{"id":8663,"date":"2013-12-26T18:30:16","date_gmt":"2013-12-26T23:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/?p=8663"},"modified":"2013-12-26T19:06:10","modified_gmt":"2013-12-27T00:06:10","slug":"in-the-words-of-jesus-part-898","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2013\/12\/26\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-898\/","title":{"rendered":"IN THE WORDS OF JESUS\u2013Part 898"},"content":{"rendered":"

ON LOVE; PART\u00a0CDLXXXVII<\/span><\/h2>\n
\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391<\/span><\/h6>\n

GoodWill\u00a0IS Love in Action<\/span><\/h2>\n
\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391<\/span><\/h6>\n

The Gospel of Thomas<\/span><\/h2>\n

These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke. And Didymos Judas Thomas<\/em>\u00a0wrote\u00a0them down.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

(109) Jesus says:\u00a0“The kingdom is like a person who has a hidden treasure in his field, (of which) he knows nothing.\u00a0And [after] he had died, he left it to his [son]. (But) the son did not know (about it either).\u00a0He took over that field (and) sold [it].\u00a0And the one who had bought it came, and while he was ploughing [he found] the treasure.\u00a0He began to lend money at interest to whom he wished.<\/em>“<\/span><\/p>\n

(110) Jesus says:\u00a0“The one who has found the world (and) has become wealthy should renounce the world.<\/em>“<\/span><\/p>\n

(111) Jesus says:\u00a0“The heavens will roll up before you, and the earth.\u00a0And whoever is living from the living one will not see death.”\u00a0Does not Jesus say: “Whoever has found himself, of him the world is not worthy<\/em>“?<\/span><\/p>\n

(112) Jesus says:\u00a0“Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul.\u00a0Woe to the soul that depends on the flesh.<\/em>“<\/span><\/p>\n

(113)\u00a0His disciples said to him: “The kingdom \u2013 on what day will it come?”\u00a0“It will not come by watching (and waiting for) it.\u00a0They will not say: \u2018Look, here!\u2019 or \u2018Look, there!\u2019\u00a0Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and people do not see it.<\/em>“<\/span><\/p>\n

