Just wanted to publish this story from my original site as a follow-up to the last entry. I took my question to whitehouse.gov, and found that they were no longer accepting questions. But I registered anyway, so I could click around and see other's questions. There was no category for Justice, so I clicked on the questions for the Budget. The most popular two questions about the budget: "Mr Obama, why don't we legalize marijuana, and then tax it?" So, at least someone thinks the same way as me...
But my point last week was not so much about money as about compassion. I feel that people caught up in the rat race tend to forget about that quality. So let me present a little story that is both compassionate and blasphemous, and sure to offend people on all sides of the religious spectrum; just the way I like it...
The Parable of the Lifeline
Once, long ago in a land far away, a little boy saw a woman get stoned to death for the sin of adultery. He cried out when he saw it, and rushed to stop the crowd.
He grabbed at the hand of the man nearest to him, but was rewarded for his efforts with a push into the sand. He jumped up and continued to harass the murderous crowd, only to be slapped and cuffed repeatedly, and thrown to the ground. His face became a mess of brown dirt, runnelled by whiter streaks which his tears had left. After the hideous event was done, he went to his tent to pray.
And so great was his passion and piety, that God heard him from where He had been walking the universe to and fro, and came nearer to hear his plea. And the boy perceived Him, and instead of being afraid, he was angry.
"Jehovah, why was this woman killed today?"
And God looked in his mind, and saw immediately all that had happened, and said, "My son, I am sorry. I knew this day would come, but it had slipped my mind until just now, when I heard you calling. Great indeed is your power, that you were able to reach me, but for the woman, I have come too late."
The boy was not satisfied. "But WHY did she have to die?", he persisted.
"Boy, do you know what the Law is?" He recieved a timid nod. "Do you know why I demand that all my children follow the Law?"
The boy was cowed, but still defiant. "The priests and the pharisee's say it is your Divine Will, Father, and that Moses recieved the Law from your own Divine Lips, and that all must obey, or be thrown into the Pit of Hell for eternity. But somehow that doesn't seem right. Why must a woman die, when she was just trying to earn a loaf of bread for her own starving children?"
At this, God smiled, as he wryly remembered Job, and saw the sincerity and wisdom of the boy, and regretted the wager He had made, way back then. He softened and said gently, "My son, the woman did not die by My will, but her death will not be in vain. Let me tell you about Moses, and why I gave him the Law, and then I will have a question for you."
"Moses was my Son, just as surely as all of the peoples of the world are my sons and daughters. But Moses was special, and I had waited a long time for my Spirit to find him. And just like you, Moses cried out to me, and his spirit was so strong, that I found him. And he asked me, 'How can I be closer to you, great Yahweh, and how can your people be saved?' And I knew at once that this was the man to whom I would give the Law. And I said to Moses, 'These Laws shall be sacred. They will be a lifeline to my people, and lead them back to Me. You shall set them in stone to remind all the people that these Laws are Mine, and are the only road that leads back to Me.' And Moses did as I said, and in almost all ways, he was a perfect son, and I gave him great power over his people. But then Moses died, as all men must do, and little by little, over the generations, the law became profaned. The people twisted the law, and turned it to their own purposes, and like wayward children, they became entangled by it, and encircled to the point were they could no longer move. That is what became of My Law, and now I see that what I predicted has come to pass..."
And God fell silent for a while, and the boy, after pondering this, looked up at the creator and said, "Father, are you seeking a new Moses?"
And God laughed in amazement and said, "My Son, there will never be another Moses, just as there will never be another you. But someday, there will be One who is greater than all My prophets that came before him. And He will be my Son, and will remind my people of what the Law really is, and He will redeem all my people with His own sacred blood."
After that, they both fell silent, and thought about all that had been said. And finally, the Boy stood up, and wiped away His tears. He looked up into the heavens, and said, "Father, I am ready. Tell me what I am to do...."