Jesus said, "Do not fret, from morning to evening and from evening to morning, [about your food--what you're going to eat, or about your clothing--] what you are going to wear. [You're much better than the lilies, which neither card nor spin. As for you, when you have no garment, what will you put on? Who might add to your stature? That very one will give you your garment.]" (36 Thomas)

Do not fret. Do not worry. Do not be anxious. Do not expect the worst.

Nothing good comes from such foolish indulgence. No amount of worry will change the past. Our expectations - good or bad - can be self-fulfilling.

Do not worry. Accept your vulnerability. We each abide on the cusp of chaos.

Consider the lilies: frost, wind, drought, and more threaten. Yet we thrill to their beauty and their perennial resilience. Do not worry.

Pay attention. Give thanks. Grow. Create. Love. But do not fret.

The synoptic parallels are Luke 12:22-34 and Matthew 6:25-34.

Jesus said, "One can't enter a strong person's house and take it by force without tying his hands. Then one can loot his house. (35 Thomas)

With whom are we to identify, the householder or the looter? On the face of it this saying would seem to be an instruction to looting.

If so, what is the spiritual analogy?

Perhaps, we are both householder and looter. I am both proud and humble, angry and loving, sinner and saintly. Pride, anger, and sin often seem the stronger.

I seek to reclaim myself.

To be successful I must restrain the strength that will resist my efforts. Pride, anger, and so much more must be tied down, at least long enough for gathering up the self God intended.

The synoptic parallels are Mark 3:27, Matthew 12:29, and Luke 11:21. Above is Thomas the Apostle by Valazquez.

Jesus said, "If a blind person leads a blind person, both of them will fall into a hole." (34 Thomas)

I do not always know what I know. This is why a teacher or mentor can be helpful.

I can sometimes be aware of what I do not know. This is when I may choose to learn more.

But too often I do not know what I don't know. I may even mistake a new problem - of which I know very little - as an old problem that I am confident of solving.

The physically blind seldom deny their condition. But the metaphorically blind are often certain of their keen sight.

Humility is a practical virtue. It is a paradoxical strength. Humility questions rather than proclaims, listens more and talks less. And in doing so is more likely to perceive the hole.

Synoptic parallels are Luke 6:39 and Matthew 15:11-14.

Jesus said, "Preach from your housetops that which you will hear in your ear and in the other ear. For no one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel, nor does he put it in a hidden place, but rather he sets it on a lampstand so that everyone who enters and leaves will see its light." (33 Thomas)

In Matthew 5:15 we read, "Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house." Similar sayings are found in the gospels of Mark and Luke.

The first phrase above is less familiar. But later in Matthew we also read, "What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops." (10:27)

The consistent message is to look for the light and to listen for the word of God. For some this is the light of reason, the voice of conscience, and the insight of spiritual intuition.

We are also told, "You are the light of the world... Let your light so shine before men that they see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5: 14 and 16)

What do you hear? What do you see? What is your understanding? Does this understanding arise from self-assertion or self-sacrifice? Do you seek to impress or serve? Seek the true light and share it.

Jesus said, "A city being built on a high mountain and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden." (32 Thomas)

Which is better to be fortified or hidden?

If my priority is simply security, I should almost certainly choose to be hidden. For a few contemplatives or a small group of bandits a hiding place will provide a helpful escape.

But if we seek to share our faith or spend our wealth to be in hiding is counterproductive.

If my priority is to attract, enjoy, influence and be influenced by others then I must come out of hiding. If I choose to be in and among the world I will be attacked. I will attract and often express envy, anger, and evil.

I can choose the high ground and I can fortify myself. Such strong-places are more often betrayed than forced. So, I may not fall. But I will be attacked. I will from time to time be under siege.

In Matthew's gospel Jesus tells us, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid." (Matthew 5:14) We are to choose the vulnerabilities and opportunities of the high places.

According to the Gospel of John after the crucifixion the disciples were gathered in hiding, "for fear of the Jews", when Jesus appeared to them. Eight days later, still fearfully hidden, "Jesus came and stood among them" and this is when Thomas encountered the risen Christ. Above is a rendering of that scene. The background may suggest a path from the hiding place to a fortified hill.

