Jesus said, "Those who know all, but are lacking in themselves, are utterly lacking." (67 Thomas)

Another translation offers, "He who knows the All, but fails to know himself, misses everything."

Scholars dispute if the knowing all is an earnest know thyself, a dismissive know-it-all, or a mystical knowing of the universe.

In any case none of this knowledge is of value if we lack in ourselves.

In very everyday ways we are aware of this truth. We have met those who pursue knowledge primarily to compensate for self-doubt. The self-doubt undermines the credibiltity of their knowledge.

There are no gospel parallels to this saying, but it reminds me of the prologue to Corinthians 13: "If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."

Tielhard de Chardin counsels, "First, develop yourself... (this) is the collaboration, trembling with love, which we give to the hands of God, concerned to attire and prepare us for the final union through sacrfice. Understood in this way, the care which we devote to personal achievement and embellishment is no more than a gift begun." (The Divive Milieu)

Jesus said, "Show me the stone that the builders rejected: that is the keystone." (66 Thomas)

What is rejected will become what is most essential. What others (most?) considered insufficient will become what is essential. What seems bad will become very good.

This aphorism also follows all of the synoptic accounts of the parable of the vineyard. In Mark, Matthew, and Luke the saying is used to explain the parable. In this way we are - or thousands of sermons have - led us to understand that the rejected Jesus is the keystone.

But to me it seems likely Jesus was referencing Psalm 118:22, here in context:

כ זֶה-הַשַּׁעַר לַיהוָה; צַדִּיקִים, יָבֹאוּ בוֹ.
This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter into it.
כא אוֹדְךָ, כִּי עֲנִיתָנִי; וַתְּהִי-לִי, לִישׁוּעָה.
I will give thanks unto Thee, for Thou hast answered me, and art become my salvation.
כב אֶבֶן, מָאֲסוּ הַבּוֹנִים-- הָיְתָה, לְרֹאשׁ פִּנָּה.
The stone which the builders rejected is become the chief corner-stone.
כג מֵאֵת יְהוָה, הָיְתָה זֹּאת; הִיא נִפְלָאת בְּעֵינֵינוּ.
This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
כד זֶה-הַיּוֹם, עָשָׂה יְהוָה; נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ.
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

In the psalm the gate is our troubles, our "straits" in the King James version. All the challenges, troubles, and hurts... all that I am inclined to reject... can bring us through the wall that separates us from fulfillment, completeness, wholeness.

If we will love and honor Reality - especially at its most difficult - there we can find purpose and we will rejoice and be glad in it.

He said, A [. . .] person owned a vineyard and rented it to some farmers, so they could work it and he could collect its crop from them. He sent his slave so the farmers would give him the vineyard's crop. They grabbed him, beat him, and almost killed him, and the slave returned and told his master. His master said, "Perhaps he didn't know them." He sent another slave, and the farmers beat that one as well. Then the master sent his son and said, "Perhaps they'll show my son some respect." Because the farmers knew that he was the heir to the vineyard, they grabbed him and killed him. Anyone here with two ears had better listen! (65 Thomas)

We are reasonably confident of the farmers' motivation.

The parable is explicit the owner was seeking to collect his portion of the crop.

But how do we explain the owner's persistent naivete and willingness to risk his son?

And what will the owner do now? In the synoptic Gospels' version of the story he will destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others.

In Isaiah the owner destroys the vineyard.

If the last 2000 years provides a clue the owner will continue to send his servants and invite us into covenant with him.

The scriptural parallels are Isaiah 5:1-7, Mark 12:1-9, Matthew 21:33-41, and Luke 20:9-16.

Above is another illustration of Thomas encountering the risen Christ.

