“The Cataclysm”

Several friends have asked the same basic question:

"Joe, what's up? We visited the site, and nothing's happening!"

As I mentioned a couple of months ago, the answer is I'm burrowing into a book project that excites me very much. I'm about half-finished with it right now, and I'm loving it, and without giving away too much, I want to upload a sampling of what it's about.

As some of you know, the book is called WHAT ABOUT NOW? Secrets of A Rich Man, and it's a "sword and sandals" kind of thing about the time of Christ. It is a teaching account of the aftermath of Jesus' death on the cross, as viewed through the eyes of a second-tier Biblical figure, Joseph of Arimathea.

Joseph, you may remember, was the member of the Sanhedrin who donated his own tomb for the body of the crucified Jesus to be placed in. The death of Jesus is a horrendous trauma for Joseph -- so much so that he overlooks key aspects of the event and sees his own hopes dissolving by the day. My book delineates a program by which Joseph's faith is restored by some friends and others, one visitor at a time.

The episode I am uploading here (entitled "The Cataclysm") comes early in the book, and describes the horror that was Good Friday. Please read, enjoy, and comment!

The career of Jesus took a surprising turn. One week after he entered Jerusalem like an emperor, on the night of the Passover celebration, soldiers of the Sanhedrin took the prophet prisoner in an olive garden on the outskirts of the city.

Joseph and Nicodemus had finished breaking bread together when the news came to them of Jesus’ arrest. In a few moments’ time, all of Joseph’s dreams of heaven on earth came crashing down.

Both men knew Jesus had been taking too many chances, and causing too much aggravation in the houses of Ananias and his son Caiphas, high priests of the Temple and powerful figures in the Sanhedrin. Joseph had implored Jesus to soften his approach, especially with the Pharisees. But his warnings went unheeded.

“Lord, you must be careful with such men,” Joseph had said. “They are proud, and they are very angry, and I know they mean you harm.”

Joseph cursed himself for not being more persuasive. In my business, all respond to me. Why has Jesus seemingly ignored my counsel?

He saw the mounting hatred in the halls of the high priests. As a merchant, Joseph could see that Jesus’ prospectus had peaked the moment he entered Jerusalem’s gates.

That was the high point, the time when a smart trader sells. The arm of the pendulum was about to swing sharply back.

Fearing condemnation from other Jews within the Sanhedrin, with whose ferocity he was well acquainted, Joseph had decided earlier he would remain a private disciple of Jesus from within the Sanhedrin.

He resolved to keep his devotion to the young evangelist a secret from most. How could I remain close to my peers? Yes, it was the proper way for me to serve Jesus. When the time was right, that’s when I planned to come forward to support him.

Daily Joseph had tried to convince himself of this strategy, that there was virtue in prudence. Even the few times we did converse, Jesus just peered deep into my eyes, seemingly listening to a different message. “No man can serve two masters,” he would say to me.

With the mercurial trial of Jesus, Joseph’s strategy had proven worthless for both of them. The crucifixion came quickly. That night Joseph’s world cracked to its foundation. He witnessed all that had transpired on the tiny hill called Calvary.

But then Joseph did what no other man could have done. He buried Jesus. Later that night, he hid in his bedchamber, unable to speak to anyone. He was horrified at the turnaround, and ashamed of himself for many reasons.

Kingdoms were clashing in Joseph’s mind. Jesus’ words were without ceasing. “No one can come to the Father, except by me. Those who look upon me, look upon the Father.”

Joseph recoiled in the caverns of his spirit. These were the words that caused Jesus’ blood to run in rivulets down the hill of the Skull. He was my nephew’s first born, just a son of an ordinary carpenter! How could he claim to be one with the Lord God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? All so unthinkable to my peers!

But my time with him, my hours with Nicodemus, his family -- we all had this sense that his outrageous, preposterous, and unthinkable claims -- just might be truth! But why did he have to be so radical and offensive to other’s beliefs? It could have turned out so differently. I am soothed only that his earthly father did not see his demise.

As the battle ensued within the businessman, Joseph locked himself away from Sarah and Duca. I must stop thinking, he thought. Even on my most dangerous routes over the years, I could find peace in my bedchamber contemplating my God. But tonight the spirits are at war in my very soul.

The practical mind of Joseph then came alive, betraying him further, forcing him to review his time with Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. The familiar spirit of fear overwhelmed him as he thought of his offer to have Jesus’ body laid in the tomb he had cut out for himself in the limestone cliff to the north of the city.

What did it mean that he had given up his own repository to a known blasphemer? Had prudent Joseph made an imprudent decision? He did not want the Sanhedrin to see his gift of a sepulcher as a gesture hostile to them.

On that night of Jesus’ death and burial, shock, sorrow, and confusion had cloaked Joseph’s mind. He was not alone. He was wrestling with a horde of spirits -- some good, and some not. The cataclysm would widen in forty-eight hours.

Comments

[Monte Stimmel]

In a nutshell - WOW! I feel like I'm there watching the events unfold in front of me - I want to read on!