Mary Magdalene: Part II: Page 7: Lines 11-22 of 28 lines
“Peter said to him (Jesus) Since you have become the interpreter
Of the elements and the events of the world, tell us:
What is the sin of the world?
The Teacher answered:
There is no sin.
It is you who make sin exist
When you act according to the habits
Of your corrupted nature;
This is where sin lies.
This is why the Good has come into your midst.
It acts together with the elements of your nature
So as to reunite with its roots.”
“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. (John 9:1-3)
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-3)
“To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are corrupted”. (Titus 1:15)
Commentary:
Lines from two traditional Nepali songs express this sentiment and insight well: “In the eyes of a flower, the world is a flower. In the eyes of a thorn, the world is a thorn.” (Phoolko Aankhama). And “No one is seen as others,
Once we see ourselves.” (Jannu Bhaneko).
Lucy had spent years in a Nazi concentration camp during the 1940s. She entered Auschwitz at the age of 13. She was now almost 95 years old. During an interview, she was asked if her prison guards and those responsible for her incarceration were evil. Her reply was, “They are not evil. They had just been brain-washed, that’s all!”
The habits of our corrupted nature is our programming that we have received from our parents, community, and culture. From this world. This program is arbitrary to our environment. Arbitrary to our particular time and space. We are all conditioned to believe that we have not been so programmed. This is the first barrier. But this is just the first barrier of all programs to defend themselves from the curious and mindful. And in line #20, Jesus told his followers, that this is why the Good has come into their midst. The second barrier is to believe that our original programs cannot be modified. That we cannot change, add, or delete any part of this program. And the third barrier is the realization that all human beings have been conditioned to believe the program without question. No one escapes this initial conditioning.
I guess one could call these the Three Barriers to Peace. The subject of peace will come up again in Part IV of this series on the Gospel of Mary Magdalene.