Sabbath Sermon: Seeking the Gift of Physical Immortality

The following sermon was composed under the inspiration of the Spirit of Truth on July 4, 2016. All citations come from The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus by Marvin Meyers (HarperSanFrancisco, 1992).


The foundational message of The Gospel of Thomas is stated in the beginning of the text:


"These are the hidden sayings the living Jesus spoke and Judus Thomas the Twin recorded. And he said, 'Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death' " (incipit and saying 1).


The first insight here is the discovery process will lead to immortality. The core message of Thomas:  If you want to be a physical immortal, then you must seek it. In contrast, mainstream Christianity claims there is an afterlife and thus the believer will obtain immortality after death. These assumptions: 1) There is life after death, 2) There exist some kind of disembodied life after death (except for the Jehovah Witnesses who claim they will be resurrected from the dead in bodily form [excepting the 144,000 nearly all of whom are now in heaven]) contradicts the entire message of Jesus' proclamation: Eternal life can only be found now--in bodily form!


Jesus' followers asked him about life after death:


"His followers said to him, When will the rest for the dead take place, and when will the new world come ? He said to them, 'What you look for has come, but you did not know it.' His followers said to him, 'Twenty-four prophets have spoken in Israel, and they have spoken of you.' He said to them, 'You have disregarded the living one who is in your presence and spoken of the dead' " (Sayings 51, 52).


Here we find Jesus redirecting his follower's attention to the here and now. "What you look for has come, but you do not know it." The new world is right here, right now--Just open your eyes and see!


A second key insight about being a physical immortality is one has to actively seek it. "Jesus said, 'Fortunate is the person who has worked hard and found life' " (Saying 58).


Mainstream Christianity, by creating the myth of an afterlife, has done the work of darkness. "When you know yourselves, then you will understand you are the children of the living Father, but if you do not know yourselves then you dwell in poverty" (Saying 3).


Although the central message of Thomas--physical immortality--is available right here, right now, and thus is open to all, in fact, few will hear the words: "Jesus said, 'I shall choose you, one from a thousand and two from ten thousand, and they will stand as a single one' " (Saying 23). So only a few are chosen to hear the message. Perhaps the reader would like to be one of the chosen. Then you are! By the very fact that you are reading the words inspired by the living Spirit of Truth means you have been chosen to the receive the invitation to eternal life. It is now up to you to gladly receive the words which bring everlasting life!