"Jesus Unplugged" Bible Study Group Wrestles With the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas

Summer, 2002

Though it be the jewel in the crown of the Gnostic scripts (discovered by an Egyptian farmer in 1945), the Gospel of Thomas is not for the fainthearted. This Jesus is a lone, austere, mystical teacher with no story or narrative, no miracles, and no crowds. A little like Bruce Springsteen with no band, no stage, no audience, no amplifiers, playing a beat up old acoustic in a garage.

Although it has much of the flavor of synoptic gospels (many of the same parables, some of the beatitudes, many of the sayings), these are more mystical and foreign. And there are great differences, notably, when Jesus is asked, "When will the Kingdom come?" The answer to the same question in Mark is, of course, the whole discourse on no stone being left unturned and knowing not the day or hour, but in the Thomas Gospel, Jesus answers:

(113) "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying here it is or there it is. Rather, the Kingdom of the father is spread upon the earth and men do not see it."

And again, he is asked, "When will the repose of the dead come about, and when will the New World come?" And the answer:

(51) "What you look forward to has already come, but you do not recognize it."

Essentially, a collection of about one hundred sayings and parables, the Thomas gospel is enigmatic and discomforting, no ordinary gospel. Nor is the St. Joan of Arc Bible Study an ordinary group.

Band of Brothers and Sisters
Any great group becomes a living being with a sum greater than its parts, and often outlives its founders. This is one of those groups.

Going on its fourth year now, this group of a couple dozen parishioners has plowed through testaments, gospels, into Marcus Borg, Neil Douglas Klatz, Thomas Merton - it is a long list. Along the way, they have become family. As long-time veteran Bob Beutel puts it wonderfully: "Our group has evolved into a small, well, medium -- Christian community. The opening and closing prayers have become necessities of our life. We have endured the deaths of a son and a husband of our member, and survived the serious illness of several family members. The weekly get-togethers are an anchor of our faith and our lives. We have a table fellowship, and it matters. We have a dinner to celebrate the end of each session. We keep our minds and hearts and ears open."

They are a case study in the miracle of group dynamics. They challenge each other, they are painfully honest. One member was leading off a passage and suddenly looked out saying, "Why am I Catholic? -- it sure ain't logic; God as the end of a syllogism? But we don't have the incourse and mystique here, either. What is it? I guess I'm trying to express the inexpressible and not doing very well."

Another member was struggling with the Jesus Committee's annotated gospels which rates the likelihood of a given saying having actually been uttered by Jesus. They use a color code of red, pink, gray and black, black being the least likely to be genuine. This woman, a little hesitantly, said, "Well, I have to say this, and I don't know what it means, but the ones I really like are all in black."

The structure of the group is very simple -- everyone participates around the circle, everyone. And all rotate the tasks -- each week one has prepared and is the facilitator for the evening. Others set up, serve a simple bit of food, clean up and run the bookstore on Sunday. As with all good groups, there is an unspoken ethic of inter-reliance, trust and everyone bringing something to the table. There is wide-open mystery, startling insight, some academic plodding (yup, sometimes there's just no other way, says Bob Beutel), irreverent hilarity, and a shoulder to lean on is never far away.

And how did these good folks fare with Thomas? Several said it was unpleasant, "not very reassuring." One said she'd be "glad when it's over," but was also awfully glad she studied. David Rotert's impression: "no it was not all likeable, not all coherent, but maybe it was more like how Jesus actually taught." Rik Murray said they all felt "wiser for having discussed this much-maligned book’, some found it very challenging, others liked it. The lack of narrative, story, context was unsettling.

On the other hand, the early language is less harsh, less shrill, less either-or than the New Testament. The collection of teachings actually reads more like the teachings of, say, the Guatama Buddha.

Of course, Thomas has shining moments, also:

(108) Jesus said: "He who drinks form my mouth will become like me, I myself shall become he, and the things that are hidden will be revealed to him."

Don't think this is exclusive: you are a newcomer for about five minutes. Then you help set-up and you're just one of the group. The next project: "Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace" by Alan Paton. Out-of-print, but the group has already tracked down dusty affordable copies all over the web. Stay tuned.

Chuck Collins is a 14 year parishioner, a lawyer who has worked with organized labor for 28 years. Chuck claims he is not violent about anything except when he can't find even one pair of matching socks in the morning.

Bob Beutel is a 20+ year "Joanie", a member St. Paul Saints Small Christian Community, the Scripture Study group, and the SJA Bookstore assistant manager. Bob says he is married to a very spiritual spouse whose challenges keep him active at SJA. They have three daughters and two granddaughters. Bob claims to be blessed beyond belief.

St. Joan’s Bible Study group will round out summer reading of books outside the Bible with “Instrument of Thy Peace” by Alan Paton. Copies for this week’s discussion are available in the SJA Bookstore after mass Sunday. Join them on Tuesdays from 7-9 p.m. in Hospitality Hall on August 13-20, (skip the 27th), Sept. 3-10-17. FFI call Rik at 612.872.8694.