebrew lexicon gives us this for shabbath which is rendered as sabbath: Sabbath, sabbath; day of atonement; sabbath year, week, produce (in sabbath year)^2a .
• The Greek lexicon tells us this for the Greek word sabbacon which is rendered as sabbath: the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work; the institution of the sabbath, the law for keeping holy every seventh day of the week; a single sabbath, sabbath day; seven days, a week ².
• Vines gives us this on the Greek word sabbacon: The root means “to cease, desist” (Heb., shabath; cp. Arab., sabata, “to intercept, interrupt”); the doubled b has an intensive force, implying a complete cessation or a making to cease, probably the former. The idea is not that of relaxation or refreshment, but cessation from activity. The observation of the seventh day of the week, enjoined upon Israel, was a sign between God and His earthly people, based upon the fact that after the six days of creative operations He rested, Exod. 31:16,17, with Exod. 20:8-11. The OT regulations were developed and systematized to such an extent that they became a burden upon the people (who otherwise rejoiced in the rest provided) and a byword for absurd extravagance. Two treatises of the Mishna (the Shabbath and Erubin) are entirely occupied with regulations for the observance; so with the discussions in the Gemara, on rabinical opinions. The effect upon current opinion explains the antagonism roused by the Lord’s cures wrought on the “Sabbath,” e.g., Matt. 12:9-13; John 5:5-16, and explains the fact that on a “Sabbath” the sick were brought to be healed after sunset, e.g., Mark 1:32. According to rabbinical ideas, the disciples, by plucking ears of corn (Matt. 12:1; Mark 2:23), and rubbing them (Luke 6:1), broke the “sabbath” in two respects; for to pluck was to reap, and to rub was to thresh. The Lord’s attitude towards the “sabbath” was by way of freeing it from these vexatious traditional accretions by which it was made an end in itself, instead of a means to an end (Mark 2:27)⁶.
• While Vincent does not define sabbath here, he does give us these words in reference to the first appearance of sabbath in Matthew’s Gospel; Vinent tells us this regarding the Pharisee’s assertion that the Master is doing: What is not lawful; “On any ordinary day this would have been lawful; but on the Sabbath it involved, according to the Rabbinic statutes, at least two sins, viz., plucking the ears, which was reaping, and rubbing them in their hands (Luke 6:1), which was sifting, grinding, or fanning. The Talmud says: ‘In case a woman rolls wheat to remove the husks, it is considered as sifting; if she rubs the heads of wheat, it is regarded as threshing; if she cleans off the side-adherencies, it is sifting out fruit; if she bruises the ears, it is grinding; if she throws them up in her hand, it is winnowing’” (Edersheim, “Life and Times of Jesus”)⁴.
• There are some verses in the Book of Hebrews where the writter and the commentary from Vincent’s works may give us the best understanding of this idea of sabbath. From Hebrews we read:

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief” (Hebrews 4:1-11).