Jesus said, "No prophet is welcome on his home turf; doctors don't cure those who know them." (31 Thomas)

Familiarity breeds contempt. Too often we do not recognize and refuse to accept the strengths of those we know best. Even as we dwell on their weaknesses.

The strengths are no different whether at home or abroad. But perception is too often confused for reality. Too often our perception is complicated by self-regard.

In this self-centered perceiving we can be trapped in illusion. The prophecy is not heard. The healing is not received. Jesus warns us to radical realism, whatever the source.

The saying quoted by Thomas is clearly related to very similar words in Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John.

Jesus said, "Where there are three deities, they are divine. Where there are two or one, I am with that one." (30 Thomas)

We feel familiar with the second phrase. It echoes Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am among them."

Is the first phrase an early reference to the trinity? Is it a reference to the elohim? Scholars mostly agree with John Crossan who writes, "Put mildly, that is not very clear."

Could the first phrase refer to human potential? In Matthew 18:19 we read, "if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven."

If any three of us would truly and fully agree, truly and fully believe, truly and fully work to achieve a common goal, might it not seem to be a divine intervention?

In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell argues that any change depends on the Law of the Few. A few focused and committed individuals are "how little things can make a big difference."

Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels. Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty." (29 Thomas)

The antinomies of spirit and flesh, mind and body, ideal and material have their origin in Greek understandings that are in tension with Jewish tradition and the Jesus we know in the canonical gospels.

Here the Gospel of Thomas betrays its Greek predisposition, but also embraces the "marvel of marvels" that spirit exists to serve the body. God created both spirit and flesh and each are very good.

Spirit and flesh each require attention and care. Neglect of either diminishes the other. Both are great gifts. When used together each is strengthened. When carefully and thoughtfully calibrated one may even be mistaken for the other.

Above is Thomas and the Risen Christ by Peter Paul Reubens. So often Thomas is critiqued for insisting on his need to encounter the physical Jesus. But his confidence that body and spirit would not be separated can also be understood as profound insight.

Jesus said, "I took my stand in the midst of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk, and I did not find any of them thirsty. My soul ached for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they also seek to depart from the world empty. But meanwhile they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, then they will change their ways." (28 Thomas)

When we are drunk our senses are dulled. We are slow to react. If we are sufficiently drunk we see and hear illusions.

Even when I am much less than drunk a glass of wine will encourage my preexisting tendencies. If I begin feeling sad, I will be in grief at the last sip. If I am happy when the wine is poured, I will be joyful at the last sip. But whatever the feeling, it is self-amplifying. Wine may help me open myself to others, but it does not improve my ability to hear and understand others. It almost always diminishes my full engagement of others.

Jesus is radically real. Rather than self-amplifying, Jesus is self-sacrificing. We are not ready to encounter reality until our self is ready to recognize its origins.

"If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the kingdom. If you do not observe the sabbath as a sabbath you will not see the Father." (27 Thomas)

Every seventh day comes the sabbath, set aside for rest, thankfulness, and renewal.

We are encouraged periodically to fast, to put aside our constant consuming.

The emphasis is not on the ritual of fasting or sabbath. We are to observe the sabbath as sabbath. We are to sabbathize the sabbath in the words of one scholar. We are not just to forsake food, we are to fast from the world.

God often comes to us. From time to time, we are to go to God, in God's place, in God's way.

Rather than consume we are invited to join with God in co-creation.

Jesus said, "You see the sliver in your friend's eye, but you don't see the timber in your own eye. When you take the timber out of your own eye, then you will see well enough to remove the sliver from your friend's eye."(26 Thomas)

Self-critique and even a small bit of self-awareness leads naturally to a tolerance - and even an appreciation - for the faults of others.

Given my own failures, how can I get too excited regarding the struggles of others? Whether sliver or timber there seems to be plenty of wood, dust, and more flying about.

Today is the first full day of Passover. During these days observant Jews will avoid all contact with anything yeasty, recalling a quick escape from Egypt.

