Saying 46 / C

[46]. Jesus says: "From Adam to John the Baptist, among those who have been born of women, there is none greater than John the Baptist! But for fear that the eyes should be lost I have said: He who among you shall be the small shall know the Kingdom and be higher than John!"

*****

Most commentators seem to thinkthat this saying was a retelling, with some changes, of Matthew 11:11-12 ... Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, 9 and the violent are taking it by force.

The meaning - the NAB says ... "John's preeminent greatness lies in his function of announcing the imminence of the kingdom (⇒ Matthew 3:1). But to be in the kingdom is so great a privilege that the least who has it is greater than the Baptist."

What I find interesting is the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist. If I understand correctly, based on the interaction between Mary and Elizabeth, Jesus and John were relatives, perhaps cousins. They were very close in age, probably knew each other growing up, and they both chose the religious life. Jesus asked John to baptise him and they both continued to preach for a time (about 6 more months for John?), though their styles were very different ... John was an ascetic who wore rope fiber clothing and ate "locusts and wild honey" (Matt. 3:4) ... Jesus, however, was seen by some as a drunkard and a glutton. The NAB says there was likely some tension between the followers of Jesus and John, and John did lose a few disciples to Jesus.

I suppose all of this had some influence on the saying in Matthew. The question arises of why Thomas, if he did get the saying from Matthew, decided to change it somewhat. Maybe it had to do with the Gnostic view of John? According to Wikipedia ... In Gnosticism, John the Baptist was a "personification" of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. According to Gnostic theology, John the Baptist was a Prophet from the Old Testament who did not know the True God (the God of the New Testament), and thus had to be reincarnated. As predicted by the Old Testament prophet Malachi, Elijah must "come first" to herald the coming of Jesus Christ.

The child

We come now to a series of sayings which contain
the child:

4 Jesus said: The man aged in his days will not
hesitate to ask a little child of seven days about
the place of life, and he shall live. For there
are many first who shall be last, and they shall
become a single one.

21 Mary said to Jesus: Whom are thy disciples like?
He said They are like little children dwelling in a
field which is not theirs. When the owners of the
field come, they will say: Yield up to us our field.
They are naked before them, to yield it up to them
and to give them back their field. Therefore I say:
If the master of the house knows that the thief is
coming, he will keep watch before he comes, and
will not let him dig into his house of his kingdom
to carry off his vessels. You, then, be watchful
over against the world. Gird up your loins with
great strength, that the brigands may not find a
way to come at you, since the advantage for which
you look they will find. May there be among you a
man of understanding! When the fruit was ripe, he
came quickly, his sickle in his hand, and reaped
it. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

[22 has already been extensively commented on,
but included here in the interests of consistency.]
22 Jesus saw some infants at the breast. He said
to his disciples: These little ones at the breast
are like those who enter into the kingdom. They
said to him: If we then be children, shall we
enter the kingdom? Jesus said to them: When you
make the two one , and when you make the inside
as the outside, and the outside as the inside,
and the upper side as the lower; and when you make
the male and the female into a single one , that
the male be not male and the female female; when
you make eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand
in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot,
an image in place of an image, then shall you
enter [the kingdom].

37 His disciples said: On what day wilt thou be
revealed to us, and on what day shall we see thee?
Jesus said: When you unclothe yourselves and are
not ashamed, and take your garments and lay them
beneath your feet like little children, and tread
upon them, then [shall ye see] the Son of the
living One, and ye shall not fear.

46 Jesus said: From Adam to John the Baptist
there is none born of woman who is higher than
John the Baptist, so that his eyes will not be
broken (?) But I have said, He who shall be
among you as a little one shall know the kingdom,
and shall be higher than John.

Logion 29

29 Jesus said: If the flesh has come into being because of the spirit, it is a marvel; but if the spirit (has come into being) because of the body, it is a marvel of marvels. But as for me, I marvel at this, how this great wealth has settled in this poverty.

Which is scarier? That spirit might be the cause/origin of flesh or that it is flesh that is the cause/origin of spirit?

Perhaps this life is a soul-making factory. Perhaps we aren't born with spirits but they are created in us as we turn our attentions our consciousness away from life as it is and imagine a life that could be and there find ourselves confronted by a God waiting for us.

How I read this passage is conditioned by all sorts of prior reading hearing knowing and half-knowing.

When I read Paul and the many many many spiritual writers from within the Christian traditions that followed him - and I'm thinking especially of writers like the anonymous author of Theologia Germanica -- I hear the word flesh and think not meat blood and bone but that spirit that reigns and rules in me despite my better intentions -- that spirit of self-will whose constant mantra is me, my, mine.

But when I hear this in Thomas I'm less certain of the sense of it. That prior reading hearing knowing and half-knowing tells me Thomas was a Gnostic -- or more cozy with them than John and Paul were. And I associate Gnosticism with those folks who have swerved from the truth by claiming that the resurrection has already taken place (2 Timothy 2:18). For them flesh is matter and matter doesn't matter. For them they have already entered the kingdom in its fullness. The Ranters that George Fox distanced himself from. Those who felt they had attained the divinity that Christ was the seal and promise of.

But also I know that all I know of these people is the preserved writings of those who disagreed with them and who disagreed so violently they were willing to imagine a just and loving God consign these people to flames throughout eternity.

Saying 14 - LC

14 Jesus said to them: If you fast, you will beget
a sin for yourselves; and if you pray, you will be
condemned; and if you give alms, you will do an
evil to your spirits.
And if you go into any land and travel in its
regions, if they receive you eat what they set
before you. Heal the sick among them. For that
which goes into your mouth will not defile you,
but that which comes forth from your mouth, that
is what will defile you.

I have to wonder if Thomas isn't commenting on one
(or more) of the synoptics:

Matt 6:16-18: Jesus (in both gospels) was conscious
of the spiritual cost involved in hypocritical
fasting, praying, and giving alms that are no doubt
prevalent among us, and likely within us.

In Thomas Jesus speaks more incisively about these
things, you might say mercilessly, and he does it
here in such a way that if we're guilty, we're
condemned and if we're innocent, then we're likely
just confused.

In the second paragraph he has addressed two other
passages from the synoptic account: Matt 10:5-8 and
15:11.

