On many occasions I have mentioned that faithful perseverance in our discipline of meditation leads to a total transformation of our view of reality and alters our subsequent behaviour accordingly from ego-centred to other-centred.
Of all the Gospels, the Gospel of Thomas is the one that focuses on this transformation. It was originally regarded as a ‘gnostic’ gospel, as it was included in the Nag Hammadi jar – found in 1945 in Egypt- with other known ‘Gnostic’ writings. It was in fact bound together with the Gospel of Philip that is still regarded as ‘gnostic’. For this reason orthodox Christians rejected the Gospel of Thomas out of hand as ‘heretical’, but scholars now feel that it is more ‘apostolic’ than they at first assumed. Elaine Pagels, to whom I am indebted for most of the historical information here, no longer considers the Gospel of Thomas as ‘gnostic’, as explored in her book Beyond Belief, neither does the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
The Gospel of Thomas recounts sayings of Jesus that formed part of the oral tradition current at the time. Some scholars feel therefore that there was not one author (or authors) but a collector and compiler of the most important sayings. Half of them are also found in the gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke. It does not give any details about Jesus’ life, nor mentions his crucifixion and resurrection. It says nothing about the nature of God. In this way it is very similar to the teaching of the Buddha, who also concentrated on what we should do rather than what we should believe. The focus of the Gospel of Thomas is purely on what is necessary to become whole and aware that ‘the kingdom of God is within you’ and that you are a ‘child of God’. It is ignorance of this fact and focus on the material plane with its needs and desires that hides this truth from us.
The date at which these sayings were then actually written down is unclear but it is thought that some of the sayings predate the Synoptic gospels. “Although we do not know where the Gospel of Thomas was written, many scholars, noting names associated with Syria, think it originated there” and may have been written down as early as 50 – 100 CE. (p.39 Beyond Belief)
The Gospel of John was considered ‘gnostic’ in its time and moreover the Gospel of Thomas was more popular; yet John was included and Thomas was excluded. Elaine Pagels tries to explain this fact by comparing and contrasting the Gospels of John and Thomas: “John probably knew what the Gospel of Thomas taught – if not its actual text…what impressed scholars who compared these Gospels is how similar they are. Both John and Thomas, for example, apparently assume that the reader already knows the basic story Mark and the others tell, and each claims to go beyond that story and reveal what Jesus taught his disciples in private……John and Thomas give similar accounts of what Jesus taught privately…and identify Jesus with the divine light that came into being “in the beginning”. Both say that this primordial light connects Jesus with the entire universe. Both characterise him …..as God’s own light in human form.” (p.39/40 Beyond Belief)
The real difference is this: John suggests that Jesus is unique – God himself revealed in human form – God’s “only begotten son.” But the Gospel of Thomas states that God’s Light shines not only in Jesus, but as a spark in everyone, since we are all made in the image of God. Thomas’ Gospel encourages us to come to ‘know’ God intuitively by listening carefully to the 114 sayings of guidance Jesus gives in this Gospel. For us to grow spiritually he encourages us let go of our attachment to the material plane and in doing so to silence our busy rational mind. Only in that silence can we hear the ‘still small voice of calm’ with our intuitive intelligence, our heart, and grace can enter in and guide our transformation.
The reason Thomas lost out to John is most likely because of this emphasis on personal effort, leading with grace to the actual experience of God, rather than on belief alone. But the Christian mystics over the ages have trodden the path indicated by Thomas and stressed that ‘the image of God’ is within each of us and encouraged us to become aware of its presence through silent prayer. The fact that the Gospel of Thomas was excluded from the Canon may well explain why meditation/contemplation became Christianity’s best kept secret.
(Adapted from ‘Journey to the Heart- – the chapter on ‘The Gospel of Thomas’)
