The Stolen Star
Page 8
God out of slavery. God performed many miracles in order to win their freedom. The cousins were absolutely transfixed, especially when the waters were parted and the Israelites passed through the sea bed with two walls of water on either side as if it were a pedestrian crossing. Then a huge wave broke down upon their pursuers. They had had to fight for their freedom.
And finally they came to the Promised Land. Life went on, generation followed generation...
The boys observed the selection of the new king with undisguised fascination. David had been destined for this role. Ben was very interested in the duel between David and Goliath and slowed the film down accordingly. The result of their battle would decide which army would be victorious. David - a slender, tall lad had summoned every ounce of his energy to win a famous victory. But next to the huge and supremely self-confident Goliath, his hopes looked pretty slender. Ben began to really worry for him and, unnoticed, the Angel pressed a hidden button. It was then that Ben saw that several angels were standing next to David. They helped David. His movements were precise and measured. David found just the right stone and hurled it at his opponent, killing him instantly. He then drew the giant’s sword from its scabbard and cut his head off. The rest of the Philistine army fled in complete panic. David had won the day. When he became king, David won many victories and his wise son, King Solomon built the most magnificent temple.
God sent prophets down to earth so that they might warn people of the dangers facing them and help them when times were hard. They all performed many miracles. All their prophesies came to pass. Especially the most important one of all regarding the coming of the Christ, were the Messiah and Saviour.
A particularly bright star appeared in the sky. It was seen by the wise men who understood that it was a sign that the Messiah had come down to earth. The Wise Men followed the star and came to Christ's birthplace. Mary and Joseph were bent over Jesus’s cradle. When they arrived the Wise Men greeted the Christ and his holy family and gave the baby Jesus many wonderful gifts. Michael and Ben watched in amazement. Michael asked:
“How could an ordinary woman born on earth fulfil the prophesies?”
To which the Angel replied softly:
“An ordinary woman could not have given birth to God.”
And the Angel recalled the numerous times that the angels and Mary had helped people. And there on the screen appeared Mary the Mother of God as if summoned by the Angel's thoughts. She possessed and exuded a kind of unearthly beauty. And the clothes that she wore were utterly divine: Her pink dress was clasped at the waist by a huge sparkling precious stone. Her shoulders were covered by a light blue mantle fastened at the breast by another fantastically precious light blue stone. She was surrounded by angels. They were all evidently rushing to get somewhere. Michael and Ben looked on completely entranced. It even seemed to them that Mary was smiling at them. The vision disappeared all too soon and all that remained was the most luminous dawn.
The pages of the Bible again began to flash past. Jesus Christ’s arrival on earth was a source of great joy for mankind. He healed the afflicted and brought many that had died back to life. He performed many miracles. Jesus was constantly teaching his followers and those who came to hear him using parables. And his famous Sermon on the Mount showed that everyone would have the chance to be saved regardless of their position in society. But Jesus’s most important sermon was to love one another as you love yourself.
Then the people welcomed Jesus on his entry into Jerusalem. Everyone was so full of joy that on seeing their Lord and teacher they began to wave palm leaves. Michael and Ben noticed that the Angel had obviously switched something on because Jesus appeared to be shrouded in a light pink cloud. Evidently this was his divine aura. And whoever came close to him was filled with a charge of divine energy. Even nature seemed to rejoice. The sun shone as never before and its rays were as soft as silk. The air seemed to sing out in joy and the trees seemed to bow down in respect. And even the stones seemed to take on a life of their own making way for people on the road. The heavens were filled with angels welcoming Christ. The cousins were filled with such wonder watching this scene that they barely noticed that they too had palms in their hands and were joyously waving them to greet Jesus.
The cousins watched the next episodes from the Bible with downcast eyes. This was the part where Christ was mocked and humiliated. The Angel switched on yet another special button. And the boys’ eyes opened wide in wonder… They saw Jesus in combat with the Evil One. It was a terrible battle. The Evil One had taken the form of a huge monster without any face or specific form like a malevolent black ink blot covered all over in the sharpest barbs. The Evil One threw himself at Jesus from all sides drawing blood. And sometimes the Evil One threw himself at people in the crowd and they would start to deliriously cry:
“Crucify him! Crucify him!”
In the heavens stood a host of angels headed by the Archangel Michael armed with a flaming sword in his hands. They were ready to hurl themselves into the fray to help their beloved Jesus but he forbade them to do so. Jesus wanted to conquer Evil himself in order to release mankind from the disasters, grief and mortal sins that the forces of darkness were constantly inflicting upon the earth. The battle raged on and the Evil One was hurled to the ground! Jesus was victorious! The Evil One melted and disappeared. At that moment the heavens darkened and the sky was smote in two by a huge fork of lightning. The heavens opened in a deluge. Everybody wept - the angels, the two boys of course and even nature itself. But this didn’t last for long. At midnight on the third day a bright ray of light came streaming out of the tomb in which Jesus’s body lay. It pushed aside the huge rock that had been blocking the entrance and exploded forth – Christ had risen! He had won a great victory over the Evil One and death. He was the saviour of all men! He had shown mankind the true way: that love overcomes all – even death. At the end the Angel concluded:
“And love leads mankind out of slavery and darkness, helps mankind overcome all trials and tribulations and most importantly helps mankind fulfil its purpose with dignity.
The Angel had long since turned off the screen but the boys still sat in silence trying to make sense of what they had seen. Of course that wasn't all that was in the Bible. But it was difficult to make sense of and marshal what had passed before their eyes.
In the end it was Michael who broke the silence:
“It’s amazing how much good God has done for mankind.”
“That is true,” said the Angel continuing his line of thought. “Because God loves and values mankind. Each and every person arrives on the earth with a specific mission. And what a person achieves in their earthly life is their special contribution to the system of the universe and all creation.”
“But what if a person dies?” asked Ben.
The Angel smiled.
“In different worlds people carry out different missions.”
At these words the boys began to smile with joy.
“Now why do you think you are here?” asked the Angel.
“Yes, I’ve been wanting to ask for ages what we’ve done to deserve such a fantastic adventure,” Michael asked on behalf of them both.
The Angel explained.
“The thing is, the Star that belongs to your family has disappeared and you need to find and return it to its rightful place in the heavens.”
"A Star? We have a real Star?” Ben literally jumped for joy.
“Good Lord, what children you are,” the Angel remarked gently, “But that is also a good thing because it means that you can easily take on board anything that is new and unusual. The Star was given as a gift to your family line way back in ancient times. The Star was not only a reward but also performed a very important function: it preserved and stored the vital life energy that your forebears had earned in their lives and helped maintain the life force of other members of your
family line in times of extreme difficulty. And in this way your family line flourished. The Star also acted as a point of co-ordination with other stars in the universe and its disappearance makes it more difficult for you to be in step with the rest of creation.”
“What do we need to do?” The cousins cried eagerly.
The Angel could see how proud they both were. Firstly, to have been born into such an important family, this had been granted its own Star by God. And then to have been given this great honour…
“So what needs to be done?” The boys asked again.
“You have already received a great charge of positive energy for the very fact that you are ready to fight for such a good cause. Good lads! But you have some very difficult tasks facing you that you will have to complete. But for now you need to return back to the coach, which is already on the outskirts of Sofia. Your relations are already looking for you.”
In the twinkling of an eye the boys found themselves back in the starship with the angel heading full speed towards Earth. Starships were flying all around. They had many different shapes and even colours but they all shone so brightly that when seen from the Earth they looked like stars twinkling from billions of miles away.
Soon they were on the motorway and the