“I will tell him tomorrow. But I do not think this affair is as dangerous as you believe it to be. Nevertheless, I will talk with his Holiness. You may leave.”
The other Cardinal made a slight bow and turned. As he walked across the carpet, his face was set into hard lines. “The fool,” he muttered under his breath. “He knows nothing. He does not understand the danger at all!”
Chapter 17: Turn the Other Cheek
The summer sun was bright, but not overly hot at that altitude. The table in the patio was set for lunch when Dr. Myers and Tamara entered the courtyard. A large umbrella shaded most of the table and the four chairs around it.
“Please sit down, Tamara. He will be here soon.” Myers waited until she had taken a seat then sat down himself, easing into the chair while leaning on his cane.
“Please remember,” he said in a low voice, “this man is of a different time and a vastly different culture. And there are things that we do not think it wise to let him know as of yet. So please don’t talk about religion at all. At least, not current religion. You’ll find he’s only too willing to discuss his views.”
He paused to laugh gently, mostly to himself. “I will enjoy seeing his face when he finds out about the vast Catholic Church founded in his name. Now that will be more of a shock than airplanes or TV!”
“Have you told him about the Jewish religion? A lot has changed from his day.”
Myers sighed. “Yes and no. At first I told him that our people have finally regained the land God granted us in the covenant. ‘And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it’.”
“Genesis 15-1,” Tamara said. “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.”
“You know your Bible well,” Myers chuckled. “Well, so I wanted him to know that our people have at last obtained the land given us by God. But his first question was if he could visit the Temple in Jerusalem. Well, you can imagine my problem. If I explained to him that the Temple was destroyed only a few years after his death, that would open too many questions, and probably upset him. So I told him the Temple still is in Jerusalem. Which is the truth. Part of it still is. One wall, at least.
“And I told him that someday he might be able to go there.
“His next question was if Israel now ruled the world. If you will recall, I mentioned that he was an apocalyptic Jew. The belief of many at that time was that God would come and straighten out things. He would see that our people got back the land he gave us. He would throw off the oppressor that ruled that land. And many also believed that God would set up Israel to rule the world in an era of peace and harmony among all people. After all, this was God, the All Powerful, coming to set things right.
“I had to tell him that had not yet come to pass. I didn’t mention that it was unlikely to, either.”
Taking in a deep breath, Myers added, “It would be best not to let him know the true state of the world today. So please be cautious.”
They were interrupted by a door opening and the subject of their conversation appearing. Jesus walked slowly along the path to where they sat. He did limp, but Tamara was surprised that he could walk as well as he did. Again he was wearing slacks and sandals, this time with a pale green sweatshirt, again proclaiming UCLA across the front.
Tamara stood when he reached the table.
“Shalom,” she said.
“Shelama,” said Myers. “That’s how you say it in Aramaic. Means the same.”
“Shelama,” replied Jesus. “It is good to see you again. God’s blessings upon you.”
Dr. Myers had to translate, explaining to Tamara that Jesus had learned only a few words of English and they were not really trying to teach it to him.
“Thank you.” She halted, however, before returning the blessing. It did not seem right, somehow, to offer God’s blessing to his Son.
Myers, who had not risen, said, “Please sit down. Lunch will be here soon.”
Jesus sat down carefully, as if his knees were stiff. He also eased slowly back into the chair. Back still sore, Tamara told herself. Poor man.
At that point, the door opened again and a man pushed a cart through. He was wearing a pale blue jumpsuit with the Chronodyne logo on the chest pocket. She had seen more than a few such informal uniforms around the compound. The man, himself, had darker features than Jesus, and long black hair tied into a ponytail. From his features, Tamara was sure that he was an Indian, probably Navaho or some local tribe. He began setting plates and bowls of food on the table.
As the food was being set out, Tamara noticed that Jesus was staring at the man.
Myers explained. “He had never seen an American Indian, you know. John’s features fascinate him.”
Jesus turned to her and smiled. Again there was that change from a tired, concerned frown to a pleasant, friendly face.
With the food set out, and each was poured a glass of white wine, Jesus picked up a tortilla and broke it into three pieces. Handing a piece to each of them, he said some words in Aramaic, which Myers did not bother to translate. They began to eat.
“How far are we from Jerusalem?” Jesus asked, looking at Tamara but the question was directed to Myers.
“Oh, a long way.”
“Ten days of walking? Twenty?” he asked.
“If you could walk it, it would take you many times that amount. And you would have to cross an ocean.”
“An ocean,” Jesus said flatly.
“A big ocean. Much bigger than you know.”
Jesus reached for a slice of melon, apparently letting the question of how long it would take him to walk to Jerusalem slide.
Most of the food, Tamara noted, was fruits. One plate held slices of baked fish, probably halibut. Jesus picked up a piece of the fish and put it on his plate. Joining it were grapes, slices of melon, and dates.
