gospel of Thomas 63

Jesus said, "There was a rich man who had much money. He said, 'I shall put my money to use so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my storehouse with produce, with the result that I shall lack nothing.' Such were his intentions, but that same night he died. Let him who has ears hear."

In looking at this verse from the Gospel of Thomas. I'm going to start by saying a few words about that last sentence: let him who has ears hear. This pops up a few times in the gospel and it's Jesus' way of saying, this is a parable I'm telling. It's not to be taken literally. It's not just a story for entertainment. Look for the symbolism. Look for the real meaning in the story.

This is really important. People taking spiritual teachings literally – too literally – has caused great trouble in the world. In fact, it's probably caused more anguish than anything else we humans have yet dreamt up.

All true spiritual teachings are pointing at something that is beyond words. And if we just take the words as they stand, it will cause great trouble. So always look for the real meaning that's behind the words. And of course, with these parables, we need to try and understand what it was that Jesus was pointing at.

So in this parable, Jesus talks about a man. He a rich man. He's already got money. But he's also got these intentions to invest the money, in things that will pay dividends in the future. And of course, in the time of Jesus, most people were living a rural life, and agriculture was the main industry. So the parable relates to planting crops, crops which will grow and yield a dividend. Nowadays, we would talk about stocks and shares and investments in property, but it's the same thing. The man has money and he's planning to invest it. And many would say that's very prudent – planning for the future.

But in this parable, Jesus says, that same night he died. And this should be a warning to us. Firstly, if we put all our eggs in the basket of the future, then we may not live to see the benefits. Any one of us could die, any moment, without warning. So the first thing to say about this parable is, don't live for the future. Live for today. Live this moment fully. Whatever it is that is happening, live it to the full. Don't put all your energy into planning for the future, for there may be none: you may be dead.

So this is the first rather obvious meaning in the parable. But there's more to it than that. Look at the subject matter: material things, wealth, money, investment, profit. So at the same time, Jesus is saying, on the day of your death, all this materialism will come to nothing. So it's a reminder, not to put too much energy into the material things of life. And don't put any great store by them. They are part of life and not to be ignored totally. But in the end, they will come to nothing. Everything material will pass.

So here we are reminded that there's something more important to life; something that we should attend to – and that is our spiritual journey – delving into ourselves to find the truth about who we are, and what life is. And if we don't do that, if we put all our time and effort into investment, then on the day of our death, we will regret it. For we will see as we draw our last breath, that we have missed life.

So don't make the mistake of the man in this parable. Don't live in a purely materialistic way. And don't live for the future. Look for your essence, the essential part of who you are. And look for it today, now, in this moment.