Tell Me What I Am Like
John Shuck
First Presbyterian Church
Elizabethton, Tennessee
September 29, 2013
Jesus said,
“I have cast fire upon the world,
and look, I’m guarding it until it blazes.” (10)
Jesus said,
"Whoever is near me is near the fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the realm." (82)
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)
Jesus said,
"I am the light that is over all things.
I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained.
Split a piece of wood; I am there.
Lift up the stone, and you will find me there." (77)
Jesus said,
"Come to me,
for my yoke is comfortable and my lordship is gentle,
and you will find rest for yourselves." (90)
Jesus said, "No prophet is welcome on his home turf; doctors don't cure those who know them." (31)
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They said to him, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you."
He said to them, "You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you have not come to know the one who is in your presence, and you do not know how to examine the present moment." (91)
---
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)
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A [person said] to him, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's possessions with me."
He said to the person, "Mister, who made me a divider?"
He turned to his disciples and said to them, "I'm not a divider, am I?" (72)
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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)
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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)
---
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)
---
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)
---
Jesus said, "I will destroy this house, and no one will be able to build it." (71)
---
Jesus said, "When you see one who was not born of woman, fall on your faces and worship. That one is your Father." (15)
---
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)
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Jesus said, "Where there are three deities, they are divine. Where there are two or one, I am with that one." (30)
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Jesus said,
"Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me;
I myself shall become that person,
and the hidden things will be revealed to him." (108)
I am excited to begin today this series of sermons on The Gospel of Thomas.
I have preached on sayings from this gospel before but I have never devoted a series of sermons to this text nor have I preached on the whole of the text. By the time we are finished, by the arrival of Winter Solstice, we will have heard all 114 sayings, and some more than once, in worship.
I will offer what information I know about Thomas, which isn’t a whole lot. Because this text does not have a 2000 year history of interpretation attached to it, and because it is not in the Bible let alone the worship lectionary, I am far less familiar with it than I am with the gospels that are in the traditional New Testament. I am learning with you.
Of course, I am thrilled that we have two Fellows of the Jesus Seminar coming toElizabethton,October 18th and 19th to offer their ideas about Thomas. If you listen today at 2 pm to WETS you will get a preview. I spoke with both of them onReligion For Life. Having them with us will be a fun part of all of this, too.
My hope that this won’t simply be an academic exercise. I hope that we might be open to the possibility that we might experience what the author of Thomas wanted the hearers to experience, or not experience. What was that?
Saying one:
Jesus said, “Whoever finds the meaning of these sayings will not experience death.”
Now, you might ask, “What does that mean? Not experience death?”
Once you ask that question, “What does that mean?” you have been sucked in and you are now on the quest. You are now a seeker of wisdom and now you will have to hear the whole thing and struggle with its interpretation. You are hooked.
Once you ask that question, “What does that mean?” you have been sucked in and you are now on the quest. You are now a seeker of wisdom and now you will have to hear the whole thing and struggle with its interpretation. You are hooked.
A little background about The Gospel of Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas was unknown until 1945 when it was discovered by a peasant by the name of Muhammad Ali near Nag Hammadi, Egypt. Muhammad Ali was a teenager and he was looking for dung to burn for heating and cooking. He discovered clay jars in a cave. In these jars were ancient texts that dated back to the 4th century. He was illiterate. He had no idea what he had found.
Eventually these texts made their way into scholarly hands. They were written in Coptic, but were likely translated from Greek. They were hidden in these jars in a cave near a monastery in Egypt. Why? It is likely that they were hidden so that they wouldn’t be destroyed.
In the year 367, Bishop Athanasius sent an Easter letter. In it, he gave a list of the 27 books that are in the canon, the New Testament. He spoke strongly against other what he called “heretical” writings. He wrote:
They have fabricated books which they call books of tables, in which they shew stars, to which they give the names of Saints. And therein of a truth they have inflicted on themselves a double reproach: those who have written such books, because they have perfected themselves in a lying and contemptible science; and as to the ignorant and simple, they have led them astray by evil thoughts concerning the right faith established in all truth and upright in the presence of God.
In that atmosphere in which one particular version of Christianity, so-called orthodox (literally “straight-thinking”) Christianity, had become blessed by the Roman Empire, other forms of Christianity needed to go into hiding. It is likely that it is in response to this change of circumstance that The Gospel of Thomas and other texts, 52 of them altogether, were hidden for us to find 1600 years later.
