gospel of Thomas 27

“If you do not fast as regards the world, you will not find the kingdom. If you do not observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath, you will not see the father.”

In this short teaching, Jesus is pointing at a couple of the things we need to do, in order to become enlightened; in order to live in the kingdom of heaven, here on earth; in order to be at one with God. And the two things that Jesus picks upon here are to do with our lifestyle.

The first, he says we should fast as regards the world. This word fasting, sometimes it is taken in a literal sense, to mean not eating food. But that's not what Jesus means at all here. It's our attitude to the things of the world that Jesus is talking about. If we are greedy towards things, if we want to acquire things, if we want to own stuff, then our energy will be in that direction. And the mere act of acquiring, the psychology of ownership, creates a great separation in the mind between ourself and the rest of existence.

Having things, possessing things – this mentality is enough to stop us becoming enlightened. There is no private property. Private property requires the individual to be separate; the owner to be separate from that which is owned, and from all the other people, who are somehow now rivals, competitors, for ownership. This psychology needs to be dropped completely.

And this is what Jesus means, when he suggests that we should fast as regards the world. If you do not fast...you will not find the kingdom. And by fasting, Jesus means having a less greedy attitude in life. We do not have to have the fastest car. We do not have to have the biggest house. We do not have to have the biggest salary. We do not have to have the highest degree from a university. We do not have to have the most senior role in our profession. We do not have to own the latest iPhone. We do not have to wear this year's fashion colours.

These are all examples of where we can so easily become obsessed with things in the world, and having them as some sort of status symbol, to help us forge an identity. And that very need to forge an identity is coming from a sense of lacking, a sense that there is something wanting in ourself. And what is really missing is the sense of oneness, of wholeness, of being one with existence. 

That void will never be filled by stuff, by possessing things. No. And that very approach, of trying to have things, is enough to stop us from realising our fulfilment.

The second aspect of our lifestyle, that Jesus picks upon, is even more challenging today than it would have been two thousand years ago when he was speaking. He says, we should observe the sabbath as a sabbath. The sabbath – the root of this word means to rest, a day of rest. It's a bit strange, isn't it? We're so obsessed now with productivity and working. And if you look carefully, even when you are relaxing, you're probably trying to find ways to entertain yourself: reading a book, watching TV, listening to the radio. There are all sorts of entertainments. And all of these are ways of avoiding rest.

It varies a little from society to society, but in the UK for example, where I grew up, to rest is somehow seen as a bad thing. We should always be active and productive. And that mentality, of being busy all the time, is again enough to stop us from realising our enlightenment.

Jesus knew this well. The way to come home to ourself, the way to find the kingdom of heaven here on earth, is through relaxation. We relax into a state of being – not of doing, not of having, just of being. This is what Jesus is telling us. Observe the sabbath as a sabbath. That is, take a day where you do not work, where you do not do things, where you are at rest.

It's a psychology, a mental approach to the day. It doesn't mean you have to lie in bed all day. You can be walking in the woods, at rest. Not trying to achieve something, not trying to get somewhere, not trying to acquire anything. Just relaxing. This is really important. This is the route back to our essence. This is the way to find God – at rest, through relaxation.

So traditionally, the Jews set aside one day of the week, one day in seven, for resting, and this is the sabbath. For Jews, it runs from Friday evening through to Saturday evening. And remember, Jesus was a Jew. In his day, the sabbath was then. It only moved to Sunday for Christians when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as the official religion. Then Sunday became the sabbath, for Christians.

But it doesn't matter which day we pick. For me every day is a holy day. Every day is a sabbath. And the more time we can spend in that state, of non-doing, of not trying to achieve things, then the more we will be resting in our essence. The more we will come to really be in the world. The more we will be dwelling in the kingdom. And the better we will know the father.

So follow the advice of Jesus. Fast with regard to the things of the world. And observe, once in a while, a day as a sabbath, a day of rest. Relaxing into your being. Relaxing into all that is.