While there has been lots of misinfo about the “missing years” This video is a good one.
The travels of Saint Issa?
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According to traditional lore, after Jesus’ ascension, when the apostles spread out to share The Word, St Thomas traveled all the way to India where he founded what is known today as “Thomasine Christianity.”
“Thomasine Christianty”
European travelers and missionaries were quite surprised when they travelled to India and discovered a form of Christianity was already there.
Interestingly it has taken on many aspects of traditional Indian culture so unlike European Christianity, based largely on “obey this” and “don’t do that or you’ll go to Hell,” Thomasine Christianity is based on things like meditating, predestination etc. and Thomasine Christians refer to themselves as “Children of the Light.”
That’s how people sell it in many cases.
Don’t fret.
Jesus loves trailer trash just as much as he loves Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas.
I was raised on and educated in the Roman Catholicism way through 1-12th grade by Nuns and Christian Brothers. No one has perfected the art of assigning guilt like my wife! 
But I’m kinda interested in that meditation and children of the light thing.
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The Lotus Sutra Parable of the excellent Physician—one (whether Buddhist or Christian) can read it many times (endlessly) before they realize what it actually means.
St Ignatius of Loyola (one of several knights who we canonized) was a big advocate of meditation, although he wrote about it in such specific terms some types of Christians could and have advocated “He meant this type and none other.”
St Francis of Assisi of course was big on meditating, as were the Benedictine monks
During several waves of Roman persecution Christian leaders often became cave dwelling hermits and of course couldn’t practice in organized form.
And of course there were the ascetic Christians who lived on poles, {“stylites” or “pillar-saints”)
Point being:
western Christianity is not devoid of meditation-centered worship but it has always been a relatively small part here whereas in Indian Thomasine Christianity it is large enough that it fits in well with Buddhists and Hindus meditating. Seems to be more of a thing in the East.
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Related:
What is sometimes referred to as “The Gospel of Thomas”
is a collection of sayings from Jesus. it has nt story form and very little context to each of the quotations.
(Kinda like quotations of Confucius or Buddha)
It naturally leads one to meditate on each quotation
Read this as fundamental
I did a college thesis paper on a comparison of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) with the Gospel of Thomas. They all contain many of the same parables, but the Thomas gospel has a very strong Gnostic spin to the parables and other sayings of Jesus. Interesting stuff. Yes, clearly non canonical.
(And PS: The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas is not the same as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which is also non-canonical, and which contains some very entertaining (and sometimes rather wicked) stories about Jesus’ childhood.)
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Amen. Jesus also loves the lost sinner just as much as the arrogant little ass hat who thinks he does no wrong and has the ultimate knowledge of who and who does not go to their personal idea of Heaven. 
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John 14:6
6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Western Christians are clearly the sole reason western Christianity continues to bleed from its arteries. It’s self-inflicted, all while blaming the world’s wickedness for their own failures.
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He even taught several parables about that whole aspect. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” and whatnot.
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In this time period, there is much irony. People’s minds are so full of stuff, like a full cup that overflows, if more liquid is added. Then they congratulate themselves for not spilling, but in reality, they cannot go further, till they smash the cup entirely.
There’s a lot of things he didn’t say, either, like being the “only” son of God.
He did say this though. It referred to this:
Jesus is God’s son, and the Good News is, so are you!
Now, meditate on the implications of that.
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In refuting misleading ideas, there is the danger of triggering others to slander and they end up discarding their faith.
This happens over and over again and people such as this could not even recognize the Tathagata when right in front of them.
Then the secret, expedient means of the Buddha is employed
There are very large problems with identifying Yahwah as the “God” Jesus referred to as “Father”
There are large problems with who Moses really was and who “I am that I am” really was.
Who was Ikhnaton? Aton?
People tend to gloss over the truth when it is suggested that “Abraham and Sarah” legends are really Brahma and Saravati. Or that “Jews” were factions who left India during floods
Of course the Greek name “Christ” was Khrishna.