Ridding one's life of chametz has become a spiritual analogy for removing anything that puffs up the soul or ego. These are days to recognize we are flawed and foolish.

These are also days to recall we are - in the very midst of failure - loved, cherished, and offered abundant life.

Saying 26 is very similar to Matthew 7:3-5 and Luke 6:41-42. Above is Thomas encountering the risen Christ by Caravaggio.

Jesus said, "Love your friends like your own soul, protect them like the pupil of your eye." (25 Thomas)

Thomas is written in Coptic. Probing Coptic for deeper meaning is beyond my capability. It is ancient Egyptian street language rendered with ancient Greek letters.

I am reminded of my time in Japan. I could say and hear several Japanese words. If I heard "jiyugaoka" I recognized it as a place in Tokyo. If I had seen the kanji - 自由が丘 - I would not have had any idea. Only later did I learn that jiyugaoka meant Freedom Hill. But much later I learned this had once been a center of prostitution and was better understood as Licentious Hill.

There is disagreement regarding the Coptic in saying 25. It is disputed as to whether we are to love our friends or our brothers or our neighbors.

Probably all three. And more to the point is the practical expression of this love. We are to actively defend and care for friends, brothers, and neighbors.

So often I seek to limit God's expanse. Too often I try to define God's infinity. If I seek to love God, who can I not love?

His disciples said, "Show us the place where you are, for we must seek it." He said to them, "Anyone here with two ears had better listen! There is light within a person of light, and it shines on the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark." (24 Thomas)

This light is where the spirit of God abides. Here is the place of Jesus.

In Mark's gospel Jesus explained, "the kingdom of God is within you." (Mark 17:20-21)

In John's gospel Jesus explained, "I am the light of the world." (John 8:12)

In John's gospel we also read, "What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." (John 1:1-5)

That each of us are as shards of this original light is an understanding common to many ancient traditions. For the Christian our journey of self-discovery is assisted by the example of Jesus. A moonbeam's light is of a different sort than the August sun, which is distinguished from the light sparkling on a wintry day. We seek the light that we share with Jesus.

Jesus said, "I shall choose you, one from a thousand and two from ten thousand, and they will stand as a single one." (23 Thomas)

It is not just with God that we share an identity, it is also with one another.

We are created of the same stuff and in the image of the same God. We share in common the one God's impulse and intent.

Each of us are unique expressions of God. From both nature and nurture we develop particular strengths and preferences.

But our differences should not obscure what we share. Pick one from a thousand and two from ten thousand and still - with time and talk - we will find much in common.

We are chosen to love God and our neighbor as ourselves. This is to recognize that God, our neighbor, and each of us are as one.

Above is an icon of St. Jude Thaddeus who many understand to be another name for Judas Thomas, two as one.

Jesus saw some babies nursing. He said to his disciples, "These nursing babies are like those who enter the kingdom." They said to him, "Then shall we enter the kingdom as babies?" Jesus said to them, "When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]." (23 Thomas)

When we have been reborn and are new and fresh in every way, then we will enter the reign of God.

When everything we know has been overturned and everything we have been is turned inside out and upside down, then we will enter the reign of God.

When every division and category by which we define ourselves and others has been overcome and put aside, then we will enter the reign of God.

When we return to our primordial relationship with God and our separateness is restored to oneness, then we will enter the reign of God.

When we - as a suckling child - simply accept the love and nourishing care of God, then we will enter the reign of God.

Mary said to Jesus, "What are your disciples like?" He said, They are like little children living in a field that is not theirs. when the owners of the field come, they will say, "Give us back our field." They take off their clothes in front of them in order to give it back to them, and they return their field to them. For this reason I say, if the owners of a house know that a thief is coming, they will be on guard before the thief arrives and will not let the thief break into their house (their domain) and steal their possessions. As for you, then, be on guard against the world. Prepare yourselves with great strength, so the robbers can't find a way to get to you, for the trouble you expect will come. Let there be among you a person who understands. When the crop ripened, he came quickly carrying a sickle and harvested it. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen! (21 Thomas)

The disciples are like little children. In the synoptics Jesus tells us we must become as little children to enter into God's reign (see Matthew 18:3). In the verse above the disciples have already achieved this blessed condition.

