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.