Project J (10 page)

“There is a huge gap between what Jesus actually taught and believed, and what the religion named after him claims.
 
I cannot say whether Jesus was guided by God in what he did and what he preached.
 
All I can tell you is that he was a remarkable man who had something about him sufficiently unusual to influence people around him.
 
He was special; but you already know that: you’ve met him.

“But we will talk of that another time.
 
I am tired.
 
And you’ve undoubtedly heard enough of my voice.
 
Would you like to go to lunch with me?
 
And Jesus?”

Chapter 16:
 
Late Night Conversation

It was after midnight in the palace-like building in the tiniest country in the world.
 
Gilded furniture and ancient painting adorned the room, along with tapestries of the finest quality depicting religious scenes.
 
Behind an ornate French provincial desk sat a man in red robes.
 
He was an older man, back bent by both time and responsibility, his hair only a fringe round the small cap matching the red of his robe.
 
On his left hand was a gold ring; a massive gold ring that looked far too large for his slender, wrinkled fingers.
 
Set in it was a ruby.
 
On the sides were crosses carved into the solid gold.

“Your Eminence, I am sorry to call upon you so late, but it is of the utmost importance.”

The visitor also wore a cardinal’s robe but remained standing before his superior.

“We have a communication from America.
 
About that...
 
That matter we discussed yesterday.

“Yes?
 
And?” asked the seated man.
 
His voice was barely above a whisper but easily heard in the otherwise silent room.

“Things are happening.
 
An outsider to the company has become aware of this Project J, as has the Projector Director of Chronodyne.
 
Our informant feels that this may lead to a public disclosure of what they have done.”

“But they have done nothing in that direction yet?
 
It is still a secret?”

“Yes, your Eminence.
 
It is that our informant fears the secret cannot be kept much longer.
 
When too many people know a secret...”

“Yes, yes.
 
But what can we do?”

“Perhaps much.
 
At the very least we must prepare the Church’s official stand when this becomes public.
 
His Holiness will have to make a statement on it.
 
Silence can only hurt us.”

The older man looked up with watery eyes to the standing man but said nothing.

“Your Eminence, there are other possibilities, other actions we could take to make sure that this blasphemy does not become public.”

“What are you suggesting, Carabelli?”

“We can eliminate this false Christ,” he said flatly.

“Eliminate...?
 
What are you saying?
 
That we somehow kill the...
 
Him?”

“It is not Jesus, your Eminence.
 
Only something they made up to seem to be Christ.
 
It may be a man, but it is not our Lord Jesus.
 
I have tried to explain this to you.
 
This is only a poor copy of something they plucked out of the past.”

“Still, I cannot condone what you suggest.
 
You would kill a man?”

“Others have died to preserve the Church.
 
The potential for disaster here is more important than one man’s life.
 
And it was a created man.
 
Like a robot.
 
This man was not born of woman.”

The seated Cardinal only shook his head.

“You will at least tell his Holiness of this?”

“Yes.
 
I will.
 
Perhaps that is best.
 
The Pontiff will be guided by God to do what is right.”

“Of course, your Eminence, of course.”

The seated man totally missed the sarcasm and the hint of suppressed anger.

“I will tell him tomorrow.
 
But I do not think this affair is as dangerous as you believe it to be.
 
Nevertheless, I will talk with his Holiness.
 
You may leave.”

The other Cardinal made a slight bow and turned.
 
As he walked across the carpet, his face was set into hard lines.
 
“The fool,” he muttered under his breath.
 
“He knows nothing.
 
He does not understand the danger at all!”

Chapter 17:
 
Turn the Other Cheek

The summer sun was bright, but not overly hot at that altitude.
 
The table in the patio was set for lunch when Dr. Myers and Tamara entered the courtyard.
 
A large umbrella shaded most of the table and the four chairs around it.

“Please sit down, Tamara.
 
He will be here soon.”
 
Myers waited until she had taken a seat then sat down himself, easing into the chair while leaning on his cane.

“Please remember,” he said in a low voice, “this man is of a different time and a vastly different culture.
 
And there are things that we do not think it wise to let him know as of yet.
 
So please don’t talk about religion at all.
 
At least, not current religion.
 
You’ll find he’s only too willing to discuss his views.”

He paused to laugh gently, mostly to himself.
 