From the synoptics and Isaiah we can understand that the field's owner is God (see Matthew 21:33-41). In the better known versions, the tenants resist the owner's claim. But in Thomas the children not only return the field, they do so with an attitude of complete innocence and vulnerability.

In the synoptics the reign of God is like a thief in the night (see Matthew 24:35-44). As in Thomas we are urged to keep watch and be ready. But above God's reign seems to have been replaced by the world. When the world seeks to take us we should be ready to resist.

The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us what Heaven's kingdom is like." He said to them, It's like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, but when it falls on prepared soil, it produces a large plant and becomes a shelter for birds of the sky. (20Thomas)

The reign of God is less a place and more a process. Rather than a city, a garden, or some similar destination, heaven is a state of becoming.

The reign of God is remarkable for its miniscule beginning. Yet the tiny seed can grow quickly and in one season become a considerable bush.

A state of becoming what? Explicitly, a place of shelter for the vulnerable. Implicitly, a source of many more sharp and spicy seeds.

The synoptic parallels are Mark 4:30-32 and Matthew 13:31-42.

Above is the cross of St. Thomas or sometimes called the Persian Cross.

Jesus said, "Congratulations to the one who came into being before coming into being. If you become my disciples and pay attention to my sayings, these stones will serve you. For there are five trees in Paradise for you; they do not change, summer or winter, and their leaves do not fall. Whoever knows them will not taste death." (19 Thomas)

Our daily reality consists of ongoing change. Random change. Purposeful change. Change for which we have worked and prayed and change we have resisted and regret.

Each of us change. We age. We learn. Physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual change is nearly constant. All is in motion and in flux. This is what we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.

Yet we also perceive - and often prefer - a sense of continuity. Despite our regular experience of change, it is as if we once encountered the changeless and can not quite give it up.

The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us, how will our end come?" Jesus said, "Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is. Congratulations to the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death." (18 Thomas)

What should we seek beginning or end? Origin or destiny?

The Jesus of Thomas clearly counsels giving greater attention to the beginning.

If we can find our original purposes and live out those purposes, then we need not be concerned with our ending.

I perceive we originate in God. I seek reconciliation with God.

I seek to close the circle rather than extend the line.

Jesus said, "I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart." (17 Thomas)

We have been given something beyond our wanting, beyond our imagination.

The gift has arrived. It is covered in elaborate historical, cultural, ecclesiastical and theological wrapping.

Some may find the wrapping overdone and even bizarre. But it is, after all, just wrapping.

My grandmother always treated the paper, ribbon and bows with delicate care. Most of the grandkids, me included, would tear past the wrapping as quickly as possible.

But so often what Jesus has given us stays wrapped-up. The gift beyond imagination is left in its box and hidden at the back of the closet.

Above is a modern icon of Thomas the Apostle.

Jesus said, "Perhaps people think that I have come to cast peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire, sword, war. For there will be five in a house: there'll be three against two and two against three, father against son and son against father, and they will stand alone. (16 Thomas)

It is a difficut saying. There are, however, close parallels in all of the synoptic gospels, especially Luke 12.

The saying has certainly proven to be true. Sectarian and religious conflict divides the world. Those with Christian aspirations have wielded fire, sword, and war as much as others.

The synpotic gospels imply this is part of a process by which good and evil are separated. I wonder if it is a way good is tested and even refined.

Conflict - life threatening or not - tends to expose our fundamental character. In the heat of battle can we continue to empathize, extend mercy, even to love our enemy?

Surely we will often fail. But what if we could bring such values even to war? How might that help in winning ultimate peace.

Jesus said, "When you see one who was not born of woman, fall on your faces and worship. That one is your Father." (15 Thomas)

It is a curious phrase. Jesus was born of woman and yet is one with the Father. At least this is the orthodox understanding.

How might we recognize one not born of woman? Would the belly-button be missing? Is this the sign that should preoccupy us?