It is an exciting find. Only recently, have these texts been made available for popular readers. Do a Google search for The Gospel of Thomas and you will find the text easily on the internet. It has been included in A New New Testament. The Jesus Seminar called the Gospel of Thomas the fifth gospel, showing that it is an important source in the quest for the historical Jesus. It is also an important text for the reconstruction of early Christianity.
It is a text contemporary with the canonical gospels. In other words, some of it at least is as early and perhaps earlier than Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Some of it is possibly later than these other gospels. Thomas, like the other gospels, contain both sayings that may go back to the historical person of Jesus as well as theological framing and interpretation of Jesus. It is all mixed together.
Scholars for the past 200 years have attempted to distinguish the historical person from interpretation and legend. It is neither easy nor an exact science. There are many different opinions and, of course, much resistance from church authorities and true believers who wish for their view of Jesus to be privileged.
This quest is not without juicy conflict. That itself echoes a saying found in Thomas and placed on the lips of Jesus:
“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)
My hunch is that if any of you have ever argued religion with your family members you may find in many cases that conflict is the norm. Our 2000 year history of Christianity is also one of fire, sword, and war. Whether or not this saying goes back to the historical Jesus or not, it has certainly proved itself to be true.
The point is that at least parts of the Gospel of Thomas are not late. It is closer to the historical Jesus than the Gospel of John, for example.
The second point is that Thomas as it interprets Jesus, interprets him in a way that is both similar and quite different from that found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
As we look at Thomas we will look at two things all the time, one is to what extent do the sayings echo the historical person and secondly, how does Thomas interpret Jesus? That double way of looking both through the text at the historical person and looking at the text as later interpretation is a procedure for the canonical gospels as well as Thomas.
All the gospel writers “framed” Jesus.
There is a third thing. I don’t want to lose this in what could quickly become just an academic discussion. To what extent does this text speak to us? In what sense is this ancient wisdom also wisdom for me? Am I open to that? Those questions invite an opening of self.
I think Thomas is especially of interest to 21st century seekers. Jesus in Thomas won’t save you from your sins, but he will invite you to discover who you are and to find what is important. Saying 70:
Jesus said: “When you give birth to the one within you, that one will save you. If you do not have that one within you, that one will kill you.” (70)
The Gospel of Thomas consists of 114 sayings of Jesus. It has no story. Jesus performs no miracles. There is no story of his birth, death or resurrection. He heals no one. He casts out no demons. All he does is say stuff.
Some of the things that he says, about half of the things he says, we have heard him say somewhere in one of the other gospels. He may say these things a bit differently, but about half of the material has a parallel with sayings in the other gospels. The other half is different altogether.
I could have divided up the 114 sermons over ten sermons and plowed through them in order. I thought it might be easier to approach it thematically. Similar patterns repeat. Before consulting any guides or commentaries I went through the sayings and put them in categories.
Today is “Who Is Jesus?” What does Jesus say about himself?
Here are the other themes:
Revealing the hidden
Seeking and Finding
Parables of the Kingdom
The Human Condition
Who Are You?
Disciples in the Kingdom
The Beginning Is Coming
Ethics of the Kingdom
Congratulations! You Get it!
Those are the themes I discovered and under each theme, I placed the sayings that seem to correspond to that particular theme. Some sayings we will hear more than once. There could be many other ways to organize it as well. I think the joy of this is to look at these sayings again and again from different angles. You wrestle with them like you might wrestle with a Zen koan.
Today’s theme is, “Who is Jesus?” What does Jesus say about himself in theGospel of Thomas?
When Jesus makes a self-referential statement, it likely does not go back to Jesus. For example, in John’s gospel, Jesus is reported to have said, “Before Abraham was, I am!” or “I am the good shepherd” or “I am the true vine.” What person would say stuff like that? No one. Those are theological elaborations created by the admirers of the person to make the person larger than life. All four gospels do that, so does Thomas. All the gospels shape him, that is frame him in different ways. How does Thomas do it?
One of the key texts is this one:
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)
In other words, “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.”
For Thomas, no one can describe Jesus and none of those other groups who claim to know who Jesus is, know either. For Thomas, wisdom is not really about Jesus, it is about “drinking from the bubbling stream.” It is about admitting like the character Thomas does, that you don’t know anything. Because only then can you be open to receiving.