“I will enjoy seeing his face when he finds out about the vast Catholic Church founded in his name.
 
Now that will be more of a shock than airplanes or TV!”

“Have you told him about the Jewish religion?
 
A lot has changed from his day.”

Myers sighed.
 
“Yes and no.
 
At first I told him that our people have finally regained the land God granted us in the covenant.
 
‘And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it’
.”

“Genesis 15-1,” Tamara said.
 
“
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee
.”

“You know your Bible well,” Myers chuckled.
 
“Well, so I wanted him to know that our people have at last obtained the land given us by God.
 
But his first question was if he could visit the Temple in Jerusalem.
 
Well, you can imagine my problem.
 
If I explained to him that the Temple was destroyed only a few years after his death, that would open too many questions, and probably upset him.
 
So I told him the Temple still is in Jerusalem.
 
Which is the truth.
 
Part of it still is.
 
One wall, at least.

“And I told him that someday he might be able to go there.

“His next question was if Israel now ruled the world.
 
If you will recall, I mentioned that he was an apocalyptic Jew.
 
The belief of many at that time was that God would come and straighten out things.
 
He would see that our people got back the land he gave us.
 
He would throw off the oppressor that ruled that land.
 
And many also believed that God would set up Israel to rule the world in an era of peace and harmony among all people.
 
After all, this was God, the All Powerful, coming to set things right.

“I had to tell him that had not yet come to pass.
 
I didn’t mention that it was unlikely to, either.”

Taking in a deep breath, Myers added, “It would be best not to let him know the true state of the world today.
 
So please be cautious.”

They were interrupted by a door opening and the subject of their conversation appearing.
 
Jesus walked slowly along the path to where they sat.
 
He did limp, but Tamara was surprised that he could walk as well as he did.
 
Again he was wearing slacks and sandals, this time with a pale green sweatshirt, again proclaiming UCLA across the front.

Tamara stood when he reached the table.

“Shalom,” she said.

“Shelama,” said Myers.
 
“That’s how you say it in Aramaic.
 
Means the same.”

“Shelama,” replied Jesus.
 
“It is good to see you again.
 
God’s blessings upon you.”

Dr. Myers had to translate, explaining to Tamara that Jesus had learned only a few words of English and they were not really trying to teach it to him.

“Thank you.”
 
She halted, however, before returning the blessing.
 
It did not seem right, somehow, to offer God’s blessing to his Son.

Myers, who had not risen, said, “Please sit down.
 
Lunch will be here soon.”

Jesus sat down carefully, as if his knees were stiff.
 
He also eased slowly back into the chair.
 
Back still sore, Tamara told herself.
 
Poor man.

At that point, the door opened again and a man pushed a cart through.
 
He was wearing a pale blue jumpsuit with the Chronodyne logo on the chest pocket.
 
She had seen more than a few such informal uniforms around the compound.
 
The man, himself, had darker features than Jesus, and long black hair tied into a ponytail.
 
From his features, Tamara was sure that he was an Indian, probably Navaho or some local tribe.
 
He began setting plates and bowls of food on the table.

As the food was being set out, Tamara noticed that Jesus was staring at the man.

Myers explained.
 
“He had never seen an American Indian, you know.
 
John’s features fascinate him.”

Jesus turned to her and smiled.
 
Again there was that change from a tired, concerned frown to a pleasant, friendly face.

With the food set out, and each was poured a glass of white wine, Jesus picked up a tortilla and broke it into three pieces.
 
Handing a piece to each of them, he said some words in Aramaic, which Myers did not bother to translate.
 
They began to eat.

“How far are we from Jerusalem?” Jesus asked, looking at Tamara but the question was directed to Myers.

“Oh, a long way.”

“Ten days of walking?
 
Twenty?” he asked.

“If you could walk it, it would take you many times that amount.
 
And you would have to cross an ocean.”

“An ocean,” Jesus said flatly.

“A big ocean.
 
Much bigger than you know.”

Jesus reached for a slice of melon, apparently letting the question of how long it would take him to walk to Jerusalem slide.

Most of the food, Tamara noted, was fruits.
 
One plate held slices of baked fish, probably halibut.
 
Jesus picked up a piece of the fish and put it on his plate.
 
Joining it were grapes, slices of melon, and dates.

“Jesus enjoys lamb,” Myers told her between bites of his own fish.
 
