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In the Gospel of Mark, in the fifth chapter we have the story of the healing of a man possessed by many demons. Taken as an event in time it’s a narrative filled with powerful emotions and graphic imagery. But, as we shall see, for those who are spiritually minded, this story, as with all stories in the Word, holds a deeper meaning that addresses the inner world of the human mind and its regeneration. On this level the story is the story of all those who are seeking to live a spiritual life.
Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered. Let those who hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad. Let them rejoice before God. Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. (Psalm 68:1-3)
Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when he had come out of the boat, immediately there met him, out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs, and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces. Neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. (Mark 5:1-5)
There are two loves from which, from a long time past, have become deeply rooted in the human race: the love of controlling everyone, and the love of possessing everyone’s goods. The first of these, if given its head, actually plunges headlong into an ambition to be the god of heaven. The other, if given its head, plunges headlong into an ambition to be the god of the world.
All the other evil loves, and they are legion, are subordinate to these two. But it is extremely difficult to examine these two loves because they lodge so deep within and hide themselves away. They are like vipers lurking in holes in a rock and holding in their poison. And when anyone lies on that rock, they inflict a fatal wound before retreating again.
The reason why what the will intends has to be examined is that the will is the seat of the love, for the will is the receiver of love, as was shown before. From the will, the pleasures emanating from every love spread into the perceptions and thoughts of the understanding, for they are incapable of doing anything of their own accord, but are activated by the will.
For they take the will’s part, agreeing with and supporting everything to do with its love. So the will is the house in which a person lives, and the understanding is the forecourt through which he goes in and out. That is why it was stated that the intentions of the will must be examined. When they have been examined and banished, a person is lifted up from his natural will, which is beset by evils, inherited and of his own doing, and brought into possession of a spiritual will.
And by means of this, the Lord reforms and regenerates the natural will, and by means of this, the sensory and voluntary parts of the body, and so the whole person. (True Christian Religion 533)
So just to set the context, prior to this encounter with the demonic, the Lord was teaching the crowd by means of parables from a boat on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. Having dismissed the crowd, He then told the disciples to make for the other side. This crossing was anything but uneventful for it involved a major crisis for the disciples, that I’m sure many of you will be familiar with. Mid crossing we learn that a mighty storm arose that led to a display of the Lord’s power over the elements of nature through speaking the words of peace into being. The details of this can be found in the previous chapter Mark 4:35-41.
The elements of nature, spiritually, refers to our own natural mind. The nature of the natural mind is such that it is in a state of constant resistance to all that is genuinely good and true gaining any traction within the human mind. The storm understood as a mental state is a state in which the mind is beset with unwanted hellish forces arising from our attachment to a sense of self that is based in the loves of self and the world as the foundation for our identity. This sense of self is inherently disordered being nothing but evil and falsity. It is the core work of spiritual life to have this situation addressed so that the natural mind is brought into subjection to the loves of heaven, these being love to the Lord and love toward the neighbour. These higher loves when they rule within the mind constitute a new sense of self from the Lord, what the teachings for Spiritual Christianity call the heavenly proprium.
The state of the natural mind prior to its regeneration is such that a long period of preparation is required if it is to be brought into a form aligned with what is heavenly. This change in the structure or form of the mind comes with its challenges and requires that the seeker journey through many intermediate states along the way. In the Gospel narrative, as in other sections of the Word, transitional shifts in mental states are represented by journeys taken. Here, in the Gospel of Mark, we have the process represented in this journey across the sea, described as, passing over to the other side.
There are two sides to every mind, what relates to the understanding and what relates to the will. The Word supplies truths to build an understanding of what is good and true from which what is evil and false can be seen (True Christian Religion 331). This requires the application of truths to the life of the mind which involves examining the quality of the affections of the will along with the nature of the thinking that this gives rise to. To pass over to the other side spiritually refers to this work of examining the quality of what we hold to be our ‘self’. On one side we have the instilling of truths from the Word as represented by the Lord teaching the multitude in parables from a boat. This activity draws a number of different reactions from those listening. It’s fair to say that things are being stirred up. The crowd are enthralled. His disciples are amazed and at times perplexed. And the religious leaders, who believe that their power and authority is being undermined, are indignant as murderous thoughts begin to arise and justify themselves.
So too, within us, as we engage with the Text we see different mental states coming to awareness that we hadn’t noticed before. At times we are enthralled with the power of the Word to reveal things in ways that enable us to see more clearly what is going on within our lives. And then there are those times when we feel overwhelmed, even calling into question whether the Word can carry us through the difficulties we might be experiencing. Then there are those states of the proprium that seek to undermine the very truths themselves: it twists them to what is false in an effort to defend the sense of self that is grounded in loves of self and the world as the sole authority over determining what is good and true or evil and false.
The only way that this mixture of states can be put into some kind of order is by passing over to the other side, in other words, we need to go from knowing about truths intellectually to experiencing them directly through their practise and application to the life of our mind. The act of passing over from knowing to praxis comes with states of mental disruption, which is represented by the storm in the previous chapter. This is a state of preparation prior to the confrontation with the demoniac possessed by the legion. We’ll deal with this story in more detail elsewhere, for now, the general idea is that the experience of the storm represents how aspects of our thinking with regard to our relationship to the Word as the Lord have to be brought into order before the desires and motivations of the will can be brought before the scrutiny of the light of truths from the Word.
