Gospel of Thomas Commentary: Prologue, Sayings 1 & 2 -- Some Thoughts

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James, Sant Mat Fellowship:

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Gospel of Thomas Commentary: Prologue, Sayings 1 & 2 -- Some Thoughts

 

For a complete translation of the Gospel of Thomas, along with

background/history of this ancient text, see: THE GOSPEL OF

THOMAS HOME PAGE: http://home.epix.net/~miser17/Thomas.html

 

(Note: The term " Living One " or " Living Ones " in Thomas Christianity

 

and Manichaean Gnosticism can refer to God, Jesus, as well as various

 

Saints and Masters who have become " Living Ones. " )

 

These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and

Didymos Judas Thomas recorded. (Prologue)

 

Some translations render it " hidden " instead of " secret " sayings.

This collection of wisdom sayings is about discovering the " hidden

things, " the spiritual realities that are not visible to one's

physical eyes or audible to one's ordinary means of hearing, but

can become known to one with spiritual eyes and ears. The theme of

hidden things becoming revealed is found in many sayings in this

early Christian scripture. The Kingdom of the Father is not material

 

and is therefore invisible to the naked eye. It is not going to come

 

to us; we must go to IT! In Thomas, the Kingdom of God is not ever a

 

political reality or something that's going to drop down from the sky

 

according to some prophecy. Rather, the real Kingdom of the Father

is in a spiritual dimension, and by following these sayings by a

Living One, we can realize this hidden reality for ourselves, right

now during this present life. " Contemplate the Living One as long as

 

you live, lest you die and then seek to see Him, and you will be

unable to see. " (59)

 

" God fills the three worlds. " (Sikh scriptures) God is everywhere and

 

His Kingdom is everywhere, even spread out upon the earth (113), and

 

yet it's not made of material that eyes of flesh can see, but the

Gospel of Thomas proclaims that indeed human beings CAN SEE IT.

 

Living Teachers With Living Students Now -- Living Gnosis Now

 

The Apostle Thomas and James are also described in this document as

worthy spiritual leaders. (12, 13) Of course, Jesus, Thomas and James

 

the Just are no longer physically present in the world, are no longer

 

living in Israel teaching a circle of disciples, but Living Ones are

 

among us and are communicating the same teachings to their disciples

 

in this age. Every generation has had its Living Apostles, Prophets,

 

Saints and Masters.

 

What is the " gospel " of Thomas? Saying 17 provides a clue about the

Thomas approach to spiritual practice that leads to finding the

hidden Kingdom of Heaven. The Master said: " I will give you what no

eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, and

what has never occurred to the human mind. " (17) What were the

spiritual practices of Eastern Thomas or Syriac Christianity that

could lead to a new kind of seeing, hearing, and touching beyond mind

 

and matter? That's not written down in Thomas. Traditionally in

contemplative traditions, east and west, such Knowledge is

communicated privately and directly from Master to disciple, and

one's hope of receiving this kind of Knowledge is very much linked to

 

having a living teacher who is communicating the same type of

spiritual seeing and hearing in the year 2001! When one has the right

 

kind of living teacher who knows God and experiences the hidden

things, then one is able to receive these Gifts of spiritual seeing

and hearing, to touch that which is not material, to go beyond the

world of mind and matter. These experiences are Gifts from one's

teacher -- a Living One who is sharing the same kind of wisdom now.

 

If it was necessary for Jesus, James and Thomas to help and guide people

by serving as living teachers during their day -- old scriptures or textbooks

of the past weren't good enough to enlighten students who

otherwise would have been left to fend for themselves, then we still

 

need living teachers today. Nothing's changed: human nature, the laws

 

of physics, the need for spiritual direction and guidance -- nothing

 

has changed. The same need for living teachers that existed back then

 

is still with us now during this age.

 

And he said, " Whoever discovers the interpretation of these

sayings will not taste death. " (1)

 

The body always dies of course, but the soul can experience eternal

life according to an early Christian definition of " life, " which

pertains to merging into God by actualizing His Light and His

Word/Voice. We will become Living Ones by living from the Living

One. " Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself

shall become that person and the hidden things will be revealed to

him. " (108)

 

I was united to Him, because the lover has found the Beloved One,

Because I love the Son, I shall become a son;

For he who is joined to him that does not die,

He too will become immortal,

And he who takes pleasure in life

Will become a living one. (from Ode 3, Odes of Solomon)

 

Jesus said, " Those who seek should not stop seeking until they

find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are

disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after

they have reigned they will rest.] " (2)

 

I believe that Jesus in saying two of the Gospel of Thomas was

describing the steps and stages of the spiritual journey: (1)

seeking, (2) finding, (3) being troubled,(4) being astonished or

caught up in wonder, (5) ruling over the All, and finally, (6)

entering into Rest. We seek and continue seeking out the truth; the

true seeker never gives up this quest. Kabir describes the spiritual

 

journey as only for those who are brave of heart!

 

Upon finding the path, we put it into practice; we live our truth.

This may be troubling at first. The caterpillar becomes the butterfly

 

through a troubling process -- the death of the old, the beginning of

 

the new. But night gives way to dawn....and ASTONISHMENT!

 

Prayer turns into astonishment and wonder at the appearance of the

Light of the Godhead, for all the chambers of the heart become filled

 

with Light. The soul knows itself as a Light inhabiting a Kingdom of

 

Light. There is Light within a person of Light and it illuminates the

 

cosmos. " When the Father, who alone is good, visits the heart, he

makes it holy and fills it with Light. And so a person who has such a

 

heart is called 'blessed,' for that person will see God. " (The Gospel

 

of Truth) In Syriac and Coptic mystical literature and other holy

texts from the Thomas tradition, the soul becomes " astonished " or

" caught up in wonder " when the Light of God starts to shine. This

vision of Divine Light takes place during one's time of contemplative

 

meditation practice, called by some mystics: " Pure Prayer. "

(see, " The Syriac Fathers On Prayer and the Spiritual Life, " Brock,

Cistercian Publications)

 

Ruling over the All may very well have to do with the soul's

ascension through the heavens, traveling far beyond the material

universe, a process that requires that one gains mastery over one's

subtle bodies. These subtle bodies (called by

some: " astral, " " causal, " " mental, " and " etheric, " ) surround the soul

 

and are also connected with various heavenly realms (the First

Heaven, the Second Heaven, the Third Heaven, etc.). Knowing thyself,

 

gaining mastery over oneself and mystically ascending through the

heavens during contemplation, could indeed be described as " ruling

over the All. "

 

The soul is higher than the stars; it's part of God according to the

 

mystics, and they describe the soul as " particles of Light, "

musical " notes " in the Music of the Spheres, or " drops " from the

Divine Ocean. The particles of Light will return to their Source. We

 

are from the Light and we will return there again. We are all notes

in the Divine Symphony bound for the land of Eternal Music. We are

drops from the Ocean of Love soon to make our journey back Home.

 

Entering into Rest is the final destination of the soul. " Rest " is

sometimes used in the Coptic gospels as a name for the highest

heaven. It's a state of permanence and heavenly tranquility -- the

eternal Sabbath Rest of God.

 

In the Light & Sound of Gnosis,

 

James

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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