The Harvest

by John David Krygelski

  “Heck, yes. That’s part of the deal. We get it back the way we want it. Are you gonna call your old man on that thing in your pocket and get him down here, or do I have to walk to his house and wake him up like I used to when he was a boy?”

  “You know about cell phones?”

  Thaddeus smiled. Stepping forward, he gently placed his hand on Buck’s shoulder and said, “Boy, I’ve been right here…with you and your dad…all these years. I haven’t gone anywhere.”

  “Here?”

  “Yeah. I’ve seen every fish you’ve caught. I’ve seen every stupid stunt you’ve pulled. I’ve seen that beautiful wife of yours and those two wonderful daughters who love you very much.”

  “But…I’m still confused.”

  “Buck, today’s the day. You’ve got the mark. So does your family. You know we’re all leaving tonight, including those of us who’ve been waiting around for this load to be taken up.” Thaddeus grabbed Buck’s arms and said, “But before we go…we’ve got today…you, me, your dad. We’ve got a chance to go out one more time together.” The grandfather reached up, grasped Buck’s face with both hands, and looked him in the eye. “God, I’ve missed you, boy. Both of you.”

  Tears streaming down his cheeks, Buck said, “We’ve missed you, Granddad.” Inhaling deeply, hoping to steady his voice, Buck pulled the cell phone from his pocket. “Is it okay if I don’t tell him you’re here? I want to surprise him.”

  Chuckling, the grandfather answered, “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Buck. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  א

  Cardinal Mario Bonavente stood before the bishops under his charge, glancing slowly at each of the men gathered. This morning he was fulfilling his part of the instructions passed down from the Holy See. It was not that he did not wish to meet with his bishops on his last day, only that he had wished for his statements to take on a different tone than the one dictated. For Mario was filled with a profound sadness. Less than ten percent of the priests and bishops in his Church had received the holy mark, the invitation to Heaven from Elohim. Although this was a larger segment than the general population, it was a pathetic outcome for a group who professed to be holy men.

  The example for them all resided within the convents and cloisters of the Church where almost half of the nuns had been blessed with a key to Heaven. Sadly and yet proudly, Mario reflected, the same dedication to Jesus Christ and to the Church, which had led them to this honor, was now causing many of them to state their intention to remain behind. “We have much to learn from our sisters” was the point Mario had wished to make in his final speech this morning.

  Taking a slow breath, he began, “May our Lord’s blessings be upon you this morning.” Mario paused as the group murmured their responses, then continued, “As you know, I will be leaving tonight, as will a few of the others who are joining us this morning. Today is the fulfillment of a long-made and long-kept promise from our Lord – a day of departure, a day of ascension. For some it is a day of vindication, for it shall be a day of proof, proof that their faith was more than a ‘superstition’ as many have believed and as many have accused this Church of propagating.

  “For those about to embark upon this wondrous journey, there is little which needs to be said. My words today, the words from His Holiness in Rome, are intended for you who will stay behind. God, our Father, has joined us on Earth twice before and promises to come again. Yet, what is but a blink of an eye to Him will be several millennia here on our home, as it has been since His last visit. In the days that are to follow this day, there will be much work to be done. Each of you and your charges…your pastors, priests, and nuns…will find yourselves in a world where the very best have been removed – not only the best within your own ranks, but the best within your parishes, cities, states, and countries.

  “The absence of those who have left will have a profound impact upon all of you. Elohim has explained that the few Chosen in our midst are a stabilizing and civilizing influence upon all others. They are as a tent pole, rising above the group, supporting the shelter, keeping us all dry and warm, and setting an example for the rest. When they are gone, there are but two choices. Others must step up and assume the roles vacated by the Chosen, or the tent will come down upon everyone.

  “In the coming days, weeks, months, and years, each of you will find it necessary to make many difficult choices. Elohim has described the time following each of His visits as a time of great tumult, fear, despair, and misery. We all pray against this course, hoping for an exception. But while we pray, we must also prepare. And the time for preparation is now, today, this minute, for the great storm approaches.”

  Mario hesitated, sipping from his water glass. Slowly exhaling a deep breath, he continued, “Of all of the choices you must make, your first choice must be to look within yourself for even the slightest tinge of envy, bitterness, or resentment for not being one of the Chosen. For to feel any of those emotions, one must have a lack of faith in the judgment of the Lord. And if one suffers from such a lack, although he may remain a member of this Church, he cannot be a leader within it.

  “So, if you search your soul and find these feelings, you must leave. Do not be tempted to remain. Do not be lured by the comfort of your position, the uncertainty of what else you might do, the fear of change. For the time ahead will test your faith as it has never been tested. Our Pope has made it clear that in the impending battle, one hundred men of unshakable faith can resist an enemy which would overwhelm ten thousand men of doubt.

