- Parables -       

The Mirror Within

[1] 

Riza asked his grandfather, “Nonno, I always wonder why did Pilate after asking Jesus, ”What is the Truth?” (John 18:I8) turn his back on Him and did not wait for His answer?           

Grandfather said: Riza, many people have asked your question, but they never got an answer. This is one of the most crucial points of the whole Gospel. I will try, though, to answer you with this story:        

Once upon a time, in a town where people lived a quiet and peaceful life, a holy and very old man lived. Nobody knew his real age, and so people called him “Ancient One”. 

Ancient One was very popular, not only for his old age, but for his wisdom which was the Sun of the Land. Thus he was sought out by both the lowly and the great of the town.   

Among the adherents who visited Ancient One came, quite often, three of the pillars of the Society – Ethic, Social Order and Justice. They asked him questions such as: “What is good and what is evil? Is it right to have more than one wife? Is it wrong to leave your old parents in somebody else’s care? Why is it wrong to avoid having children when you are married? Why does wealth lead people astray?” and so on.           

Gravely Ancient One would answer all the questions. And Ethic, Social Order and Justice would take their leave satisfied for the moment.  Time and time again, they would visit him and talk to him till very late in the night.           

One day Ancient One said to them: “My children, my time has come. I have to leave you all. Before I go, though, I’ll give you a Legacy. Take this Mirror-Within with you. This is the Mirror-Within, which will always tell you the Truth. However, the Truth will be in your midst only if you, Ethic, Social Order and Justice, will stay together and look at yourselves through the Mirror-Within twice every day - once in the morning and once before going to bed.

The day you miss or neglect to do so even once, the Legacy will be broken and peace will be gone from town. And so many other evil things will happen to you and to the people for whom you have been given responsibility.”           

The same day, Ethic, Social Order and Justice left Ancient One for the last time. They started to discuss and argue about who was the most suitable keeper for the Mirror-Within. 

Ethic said: “I will keep the Mirror-Within because I am the repository of all moral values.”          

Social Order said: “No. I am the one who knows how to keep order in town. Without me there is only chaos.”           

Justice said: ‘‘You don’t know what you are talking about. I  am the Law of the country and without me you would not know the right hand from the left.”           

So went their arguments until, for the sake of their long of their standing friendship, they reached a compromise. That was, each of them, in turn, would keep tire Mirror-Within for a period of four months.           

By and by, Ethic, Social Order and Justice retired. And peace was not in the midst of the people any longer. In succession violence and confusion within and conflict without were commonplace; diseases, famine and disasters of many kinds became “natural” to people’s every day life. 

Riza then asked his grandfather: ‘But why, Nonno? What happened to the Mirror-Within; why didn’t Ethic, Social Order and Justice work any more? 

“My son,” replied the grandfather, ‘Ethic, Social Order and Justice had received a Legacy from Ancient One before his departure.

That is, he gave to them the Mirror-Within, which was always to tell them the Truth. However, two conditions were set by Ancient One - first that they were to stay together all the time, and second they were bound to look through the Mirror-Within twice every day, once in the morning and once before going to bed.

They never did. From day one Ethic, Social Order and Justice each of them, went on their own way separately. They never got together once; and never looked through the Mirror-Within more than once, because what they saw the first time was too bad to contemplate.     

“What was it, Nonno?” asked Riza. 

“What Ethic, Social Order and Justice saw in the Mirror-Within was the plain Truth about themselves and about every thing else,” replied Grandfather.          

“But what was so bad about the Truth, that they did not want to look more than once?” asked Riza. 

“Ethic saw his own image reflected through the Mirror-Within as a monstrosity of self-made rules and regulations that would have crushed anybody under them. This was because Ethic acted on his own volition with no relationship with either Social Order or Justice and least of all with Truth.           

Social Order saw himself reflected through the Mirror-Within as a huge performance as on a stage where people were all acting out  their best part, but with no heart in it; this for the same reason: Social Order was separated from the others, and had no relationship with Truth.            

Justice, too, saw himself reflected through the Mirror-Within as a Tyrant without mercy, because he distanced himself from Ethic and Social Order, but mainly because Truth was no longer his bedfellow.”           

Riza said: “In other words, Nonno, you are saying Pilate never expected an answer from Jesus, because he didn’t like what he had seen of himself through Jesus, who was the Mirror-Within.” 

Nadir . Martello.       

Contact: nadir@sheddinglight.info

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