The saying illustrates how close to the other gospels
Thomas is. We don't know which one came first, but
if we postulate that Thomas was later, then we see
that he had a close familiarity with the others. In
fact two thirds of his sayings are close relatives
of synoptic verses, and students of Thomas can cite
a relative verse in all of them.

It still pains me very much to realize that the
'Church Fathers' banned it and in fact made a
concerted attempt to destroy it.

Saying #29

(29) Jesus said: If the flesh came into existence because of the spirit, it is a marvel. But if the spirit (came into existence) because of the body, it is a marvel of marvels. But as for me, I wonder at this, how this great wealth made its home in this poverty.

This saying expresses the disctinction for gnostics between the spirit and the flesh (or matter). There is a contempt for the material and a veneration for the spiritual ... they believed we were more truly of the spirit (this great wealth) and are only temporarily mired here in matter (this poverty).

While there are some similar references in the canonical gospels, for the most part, this ascetic philosophy seems alien to the Jesus portrayed elsewhere. For instance, in Luke 7:34 and Matthwe 11:19, Jesus is accussed of being a drunkard and a glutton. And Jesus' bodily resurrection would seem to imlpy that we are not made spiriit only after death, but that we still have bodies material enough to be touched/felt by others and material enough to enjoy the consumption of food ... ... "Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have " ... he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. - Luke 24:39-43

It is through this philosophy that spirit and matter are oppossed, that the idea of who Jesus really was/is becomes problematic. According to gnostics, Jesus descends from the realm of spirits to dispenses gnosis and awaken those trapped in ignorance; the body is a prison, and the spirit alone is good; and salvation comes by discovering the "kingdom of God" within the self. He had no part in matter, did not suffer in death (First Apocalypse of James: "Never have I suffered in any way, nor have I been distressed"), was not bodily resurrected.

While I flinch at calling gnostics "world-hating dualists" :-) I must disagree with this ethical division between the material and the spiritual, if only because of what it says about the nature of Jesus and our own state after death.

If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you. - Romans 8:11

Flesh and Spirit

This group is about flesh and spirit. (Some of
them may have already been dealt with, but in
another context.)

14 Jesus said to them: If you fast, you will beget
a sin for yourselves; and if you pray, you will be
condemned; and if you give alms, you will do an
evil to your spirits.
And if you go into any land and travel in its
regions, if they receive you eat what they set
before you. Heal the sick among them. For that
which goes into your mouth will not defile you,
but that which comes forth from your mouth, that
is what will defile you.

29 Jesus said: If the flesh has come into being
because of the spirit, it is a marvel; but if the
spirit (has come into being) because of the body,
it is a marvel of marvels. But as for me, I marvel
at this, how this great wealth has settled in this
poverty.

53 His disciples said to him: Is circumcision
profitable or not? He said to them: Were it
profitable, their father would beget them from
their mother circumcised. But the true
circumcision in spirit has proved entirely
profitable (lit.: has found usefulness
altogether).

112 Jesus said: Woe to the flesh which depends
upon the soul; woe to the soul which depends upon
the flesh.

114 Simon Peter said to them: Let Mary go forth
from among us, for women are not worthy of the
life. Jesus said: Behold, I shall lead her, that I
may make her male, in order that she also may
become a living spirit like you males. For every
woman who makes herself male shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven.

Me blogging again

Just a note ... I've started up my personal blog again. Now it's here for anyone who might be interested - http://povcrystal.blogspot.com - link

Another Gathering

I have a feeling that some have developed some
resistance to Thomas. That suggests two
additional options:

At this point we could go 'Back to the Bible',
as they say.

Or we could look at some of the Sayings that more
closely resemble the 'four gospels'.

I await some input on those suggestions.

A Lesson Plan for Gainesville

Gang, I'm departing from the usual format and
imposing upon your generosity with this post:

Ellie and I lead a Thomas class at our monthly
meeting; it meets this first day. They have had
something near an equal exposure to Thomas. Ellie
came up with what seems to me like a smashing
plan. It will likely be the end of our study of
that book-- at Gainesville:

She sees Thomas' way as a six stage journey:

1. There is hidden truth. (Sayings 3 and 5)

2. We learn to see things differently. (Sayings
4, 17, and 51)

3. Reconciling two worlds (Sayings 22 and 29)

4. Becoming One (50,70)

5. Manifesting the openness (24, 49, 83, 106)

6. Inner awareness: living each moment by
self-knowledge (77, 91, 111)

If you feel led, I would appreciate input here;
otherwise I will come forth with another post.
(Of course some may have copies of Thomas with
different numbering. (The links access the
appropriate saying below.)

Blessings to all.

Here are the sayings:


(3) Jesus said: If those who lead you say unto
you: Behold, the Kingdom is in heaven, then the
birds of the heaven will be before you. If they
say unto you: It is in the sea, then the fish will
be before you. But the Kingdom is within you, and
it is outside of you. When you know yourselves,
then shall you be known, and you shall know that
you are the sons of the living Father. But if ye
do not know yourselves, then you are in poverty,
and you are poverty.


(4) Jesus said: The man aged in
his days will not hesitate ask a little child of
seven days about the place of life, and he shall
live. For there are many first who shall be last,
and they shall become a single one.


(5) Jesus said: Know what is before thy face, and
what is hidden from thee shall be revealed unto
thee; for there is nothing hidden which shall not
be made manifest.


(17) Jesus said: I will give you that which eye
has not seen, an ear has not heard, and hand has
not touched, and which has not entered into the
heart of man.


22) Jesus saw some infants at the breast. He said
to his disciples: These little ones at the breast
are like those who enter into the kingdom. They
said to him: If we then be children, shall we
enter the kingdom? Jesus said to them: When you
make the two one , and when you make the inside as
the outside, and the outside as the inside, and
the upper side as the lower; and when you make the
male and the female into a single one , that the
male be not male and the female female; when you
make eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in
place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, an
image in place of an image, then shall you enter
[the kingdom].


(24) His disciples said: Teach us concerning the
place where thou art, for it is necessary for us
to seek after it. He said to them: He that hath
ears, let him hear. There is a light within a man
of light, and it gives light to the whole
world. If it does not give light, there is
darkness.


(29) Jesus said: If the flesh has come into being
because of the spirit, it is a marvel; but if the
spirit (has come into being) because of the body,
it is a marvel of marvels. But as for me, I marvel
at this, how this great wealth has settled in this
poverty.