In the spiritual life mental storms have to come. These storms arise because our sense of self or identity is attached to what is resistant to the development of the heavenly life within us. This is difficult to see because we deeply love the feeling that we have life in ourselves and anything that calls this into question invites an intense resistance. We need to understand that as these two lives, the natural and the spiritual, come into contact with each other, what is lower or natural reacts against the spiritual and its truths, and that this is experienced as various levels of mental discomfort resulting in states of anxiety and fear.
What’s illustrated in the disciples experience of this storm is that it is only by passing through spiritual difficulties that we come to realise that the sense of self we have acquired from the loves of self and the world has no control over the process of the regeneration of the human mind. That in and of ourselves we are powerless to effect anything in this regard. It is only then that we realise our need of the Word to lead and direct our lives.
Once this acknowledgement is made there can then be a passing over to the other side, to that aspect of spiritual work that deals with the will and its desires and motivations. This is the story of the man possessed by a legion of demons. In this tormented soul, we have a picture of the true state of the infernal proprium or native will as it exists in us all. This insane demoniac is an image of the identity we are attached to and love above all else. Our feeling of life is so emmeshed in this self that we fail to see just how destructive it is. It is a well constructed psychological fortress that conceals its true nature, hence our need of Divine revelation in the form of the Word to break down all its defences so that we might be set free. Without the Word, there is no hope of deliverance. It can be helpful, if we are struggling to relate to this, to remember that all the stories in the Word deal with the mental structures and processes involved in the regeneration of the human mind. In this demoniac’s external behaviour, aspect, and disposition we have a mirror that reflects back to us the nature and operation of the unregenerate natural mind.
This description, as confronting as it is, is not given in order to discourage us. It’s given so that we might see for ourselves what this level of mind is truly like when separated from the Lord. This is a powerful story about the deliverance and salvation of the human race. For it is only through seeing what the condition of the natural mind is that we can see our desperate need for the Word in our life, and so will be motivated to seek the Lord’s assistance and strength to have our sense of self extracted from that which binds us to hellish states which are constantly working to captivate our mental life.
But let’s take a closer look at what is said about this man with the legion, and see if we can get a better sense of its activity within our lives. We are told, first of all, that he has his dwelling among the tombs, and that he roamed the mountains in the area called the Gadarenes. We also see that there were many attempts to bind him with fetters and chains, but this had been a waste of effort, for he broke them in pieces. We are also told that he is continually crying out, and that he is cutting himself with stones.
Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when he had come out of the boat, immediately there met him, out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs, and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces. Neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
How is this like our natural will? Well, Gadarene or Gadara means walled or fortified. This suggests a state of mind that is closed, defensive, and combative. It’s an apt description of the state of the unregenerate natural mind in relation to what is of a higher heavenly quality. The lusts of the natural mind continually war against higher spiritual loves, resisting their advances for fear of the loss of its own life or dominance within a person. The love of self, the heavenly doctrines tell us, is the love of dominion. This love should ideally serve what is spiritual, but we are told that it loves nothing more than to have authority over all others, and that this even includes God and heaven, if that were possible.
For this lust of dominating, if given its head, we were told, knows no bounds. So we see that the man is said to be in the mountains. Because mountains are elevated, when they are mentioned in the Word they correspond to love, either in a positive sense or in a negative sense. Here, the correspondence is clearly negative. So that that love described by the Gaderene mountains, where we find the demoniac roaming, is an image of the love of self elevated to prominence within the natural will.
Now, things become interesting with regards to this man, when we look at the Greek word translated tombs. This is the word meneion, which literally means, memorial or memory vault.
When we consider the striking figure of the demoniac living amongst the tombs it serves as a potent metaphor for the construction of a natural identity. It highlights how our identity is not simply a collection of past experiences, but rather a narrative curated and assembled from a selection of those memories. This deeply personal narrative then forms the foundation for an identity rooted in a particular interpretation – an interpretation shaped profoundly by the loves of self and the world. The core difficulty here is that this ‘world of memories’ is inherently inert, devoid of living presence or vitality. An identity, sense of self or, proprium built predominantly upon this lifeless past, driven by self-absorption, becomes deranged and disconnected from reality due to its susceptibility to hellish influences.
… a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs, and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces.
To dwell in something carries the idea of being bound or attached to that thing or state. Here, to dwell in the tombs speaks of living out our lives among what is dead. This is the abode of the hells within us. They love nothing more than keeping us focused on events from our past, particularly on events where we feel we have been wronged, or over which we have regrets, or those on which we carry a sense of guilt. All this is thrown into the mix of the stories we tell our ‘self’ to reinforce our identity. If we would give a little attention to the memories this ‘self’ draws on to affirm its existence, we would see that they are kept alive there by an insidious spirit that delights in the decay of a mind that is unable to extract itself from its mental or psychological tombs.