“But, you know, he had never eaten beef!
 
Took a while to convince him that beef was kosher.
 
We do, of course, avoid non-kosher food.
 
At least, anything that might upset his sense of purity.
 
That is very important to the people of his time, just as it is to many Jews today.
 
They must be pure in all things to please God.”

Jesus looked to Myers because he had not translated his words to Tamara into Aramaic.
 
Myers explain quickly what he had said, and then added, “I’m trying to get Yeshua to enjoy a thick, barbequed steak.
 
Maybe if he sees you eating one, he’ll consider it.”

As the lunch progressed, Tamara noticed that Jesus was awkward using his knife and fork.
 
“He was used to eating with his fingers,” Myers explained.
 
“And a knife to cut as needed.
 
I’ve told him that he doesn’t have to use the silverware but he wants to fit in with the rest of us.
 
So he tries.”

“Tell me, friend Seymour, you said that the land granted us by God is again ruled by Israel.
 
What of the Romans?
 
Were they cast out?”

Translating his words for Tamara gave Myers the chance to compose a reply.

“The Romans left, that is true.
 
But it was many years before the Holy Land came to the people of Israel.”

Jesus paused while taking a fork of fish towards his mouth.
 
The piece of fish fell back onto the plate.
 
“Where they overthrown by the sword?” he asked.

“They were conquered by the sword, but it was not Jewish swords.”

Jesus seemed to consider this.
 
“There were those in our land who wanted to drive the Romans out by the sword,” he said finally.
 
“There were times when I felt that the coming of God’s Kingdom could only be by way of our people taking up arms.
 
I had hoped that God would perform a miracle, as he did when he parted the sea for Moses.
 
But the land had been taken by the strength of our swords, and the help of God, and would most probably be done the same again when the Kingdom arrived.”

“You actually considered an armed rebellion?” asked Tamara.
 
Myers shot her a swift glance before translating.

“Yes.
 
There were times when we had to take the land by force,” he replied.
 
“As when the land was taken from an evil king by Judas.”

“What does he mean?” asked Tamara.

“After Alexander the Great’s death, the Holy Land came under the rule of Seleucus, one of Alexander’s officers.
 
One of his successors, Antiochus, began a policy of turning the land and the people into pseudo Greeks.
 
He made possession of the Torah a capital offense, banned many Jewish practices such as sacrifices, feasts, even circumcision.
 
Altars to Greek gods were set up in the Temple in Jerusalem and he ordered swine to be sacrificed to Zeus because roast pork was a favorite of that god.
 
Things came to a head when the High Priest, Mattathias, refused to worship an idol of Zeus that had been placed on the altar in the Temple.
 
He and his sons were forced to flee into the wilderness where they began a guerrilla war against the Seleucid army, led by one of his sons, Judas Maccabee, and against all odds, they won.

“They ritually cleansed the Temple and created a kingdom that lasted for a hundred years, ending about sixty years before Jesus was born.”

“Oh, yes, I remember that,” Tamara said.
 
“When he said Judas, I was a little confused.”

“Judas is this case is Judas Maccabee.
 
And that was where Hanukkah came from; when a single day’s supply of oil kept the Menorah burning for eight days,” Myers continued.
 
All that had been in English.
 
Turning to Jesus, he gave a quick summary of what he had told Tamara.
 
Jesus nodded – it was an old story to him.

Tamara was frowning.
 
When she had the chance, she asked, “Jesus, I have trouble believing that you would suggest an armed revolt.
 
You said so much about peace and loving your neighbor.
 
Did you not say: ‘That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also’?”

For a long time Jesus just looked at her, his food forgotten, his eyes intent upon her face.
 
Finally he relaxed and said, “I once said something like that.
 
I was giving advice to my followers concerning the Roman troops.
 
I was sending them out to teach of the coming Kingdom.
 
I knew that they would encounter Roman soldiers, so I instructed them not to resist armed soldiers.
 
If struck, do not strike back.
 
If a Roman soldier tells you to do some work, then do it and more.
 
Give them no reason to kill you.”

Jesus pushed away the plate before him.
 
“Our people had tried.
 
In the year I was born, arms were taken up against Archelaus.
 
Roman troops from Syria came and many were killed. Two thousand were crucified!

“Again, when I was a child of ten, more were killed trying to free our land.