What do Thomas, Rohr and O'Donohue have in common?

In my last post I mentioned that I am doing an on-line retreat with Cynthia Bourgeault on the Gospel of Thomas. Only recently have I even heard of the Gospel of Thomas! And I probably wouldn't have bothered to explore it without the guidance of Bourgeault whom I know to be trusted guide! Essentially The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of sayings of Jesus. Many of them are essentially the same as sayings in the four canonical gospels. A good number are new. Some critics say it isn't really a "gospel" because it contains no narrative of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It's true, it doesn't. But if gospel basically means "good news" I think finding sayings of Jesus old and new is good news! Like all of the synoptic gospels there are translation and interpretation challenges. That's where a good translation and a seasoned guide are invaluable.

Personally I am finding a daily meditation on one saying fruitful and enriching. There's a freshness that can be lost when I am so familiar with the canonical gospels. There's a focus that sharpens as the saying stands alone without surrounding narrative.

Of course discernment and prayerful reflection are just as important as with any of the more familiar scriptures. Today I had a sense of synchronicity as I "just happened" to read today's saying from Thomas, a daily email from Richard Rohr and the piece I was up to in John O'Donahue's book Divine Beauty. Here they are - see what you think!

Gospel of Thomas:

Jesus says,

I am the light 
shining upon all things, 


I am the sum of everything, 

for everything has come forth from me 


and towards me everything unfolds. 


Split a piece of wood 
and there I am, 


pick up a stone 

and you will find me there. 


Part of Richard Rohr's daily email:“The divine, it seems, wants to manifest itself in visible form. (Colossians 1:15-20)

…The Eternal Christ’s role is to forever hold together matter and spirit, divine and human, and to say they always have been one, but you just don’t know it yet. So God is going to hold them together in front of your face until you do.”

And this from John O’Donohue in Divine Beauty

“But the thought of Aquinas is remarkable in its continuous insistence on the real, sensible presence of things. Each stone, tree, place and person was in its depths the expression of a divine idea. … According to him each thing, secretly and profoundly desires to be known.”