The Message

“God almighty you sure can sleep”.  The tall pitch of the voice reached my understanding prior to the actual message, and just a few brief moments before my eyes could focus on the spectacled face that peered down in to my own.  The handsome face spoke again while his muscular arm tore at the Velcro strap attached to my right arm.   “Do you know that you are in the hospital Mr. sleepy head?”  The tone of his voice was soft and playful, incongruent with his tall brawny physique and a hint of the south lay apparent within.  “I’m Isaac, your registered nurse and I can assure you that you will be more than fine under my care.”  “My name is Adam” I mumbled to myself.  “Well your chart doesn’t say that but I’ll call you whatever you want to be called sugar”.  “I am a strong believer in self determination”.  “I’m a believer too” I responded.  “How did I end up in the hospital?”  “Well it appears that you were in church, as many a witness can attest to, when all of a sudden the Holy Ghost came down upon you in the form of a ceiling tile and slew you in the spirit!”   You’ll find the proof of your mystical experience underneath that fine white chapeau you are sportin’, and may I say that no one has ever looked better in it.”   Reaching for my head triggered the announcement of a pain so sharp that my left eye closed in submission to it.   “How long have I been here, Isaac?” “Today is Tuesday and just like the Lord Jesus, you spent 3 days in the grave until today, your resurrection day!”  As he said this he lifted his arms and shimmied his hands in the air.  “‘xcept his time in the under world was between Friday and Sunday.”  Isaac added as a footnote.  “You know they got that wrong Isaac, the days I mean.”  “Mathew reports in chapter 12 verse 40 that Jesus said he would be three days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth.  Friday through Sunday morning when He resurrected makes it only 2 nights.”  Isaac looked at me puzzled at first and then a crooked little smile came to his lips.  “That doesn’t surprise me one bit.  The Bible is full of errors and you can’t trust it no ways.”  “It isn’t an error in the Bible Isaac; it’s an error in interpretation.”  I responded matter of factly.  Just like December 25th being the birth day of the Lord.  No where in the Bible does it give us that date.  Worse yet the creators of our Christian tradition made his birth day to be the same day as Attis of Phrygia,  the Greek God Dionysius, Horace of Egypt, Krishna of India, Mithra of Persia; all savior figures of times past”  I added.  “You would think that someone in the last two thousand years would have caught that little faux pax and changed it” Isaac retorted as he drew a blood sample from an unsuspecting vein in my limp arm.  “Someone did.  I replied.  They’re called Jehovah’s Witnesses.”  As I said this  I thought to myself how this tidbit was one of the reasons why the JW’s have been relegated to exile by Orthodoxy; for that and for their knack at calling on one at the most inopportune time.  The date of his birth and the day of his death stamped with error, but unchangeable because the cement of church authority has dried on it. 

“Well I used to be interested in all that stuff when I was growin’ up but ever since I moved to
California I don’t follow religion very much” confessed Isaac.  “Where you from Isaac, if you don’t mind me asking?”   “
Kentucky; my daddy is a preacher and the nicest man you’d ever want to meet, except if you are his queer son.”  The suddenness of the admission caught me short.  “Yeah, it seems that my dad noticed early on that I was different and he started changing on me.  I got a lot of Bible in those days from him and every other churcher that could muster an opinion, and it all came with a stiff warning and a righteous look of disapproval at no additional charge.”   “Did they have anything to be disapproving of?” I asked.  Nothing worse than some of the straight boys were guilty of in our church; the only difference being who you were sinning with.”  You speak the truth Isaac, sin is sin no matter the orientation.” I said.  By this time Isaac had finished his chores on me and he took a chair at my bedside looking like any other soul wanting to chat about life.  “So what is your persuasion Mr. Adam? Do you prefer Eve or Steve?” he asked in his most vixen voice.

Why do you prove them right Isaac?  “Don’t you see that the ‘holier than thou’ party will always point to your derelictions as proof positive that you are not fit for the

kingdom of
God?  Isaac was not ready for these words.  “How dare you, you don’t know anything about me”  “Do you have a partner Isaac?  Maybe I could ask him what he thought of your question to me”  “No I don’t have a partner and even if I did I would be under no constraint whatsoever to have him talk to you about anything!”  The friendly face which I knew had changed to a combative presence.  “You’re right my

friend, you don’t have a partner that would be beholding to me, how many partners have you had that would even care whether you were being faithful to them, for Faithfulness isn’t the point at all is it?  The question went unanswered.  “You Christians say that God will send everyone like me to hell but your threats don’t scare me!” Isaac added as he strove to the door of the hospital room.   “You are right in not being afraid Isaac for no one can send you to hell or bring hell to you without your concupiscence.  We Christians live by our standard and you live by your own, but the time is here when neither standard will prevail over the other.  The

Kingdom of
Heaven is now for those who worship in Spirit and in Truth.  Tell me Isaac in all honesty, do you have the Spirit?  Do you know the way of Truth?  Are you seeking virtue in your life?  Have you acknowledged your addiction to your personal vices?”  Moments of holy silence ensued as the man Isaac meditated on the exploratory nature of the metaphysical questions posed to him by this stranger.   I let my head drop back on to the inclined bed and closed my eyes.  In my thoughts I loved Isaac and prayed for his aimless soul and then I delivered him to our God, for God alone knows the destiny of us all.