gospel of Thomas 83

Jesus said, "The images are manifest to man, but the light in them remains concealed in the image of the light of the father. He will become manifest, but his image will remain concealed by his light."

I have to say, I don't think Jesus was at his best with this sutra, which is a shame because it's touching on a really important point. And that is, that we humans, living in this manifest world, are living in a world of images. Our mind, our thinking mind, works with images. A word is an image. And because of these images, we become one step removed from reality and from the direct perception of reality.

Jesus said, the images are manifest to man. Yes. In fact, we become so overwhelmed by the images that we forget about everything else. Jesus says, but the light in the images remains concealed. Yes, the light is the truth. The light is the source of all that is. The light is God. The light is your essence. The light is truth.

We can live that truth. It can be a lived reality for us. But only when we have put aside the images; relegated them to their correct place, which is, as a very insignificant little utility in the mind. But ordinarily, we do not manage to do that. We have become seduced by the images – so much so that we have forgotten the light.

I shan't comment on the rest of the verse. It doesn't make much sense to me. Not that I have anything against nonsensical teachings. In fact, the most powerful spiritual teachings always are nonsensical, irrational. They're a shock to the mind. But this verse from the Gospel of Thomas doesn't carry that zen nonsensical feel. No. It's just a bit of a mess of images and light and father.

But the key message that comes through to me from this teaching is that truth – which is the father, the light – can be felt directly, but not via the image. And this is why, in some traditions, it is prohibited to make an image of God. God is that which is, when the images are no more. So to make an image of God would be absurd.

So from this little verse, let's just remember that the images – the images in our mind, that we normally live with, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day – these images are not the truth. And we can come to the truth, but only by setting aside the images.