(49) Jesus said: Blessed are the solitary and the
elect, for you shall find the kingdom; for you
came forth thence, and shall go there again.


(50) Jesus said: If they say to you: Whence have
you come?, tell them: We have come from the light,
the place where the light came into being through
itself alone. It [stood], and it re- vealed itself
in their image. If they say to you: Who are you?,
say: We are his sons, and we are the elect of the
living Father. If they ask you: What is the sign
of your Father in you?, tell them: It is a
movement and a rest.


(51) His disciples said to him: On what day will
the rest of the dead come into being? And on what
day will the new world come? He said to them: That
which ye await has come, but ye know it not.


(70) Jesus said: When you bring forth that in
yourselves, that which you have will save you. If
you do not have that in yourselves, that which you
do not have in you will kill you.


(77) Jesus said: I am the light that is over them
all. I am the All; the All has come forth from me,
and the All has attained unto me. Cleave a (piece
of) wood: I am there. Raise up the stone, an ye
shall find me there.


(83)Jesus said: The images are revealed to the
man, and the light which is in them is hidden in
the image of the light of the Father. He shall be
revealed, and his image is hidden by his light.


(91) They said to him: Tell us who thou art, that
we may believe in thee. He said to them: You test
the face of the heaven and the earth, and him who
is before you you do not know, and you know not to
test this moment.


(106) Jesus said: When you make the two one, you
shall become sons of man, and when you say:
Mountain, be moved, it shall be moved.


(111) Jesus said: The heavens shall be rolled up
and the earth before your face, and he who lives
in the living One shall neither see death nor
(fear); because Jesus says: He who shall find
himself, of him the world is not worthy.

Saying 22-- overdue

22) Jesus saw some infants at the breast. He said
to his disciples: These little ones at the breast
are like those who enter into the kingdom. They
said to him: If we then be children, shall we
enter the kingdom? Jesus said to them: When you
make the two one , and when you make the inside as
the outside, and the outside as the inside, and
the upper side as the lower; and when you make the
male and the female into a single one , that the
male be not male and the female female; when you
make eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in
place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, an
image in place of an image, then shall you enter
[the kingdom]. Matthew 18:1-3; John 17:11

This post is a '10 month baby' because I found some
pertinent material in A History of God, page 161:

Armstrong quotes a traditional 'saying of
Mohammed, supposedly the voice of God:

"My servant draws near to me ..as a duty. And
my servant continues drawing nearer to me
through superrogatory acts until I love him:
and when I love him, I become his ear.... his
eyes... his hand....his foot whereon he walks."

One might think that Mohammed got this from
Thomas, although he was illiterate of course.
Be that as it may, I find it pleasant to see
the close relationship between the two faiths.
Islam (naturally) appears to be closer in spirit
to Thomas than to John.

The Koran emphatically rejects the "blasphemous
doctrine of the Trinity". In the Christian
tradition it's most supported of course by
John and least by Thomas, and most likely by
the numerically larger Arians who civilized
most of Europe and the numerically large
Eastern Christians (larger than the Western
tradition which became orthodoxy).

Saying #19 / C

[19]. Jesus says: "Blessed is the man who existed before he came into being! If you become my disciples and if you hear my words, these stones will serve you. For you have there, in Paradise, five trees which change not winter nor summer, whose leaves do not fall: whoever knows them will not taste death!"

I like David's way of doing this - bit by bit - so ...

1) Blessed is the man who existed before he came into being!

....... I think Jesus is refering to himself ... if you accept the idea of the Trinity, Jesus, as God, did exist before he was born on earth. A more gnostic interpretation would probably be that we all existed as part of God before we were born as individualss.

2) If you become my disciples and if you hear my words, these stones will serve you.

....... This may refer to stones being turned into bread, if the disciples are rightly able to grasp Jesus' teachings ... Matthew 7:9 says ... Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread.

3) For you have there, in Paradise, five trees which change not winter nor summer, whose leaves do not fall: whoever knows them will not taste death!

........ To me, this is the most interesting part of the saying. Jesus mentions Paradise ... I think he means an actual place (the after-life), rather than a state of mind (kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God). The term occurs only three times in the NT - Luke 23:43, 2 Corinthians 12:4, Revelation 2:7 - a garden-like place belonging to God. Trees have been sacred to many ancient cultures and in dry places like the middle east, trees were especially important. Two trees are mentioned in Genesis in the garden of Eden - the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Marvin Meyer writes: "The five trees in paradise are mentioned frequently in gnostic texts, ordinarily without explanation or elaboration. (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, pp. 77-78).

***

This saying seems to mean that if a person understands Jesus' teachings, and comes to know they were once part of God and that they will return to God (Paradise, where the trees stand), they will win eternal life.

I have trouble with this interpretation ... life eternal depends here on understanding Jesus' teachings, instead of being a gift for all.

Logion 11

11 Jesus said: This heaven shall pass away, and that which above it shall pass away; and they that are dead are not alive and they that live shall not die. In the days when you were eating that which is dead, you were making it alive. When you come in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you have become two, what will you do?

Piece by piece -- for I fear Thomas is being deliberately enigmatic here so I must start parsing it all out.

This heaven shall pass away, and that which above it shall pass away
Obvious parallel with Matthew 5:18: For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

But Thomas is doing something different with it than Matthew. Matthew uses the phrase to affirm the eternal relevance of Jesus' teachings. Thomas seems to have a different agenda.

and they that are dead are not alive and they that live shall not die
This seems to be denying the resurrection from the dead. It seems to be saying the living will live but the dead will remain dead. Paul takes some pains to affirm resurrection of the dead -- even affirming they will rise before us (I Thessalonians 4:16). Is Thomas contradicting Paul? Or have people in Thassalonica read something too literal into Thomas and Paul feels a need to correct it?

In the days when you were eating that which is dead, you were making it alive.
Seems to me a parallel with Thomas 7: Blessed is the lion which the man eats, and the lion will become man; and cursed is the man whom the lion eats, and the lion will become man. We are what we eat. And at a mental/spiritual level -- this means we are best to feed our spirits with meditations on life affirming matters. Paul says, be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:12). I also wonder whether it relates to Paul's concerns about letter and spirit (Corinthians 3:6). When we meditate on scripture (Thomas, or canonical) -- reflect on the meanings more than the exactitude of the wordings.

