"A
certain man had two sons. And the one took his journey into a far
country.-----Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the Lord; and Satan came also among them.-----Jesus
said unto them, I am Christ, and as the lightning cometh out of the
east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the
Son of man be.---- And I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."
There
was a certain farmer who had two adult sons. They were his only
children by his late wife, named Iscari. The sons were identical
twins, named Nathan and Christopher.
There
came a time when there was a crisis, nationally and in the farmer's
family. The farmer waited for an opportunity to talk to Nathan, alone
somewhere on their thousand-acre family farm.
That's
the last load, Nathan?
Yes,
Dad.
Good.
Let's walk to the river. I have something to talk to you about.
Okay.
They
walked.
Nathan,
this nation is headed for war.
Some
people are saying that, Dad.
Do
you believe it?
Dad,
I don't care. This farm of ours is so far away from any of this
country's borders, that neighboring enemy will never reach us. Our
country is over ten times their size. In the meantime, a war will
make this farm incredibly rich, Dad.
Nathan,
you and Christopher are young enough to be conscripted into the army.
When the war comes, you and Christopher will not be allowed to remain
on this farm to make this farm incredibly rich. The both of you will
be expected to go fight and, if necessary, to die for this nation.
They
walked a few steps in silence.
That
did not occur to me, Dad. Sorry. I suppose we will just have to leave
it up to luck.
Not
necessarily. One of you should leave the country now. This farm has
supply contracts with many countries. One of you could remain in a
foreign country on farm business for years.
Dad,
you really think our war-hungry king will not see that as just an
excuse to not serve in a time of war?
Nathan,
the king has made it clear the war will not last more than a week. He
is expecting to win and to colonize that country, within days. He
says at every opportunity, our troops will remain there forever. In
his jingoistic frenzy I seriously doubt he will notice one of you is
absent, especially if we lower prices to his armed forces and the
whole nation during his one-week war.
If
that's the case, Dad, why the urgency for one of us to leave the
country?
Because
of your brother.
They
reached the river. They sat on a bench under a tree, not far from the
river's edge.
Because
of Christopher, Dad?
Yes.
Have you not noticed how much time he is not around?
Dad,
he has forever made it clear he is not destined to be a farmer. And
he has also made it clear that he will not be asking for his share of
inheritance when he eventually leaves, permanently.
Nathan,
inheritance is a legal right. No matter how much he means to never
require his inheritance, if he joins up with others who insist he
demand his legal rights, things could get messy, and expensive.
There
was a long pause, at the end of which Nathan looked at his Dad,
enquiringly, and spoke softly and slowly.
Christopher
has to leave the country, Dad?
There
was another long pause before Dad replied, on the verge of tears.
Yes,
son; and not just to avoid volunteering to go to war.
Volunteering,
Dad?
Yes.
Have you been following your brother's activities in the big Cities?
No,
Dad.
It
is not good, Nathan. My business associates are keeping me informed.
When Christopher left here a year ago, his declared intention was to
enroll in a University to study Theology.
Yes.
I know that.
Well,
Nathan, things have not gone as planned at that University. First,
have you heard of Barabbas?
Who
hasn't, Dad. He is on the news every day.
On
the run. Wanted for just about every crime, except murder. He was the
founder of the clique Christopher got sucked into.
They
stared at each other in dismay. Dad continued, sadly.
So
far, according to my sources, there is no official connection between
Barabbas and the group he founded. So far. But the situation is bad
enough without the Barabbas connection. At that University,
Christopher has joined a pro-war group. And, even worse, he has
become addicted to gambling. He is accumulating debt, using our farm
as guarantor.
Dad,
Christopher leaving the country is not going to exempt the farm from
paying his gambling debts.
I
am aware of that, Nathan. That's why I am thinking of a plan I want
to discuss with you. Remember the town of Kerioth?
Yes.
Of course. Where Mom is buried.
Yes,
where you and Christopher spent some of your happiest childhood
years. How about we find one of your cousins from there to join
Christopher? That cousin could become your brother's confidant and
exclusive lender. We will pay him well.
That's
a brilliant plan, Dad. He could work on Christopher for both of them
to leave the country on farm business.
Good
thinking, Nathan. I did not think that far ahead.
Do
you have a particular cousin in mind, Dad?
No.
I am hoping you will suggest someone you and Christopher were
especially fond of. The only one I remember is Obed, the son of Mom's
sister, Ruth.
Auntie
Ruth, of the tea leaves?
You
remember that about her?
I
will never forget Auntie Ruth, Dad. You and Mom said she gave
Christopher and me those two copper tie pins when we were born. She
called us sons of the lightning.
I
forgot about that. You still have those pins?
Every
time I have to wear a tie.
I
remember, now. Tie pins to newborn babies. Everyone was tickled by
that. It was things like that that got her the name Quirky Ruthie.
Dad
and son enjoyed a laugh at the memory.
Don't
ask Obed, Dad. He will not take us up on the offer because he is
already a Pastor in one of the Church groups in Kerioth. He is likely
to take a hard line against my brother's gambling addiction. And,
lately, he is in the News a lot, speaking up against war with any of
our neighboring nations. On the war that's coming, Obed and
Christopher do not see eye-to-eye.
Obed
became a Pastor?
Not
a surprise to us who were children with him, Dad. When the rest of us
were playing, cousin Obed preferred to practise playing his guitar
and singing hymns. Not entirely his fault, Dad.
Meaning?
Auntie
Ruth named him after Obed in the Bible. She reminded him every day.
And, so, he felt obliged to become his Biblical namesake, Obed,
husband of Ruth, ancestor of Jesus.
All
right. Scratch Obed from my list of one. Are you in touch with any
other cousin we could approach? Isn't there one you and Christopher
saved from drowning in that Jordan river?
Lazarus.
He is not available. He left the country a long time ago, Dad. Went
to live with his Dad overseas; Abraham.
Abraham
the Iraqi?
Uh-huh.
The
one who owes us a lot of money?
The
very same. Dad, I know just the cousin we can approach. The only one
who taught Christopher and me gambling card games; and, especially,
how to cheat without being caught.
Nathan,
isn't that scraping the bottom of the barrel? We want to help
Christopher; not encourage his bad talents.
Dad,
he and Christopher were best buddies. Christopher will take to him
like a duck to water.
I
am glad to hear that. All, right. Who is he?
The
only child of auntie Maria, Mom's other sister.
I
do not recall. Maria visited seldomly.
Dad?
Come on! You forgot the only cousin you complained to Mom about that
he was teaching Christopher and me how to successfully cheat at
cards?
Dad's
eyes opened wide. Instantly, his voice went hoarse.
Judas!
Contact
Ezra (Unless
you
type
the
author's name in
the subject
line
of the message we
won't know where to send it.)