Of course, when the character Thomas goes back to his disciples who represent in the author Thomas’s mind, a simpler form of Christianity, Thomas the character realizes that what he has learned is threatening to these others. It will sound blasphemous, hence the threat of stoning. This is dangerous stuff. Do you really want to know? Do you really want to know what astronomers are finding out about our universe or what biologists are finding out about our evolutionary development? Do you really want to know what scholars are finding out about our sacred texts? It will disturb you, upset you, and challenge your notions of security and comfort. You will want to stone the messenger then your sense of meaning and purpose will be devoured. The author of Thomas is asking, “Do you really want to go on this quest, dear reader?” You may decide, “No, I really don’t want to ask. I like my faith the way it is. It serves me as it is, thank you.”
That is a good answer. The Gospel of Thomas is not for everyone. That is why it didn’t make it into the Bible. It was too wide open. It allowed too much freedom for the individual to interpret. For Thomas, liberation and the search is more important than comfort. It is active rather than passive. It is not simply believing and accepting that Jesus is our savior, for example, it is wrestling and struggling with Jesus who is a challenging mystery.
What else does Jesus say about himself in The Gospel of Thomas? Here is one for the pantheists among us. This goes well with the song that Beverly sang that was written by Peter Mayer, “Holy Now.”
Jesus said,“I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.” (77)
I love that one. It isn’t the historical Jesus. The author of the gospel put these words on the lips of Jesus. Thomas is saying not only is Jesus bigger than life, Jesus is life. Jesus is the sacred. Where do you find the sacred? Is it in the temple? Sure. It is in the communion wafer? OK. Is it in the sacred text? Yes. Is it in the lovely hymn? Uh huh.
But, the sacred doesn’t end there. If you walk through this life with awareness, you will see the sacred everywhere. The institution with its clergy, dogmas, and rituals are pointers to the sacred, but they by no means have the corner on God. You can find God under a rock if you have awareness, if you have “drunk from the bubbling stream.” While you work splitting wood, that itself can be holy if you are awake while you do it.
What else does Thomas say about Jesus?
They said to him, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you."He said to them, "You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you have not come to know the one who is in your presence, and you do not know how to examine the present moment." (91)
In the Gospel of Thomas, questions about Jesus turn back to the seeker. It is as if he is saying, “Don’t ask about me. Ask about yourself.” Jesus does not want belief. Belief is for the other team. Jesus demands that you examine your life.
Here is another one…
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)
Here is Thomas’ view of Jesus and the human condition. The image of drunkenness describes us. Like the Dr. Hook song, I got stoned and I missed it. It is a great song written by Shel Silverstein. The last verse goes like this…
Now I ain't makin' no excuses for the many things I usesJust to sweeten my relationships and brighten up my dayBut when my earthly race is over and I'm ready for the cloverAnd they ask me how my life has been I guess I'll have to sayI was stoned and I missed itI was stoned and I missed itI was stoned and it rolled right by…
For the Gospel of Thomas, that is the human condition.
We do this and we do that and the other thing without any recognition until it is far too late that what we did we didn’t even care about. We don’t see the sacred nature of our relationships, or the amazing fact that we exist at all. We spend our money on that which is not bread. We have blown through this amazing gift which is life without regarding it as a gift. Meanwhile, we are so stoned that we don’t even know we are burning up the planet.
The message from Jesus is, “Sober up. Wake up!” Mary Oliver captures this spirit in that wonderful poem, “The Summer Day.” The last couplet is the invitation:
Tell me, what is it you plan to dowith your one wild and precious life?
Take that question seriously, says Mary Oliver. That is probably as good an interpretation of The Gospel of Thomas as any.
Now you might say that is all pretty negative. Jesus calling all of us a bunch of drunks. But it wouldn’t be helpful to hear it only as judgment. It is an invitation. It is an invitation to self-reflection. More than that, it is an invitation to give yourself permission to do something “wild and precious” as Mary Oliver said, with your “wild and precious life.”
Those who have ears let them hear.
Final saying to look at today:
Jesus said,“Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me;I myself shall become that person,and the hidden things will be revealed to him.” (108)
This saying, number 108, near the end of the collection goes back to number 13 near the beginning and picks up the metaphor of drinking, not drunken drinking, but drinking from the “bubbling stream” that is Jesus.
Thomas the character drank from it. This gospel says that you can, too. It is an invitation to live a sacred life. If you are hearing these words, then it isn’t too late. Lift up a stone today and find Jesus. Split a piece of wood and you’ll see him. Or as Mary Oliver wrote:
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.I do know how to pay attention, how to fall downinto the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,which is what I have been doing all day.Tell me, what else should I have done?Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?Tell me, what is it you plan to dowith your one wild and precious life?
Amen.
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