ON LOVE; PART CDXLVIII
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.
(76) Jesus says: “The kingdom of the Father is like a merchant who had merchandise and found a pearl. That merchant is prudent. He sold the goods (and) bought for himself the pearl alone. You too look for his treasure, which does not perish, (and) which stays where no moth can reach it to eat it, and no worm destroys it.“
(77) Jesus says: “I am the light that is over all. I am the All. The All came forth out of me. And to me the All has come.” “Split a piece of wood – I am there. Lift the stone, and you will find me there.“
(78) Jesus says: “Why did you go out to the countryside? To see a reed shaken by the wind, and to see a person dressed in soft clothing [like your] kings and your great/powerful persons? They are dressed in soft clothing and will not be able to recognize the truth.“
(79) A woman in the crowd said to him: “Hail to the womb that carried you and to the breasts that fed you.” He said to [her]: “Hail to those who have heard the word of the Father (and) have truly kept it. For there will be days when you will say: ‘Hail to the womb that has not conceived and to the breasts that have not given milk.’”
(80) Jesus says: “Whoever has come to know the world has found the (dead) body. But whoever has found the (dead) body, of him the world is not worthy.“
(81) Jesus says: “Whoever has become rich should be king. And the one who has power should renounce (it).“
In the last post we discussed the relationship between the Master’s straightforward pronouncement that “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12, 9:5), and His more lengthy saying above from Thomas’ Gospel. Here in Thomas, while the thought is the same, the overall idea is more complex and attempts to put into a single phrase those same ideas that we find spread across the Gospel of John. From the Apostle John’s Prologue we find the ideas that Christ IS the ALL and that ALL came forth from Him as an aspect of God which is encapsulated in the strange but meaningful idea of the Logos which Christianity sees simply as the Word but which IS so much more. The apostle tells us clearly that: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3) and if we substitute Logos for Word in this saying we will likely be able to get a more succinct picture of this reality. Logos is of course the Greek word untranslated much as is Christos and Satanas which are used in English as their Greek words. Christos is seldom rendered as anointed and Santanas is most always rendered as Satan although the meaning behind this is adversary.
As we discussed near the end of our last essay, the last part of this first section that is rendered as “And to me the All has come” is better seen in a current or a future tense as the reality of this return to the ALL is not yet accomplished. As this is rendered in the Interlinear, “has-the-All -split(open) up to-me” we see a question posed which is taken to a positive note by all the translators and this is True of the prior words as well which tell us that “has-the-All come out of-me” and which can be seen and understood as it is presented here, as a reflection on the more dynamic statement that “I am the-All“. Here in the Interlinear we have the reality that He IS the ALL and in saying this it is but the logical fact that the ALL has come from Him as He IS; and it is but the logical fact that the ALL will open up to Him or, as this word is rendered elsewhere, the ALL will reach up to Him. What we see here is the muddling of a message by the understanding of the translators and while we ARE NOT versed in Coptic we are versed in common sense and this way of rendering these words does fit will with the reality of the message and the reality of the Christ in the world. This is the same message that we get from John in the Prologue to his gospel as seen in combination with the words of the Master who makes these ideas real as He parabolically shows us of the ONENESS of ALL, of the Father of the Son and of the Truth of Man as a Soul. We can see these realities in these words:
- “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
- “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:21).
- “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit” (John 15:5).
- “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:20).
We should understand here that the Master is speaking to men in the world and that the message is one of realization and not of separation; that is, that it is not only these who are ONE with Him but it IS ALL who can realize the Truth; a Truth that the Master alludes to in the final saying above. This IS the message from Thomas as well and while he may paint the Master’s words differently, they DO say much the same things: He is the ALL, ALL comes from Him and ALL returns to Him because ALL are part and parcel of the ONE God and he speaks these words from the perspective of “I and my Father are one“. So we should be able to see here that He IS the ALL, He is ONE with God and that ALL come to be ONE in Him in realization as men in the world. Here we should ever remember that they are already ONE spiritually and, if we look and try to see the reality in these words from Thomas’ Gospel, perhaps we can see that reality that ALL will reach back to Him. Again, the totality of this saying from our perspective tells us that: ”I am the Light of the world, ALL things come from me and ALL things open (reach) to me‘.
The rest of this saying is a repetition of a part of the thirtieth saying from the Greek text and here in this context these words are a continuation of what we have been discussing. He is the ALL, ALL things come from Him and ALL things reach back to Him and as an example of this picture of the Transcendence and the Immanence of the Christ as ONE with God we have these simple ideas to show us that no matter where one may look, he will find God; He IS in the timber and He IS under the stone. Here we can see the Omnipresence of God and that simple saying that God IS everywhere. As we discussed in the last post, doctrine is rather opposed to this idea of Immanence as it can be seen in some of the ideas of pantheism; here they try to separate God from His creation and view Him only as Transcendent but then what of Paul’s words that clearly say “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27), here of course we are talking about the Soul, the anointing of the Spirit which IS God in form. And this is a sort of companion statement to go with the one we closed the last essay with; Paul says in this same epistle that “Christ is all, and in all“. Again the point here should be seen as that regardless of the doctrinal inability to see Christ or God as a part of this corrupt existence as they may see it, there is much Truth in these words and in so many other sayings; and this IS clearly seen in these ideas from the Master from John’s Gospel above. God IS; God is Transcendent and ALL things are part and parcel of His existence; and God IS Immanent, He is omnipresent and within ALL of this Creation which IS inseparable from His existence.