When you come in the light, what will you do?
I can see John (the Evangelist) or even George Fox saying this. Encountering the Light is not necessarily a pleasant experience, for John all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed (John 3:20) and for George the light "shows us our iniquity". Our tasks are to endure the light and its searchings so that we might become children of the light.

On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you have become two, what will you do?
I'm not sure about this one. I think it maps back to a Gnostic myth that when our "pure" spirits got mired in material bodies we were somehow separated from our true selves. The answer to the question would then be to seek the light -- to be reunited -- to become one again.

I'm not convinced that physicality is evil in and of itself. I do not see material or even sensual life to be evil but rather the spiritual power which rules in us that leads us to treat that physicality and that sensuality as God. As I write this I'm listening to a Dixieland jazz CD -- I certainly hope the heavenly choruses that praise God through eternity sound alot more like this CD than the hymns sung in the majority of Protestant churches this morning.

So where does all this leave me? I do dwell on the dead. I like dead things. I read 17th century Quaker tracts. I haggle over textual references. I sat through a church service this morning and inwardly critiqued the style of the sermon. Guess I'm one lost puppy.

The death of separateness, the vision of the Eternal

This group of sayings starts off with the exhortation to find the interpretation – or as it says in the translation I am reading: live the interpretation. In the commentary on this verse, Leloup suggests that to live the interpretation is to, “…become One – if only for a moment – with that Meaning. This moment of unity awakens in us the Presence of the Uncreated and the taste of something … beyond death”. I was delighted to read these thoughts, because they express that joyful recognition we are surprised with on those (sometimes rare) occasions when a sacred text burns into the soul and unveils eternity nestled within our hearts.

The next saying (11) reassures me that I come from Unity. It seems to speak of the process of integration: recognizing the duality within ourselves and traveling along the road toward a rediscovery of who we truly are in relationship with ‘otherness’ and ‘the One’.

The final saying in this group seems to wrap it up in a shout of exaltation reminding me of the end verses of Romans 8. (Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And the poetic rise to climax in those last glorious verses) He who lives in the Living One will know neither fear nor death…and why? Christ answers: Whoever has self-knowledge, the world cannot contain them. This process of self-knowledge – the dropping away of veil after veil, the being changed from glory to glory as we look into the face of God – reveals to us not only who we are as the ‘eternal-created’ woven inexplicably into the ‘Eternal-Uncreated’, but also gives us a tantalizing taste of who we shall be when these few moments of unveiled wonderment multiply into the fullness of a life lived perpetually in God’s Presence.

I like how Leloup describes it, “We see things no longer as we think and imagine them to be, but as they are. Our little world that we have created begins to crumble and we enter into the real one. A proverb says, ‘Those who are asleep live separately in their own worlds. Those who are awake live together in the same world’”. Perhaps that is why in describing their vision of Reality, the holy mystics of diverse spiritual traditions seem to see with the same eyes.

(I am leaving Monday on a solitary three week road trip covering 2,500 miles and offering little or no contact with the Web. I’m having withdrawal pains already! See you again the first part of November. Peace to you, friends.)

Sayings on Death

In this group of enigmatic sayings we have a
chance to interpret the meaning of death:

1 And he said: He who shall find the
interpretation of the words shall not taste of
death.

11 Jesus said: This heaven shall pass away, and
that which above it shall pass away; and they that
are dead are not alive and they that live shall
not die. In the days when you were eating that
which is dead, you were making it alive. When you
come in the light, what will you do? On the day
when you were one, you became two. But when you
have become two, what will you do?

18 The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us how our
end shall be. Jesus said: Have you then discovered
the beginning, that you seek after the end? For
where the beginning is, there shall the end
be. Blessed is he who shall stand in the
beginning, and he shall know the end and shall not
taste of death.

19 Jesus said: Blessed is he who was before he
came into being. If you become my disciples and
hear my words, these stones shall minister unto
you. For you have five trees in Paradise which do
not move in summer or in winter, and their leaves
do not fall. He who knows them shall not taste of
death.

85 Jesus said: Adam came into being out of a great
power and a great wealth, and yet he was not
worthy of you. For if he had been worthy, he would
not have tasted of death.

111 Jesus said: The heavens shall be rolled up and
the earth before your face, and he who lives in
the living One shall neither see death nor (fear);
because Jesus says: He who shall find himself, of
him the world is not worthy.
(We will get another chance with this one, which
we used in the subject of God (the living One).)

Making Two One

(23) Jesus said: I shall choose you, one out of a
thousand, and two out of ten thousand, and they
shall stand as a single one.

Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

God calls everyone unto the One; how many choose the Way? 
Not very many, but they are the ones chosen.  The ones
chosen stand as a single one.  Jung called it
individuation; our duality is transcended.  Then mountains
are moved.

Of course this doesn't mean we become one like the North
Koreans or like the people in 1984.  Our diversity is rather
enhanced, but it's transcended by our unity.

"We are one in the spirit, we are...."   (a favorite song)

Reconciling Paradox

22) Jesus saw some infants at the breast. He said to his disciples: These little ones at the breast are like those who enter into the kingdom. They said to him: If we then be children, shall we enter the kingdom? Jesus said to them: When you make the two one , and when you make the inside as the outside, and the outside as the inside, and the upper side as the lower; and when you make the male and the female into a single one , that the male be not male and the female female; when you make eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then shall you enter[the kingdom].

There is something about the rhythm of this scripture that sings to me. On the surface, I haven’t a clue what it means, but it sounds beautiful. As I look in more closely, I find threads of much deeper meaning, though it seems to me, possibly through translation, the verse doesn’t completely gel in English. For example, it begins with obvious opposites, make two one, make the outside as the inside, the upper as the lower, the male and the female, the eyes in place of an eye…but then a foot in place of a foot, a hand in place of a hand, and an image in place of an image…the opposite notion is a bit lost - or is it?

Basically I see this scripture refers to the paradoxes, and the dualistic way we usually view the world. Jesus is suggesting that these paradoxes and dualistic notions must be reconciled in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. He is also suggesting that we must be innocent, and perhaps ego-less, just as the little ones are. One enters the kingdom by recovering one's original self, undivided by the differences between male and female, physical and spiritual. This presents the theme of unifying opposites.

