Gospel of Thomas Saying 27
gnostic ken
27 "If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the
kingdom.
If you do not observe the sabbath as a sabbath you will not see the
Father."
................................
27) <Jesus said,> "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."
................................
27 Unless
You abstain from the world,
you will not find the kingdom.
Unless you honor the sabbath,
you will not see the Father.
..............................
27. (Y'shua says:)
Unless you fast from the system, you shall not find the
Sovereignty «of God».
Unless you keep the (entire) week as Sabbathº, you shall not behold
the
Father.
.........................
(27)
(1) "If you do not abstain from the world, you will not find the
kingdom.
(2) If you do not make the Sabbath into a Sabbath, you will not see
the
Father."
.............................
27
Abstinence from the world
(JESUS said), "If you (plur.) do not abstain from the world you will
not
find the king. If you do not make the sabbath a sabbath you will not
behold the father."
gnostic ken
Sun Dec 14, 2003 10:21 pm, P3nn
said:
When you realise that fast in this sense means
to make strong it means that
if you are not strong of this world you will not
find peace.
MP
Penn
Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:01 am, gwh00 said:
I view this as instruction to the aspirant to
not partake in the world. Put
in consciousness terms, the inversion of
attention and withdrawal from
sensory input is necessary in order to gain
access to higher states of
consciousness.
ely
Mon Dec 15, 2003 10:27 pm, P3nn answered ely:
I tend to see that as a more modern connotaion.
To fast from in earlier
times meant to draw strength from. Fasting is
not abstinance as such, tis
the strengthening of ones spirit. However a lil
abstainance can and oft is
used to build this strength, e.g. abstainance
from food to strengthen
against hunger. I see people concentrating on
the wrong connotation (imho)
much of the time thinking that that is what its
about when tis really the
other ;)
MP
Penn
Tue Dec 16, 2003 1:24 pm, Steve said:
Cultivate a detached equanimity to the phenomenal
world. -Steve W.
Tue Dec 16, 2003 1:27 pm, I said:
This one didn't mean anything to me. Probably
because I didn't know
what was meant by the words "fast" and
"sabbath". Now thanks to Penn the meaning
is clearer to me.
Wed Dec 17, 2003 12:50 am, P3nn added:
Sabbath: From old english "sabat" via
latin "sabbatum" via greek "sabbaton"
via hebrew "shabbath" meaning rest.
MP
Penn
Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:47 am
FlowersShallRise@... said:
It probably means I should turn off George Bush
babbling next to me (I'd
been looking for Rachel Ray!), and turn off the
computer, and go spend
some time in
meditation today, and spiritual reading, and other good things. :)
Seriously, spiritual growth requires attention.
If we think of giving
it at least
a seventh of our time, it's probably a good thing, right?
Fleur
Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:24 am eugnostos2000 said:
IMO, this logia refers to the regular practice
of
meditation. The Upanishads likens external
sensory stimulation
to food. Withdrawel of attention from apparently
external
phenomena (what Hindu yoga calls pratyahara) and
turning
one's attention inward is the first step of
meditation.
This process may be likened to fasting. So
"fasting from the world"
can be taken to mean withdrawing one's attention
from the usual
preoccupation with the supposedly external world
and looking
within.
IMO, Steve
Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:26 am Gnostic Tom said:
sabbath is a form of fasting,
of not working one day a week
to identify with something
beyond the mundane daily worldly stuff
to pause and stop being immersed in
worldly pursuits to take the time for
mystical vision quests
is here advocated as the way
to the "Father's kingdom"
G n o s t i c . T o m
http://www.geocities.com/gnostictom/
Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:07 pm itsallrozee answered
Gnostic Tom:
hi tom, yeah, you're saying to take a break from
the identifying with
the world, perhaps our personlised world as
well! and taking time out
to rest the mind. Life is one big 'vision quest' isn't it!
Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:25 pm dunskinnin@... said:
To me to fast from the world means to stop
identifying with the world
both inwardly and outwardly. "I am in the
world but not of it"
Observing the sabbath would take place moment to
moment so that I
never forget why I am fasting.
Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:42 pm itsallrozee answered
dunskinnin:
I like this interpretation, being in the world
but not of it. observing the sabbath, is
the day of rest isn't it? does it suggest,
'rest in me'
Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:21 pm P3nn said:
There is only one rule to attaining gnosis.
