The Sacraments embrace the mysterious ways that God sometimes “breaks in” to our everyday lives. These moments when we have a profound experience of the Holy defy our ability to put into words. I have literally stood in awe at the ocean, on a mountain top, watching children at play, at a death, and even while watching an ant carry an amazing amount of food. There is much to be gained by exploring the mysteries of our faith and of God’s work all around us. In fact, an entire branch of Christianity entitled ‘Christian Mysticism’ is dedicated to this pursuit.
One of the earliest texts from the Christian Mystics is the Gospel of Thomas. This Gospel is comprised solely of quotations of Jesus instead of the stories we find in other Gospels. If I was going to name the book in a way that would give you a good sense of what to expect, I’d name it “The Proverbs of Jesus.”
Believed by many to be an accurate account of Jesus’s teachings, The Gospel of Thomas was one of the books that just barely fell short of being included in our modern Bibles. (It came down to a choice between Thomas’s gospel and John’s.) Still, this unselected Gospel became much more widely known after the 1999 film “Stigma” made the following excerpt (taken from two different passages) was used to form a central theme in the movie:
“The Kindom of God is within you and all around you, not in buildings of wood and stone... Split a piece of wood and I am there, lift a stone and you will find me."
As the many signs of Spring begin to break forth, try to recall this passage about wood and stone each time you see a tree budding or daffodil blooming. See if you can slow down enough to explore the mystical beauty and wonder of God’s work all around us. Pause and take in just how miraculous God’s ongoing creation truly is.
Here is the actual text (not the movie version) from The Gospel of Thomas verse 77:
77) Jesus said, "It is I who am the light (that presides) over all. It is I who am the entirety: it is from me that the entirety has come, and to me that the entirety goes. Split a piece of wood: I am there. Lift a stone, and you (plural) will find me there."