Jesus said, Someone was receiving guests. When he had prepared the dinner, he sent his slave to invite the guests. The slave went to the first and said, "My master invites you." The first replied, "Some merchants owe me money; they are coming to me tonight. I have to go and give them instructions. Please excuse me from dinner." The slave went to another and said, "My master has invited you." The second said to the slave, "I have bought a house, and I have been called away for a day. I shall have no time." The slave went to another and said, "My master invites you." The third said to the slave, "My friend is to be married, and I am to arrange the banquet. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me from dinner." The slave went to another and said, "My master invites you." The fourth said to the slave, "I have bought an estate, and I am going to collect the rent. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me." The slave returned and said to his master, "Those whom you invited to dinner have asked to be excused."The master said to his slave, "Go out on the streets and bring back whomever you find to have dinner." Buyers and merchants [will] not enter the places of my Father. (64 Thomas)

"Please excuse me." There is always an excuse and usually a good excuse for not attending, not paying attention, not accepting the invitation, not entering into the joy of God's purpose.

There are practical and urgent matters that have claimed our attention. Surely God understands. Surely he will excuse us.

I expect God understands all too well. Despite our busy boorishness we continue to be invited. But until we accept the invitation we have chosen to exclude ourselves from the full experience of God's love.

The synoptic parallels are Luke 14:15-24 and Matthew 22:1-10.

Jesus said, There was a rich man who had a great deal of money. He said, "I shall invest my money so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my storehouses with produce, that I may lack nothing." These were the things he was thinking in his heart, but that very night he died. Anyone here with two ears had better listen! (63 Thomas)

By the standard of most of the world I am rich. Yet I spend a great deal of my time and energy thinking about how to accumulate more.

No matter our current condition we can feel vulnerable and want more. The sense of vulnerability and neediness is real.

But when we look to money, investments, and our own plans to fill these needs, we are looking into a bottomless pit.

Jesus honored honest work. Many of his parables are drawn from the world of work. He was attentive to the requirements of our daily bread.

But we should avoid the error of thinking that the benefits we derive from work will cause us to "lack nothing." I cannot possess what is most valuable, but I can love it.

The synoptic parallel is Luke 12:13-21.

Jesus said, "I disclose my mysteries to those [who are worthy] of [my] mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." (62 Thomas)

A mystery is something hidden, something secret, but also more. It is something tantalizing, something powerful.

To understand a mystery - to break its code - intellectual consistency is often unhelpful, even an impediment.

A mystery is inconsistent with our expectations otherwise it is not a mystery. A mystery is incoherent with the facts or at least our initial impression of the facts.

In the book of Daniel there is an Aramaic word - raz - that may be the word Jesus used. In that book of mysteries we read: "But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind." (Daniel 2:30)

To know mystery open your mind to paradox, open your life to ambiguity, expose what you believe to its contradiction.

If the left does not agree with the right do not be troubled, rather seek another way. Be open to an understanding that transcends your current categories.

We create categories, frames, and more as tools for understanding. But some understanding is beyond the scope of our present tools.

Above from the Hunterian Psalter is Thomas encountering the risen Jesus and Jesus saving Peter. In each case an interesting coincidence of faith and doubt, being open and closed, understanding and ignorance.

Jesus said, "Two will recline on a couch; one will die, one will live." Salome said, "Who are you, mister? You have climbed onto my couch and eaten from my table as if you are from someone." Jesus said to her, "I am the one who comes from what is whole. I was granted from the things of my Father." "I am your disciple." " For this reason I say, if one is (whole), one will be filled with light, but if one is divided, one will be filled with darkness." (61 Thomas)

A more literal translation of the Coptic has Jesus saying, "I am he-who-exists out of-he-who is equal or fully integrated or whole.

Whole - the Greek is holos - is all, completely, entire, full, throughout. Jesus is quoted as using holos when he quotes scripture: "And you shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, and will all your soul, and will all your mind, and with all your strength."

The Shema quoted by Jesus is from Deuteronomy 6:5. Here the Hebrew for all or whole is kol which also means totality, everything, anything, completely, and continually.

We are called to wholeness. We are called to God. Jesus comes from what is whole. So do we. We are to return and in returning complete ourselves.

Does our return also complete God?

(He saw) a Samaritan carrying a lamb and going to Judea. He said to his disciples, "(. . .) that person (. . .) around the lamb." They said to him, "So that he may kill it and eat it." He said to them, "He will not eat it while it is alive, but only after he has killed it and it has become a carcass." They said, "Otherwise he can't do it." He said to them, "So also with you, seek for yourselves a place for rest, or you might become a carcass and be eaten." (60 Thomas)

The most common exegesis on this saying emphasizes finding rest or salvation in order to avoid becoming a dead thing and eaten. So it may be. Given the corruption of the text we are even less capable of certainty than usual.

