God, the "Great Iconoclast."
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The Gospel of Thomas

Sayings of Jesus: 52, 53, 54


Saying 52
They said to him: Twenty-four prophets spoke to Israel, and they all spoke of you. He responded to them: You have deserted the living one who is with you, and you spoke about the dead. 

The prophets are dead. The "living one" is my neighbor, the one suffering, the one without enough to eat, without hope of finding a good-paying job, without a way out of mental anguish, illness, insanity, the spiritually sick.  The "living one" is the person in the hospital, in physical or emotional jail, the underpaid, the over-worked, the rejected. Jesus said that he IS those people, which includes all of us at times. We are ONE. He said,  "As you did to the least of these, so you did to me." 

Saying 53
The disciples asked him: Is circumcision useful of not? He replied: If it were useful, then they would be born already circumcised. On the other hand, true circumcision in the spirit is entirely beneficial.

We don't need a physical marker, an external branding to denote our surrender of what is unnecessary. What I do need, though, is to let go of what blocks me from God; my heart needs to surrender my false Gods. 

Saying 54
Jesus said: Blessed are the poor, for yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.

The beatitudes in Matthew say, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Being "poor" has been the source of everything for me. I thank God for my spiritual poverty, for my dependence on God, which stems out of my poverty. Toni Morrison points out in an interview with Charlie Rose that her father communicated to her that they were morally superior to those who looked down on them because of being black. Her father was so right. My abject lack of morality, values, ethics, and spirituality qualified me to be blessed when I surrendered to the truth of it. 

The poor are more apt to pray as the tiger of going without hovers around the door.

The sick are more apt to pray as pain nips at courage.
The oppressed are more apt to pray as the blood-lust of the powerful stalks.

  • Alma Turner
    • Alma Turner
    • Site Overview
    • Alma's Blessings
  • 12 Steps
    • Step 1: Humility >
      • Step One Questions
    • Step 2: Hope
    • Step 3: Faith
    • Step 4: Honesty
    • Step 5: Trust
    • Step 6: Willingness
    • Step 7: Surrender
    • Step 8: Forgiveness
    • Step 9: Justice >
      • Amend White to Black
    • Step 10: Perseverance >
      • Fear Watch
    • Step 11: Contact
    • Step 12: Service
  • Poems, Prayers, Music
    • Beloved Poems by Others >
      • I Stand at the Door by Sam Shoemaker
      • The Guest House by Rumi
      • The Invitation by Oriah
      • Invictus
      • Elohai Neshama
    • Poems by Alma >
      • Poems 2017-2020
      • Poems 2021 >
        • Prayer Poems
        • Poems Early 2021
        • Poems September 2021
        • Poems October 2021
        • Parables and Songs
        • Clay Haiku
      • Newer Poems
      • Injustice Poems
    • Big Book Prayers
    • Music >
      • Roberta Flack
      • Marvin Gaye
  • more
    • Rowdy Beauties >
      • Rowdy Beauties Bible Study N'awlins
      • Rowdy Beauties Bible Study Zoom
      • Rowdy Beauties Resouces >
        • Resources for Chapters 1-4
    • Disciplines >
      • Fasting
      • Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer
      • Reading!
      • 12 White Steps
    • The Gospel of Thomas
    • Psalms >
      • Psalms 23, 46, 91, 139
      • Psalms 121, 1, and 32
    • Bible Thoughts >
      • Genesis >
        • High Priest
        • Jacob is Israel.
      • Prophets >
        • Isaiah 30
        • Isaiah 54
        • Jeremiah 31:31-35
      • Frederick Douglas
      • Jesus >
        • Brown or Black
        • Teacher
        • Son of Man
        • Activist
        • High Priest
        • Innocent
        • Lynched
        • Alive
        • Sayings >
          • Sayings 1-3
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          • Sayings 46, 47, 48
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          • Sayings 52, 53, 54
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          • Sayings 58, 59, 60
          • Sayings 61, 62, 63
          • Sayings 64, 65, 66
          • Sayings 73, 74, 75
          • Sayings 76, 77, 78
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          • Sayings 112, 113, 114
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