In the book of Job those born of woman are "few of days and full of trouble." (See Job 14) Perhaps it is just a turn-of-phrase for one who is immortal.

In any case, Jesus does not seem to be referring to himself. He is taking his place beside us and joining us in our days and troubles.

Jesus offers his example and his help to escape the trap described by Job and the dead-ends that we make for ourselves.

Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will bring sin upon yourselves, and if you pray, you will be condemned, and if you give to charity, you will harm your spirits. When you go into any region and walk about in the countryside, when people take you in, eat what they serve you and heal the sick among them. After all, what goes into your mouth will not defile you; rather, it's what comes out of your mouth that will defile you." (14 Thomas)

Religious rules can be treacherous. In this verse the fundamental disciplines of fasting, prayer, almsgiving, and diet are simply condemned.

In the gospels of Matthew and Mark the warning is more conditional. There Jesus cautions that pride can pervert the spiritual disciplines. (See Matthew 6)

In recent years I have become increasingly pious. These morning meditations have become the highpoint of many days.

When I travel I seek out shrines and worship services. I read religiously oriented books. I welcome spiritual discussion.

I come from a tradition that mistrusts piety - outward displays of devotion. But - so far - I perceive that this is a journey deeper into uncertainty rather than pride.

The more regular my study and thinking on God, the less sure I am of knowing any two connected things about God.

I am confident that God loves us. I am confident that God is the source of justice. But how God's love and justice interact is - so far -entirely beyond me.

There is an increasing sense that God is entirely beyond me. While I am drawn to God, I am conscious of being at a far edge where I can see very little that I recognize and I mostly feel a combination of thankfulness and humility.

I don't think the rules matter much. But they help begin my day. They bring me comfort. They focus my attention beyond myself.

Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to something and tell me what I am like." Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a just messenger." Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to him, "Teacher, my mouth is utterly unable to say what you are like." Jesus said, "I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended." And he took him, and withdrew, and spoke three sayings to him. When Thomas came back to his friends they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?" Thomas said to them, "If I tell you one of the sayings he spoke to me, you will pick up rocks and stone me, and fire will come from the rocks and devour you." (13 Thomas)

Like the eager student in the front row I know the right answer, Jesus is the Son of God redeemer of mankind.

But what does this "right answer" mean?

Too often I treat Jesus as a messenger. He has delivered an interesting policy and strategy report from headquarters. I think about what it might mean for my local plans.

Even more often I treat Jesus as a philosopher. In his words and examples I look for clues to how I might make better, wiser, more successful decisions.

Certainly I treat Jesus as a teacher. I am ready to learn how to better advance my goals and fulfill my needs.

Very seldom do I seriously consider that Jesus is my savior and the savior of the world. Very seldom will I even admit to being lost, much less needing to be saved.

I have a vague recollection of a comedy sketch: A very proper, entirely self-composed, Englishman is slowly sinking into quicksand. A young man comes by and offers a branch by which to pull the man to safety.

"Many thanks," says the man. "But really, I'm quite fine. Not a problem." And so he continues as he sinks lower and lower until we see nothing but the top of his black bowler.

It is hard to save one who will not recognize the danger. May I - may each of us - be sufficiently aware of our urgent need to reach out a hand to our savior.

It is interesting to compare this verse of Thomas to similar exchanges in Mark, Matthew, and Luke.

The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?" Jesus said to them, "No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."(12 Thomas)

For a number of years James was the leader of those who followed Jesus in Jerusalem. It was this James who sat in authority when Paul began his ministry to the Greek-speaking Gentiles.

James, like Jesus and all the apostles, was a Jew who understood Jesus as pointing toward a reform and renewal of the faith received from Abraham and Moses.

James was clearly cautious regarding the potential influence of Greek thought. It was a realistic, even prescient, concern.

The Gospel of John is suffused with Greek philosophical influence. In the late second and early third centuries many of those who moved Christianity into the intellectual mainstream of the Roman Empire did so by adapting and sometimes adopting Greek, especially Platonic, frameworks.