(114)\u00a0Simon Peter said to them: “Let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life.”\u00a0Jesus said: “Look, I will draw her in so as to make her male,\u00a0so that she too may become a living male spirit, similar to you.”\u00a0(But I say to you): “Every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.<\/em>”\u00a014<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Our last essay was devoted to our ideas on Christmas Day and the reality of Christmas from a Truer Christian perspective. It IS likely that many would disagree with our approach to this idea of celebrating the day of Christ’s Birth, but if they could see clearly the Christ’s message of Love, Peace, brotherhood, unity and harmony as He expresses<\/strong><\/em> these ideals, perhaps their opinion would be changed. If they could understand that the entirety of His teaching is on the Way of the disciple and on the Way to the Kingdom that most hold so dearly, then perhaps they could understand that it IS ONLY in looking past the self and the desires of and for the self in the world that one can achieve these things. This IS our reality and it IS neatly framed for us in these few words from the Apostle John above, these words on righteousness<\/em> that we should consider as the fullness of keeping His words<\/em> and understand that it IS ONLY in keeping His words<\/em> that one IS entitled to this place called the Kingdom of God and to being accounted among the reality, the Truth, of being His disciple. A man can think that he is doing what is necessary for the Kingdom but unless he is DOING these things that the Master teaches us to do, he is deceived<\/strong> and this we should KNOW from the words of the Apostle James who tells us clearly and bluntly to: “be\u00a0ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves<\/em>” (James 1:22) and we should understand that this word rendered as hearers<\/em> is intended to include what one believes.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As aspirants to this idea of discipleship and and men on that long journey toward the Kingdom of God, we must understand the idea of language and translation; that language expresses ideas and that translation tries to find this idea in another tongue; this IS often difficult and in these words there is no exception. In this saying that we are discussing from James there IS NO long leap to make in understanding that the idea of hear<\/em> DOES NOT mean only what enters the ear as in this understanding the saying makes NO sense. In this usage we must see that the activity of hearing<\/em> itself covers more than just the ear and we should extend this to include every way the we obtain information and the idea must include how one processes what he may hear<\/em> into understanding, and in this word we should see that what it IS that we may understand about a thing IS or becomes what we\u00a0believe.<\/em>\u00a0In the rest of this series of sayings from James one can easily get this point from his last words in this segment that “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed<\/em>” (James 1:25). Here we can easily take the position that if one does what he believes<\/em> that he is then “blessed in his deed<\/em>” but we KNOW that this could not be so and therefore we must see this as that the words are to be\u00a0believed<\/em> as they ARE intended; in the clarity of Love. Here we should take the understanding that anything that a man can do or can think; ALL of his thoughts, attitudes and actions, MUST be in Love and as such should be in expressed<\/strong><\/em> in the fullness of the Great Commandments and the explanatory notes of the Golden Rule. There IS NO shortcut to divinity, not easy way to the Kingdom and no doctrinally accomplished sense of discipleship; there IS ONLY keeping His words<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it is here that we stand and we strive<\/em> which IS ALL that we MUST DO; strive<\/em> toward the strait gate<\/em> that opens into the Kingdom of God; it is here that a man must decide what it IS that he wants from his Life in this world. He can be among the DOERS and in this he is ever striving<\/em> as the Master instructs; or he can be among the ‘believers’<\/em> who follow along in doctrine which offers the illusion<\/strong> of the Kingdom by way of the shortcuts created in rituals and rites and affirmations and in some basic sense of NOT doing the grossest of what THEY may identify as sin. Unfortunately this IS NOT the Way to the Kingdom and while it may help one to follow the doctrinal precepts, the Truth is again in the words of James who tells us that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all<\/em>” (James 2:10). This IS clear and again we must not believe<\/em> that this is concerned only with the Ten Commandments but with the whole of the applicable law as defined in scriptures and reinforced by the Master and His apostles. Here we can try to see the exclusion of those ideas of law that are concerned with the worldly activities of the Jews, the dietary laws, the laws of sacrifice and the like; here we should see that it is those that affect the psyche that continue and these ARE, ALL of them, concerned with and beginning in Love. In the whole of these ideas from James we should understand his perspective on doing the word covers the True intent of the words and NOT the convenient interpretation of them. In this most ALL men KNOW when they are deviating; when they are doing wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

And James offers us these words on keeping “the whole law<\/em>” as part of a discourse that includes the practical application of Love and his citation above should be seen to be reflecting precisely on these ideas of Love as those things that a man will do that ARE against a part of “the whole law<\/em>” as we read here that his “one point<\/em>” IS Love. We read: “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. \u00a0For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty<\/em>” (James 2:8-12). And it IS from here that the apostle goes on to deflate that doctrinal bubble that is based in the erroneous interpretations of the sayings of the Apostle Paul on the law and on faith; James tells us, again clearly and bluntly, that “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?<\/em>” (James 2:14). Posed as a rhetorical question we should be able to see the reality of DOING and perhaps when we complete our work on the Gospel of Thomas we can take up these seemingly conflicting ideas expressed by Paul and by James and discover together how that they ARE NOT conflicting at ALL.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here however our focus<\/em> IS upon Love and hearing<\/em> as expressed by James and then our point as it reflects in our Christmas message. This “perfect law of liberty<\/em>” IS the reality of the law as it applies to the Life of man in the words of the Master and in this we find Love. We find Love as well in the ideas from James on what is the “royal law according to the scripture<\/em>” and this he identifies as “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself<\/em>” which are the same words that the Master Himself uses and which relate to this idea of royal<\/em> to the Great Commandments. Here we should understand our point of above regarding translation as this word used here has naught to do with royalty as we understand it but rather is intended to show that this IS the\u00a0principal<\/em> or the chief\u00a0<\/em>law according to the lexicon 2<\/sup>. And the apostle ties this idea of Love directly to the idea of “respect to persons<\/em>” and to sin and in these ideas there can be found the Path and the Way to our own divine expression<\/em><\/strong>. Hearing,<\/em> while it does pertain to what goes in the ear, MUST be seen as we discuss above, hearing<\/em>\u00a0MUST be what one comes to believe<\/em> and, in the context of scripture, this MUST \u00a0be as the ideas were intended and NOT how they may be interpreted; and this IS discoverable by most ALL men who take the time and make the effort to look past the carnal mind and emotions and the sense of self and see the Truth as it is presented in conscience. And we say here ‘most ALL’ as there are men with us in the world who may be mentally or emotionally deficient and this by the nature of their equipment or by their strong indoctrination into ideas that can build walls around their own reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

