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Simon-Pierre - Simon de Jonas (apostle)

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GRM 187.3-4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«And where do we go from here? I am not familiar with this area» says Thomas.
«We will reach Tabor, we will coast part of it and will go to Nain via Endor; from there to the plain of Esdraelon. Be not afraid!… Doras, the son of Doras, and Johanan are already in Jerusalem.»
187.4
«Oh! It will be beautiful! They say that from the summit, from a certain spot, one can see the Great Sea, the Sea of Rome. I like it so much! Will You take us to see it?» John begs with his kind childish face raised towards Jesus.
«Why do you like to see it so much?» asks Jesus caressing him.
«I do not know… Because it is huge and you cannot see its end… It makes me think of God… When we were up on Lebanon I saw the sea for the first time, because I had never been anywhere else, except along the Jordan or on our little sea… and I was moved so much that I wept. So much blue! So much water! And it never overflows!… What a wonderful thing! And the stars make paths of light on the sea… Oh! do not laugh at me! I looked at the golden way of the sun until I was dazzled, at the silvery way of the moon, until I could see nothing but whiteness and I saw them getting lost far far away. Those ways spoke to me. They said: “God is in that infinite distance and these are the ways of fire and purity, which a soul must follow to go to God. Come. Dive into the infinite, travelling on these two ways, and you will find the Infinite One”.»
«You are a poet, John» says Thaddeus admiringly.
«I do not know whether this is poetry. I know that it inflames my heart.»
«But you have seen the sea also at Caesarea and at Ptolomais, and quite close, too. We were on the beach! I do not see the need to go all that way to see some more sea water. After all… we were born on the water…» remarks James of Zebedee.
«And we are in it now as well, unfortunately!» exclaims Peter, who diverting his mind for a moment to listen to John, has not noticed a treacherous puddle and has got soaked… They all laugh, and he laughs too.
But John replies: «That is true. But from high above it is more beautiful. You see more and farther. You think that it is deeper and vaster… You wish… you dream…» and John is already dreaming… He looks in front of himself and smiles at his dream… He looks like a flesh-coloured rose spread with minute dew drops, so downy becomes his smooth clear skin of a young fair-haired man and as it gets sprinkled with a light perspiration it looks more like the petal of a rose.
«What do you wish? What are you dreaming?» Jesus asks His favourite disciple in a low voice and He looks like a father who questions a dear son speaking in his sleep. Jesus speaks to John’s soul, questioning him so gently as not to spoil the dream of His loving disciple.
«I wish to go onto the infinite sea… towards other lands beyond it. I wish to go and speak of You. I am dreaming… of going towards Rome, towards Greece, towards dark places to take the Light there… so that those living in darkness may get in touch with You and may live in communion with You, Light of the world… I am dreaming of a better world… to be bettered through the knowledge of You, that is, through the knowledge of the Love that makes people good, pure, heroic, of the Love that makes the world love and raise Your Name, Your Faith, Your Doctrine above hatred, sin, flesh, above the vices of the mind, above gold, above everything… and I dream of going with my brothers on the sea of God, on the road of light to take You… as Your Mother once brought You down to us from Heaven… I dream that I am a child, who knowing nothing but love, is happy also when facing trouble… and sings to comfort the adults who ponder too much, and moves forward… facing death smiling… towards glory with the humility of one who does not know what he is doing, but knows only that he is coming to You, Love…»
The apostles have not breathed during John’s ecstatic confessions… They remained still where they were, looking at the youngest one speaking with his eyes covered by his eyelids, like a veil thrown over the ardour rising from his heart, and looking at Jesus Who is enraptured finding Himself so completely in His disciple…
When John stops speaking, slightly bent forward – he reminds me of the gracefulness of the humble Mary of Nazareth – Jesus kisses his forehead saying: «We shall go and contemplate the sea, to let you dream My future Kingdom in the world once again.»

