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June 12, 2010
The patron saint of therapy
I've recently had cause to be immersed in the various gospels which record the life and words of Jesus. So I've been with pieces of work nominally attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Thomas, Philip and Mary Magdalene
As we know, in terms of authorship and creation, the gospels are not straightforward affairs; and so the search for Jesus within them is not straightforward either. Each of the writers has 'their Jesus'.
Where does this leave us today? Most will find in these gospels a remarkable figure; but as for the exact nature of his genius, they may differ, finding in him what they need to find for themselves.
The Gospel of Thomas, unlike the four canonical gospels, makes no attempt to tell the story of jesus' life, but is rather, a collection of sayings. Many of these echo those found in Matthew, Mark and Luke; but many others do not. Some believe the gospel of Thomas is the earliest gathering together of Jesus' teaching.
Why am I saying all this, most or all of which you wll already know? Well, my verse of the week has come from Thomas, (famous for doubting) as it relates so accurately to much of my work as a therapist:
Jesus said:
Whoever searches
must continue to search
until they find.
When they find,
they will be disturbed;
and being disturbed, they will marvel
and will reign over all.
In my experience, there are many who like to search; and then there are quite a few who find. But then of course comes the disturbance; disturbance at what they find. And this really does weed out the genuine from the pretend. Once disturbance is reached, many want to retreat, try something else. 'This obviously isn't working!'
So they close up, get angry, close down, withdraw, and tell themselves stories how they always thought this would happen etc etc...
But for those able to live the disturbance, walk through the wall of fire, allow the dissonance, for brave people such as this, the marvel, the wonder - and of course they reign over all.
Is Thomas the patron saint of therapy?
Posted by Mr Bojangles at June 12, 2010 09:30 AM