This verse holds out our tendency to view dualistically and asks us to seek and find a different, fresh view of the world – just as Jesus did. The kingdom in this sense is a primordial place, of a time and a place that is all time, all place, neither beginning nor ending yet persisting in the present. Can we actualize Light, for example, that is within us as well as outside of us? Can we envision the kingdom that is not only above us, but below us? Can we move past our sexuality and our other differences, and simply be who we are originally? Can we see through the eyes, not our singular eye, but through the eye through which God sees? Can we touch with hands and walk with feet beyond our own? When we are able to reconcile these opposites, this scripture suggests that we will return to the kingdom, yet remain standing on the earth, but with a broadly altered construct of it.

Becoming One

I don't know if it is because I've been steeped in thought about a personal recovery of the feminine in God, but these sayings seem especially insightful to our condition.

Jesus spoke of the need to make the two into One. We know there is no male or female in Christ, yet there are so many ways this is negated in our culture. The feminine, especially, seems to be undervalued, dismissed and diminished often times. But it would seem a better way would be to find a balance and to integrate both the masculine and feminine in both ourselves and our concept of God. This is a personal aside, however. Leaving the fullness of God's nature behind, I feel that Jesus is here shining the light on the many ways we become splintered and fractured into the many when we should be the One. I've noticed this in the mystical element of other spiritual traditions. There is a calling into notice the falseness of duality with an invitation to integration and wholeness.

When we accept what is in our lives, without aversion or attraction, we can enter into a place of rest and receptivity. In like manner, when we enter into the hard work of uncovering who we are and accepting ourselves completely - the good, the bad, the high and low elements alike, we become less divided and more whole.

I think that is what Christ is pointing to here. Not a lifting of one over another or a denial of diversity, but an inclusiveness, an embracing of the miracle of who we are, each of us. Full of both feminine and masculine characteristics, brimming over with complexities we only partly comprehend, awash in earthy passions and heavenly longings. This bringing together into union all of the many dualities within our own souls is a mirror of the bringing together of complex peoples into the Body of Christ...and that itself is a glorious foretaste of the Union of the created with the Uncreated. Being hidden with Christ in God. Being One with the One who holds us all in Being.

Saying #114 / c

[114]. Simon Peter says to them: "Let Mary go out from our midst, for women are not worthy of life!" Jesus says: "See, I will draw her so as to make her male so that she also may become a living spirit like you males. For every woman who has become male will enter the Kingdom of heaven."

***

Two of the Jesus Seminar guys, RW Funk and Roy Hoover write of this saying ..... "Jesus is not suggesting a sex-change operation, but is using 'male' and 'female' metaphorically to refer ot the higher and lower aspects of human nature. Mary is thus to undergo a spiritual transformation from her earthly, material, passionate nature (which the evangelist equates with the female) to a heavenly, spiritual, intellectual nature (which the evangelist equates with the male). This transformation may possibly have involved ritual acts or ascetic practices." (The Five Gospels, p. 532)

***

Larry mentioned the gnostic Gospel of Mary ... in this gospel, the male disciples despair over spreading the "good news" of Jesus, but Mary says ... "Let us rather praise his greatness, for he prepared us and made us into men." Peter disagrees with her in this gospel, as he does in Thomas #114, and he says ... "Did he then speak secretly with a woman, in preference to us, and not openly? Are we to turn back and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?"
Peter obviously had some issues :-)

***

This saying brings up the subjects of the role of women in the early church and in the New Testament and in society in general at that time. A great page of very helpful links - Jesus and Women. For those who want to learn more about Mary Magdalene, the disciple to whom the risen Jesus first appeard (John 20), and who was later tarnished in reputation by the church fathers, see Wikipedia for a start.

These sayings are hard

I have little handle on these ones. This leads me to suspect they are of more Gnostic origins -- they assume an oral teaching that has not survived and so we lack the context and tools. No, I lack the context and tools, to decode, interpret, to understand. It may be the Thomas community had "secret teachings" allowed only to initiates. And, as Logion 1 warns us, only those who can interpret these saying may live.

Hermetic and alchemical symbolisms, one of the heirs to gnosticism, associates, one with purity, and plurality with contamination. Perhaps this is a start. But we have Darwin amongst our modern day prophets. The God who made all made a plurality. In terms of human enterprise a corn field may be superior to a meadow, but a meadow, buzzing with life and diversity seems to be God's creativity at work. In human enterprise the value of anything is single minded, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, it knows the value ($$$) but not its worth.

Another possibility. Modern science has inherited Aristotle's approach to knowing. For Aristotle we understand something when we know which category it stands under. In other words, when we can pigeon-hole it he know it. Aristotle taught Western philosophy to categorize everything according to genus and species. What group does it belong to? How does it differ from other members of its grouping?

There are other ways of knowing that Western ways have marginalized. Krishnamurti is a modern sort of speaker to some of that. Another approach is some teachings of zen. From these stances, knowledge doesn't come through conceptualization, but by setting aside the concepts and observing from detachment. I wonder if this is a part of what Thomas is saying?

two/one male/female 22, 23, 30, 106, 114

22) Jesus saw some infants at the breast. He said
to his disciples: These little ones at the breast
are like those who enter into the kingdom.  They
said to him: If we then be children, shall we
enter the kingdom? Jesus said to them: When you
make the two one , and when you make the inside as
the outside, and the outside as the inside, and
the upper side as the lower; and when you make the
male and the female into a single one , that the
male be not male and the female female; when you
make eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in
place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, an
image in place of an image, then shall you enter
[the kingdom]. Matthew 18:1-3; John 17:11

(23) Jesus said: I shall choose you, one out of a
thousand, and two out of ten thousand, and they
shall stand as a single one. Matthew 22:14

(30) Jesus said: Where there are three gods, they
are gods; where there are two or one, I am with
him. Matthew 18:20

(106) Jesus said: When you make the two one, you
shall become sons of man, and when you say:
Mountain, be moved, it shall be moved. Matthew 17:20

(114) Simon Peter said to them: Let Mary go forth
from among us, for women are not worthy of the
life. Jesus said: Behold, I shall lead her, that
I may make her male, in order that she also may
become a living spirit like you males. For every
woman who makes herself male shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven. (Obviously chauvinistic in
the highest degree...  but: what else is
here?) (Leloup directs us to the Gospel of
Mary Magdelene.)(Look again at Saying 22 above.)