Keywords

GRM 188.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Jesus and the apostles have passed Mount Tabor and left it behind them. They are now walking on a plain lying between that mountain and another one facing it, talking of the climb made by them all, although at the beginning the elder ones had not been too keen. But now they are happy they had gone up to the top. The journey is now easy because they are on a main road which is quite comfortable for walking. It is early in the morning because I am under the impression that they have spent the night on the slopes of the Tabor.
«That is Endor» says Jesus pointing to a poor village built on the first heights of the other mountain. «Do you really want to go there?»
«If You wish to make me happy…» responds the Iscariot.
«Let us go, then.»
«But is it a long way?» asks Bartholomew, who, because of his age, is not very keen on walking tours.
«Oh! no! But if you wish to stay…» says Jesus.
«Yes! You may stay. I will go with the Master» says Judas of Kerioth immediately.
«Listen, before making up my mind, I would like to know what there is to be seen… From the top of Mount Tabor we saw the sea and after the boy’s speech I must admit that I saw it properly for the first time and I saw it as You see: with my heart. Here… I would like to know whether there is anything to learn, because in that case I will come even if it is tiresome…» says Peter.
«Do you hear that? You have not yet said what you intend doing. Be kind to your companions and tell us now» says Jesus invitingly.
«Did Saul not go to Endor[1] to consult the necromancer?»
«Yes, he did. So?»
«Well, Master, I would like to go there and hear You speak of Saul.»
«In that case I will come, too!» exclaims Peter full of enthusiasm.
«Let us go then.»
They walk fast along the last stretch of the main road, which they leave to follow a secondary road, which takes straight to Endor.

Detail

Emphasis on Bartholomew, Judas, Philip and Simon Peter. The other apostles are present.

Keywords

GRM 188.2-3 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«We will now ask where the place of the necromancer was» says Jesus. And He stops a woman who is coming back from the fountain with pitchers.
She looks at Him curiously, then replies impolitely: «I don’t know. I have much more important things to worry about than such nonsense!» and she goes away.
Jesus turns to an old man who is carving a bit of wood.
«The necromancer?… Saul?… Who bothers about them now? But, wait… There is one here who has studied and perhaps he knows… Come with me.»
And the old man climbs laboriously up a stony lane to a very poor and shabby looking house. «He lives here. I will go in and call him.»
Peter, pointing at some poultry scratching about in a dirty yard, says: «This fellow is not an Israelite.» But he says no more because the old man comes back followed by a man blind in one eye, who is as dirty and untidy as everything around his house.
The old man says: «See? This man says that it is over there beyond that dilapidated house. There is a path, a stream, a wood and some caves, the one at the top, where there are still traces of ruined walls on one side, is the one you are looking for. Is that right?»
«No. You have muddled everything. I will go with these strangers.» The man’s voice is harsh and guttural, which increases everybody’s feeling of uneasiness.
188.3 He starts walking. Peter, Philip and Thomas make repeated signs to Jesus to advise Him not to go. But Jesus does not pay attention. He walks with Judas behind the man, and the others follow Him… unwillingly.

Detail

Judas wants to hear about the pythia who spoke to King Saul in the Old Testament. They are led to a house.

Keywords

GRM 188.5 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The man does not say anything and remains where he was, while Jesus with His apostles, passing over large stones which must have been part of very strong walls, upsetting green lizards and other ugly looking insects, enters a large smoky grotto, on the walls of which there are still graffiti signs of the zodiac and similar things. In a corner blackened by smoke there is a niche and under it a hole which looks like a gully-hole for water. Bats hanging in disgusting bunches decorate the ceiling and an owl, upset by the light of a branch which James has lit to ensure they do not tread on scorpions or asps, complains by flapping its wadded wings and closing its ugly eyes which cannot bear the light. It is perched in the niche, and the foul smell of dead mice, of weasels and birds in decomposition at its feet is mixed with the stench of dung and of the damp soil.
«It is really a lovely place!» says Peter. «Your Tabor and your sea were much better, my boy!» And then addressing Jesus: «Master, satisfy Judas at once because this is not… Antipa’s royal hall!»
«Certainly. What is it that you want to know?» He asks Judas of Kerioth.

