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WEB 4 - ARCHIVE
Commentary 26 - Page 4 |
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Darkness of
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Some conclusions from Matthew 13 Christ spoke out against this danger when he criticised the hypocrisy of His time. Following this lead, during the first millennium the inner tradition of the early church was dedicated to the awakening or liberation of the human nous, sometimes described by the early Fathers as the ‘eye of the soul’. This awakening of the nous was to be done by curing the damage done by certain forms of distorted religious belief which – in almost everybody at the time - had inextricably entrapped human consciousness in the habitual activities of the psyche. This disease remains endemic, but its cure is rarely attempted in our times. The principle of this cure is given in one of Our Lord’s parables. This is the origin of the Christian form of psychotherapy or emotional education. The parable on which this therapy is based tells us that the human nous is the garden in which the sower went to sow ( Matthew 13: 3 ), the field in which an enemy sowed tares ( Matthew 13:24 ) - as Gregory of Nyssa made clear - the field in which the man planted the grain of mustard seed that became the kingdom of heaven ( Matthew 13: 31) - and also the field in which the treasure is hid ( Matthew 13:44). This forgotten nous is the background to the whole drama of inner Christianity. The whole struggle between truth and illusion occurs in this hidden place, but it is imaged out as an appearance ‘projected’ onto the visible world. When we believe these illusions of our mind, truth lies bleeding. When we remember a truth in such a way that illusion is put to flight, then trumpets sound in heaven - for even heaven is found through the nous. When we share our illusions with others, the Devil has found allies on the field of battle, and when we accept the invented concept as a divine truth, or teach fantasy as holy writ, the angels are put to flight and the field is left to dishonour. When nous is made pure and empty of the debris of battle, there is ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ ( Revelation 21:1). Then we have begun to ‘put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him’ ( Colossians 3:10). This is the great myth of our civilization, the struggle between good and evil. Here lies our difficulty, and here is our hope. Against this backdrop we must understand the whole inner tradition, and only by interpreting them against this backdrop will we understand the myths and parables of inner reality. Only through this kind of understanding will we become able to unlock the doors of the heart. And only when this is done will everything change, be made new; only then will the kingdoms of man become the Kingdom of God. But if you will take this struggle on your own shoulders, not leaving it to others, this is something that can happen – for you and to you - at any time. |
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