gospel of Thomas 66

Jesus said, "Show me the stone which the builders have rejected. That one is the cornerstone."

With some of Jesus' teachings – for example, when he uses a phrase like a good man – with such teachings, I sometimes question Jesus' wisdom. A good man seems to imply that some men are not good. There is a judgement going on. Some of us are good, and others are not good. And this judgement permeated Christianity for centuries. It is in its most extreme form with talk of the day of judgement, and heaven and hell awaiting us for eternity.

Fortunately, in more recent times, many Christian churches have moved away from such rhetoric, such a judgemental attitude, towards ourselves and each other. But sometimes in Jesus' teachings, I can see the source of that judgemental approach.

But not here. This short parable is sublime. And if you can feel your way into it, fully, it has the capacity to bring about a great liberation in your mind; a great easing of deep tensions. So look at it carefully, quietly, without distraction. Probe your way into it, for there is treasure here.

Jesus says, show me the stone which the builders have rejected. There we have the judgement again, don't we? The builders have rejected something. This stone is not good enough. Others might be good, but this one, no. We're not going to build with it. This is the judgemental mind: discriminating, clinging hold of one and pushing away the other. One is good, the other is bad, rejected.

And this is, all too often, the way we treat each other: pulling one person towards us, pushing the next away. This person is good, that person is bad. And we apply it not only to individuals, but whole groups of people: nation states – that modern equivalent of the old tribal system. And so often we see our neighbours then as enemies. They are bad and we are good.

And all this psychology – either between individuals, or between groups of people, it's exactly the same mental process – all this psychology is founded on a deep self-judgement that has been lost in the unconscious parts of our mind, from where it is causing chaos in the world.

There would be no wars if every one of us, as individuals, cleaned up our own psyche. Deep down, buried, there is a part of our mind which has decided that we are not good enough. We as an individual are a reject. We may not be aware of it – probably most people are not. This unconscious self-criticism is often covered up with layers of compensatory behaviour and psychology. What is the aggressive, macho warmongering of a nation, other than an attempt to cover up a deep feeling of unease within its leader. That feeling of unease is a personal matter. And yet thousands, perhaps millions of people might have to die for it, pointlessly. And all because one feels oneself to be defective – a reject.

But here, Jesus is indicating that there is a different way we can be in the world. He says, show me the stone which has been rejected, for that is the cornerstone. The cornerstone is the key stone from which the rest of the structure is built and depends upon. And so it is in our psychology. This stone which we have rejected, which has been pushed into the unconscious, has become the cornerstone of our ego, and of all the trouble that we cause in the world, wittingly or unwittingly.

But Jesus is also indicating that this can be the cornerstone in a different way: the cornerstone of our spiritual path. It is this feeling of unease within ourself, and with our place in the world, that leads us to search for the truth. This is the cornerstone of our spiritual journey, for most of us anyway: a deep feeling of discontentment, and uneasiness with our place in life.

And this rather negative feeling is stemming from the same unconscious cornerstone. We can bring it into the light, and we can explore it. And this, this then, is the foundation of our growth, and the expansion of our consciousness into its fullest potential.

Jesus knows this well. And this is what he is pointing at with this beautiful short parable. Dwell on it, I urge you. For from it, great things might come.