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Courage - a fiction
Sep. 18th, 2011 08:42 amJesus walked among the hills of Galilee, waiting for his disciples to return. Suddenly He saw a woman; and at the sight of Him she grew pale and put her head in her hands.
"Come, friend," said the Lord, "what have you done?
The woman looked at Him, trembling from head to foot, and said: "I got into an argument."
"And what did you argue about?"
"It... it... it was about you, Lord. It was about truth and where it is and how you can get there."
"That is nothing to be ashamed of?"
"I was pathetic, Lord! I was trembling all over and weeping and making no sense..."
Jesus lifted her face to His and looked at her.
"I know exactly what you have done. Well done, you good and faithful servant. Lacking strength, you have found the strength to defend what you knew of truth - over and over and over again. YOu found the words, and the courage to stand in front of teachers and lords and answer every answer. Again I say: Well done, you good and faithful servant!"
"But woe," he said as the first of his disciples were returning, "to those who are confident in themselves, who assert without wanting to argue, who bluster and impose their views with force, who assume without argument that theirs are the best. I say to you: there is a way of asserting truth that is worse than falsehood, and there is a way to defend errors that is itself truthful. You will see in the Kingdom of God many whom you have thought publicans and prostitutes and pagans here on Earth; and outside, where is wailing and gnashing of teeth, some who had been guardians of the Law."
"Come, friend," said the Lord, "what have you done?
The woman looked at Him, trembling from head to foot, and said: "I got into an argument."
"And what did you argue about?"
"It... it... it was about you, Lord. It was about truth and where it is and how you can get there."
"That is nothing to be ashamed of?"
"I was pathetic, Lord! I was trembling all over and weeping and making no sense..."
Jesus lifted her face to His and looked at her.
"I know exactly what you have done. Well done, you good and faithful servant. Lacking strength, you have found the strength to defend what you knew of truth - over and over and over again. YOu found the words, and the courage to stand in front of teachers and lords and answer every answer. Again I say: Well done, you good and faithful servant!"
"But woe," he said as the first of his disciples were returning, "to those who are confident in themselves, who assert without wanting to argue, who bluster and impose their views with force, who assume without argument that theirs are the best. I say to you: there is a way of asserting truth that is worse than falsehood, and there is a way to defend errors that is itself truthful. You will see in the Kingdom of God many whom you have thought publicans and prostitutes and pagans here on Earth; and outside, where is wailing and gnashing of teeth, some who had been guardians of the Law."
