Analogue 22: Anomalies of Spirit and Wisdom

 ANALOGUE 22

The Anomalies of Spirit and Wisdom

Those who stray are both born of Spirit and yet led astray by Spirit, for it is through the Spirit as breath that the fire both blazes up and is extinguished.

• Here is a new metaphor for Sacred Spirit, as the divine Feminine force and principle of generativity, as well as of another activity: bringing death and destruction. 
• These are strange statements about both birth and being led astray. What is Spirit up to?
• How does Spirit lead astray? Why? What is the theological thought or metaphysics behind this)? Is this another form of predestination?
• A new metaphor that involves breath and fire, inhalation and exhalation. Might there be a connection to other forms of energy described in Eastern spiritual traditions?
• This seems similar to the Hindu doctrine of Kali and the dance of creation and destruction. How might they be related?

COMMENTARY

The Paradoxes of Wisdom

We are in very interesting and paradoxical territory in this analogue. Opposites are being contrasted: birth and death, leading and misleading (deliberate guidance towards or away from the truth), blaze and extinguishment, and perhaps also inhalation and exhalation. All of these are said to be present in the work of Sacred Spirit that both protectively guides and yet leads humankind astray. It appears that the Spirit both sets things on fire and put out the fire—initiates the breath of life and also extinguishes it. What are we to make of these contracting metaphors? What is this paradoxical activity of the Sacred Spirit? Could this mystical Semitic first-century views be analogous to the Hindu doctrine of Kali as both creator and destroyer? If so, it appears to be a most interesting convergence or at least parallelism of ideas. 

In Hindu doctrine, Kali is called the Black Mother who is capable of exerting tremendous force that destroys (particularly evil, thus protecting her children) as well as creates, bringing things into existence. This is not unlike the assertions that are being made here in the Gospel of Philip, though Philip’s description has more to do with guidance as well as with the qualities of the fire that either blazes up into existence or is put out by the breath of Spirit. 

The Balances of the Divine Energies

Might we also see these statements as representative of a form of karmic law (the law of cause and effect) and also perhaps as precursors to the doctrines of predestination and preordination according to some divine rule of fate or fortune? So little is said here by way of explanation concerning these assertions that they are simply hints of a larger divine plan or understanding which even the next analogue and later teaching concerning the ultimate reconciliation of all things will shed further light upon, clarifying what is being taught at these early stages. 

Previously we have learned that the Spirit can mislead oppressive powers into thinking they are something that they are not (Analogue 20). This may be a parallel example of the fiery energies of Spirit we see elsewhere in the biblical tradition as they act in the world as aspects of the divine will. Some of that fire, for example, was said to have fallen on the day of Pentecost. Analogue 24, coming next, will lend further weight to the sense of the extraordinary power of the Sacred Spirit both in the affairs of humankind and beyond them in an environment that is described as “wild.”

It is important to stop and reflect on what the purpose or function of deliberate misleading might be in the sacred journey of humankind. We certainly do not advocate that our children, or other folk for that matter, be misled into error. The fact is, however, that sometimes mistakes are important catalysts for growth and learning. In some traditions this is called “trickster energy,” where the naive are deceived in order to be led from their naïveté toward wisdom. In hindsight, we may realize that many of our hard-won lessons, the ones that we never forget, came from errors of character or mistakes of judgement — these had the effect of teaching us in a way that nothing else seems to be able to do. Might we see these experiences as a deliberate strategy on the part of Sacred Spirit as divine Mother? This is a perspective that often seems to come with age, maturation, and wisdom. 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What is your response to these paradoxical and seemingly contradictory descriptions of the Sacred Spirit in her roles and activities?
2. The energies of the Sacred Spirit are typically described as dove-like. Could these convey something of the power of Spirit that more the Pentecostal fire described in the Book of Acts? 
3. Have you experienced the activities of the feminine Presence in any of these ways? Journal your observations concerning contrasting aspects of Spirit in your life. 
4. Have you ever been led astray? Do you think the Spirit had anything to do with that experience? 
5. How would you describe “trickster energy?” Do you think you have ever experienced that in your own growth toward maturity? Who or what was the agency of this activity?
6. Are you familiar with the images of Kali in the Hindu world? If not (and if you’re comfortable with the exploration) read about the paradoxical nature of the Hindu god Kali, view some of her representations, and journal your impressions.

Notes for further Reference and Study

1. We know how important air is for the creation and the extinguishing of fire. Fire needs oxygen to ignite and burn, and the Sacred Spirit is said to act in exactly the same manner—as breath. Divine breath is also said to have given the spark that ignites life in human beings. Breath and fire are necessary for both biological and conscious life. Once that mechanism is established within us, we go on living, using it as a means of maintaining our very existence. Could it be said then that Sacred Spirit is also present, actively withdrawing life, when that breath is extinguished? 
2. This Analogue raises questions about fate, fortune, misfortune, and destiny (or predestination). In the earlier writings of the Hebrew Bible, the heart of the Egyptian pharaoh was said to have been hardened by God (Exodus 9:12). Something of this sentiment appears to be behind statements made concerning the activity of the Sacred Spirit as a divine energy that leads the soul into finding and perhaps also into loss and bewilderment. Is this a betrayal by Spirit, the results of the proclivities of the individual(s) involved, or the outworking of some higher and hidden purpose known only after maturation? Since there is no commentary around these statements, it is difficult to discern the belief system behind this declaration. It could be that this is a quote without context, even from the mouth of Yeshua, putting the activities of the Sacred Spirit into a broader understanding as Lady Wisdom in charge of her children’s nurture and discipline. 
3. In the East, Kali is the Hindu goddess of death, time, and doomsday. She is often associated with sexuality and violence but is also considered a strong mothering figure and presence, a symbol of motherly love. Kali embodies feminine energy, creativity and fertility (known as shakti) and is an incarnation of Parvati, wife of the great Hindu god Shiva. While perhaps not comparable, the figure of Sophia also appears to express powers that defines her feminine energy.

Notes for the Translation

1. The word ‘spirit’ throughout the Middle East and in its ancient Semitic languages also means ‘breath’, carrying the double meaning as it does in English.
2. This analogue appears in the form of a logion which is the preferred literary form of the Gospel of Thomas.