Sacred Text Exploration: Gospel of St. Thomas discussion: Sayings 1-6

[Agaliha]

P) These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke
and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down.

1) And He said, "Whoever finds the interpretation of these
sayings will not experience death."

2) Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he
finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes
troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All."

3) Jesus said, "If those who lead you say, 'See, the Kingdom is
in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they
say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you.
Rather, the Kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you.
When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and
you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living
Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty
and it is you who are that poverty."

4) Jesus said, "The man old in days will not hesitate to ask a
small child seven days old about the place of life, and he will
live. For many who are first will become last, and they will
become one and the same."

5) Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which
is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there is nothing
hidden which will not become manifest."

6) His disciples questioned Him and said to Him, "Do you want
us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet
shall we observe?"

Jesus said, "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."
Possible discussion questions:

Do any of these sayings stand out to you?

What do you think the first saying is referring to? How will one "not experience death" ?

How important is seeking to your spirituality? Is it something you've stopped doing or is it a continual process?

"Rather, the Kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you." -- What is "the Kingdom" to you? How do you interpret this saying? If Heaven, do you agree that it is accessible here and now, not (only) in the afterlife?

The phrase "for there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." is mentioned twice, what's your take on it?






(http://mysticwicks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=559)

[David19]

Very great posting, Agaliha :) :thumbsup:.

To answer the questions:

1) Tbe first saying stands out to me:


1) And He said, "Whoever finds the interpretation of these
sayings will not experience death."

It seems quite esoteric, like maybe Jesus was intending these sayings to part of some kind of Jewish Mystery school (which may have been likely, considering he may have been taught by the Essenes, a mystical school in Judaism).

The third one also stands out:


Rather, the Kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you.
When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and
you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living
Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty
and it is you who are that poverty."

Jesus seems to be saying, the Kingdom is within us, God is within us, that we just need to look within ourselves to find Divinity, and, that this is greatest thing we can do.

2) I'm not too sure, but, maybe, the 1st saying means, those that really understand the teachings will be able to experience some kind of immortality, or true freedom, if I'm remembering rightly, the Gnostics considered it to be like death to be reborn in this world again and again, so, maybe, those who understood the teachings, would be able to escape the cycle of rebirth, similar to what Buddhists and Hindus believe.

3) Seeking is something that is very important to my spirituality, right now, I'm not a specific path, I'm seeking it, I also enjoy learning about different religions and spiritualities, and adapting certain practices for myself.

4) I think the Kingdom can refer to Heaven/God/the Universe/whatever, I think it's saying, Divinity is within us, and everywhere, it's not in a certain building, but, everywhere, including ourselves. I think that it is accessible to everyone, although, most people don't realize that. I think what Jesus is referring too is the same goal that Hindu and Buddhist Yogis focus on - Self-Realization of their true nature.

5) I'm not sure about that saying, but, I think, it could mean, you can't hide anything, it will eventually become known (to yourself or others, a lot of people try to hide things from themselves, and push them down into the Unconcious).

I definitely hope other people post, I'd like to see other peoples perspectives.