The Gospel According to the Son

40

On this second day in the Temple, the numbers who listened to me had multiplied. They stood in the courtyard and were loud and unruly in the force and fever of their prayers, and so there was need to speak on this matter, for if they did not know how to comport themselves in the Lord's house, they would not know how to act when alone.

"Do not be like the hypocrites," I said, "who love to recite pious verses while standing in the synagogues. Instead, pray to your Father in secret. Do not use vain repetition. That deadens the soul. Never be guilty, therefore, of excessive prayer; your Father knows what you need."

But they only wanted to hear of wondrous things, of portents in the heavens that would forewarn them of the end. So once there was calm, I chose to tell of how there would be signs in the sun, the moon, and in the stars, and of how there would be upheaval upon the earth and in the sea: "Men's hearts will fail them for fear. But if they are brave, they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and glory. Then you may lift up your heads. For your redemption is near." To myself I said, "Oh, Lord, let my words be true."

I felt as if I had cried out to Him and remained alone. Yet my words were still obliged to do their best to reach into their hearts. For each word might become as valuable as a boat's timber that can keep a man afloat in a sullen sea.

From afar, I could see a priest talking to an officer of the Temple Guard. And one of the lesser priests standing close to me spoke: "By the scrolls it is said that the Messiah shall be from Bethlehem. How, then, can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"

Another said, "No, Jesus is of Bethlehem. Where can you look for a man's nature if not in the land where he was born?"

The priest said: "He is of Galilee. Out of Galilee can arise no Messiah." He nodded his head wisely. He knew. He knew nothing about God, but he could tell you where the Messiah could arise and where he could not.

Listening to this declaration, I told myself: "A man of small mind develops a hard shell so that he can protect his small thoughts." The anger that had reached the center of my heart after the blind man had been mistreated by the Pharisees now came forth in the words I said aloud. "Your fathers killed the prophets," I told them, "and here you build the tombs of the prophets. God will send new prophets, and you will persecute them. You will slay them. So great will be this bloodshed that all the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the foundations of the world will yet be required of this generation."

When the priest drew back a step, I stepped forward to say more: "All of this has gone on from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias and he perished between the altar and the table."

This priest before me might be small in mind and small in body, but he was as certain as a scorpion of what he knew; he scolded me for offering cures on the Sabbath.

Bereft of patience over this matter, I said: "In you is not the love of God."

How I wished to smite the piety of every Jew who was sharp of practice and narrow of mind. I could have prayed that they find some of the good spirit of those other Jews with whom I had built houses in Nazareth. Those men had been my equals; those men had been my friends.

I said more. I said: "The hour is coming when all that are in the grave shall hear His voice and then they shall come forth, they who have done good and they who have done evil. Then will my judgment be upon all your ancestors." I waited and said again: "Upon all your ancestors."

By these last words I aroused a greater wrath than by anything I said or did on the first day. It burned in these priests and Pharisees. If they suffered in their souls from many sins and lusted after Mammon, still they believed that they would be protected in heaven against their worst acts. For their glorious forebears would intercede. They believed in their ancestors before they believed in God. And more than they believed in God. Their real faith was that these ancient members of their family would carry them across the abyss that separated them from the Lord. And here was I passing judgment on the old and evil deeds of their ancestors. So they closed their ears. They had to protect themselves against giving any kind of audience to the Devil. Tears stood forth in my eyes like sentinels on guard. For I knew that the most powerful of my own people, and their highest priests, could only see me as the messenger of Satan. And I could not believe how deep this wound went into me: I was repugnant to the leaders of my people. Yes! As repugnant as the swine of Gadarene.

So great was their rage that the light of the day turned red before my eyes. It was as if their souls were already in the Fire. Toward such rage I offered no peace. I could not restrain my tongue: "You shall know the truth," I told them, "and only the truth shall make you free." Yet these Pharisees were proud; from the heights of their selfesteem they offered homage to themselves. So they answered: "We are of the seed of Abraham. We were never in bondage to any man. How then can it be said 'You shall be made free'?"

I answered: "You are Abraham s seed, yet you seek to be rid of me. But I have come to tell you the truth as I have heard it from God."

They answered, "We too have one father, and He is God."

To which I replied: "The Devil is your father."

Was I preparing a furnace to melt iron? Never had I seen Pharisees more provoked. "Now we know," they said, "from whom you come. Do you dare to say that you are greater than our father Abraham?"

"Your father Abraham rejoices to see my day," I told them, "because he knows me. Before Abraham was, I am.

They took up stones to cast at me. No longer could I walk by them as on the first day. Then, some had been ready to hurl a rock, yet could not. I had passed through their ranks. Now one, and soon another, would be bold. And after the first stone, many. So I stepped behind one of my disciples, and he behind others, and we slipped away. Even as they raged in their fire, they still would not be quick to pursue me.