When I perceive a bias against the created world and a preference for an ideal world, or a disdain for the present, or separation of body and spirit I join James in being cautious. We were created for both heaven and earth, future and present, spirit and body.

Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. During the days when you ate what is dead, you made it come alive. When you are in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?"(11 Thomas)

The one becoming two is often perceived to be a reference to Plato's Symposium and Socrates' description of how the sexes and sexual attraction emerged.

What if, instead, we understood this as referring to our relationshp with God? We were one with God. We have been given a freedom separate from God. We have become as two.

With this freedom, what will we do? Do we seek to further separate ourselves or do we seek reconciliation? What is our choice?

Above is a Greek mosaic of Thomas the Apostle.

Jesus said, "I have cast fire upon the world, and look, I'm guarding it until it blazes." (10 Thomas)

Luke includes a similar - but crucially different - saying, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" (Luke 12: 49).

Forty years ago today Martin Luther King - a spark of divine fire - was assassinated in Memphis. But the fire was not extinguished.

King stood in a great line of fire-keepers, co-custodians of the fire Jesus cast. King received from Gandhi, Gandhi received from Tolstoy, Tolstoy received from William Lloyd Garrison, and so the cleansing flame had been passed from Jesus over many generations.

Each joined Jesus in guarding the fire and sharing it with others. Some of us benefit from the light and warmth of their effort, but do not - yet - join them in guarding and spreading the fire.

Dear God, if it be your will, allow me to receive the fire that Jesus cast. Help me to guard it. Show me where and how it might blaze.

Jesus said, Look, the sower went out, took a handful (of seeds), and scattered (them). Some fell on the road, and the birds came and gathered them. Others fell on rock, and they didn't take root in the soil and didn't produce heads of grain. Others fell on thorns, and they choked the seeds and worms ate them. And others fell on good soil, and it produced a good crop: it yielded sixty per measure and one hundred twenty per measure. (9 Thomas)

This is one of the most familiar of the parables. Very similar versions are offered in Mark, Matthew and Luke.

The seed is scattered far and wide. The same potential exists with every seed. The potential is amazing.

But a great deal depends on context and readiness. Are we surrounded by thorns? By rocks? Or are we receptive, moist, and fertile?

I have always appreciated the role of the birds. Especially if the seeds lay exposed on rocks or the path, birds are likely to eat them.

In some cases - after the seed has been eaten and the bird has flown far away - the seed may still find its way to fertile soil and achieve its potential.

And he said, The person is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish. Among them the wise fisherman discovered a fine large fish. He threw all the little fish back into the sea, and easily chose the large fish. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen! (8 Thomas)

We can busy and bother ourselves with many little things. It is more helpful to focus on a few matters of large import.

The problem can be distinguishing large from small. Different sized fish are easily recognized. The choice is not always so clear.

A large fish feeds more with less effort. How can the goal be achieved more easily? What is the goal?

The wise fisherman discovered not just a large fish, but a fine large fish. Fine for what purpose? What is the quality that matters?

In Matthew's gospel (see Matthew 13:47-48) a similar metaphor is offered. There the goal is more clearly understood as experiencing God's reign.

Jesus said, "The Person is like..." This is an unusual construction which may suggest the fully conscious and actualized human, similar to the Hindu atma.

How do I become the Person that God intends?

Above is a Russian Orthodox icon of St. Thomas the Apostle.

Jesus said, "Lucky is the lion that the human will eat, so that the lion becomes human. And foul is the human that the lion will eat, and the lion still will become human."(7 Thomas)

There is no gospel parallel to this saying. It does not remind me of any classical or contemporary aphorism.

Like so many wisdom sayings, and so many of Jesus' parables, it is thought provoking in its ambigutiy. It is a piece of spiritual algebra.

Perhaps... if the lion represents power or passion, when a human consumes the lion's nature then that nature can be subordinated to human moral reasoning. This is a good outcome for all.

But if the lion - power and passion -consumes the human then moral reasoning is lost. When power or passion subordinate moral reasoning, human nature is fouled.

If so, we should not fear the lion. We should, in fact, pursue the lion. But we should take care that in our hunting we do not become the hunted.