Our next saying, the seventy eighth, is in regard to John the Baptist as we read similar words from the Master in the synoptic gospels:
- “And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:7-11).
- “And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:24-28).
- “Jesus says: Why did you go out to the countryside? To see a reed shaken by the wind, and to see a person dressed in soft clothing [like your] kings and your great/powerful persons? They are dressed in soft clothing and will not be able to recognize the truth” (Thomas 78).
While Thomas is simpler and the context is likely different the idea is the same. In Luke and Matthew the story is about the Baptist while here in Thomas there seems to be the underlying lesson to the listener that the rich and the powerful; “They are dressed in soft clothing and will not be able to recognize the truth“. The other translations of this saying are much the same as we have from Patterson and Robinson above and while we will not list them here we should note that this end part on recognizing the Truth is a bit diluted as compared to the Interlinear which Blatz captures for us saying “they [will] not be able to know the truth“; from our perspective there is a large difference between recognizing a thing and KNOWING it. The available commentary on this saying include:
- F. F. Bruce writes: “In the canonical tradition similar words are spoken with reference to John the Baptist (Luke 7.24 f.; Matthew 11.7 f.). Here the reference to John is lost (see Saying 46) and the saying serves to point to a contrast between being well-to-do and knowing the truth.” (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 143).
- Gerd Ludemann writes: “This verse addresses the readers and calls for asceticism. Only those who do not wear soft clothing will recognize the truth.” (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 629).
- R. McL. Wilson writes: “Kings and MEGISTANES are mentioned together in Revelation vi. 15, one of the three passages only in the New Testament where the latter word is used. The variation in the position of the verb ‘to see,’ which in the Synoptic parallels is included in the question, is easily explained; commentators have often noted that the Greek text here can be punctuated in two different ways. This brings us to a point which may be of some significance. The Bohairic and Sahidic versions, both in Matthew and in Luke, agree against Thomas in placing the stop after the verb, which shows that at this point at least they and Thomas present independent translations. Such a variation, however, is possible only on the basis of a written ancient document in which, as was usual in ancient manuscripts, there were no marks of punctuation; if the words were spoken the division of the sentences would be made clear. We have thus two different interpretations of the same Greek text. It may be that the ambiguitiy can be traced still further back, but this is a question to be decided by specialists in another field. If the ambiguity exists only in the Greek, Thomas in this saying must have drawn either on our Gospels or on a parallel Greek text. In the latter case we may have an extract from the Gospel according to the Hebrews, but this document is something of an unknown quantity.” (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 63-64).
These comments miss the point and here again we should add that Thomas is a collection of sayings with very few ideas offered of the context and perhaps here in his mind the relationship to John the Baptist is given, it is understood. The point is the same as we find in Matthew and in Luke except it is the more poignant as Thomas sets forth plainly the affliction of the rich and the powerful. There is no suggestion here that one be a ascetic as Mr. Ludemann observes but we should rather see the totality of the Master’s words in the accepted gospel regarding riches and the Kingdom of God. And is this not the Truth of which the Master speaks here, the Truth of the things of God and His Kingdom? Behind this there is the same reality in all these versions which is that the Baptist, as a man of God, as a disciple and servant of the Lord, IS NOT dressed in fine cloths and he will not be found in king’s courts. The man of God need not be an ascetic he needs only to “take no thought” (Matthew 6:25), to understand and to follow His admonition to “seek ye the kingdom of God” (Luke 12:31) and to understand in this context the ultimate reality of that choice that each has, a choice which the Master frames for us as: “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath , he cannot be my disciple“(Luke 14:33). These are not the Life of the ascetic, these are the Life of the disciple who KNOWS that his focus, his total attention, must be on the things of God and not on the self in the world.
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.
As the Lord’s Prayer is given to us by the Christ for our use 2000 years ago, the Great Invocation, according to esoteric sources, was give from Him as well and whether we believe that this IS True or not we should look at this prayer as containing the same selfless invocative style as does the Lord’s Prayer and then any that are modeled after their style. We again encourage ALL to read and reread this Great Invocation and our comments as in these words can be found keys to our spiritual reality.
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men–
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.
This prayer is a part of our Prayers and Meditations section and there is much information about it there and in our discussion of it in the Quote of the Day section of In the Words of Jesus parts 128-132
The above Invocation or Prayer does not belong to any person or group but to all Humanity. The beauty and the strength of this Invocation lies in its simplicity, and in its expression of certain central truths which all men, innately and normally, accept—the truth of the existence of a basic Intelligence to Whom we vaguely give the name of God; the truth that behind all outer seeming, the motivating power of the universe is Love; the truth that a great Individuality came to earth, called by Christians, the Christ, and embodied that love so that we could understand; the truth that both love and intelligence are effects of what is called the Will of God; and finally the self-evident truth that only through humanity itself can the Divine Plan work out.
Like the Lord’s Prayer, this invocation is a World Prayer which is as all that a prayer is intended to be. It is a prayer for the uplifting of the Human Family out of the mire of materialism and selfishness. The Lord’s Prayer asks nothing for the individual praying it but asks that its benefits be for US and for WE which is why it was given by the Christ as a prayer and as a model over 2000 years ago. This invocation is also attributed to the Christ who, as He promised, has never left us; He, through channels that we do not readily understand, has Himself instructed His disciples to distribute this prayer and to encourage its use as a world prayer and as an aid in preparing the world for His return.
The first three stanzas of this prayer should be understood as reflecting the effective potencies of the Trinity which is God and which, when brought down to an individual level, the Trinity which is Man. His Will, His Love and His Light we should seen as the Potent Powers of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
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/