Saying 111

111 Jesus said: The heavens shall be rolled up and
the earth before your face, and he who lives in
the living One shall neither see death nor (fear);
because Jesus says: He who shall find himself, of
him the world is not worthy. (cf Rev. 6:14)

"The heavens shall be rolled up.." What a pungent phrase!
Scholars differ over whether Thomas got it from Rev. or
the writer of Rev. got it from Thomas. It certainly sounds
like an apocalyptic notion, but, read poetically, it may be
seen as a hyperbolic description of what happens to the one
"who lives in the living One". He won't see death or fear,
and the world is not worthy of him.

All of these phrases represent the good things that happen to
us when we get "on the track" and stay there long enough for
God's redemptive work to take effect in our psche's and spirits.

The Rails

It has been so long since I've been here. Months ago, I recall kwake inviting us to post on subject matter other than the passage being reviewed -- hoping that is still the policy, I'm taking the liberty of making an off topic post, though I almost feel as if the woman with the broken vessel will somehow tie in at the end.

I mentioned in the comments my need for feeling 'on the rails.' Crystal nodded assent in her comment and Meredith told us what she thought being on the rails meant (more of a watching from the sidelines).

When I speak of being "on the rails" or being "off the rails," I'm thinking of a train. Whats probably more accurate, I'm thinking of those amusement park ride cars, that follow the track at limited speed and when they veer off course, they bounce on the rail and continue on the path.

When I'm feeling on the rails, I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be, going where I'm supposed to go. When I'm feeling off the rails, I feel scared and uncertain. I have no idea where I am or where I'm going, but, to my mind, I could be falling off a trestle hundreds of feet above the ground.

The rails aren't necessarily found in the ritual of a traditional church -- though I suppose many people find rails there. They aren't necessarily even found in a church. I suppose the rails indicates a certainty or a comfort that I have not fallen from God's grace, that I'm still on the path. I feel connected to God. I praise God, I'm happy.

I feel off the rails now because I don't think I'm where I should be -- individually or communally. I've lost my desire to really pray to God (though we pray at dinner and I lead bedtime prayers with my children), to study the Bible, or go to church. I still love God, but I don't feel connected. I feel lost. I feel I've gone off the rails and I want nothing more than to get back on them.

I imagine that a Quaker perspective might be different. The rails could be a confinement, the rails themselves can be a barrier to God. I can see why others might think this way, but I think its a personal thing. I think some people want rails, they might actually *need* rails and I think God knows this, I think maybe he even created us this way. Perhaps Quakerism represents a point of spiritual evolution -- I used to really think that. Now I think its just a different approach. I could be wrong, maybe its simply that I'm not there yet. But God speaks to us all in different times and different places -- he comes to us where we are.

Maybe my problem is that I'm not incorporating where I am with finding God. I'm looking for churches but I feel barriers because of my family (I have very young children, so some of those barriers have to do with non-spiritual reasons, like childcare). I enjoy Bible study but I find I don't have the time to do homework and I don't think God wants me screaming at my kids to quiet down so I can study the Bible, nor do I think he wants me to approach it with a weary heart and a tired mind, resenting it. I wonder if God has something else in mind for me right now.

But I still feel off the rails. I think it could be that I'm going through an intense period of questioning that followed several years of contentment. I fervently hope that my spiritual difficulties are growing pains. Perhaps I am being refined by fire. Or perhaps I am turning my insecurities into arrogance. At the very least, I think I'm growing in patience.

Perhaps my vessel is empty. Maybe I am mourning the loss of what was in it and haven't yet realized that what I've lost is less than what I've gained. Thats my attempt at a tie-in to the current topic.

The woman and the broken vessel

[97]. Jesus says: "The Kingdom of the Father is like a woman who takes a vessel of flour and sets out on a long road. The handle of the vessel broke: the flour spilled out on the road behind her without her knowing it and stopping it. When she arrived at the house she put the vessel down and found it was empty."

Parables are so wonderfully rich – different meanings arise from the parable for each person who reads them, and can change over time based on our circumstance and present awareness. I had read this parable in the past, and simply thought it was about finding oneself broken and empty as we journey the spiritual path, but now I find new meaning.

This parable suggests to me that the kingdom of heaven is an unexpected thing, and that it is nothing to do with what we are able to carry, but rather, what we are able to lose. Some of us live our lives accidentally, unaware of what we leave behind on the path. However, it may be that in loosing what we have, in becoming empty of what we carry that we enter this kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is an awareness of the presence of God within us. It is in this void, in the emptiness that a state of grace can be felt.

When the parable ends, there are so many unanswered questions. For example, I wonder about the significance of the broken handle – it was not a crack in the bottom of the vessel that leaked the meal, but rather the handle – the very part of the vessel in the woman’s hand. Surely the weight of the vessel became lighter as she walked; yet the woman did not even notice this. Why is it meal or flour, her humble food that is lost, and not her wealth or knowledge or her self-concept? How did the woman feel about this loss? In Blatz’s translations this loss is alluded to, “…she had not noticed the misfortune,” but this evaluation is not mentioned in all of the translations. I wonder what is the woman’s reaction when she finds her jar broken and empty? It is suggested that this empty vessel connotes recognizing that one's life is meaningless, broken, and without true substance. However, becoming empty and finding oneself in the kingdom of heaven could also be akin to feeling complete freedom from the burdens you carry.

Saying 50 and 59

Saying 50: Jesus said: If they say to you: Whence have you come?, tell them: We have come from the light, the place where the light came into being through itself alone. It [stood], and it re- vealed itself in their image. If they say to you: Who are you?, say: We are his sons, and we are the elect of the living Father. If they ask you: What is the sign of your Father in you?, tell them: It is a movement and a rest.

In Leloup’s translation, the commentary shares a passage from the Upanishad’s, “The light which shines from beyond the sky, beyond the highest of the highest worlds, beyond everything that is, is in truth the same light that shines inside human beingness.” I like this a lot. These complimentary passages remind me to look for that of God in all people.

Saying 59: Jesus said: Look upon the living One so long
as you live, that you may not die and seek to see him, and be unable to see.

A good reminder to live in the moment, to appreciate and savor this life. A reminder that I have been given this life in which to run after God, and not to waste that time I’ve been given. Again, this reminded me of something I’ve read, a poem. If you will forebear it, I’d like to share it here. It’s written by Kabir.

Friend, hope for the truth
while you are alive.
Jump into experience
while you are alive!
Think ... and think...
while you are alive.

