Messiah

«Are You an Israelite?» asks the man.

«Yes, I am.»

«I, too, or almost, although I do not look like one. But I lived a long time abroad and I got into many habits, of which these fools here disapprove. I am better than the others. But they say that I am a demon, because I read a great deal, I breed poultry which I sell to the Romans and I can cure people by means of herbs. When young, because of a woman, I quarrelled with a Roman – I was at Cintium then – and I stabbed him. He died, I lost one eye and all my wealth and I was sentenced to life imprisonment. But I knew how to cure people, and I cured the daughter of one of the guards. I thus won his friendship and some freedom… I used it to escape. I acted badly, because the man certainly paid for my flight with his life. But freedom seems so beautiful when one is a prisoner…»

«Is it not really beautiful afterwards?»

«No. Jail, where one is alone, is better than being in contact with men who do not allow you to be alone and come around us to hate us…»

«Did you study philosophy?»

«I was a teacher at Cintium… I was a proselyte…»

«And now?»

«Now I am nothing. I live according to the reality of facts. And I hate, as I was and am still hated.»

«Who hates you?»

«Everybody. And God is the first. She was my wife… and God allowed her to be unfaithful to me and ruin me. I was free and respected, and God allowed me to become a convict serving a life sentence. God abandoned me, men were unfair. Both He and they destroyed me. There is nothing left here…» and he strikes his forehead and his chest. «Rather, here, in my head, there are my thoughts, my knowledge. It is in here that there is nothing» and he spits contemptuously.

«You are wrong. You still have two things there.»

«Which?»

«Remembrance and hatred. Remove them.

188.4

Become really empty… and I will give you something new to put in there.»

«What?»

«Love.»

«Ah! Ah! You make me laugh. I have not laughed for thirty-five years, man. Since I had the proof that the woman was unfaithful to me with the Roman wine merchant. Love! Love to me! It is like me throwing jewels to my chickens! They would die of indigestion, unless they passed them out with their excrement. The same would happen to me. Your love would be a burden to me, if I could not digest it…»

«No, man! Do not say that!» Jesus lays His hand on the man’s shoulder, He is deeply and openly distressed.

The man looks at Him with his only eye and what he sees on that most sweet and beautiful face causes him to be struck dumb and to change his expression. From being sarcastic he becomes very serious and then really sad. He lowers his head and with a different voice he asks: «Who are You?»

«Jesus of Nazareth. The Messiah.»

«You!!!»

«I. Did you not know about Me, since you read so much?»

«I knew… But I did not know that You were alive and… above all, I did not know this. I did not know that You are good to everybody… thus… to murderers too… Forgive me for what I said… about God and love… Now I understand why You want to give me love… Because without love the world is hell, and You the Messiah want to make a paradise of it.»

«A paradise in every heart. Give Me the remembrance and the hatred that make you ill and let Me put love into your heart!»

«Oh! I wish I had known You before!… then… But when I killed, You were certainly not born yet… But later… when I was free, as free as a snake in a forest, I lived to poison people with my hatred.»

«But you did some good as well. Did you not say that you cured people by means of herbs?»

«Yes. To be tolerated. But how many times I had to struggle against my desire to poison people by means of potions!… See? I took refuge here because… it is a place where the world is ignored and which the world ignores. A cursed place. In other places I hated and was hated and I was afraid of being recognised… But I am wicked.»

«You regret having harmed the prison guard. Do you not see that there is still some goodness in you? You are not wicked… Your only trouble is that you have a large open wound, which nobody is curing… Your goodness runs out of it as blood from a wound. But if someone would cure your wound and heal it, My dear brother, goodness would increase in you, because it would no longer vanish as it forms…»

The man weeps with a bent head trying to conceal his tears. Only Jesus Who is walking beside him notices them. He notices but does not say anything else.

• God's love
• Hate
• Love
• Messiah
• Places - Cintium
• Prisoners
• Romans

«Here, take this. It’s the key of my house. I am going away, for good. I am grateful to you because you are my benefactor. You have given me a family. Do what you like with my property… and look after my chicken. Treat them well. A Roman comes every Sabbath and buys eggs… You will make a profit… Take care of my little hens… and may God reward you for it.»

The old man is astonished… He takes the key and stands open-mouthed.

Jesus says: «Yes, do as he told you and I will be grateful to you, too. I bless you in the name of Jesus.»

«The Nazarene! You! Mercy! I have spoken to the Lord! Women! Men! The Messiah is here!»

He screams like an eagle and people rush from everywhere.

«Bless us! Bless us!» they shout. Some shout: «Stay here!» and others: «Where are You going? At least tell us where You are going.»

«To Nain. I cannot stay.»

«We will follow You. Do You mind?»

«Come. Peace and blessing to those who remain here.»

They go towards the main road and take it.

• Messiah
• Places - Naïm
• Romans

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.»