“Jesus enjoys lamb,” Myers told her between bites of his own fish. “But, you know, he had never eaten beef! Took a while to convince him that beef was kosher. We do, of course, avoid non-kosher food. At least, anything that might upset his sense of purity. That is very important to the people of his time, just as it is to many Jews today. They must be pure in all things to please God.”
Jesus looked to Myers because he had not translated his words to Tamara into Aramaic. Myers explain quickly what he had said, and then added, “I’m trying to get Yeshua to enjoy a thick, barbequed steak. Maybe if he sees you eating one, he’ll consider it.”
As the lunch progressed, Tamara noticed that Jesus was awkward using his knife and fork. “He was used to eating with his fingers,” Myers explained. “And a knife to cut as needed. I’ve told him that he doesn’t have to use the silverware but he wants to fit in with the rest of us. So he tries.”
“Tell me, friend Seymour, you said that the land granted us by God is again ruled by Israel. What of the Romans? Were they cast out?”
Translating his words for Tamara gave Myers the chance to compose a reply.
“The Romans left, that is true. But it was many years before the Holy Land came to the people of Israel.”
Jesus paused while taking a fork of fish towards his mouth. The piece of fish fell back onto the plate. “Where they overthrown by the sword?” he asked.
“They were conquered by the sword, but it was not Jewish swords.”
Jesus seemed to consider this. “There were those in our land who wanted to drive the Romans out by the sword,” he said finally. “There were times when I felt that the coming of God’s Kingdom could only be by way of our people taking up arms. I had hoped that God would perform a miracle, as he did when he parted the sea for Moses. But the land had been taken by the strength of our swords, and the help of God, and would most probably be done the same again when the Kingdom arrived.”
“You actually considered an armed rebellion?” asked Tamara.
Myers shot her a swift glance before translating.
“Yes. There were times when we had to take the land by force,” he replied. “As when the land was taken from an evil king by Judas.”
“What does he mean?” asked Tamara.
“After Alexander the Great’s death, the Holy Land came under the rule of Seleucus, one of Alexander’s officers. One of his successors, Antiochus, began a policy of turning the land and the people into pseudo Greeks. He made possession of the Torah a capital offense, banned many Jewish practices such as sacrifices, feasts, even circumcision. Altars to Greek gods were set up in the Temple in Jerusalem and he ordered swine to be sacrificed to Zeus because roast pork was a favorite of that god. Things came to a head when the High Priest, Mattathias, refused to worship an idol of Zeus that had been placed on the altar in the Temple. He and his sons were forced to flee into the wilderness where they began a guerrilla war against the Seleucid army, led by one of his sons, Judas Maccabee, and against all odds, they won.
“They ritually cleansed the Temple and created a kingdom that lasted for a hundred years, ending about sixty years before Jesus was born.”
“Oh, yes, I remember that,” Tamara said. “When he said Judas, I was a little confused.”
“Judas is this case is Judas Maccabee. And that was where Hanukkah came from; when a single day’s supply of oil kept the Menorah burning for eight days,” Myers continued. All that had been in English. Turning to Jesus, he gave a quick summary of what he had told Tamara. Jesus nodded – it was an old story to him.
Tamara was frowning. When she had the chance, she asked, “Jesus, I have trouble believing that you would suggest an armed revolt. You said so much about peace and loving your neighbor. Did you not say: ‘That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also’?”
For a long time Jesus just looked at her, his food forgotten, his eyes intent upon her face. Finally he relaxed and said, “I once said something like that. I was giving advice to my followers concerning the Roman troops. I was sending them out to teach of the coming Kingdom. I knew that they would encounter Roman soldiers, so I instructed them not to resist armed soldiers. If struck, do not strike back. If a Roman soldier tells you to do some work, then do it and more. Give them no reason to kill you.”
Jesus pushed away the plate before him. “Our people had tried. In the year I was born, arms were taken up against Archelaus. Roman troops from Syria came and many were killed. Two thousand were crucified!
“Again, when I was a child of ten, more were killed trying to free our land.
“I knew the Kingdom of God was soon to come. When that happened, God would sharpen our swords and we would drive the Romans before us. But until then, we lacked the numbers. We lacked the swords. Until God helped us, we could not defeat the foreigners by force of arms. I knew it was not the right time to attempt such. But soon, very soon the Son of Man would come and God would restore the land to my people. We would answer the Jewish bloodshed by the Romans with an equal amount of Roman blood.
“Until then, it would be best to turn away lest they do more than strike you upon the cheek.”
Tamara did not know what to say. She could sense the hatred in his voice when he spoke of the Romans. Suddenly it was believable that this man, called by some the Prince of Peace, would led an armed revolt with all the bloodshed that would entail.
