IT’S A NOVEL WITH A MESSAGE: OUR UNITY IS IN CHRIST; NOT THE BALLOT BOX.
Chapter 40
March A.D. 30, The Weekend Jesus was Crucified
I had been standing on the outskirts of Jerusalem, but close enough to watch everything Jesus was going through. Whatever had been inside me and driving me was now gone. I don’t know why, or how, or even what it was, but it was gone. And, when I looked at what was being done to this man I had lived with for three years, I was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver.[i]
I don’t remember everything the Pharisees said. I seem to recall they laughed at me. The only thing I know for sure is that I ran out of their presence and then I kept running until I could run no more.
With every step I recounted the previous three years. Jesus had loved me and I had betrayed Him. I remembered my excitement, my hope, my disillusionment, and then my sin, my greed, and now my end.
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.[ii]
Wednesday October 10th, FBI Headquarters
“Mom, I’m in a meeting, but I took your call because I know why you are calling.”
“Happy Birthday, Jacky. I love you and I miss you.”
I rolled my eyes at the phone, but only in jest, for my visitors knew what was going on. They could hear her voice through my phone. My visitors chuckled and then I said, “Mom, I have to go, but I think you should be the first to know, well, outside of those in my office, that this is my birthday for another reason, too.”
I heard her suck in a deep breath and I had tears in my eyes. “Where in the world did they come from?” I wondered. But my visitors just smiled, knowingly and lovingly.
“Mom, I’ve given my life over to Christ.”
When I heard my mom start to cry, my tears began to flow too. I don’t know for sure but I think I even felt my chest heaving.
We remained on the phone for a few minutes before I let her go and I told her I’d come see her this weekend and tell her all about it.
My guests were all smiles and had glistening eyes too. I looked down at their coupled hands and said, “Only do that in my office until after the election.”
Billy and Sammie just smiled.
They had come by with a mini birthday cake.
Billy said, “Getting into your files gave me a lot of information about you, and your birthdate was one of them.”
Sammie picked it up from there and said, “We decided to come and celebrate your birthday with you, Jack, and tell you about another birthday you could have.”
I’m glad they did.
October 23rd and 24th, Washington D.C.
Issy and I decided to have dinner with Dr. Dale. We met him at the Capitol South Metro Station. He insisted we eat at his new favorite Mexican Restaurant, the Tortilla Coast. Issy shook her head in displeasure, which Dale noticed and quickly tried to unwind from, asking for a restaurant she preferred.
I reassured him it was okay and then I whispered in Issy’s ear, “We’ll have to take our clothes off downstairs, because of the Fajita “perfume,” baby.”
She just looked at me, then at the ceiling and shook her head. I grinned and led them half a block down First Street to the restaurant at First and D.
At dinner we learned he had made his final trip to the Hill before all of these elected officials went back to their districts and their election campaigns. “It’s funny,” he said, “Few of them asked for prayer that they would win and a number of them are in tough races.”
“How did you pray for them?” asked Issy.
“Romans 13:1 and 2, Issy. I just said, ‘Lord we trust you to put into office whom you desire, and we will honor your choice, but we do ask that it be,’ and I would insert the name of who I was with.”
“Submit to the governing authorities,” I said, and then continued, “Because God has instituted them, meaning if I resist them, I am opposing God.”
“Tough passage to live out, Jude,” said Dale.
“Which is why our identity needs to be in Christ, and not our politics,” added Issy.
“Yeah,” I said a little warily. “One of us will be ticked off on November 6th or 7th, depending upon the results, Baby.”
“But not at each other, right?” asked Dale.
“No,” we agreed, “Not at each other.”
As we were leaving the restaurant, Dale said, “You know, I don’t understand why the Fajita aroma has to stick to your clothes so much. I really don’t like that.”
Issy started to agree with him and I cut her off, “I never used to either.” She remained silent, smiled and reached over and pinched me.
November 7th, The New President is Announced
Another Presidential election was over. Who knows what allegations will creep up over the next few days? All I know is, it’s over, and I think our hands are squeaky clean, praise the Lord.
I called Pete. “Yeah, Jack, what’s up?”
“Do you remember those two kids talking about that Born-Again stuff?”
“Yeah, why?” Pete responded.
“Well, I’d like to tell you what happened to me, recently.”
There was a long silence on the phone and then Pete let out a long sigh. There was his “tell” and I knew we would talk about Jesus.
That night I was having dinner with Pete at the Tortilla Coast Mexican Restaurant when Billy and Sammie came in, smiling and publicly holding hands. I pointed them out to Pete who turned around to see them.
They didn’t see us. In fact, they didn’t see anything but themselves.
It was cute to see.
I got ready to say as much when Pete said, “Jack, these two have been falling in love for the last six months. This must be their first date and they come here?”
I just laughed and shrugged my shoulders.
“I told you I couldn’t trust him, Jack.” Pete laughed and then added, “Do you think they care that their clothes are going to smell?”
We both snickered and went back to our discussion of Christ.
11,000 Miles Away
I’m still in the south pacific, but my days are running together. I have no idea if the Presidential election was yesterday or the day before. I’ve seen the results, but just barely.
I don’t have a television in my embarrassing little hovel. When I head in to work, I either slow down at the restaurant under my shanty or at the guard house; those are the only two places near me that have T.V.
I’ve had to sell all my things. I’ve never lived like this before. My black suede pumps are grey with dust and will not last long if I remain a chambermaid.
But somehow, I’ll get out of here. Somehow, I’ll find that idiot Clyde and make him suffer for all I’ve had to go through these last few weeks. This was all his fault.
“He’s such a moron.”
I walked up the stairs to the employee entrance. We have small lockers for our clothes. As I got to the top step I tripped and a heel came off my now tacky $600 Jimmy Choo. . .
“Oh, brother!” I fumed.
“Broken shoes and stinky clothes! I’m tired of everything I wear smelling like that blasted restaurant!”
[i] Matthew 27:3b
[ii] Matthew 27:5
MARK S MIRZA
Founder/Author
C: (404) 606-2322
W: MarkMirza.com
Recent Comments