Detail

Judas wanted to go to En-Dor, where Saul consulted a sorceress in the book of Samuel.

Keywords

GRM 188.7 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

They come out of the ruins and they begin to descend the path they had walked up previously. The man blind in one eye is still there.
«Are you still here?» asks Jesus pretending that He does not notice that his face is flushed because of the many tears he has shed.
«Yes, I am still here. I will follow You if You allow me. I have something to tell you…»
«Come with Me, then. What do you want to tell Me?»
«Jesus… I find that to have the strength to speak and to work the holy magic of changing myself, of conjuring up my dead soul as the necromancer evoked Samuel for Saul, I must pronounce Your Name, which is as sweet as Your eyes, and as holy as Your voice. You have given me a new life, but it lacks form and energy, like the life of a new-born baby after a difficult birth. It still struggles in the grip of wicked old habits. Help me to come out of my death.»
«Yes, My friend.»
«I… I have realised that there is still a little humanity in my heart. I am not entirely a beast, and I can still love and be loved, forgive and be forgiven. Your love, which is forgiveness, has taught me. Is it not so?»
«Yes, My friend.»
«Then… take me with You. I was Felix! What irony! But give me a new name. That my past may be really dead. I will follow You like a stray dog, which finally finds a master. I will be Your slave, if You wish so. But do not leave me alone…»
«Yes, My friend.»
«What name will You give me?»
«A name dear to Me: John. Because you are grace granted by God.»
«Will You take me with You?»
«Yes, for the time being. Later you will follow Me with My disciples. But what about your house?»
«I have no house any longer. I will leave what I have to the poor. Just give me love and bread.»
«Come.» Jesus turns around and calls His apostles. «I thank you, My friends, and you in particular, Judas. Through you, Judas, through you all, a soul is coming to God. Here is a new disciple. He is coming with us until we can entrust him to our brother disciples. Be happy because you have found a heart and bless God with Me.»
But the Twelve do not really look very happy. But out of obedience and kindness they welcome him.
«If You do not mind I will go ahead. You will find me at the door of my house.»
«Yes, go.»
The man runs away. He seems another man.
«And now that we are by ourselves I order you, and this is an order, to be kind to him and not to mention his past to anybody. I will immediately reject anyone who should speak or be uncharitable to our redeemed brother. Is that clear? And see how good the Lord is! We came here for a human purpose and He allowed us to go away after achieving a supernatural deed. Oh! I rejoice because of the joy now in Heaven for the new convert.»

Detail

Jean d'En-Dor converts and Jesus introduces him to the Twelve, who are less than thrilled. Jesus gives special thanks here to Judas, for it was because of him that they came to this village and got to know him.

Annotation

I command you to be kind to him and not to speak of his past to anyone. Judas Iscariot did just that, however, when he denounced the presence of a galley slave (John of Gold) and a runaway slave (Syntica) to the Sanhedrin. This led to their exile to Antioch in Syria. Cf. EMV 314 ff.

