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Gospel of St.Thomas
1) And He said,"Who ever finds the inner meanings of these sayings will not experience death."
2) Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All."
3) Jesus said, "If those who lead you say, 'See, the Kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the Kingdom is in and around you. When you know your selves, then you will be known, and you will be aware that you who the sons of the living Father. But if you do not know your selves, you are in poverty, and you who are the poverty."
4) Jesus said,"The man old in days will not hesitate to ask a little child seven days about the place of life, and he will live. For many who are first will become last, and they shall be a single one."
5) Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you shall be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be manifest."
6) His disciples questioned, and said to Him, "Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we observe?" Jesus said, "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For there is nothing hidden that shall not be manifest, and there is nothing consealed that shall remain without being revealed."
7) Jesus said, "Happy is the lion which the man will eat; and the lion will become man and abominated is the man whom the lion will eat, and the lion will become man."
8) And He said, "The Kingdom is like a wise fisher man who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a fine large fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea and chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
9) Jesus said, "Now the sower went out, took a handful (of seeds), and scattered them. Some fell on the road; the birds came and gathered them up. Others fell on the rock, did not take root in the soil, and did not produce ears. And others fell on thorns; they choked the seed(s) and worms ate them. And others fell on the good soil and produced good fruit: it bore sixty per measure and a hundred and twenty per measure."
10) Jesus said,"I have cast fire upon the world, and see, I am guarding it until it blazes."
11) Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. In the days when you consumed what is dead, you made it what is alive. When you come to dwell in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?"
12) The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that You will depart from us. Who is to be our leader?" Jesus said to them, "Wherever you are, you are to go to James the righteous, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."
13) Jesus said to His disciples, "Compare me to someone and tell Me whom I am like." Simon Peter said to Him, "You are like a righteous angel." Matthew said to Him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to Him, "Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom You are like." Jesus said, "I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated by the bubbling spring which I have measured out." And He took him and withdrew and told him three things. When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?" Thomas said to them, "If I tell you one of the things which he told me, you will pick up stones and throw them at me; a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up."
Thoma Parvam
The Songs of Thomas
The Songs of Thomas is handed down through generations and written down in 1601.By tradition these songs were written by Thomas Ramban the first Brahmin convert to Christianity
The first of the Apostles visit lasted for eight days. During this short stay the Apostle had made several conversions. He then proceded to Taxila and later traveled all through the land of India and China.
The song tells that Prince Peter or Kepha of Muziris (actually means Egyptians. This word is even today is used to denote foreigners from Middle East) who was one of the Apostle's first converts visited St. Thomas in the Pandya Kingdom (Andhra Pradesh) and requested him to return to Malabar. Apostle came back to Coromandal coast. The request was granted and the Apostle accompanied Prince Kepha to Kerala, where headed by the other members of the Cranganore royal family three thousand non-Christians received the faith and were baptized in the course of eighteen months. Among these converts there were forty members of the Jewish community including Rabbi Paul of the Cranganore Synagogue where every Saturday the Apostle used to go and read and explain the Old Testament for the Jewish congregation. Though Rabbi Paul received baptism and became a Christian, a good number of the Cranganore Jewish community continued to stick fast to their ancestral religion and gave the Christians the name "Nazaranis ", meaning followers of the man from Nazareth i.e.; Jesus Christ.
Kidangallor Evangelization
Besides Jews, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Nairs, and Chettiars were among the earliest converts to Christianity. The first Brahmin convert was a young member of a Niranam Brahmin family that had settled down in Cranganore engaged in some business. His father, who decided to cast him away from the family, did not like the young man's conversion. The Apostle called the young convert and asked him to live with him. The young man, who had received the Apostle's name in baptism agreed to live with him and came to be known as Thomas Maliyakal, in recognition of his Brahmin family name. Subsequently he was raised to priest hood, and after sometime was given the title of Ramban or Archpriest. In course of time a Jewish Synagogue as well as a Hindu temple at Cranganore were transformed into Christian churches. Accompanied by Prince Kepha, who was consecrated as the Bishop of Cranganore and Malabar, St. Thomas left Cranganore to preach the Gospel elsewhere.
