gospel of Thomas 47

Jesus said, "It is impossible for a man to mount two horses or to stretch two bows. And it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters; otherwise he will honour the one and treat the other contemptuously. No man drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. And new wine is not put into old wineskins, lest they burst; nor is old wine put into a new wineskin, lest it spoil it. An old patch is not sown onto a new garment, because a tear would result."

This saying of Jesus seems very cryptic, almost impenetrable. But let's see what we can make of it.

In the first half, Jesus seems to be saying, we can't do two things at once. We can't mount two horses or stretch two bows. A servant cannot serve two masters. And with this, my feeling is Jesus is encouraging us to focus, focus our spiritual endeavour, on one route, one path, one master, one teaching.

And there's something to be said for that. If we hop around, mixing things from here and there, it can be too easy to miss the more difficult teachings, the painful steps. We can dodge them more easily: just hearing those parts of the message that we want to hear, and avoiding the rest.

But I only have limited agreement with Jesus, if this was indeed what he meant. Because there is also a danger in focussing all one's energy on a single path, or a single teaching. It becomes ubiquitous in our journey, always present with us. And it is all too easy then, for the method, the teaching, the master, to become a necessary crutch, without which or without whom, we cannot continue. The method or the master has become an attachment. We have become dependent upon it. And with that, the very master or method has become an obstacle. And it is very difficult to drop such an obstacle, to go beyond it.

So I only have limited sympathy with this parable of Jesus. Yes, there are times when it's good for us to focus all our energy at one point, especially when the going gets tough. That single pointed focus is necessary at times. But also, there's a great benefit in not becoming focussed just on one method; in allowing the rich tapestry of teachings which are available to us – especially in this day and age – allowing that great mix to blend itself within us, to come up with something new, that's appropriate for the unique individual that one is.

So the first part of this parable Jesus seems to be saying, stick to one teacher, one path. And I only have limited agreement with that message.

In the second part, Jesus seems to be talking about the old and the new, and the incompatibility between the old and the new. Old wine, new wine; old wine and new wineskin; old wineskin and new wine – all of these, Jesus says, are not compatible. The old is not compatible with the new. This seems to be what Jesus is saying.

And I interpret this in two ways, with regard to our spiritual journey. One is to do with teachings again. There are old teachings – the traditions that have been handed down for thousands of years. They have energy, they carry ancient messages. But, because they are old and established, they do not have that spark of the new, of the creative, of the individual, of the unique.

And true spirituality is not of the past, but something that is alive now in the moment, coming to us by mysterious means, always fresh, unpredictable, never seen before. And in this sense, the new is not compatible with the old. We can drop the old – it just gets in the way. And in dropping the old, we make space for the new to come into being.

So this is one interpretation I put on this parable by Jesus. But another interpretation, related, has to do with the seeker himself.

For the seeker, the starting point is the ego, is the sense of self – all the memories, all the clutter that has accumulated during one's lifetime so far. And that is the old, that is the old me: my personality, my identity. And part of the spiritual journey is about dropping that, totally, and being reborn. A new being comes into being when we can let go of who we think we are: of the labels, of the family, of the traditions, the society, the nation, all the things that we define ourself by, ordinarily. That is all the old. And whilst we cling to that, whilst we give that significance, importance in our life, we hold ourself in the pattern of the old. And there's no space for transformation, no possibility.

This transformation, this rebirth into the moment, forever new – this can be felt on the inside. But only once we've let go of the old. And it's a continual letting go thereafter that is needed, never holding on, never clinging to anything. The new can only come into being, when the old has gone away, has been let go of.

I agree with Jesus: the old and the new are not compatible. And, indeed, the new can only be new when the old has dissolved away, dropped away, been let go of.

So for me, this is what Jesus is saying in the second part of this short saying. But who knows, perhaps he had a completely different meaning that he was trying to convey. Feel for yourself: perhaps some other message comes through for you. And it is just as true, just as real, as anything that has come to me. Trust your own feelings.