LAZARUS (Part 3) (575 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.9 on 12 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Yes (View user info) at 2005-05-10 15:43:44 EDT
Part 1: http://www.ubersite.com/m/65868
Part 2: http://www.ubersite.com/m/65966
"You refused him?" Luke asked.
"My son, following that man called for a special breed of insanity that I have never had," Lazarus answered. "Forget the question of whether he was truly the Messiah. Assume he was without a doubt. Even so, do you have any idea what it would have cost me to follow that man into the rain?"
"...Of course I do. I follow him now."
"No. You don't. You know nothing. He was my friend. My friend! I'd known him for as long as I could remember, and now he'd suddenly changed. It was as if he'd... intensified somehow. I can't explain to you the... the energy that surrounded him, or the sound of his voice, or how he seemed to move in a different place and time. He had become something that could not be understood. He scared me."
"He was always that way. He was the Lord."
"Before he was your Lord, he was my best friend, so don't presume to tell me who he was or was not," Lazarus warned. "You may think yourself the greatest of Christians, but remember one thing; you were never there."
Lazarus held his face in his hands and took a deep, shuddering breath. "I'm... forgive me. I'm not used to talking about this. Not a day goes by that I don't remember it all, but I... I've never talked about it. I told no one of this. Not even Martha."
Silence descended between the two men, and Luke swallowed before he spoke. "When... when did you see him again?"
"I'm not sure how long it was before I saw him again. There was news of course. He caused quite a stir. His miracles had become almost commonplace. He taught in synagogues throughout the country, and many claimed they'd follow him to the ends of the Earth.
"I heard he'd drawn disciples to himself. Peter, one of them was called. He was a large, brash fisherman from Capernaum. All Galilean, they were—Jesus had become a regional phenomenon. The Pharisees loved him. He spoke with eloquence and grace and brought new insight to the scriptures. Brought them to life. When next I saw him, he was famous.
"I'm not sure I knew I was sick by then, but I know there was blood in my stool. I didn't realize right away that I was ill. The realization was more a living thing—growing in my gut, as did the cancer.
"My wife and I were in Nazareth, visiting Mary. We were still childless, but Mary and her sister Elizabeth were said to know something about producing children when the situation seems beyond all help. I think Mary was in her forties by then, but I can't be sure. Joseph had been dead for years.
"Jesus was a good son. He didn't go to the synagogue right away, but came to his mother's house to set her mind at ease and apologize for running off. I thought he would be surprised to see me—but by then, Jesus was very hard to surprise.
"If it's possible, the strangeness surrounding him had deepened. He was still gaunt—he seemed on the verge of starvation. His large hands and feet were bonier than ever, and he smelled terrible. Worse than a shepherd.
"Mary was ecstatic. When she opened her arms to her son and bade him come, he was wary—as if unsure what his touch would do to her. Finally, he went to her, and she crooned to him wordlessly for a very long time.
"When Jesus approached me, he carried with him a cloud of energy that made my heart beat faster. Martha clutched my arm as he came close. We stared at each other for a long time, and I felt as if I looked at him across a thousand years.
"'...Have you changed your mind?' he asked. Talking to him made me feel disoriented. He seemed to know what I was going to say—as if he'd already had the conversation, and words were now a formality.
"'No,' I answered simply.
"'Lazarus...' he said. 'You must call me when you need me, do you understand? Remember that.'
"'...Did... did you ever find John?' I stammered.
"He smiled with a touch of sadness. 'I found him,' he answered. 'He's dead. The king had him executed for his prophecies.'
"'John? But he was harmless.'
"'Harmless, he has never been, Lazarus,' Jesus answered with a serious shake of his head. 'And neither have I. I must leave here now—I'm about my Father's business.'
"I took his arm before he could leave. 'You never told me who your father was,' I told him quietly.
"He pulled away, smiling secretly to himself. 'That's because you aren't ready,' he answered and winked. 'I will see you again.'
"'God keep you,' I told him.
"He gave a good-natured laugh and walked away. The next time I saw him, he was authoring chaos.
"He went to the synagogue, of course, to read scripture and speak to those in attendance. Most of the town turned out to see him. They handed him the scroll of Isaiah, and he cleared his throat, examining the crowd. 'The spirit of the Lord is on me,' he read, 'because he has sent me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoner and sight for the blind. To proclaim release for the oppressed; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' He rolled up the scroll and sat back down.