I wonder why the Samaritan might be taking a lamb to Judea. If killing and eating was the only purpose that could more easily be done staying in Samaria. The Samaritan seems to be going to unusual trouble.

A carcass becomes a source of nourishment. A carcass can extend life. At Easter my family traditionally celebrates by eating roasted lamb, recalling the sacrificial death that offers the promise of eternal life.

Certainly I would like to be a source of nourishment. I would like to contribute to celebration. Such seems more helpful and meaningful than to be at rest.

What seems dead to the world may still be the source of enormous potential.

Jesus said, "Look to the living one as long as you live, otherwise you might die and then try to see the living one, and you will be unable to see." (59 Thomas)

What is our purpose? What is our goal? Maintaining our focus is critically important. We must keep our eye, ear, and every effort aimed at the source and meaning of life.

Last evening I began a little book written in 1927. The author insists that in all we are and do we are able to advance God's reign.

"Each one of our works, by its more or less remote or direct repercussion upon the spiritual world, contributes to perfect Christ in His mystical totality... In fact, through the unceasing operation of the Incarnation, the divine so thoroughly permeates all our creaturely energies that, in order to encounter and embrace it, we could not find a more appropriate milieu than that of our action."

"To begin with, in action I cleave to the creative power of God; I co-incide with it; I become not only its instrument but its living prolongation. And since there is nothing more personal in a being that its will, I merge myself, in a sense, through my heart, with the very heart of God. This contact is continuous because I am always acting; and at the same time, since I can never find a limit to the perfection of my fidelity or the fervour of my intention, it enables me to assimilate myself still my narrowly, and indefinately, to God." (The Divine Milieu by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)

Teilhard argues that this can be true of all action, no matter how otherwise practical or humble. No action need be - should be - perfunctory. All action can work to advance God's intention.

I have just started the book, but it is my impression the author perceives that sanctifcation of our activities is not just possible, but assured if we will keep looking at the living one.

Above is a window featuring an architect's square, symbol of the Apostle Thomas, emblematic of how our earthly work can advance heavenly purpose.

Jesus said, "Congratulations to the person who has toiled and has found life." (58 Thomas)

We often have very mixed attitudes toward our work-life. It can be an important source of identity, opportunity for creativity, and offer a rich web of relationships.

There are also days when our toil can seem tedious, frustrating, and even soul-sucking. I expect Jesus was referring to both the positive and negative aspects of work.

In the pre-industrial economy work required finding a way to achieve a purpose in the midst of randomness. Most of the work was agricultural. The farmer would work with nature or fail.

Even in most of the trades - textiles, leather, smithing, cooperidge, and such - both supply and demand were unpredictable. One did what one could.

During the last two centuries we have experimented with a very different approach to work: we have attempted to exercise precise control and complete predictability.

We have achieved a great deal. In medicine, engineering, science, and more we have created what our ancestors would consider nothing short of miraculous.

But we have also discovered - or rediscovered - the limits to our control. We have learned that in exercising control we can sometimes squeeze out creativity; in seeking more security we can increase our vulnerability.

In our toil we have come to recognize a reality beyond our control. This reality can be discerned and, if accurately discerned, we may find fulfillment within its domain.

We toil. In our toil we can perceive reality unfolding. In this reality we may even discern the reign of God.

Jesus said, The Father's imperial rule is like a person who had [good] seed. His enemy came during the night and sowed weeds among the good seed. The person did not let the workers pull up the weeds, but said to them, "No, otherwise you might go to pull up the weeds and pull up the wheat along with them." For on the day of the harvest the weeds will be conspicuous, and will be pulled up and burned. (57 Thomas)

I have creative potential. I have seed.

Among my seeds are certainly some that grow rapidly but do not produce what I had anticipated.