Kollam Evangelization
Quilon was the next scene of the labors of the Apostle. The majority of the people of Quilon belonged to the Chettiar caste, the recognized trading caste of the time. A good many of them accepted the Gospel attracted by the preaching of the Apostle and the miracles performed by him. Many inhabitants of Quilon hated the new religion and migrated from Quilon to Vanjinad to keep themselves away from the influence of the new religion; After erecting a cross for the worship of the converts who numbered about one thousand and four hundred, the Apostle left Quilon.
Niranam Evangelization
The Apostle and Prince Kepha proceeded from Quilon in a northeasterly direction and arrived at Thrikapaleswaram, near Niranam. Thrikapaleswaram had Hindu temples at that time, and to provide a place of public worship to the Christian community, the Apostle planted a cross a few furlongs away to the west of one of the temples. The non-Christian people in the locality did not like this and they pulled it out and cast it into the nearby river.
This desecration took place sometime after the Apostle had left the place for Chayal or Nilackal. Two Christians from Thrikapaleswaram went there and requested the Apostle to re-visit their place and set matters right. The cross that had been thrown out into the river moved downwards floating on the waters for some distance, and eventually rested on a strip of land on the opposite bank of the river. Here at Niranam a new site for a church was secured. During this second visit, the Apostle stayed at Niranam for two months and during this period two hundred persons were baptized by him giving new vigor and strength to the Christian community. Local tradition is that most of the Nambuthiries having been made Christians by St. Thomas, left the place after giving the boxes containing the documents relating to their landed properties to a Kymal or Nair chieftain, who has since been known as Niranam Petti Kaymal. Of the various miracles performed by St. Thomas at Niranam, the most remarkable was the restoration of life to a child of a barber put to death by anti-Christian families, who wanted to throw the responsibility for the crime on the Apostle.
Nilackal Evangelization
The Apostle returned from Niranam to Chayal or Nilackal. According to the Ramban song the Apostle worked here for one year and during this period one thousand and one hundred persons were converted to Christianity.
Kokkamangalam Evangelization
Kokkamangalam, far to the north of Quilon, Niranam and Nilackal, was the next center of the missionary activities of St. Thomas. The Ramban song says that the Apostle spent one year at Kokkamangalam and baptized one thousand and six hundred persons to Christianity. After planting a cross and opening a church there the Apostle left the place. During the absence of the Apostle unknown hands removed the cross from its site and threw it into the nearby backwater lagoon. The cross moved with the water current and reached Pallipuram. The believers at Pallipuram installed the cross solemnly at a suitable place and a church was opened there.
Kottakkavu Evangelization
Kottakkavu near Parur was the next center where the Apostle preached the Gospel and founded a church. According to the Ramban song the Apostle succeeded in receiving into the Christian fold one thousand seven hundred and seventy persons at this center.
Palayur Evangelization
From Kottakkavu the Apostle proceeded to Palayur, one of the strongest Brahmin centers in Kerala. A prosperous Brahmin community was living there from ancient times. The place where the Jewish community had their residence at Palayur is still called Jewish hill. Orthodox Brahmins of those days used to perform every day five Yajnas. Punja-yajnas, and one of these was the "pilhrte yajna" and it consisted of offering libations of water to the spirits of their deceased ancestors. While some of the Brahmins were engaged in performing their Pithru-yajna by throwing up handfuls of water, in. a tank near one of the Palayur temples the Apostle saw this and enquired about the significance of this action. Since the explanation given did not satisfy him, the Apostle said: "lf your performance is acceptable to the gods, they can manage that the drops of' water remain suspended in the air, instead of falling down." The Brahmins retorted that such a tiling was impossible being against the laws of nature. The Apostle then assured them that God. the One, True, Almighty God, would have the handfuls of water suspended in the air, and also allow a cavity to be seen on the surface of the water indicating the spot from where the water had been taken, if only they believed in the true God and accepted the new faith, preached by him. The Brahmins present there expressed their readiness to accept the new faith on the condition stated by the Apostle. Then the Apostle prayerfully cast a handful of water high up in the air from the tank. The water stood still in the air after reaching a certain height. Subsequently, at the bidding of the Apostle it fell down at his feel in the shape of flowers. The majority of the Brahmins present there now became followers of the Apostle. He taught them the new faith and baptized them. Those who refused to accept the new faith left the village having cursed it, and since then it has come to be called Chowghat. The cursed forest, where a Brahmin can neither take food or drink.
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