His disciples questioned him, (and) they said to him:
"Do you want us to fast?
And how should we pray and give alms?
And what diet should we observe?"
"Do you want us to fast?
And how should we pray and give alms?
And what diet should we observe?"
Jesus says: "Do not lie. And do not do what you hate.
For everything is disclosed in view of truth.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become revealed.
And there is nothing covered that will remain undisclosed." *
For everything is disclosed in view of truth
For there is nothing hidden that will not become revealed.
And there is nothing covered that will remain undisclosed." *
You are all so amazing. You are more joyous, more radiant and wise than you could possibly imagine. You are an unlimited, radiant, powerfully creative, free and loving eternal spirit. There is no end to you. You contain within you the most incredible diamondesque radiance, a light which is both wisdom and power, love and infinite knowledge.
And, that's not all. It's only just a glimpse of who you really are. You are boundless and within your own inner being you contain the entire universe and in that infinity you can and will experience your own self as also unlimited and a joy beyond anything you know today. You will also encounter each other in new and more fully expansive and loving ways. When (if) we attain ascension consciousness in this life, you will remember your life and the others you knew in this life. You will live eternally either way, but you will remember your life here if you enter it while you're living.
And, that's not all. It's only just a glimpse of who you really are. You are boundless and within your own inner being you contain the entire universe and in that infinity you can and will experience your own self as also unlimited and a joy beyond anything you know today. You will also encounter each other in new and more fully expansive and loving ways. When (if) we attain ascension consciousness in this life, you will remember your life and the others you knew in this life. You will live eternally either way, but you will remember your life here if you enter it while you're living.
So, what does that have to do with Lent?
Imagine you plant a little seed in the Earth and you water it everyday, knowing that the potential in that seed is a beautiful tree. Everyday you watch it, consider the tree it will be one day, water it and protect it. Meanwhile the tiny seed it gestating in the earth, responding to the water it's getting, and slowly it puts out a root and then another, and then eventually it sends up a shoot which then greens after a little while above ground in response to the sun's warmth.
Lent is like that. You contain within you your real spiritual self, the eternal seed which contains all that is most beautiful in the universe. During Lent, you water it, you protect it, and watch it and you learn about it. Then, finally, after a 40-day gestation period, your newly Christed self is born and you are resurrected spiritually as Christ Himself was. It's Easter and you are reborn.
That's the idea anyway. So, now, what does sacrifice have to do with this?
It has nothing to do with this, which is why Jesus somewhat dismisses the question posed to him by his disciples. His response is simple and yet profound. "Do not lie and do not do what you hate." Isn't that what most of us do? Don't we all lie and don't we all do what we hate? Yet, we don't know it because we're all in denial about who we are. We don't know who we are. We are all enslaved to the world. We are feasting at the world's table while Christ is calling us all to the Great Banquet. The world's table is a lie and we are doing it and we hate it. We just don't know it because we don't know anything better. But, there is something so much better.
Elsewhere in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says:
Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and outside of you."
"When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known,
and you will realize that you are the children of the living Father.
But if you do not come to know yourselves, then you exist in poverty, and you are poverty."
And, in Luke, Jesus says, "a good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart .... For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:15)
Imagine you plant a little seed in the Earth and you water it everyday, knowing that the potential in that seed is a beautiful tree. Everyday you watch it, consider the tree it will be one day, water it and protect it. Meanwhile the tiny seed it gestating in the earth, responding to the water it's getting, and slowly it puts out a root and then another, and then eventually it sends up a shoot which then greens after a little while above ground in response to the sun's warmth.
Lent is like that. You contain within you your real spiritual self, the eternal seed which contains all that is most beautiful in the universe. During Lent, you water it, you protect it, and watch it and you learn about it. Then, finally, after a 40-day gestation period, your newly Christed self is born and you are resurrected spiritually as Christ Himself was. It's Easter and you are reborn.
That's the idea anyway. So, now, what does sacrifice have to do with this?
It has nothing to do with this, which is why Jesus somewhat dismisses the question posed to him by his disciples. His response is simple and yet profound. "Do not lie and do not do what you hate." Isn't that what most of us do? Don't we all lie and don't we all do what we hate? Yet, we don't know it because we're all in denial about who we are. We don't know who we are. We are all enslaved to the world. We are feasting at the world's table while Christ is calling us all to the Great Banquet. The world's table is a lie and we are doing it and we hate it. We just don't know it because we don't know anything better. But, there is something so much better.
Elsewhere in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says:
Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and outside of you."
"When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known,
and you will realize that you are the children of the living Father.
But if you do not come to know yourselves, then you exist in poverty, and you are poverty."
And, in Luke, Jesus says, "a good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart .... For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:15)
And, in the Gospel of John is the famous nightime conversation Jesus has with Nicodemus in which he says that unless we are "born again," we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. (John 3: 3)
That "born again," is the birth of your true self, your own personal resurrection, your own birthing of your true self out of the dark night of your own life. Easter is the very real birth of your true self, your Christed self as it is the resurrection of Jesus, which is what he is calling us - his own disciples of today - to do also.
Lent is that time of gestating. It has nothing to do with abstaining from chocolate or wearing ashes on your forehead. It has everything to do with prayer, meditation, studying and challenging yourself in every way to be more authentic, to bring forth what is in you. You may find that by uncovering your creative talents, you may find some inner tools to help you dig deeper. It is a very deep dig, but with the help of the Holy Spirit it can be done.
This is not easy and every year we once again consciously try again, begin again, remember again that this may be the only thing really worth doing in life. Yet, Christ is there, He is very alive and very there and is able to help you. He is calling. He is knocking and if we even limp toward the door of our heart, He will help us open it to our true selves, to eternal life, to Him and eternity.
P.S. I'm not saying I'm there, but, I am saying that I'm working on it, just like you are. The hardest temptation though is doing Lent and not getting sucked into the whole sacrificial mindset that only forces us further down and farther away from our true destination.
*THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS;
TRANSLATED BY STEPHEN J. PATTERSON AND JAMES M. ROBINSON
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