My weeds and my wheat grow beside one another, their roots tightly tied. Often I cannot distinguish one for the other until each are nearing maturity.

This mixing complicates the harvest. But by watching and gathering carefully the wheat and weeds can be separated.

Moreover all is well: some weeds feed the animals and others have medicinal use. The dried stalks of both wheat and weed are good for kindling, brickmaking, and winter bedding.

All is well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. (Julian of Norwich)

The synoptic parallel is Matthew 13: 24-30.

Jesus said, "Whoever has come to know the world has discovered a carcass, and whoever has discovered a carcass, of that person the world is not worthy." (56 Thomas)

Most scholars do not accept this as an authentic saying of Jesus. There are no canonical parallels. The dismissive stance regarding the created world is inconsistent with core teachings of Jesus. Still there are spiritual possibilities.

The man of worldly knowledge is as a butcher who knows how to kill and cut up the calf to sell its meat for money. He knows how to kill. He knows how to take apart. He knows how to sell. This is the way of the world.

If the man knows how to deal with dead things, "of that person the world is not worthy." This is a double paradox. Our first (purposeful?) impression may be that this person is not worthy of the world. But the opposite is said.

Knowing about the carcass of worldy things is cause for praise: The world is not worthy of that person. That person is worth more than the world. If the skilled butcher recognizes the greater value of creating, of bringing together, and of giving away - if the butcher fully understands the difference between death and life - then that person knows something very close to God's truth.

I wonder if this knowledge is related to being as wise as a serpent and as innocent as a dove?

Above is a Jan Luiken illustration from the Martyrs Mirror of the Apostle Thomas about to be burnt alive.

Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate father and mother cannot be my disciple, and whoever does not hate brothers and sisters, and carry the cross as I do, will not be worthy of me." (55 Thomas)

Each of the synoptic gospels include a very similar saying. The most extensive treatment is found in Luke 14:25-33 .

Jesus encourages us to clear, consistent, and meaningful priorities. What is my purpose? What is the current context for achieving my purpose? What are my capabilities for achieving this purpose in the current context?

Context and capability may change. Jesus is urging us to persist in purpose. More than this, Jesus is urging us to join him in choosing God's purpose.

Too often I am satisfied with a melange of hopes, dreams, and vague possibilities. I fail to choose. Because I have not made a clear choice, I am easily distracted. I seldom choose evil. But with no clear purpose I wander from one indulgence to another.

The outcome is also vague. Jesus calls us to clarity, purpose, and power as co-creators of God's reign.

Jesus said, "Congratulations to the poor, for to you belongs Heaven's domain." (54 Thomas)

In modern translations the beatitudes have become the congratulations. Instead of blessed are the poor, we read congratulations to the poor.

What is gained by the new translation comes at considerable expense.

Jesus almost certainly used the Aramaic word barak which is very closely related to the Hebrew bawrak.

This is to kneel: to be so overcome with a sense of praise and thanksgiving that one falls to his or her knees.

There is also the sense of being fulfilled and completed. So in the forty-fifth psalm we read, "You are fairer than the sons of men, Grace is poured upon your lips; Therefore God has blessed you forever."

Congratulations suggests an objective observation. To be blessed is much more an engagement with God and an experience of wholeness.

His disciples said to him, "Is circumcision useful or not?" He said to them, "If it were useful, their father would produce children already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become profitable in every respect." (53 Thomas)

I am skeptical of this saying's origins. If it was known at the time of Paul surely reference would have been made to the authority of Jesus in seeking to extend the good news to the uncircumcised gentiles.

But the shift from useful to profitable catches my attention. If the saying arose in the generation after the crucifixion, it would probably have circulated in Greek.

In ancient Greek the most common word for useful is euthetos or well-placed. In the gospel of Luke Jesus is quoted as using euthetos to suggest being well-matched or deserving as in, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God ."

A common Greek word for profitable is sumphero or bring together. In the gospel of Matthew Jesus is quoted four times using this word to mean better as in, "If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell."

So often I want to be well-placed or fit in with the expectations of my society. There is a social heirarchy that I seek to climb, even as this heirarchy separates us into winners and losers. Much better is bring together, to carry with others, to collect in order to help, or to help others (all meanings of sumphero).

