INFANCY GOSPEL OF THOMAS CHAPTER 15 - 19

INFANCY GOSPEL OF THOMAS 15

1 After a while Joseph’s good friend,
Another teacher said “Just send
The young child to me to the school,
Perhaps I can teach him the rule,”
Joseph said ”If you dare at all,
Brother, take him to hear your call.”
And so he took him, though afraid
And the child gladly came and stayed.
2 He went straight in the school and took
A book open in a desk nook,
And did not stay to study letters,
But straight off spoke up to his betters
By power of Holy Spirit, and
Taught those the law who came to stand.
And a great crowd came there to hear,
And marvelled at beauty in ear
Of what he taught, though just a child
To utter such things wise and mild.
3 But Joseph heard and was afraid
And ran into the school waylaid
Thinking this teacher too would be
Unable to handle the wee.
But the teacher told Joseph, “Know,
My brother, I took this child slow
To be a scholar, but he’s full
Of grace and wisdom, and so pull
Him out and back into your place.”
4 When the child heard that, on his face
There was a smile and so he said
“Because you have spoken well-bred
And borne right witness, for your sake
Also the one I struck to make
Ill shall be healed.” And right away
The other teacher rose that day.
And Joseph took the child and went
Back to his house as he had meant.

The quiet word of recognition still
Calms the unruly boy with ragged will.
A word of thanks to me, and I am here
To serve the speaker with my heart and gear.
A word of criticism harsh to bear
And I am ready to go off somewhere.
If Jesus is reflection of divine
In human body and in human sign,
Then You Yourself, Beloved, would rather know
A word of praise acknowledging Your show
Than judgement of the places You don’t go.
Beloved, I praise You for the coming cold,
I praise You for the spring and summer gold,
And for the tattered autumn leaves grown old.

THOMAS 16

1 Joseph sent his son James to find
Fire wood and bring it home resigned.
The young child Jesus came along
And followed James who was one strong
To gather faggots and bring back
The fire wood to the house in stack.
At once a viper bit the hand
Of James, something he had not planned.
2 He was stuck down, ready to die,
When Jesus came near by and by
And breathed on the bite. Right away
The pain ceased, and the snake that day
Burst open and James came to stay.

How many times I’ve jumped across the snake
That lay unobserved on the way I take.
I had a dog named Meshach once who hated
All serpents whether live or deadly rated.
Despite the many rattlers in the wood
And all along the river, I still could
Go there in safety, since that dog would greet
The snakes before I saw them from the street.
He was so fast that he could kill the things,
And always did so without feeling stings.
I’d rather have the warning dog than one
Small brother who cured bites already done.
But if no dog’s around, then I will choose
The second best, wee Jesus without shoes.

THOMAS 17

1 After that in the neighbourhood
Of Joseph a wee child and good
Fell ill and died and so his mum
Cried bitterly as she was glum.
And Jesus heard the mourning sound
And he ran quickly where he found
The dead child, and he touched his breast
And said “I tell you like the rest,
Don’t die, but live and go back to
Your mum and keep her in love’s view.”
And right away he opened eye
And laughed to see him standing by.
And he said to the woman, “Now
Take him up and give him from cow
Some milk, and so remember me.”
2 And the crowd that stood by to see
Were all amazed and said “Truly
This wee child is either a god
Or angel of God on the sod,
For every word he speaks in sum
Is a work perfect when it’s come.”
And Jesus just wandered away
With other children out to play.

A Jewish village would not say the word
That a man is a god, not undeterred.
But then attraction of the Grecian way
Was further enhanced by the Roman sway,
So it is possible that far off day
That some spoke like the Greeks, if just in play.
The wee child is a child. I see the way
He asks the mum for milk as soon as he
Has half a chance to turn her from the fee.
A child he was, a child he came to be,
And not a god, or even king, or lord,
No rabbi, priest, or wielder of the sword,
Nor carpenter nor farmer, one who came
To join his fellows in the funnest game.

THOMAS 18

1 After a while there was a work
Of building, and the sound to irk
Of a great uproar rose, and so
Jesus got up to see and go,
And there he saw a man lie dead,
And took hold of his hand and said
Sir, I tell you, get up and do
Your work with the rest of the crew.”
And right away the man arose
And bowed down to him to his toes.
2 And when the crowd saw that indeed
They were astonished at the speed,
And said “This wee child is sent down
From heaven here upon our town
To save many souls from death and
He’s got the strength to save in band
All his life long, he’s come to stand.”

Twelve clay birds may predict the way the life
Of Jesus would go in peace and in strife.
He lived to work twelve miracles in all,
Each one revealing a step in the hall
Of righteousness. The twelve predicted too
The twelve disciples that made up his crew.
I look beyond the Gospel to the age
When twelve in witness wrote upon the page
Of history in tones of grief and care,
In tones of truth and justice everywhere.
Beloved, I know the many series of
Twelve sent from You with message of Your love,
And give my loyalty to those and You
And not usurper kings who have no clue.

THOMAS 19

1 And when he was just twelve years old
His parents by their custom’s mould
Went to Jerusalem to feast
At the Passover with increased
Friends on the way. But after that
Passover, they returned out flat
To their home where they always sat.
But Jesus went back in the town,
Though his folks thought he had come down.
2 When they had travelled for a day,
They looked for him where he might stray
Among their kith and kin away,
And when they did not find him there,
They were hysterical with care.
And so they went back to the town
To look for him both up and down.
After the third day they found him
Inside the temple sitting trim
Among the doctors hearing and
Asking them questions out of hand.
Everybody listened to him
And marvelled how a wee one dim
Could put to silence wise and good
Elders and teachers as he could
Explain points of the law and each
Parable that the prophets preach.
3 His mother Mary came and asked
Him saying “Here, child now unmasked,
Why did you treat us so? See, we
Have been seeking you grievingly.”
But Jesus said to them, “Now why
Did you look for me? You know I
Must be in my Father’s house here.”
4 And the scribes and Pharisees said
“Are you the mum of this child bred?”
And she said “So I am”. And they
Say to her, “Blessèd be your way
Among women, because God blessed
The one born to rest on your breast.
For we have never any time
Seen such glory and wisdom’s rhyme
And such excellence put to test.”
5 Jesus got up, went with his mum
Submitting to his parents’ hum,
But his mum always kept in mind
All that had happened and combined.
And Jesus grew in wisdom and
In height and grace and to command.
To him be glory now again
Ever and ever and amen.

I see stuffy old Luke pour over text
Of Thomas and look on with brow perplexed
And then choose nothing but the final word.
The miracles and childish thoughts that stirred
The simple heart did nothing for his claim
As an historian with historian’s aim.
Some love the words of Luke’s propriety,
And I admit their charm for social spe
As well as for their literary turn.
But when I come to Thomas, heart must burn
And pulse jump at the lovely child to earn
The gratitude of villager and scribe,
A famous and a good man of his tribe.
I take them both, and neither of them spurn.

AUTHOR: THOMAS G. MCELWAIN

Copyright © 2007 Adams & McElwain Publishers and Thomas McElwain First Published in two volumes, The Beloved and I 2005, and Led of the Beloved, 2006. Second Edition, 2010 Third and revised edition, 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this verse commentary on the sacred Scriptures may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from publisher.

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