God, the "Great Iconoclast."
  • Alma Turner
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The Gospel of Thomas

Sayings of Jesus: 58, 59, 60


Saying 58
Jesus said: Blessed is one who has labored and has found life. 

To "labor" is to go through the pain of childbirth.  I'm a child, reborn, who has found life.  It is work and often painful.  The Big Book's Chapter 6 is called "Into Action," Chapter 7 "Working with Others." We stay in the messy mix where we are useful and nothing is perfect except the faith that all of it is for healing, for Good as long as we keep on the Path. 
​
Saying 59
Jesus said: Look at the living one while you live, for if you die and then try to see him you will not be able to do so.

​As a child, reborn, who has "found life," internal circumstances keep me looking to the living one that lives in me, in others, and around me (Saying 3).  When I was drinking and bulimic I was blinded by craving, mental obsessions, restlessness, dishonesty, isolation, remorse, shame, pride.  Yesterday, two of us read in the Big Book's Doctor's Opinion and shared the truth of our experience. Through knee-slapping, heart-breaking, gritty, ridiculous honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness each of us was set free from the bondage of self.  This morning, looking back, I see the divine choreography even more clearly.  I texted my sister Cyntrell and she, too, sees it. Not alone!!! Yeah!


Saying 60
They saw a Samaritan going into Judea carrying a lamb. He asked his disciples: What do you think he will do with that lamb? They replied: He'll kill it and eat it. He said to them: As long as it remains alive he will not eat it; only if he kills it and it becomes a corpse. They said: Otherwise he won't be able to do so. He said to them: You too must seek a place for rest, or you may become a corpse and be eaten.

I am alive in the One, awakened, reborn. To continue the work, I must rest. Nothing "eats" a sober drunk like self-pity, fear, and delusion. Without rest, I'm a consumable corpse and fall into the delusion that to slow down, to take refuge in the Lord, to nurture my Spirit, and reconnect with my Source is indulgent and counter-productive.  That old idea again, "Got to prove I'm worthy" when there is nothing to prove and no one to impress. Something inside me does actively seek my death.

  • 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 >
      • Money Inventory
    • 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
      • Prayer to the Great Spirit
      • The Guest House by Rumi
      • The Invitation by Oriah
      • Elohai Neshama
    • Poems by Alma >
      • Poems 2017-2020
      • More Poems by Year >
        • Poems 2021
        • Poems 2022
        • Poems 2023
        • Poems 2024
      • Clay Haiku
      • Beatitude Poems
      • Hurricane Ida Poems
      • Prayer Poems
      • Injustice Poems
    • Big Book Prayers
    • Variations on the Familiar >
      • Lord's Prayer Variations
      • Serenity Prayer Variation
      • Creed Variation
      • Psalm Variations
      • Parables etc Variations
      • Invictus Variations
    • Letters
    • Music >
      • Roberta Flack
      • Marvin Gaye
  • more
    • Bible Thoughts >
      • Count the Omer
      • yeshua hamashiach >
        • Books on the Journey to J
        • Brown or Black
        • Teacher
        • Son of Man
        • Activist
        • High Priest
        • Innocent
        • Lynched
        • Alive
        • Sayings >
          • Sayings 1-3
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          • Sayings 37, 38, 39
          • Sayings 40, 41, 42
          • Sayings 43, 44, 45
          • Sayings 46, 47, 48
          • Sayings 49, 50, 51
          • Sayings 52, 53, 54
          • Sayings 55, 56, 57
          • Sayings 58, 59, 60
          • Sayings 61, 62, 63
          • Sayings 64, 65, 66
          • Sayings 73, 74, 75
          • Sayings 76, 77, 78
          • Sayings 100, 101, 102
          • Sayings 103, 104, 105
          • Sayings 106, 107, 108
          • Sayings 109, 110, 111
          • Sayings 112, 113, 114
      • Genesis >
        • High Priest
        • Jacob is Israel.
      • Prophets >
        • Isaiah 30
        • Isaiah 54
        • Jeremiah 31:31-35
      • Frederick Douglas
    • Disciplines >
      • Fasting
      • Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer
      • Reading!
      • 12 White Steps
    • The Gospel of Thomas
    • Psalms >
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      • Psalms 23, 46, 91, 139
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    • The Odes of Solomon >
      • Ode 38
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      • The Circle and Triangle
    • Blog
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    • A Suggestion