• Jesus' omniscience
• Messiah
• Reading
• Science - Scholars - Scientists
• Simon-Pierre - Simon de Jonas (apostle)

Jesus looks at her… he looks at the loving group, close together on the edge of the little bed, no longer a stretcher, and He weeps.

Judas Iscariot sees His tears and asks: «Why are You weeping, my Lord?»

Jesus turns His face towards him and says: «I am thinking of My Mother…»

The brief conversation draws the woman’s attention to her Benefactor. She takes her son by the hand, she supports him because his limbs are still somewhat numb, and kneeling down she says: «You, too, my son. Bless this Holy man Who has restored you to life and to your mother» and she bends to kiss Jesus’ tunic while the crowd sing hosannas to God and to His Messiah, Who by now is well known for what He is, because the apostles and the people of Endor have taken it upon themselves to tell Who is He Who worked the miracle. And the crowds exclaim: «Blessed be the God of Israel. Blessed be the Messiah, His Messenger! Blessed be Jesus, Son of David! A great Prophet is risen among us! God has really visited His people! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!»

• Messiah

«You said that God does not walk and does not move His arms. How did He create then? What is He like? A statue?»

«He is not an idol: He is God. And God is… God is… let me think and remember what my mother said, and even better than she did, that man who, in Your name goes to visit the poor people at Esdraelon… My mother used to say, to make me understand God: “God is like my love for you. It has no body, but it exists”. And that little man, but with such a gentle smile, would say: “God is an Eternal Spirit, One and Triune, and the Second Person became flesh for the sake of us, poor people, and His name is… “ Oh! My Lord! Now that I think of it… it’s You!» The child, dumbfounded, prostrates himself on the ground adoring.

They all run thinking that he has fallen, but Jesus with His finger on His lips beckons them to be silent and then says: «Stand up, Jabez. Children must not be afraid of Me!»

The boy looks up reverently and looks at Jesus with a changed expression, almost of fear.

But Jesus smiles and stretches out His hand saying: «You are a wise little Israelite.

194.5

Let us continue the examination. Now that you have recognised Me, do you know whether the Book mentions Me?»

«Oh! Yes, Lord. From the beginning to now. Everything speaks of You. You are the promised Saviour. Now I understand why You will open the gates of Limbo. Oh! Lord! Lord! And do You love me so much?»

«Yes, Jabez.»

«No, no longer Jabez. Give me a new name that means that You loved me and saved me…»

«I will choose a name together with My Mother. All right?»

«But a name that means just that. And I will have it as from the day I become a son of the Law.»

«You will have it as from that day.»

They pass Bethel and rest in a little cool valley, rich in water, to take some food. Jabez is half stunned by the revelation and eats in silence, accepting with veneration every mouthful that Jesus hands to him. But he slowly takes heart again, and after playing happily on the green grass with John while the others are resting, he goes back to Jesus together with his smiling friend John, and the three chat together.

«You did not tell Me who speaks of Me in the Book.»

«The Prophets, Lord. And even before, the Book speaks of You when Adam was expelled, and… then to Jacob, Abraham and Moses… Oh!… My father told me that he went to John — not this one other John, the one of the Jordan — and he, the great Prophet, called You the Lamb… Oh! Now I understand the lamb of Moses… You are Passover!»

John teases him: «But which Prophet spoke best of Him?»

«Isaiah and Daniel. But I…I like Daniel more, now that I love You as my father. Can I say that? That I love You as I loved my father? Yes? Well, now I prefer Daniel.»

«Why? Who speaks most of the Christ is Isaiah.»

«Yes, but he speaks of the sorrows of the Christ. Daniel instead speaks of the beautiful angel and of Your coming. It is true… he also says that Christ will be sacrificed. But I think that the Lamb will be sacrificed with one single blow. Not as Isaiah and David say. I always wept when my mother read them and she did not read them anymore.» He is almost weeping even now while caressing Jesus’ hand.

«Forget about it for the time being. Listen. Do you know the precepts?»

«Yes, my Lord. I think I know them. I used to repeat them when I was in the wood, so that I would not forget them, also because I wanted to hear the words of my mother and my father. But now I will not weep anymore (tears, however, are shining in his eyes) because I have You.»

John smiles and embraces Jesus saying: «The same words as mine! All those who are children in their hearts speak the same language.»

«Yes. Because their words come from one wisdom only.»

• Bible - Book of Daniel
• Bible - Book of Isaiah
• John of Zebedee (apostle)
• Messiah

«After wandering about for many years, as I became insane through such experience, I have found the Man, the Holy One.»

«I know no other wisdom but Israel’s.»

«If that is so, you already have the means for salvation. But now you have also the science, or rather the wisdom of God.»

«It is the same thing.»

«Oh! no! It is like a foggy day compared to a sunny day.»