God certainly understands our inclination to fit in, but God calls us to the greater task of bringing together.

Above is an icon of the Twelve Apostles.

His disciples said to him, "Twentyfour prophets have spoken in Israel, and they all spoke of you." He said to them, "You have disregarded the living one who is in your presence, and have spoken of the dead." (52 Thomas)

Each morning I turn to something written long ago. I give it close attention. I work to listen to it, learn from it, and know its meaning for me. I love the process.

But then I turn to the remainder of my day. Am I as attentive to living expressions of God's intention? Do I listen as carefully to these very present signs, symbols, and manifestations? Do I love to engage with them? Do I love them? Not usually.

The reign of God is at hand, waiting for me to reach out for it. But I am quite often just too busy to notice.

His disciples said to him, "When will the rest for the dead take place, and when will the new world come?" He said to them, "What you are looking forward to has come, but you don't know it." (51 Thomas)

The reign of God - the new world - has already arrived, but we do not know it.

In the Gospel of Mark we read, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand." (Mark 1:14-15) At hand - yad - within our power, within our grasp, able to be embraced.

In the Gospel of Luke Jesus tells us, "the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21)

The reign of God is not a place for the dead. It is the place of our present fulfillment. God reigns today.

We ought not wait, but find this power and fulfillment, follow it, believe and know.

Jesus said, "If they say to you, 'Where have you come from?' say to them, 'We have come from the light, from the place where the light came into being by itself, established [itself], and appeared in their image.' If they say to you, 'Is it you?' say, 'We are its children, and we are the chosen of the living Father.' If they ask you, 'What is the evidence of your Father in you?' say to them, 'It is motion and rest.'" (50 Thomas)

In both language and form this is one of the most distinctively Gnostic of the sayings.

Yet in John we read Jesus saying, "I am the light of the World." (8:12) And in Matthew we also read of Jesus telling all his listeners, "You are the light of the world." (5:14)

We are of the light, come from the light, and have motion and rest in the light.

For any student of Plato - and there were certainly some among the Gnostics - the reference to motion and rest is remininisent of the dialogue on the communion of classes in the Sophist. (see Ancient Greek Online)

In the Sophist Socrates and Theaetetus establish the interrelationship of the "Great Kinds", the reality of both being and non-being, and the danger of imitative, false, insincere appearances that have neither motion nor rest and are therefore unreal.

Jesus is quoted as using philosophical language to establish our shared identity with the source of elemental reality.

Above is an icon showing St. James and St. Thomas.

Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who are alone and chosen, for you will find the (Father's) domain. For you have come from it, and you will return there again."(49 Thomas)

The Gospel of Luke quotes Jesus as congratulating those who are poor and explaining they will experience the kingdom of God. (6:20)

In Luke he also congratulates the hungry, those in mourning, and those who are hated, excluded, reviled, and defamed on account of the Son of Man. (6:21-22)

When I am in trouble I tend to be much more open to God. When I am undeniably out of control I am much more ready to depend on God.

When alone I am much more likely to hear God. When alone there have been a few moments when I have entered a very different domain.

I don't know about being chosen. Rather it seems it is left to me - to us - to choose.

Jesus said, "If two make peace with each other in a single house, they will say to the mountain, 'Move from here!' and it will move." (48 Thomas)

In the synoptic parallels the precondition for this amazing power is faith in God, here it is peace with each other.

If Jesus said anything close to this it would have been said in Aramaic. If so he almost certainly would have spoken of shalowm in what is translated above as peace.

While speaking Aramaic Jesus was probably thinking in terms of the Hebrew notion of שַׁלֵּם or shalam. This is to make whole, to complete, to finish and to fulfill.

We cannot be fulfilled outside of relationship with God. In relationship with God we recognize the divine nature of one another. We are made whole in relationship with God and one another.

In and through these relationships we are invited and enabled to join as co-creators of God's intention.

The synoptic parallels are Mark 11:20-25, Matthew 21:18-22, and Luke 17:5-6.