  “Twin forces are locked in an eternal conflict throughout the world…as they have always been. Good and evil. The side of good is on the verge of losing some of the best from the flock, leaving a vacuum. The side of evil already wishes to fill this void. This may sound to some of you like a losing battle. After all, the Church, people of faith, and just good people have been on the retreat since before Elohim arrived. The world was already careening toward a sinful, godless existence against which the Church appeared powerless. From now on, it would not be hard to assume that it can only get worse.”

  As Bonavente spoke, he saw many nearly imperceptible nods from his audience. He was certain they were not even aware they were doing it.

  “If this is what you believe, you are wrong! For you have forgotten one single change which has touched every breathing soul on Earth…God’s Love. He has come. He has fulfilled His promise. He has renewed that promise and will return again. His presence has wiped away the doubt in most. His touch has been felt by all. The world we lived in just one week ago was divided into three parts: those who believed in God, those who opposed God, and those who thought the first two groups were fools for believing in anything. Today, there are but two groups: those who believe in Him and love Him, and those who believe in Him and hate Him.

  “In these few days your flock has grown severalfold for there can no longer be any doubt within the hearts of men and women. That God is our Creator was once a belief. It is now a fact. That a Heaven waits for those who are worthy is no longer a hope. It is a certainty. That God will judge all of us, individually, on our own merits, is no longer a vague possibility. It is an inevitability.

  “We live in a world filled with hatred. Someone, somewhere in the world, hates each of you. Most of these people have never met you, nor ever will. Yet they hate you because of the color of your skin or your beliefs or the nation you call your home. They carry such hatred within them that they wish you dead. Or worse…they wish for your eternal damnation. There are also those who hate others only because the others are fat or only because they drive large vehicles or only because they smoke cigarettes. I am not saying obesity, extravagant consumption, and nicotine are good. They are clearly not, and our Lord and Teacher Jesus Christ has counseled against these habits. But are they worthy of hatred?

  “One of the lessons we have learned these past few days, a lesson I fear many of us had forgotten, is how essential love is. God and His Son Jesus love us all:
the American or the Chinese, the brown or the black, the slender or the obese, the Jew or the Muslim. God even loves Lucifer. God loves all because all have sprung from Him. There are countless prayers, homilies, liturgies, and phrases within our faith reminding us of this love – words we have all spoken many times when comforting our parishioners. And yet, we have forgotten the significance, the profound importance, the reality of these words.

  “The hatred I spoke of is but a tool. It is the sword of evil. Wielded by Lucifer and his followers, it is used to kill; this we all know. What we need to remember is that it is also used to divide, to fragment, to separate. Mankind has arisen from the morass of chaos and the primitive, primal quest for survival by banding together, putting aside differences, and recognizing the value and the benefit of working toward common goals. Hatred is the antithesis of community. Even if overt hatred is not visible, the undercurrents of hatred will cause everyone to hold back, not fully commit to the common good.

  “We live in a time filled with much hatred, a lack of respect for others not of the same cohort, and intense feelings of aggressiveness, anger, surliness, contempt, disdain, abhorrence, revulsion, and disgust. These feelings splinter us, creating smaller and smaller groups, with each new group acquiring more and more enemies. New enemies are created every minute of the day, far faster than new friends can be made. It is time to step back and look at these things objectively and ask yourself why…why this is happening, and what can be done to reverse it before society consumes itself.

  “If hatred is the solvent which dissolves the bonds of community, love is both the glue and the magnet which rejoin them…not only the Love of God, but the love we should all have for each other. As hatred, prompted by our differences, drives us all apart…it is this love, a love based upon our commonalities, which will pulls us all together. You must help those around you in their reactions. Nothing can stop a person from recognizing the differences in others. It is our nature. How we all react to those differences is what can be addressed.

  “If you have a parishioner who is intensely passionate about the damage inflicted upon the Earth, you must encourage him to lobby, to cajole, to vote, and to perform every other civil option open to him to further his cause. But you must…must counsel him, plead with him not to hate those who do not agree. He must be made to understand that the act of hatred, even if it is directed toward an evil person, is wrong…it is evil, in and of itself. Whether the object of hatred is a polluter, a racist, a killer, or a molester, the act of hating is wrong. Nothing of any good can come from this hatred – only polarization and the creation of others who hate.

  “This will be your course in the days, weeks, months, and years to follow. No matter what the cause, no matter what the issue, it will be your task to be the calming influence on a turbulent society. It will be your role to remind everyone of what we have in common despite what may be driving us apart. It will be your mission to explain and to demonstrate God’s love for all.”

  The Cardinal paused, taking another sip of his water. At that moment he wished for Elohim’s power to read the thoughts of others. “One may wonder from where all of this hatred springs. Is it natural? Is it the normal human reaction? I can tell you the answer; it is ‘no.’ Hatred is not a bitter seed buried within each of us from conception. It is planted.