If you don't break your ropes
while you are alive,
do you think
ghosts will do it after?

The idea that the soul
will join with the ecstatic
just because the body is rotten
-that is all fantasy.

What is found now is found then.
If you find nothing now,
you will simply end up with
an empty apartment in the City of Death.

If you make love with the divine now,
in the next life you will have
the face of satisfied desire.

Logion 3 / Luke 17:2-20-21

Let's look to the parallels.

There are two versions of Thomas here. The Coptic (from Nag Hammadi) and the Greek (a fragment called the Oxyrhynchus text).

Jesus said: If those who lead you say to you: See, the kingdom is in heaven, then the birds of the heaven will go before you; if they say to you: It is in the sea, then the fish will go before you. But the kingdom is within you, and it is outside of you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will know that you are the sons of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you are in poverty, and you are poverty.

Nag Hammadi

Je[sus] says: ["If those] who seek to attract you [say to you: 'See,] the Kingdom [is] in hea[ven, then] the birds of hea[ven will be there before you. If they say: 'It] is under the earth!' [then] the fishes of the sea [will be there be]fore you. And the Kingd[om of heaven] is within you! [He who? . . .] knows this will find [. . .] [When] you know yourselves, [then you will know that] it is you who are [the sons] of the [living] Father. [But if you do not] know yourselves, then [. . .] and it is you the poverty!"

Oxyrhynchus

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you." (note: The AV1611 (King Jimmy) and the NIV both read the kingdom of God is within you.

Luke 17:20-21

Firstly, where do our sources agree?

Each contrasts the expectations/teachings of leadership which looks for a distant kingdom to be preceded by signs with another teaching, attributed to Jesus, that situates the kingdom very close and present and within/among.

I read this as witnessing to the kingdom as a present reality. This piece is anti-apocalyptic. Jesus' return on the clouds as a conquering messiah -- the whole book of Revelation schtick is basically denied. The kingdom manifests itself in human relationships.

The question isn't -- when will Jesus return to set up his kingdom? The question is -- do your everyday relationships with people reflect the reign of Christ? Are you already living the kingdom into this world?

My answer? Not nearly enough.

Saying #3 / C

Saying #3 - Jesus said, "[If] those who lead you [say to you, 'See], the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky [will precede you. If they say that] it is under the earth, then the fish of the sea [will enter it, preceding] you. And, the [kingdom of God] is inside of you, [and it is outside of you. Whoever] knows [himself] will discover this. [And when you] come to know yourselves, [you will realize that] you are [sons] of the [living] father. [But if you] will [not] know yourselves, [you dwell] in [poverty] and it is you who are that poverty." - HW Attridge - Oxyrhynchus

***

There are a couple of interesting points in this saying --

Knowledge .... the gospel of Thomas advocates salvation through the aquisition and understanding of secret knowledge, as opposed to the canonical gospels which put emphasis on faith and good works. This third saying tells us that if we come to know ourselves (hat tip to Socrates), we will then find the kingdom of heaven/God.

The Kingdom ... the kingdom of heaven/God is not, according to this gospel, a physical place or an event that will happen in the future. It is here, it is now, it is inside us - it is an epiphany that becomes a state of mind. I've read that gnosticism and Buddhism share some concepts - one of these may be this idea of enlightenment. In zen Buddhism, one term for this is kensho ... an awakening experience of one's true or Buddha nature. In the gospel of Thomas, the realization is that we're children of God.

In the canonical gospels, the concept of the kingdom of heaven/God is usually expressed in parables. My favorite one is Matthew 20:1-16 ... a landowner goes out at different times during the day and hires men to work in his vineyard. At the end of the day, all the workers are paid the same amount of money, despite the fact that some had worked much longer hours than others. As opposed to the kingdom in the gospel of Thomas, this kingdom isn't earned.

I can't say I understand exactly what is meant in either the gnostic or the canonical examples of the kingdom of heaven/God, but I do have a thought about the difference they hold for me. I've had few epiphanies in life and if my salvation were to depend on my understanding of secret knowledge, well, as a gnostic, I'd probably be out of luck. But fortunately, the attainment of the kingdom of heaven/God as portrayed in the canonical gospels does not have to be deserved... it is a gift of love.

Sayings About God

God: 3, 50, 59, 61, 83, 96, 97, 111

(The word God does not appear in this
selection, and only twice in the entire book..
The most common name used here is living
One and living Father.)

(We may have already considered some of these in
another context. I have inserted some of the
partial parallels) that Leloup has put in his
Gospel of Thomas.)

(3) Jesus said: If those who lead you say unto
you: Behold, the Kingdom is in heaven, then the
birds of the heaven will be before you. If they
say unto you: It is in the sea, then the fish will
be before you. But the Kingdom is within you, and
it is outside of you. When you know yourselves,
then shall you be known, and you shall know that
you are the sons of the living Father. But if ye
do not know yourselves, then you are in poverty,
and you are poverty. (cf Luke 17:21)

(50) Jesus said: If they say to you: Whence have
you come?, tell them: We have come from the light,
the place where the light came into being through
itself alone. It [stood], and it re- vealed itself
in their image. If they say to you: Who are you?,
say: We are his sons, and we are the elect of the
living Father. If they ask you: What is the sign
of your Father in you?, tell them: It is a
movement and a rest. (cf John 8:14-16)

(59) Jesus said: Look upon the living One so long
as you live, that you may not die and seek to see
him, and be unable to see.(cf John 6:50)

61 Jesus said: Two shall rest upon a bed; one
shall die, the other live. Salome said: Who art
thou; O man? And whose son? Thou hast mounted my
bed, and eaten from my table. Jesus said to her I
am he who is from that which is equal; to me was
given of the things of my Father. Salome
(cf Colossians 1:15)

(96) Jesus [said]: The kingdom of the Father is
like a woman who took a little leaven and [hid] it
in meal; she made large loaves of it. He that hath
ears, let him hear.(Luke 13:20-21)

(97) Jesus said: The kingdom of the [Father] is
like a woman; carrying a jar full of meal and
walking a long way. The handle the jar broke; the
meal poured out behind her on the road. She was
unaware, she knew not her loss. When she came into
her house, she put down the jar (and) found it
empty.