Jesus said, "A person cannot mount two horses or bend two bows. And a slave cannot serve two masters, otherwise that slave will honor the one and offend the other. "Nobody drinks aged wine and immediately wants to drink young wine. Young wine is not poured into old wineskins, or they might break, and aged wine is not poured into a new wineskin, or it might spoil. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, since it would create a tear." (47 Thomas)

The analogies offered by Jesus all emphasize clarity of purpose and consistency of choice with purpose. Which horse is best for the purpose at hand? Which bow? Choose one and use it to advance your purpose.

Too often I am confused regarding purpose. Is my purpose to serve others or serve myself? Because I am uncertain of my purpose I am hesitant in my choices. Because of I hesitate I fail to engage opportunities or problems in a timely way.

Is our purpose to know, reconcile, and co-create with God? If so, what should we choose? There are plenty of distractions and temptations to other purposes. But if I am serious regarding this transcendent purpose, how do I best organize my life around this purpose?

Usually I choose - most of us choose - other purposes: personal security, control, or ego-satisfaction. My choices typically reflect these purposes. But these purposes are illusions. Like a desert mirage, just as I seem to be close to achievement the goal evaporates.

Because these false purposes are beyond achievement, in doubt and frustration I may approach God for help. But I seldom make knowing and hearing God my full purpose. I try to ride both God's purpose and my own purpose. At best it is a scary ride. At worst, I will be torn it two.

Above is Thomas encountering Christ by Duccio.

Jesus said, "From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women, no one is so much greater than John the Baptist that his eyes should not be averted. But I have said that whoever among you becomes a child will recognize the (Father's) imperial rule and will become greater than John." (45 Thomas)

The relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist fascinates me. The Baptizer is much more prominent than Jesus in the accounts of Josephus written 30 to 40 years after the crucifixion.

Jesus almost certainly studied with John. The Koran re-tells several ancient stories of the relationship between teacher and student. The Muslim scripture also accords to John a status much higher than the gospels.

In the New Testament we read of Apollos, a highly educated Alexandrian Jew, who was apparently a follower of John the Baptist (Acts 18:24-28). This was at least two decades after the crucifixion.'

It is clear that many in the early Church were keen to differentiate Jesus from John and were sometimes consciously competing with the reform movement that survived John's murder.

There is a small, ancient, and often persecuted community of Mandaeans (sometimes the Subba) who understand John - and not Jesus - to be God's most trust-worthy prophet.

The Gospel of Thomas treats John the Baptist in a manner very similar to the gospels of Matthew and Luke. So, in Matthew we read, "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." (Matthew 11:11)

The implication of Thomas is that as much honor as is due John, he failed to to perceive the immediacy of God's presence. John was preparing the faithful for something already very much at hand. Jesus teaches us to grasp a greater reality in which we can choose to abide today.


Excerpts from the Mandaean Book of John the Baptist are available from the Gnostic Library. To the left is a depiction of John baptizing Jesus.

Jesus said, "Grapes are not harvested from thorn trees, nor are figs gathered from thistles, for they yield no fruit. Good persons produce good from what they've stored up; bad persons produce evil from the wickedness they've stored up in their hearts, and say evil things. 'For from the overflow of the heart they produce evil." (45 Thomas).

Both good and evil come from the overflow of the heart.

We sometimes still read or hear that something is "heartfelt" or that someone "spoke from the heart." In this is an echo of ancient psychology and physiology.

Across most of the Mediterranean world the heart was the seat of the soul. As we treat the brain, the ancients would imagine the heart.

What experiences are retained? What meanings have been derived? What principles have been decided and applied?

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke include very similar sayings. The Coptic translated above as overflow is periðsseuma in the Greek. This is abundance, excellence, and source of delight.

What do I find delightful? What do I actively seek? What do I gather? Joy or bitterness? Thankfulness or resentment? Creativity or worries?

May I gather good fruit and leave the thorns behind.

The synoptic parallels are Matthew 7:15-20 and 12:33-37 and Luke 6:43-45.

Jesus said, "Whoever blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will not be forgiven, either on earth or in heaven." (44 Thomas)

In this saying the Gospel of Thomas agrees with very similar sayings in Mark, Matthew, and Luke. Matthew provides some context.