«Well! Are you anxious to teach me? I don’t feel like it.»

«Let me speak! Once, I used to speak to children: they were absent-minded. Then I spoke to shadows, they cursed me. Then to chickens: they were better, far better than the first two groups. Now I speak to myself, as I am not yet able to speak to God. Why do you want to stop me? I have but one eye, the mines ruined my life, I have suffered from heart trouble for years. At least let my mind be fruitful.»

«Jesus is God.»

«I know, and I believe it. More than you do. Because I have revived through His work, you have not. No matter how good He is, He is still God, and I, a poor wretch dare not treat Him with familiarity as you do. My soul speaks to Him… my lips dare not. My soul does, and I think that He perceives it weeping out of gratitude and repentant love.»

195.2

«That is true, John. I do perceive your soul.» Jesus comes into the conversation of the two. Judas blushes with shame, the man of Endor with joy. «I perceive your soul, that is true. And I perceive also the work of your mind. What you said is correct. When you have been formed in Me, your experience as a teacher and a diligent pupil will be of great help to you. Speak, do speak, also to yourself.»

• Israel's mistake - The Jews' mistake
• Jesus Christ - God-Man
• Jesus Christ - Son of God
• Jesus Christ - Word of God
• Messiah
• Soul
• Wisdom

«Blessed be the Messiah of the Lord, Who has come down to our Gehenna, to free from it those who hope in Him. Save us, o Lord, because we are perishing! Save us, Saviour! King of the House of David, King of Israel, have mercy on Your subjects. Oh! Shoot of the stock of Jesse, of Whom it is said that in Your time there will be no evil, stretch out Your hand and pick up the remains of Your people. Cast away this death from us, wipe our tears, because that is what is said of You. Call us, Lord, to Your delicious pastures, to Your fresh waters, for we are thirsty. Lead us to the eternal hills where there is no sin or sorrow. Have mercy, Lord…»

• Kingship of Jesus Christ - Christ-King
• Messiah
• Prayer for healing
• Prayer of blessing
• Prayers from the EMV
• Sauveur

Jesus’ birth and His presence in the world were to appear devoid of uncommon features, which might arouse Satan… And you are aware that the present bitter hatred of Bethlehem people towards the Messiah is a consequence of Christ’s first epiphany. Demoniacal hatred made use of the revelation to cause bloodshed, and thereby intensify hatred.

• Hate
• Lucifer - Satan
• Manifestations of Jesus Christ
• Messiah

A tall woman, walking bowed in dark clothes, comes forward in the dim light of the hall.

«Eliza! Dear! I am Mary!» says Mary running towards her and embracing her.

«Mary? You… I thought You were dead, too. I was told… when? I don’t know… My head is empty… I was told that You died with many other mothers after the coming of the Magi. But who told me that You were the Mother of the Saviour?»

«The shepherds perhaps…»

«Oh! the shepherds!» The woman bursts into bitter tears. «Don’t mention that name. It reminds me of the last hope for Levi’s life… And yet… yes… a shepherd spoke to me of the Saviour and I killed my son taking him to the place where they said the Messiah was, near the Jordan. But there was nobody there… and my son arrived back in time to die… Fatigue, cold… I killed him… But I had no intention of being a murderer. I was told that He, the Messiah, cured diseases… and that is why I did it… Now my son accuses me of killing him…»

«No, Eliza. It is you that think so. Listen. I instead think that your son has taken Me by the hand saying: “Come to my dear mother. Take the Saviour to her. I am happier here than I would be on the earth. But she listens only to her weeping, and she cannot hear the words that I whisper to her with my kisses, poor mother, she is like a woman possessed by a demon who wants her to surrender to despair, because he wants us to be divided. If instead she resigns herself and believes that God does everything for a good purpose, we would be united for good, with our father and brother. Jesus can do it”. And I came… with Him… Do you not wish to see Him?…» Mary has spoken holding the poor wretch in Her arms all the time, kissing her grey hair with unparalleled kindness.

«Oh! if it were true! But, why then did Daniel not come to You, to tell You to come sooner?… But who told me some time ago that You were dead? I don’t remember… I don’t remember… That is another reason why perhaps I waited too long to go to the Messiah. But they said that He, You, everybody had died at Bethlehem…»

«Never mind who said so.»

• Massacre of the Innocents
• Messiah
• Sauveur
• Shepherds of the Nativity
• Three Kings (Epiphany)

«Tell Me. Did your sons believe in the coming of the Messiah?»

«Of course, my Lord. I taught them to believe that.»

«And did Levi believe that if I wanted I could cure him?»

«Yes, My Lord. We hoped in You… but it was of no avail… and he died disheartened after hoping so much…» The woman resumes weeping again more calmly but more desolately in her calm than when she was agitated.

«Do not say that it was of no avail. He who believes in Me, even if he is dead, will live forever…»

• Messiah