Keywords

GRM 188.10 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The man, who is walking near Jesus and can hardly carry his haversack, attracts Peter’s curiosity. «What have you got in there that is so heavy?» he asks.
«My clothes… and some books… My friends after and at the same time as the chicken. I could not part with them. But they are heavy.»
«Eh! Science is heavy! Of course! And who likes it, eh?»
«They prevented me from becoming mad.»
«Eh! You must be fond of them! What books are they?»
«Philosophy, history, Greek and Roman poetry…»
«Lovely, certainly lovely. But… do you think you will be able to carry them with you?»
«Perhaps I will be able to part with them. But you cannot do everything at once, can you, Messiah?»
«Call Me Master. No, you cannot. But I will let you have a place where you will be able to keep your friends, your books. They may help you to talk about God with the heathens.»
«Oh! How free Your thought is from all restrictions!»
Jesus smiles and Peter exclaims: «No wonder! He is Wisdom!»
«And Goodness, believe me. And are you learned?»
«Me? Oh! Most learned. I can tell an allice from a carp and my erudition ends there. I am a fisherman, my friend!» and Peter smiles humbly and frankly.
«You are an honest man. It is a science you learn by yourself. And a very difficult one to learn. I like you.»
«And I like you, too. Because you are sincere. Even when you accuse yourself. I forgive everything, I help everybody. But I am a ruthless enemy of false people. They make me sick.»
«You are right. A false man is a delinquent.»
«A delinquent. You are right. Say, would you mind giving me your sack for a little while? In any case, you may be sure that I will not run away with books… I think you are finding it difficult.
«Twenty years in a mine breaks your back… But why do you want to toil?»
«Because the Master has taught us to love one another like brothers. Give them to me. And take my rags. My bag is not heavy… There is no history, no poetry in it. My history, my poetry and the other thing you mentioned, is He, my Jesus, our Jesus.»

Annotation

I'll find you a place to keep your friends, the books. They will be useful for discussing God with pagans. Allusion to Antioch in Syria, where John of Gold was forced into exile, but where, with Syntica's help, the future Christian community of which the Acts of the Apostles speaks was founded.

Keywords

GRM 189.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Nain must have been a town of some importance in the days of Jesus. It is not a large town, but is well built, surrounded by its walls, lying on a low pleasant hill, an off shoot of the Little Hermon, commanding a very fertile plain which stretches towards the north-east.
One arrives here coming from Endor, after crossing a little river, which flows into the Jordan. But neither the Jordan nor its valley can be seen any longer, because they are concealed by hills which form an arch shaped like a question mark in the east.
Jesus follows a main road which links the lake region to the Hermon and its villages. Many inhabitants of Endor walk behind Him talking to one another animatedly.
Only a short distance separates the group of the apostles from the walls: about two hundred yards, at the most. And as the main road runs straight to one of the town gates, which is wide open because it is broad daylight, it is possible to see what is happening in the inner side of the walls. Thus Jesus, Who is speaking to the apostles and the new convert, sees a funeral coming towards them, with a great noise of weepers and similar eastern displays.
«Shall we go and see, Master?» ask many. And many of the inhabitants of Endor are already rushing to see.
«Yes, let us go» says Jesus condescendingly.
«Oh! It must be a boy. See how many flowers and ribbons there are on the stretcher» says Judas of Kerioth to John.
«Or it is probably a virgin» replies John.
«No, it is certainly a young man, because of the shades they have used. And there is no myrtle either…» says Bartholomew.
The funeral comes out from the other side of the walls. It is not possible to see what there is on the stretcher, which is carried shoulder high by the bearers. One understands that there is a corpse, wrapped in bandages and covered by a sheet, only because of its outline and that it is the body of a fully grown person, because it is as long as the stretcher.
A veiled woman is walking beside it, weeping, supported by relatives or friends. The only sincere tears in all that farce of mourners. And when a bearer trips on a stone or heap in the ground or stumbles and causes the stretcher to shake, the mother moans: «Oh! No! Be careful! My boy has suffered so much!» and she raises her trembling hand to caress the edge of the stretcher. And as she is unable to do anything else, she kisses the veils and the ribbons, which blown by a gentle breeze lightly touch the immobile corpse.
Peter, sympathetic, his good keen eyes welling up with tears whispers: «She is the mother.» But he is not the only one whose eyes are shining with tears at the sight. Also the Zealot, Andrew, John, and even the ever merry Thomas have tears in their eyes. They are all deeply moved. Judas Iscariot whispers: «If it were I! Oh! Poor mother of mine…»

Detail

The two James, Matthew, Philip and Jude are not mentioned in this passage, but they are present. They go to Naim.