And so then our Christmas message as we began it in the last post is simply one of righteousness<\/em> which is found in keeping His words<\/em> and here we come back again to our underlying theme of Love; that ALL is found in this idea of Love as expressed<\/em><\/strong> by the man in the world. Not the emotional attractions and attachments that are the common understanding, but rather that Love that is expressed<\/em><\/strong> by the Master and which can be found in the Great Commandments and the Golden Rule and which ARE further explained for us in the idea that OUR “God is love<\/em>” (1 John 4:8) and that He is at the same time “no respecter of persons<\/em>” (Acts 10:34). This then should be the reflection we take from our lead saying at the top of today’s essay; that if these ideas of Love and respect ARE part of the righteousness<\/em> of God, so they must be part of our own understanding of righteousness<\/em> if we are to see ourselves as “born of him<\/strong><\/em>“. It IS this birth that IS our reality of the meaning of Christmas, that the Christ is born in the cave of our hearts<\/em><\/strong> in Love and our expression<\/em><\/strong> of Love and that this IS the way par excellence that we can Truly become “born again<\/em>“. If we are ardent seekers then this IS our attitude, to express<\/strong><\/em> that Love and to express<\/strong><\/em> it equally to ALL men, and it IS toward this goal that we strive.<\/em> Christmas IS but another reminder of these things for the man whose goal is the Truth of the Kingdom and discipleship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Returning to our discussion on the one hundred thirteenth saying from the Gospel of Thomas, we see some of the reality of the Kingdom of God; Here in this saying we find the idea that the Kingdom IS spread across the world an in this we should try to see the very nature of God as He CAN NOT be separated from His Kingdom. This Kingdom of God IS NOT a house or a dwelling place but IS His PLACE OF BEING and here we can say the same about the Kingdom as we do about God. We find this in that ancient Hindu saying that we ofttimes use that tells us clearly that:<\/span><\/p>\n

To the God Who is in the Fire and Who is in the waters;<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n To the God Who has suffused Himself through all the world;<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n To the God Who is in summer plants and in the lords of the forest;<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n To that God be adoration, adoration.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Sh\u2019vet Upanishad, II.17.<\/span><\/p>\n

This IS the reality of our Transcendent and Immanent God, OUR God who IS Within us and within ALL things as they are part and parcel of His very Being and this IS the SAME God that we see as we look outward and see Him as beyond us, all encompassing, and of whom we read that “in him we live, and move, and have our being<\/em>” (Acts 17:28). Can we see here the reality of His Kingdom as this is expressed here by the Master according to Thomas; that if His Kingdom is “spread out upon the earth<\/em>” that He IS as well and that in like terms the words from Luke’s Gospel say this same thing in relation to the man in the world, that the Kingdom of God IS within him and therefore God IS Within. Doctrine does not agree here with these ideas as for whatever reason they CAN NOT bring themselves to believe that God can be within whosoever they would consider a heathen; but scripture makes no such separations as we read in His words to ALL and in answer to the question by the Pharisee. We read this in our saying from Luke and in the similar sayings from Thomas’ Gospel:<\/span><\/p>\n