  “There are men within this room who believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit….” As the Cardinal spoke these words, he, as well as all who gathered, touched the four corners of the crucifix upon themselves. “Yet, they have never accepted or believed in the reality of Lucifer. They have never truly embraced the belief in the embodiment of evil. For some, this lack was caused by shame or embarrassment, an unwillingness to espouse what they viewed as an ancient, uncomfortable, ‘unmodern’ myth. It was a position which they may have felt caused them to be seen as anachronisms, as marginal kooks by their own community.

  “Elohim’s words have described this fallen angel. The horrific deeds performed across the world in the past few days have demonstrated his hand. Just as the arrival of our Lord has blown away the mists of doubt which surrounded the reality of His love, these events have also confirmed the existence of this malignant presence. The same entity…who struggled to tempt our Lord in the garden and failed…has been whispering into the ears of men and women for the two thousand years since. How many of these poor souls possessed the same strength to resist?”

  Pausing again to solemnly stare around the room, Mario asked, “How many people, upon hearing those whispers of temptation, turned to one of you, seeking to borrow the strength needed to oppose Satan and, instead, found in you someone who did not believe?” Not all of the men around the table returned the Cardinal’s stare as he, once again, sought to connect with each. “You cannot be of aid against an enemy you do not acknowledge.

  “The world has changed so much since Jesus walked upon it. We have learned a great deal about many things. Science has lifted the veil and shown us much, answered many questions, solved many problems, helped us to be nourished and sheltered and safe. We have all reciprocated for those wonderful things by elevating science beyond the stature which it is due. We have all allowed science to surpass its primary and beneficial function and become the arbiter of reality. Science has progressed from stating only that which it could prove to proclaiming that all which it cannot prove must not truly exist. It is not the fault of scientists to assume this role, as they, for the most part, have been willing to assume the enormous responsibility which this entails. It is the fault of all others for granting them this final authority.

  “When Jesus was resurrected, mankind could not fly through the sky in an airplane or travel into space itself. There was no pill to take to eradicate a raging bacteria, no contained atomic chain reaction to provide light and heat for all. People could not pluck cell phones from their pockets and speak to other people half the world away. Nor could a towering building be built, soaring into the sky and housing thousands at a time. Yes, much has changed. And it is tempting to believe that the words of our Lord must change, as well. But that is a belief which cannot be allowed.

  “He described and demonstrated the importance of love. And as we have seen all around us, those words remain as true today as they were then. He also warned us of the dangers of temptation, the human tendency to succumb to the attractive path of self-indulgence and self-gratification. Those who oppose us, those who seek to argue against our philosophy, will say that it is our goal to deprive our flock of happiness, that we will lead them into a life devoid of joy and pleasure. It is a most clever argument, for it panders to the baser instincts of all. None wish to travel through their days on Earth without the taste of delicious food and wine, without the warmth of friendship, without the satisfaction and comfort of a beautiful home, or without the intensity of physical love. You must remember that they have chosen this argument not because it is accurate or true, but because it works.

  “We can and must demonstrate the untruth within it. Jesus does not wish for men or women to be deprived of these things. He joins in our happiness, so long as the happiness is deserved. He wishes for us to relish the taste of good food and fine wine, but only after we have ensured that our family, indeed our community, has enough to eat and drink, as well. That was the true message of the miracle of the wine and the bread. To eat and drink with gusto while your family is hungry is a sin. He is also pleased when we find and make a friend – as long as the friend is true, as long as the friend will not lead us down the wrong path. Jesus is happy when we have earned, through fair and honest work, the resources needed to build a beautiful home. It is only when this home is obtained through exploitation of others that it becomes something other than a source of happiness for our Lord. It does not matter to our Lord if you gild the walls of your home with gold. But, remember, if a man, through honest work and honest and fair dealings, amasses much gold, and he chooses to gild the inside walls of his home, he has created a beau
tiful environment. If, on the other hand, he chooses to gild the outside, as a reminder of his wealth to all who pass by, he has created something ugly. And the ugliness conveyed by his action is merely a reflection of the ugliness which is within him. All of you already know that the Church and our Lord rejoice in the physical union between a man and woman as long as the union is a part of the uniting of their hearts, minds, and souls in marriage.

  “Who among you has not enjoyed a delicious meal, the companionship of a good friend, or the pleasure and comfort of a beautiful home?

  “It is our responsibility to convey the distinctions I have described.”

  Pausing again, and lowering the tone of his voice, Bonavente asked, “Who among you, in the years since taking your vows with the Church, have experienced the pleasures of a physical union with another?”

  As Mario looked each bishop in the eyes, he formed his own opinion as to who had transgressed. Keeping his intense gaze directly locked upon the eyes of one who looked the most guilty, he continued, his voice developing a nearly hypnotic cadence and timbre. “If you have committed this sin, be it with woman, man, or child, I want you to take the time right now and think back to your moments of secret pleasure. As you recall the details, no doubt vividly, you must add one element to the image; you must add to the tableau the presence of our Lord…there with you, knowing your thoughts, watching your deeds…and weeping because of your betrayal.”