gospel of Thomas 80

Jesus said, "He who has recognised the world has found the body, but he who has found the body is superior to the world."

I don't know what Jesus was trying to convey when he said this, but I'll share the thoughts that are provoked in me when I read it.

He who has recognised the world has found the body. The world, the body – to me, these are the material manifestations of life, of creation. And if we relate to them in that way – as half the story of life, not the whole story – then we can enjoy them and be rather relaxed about them: the world – the outer, material, manifest world – and the body which we tend to regard as our own; we have sovereign rights over it – that's the way we normally feel about the body.

But apart from this distinction of the outer and the inner, the world and the body are not so much different. There is a physical reality to them. And if we live in a very materialistic way, then we put too much emphasis on this aspect of life: the physical world, and the body.

And it's only as we explore the spiritual realm – the other half of life – that we can begin to truly recognise the world; and understand that life is a dance between the material and the immaterial, the manifest and the unmanifest.

And I think this may be what Jesus was hinting at when he said, he who has found the body is superior to the world. I never liked this word superior. It implies comparison: better and worse, and all that nonsense. There's nothing in creation superior to anything else. It is a man-made concept, and it is not useful.

But certainly we can move from living a materialistic life, to one that is less materialistic – where at least some of our energy is present in the spiritual side of life. And with that balance, we do not become neurotic about the body or about things of the world. The material realm can be enjoyed, appreciated, but at the end of the day, it is not that important.