The breadth of forgiveness would have been - perhaps still is - scandalous. Slander God or the Son of God and you are okay.

But the exception for the holy spirit is curious and not explained.

To blaspheme is to fundamentally misperceive and therefore to slander. Where there is good, the blasphemer sees bad and declares it bad.

In his ministry of healing Jesus was several times accused of doing evil. Some saw the good being done and declared it satanic.

Because Jesus was perceived as challenging the religious rules of his day, even his manifestly good work was accused of having an evil origin.

It is not uncommon for us to be suspicious of the good. Today the leaders of Myanmar are suspicious of offers of aid in the aftermath of the cyclone.

In our domestic politics we are quick to see cynical and self-serving motivations behind many policy proposals. They are just pandering, we insist.

I expect Jesus is telling us something more profound, but we might at least hear in this teaching an encouragement to suspend judgment regarding the motivation of others.

We can be skeptical and critical of the actor (the son?). We can argue over the relationship of the action to first principles (the Father?). But when good is done or attempted, we should avoid questioning the motivation behind the attempt.

We exercise this restraint in our own self-interest. We must remain open to the possibility of the Good. We must remain receptive to the potential of the holy spirit breaking-through into our own lives and the lives of others.

If we see good and are so skeptical as to diminish the good because of the possibility of bad motivations, then we are choosing a very dark and discouraging path from which return will be difficult, perhaps even impossible.

Above is an icon showing the Apostle Thomas receving a sign from Mary, the mother of Jesus.

His disciples said to him, "Who are you to say these things to us?" "You don't understand who I am from what I say to you. Rather, you have become like the Judeans, for they love the tree but hate its fruit, or they love the fruit but hate the tree." (43 Thomas)

Recently I was the only visitor at a hotel's free snack bar. The two young women working the room ignored me and continued their intense discussion.

"You don't know anything about Sodom and Gomorrah, do you?" the brunette accused.

"I used to go to church," the blonde responded meekly. "I don't know as much as I should, but I know about the wife turned into a pillar of salt. I know about Lot getting drunk."

The brunette was dismissive, "It's just like being in school, you've got to understand the details before you can get the..."

"I know that Jesus was a good man, a great teacher," the blonde interjected. "But I don't know, being Son of God... I don't know, that's hard."

I had enough cheese, crackers, and carrot sticks. But I didn't want to leave. It would have been interesting to hear where the discussion went.

Where did this Jesus come from? What tree produced him? His fruit can seem exotic. We often honor his precepts, but resist his example. It is hard.

The closest synoptic parallels are Matthew 7:15-20 and Luke 6:43-45

Jesus said, "Be passers-by." (42 Thomas)

Be wanderers. Be sojourners. Be hitch-hikers.

Keep going. Keep moving. Don't settle down.

Continue to explore. Continue to seek.

Travel light. Take nothing with you. Find what you need on the road.

Be as family to strangers. Your neighbors are each you encounter.

We are only passing through this life. Our destination is elsewhere.

Jesus said, "Whoever has something in hand will be given more, and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little they have." (41 Thomas)

What is the something? Jesus is almost always discussing spiritual matters. Perhaps it is faith or hope or love. It might be poverty or mourning or mercy.

Whatever spiritual "thing" we have, it will be the source of abundance. We will receive more. In the canonical gospels it is implied more than we deserve.

But why would others be deprived of what little they have? The answer may be related to having something "in hand."

In the Hebrew scriptures to have something in hand - yad - is to be able to use it, apply it, fully experience it... not just to hold it.

Spiritual things can be superficial, ephemeral, even silly. If spiritual things are merely decoration or self-serving superstition they have no substance and quickly dissipate.

But when spiritual principles are put to work, when we build something with them, when we plant them in the soil of daily life, they begin to multiply.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands - O prosper the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:17)

The canonical parallels are Mark 4:21-25, Matthew 13:10-13, and Luke 19:11-27. Above is stained glass showing the symbols of St. Thomas: a carpenter's square, that he used as an architect and builder and a spear and arrows with which he was martyred.