We also have memories which we have forgotten, yet they remain within us, unconsciously exerting their influence, exuding a sphere of negative energy tied to unhelpful, well-worn patterns of thought and feeling that often seeps into consciousness manifesting as states of depression, anger, frustration and anxiety along with a host of other mental states that negatively impact on our spiritual wellbeing.
From these general states, thoughts arise as forms of negative self-talk: voices within that tell us we are no good, or useless, or that we are incapable of getting anything right. These are false ideas that continually cut at our vitality or spiritual life. Or, in the imagery of the story we are focusing on today, are represented by the stones with which the demonic cuts himself.
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
The Greek word for cut used here in the Text literally means to cut down; it also has overtones of lamenting and mourning in its meaning. These meanings capture what’s involved in states of depression, anxiety, and self-pity, states which evil spirits continually strive to keep alive within us because they find their delight in those things. The stones that the demoniac is repeatedly cutting himself with represent false ideas and destructive patterns of thinking bound to the memory narratives of the self that endlessly repeat themselves in an effort to maintain its sense of legitimacy. So, we can see that when we are identified with the loves of self and the world as the basis for our identity, then, the natural mind is dominated by states that centres the attention on this self, and so we become susceptible to thoughts which are continually rising up to cut us down.
Anyone who has ever tried to stop thinking negatively about a situation or another person or to shift out of a state of depression, anxiety, or frustration, will know just how powerful the forces are that seek to maintain the active state of mind. As soon as we realise that we are in such a negative state and seek to apply some form of affirmation or principle to extract ourselves, we experience the magnetic pull back into the state we are looking to get relief from.
The message here is that no amount of human willpower can bring about the changes we seek. The natural will is a wild man possessed, unable to be tamed by anyone – anyone that is, but the Lord. But this truth takes time to learn. Part of the illusion the natural mind offers is that we can control it, and as long as we think that this is the case, we actually exist in a state of denial of our need for the Lord, which, of course, suits these hellish influences.
The illusion is partly created because we tend to focus on externals. We keep our behaviour in check and think we are okay, not seeing that the problem actually lies with our inner world, the world of our thoughts and affections. These are the things that run wild within us, the things over which we have little control, and these are the things that the Word is designed to deal with.
For when we engage with the Word looking to use its truths to examine our self with a view to shunning evils as sins against the Lord, we will find that the self centred thoughts and affections of proprium are legion. We will also discover the power of the Word to deliver us from these states and provide us with new thoughts and affections of a higher quality. However, we need to be aware that we will have to weather a few storms before this point can be reached.
Deliverance from these lower lusts of the infernal proprium that dominate the unregenerate natural mind can only occur through a willingness to engage with the Word as one’s core spiritual practise. The new regenerate mind is made possible through a reformation of our thinking and feeling structures. As new concepts from the Word enter into the domain of old established patterns of thinking it disrupts them. That is what the storm is all about: it’s an internal disruption of the way we think. The experience, however, of the storm brings about powerful new insights affirming the power of the Lord, or what is the same, the power of His Word to quiet those hellish forces that disturb the mind of every spiritual seeker.
Just as the calming of the storm strengthened the disciples‘ growing conviction that Jesus is something infinitely more than just an ordinary man, we too have to come to a place where we see that the Word is infinitely more than what presents on a surface reading. That the fulness of the Lord’s power to deliver us from all manner of evil and falsity lies within it if we are willing to seek Him there. And that’s the important thing, we have to seek if we are to find what’s provided in the Word for our salvation.
The boat that the Lord taught from is our understanding of the Word. This understanding is limited and will always be so. Yet, the infinite, eternal Lord is within it. The understanding we have acquired of the principles found in texts of divine revelation carry the Lord within them, and it is through the storms of life that we come to see more clearly how these spiritual principles are a Divine constant in the unfolding of our spiritual lives.
This is seen in that upon arriving on the other side, the Lord steps out of the boat or representatively out of our understanding of spiritual principles. Our understanding of the Word is the vessel through which the power of the Word in a Divine Human form is able to manifest and bring deliverance to the demoniac. Jesus represents the divine love and wisdom in human form. The Word states that,
… when he came out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit.
If the boat is our understanding of the Word or our doctrine, then we see that when this understanding is obedient to the Lord’s desire to travel to the other side, it is able to convey the living Word itself into the lower, resistant aspects of the natural mind that make up its will, this being nothing more than unclean lusts arising from the loves of self and the world.
Of course, the Lord’s love for the salvation of the human race will direct us toward those things that need dealing with within. Here on the other side, it is not teaching from the boat that brings the desired effect, but the embodiment of that teaching represented by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord stepping out of the boat represents a state of seeing a distinction between what we understand to be true and the Divine Truth Itself, which occurs where there is the acknowledgement that the Word is the Lord Himself present in our midst.
This is not just mere intellectual assent. To acknowledge the Word to be the Lord is inseparable from engaging with It as the basis for one’s life. It is a commitment to a life of self examination and repentance for this is what is able to bring about our deliverance from the hellish influences that populate the unregenerate natural mind represented by the man with the legion.
A man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs, and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces. Neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.