Disregard all rules. They only serve to hold you back.
Penndragon
Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:05 am vang19th@... said:
This saying reminds us of the dualism that is
typical for the religious and
philosophical thinking of antiquity. The Kingdom of God is not of this world. The material world, which our
body is part of, draws us away from the
spiritual realm we have to approach if we want
to see the Kingdom. Jesus says somewhere in the
gospels of the New Testament: Deny
yourself and take up your cross and follow me! In the previous sentence he has told a wealthy young man who has asked him how he could inherit eternal life, to sell
all he have and give it to the poor, then
he is to deny himself and take up his cross. Today I think these demands are to high for everyone, but we do know
that the passions and business of the material
world struggle against the work of the
spirit
Soren
Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:44 pm
grigoriorifiel@... said:
To me it means that the closer you are to the
materialism of this world the farther you are from completeness of heaven. This is
also referenced to in Mark 10:24 - "And the disciples were astonished at his
words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it
for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" It's
not a matter of greed that would fist come to mind but a matter of perception. How can
anyone understand the lack of material things if they amass material things? So
in order to find heaven you must understand what is important and what is not. The
second part of
this has been
all but lost in these times of separation of church and state, and businesses that are open to the consumer 24/7/365. In
theory this separation initially took place to protect the right of those to
practice there religion in freedom. Instead it has been manipulated to the point
where the state cannot recognize religious rights without appearing bias to
it. So we can be fired if we refuse to work on a religious holiday simply
because the separation of state cannot be more protective of your right to religion
than your employers right to make a buck. So in essence we forget the sabbath, we
work, force others
to do so (because
it's our job), we wash the car, do laundry, and tinker around the house
instead of seeking meaningful spiritual growth,
and living by it! So how can we meet the father if we are so preoccupied pleasing the
here and now and not in finding ways to keep one day sacred? That what I get
from it.
Fri Jul 9, 2010 6:35 am, Gnostic Tom said:
Sabbath is taking a break, stopping the normal workflow of life, enjoying a weekend, getting away from it all. Fasting is taking a break from eating, dieting, cleansing the system, lightening up. To fast, not from food, but from the world, is to turn off the television, ignore the papers, get out of the conversations about politics and business, turn off the phone, and just take a walk in the woods. Leave behind the books and acquired concepts of how things are and go out and pick up sticks and turn over rocks for yourself. Direct connect to What Is. So little time, so much to unlearn.
Gnostic Tom
Fri Jul 9, 2010 8:37 am, Jerry B. commented on Gnostic Tom's post:
This is beautifully put, I
think. Unless one does this, one can not
develop the
new ears and eyes to see, make the inner and the outer one,
the upper the
same as the lower. jerry
Sat Jul 10, 2010 10:58 am, Sam said:
Gist of GoT 27;
Set aside all
our mundane-concerns,
'tis for
ataraxis that mind yearns.
Veg-out each
seventh ... repose returns.
itso,
philo
22 Apr 11, Clive said:
I think Jesus must have read Isaiah 58 before he said this saying,
Its about fasting and the Sabbath.
Heres a bit -
"6"Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke? .
And again -
And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD
honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And speaking your own word,
23 Apr 12, I replied:
Yeah. It was building on the idea of the Sabbath. That seems
clear.
Ken
23 Apr 12, Clive said:
My current take on this is that "the world" is my own
world, which is all the external habits and internal desires I consist of that
are all geared towards my own self pleasure.
To "fast from the world" I see as breaking free from
this/my world and by setting my intention to get my pleasure from giving
pleasure rather from recieving it.
25 Apr 11, Clive said:
Some interesting views you posted there (below if I ever get
around to it), thanks.
Personally speaking, I think of the sabbath as a day of rest from
working at correcting my left side.
I call it the sabbath when I'm in that period when I feel filled
with light and can't work at correcting myself because the light makes me feel
perfect, its as if I've entered a new spiritual existence and the work of
correction is done, unfortunately this state of being doesn't last long and
then a new period of having to work on myself for 6 days begins.
I think of it as steps towards the goal, each step starts with 6
days of work at correction and finishes on the sabbath when the light enters
the empty spaces which are created by the corrections made during the working
week.
26 Apr 11, I said:
Thanks. Seeing what other's think opens doors for me and I hope
they might be useful for others too.
Ken