"My darling, I love you."

In the gospel of Mark, chapter one, we read about Jesus "preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God" in Galilee.

Here, by this large and beautiful freshwater lake (approx. 53kms around) he encountered some fishermen, the brothers Simon and Andrew. He invited them to leave their fishing nets and join him to "become fishers of men". They did.

Next, he encountered two more brothers, James and John. They also accepted the invitation to join Jesus. 

These five came to Capernaum, on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee, sometimes called Jesus' second home. They went into the local synagogue, where Jesus astonished them with his authoritative teaching. (One blogger writes that the synagogue was "school, meeting place, courtroom, and place of prayer" and explains that the Greek word synagogue means assembly.)

So, here we are in the community meeting-place. Jesus is teaching, when suddenly "a man with an unclean spirit" shouts out: "Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." 

What an affront! Was the man indignant, annoyed, angry? Why did he express such antipathy to Jesus' teaching? 

What happens next is so interesting. Did Jesus shout back? Did he take offence? Was he dismayed and disappointed? Certainly this was not a sign of welcome or appreciation. The man was apparently deeply disturbed. 

We have no indication as to how the others in the synagogue reacted, but Jesus remained undisturbed in face of this push-back. With total conviction, he "rebuked him, saying Hold thy peace, and come out of him." And it was so. 

This story came to mind as I read in Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer of a child born blind.  As Mrs. Eddy "began to talk to her of God, Truth and Love ... the child ... stamped her foot and said, 'I hate you. I hate you. I could sit up all night to hate* you.'" 

Mrs. Eddy's response? "My darling, I love you. I love you, why I could sit up all night to love you!" (p. 290, Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer by von Fettweis and Warneck). The child was healed. She could see.

I was struck by a corollary to these two occurrences. This month, as I take up our book of the month each day, I have sometimes felt a reluctance to read about Mrs. Eddy's healing work. What Paul calls the "carnal mind" and Mrs. Eddy terms "mortal mind" -- the so-called mind which is "not subject to the law of God" (Rom. 8:7) -- can sometimes sound like our own voice, our own instincts. But when I realised that this reluctance, the "push-back" was a spurious suggestion, not a message from God, I pushed on with the reading until I was again appreciating its wonderful ramifications for the world.

Julie Swannell

*A study of the word "hatred" in the concordances to the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings - in printed books or online in Concord - is illuminating. (I love Concord! It's such a worthwhile investment.)