"All eyes were on him, and Judas leaned over to me. 'Do you think he'll work another miracle? Like the one he did in Capernaum?'
"'What did he do in Capernaum?' I asked.
"Jesus turned and looked around the room. 'You'll probably say to me; 'doctor, heal yourself,'' he said with a trace of bitterness. 'Do here what you did in Capernaum.'
"Judas closed his mouth, ashamed.
"'Let me tell you people something,' Jesus said, his voice gaining both strength and texture. It rang authoritatively on the surfaces of the room and seemed to penetrate to the center of my brain. 'There were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the skies were shut up for three and a half years, and there was that terrible famine throughout the land. But Elijah wasn't sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath, over in Sidon. And in the time of Elisha, Israel was full of lepers. And not one of them was cleansed. Only Namaan the Syrian. So let me ask you this: what makes you think I will abase myself and perform miracles and wondrous signs for your amusement?'
"Silence descended, and the atmosphere of the room turned mean. They didn't understand. Jesus wasn't a traveling act. He didn't perform miracles to impress anyone. I wasn't sure why he did the things he did, but to demand that he display his abilities for the sheer enjoyment of the townspeople was unfair.
"'Get him!' Isaac the potter said suddenly, and a shout arose from all around.
"Jesus was seized from his seat before he could move, and a group of men began to drag him from God's house.
"I watched in horror for a moment before fighting the crowd to follow. Chaos had taken over in the space of a few seconds, and a tide of humanity now bore Jesus out of the town.
"Nazareth is built upon a hill, and below, there are jagged rocks and a choked creek. The drop is rather sharp, and if one were thrown down, he could expect to be killed. The throng rushed toward the North side of town, where the cliff was the highest, and raised Jesus over their shoulders as I screamed for them to stop.
"They threw Jesus over the edge, but somehow, he didn't fall. As soon as they let him go, he stood before them all, transfigured by rage and power. He seemed much taller than before, and his eyes shone with a fury like fever.
"'A prophet is never accepted in his hometown!' he shouted, his voice heavy with authority. 'There will come a time when you will regret with wailing and gnashing of teeth what you have done this day!' And with that, he was simply gone.
"The crowd milled around, looking for him. Had he fallen from the cliff without anyone seeing? Was he somewhere in the knot of men? He was nowhere to be found. And then, still confused, all of us drifted homeward.
User Reviews
Submitted by Yes (user info) at 2005-05-14 11:50:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Part 1: http://www.ubersite.com/m/65868
Part 2: http://www.ubersite.com/m/65966
Part 3: http://www.ubersite.com/m/66052
Part 4: http://www.ubersite.com/m/66099
Part 5: http://www.ubersite.com/m/66155
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-05-12 14:14:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You've studied this.
Absolutely briliant.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2005-05-12 11:52:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by miss_tila (user info) at 2005-05-11 14:18:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Flaahgra (user info) at 2005-05-10 22:36:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by HappyHappyJoyJoi (user info) at 2005-05-10 20:46:07 (#)
Ranking: 1
Lazarus is also a Porcupine Tree song.
Peaceful...
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Even though I mentioned that on a review for Part One, ("As awesome as this story is, the song is still better, though. <3 Porcupine Tree.") you sir, are still totally awesome for knowing Porcupine Tree. Go you.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-05-10 22:19:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
It's been a looooooong time since I've been forced to read the bible, but I recall no record of what you said about the cliff. Are you making stuff up, or embellishing/fleshing out events that are actually in the bible? I'm really curious to know.
Awesome stuff.
Submitted by peckerhead (user info) at 2005-05-10 20:47:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
There is an interesting discussion about Jesus in one of Shirley Maclaine's books: "Out On a Limb"
This was very well written.
Submitted by HappyHappyJoyJoi (user info) at 2005-05-10 20:46:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Lazarus is also a Porcupine Tree song.
Peaceful...
Submitted by Phinch (user info) at 2005-05-10 18:12:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
just read the series. good stuff. captivating as usual.
Submitted by Flaahgra (user info) at 2005-05-10 18:01:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Reading this series is better (and more addictive) than crack.
I'm starting to run out of creative ways to say "this is great", but I'll keep giving up the +2s if you keep writing like this.
Submitted by pantsarestupid (user info) at 2005-05-10 16:16:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Until tomorrow...
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-05-10 16:06:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
more please