111 Jesus said: The heavens shall be rolled up and
the earth before your face, and he who lives in
the living One shall neither see death nor (fear);
because Jesus says: He who shall find himself, of
him the world is not worthy. (cf Rev. 6:14)

Saying 25 L

(25) Jesus said: Love thy brother as thy
soul; keep him as the apple of thine eye.

This one concerns me; it's the only mention of love that I've come across. I put it in juxtaposition with the Synoptics (and many epistles) statement about loving your neighbor as yourself--a close parallel, except that there's a difference in the connotations of neighbor and brother. I have to wonder: was he a tribalist? I don't get the universal flavor that I look for throughout the Bible.

harlots of the paradox (105)

(105) Jesus said: He who shall know father and mother shall be called the son of a harlot

We are asked to choose between familial obligations and the gospel. And yet we are not called harlot's for returning to father and mother -- we are called sons of harlots. Idolatry was often referred to as whoring -- yet our faithlessness is seen as the product of harlotry and not the harlotry itself.

This is a saying that subverts my attempts to reason it out logically. Like a kōan. Maybe I need to worry at it live with it a while let something flowing under the reasoner unpack it for me.

To know. To gnaw on. To be intimate with.
If we do not separate from out families -- then our families are to blame. We become the children of harlot's just as those who know God are the children of God. We share a substance. We have allegiances. Ties that bind. Obediences. We bear a family resemblance to the one who bore us.

And maybe Jesus is just having fun with us. Turning our expectations on their heads. Its those whose parentage is unknown whose parentage is questionable. But no -- the first become last and the last first. And it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom.

And somehow -- as well -- Margaret Fell. We are thieves. We are all thieves. We have taken the words of scriptures but know nothing of them in ourselves.

We locate the authority for our deeds outside of ourselves. I locate the authority for my deeds outside of myself.

Saying #55 / C

(55) - Jesus said: He who shall not hate his father and his mother cannot be my disciple, and (he who does not) hate his brethren and his sisters and take up his cross like me shall not be worthy of me.

***

This saying is very much like Matthew 10:37-38 - Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

I've chosen this saying as the Marrhew version is also dealt with in the 26th week of the Ignatian Online Retreat I once took. It seems to me there are two parts of the saying to address - (1) the relationship issues of loving family vs loving God, and (2) the idea of taking up one's cross.

Relationships
- at the time and place of Jesus' words, family relationships were incredibly important to an individul's identity and social standing. His advice to hate one's family would have been offensive to most who heard it, but for Jesus, family ties were less significant than ties to God.

When taking the retreat, the message of this 26th week really disturbed me ... it seemed to ask me to abandon my family. And it seemed to ask me to quantify love. I'm not sure I even know what love is - if asked to rate my relationships in terms of how much I loved each person, well, I'd be in trouble. But perhaps being a disciple doesn't involve so much a contest to see who you love the most, but more a realization that committment, loyalty, responcibility, love, are defining issues in discipleship.

The Cross
- I'm not sure what it means exactly to take up one's cross but it sounds lethal! :-) When taking the retreat, I was struck by two thoughts ... I was too cowardly to want to take up my cross and, I was a bit angry with Jesus for asking me to do so. How could he ask those he loved to put themselves in danger?

Then I thought about what taking up the cross might have meant to Jesus at the time he spoke these words ... he'd been preaching a message that was bound to get him killed. He knew this and he had a few close calls where he was almost arrested but managed to slip away. Yet he didn't stop, didn't go into hiding, didn't change his message. To be true to himself, he had no other choice but to continue doing the thing that would likely send him to the cross. I don't think he chose to die, chose the cross, for its own sake. The cross was an inevitable consequence of the way he led his life. Perhaps the exhortation to take up our crosses is an exhortation to live life with the courage of our convictions ... even to the death.

***

Saying #55 is a very challenging one for me ... it asks me to re-orient my relationships and to be vulnerably true to my ideals. I'd like to take the romantic/heroic stance and say I aspire to the challenge, but I'll be honest instead ... to be asked to put aside familiar loves and to take a dangerous route to the kingdom of God is probably beyond my discipleship abilities.

The Family

 

Some of these are zen-like: 55 and 101 might
best be taken together; 99 is almost
identical with Luke 14:26 .

I'm especially interested in 25.

(25) Jesus said: Love thy brother as thy
soul; keep him as the apple of thine eye.

(55) Jesus said: He who shall not hate his
father and his mother cannot be my disciple,
and (he who does not) hate his brethren and
his sisters and take up his cross like me
shall not be worthy of me.

(99) The disciples said to him: Thy brethren
and thy mother are standing outside. He said
to them: Those here who do the will of my
Father, these are my brethren and my mother;
these are they who shall enter into the
kingdom of my Father.

(101) Jesus said He who shall not hate his
father and mother like me cannot be my
[disciple], and he who shall [not] love [his
father] and his mother like me cannot be my
[disciple]; for my mother [. ..] but my true
[mother] gave me life.

(105) Jesus said: He who shall know father
and mother shall be called the son of a
harlot.

The World

I understand these sayings (or at least i think I do) better than the last set. They present an ascetic Jesus -- whereas the Jesus of the gospels complains about being labeled a drunker and a consorter with prostitutes. Thomas' Jesus -- in these sayings -- almost sounds more like John the Baptist.

27 Jesus said: If you fast not from the world, you will not find the kingdom; if you keep not the Sabbath as Sabbath, you will not see the Father.

This one seems to me an interesting saying in a couple of ways. First it seems to be promoting a fairly mainstream sort of spirituality. Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8). Keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world (James 1:27).

George Fox in one of his tracts encouraged what he called the "true fast". Fasting from wickedness and doing the right thing. He followed Isaiah in this:

Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

Isaiah 58:3-6

But the metaphor of fasting leads us to look at this as a living spiritual practice and not just a ritual done in response to authority. Fasting from the world becomes fasting from television or buying stuff or internet use or gossipy small talk at the office. It encourages us to see the Sabbath injunction in a similarly metaphorical and expansive way.

Sabbath keeping is to declare to the world there is something more important than the great hampster wheel of death -- working - earning - spending. Worship then, is a political act -- not by preaching a particular political agenda -- but by drawing a line in the sand and saying to the world and all its demands -- this far and no further. There are matters that matter -- with an infinite importance. And World: you ain't it.

How well am I at living this? After church we rush home to cram a laundry and a grocery shop into our Sunday afternoon. And I haven't been to a Quaker meeting for worship in much longer than I care to admit.