Annotation

- Oh, it must be a child, because you see how many flowers and ribbons are on the litter? says Judas to John.

- Or maybe it's a virgin," replies Jean.

- No, it must be a young boy, because of the colors they've used, and there are no myrtles..." says Barthélemy.

So many indications of the funeral rites in use at the time. Judas of Judea and Bartholomew of Galilee identify them similarly.

Keywords

GRM 190.1-2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Have You seen Doras’ fields?»
«I have come from Nain…»
«In that case You have not seen them. They are a complete ruin. (The man whispers that in a low but clear voice, like someone imparting a secret concerning something dreadful.) They are all ruined! There is no hay, no fodder, no fruit. Vines and orchards withered… Dead… everything is dead… like Sodom and Gomorrah… Come, I will show You. (...) Oh! Here are the ones who ploughed the field for me…» and the man runs to meet Peter and Andrew.
But Peter greets him briefly and proceeds on his way and begins to shout: «Oh! Master! There is no one left! They are all new faces. And everything is laid waste! He could very well do without any peasants here. It is worse than the Salt Sea!…»
«I know. Isaiah told Me.»
«But come and see! What a sight…»
(...) The sight of Doras’ fields is really distressing. Fields and meadows are dry and barren, vineyards are withered, the foliage and fruit of trees are completely destroyed by millions of insects of all kinds. Also the garden-orchard near the house looks like a desolate dying wood. The peasants wander to and fro uprooting weeds, crushing caterpillars, snails, earth-worms and the like, shaking branches under which they place basins full of water to drown little butterflies, aphides and other parasites which cover the leaves and eat away the plant until it dies. They endeavour to find a sign of life in the vine-shoots, which break like dry wood as soon as they are touched and sometimes fall off the main branch, as if the roots had been cut by a saw. The contrast with Johanan’s fields, vineyards and orchards is most striking and the ruin of the cursed fields seems more impressive when compared to the fruitfulness of the others.
«The hand of the God of Sinai is a heavy one» whispers Simon the Zealot.
Jesus makes a gesture as if to say: «How right you are!» but He does not say anything. He only asks: «How did it happen?»
A peasant replies between his teeth: «Moles, locusts, worms… but go away! The steward is faithful to Doras… Don’t cause us trouble…»
Jesus sighs and goes away.

Detail

Jesus talks to Isaiah, a peasant from Yokhanan.

Annotation

"The man runs to meet Peter and Andrew. Cf. EMV 109.4: Peter and Andrew, James and John, who took the place of the ploughmen to enable them to listen to Jesus' word.

We speak of You, with what we have learned from Jonah, from Isaac who often comes to us, and from your speech at Tisri. Cf. EMV 109.5.

He has a heavy hand, the God of Sinai. Direct reference to Jesus' words in EMV 109.12.

Keywords

GRM 190.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The sun is setting in a red sky when Jesus comes in view of Johanan’s fields.
«Let us quicken our pace, My friends, before the sun sets. And you, Peter, go with your brother to inform our friends, Doras’ men.»
«I will go indeed, to see also whether the son has really gone away.» Peter stresses the word «son». And he goes away.

Annotation

Jesus had warned inEMV 187.3 that the son of Doras was already in Jerusalem.

Keywords

GRM 191.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Give Micah enough money so that tomorrow he may pay for what he borrowed today from the peasants of this area» says Jesus to the Iscariot, who usually handles the… common possessions. Then Jesus calls Andrew and John and sends them to two spots from which it is possible to see the road or the roads coming from Jezreel. He calls also Peter and Simon and sends them to meet the men of Doras with instructions to stop them at the boundary between the two estates. He then says to James and Judas: «Take the foodstuffs and come with Me.»