In these words we get the idea of His rest as and we see the link to the idea of the sabbath by way of the reference to the seventh day when God did rest in the creation story of the Book of Genesis. We see as well that the idea of believing is incorporated here and in this believing we should see that same dynamic as we use in speaking about believing in  or believing on the Master, the Christ, that this believing IS to keep His words. So while it was the law to observe the sabbath, to refrain from work, it was necessary that one continue to labor toward entering the True rest which IS by keeping the words of God. Observing the sabbath is but a small part of the law which is elevated in importance by its treatment in doctrine as we see in the rules of the sabbath in the Talmud above. Here, regarding the verses at the end of this selection from Hebrews, Vincent tells us: Verse 10: Only in such a Sabbath-rest is found the counterpart of God’s rest on the seventh day. For he that is entered into his rest (ο γὰρ εισελθὼν εις τὴν κατάπαυσιν αυτου) Whoever has once entered. His, God’s. The aorist marks the completeness of the appropriation – once and for all. He also hath ceased from his own works (καὶ αυτος κατέπαυσεν απὸ των ε’ργων αυτου) Omit own. The statement is a general proposition: any one who has entered into God’s rest has ceased from his works. As God did from his (ω’σπερ απὸ των ιδίων ο θεός) Rend. as God (did ) from his own. Ιδίων own signifies more than mere possession. Rather, works peculiarly his own, thus hinting at the perfect nature of the original works of creation as corresponding with God’s nature and bearing his impress. The blessing of the Sabbath-rest is thus put as a cessation from labors. The basis of the conception is Jewish, the rest of the Sabbath being conceived as mere abstinence from labor, and not according to Christ’s conception of the Sabbath, as a season of refreshment and beneficent activity, Mark 2:27; John 5:17. Our writer’s conception is not the rabbinical conception of cessation of work, but rather of the cessation of the weariness and pain which accompany human labor. Comp. Revelation 14:13; Revelation 21:4; Luke 11:7; Luke 18:5; Galatians 6:17. Verse 11; This promise of rest carries with it a special responsibility for the people of God. Let us labor therefore (σπουδάσωμεν ουν) For the verb, see on Ephesians 4:3. Give diligence, not hasten, which is the primary meaning. That rest (εκείνην τὴν κατάπαυσιν) The Sabbath-rest of God, instituted at creation, promised to the fathers, forfeited by their unbelief, remaining to us on the condition of faith. Lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief (ι’να μὴ εν τω αυτω τις υποδείγματι πέση της απειθείας) Πέση fall is to be taken absolutely; not, fall into the same example. Υπόδειγμα example mostly in Hebrews. Rejected as unclassical by the Attic rhetoricians. Originally a sign which suggests something: a partial suggestion as distinct from a complete expression. See Hebrews 8:5; Hebrews 9:23. Thus Christ’s washing of the disciples’ feet (John 13:15) was a typical suggestion of the whole field and duty of ministry. See on 1 Peter 2:6. It is not easy to give the exact force of εν in Strictly speaking, the “example of disobedience” is conceived as that in which the falling takes place. The fall is viewed in the sphere of example. Comp. 1 Corinthians 2:7. Rend. that no man fall in the same example of disobedience: the same as that in which they fell ⁴.

While this idea from Hebrews is rather lengthy, it does expose some ideas that we had not before seen nor realized in an expressible way. Here we can try to see the idea of the rest of the Sabbath in that day much the same as one’s attainment of the Kingdom of God in this day; that it is found in the doing and not in the abstaining from the words of the Lord as today our rest is found in keeping the words of the Master which are ALL inclusive of those applicable words in that day. While Vincent does not go so far as to say what we do here, we should see his leaning in his own idea of Christ’s conception of the Sabbath, as a season of refreshment and beneficent activity; hence the idea of continuing with labors of Love at ALL times as the Sabbath is not merely a day but a lifestyle of observing the commandments in the Truth of believing…from the heart, and not the ritual practice as is the outward appearance which was not rightly understood. Here again we have the idea of focus as our own central point in understanding the depth of the mysteries of Life and of the Kingdom; we read this in “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his“. While Vincent moves the word own we can see that this idea works either way; that to enter into His rest, His Kingdom or the Sabbath, is to be focused upon the things of God and not one’s own works which should be construed, not as employment, but rather as those things that give one pleasure in the world of men. In the final words of the eleventh verse we see the admonition to labor as the way of entry into His rest, but this labor is not one’s own works, it is the continuation of believing which is the continuation of doing the things of God.

Can we see here the Master’s idea from Thomas’ Gospel as He says: “If you do not make the Sabbath into a Sabbath, you will not see the Father” which can be seen in this new light as saying that if you do continue to see the Sabbath as do the Pharisee’s and the Talmud you will not see the Father; it is only when you see the Truth of the rest in the Sabbath, His rest, that one attains in believing, which is in doing the things of the Lord. In this we can also see better the ideas of the Master as He seemingly goes out of His way to do things, beneficent things, on the Sabbath day.

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!

• ² New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
• ^2a Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁶ Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1996
• ¹⁴ The Gospel of Thomas; Translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson; http://gnosis.org/