(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.