Chapter 13 continued

    “I botched things on the Mount of Temptation. Jesus left with Mary saying he was going to give up the idea of being special and just live an ordinary life.”
    A tear rolled down Jennifer’s cheek. Margaret and Elizabeth glared at me.
    We found a taxi at the town square. The driver got out. “You tour? Good, good. We like the English in Palestine. We not mad about Balfour Declaration. I make joke. But serious, we have special rate for English.”
    I said, “Take these ladies to Ben Gurion Airport. Here, this should cover the fare. No detours, got it?”
    “Ah, you are American, not English. Tell me about Jeemmee Carter. He is poet now. Is true, no? Ah, you Americans. You all crazy. I make joke.”
    The driver put the luggage in the trunk and Margaret and Elizabeth got in the back seat. Jennifer hesitated.
    Margaret said, “Jennifer! Come on!”
    “I’ll call you when you get back to New York,” I said.
    “You’d better.” Jennifer hugged me and got in. I watched the taxi until it disappeared around a corner.

After they left, I walked to the River Jordan. When I got there, I thought I was alone. Then I noticed a group of people gathered around a man in a white robe. It was Jesus.
    Mary Magdalene was standing in the back of the crowd. When she saw me, she walked over and slapped me so hard the left side of my face went numb.
    She said, “After we came down from the Mount of Temptation, Jesus said, ‘Paul is right.’ Then he started preaching. Listen for yourself. They will kill him for what he’s saying. It breaks my heart. With me, he could have been happy. I would have given him the world.”
    I listened intently as an elderly man said, “Rabbi, I am Nichodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin. Tell me, if you can, what must a person do to enter the Kingdom of God?”
    “You must follow me.”
    A tall woman said, “I follow you and I have not entered the Kingdom of God.”
    “You do not follow me. You pay me lip service. When I say follow me, I mean follow into me. Become me. Give up all right to yourself.”
    “Then I would be nobody,” A large, red-bearded man laughed and patted his belly. The crowd laughed with him.
    Jesus smiled slightly and said, “You wouldn’t be nobody. You’d be me.”
    The tall woman said, “Are you crazy? What you say is impossible.”
    “What is humanly impossible is not impossible for a child of light.”
    Nichodemus said, “Rabbi, I don’t believe I have seen this Kingdom of God on a map. Is it in the sky, or perhaps, beneath the earth?”
    “The Kingdom of God is within.”
    “Ah, within. And you can only get there by forsaking yourself? I find you amusing, Rabbi. Perhaps you missed your calling. You should be entertaining the court of King Herod.”
    Red Beard said, “This man is no rabbi. He is a trickster. He plays word games to confuse us.”
    “The person who does not gather with me scatters.”
    Nichodemus said, “Stop with the riddles. Tell us directly, is it possible for anyone to enter the Kingdom of God?”
“Do not concern yourself with others, Nichodemus. Follow me when I call, and you will enter the Kingdom of God.”
Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, said, “But, Master, we gave up everything when you called us, and we have not entered the Kingdom of God.”
    “The call you receive from me before I go to the Father means nothing. The only call that matters is the one you receive from me after I go to the Father.”
    The tall woman said, “When will you call us?”
    “No one knows when the Son of Man will come for you. Be ready at all times.”
    A man who identified himself as a merchant said, “But what if I can’t come when you call? I have obligations—a family, a business …”
    Jesus said, “The person who hesitates cannot be with me in the Kingdom of God.”
    Nichodemus said, “That’s pretty harsh, Rabbi. Can’t you soften it a bit. After all, allowances must be made.”
    “If you do not abandon mother and father, brother and sister, spouse and children, friends, everything that you have, and give up your identity to
become me, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. The person who tries to preserve this life will lose it, and the person who gives up all possessions, including self, for my sake, will find life.”
    Another man, a priest, said, “How dare you presume to call me while I’m performing my duties at the Temple.”
    “Your duty is to follow me.”
    The man turned to the crowd. “This carpenter’s son puts service to himself above service to God.”
    Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”
    “He blasphemes! You are all witnesses.”
    Nichodemus said, “This is serious, Rabbi. You are accused of blasphemy. Deny it for your own sake.”
    Jesus stooped to draw the hexagram in the dust beneath his feet.
    “When I gather to the Father, I will become the center of existence. Each of you has a moment of balance. At that moment, your personal center will coincide with me. When that happens, you will experience me outside of time and space, and I will invite you to merge with me.”
    “Blasphemer! Only God can call us.”
    “If my Father requires you to serve me for his sake, what is that to you?”
    “Blasphemer! You are all witnesses. This man deserves the cross.”
    I could not contain myself any longer. I went to him and whispered, “Don’t just draw the hexagram in the dust. Use it to show them it is impossible to answer your call because everyone scatters but you.”
    “You know that’s not the way it works, Paul. After they refuse my call, a person is taught from within that he or she cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Public, or Last Judgment, is possible only after this private self-judgment.”
“You’re afraid to give it to them straight, aren’t you?”
    Jesus found this amusing. He laughed, “I’m already a dead man thanks to you, Paul. Didn’t you hear that priest recommend me for the cross?
    “I was losing this argument. I made one last, desperate attempt. “Yes, but you’re pulling your punch. You and I both know you can return in spirit, but not in body, once you are dead.”
    “I don’t have to come back. You’re going to announce to the world that no one but me can enter the Kingdom of God.”
    “No, I can’t do it.”
    “Of course, you can, Paul. You’re perfect for the task. You have never in your life pulled your punches.”
    “Only you can judge the living and the dead.”
    “You are the Second Coming, Paul.”
    “You’re ruthless. You let me discover the Final Story so you could use me to do your dirty work.”
    “It may be dirty work, but you’ll be well paid. One, you get to achieve your lifelong dream to tell the Final Story. Two, you get to revive your career with absolute confidence that no one will ever top you.”
    “I will never tell what I know if it means starting the Last Judgment.”
    “Paul, I apologize for making this personal. It is my Father’s will that all things be one through balance. And it is balance, not me, that requires you to start the Last Judgment. You will do what balance requires, Paul, like it or not.”
    “I am free. I decide what I will do or not do, and I am telling you I will not reveal what I know to a single person.”

Chapter 14