“There were no Roman troops actually stationed in Galilee at that time,” Myers told her. “But he was sending the disciples out to spread the word, to tell of the coming Kingdom and bid the people repent so they would become part of the Kingdom. He didn’t want them to fail in that mission because they pissed off some Roman soldier they encountered.”
Jesus was sipping at his wine. Tamara drank from her glass. It was a light Chablis.
“Jesus is fascinated by the quality and variety of wines available now,” Myers told her. “Back then, he was limited to that which could be made locally. Some of the Romans had wine imported from Rome and Greek, but Jesus lived most of his life in a small rural town, and was never rich enough to afford such luxuries.”
Jesus had finished his wine and was pouring another glass from the carafe. The idea of a drunken Jesus flashed through her mind and she had to keep from reacting to it. She told herself that there was no reason why Jesus would not feel the effect of a bit too much wine. Sitting before her was a man. And a man who liked wine. Nothing wrong with that. Did not the Bible say: “...but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities?”
The lunch was obviously over. “Jesus and I were going to talk a little bit about the layout of the Temple in those days. Would you like to sit in?”
Tamara could sense that Myers would rather she did not. The conversation would undoubted proceed much faster if he did not have to take the time to translate the Aramaic for her.
“Thank you, but I have work to attend to.” She started to rise, but paused to ask, “I am curious? I’m sure Jesus was not a student at UCLA. Why does he wear that shirt?”
Myers laughed politely. “When he had recovered enough to leave his bed, we had to find some clothes for him. I had a UCLA sweatshirt left over from the days when I was a professor there. Taught Biblical History. Well, it fitted him, and he seemed to like the letters across the chest. I’m not sure why. Perhaps I should ask him. Anyway, I ordered a couple more for him. The green one is his favorite.”
Tamara said her goodbye to Jesus and Dr. Myers. Walking back to the office allocated to her, she did a lot of thinking, still trying to comprehend the magnitude of what they had done here, and how incredibly different this man was from what she had expected.
Chapter 18: Decision
It was nighttime in Cairo, just after midnight, and the sounds of the latest protests had died down. Abdul Murad looked out from the office window at the nearly deserted streets below. A single vehicle, an old American brand, slowly cruised along, looking for what Murad had no idea. Perhaps it was just someone looking for trouble. It seemed to him that there was always someone looking for trouble. Uneasy times, these days.
As second in command, he had powers but had mostly been content to allow Munif to lead. The problem now was that Munif did not know what to do. He was a good leader if you wanted a protest organized, a building blown up, or someone assassinated. But when something different came up, he could not make the decisions when they had to be made. Perhaps his time as their leader was over.
Resting his head against the window frame, the young man who had gunned down men and woman, built bombs for others to destroy their enemies with their sacrifice, and helped lay plans for spreading terror among the enemies of Islam, thought upon what he had heard from the infidel Americans. They claimed to have created Isa the Masih, the Messiah, whom Allah sent to guide the Children of Israel with the new injil, the new Gospel! After much reflection, he found he did not believe their claim. It must be a trick of some kind. They could not have brought the one of Allah’s messengers from the past to today. The infidels wished to confuse and delude the faithful.
But Abdul does not see this clearly! He does not see the need for immediate action; instead he talks with the imam, asking for guidance. While he waits, these Americans will bring this false prophet to the world, spread their lies, and there are many who will believe.
Murad stood away from the window. The slow moving car had passed from sight. In his heart, he knew that Allah has chosen him to act as his sword. Why else would this news have come to him? Why else would he feel so deeply in his heart that he was right?
He began preparations to go to America.
Chapter 19: Debate
Tamara sat at the desk and rested her fingers lightly on the keyboard of the computer terminal they had given her. A lot was going through her mind: amazement, confusion, surprise and more than a little awe. As a teenager she had always been interested in religions, but especially that mystical and powerful time two thousand years ag
o when Jesus walked the dirt paths of what is now Israel. Although not a religious person herself, she was fascinated by the whole story. Perhaps it was just a part of her nature to dig into stories and root out the facts. She had turned that interest and ability into a good career working for the government. Perhaps it was simply that the whole story of Jesus was one great murder mystery she felt compelled to solve.
Or maybe, were she honest enough to admit it, she simply wanted to know the truth behind what happened all those years ago. Was Jesus just a man, or something divine? Was he The Son of God? Which was, of course, just a part of a bigger question: does God exist? She was never sure of the answer, but, like most people, she wanted to know, to have something to base her understanding of the world and existence.
“Hello.”
The voice startled her, and she looked up to see a man standing in the doorway. He was of medium height but quite slender. The lab coat hung loosely on his gaunt frame. More bald than not, what was left of his hair was a fuzzy fringe around his head and streaked with gray. His features were thin, his eyes dark behind thick glasses. Had he not been wearing the uniform of a lab scientist, she thought he would have looked appropriate in the black suit of an undertaker.
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