Chapter Six – Crossroad In Time

CHAPTER SIX—1^ST CENTURY

I was in sight of the Golden Gate. I’d managed to duck James and the others and was going over in my mind what I remembered about the Gospel’s description of the events. I was also trying to decide what I was going to do. I knew that if Jesus wasn’t turned over to the Sanhedrin tonight time would be altered–what would that mean? I wondered—had it already been altered?

A world without a crucified Jesus meant a world that never saw the rise of this new religion called Christianity. Some see the Christian religion as causing millions of people over the ages to die because of this man and his apostles. It may have been that millions had died in the name of Jesus, but it was not necessarily his fault. After all, I’d spent the last three years with him, and I knew what Christianity had become in my century wasn’t what Jesus intended. It was, however, in his name that the Roman Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the religion of Rome and forced pagans to submit to the new religion or die. It was also in his name that unknown numbers of Native Americans would be killed if they refused to convert to the Old World’s religion. Then there were the crusades, the Inquisition, the Jews that died throughout the ages, and the martyrs all either dying because of him or for him.

I thought of all the neurosis and hatred caused by and spewed out ‘In the Name of Jesus’. I remembered all of the pent-up feelings and emotions opposite to what Jesus taught just because men over the ages would pervert his teachings. It wasn’t the Jesus I knew but it was him in the eyes of the duped. It wasn’t what he wanted but it was what it would become. I knew that because I’d eaten with him, shared with him, lived with him. I knew because I had two thousand years of history and saw the perversion of his message and distortion of his faith with my eye as well. Maybe, the world would be better off if he never died on the cross and was supposedly raised from the dead.

I dropped to my knees by the road and shouted, “Anna, what should I do”? Tears flowed down my cheeks.

I thought of the pain she endured. All of the hopes we shared came rushing back. The hundreds of times we’d prayed to God to save her. I dropped my head to the ground, sobbing. Her face came to me. The beautiful brown eyes, black hair, perfect mouth, and small nose. Oh, how I missed her, God, I thought, why did you take her from me? I rolled onto my side and cried.

Why me, God, I mumbled. Why did you take her from me? Why did they let me jump into Iscariot’s body? Why me God, why me?

“It would be better that the man were never born than to betray the Son of Man.” The words rang in my mind and were the last thing I remembered before I dozed off. It had been a long trip.

keith

I’m officially retired after over 40 years of working with the US military in one way or another. My bride of 45 years and I settled into a nice home in Fredericksburg, Texas, USA, and are enjoying the many events, organizations, and attractions the Texas Hill Country has to offer. I enjoy urban sketching, watercolor painting, dabble in writing, and do an occasional voice acting gig.

Filed under: Crossroad In Time

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