The Gospel According to the Son

17

As I walked beside the pebbled shore of the Sea of Galilee, I saw two fishermen casting their nets. They were powerful men, and large, and with large hands. The older, who looked younger than myself, was, I would soon learn, named Simon; the other was his brother, Andrew. I also saw how Simon, once he had drawn in many fish, came upon a tear in his net and with strips of rawhide he mended this flaw with dexterity.

I thought to myself, There is need of a man who can mend nets. If by one skill he captures the fish, by another does he prevent losing them. And without caution, as my voice carried across the distance it would take to cast a small stone, I said, "Come with me and I will make you fishers of men." I said it with great merriment, for I realized that to be without one's fellows for forty days is also a fast. If I had seen men and women at the wedding and in the synagogue of Nazareth, still they were not of my choice, not friends or men with whom I might work.

So I looked upon these two fishermen as good men, and liked how they cast their nets to put a small spell upon the sea. Being a carpenter, who knew less of water than of wood, it still seemed to me that fish would be protected by their own spell and so a fisherman would need his own power of spirit to draw such creatures into his net.

And so, "Yes," I said, and was rich in my enthusiasm. "Come with me and I will make you fishers of men." Between their eyes and mine passed an agreement across this space of water; I could feel how God had enabled me to steal a few skills from the Devil.

In truth, I could now employ Satan's manner when speaking. I would address strangers with the finest courtesy and the most intimate exhilaration, as if we shared among ourselves the wonder of many things unsaid.

I recalled how as Satan departed he had said to me, "Having high regard for you, I would like to touch your hand." And because I had wanted him to leave, I had touched my right hand to his, and knew in the same instant that I had surrendered a share of the Lord's protection.

Only a small share. And I was certain that God had taken much back from Satan. For no sooner had Simon and Andrew brought their boat to shore and filled their bags with their catch than they came with me down the road to a house, where I was introduced to James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, and this I saw as a good omen (those being the same names as my two brothers). I know that as soon as Simon called to them, they left their father, Zebedee, alone with his hired servants and came along with us, and I had to wonder if they were more ready for diversion than for prayer. Yet Simon vouched for them, and Simon would be my rock. So I decided. Soon I began to call him Simon Peter, for Peter, while it is the Roman name for rock, is a good sound. And Peter would be my rock in all hours but one.

To Capernaum I now marched with these four followers. Looking at them, I knew that I had more to honor than to distrust. As we walked, Peter drew me aside and said: "Two nights ago our nets were so heavy with fish that our boat was foundering. But I prayed and we were saved. I would tell you: In my prayer I saw your face."

Peter now fell on his knees and declared: "Do not take me with you, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." But I grasped his hand and told him that he was a good man as well as I could measure it. And I also said that his presence would strengthen me in Capernaum. So there we went, and straightaway to the synagogue. And on this morning I preached the wisdom of John the Baptist.

It was the Sabbath, and many were there. I understood that if I had found Peter and Andrew and James and John at their labors on the Sabbath, it was because they did not keep a mark of the days on which work was forbidden. Fishermen know only when the waters are ready. So I also knew that they would not be learned enough to preach with me. Not on this day. Yet I was eloquent after all, and by myself.

I spoke of God's heart and how it was heavy. Out of the multitude of men and women that the Lord had created, He had selected His own chosen people, His Jews. Now, in these days, some were faithful, but many were not. God had prepared a heaven, therefore, to take in those Jews that He could judge with happiness.

Those, however, who betrayed the Law or chased after sin or were full of folly would suffer. It would be a judgment to descend through many depths, cell beneath cell, even as the stone steps of my Father's dungeon go down forever, step by step. So do sinners recognize, and too late, that the power of His hand can destroy a kingdom as easily as a mouse is trodden underfoot! I spoke with the force of a man who swings a sword.

"Repent," I said, "and you will have remission of all your sins." And by repeating this doctrine of John the Baptist, I could speak with authority. My voice lifted above the singsong of Pharisees and scribes. In this synagogue of Capernaum, as in others, the Pharisees and scribes would read from the scrolls in a weak and whining song, a droning of the heart as if their throats, dulled by years of compromise, spoke only from dying coals. Their voices hissed forth. Whereas my voice was full.

I saidùnor did I know I would say as much until my words rang forthù"Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Yet I would also say" ùand saying this, felt as if new powers had again been granted to meù"if you ask, 'Lord, will you cast out devils?' then they will be cast out."

It was as I said. It was exactly as I said. A man came forward from the congregation, and I could see that he frightened others, for he looked like a brigand. His nose was broken, and many scars were on his faceùan old brute with a spirit so unclean that the stench of his body came before him. Yet he cried out, "What have we to do with you, Yeshua of Nazareth? Are you come to destroy us?"

And I saw that his features were thickened by the blows he had received in payment for the unrest within him. So I stood in my place as he approached. I stared into his eyes and said, "Hold your peace." And he did not move.

I knew that a foul presence had to be drawn forth from his heart even as a small beast is torn from a burrow, and I knew that he had come to me so that this demon could be expelled. Nor did I need a magicians ring or aromatic herbs to place beneath his nostrils. With one breath, I said no more than: "Demon, come forth. Come out!"

And an evil being tore out of his throat. It cried aloud in a bestial voice.

This unclean spirit was invisible. Yet all could see that the presence had been cast forth into the midst of the synagogue. Empty benches fell over, and there was a wind on the floor, and dust. Then all such disturbance was gone.

The good Jews of the synagogue were amazed. They were pious people, and their greatest uneasiness was to share a room with these unclean spirits. They did not know how to resist them. Therefore they desired no traffic with people who were ready to war with evil. They now said: "What new doctrine is this? Who does he command? Is it unclean?"

In that moment I felt as if I had hurled a stone into the midst of the Sea of Galilee and ripples had traveled to every shore. Word of my deed would pass through all the regions about us.

"Ask," I said to them who were in the synagogue.

"Ask, and it shall be given unto you.

"Seek, and you shall find.

"Knock, and it shall be opened to you."

My new friends Simon Peter and Andrew and James and John came out of the synagogue and went back with me to the house of Simon Peter.