Jesus said, "A grapevine has been planted apart from the Father. Since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by its root and will perish." (40 Thomas)

If I had more understanding of Coptic I would want to consider the deeper meanings of "planted apart." Especially out of context the intention of the speaker can be difficult to discern.

My immediate sense is that apart means separated or detached. So I might think of religious traditions outside the Judeo-Christian experience. They will wither away?

The English word apart can also suggest independent, isolated, or alone. This might suggest individuals who, for whatever reason, are outside the community of faith. They are to be welcomed?

For twenty years I have tried to grow concord grapes on my mountainside. Shortly after the first vine was producing a few grapes a utility crew killed the vine with herbicide. Last year a late frost eliminated any chance of grapes from the new vine.

If I found a grapevine growing anywhere on my property I would either carefully replant it or I would protect and nurture it wherever it might be. Even if it was growing apart, I would go to it and care for it.

The canonical parallels are Matthew 15:10-20 and John 15:1-17.

Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scholars have taken the keys of knowledge and have hidden them. They have not entered nor have they allowed those who want to enter to do so. As for you, be as sly as snakes and as simple as doves." (39 Thomas)

In Matthew's gospel these are two widely separated teachings. I find the combination in Thomas helpful and meaningful.

In Matthew 10:16 we read, "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." But the wolves are not specified.

Above Jesus seems to target the wolves as those who have hidden the keys of knowledge. To reclaim the keys of knowledge we are encouraged to paradox.

We are to be as shrewd, sophisticated, anc stealthy as a serpent: the most common symbol of satan. But we are to do so with the innocence of a common symbol for the Holy Spirit.

Does this suggest the ends justify the means? I don't pretend to be sure. I am certain this is treacherous ground.

In the Garden with Eve and in the Wilderness with Jesus - perhaps scripture's most complete accounts of satan - the means employed are psychological persuasion.

In each setting the adversary encourages self-assertion and self-glorification. Eve succumbs. Jesus successfully resists through self-sacrifice and glorification of God.

When we encounter wolves - individuals who are greedy and selfish - we are allowed, even encouraged - to use these unfortunate motivations to advance God's intention.

But for us to avoid being trapped in our own shrewd snare we must be very careful that we deploy these persusasive tools in a spirit of self-sacrifice and service to God.

Jesus said, "Often you have desired to hear these sayings that I am speaking to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will seek me and you will not find me." (38 Thomas)

We have also been told, "seek and you will find, knock and the it will be opened unto you." (Matthew 7:7)

Yet despite deep desire and sincere seeking we are sometimes separated from Jesus. We cannot hear him. We cannot find him.

In my own life such separation has, so far, been the result of my own choice. Jesus and I have been walking along when suddenly I turn a different way. I have left him, he has not left me.

We know too of saintly men and women who, despite remaining on the same path, tell of a painful separation that can last for years.

I suspect the seeming absense of Jesus depends on what aspect of Jesus we are seeking. If I am looking for sympathy, I may not perceive the gift of accountability... or the reverse.

The closest canonical parallel is John 7:32-36. Above is Thomas encountering the risen Christ from the church of St. George the Victorious in Edmonton, Canada.

His disciples said, "When will you appear to us, and when will we see you?" Jesus said, "When you strip without being ashamed, and you take your clothes and put them under your feet like little children and trample then, then [you] will see the son of the living one and you will not be afraid." (37 Thomas)

In the second chapter of Genesis we read, "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves."

We have eaten fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But this knowledge is very seldom helpful to us. Despite what we know, we too often choose badly. We are left ashamed of ourselves.

There is nothing evil in nakedness. But there can be evil in seeking to possess another or denying our vulnerabilty to each other or in focusing our desires too narrowly. What we know is not nearly as helpful as how we relate to one another and especially how we are in relationship with God.

We are to be open with one another and with God. We are to love one another, God, and ourselves so deeply and naturally that even the frailities and foolishness of being naked will not make us ashamed, but only draw us closer.

Perhaps we will only see Jesus when we recognize Jesus in the nakedness, need, vulnerability, beauty, and glory of one another.