Naked in the Kingdom of God (Gospel of Thomas)

This episode is on the 21st saying in the Gospel of Thomas. I will read it for you: 

Mary said to Jesus, "Whom are your disciples like?" He said, "They are like children who have settled in a field which is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Let us have back our field.' They (will) undress in their presence in order to let them have back their field and to give it back to them. Therefore I say, if the owner of a house knows that the thief is coming, he will begin his vigil before he comes and will not let him dig through into his house of his domain to carry away his goods. You, then, be on your guard against the world. Arm yourselves with great strength lest the robbers find a way to come to you, for the difficulty which you expect will (surely) materialize. Let there be among you a man of understanding. When the grain ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in his hand and reaped it. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."  

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Transcript

This episode is on the 21st saying in the Gospel of Thomas. I will read it for you: 

Mary said to Jesus, "Whom are your disciples like?" He said, "They are like children who have settled in a field which is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Let us have back our field.' They (will) undress in their presence in order to let them have back their field and to give it back to them. Therefore I say, if the owner of a house knows that the thief is coming, he will begin his vigil before he comes and will not let him dig through into his house of his domain to carry away his goods. You, then, be on your guard against the world. Arm yourselves with great strength lest the robbers find a way to come to you, for the difficulty which you expect will (surely) materialize. Let there be among you a man of understanding. When the grain ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in his hand and reaped it. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."  

The first thing I notice in this saying is that it is prompted by Mary. This is Mary Magdalene, of course, not Mary the mother of Jesus or one of the other Marys that appear in the gospels. This is Mary of Magdala, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, although a female one, and therefore not listed as a disciple in the canonical gospels. That itself tells us that Thomas’ gospel goes beyond the male dominance that we find in the New Testament. 

Mary asked Jesus, "What are your disciples like?" This a different question than ‘What is the Kingdom of God like?” That is the typical way that Jesus formulates his answers, even when he is not specifically asked such a question. He is asked about those who identify as followers of Jesus. Jesus’ answer is in four parts using four different analogies. 

First he says, “They are like little children living in a field that is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Give us back our field.' They take off their clothes in front of them in order to give it back to them, and they return their field to them.” 

I love this image! First of all theses are children, not adults. Jesus often used children as examples of those who are of the Kingdom of God. These children are living in a field - or settled in a field - which is not theirs. In other words they are squatters, homeless children who are living in a field. It causes my mind to wonder how they are living there. What type of shelter they have, etc. In any case, the owners come and want the field back. They want the children gone. Jesus says that they take off their clothes and give them back the field. 

They take off their clothes? That seems like a strange response. What is Jesus getting at? I think he is alluding to the biblical story of Adam and Eve naked in the Garden of Eden, before they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  

These children are pure and innocent, like Adam and Eve. They have no shame when it comes to nakedness, just like children today. Our kids and grandkids used to run around naked all the time when they were young. It is the natural condition of humanity before we began to identify with all the cultural taboos.  

So these children are representative of those who are one with their natural environment. They live in what is called nondual awareness. They have no conception of possessions or ownership. When the adults come and demand their field back, these children do not know what they are talking about. How can someone own a field? It doesn’t make sense, so they give the only things they have. Their response is to shed everything, including their clothing.  

This reminds me of Jesus’ teaching on nonresistance in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said, "I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” That is what these kids are doing.  

In reality we own nothing. Not real estate or even the clothes on our back. These children were naturally demonstrating that lesson to the field owners. Jesus is saying that this is how the disciples of Jesus teach. They teach through their actions, actions that communicate the realization of no-self. No self and therefor no possessions.  

Then Jesus uses another analogy. He continues, “For this reason I say, if the owners of a house know that a thief is coming, they will be on guard before the thief arrives and will not let the thief break into their house and steal their possessions.” 

That parable is familiar to us from the canonical gospels, but here Jesus puts it in a different context, and therefore it has a different meaning. In Matthew Jesus puts it in an apocalyptic context of the Coming of the Son of Man. He says, “If the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, you can be sure that he would stay awake and not let the thief break into his house. So then, you also must always be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.” 

In Thomas’s gospel there is no apocalypticism. Instead there is nonduality. That is very different. In this context Jesus is building upon the first story about the children naked in the field. The owners of the house are the same as the owners of the field. Both owners and tied to ownership. That is the only reading that makes sense to me. They have a possessive mindset. They think a house is theirs and all the possessions in the house are theirs. Their possessions are an extension of their identity. Therefore they are anxious and afraid of someone breaking into their house and stealing their stuff. 

This describes modern people in America so well, especially the gun culture. People are so afraid that they buy an arsenal of weapons to protect themselves and their possessions. And because they do not know when the robbers are going to break in, they are anxious all the time. They live a life of anxiety. Just like these owners of the field were anxious about these children squatting on their field. Notice that there is no concern for these homeless children. They were literally willing to take the clothing off their backs. 

The difference between followers of Jesus and followers of the world is that we care more for people than possessions. We know that we cannot really own anything.  Nothing is ours because there is no self to own anything. That is why Native Americans could not conceive of the White man owning land on the American frontier. It never occurred to them that humans could own land. They were one with the land. But we have bought into this illusion that we can own things, and we will do anything to protect our property.  

The next part of the saying is this: “As for you, then, be on guard against the world. Prepare yourselves with great strength, so the robbers can't find a way to get to you, for the trouble you expect will come. Let there be among you a person who understands.” 

Jesus warns us against the world. Robbers can only steal things, but the world can steal your soul. He says here to be “Prepare yourselves with great strength, so the robbers can't find a way to get to you....” Notice that he does not say “get to your things” but “get to you.”  That is the real danger. That in seeking to guard all our possessions, we lose ourselves. We lose who we really are. As Jesus said elsewhere, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul.” In other words, he encourages us to be more concerned about spiritual matters than material things.  

Jesus ends the saying with these two sentences. “When the crop ripened, he came quickly carrying a sickle and harvested it. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!" This is another shift in metaphors. This time a farming one. But the message is clear. Do not hesitate when you see worldliness and possessiveness creep into your life. Act quickly so that your birthright as children of God is not lost.  

We came into the world naked and we will leave naked. In the meantime we are still naked under these clothes. No one can steal what we really are. But we can lose sight of it. We can forget it. That realization of our true nature is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."