Images are revealed to humanity
while the light within them is hidden
by the brilliance of the Father's light.
It is God who is being revealed,
but the image of God
remains concealed by the blaze of light.
When you see your own likeness
projected into time
it makes you happy.
But when the time comes
that you are able to look upon
the icon of your own being
which came into existence at the beginning,
and neither dies nor has been fully revealed,
will you be able to stand it?
The angels and the prophets will come
and bring you what already belongs to you,
and you will give to them what you have to give.
But ask yourself this:
When may they come and receive back from you
what already belongs to them?
They said to him,
"Tell us, who you really are
so we may believe in you."
He said to them,
"You have learned to read
the face of earth and sky,
but you do not yet recognize
the one standing in your presence,
nor can you make sense of the present moment."
Seek now, I say,
and you will find that for which you search.
You see, I am ready to tell you
everything you were asking earlier and did not explain,
but at the moment no one is searching out anything.
Do not give what is sacred to dogs
who will only discard it on pile of manure.
Do not cast pearls in front of pigs
who will only trample and ruin them.
The Father's realm can be compared
to a woman who takes a tiny bit of yeast,
folds it into dough
and makes great loaves of bread out of it.
Whoever has ears for this, listen!
The Father's realm is like a woman
carrying a jar full of meal.
While she is walking on a path
some distance from her home,
the handle of her jug breaks,
and the meal spills out behind her on the road.
She is unaware of the problem,
for she has noticed nothing.
When she opens the door of her house
and puts the jar down,
suddenly she discovers it empty.
The Father's realm is like a man
wanting to kill someone powerful.
So he draws a sword in his own house
and puts it through the wall
to test whether or not his hand is actually strong enough.
Then he goes out and slays the giant.
Whoever does not reject
father and mother in the way I do
cannot be my student.
Whoever does not welcome father and mother as I do
cannot be my disciple,
for my mother brought me forth,
but Truth gave me life.
Blessed are those
who are aware of the approach of thieves,
who know when and where they will enter
even before they appear,
for then they may arise and prepare
by gathering their sovereignty about them,
and binding to themselves
that which was from the beginning.
When you are able to transform two into one,
then you will become a "Son of Humanity,"
and it will be possible for you
to say to a mountain, "Move," and it will move.
The divine Realm can be compared
to a shepherd who had one hundred sheep.
One of the finest went astray,
so he left the ninety-nine
and went out searching for it until he found it.
Troubled, he said,
"I longed for you more than the ninety-nine."
The divine Realm is like a man
who owned a field with treasure hidden away in it.
Unaware of it he died, leaving it to his son
who also knew nothing about it.
After taking possession of the land
the son practically gave it away for nothing.
But the one who bought it began plowing
and discovered the treasure,
and immediately started lending money at interest
to whomever he pleased.
Heaven and earth will completely disappear
in your presence,
and the one who lives by means of the Living One
will not see death,
because, as Yeshua says,
'The cosmos is not worthy
of the one who discovers the true Self.'
His students asked him,
"On what day will the kingdom arrive? "
"Its coming cannot be perceived from the outside," he said.
"You cannot say, 'Look, it's over there,'
or 'No, here it is.'
The Father's realm is spreading out
across the face of the earth,
and humanity is not able to perceive it. "
Simon Peter said to them all,
"Mary should leave us,
for women are not worthy of this Life."
Yeshua said,
"Then, I myself will lead her,
making her male if she must become worthy like you males!
I will transform her into a living spirit
because any woman changed in this way
will enter the divine Realm."
Welcome to my Illustrated Guide to the Gospel of Thomas
These photographic meditations were developed over three years in response to the Gospel of Thomas. I post them here in hopes that they may help you find your way into the heart of these words of Jesus, and I extend my thanks to Lynn Bauman for his inspirational translation of this seminal work.
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"This is indeed a great resource, from a person whose being is as lovely as her photography... It just goes to show that creativity is as valid a way of 'knowing' a text as is scholarly exegesis--and much more in the spirit of what was originally meant by 'gnosis,' or integral knowing." -- Cynthia Bourgeault