Chapter 72

72
WATERGATE HOTEL, WASHINGTON, D.C.

The General marched into the pleasant conference room at the head of an entourage of lesser officers carrying rolls of what seemed to be maps along with thick notebooks bulging with pages and pages of military something or other. Whatever was in the notebooks had been cataloged, referenced and cross tabbed in the military way. Jesus and Juan sprawled back in the plush chairs with their bare feet resting in the center of the table. The two were examining the latest issue of Hustler Magazine.

With the arrival of the General the two scrambled into their seats and began to feign attention to the proceedings in the room. The General's eye had clearly been caught by the magazine. Jesus glanced over the men accompanying him. "At least he is finally getting over the translator." He mumbled to Juan in Portuguese.

"Good morning, gentlemen." The General hung his hat, suggesting that this was going to be a long meeting. "I have taken to liberty of doing some research which may interest You. I have brought along information concerning the state of religion in the world, who has what and how many, that sort of thing, in the hope that it might allow You to do some strategic planning. The facts here are the best the Pentagon has to offer with respect to the current situation between the competing religious orders." The General motioned to his first aide. The officer unrolled at map of the world which had been color coded in different patterns to reflect the dominant religions. "Notebook Number One contains the best analysis of current religious strife, challenged territories and strategic opportunities in general."

Jesus and Juan stared blankly at each other. Jesus quietly murmured a few words in Portuguese. Both young men stepped up the the map. Juan spoke to Jesus briefly. "General, Juan and I would like to see the island where we grew up. Is it on this map?"

General Tower adjusted his glasses as he bent his head low over the Amapa Region of Brazil. "No, sir. I'm sorry. Your island is too small for this scale. It just doesn't show up on this map."

Juan asked over Jesus shoulder. "You should ask him what he wants us to do."

Jesus turned to face the General. The staff officers were arrayed behind him as if they were line backers for a football team. Most of the junior officers were in a state of awe at being present for a meeting with Jesus. Several among them were going to great lengths to express their sarcasm. In fair credit to General Tower, all were comporting themselves as professional military men. The old general cast a very long shadow back through his troops. Jesus could appreciate that the man carried significantly more rank than what was pinned on his shoulder. "Should I learn something that is on these maps and in these books?" He asked uncertainly.

Tower approached Him with a lowered voice which indicated that the mood of the room was changing -- by his unspoken command. "Perhaps You would want to familiarize Yourself with the present state of religion in the world. These maps have all the information necessary for that understanding."

Jesus' face had the glint of understanding, at last. He spoke softly to the General, "Perhaps such a strategy might best be discussed in a smaller group."

With a wave of the Marine general's hand, the staff officers began to quickly file toward the door. Most wore an expression of relief. All were showing signs that suggested a complete lack of understanding at the events in the room.

Now Jesus faced General Tower squarely across the great walnut table. Juan's interest had returned to the issue of Hustler which he had retrieved from the floor beneath the table. "I want to thank you, General Tower, for anticipating my 'campaign' to overwhelm the organized religions of the world. I am familiar with the exclusive concept of the religion bearing my name in these developed countries, that is, the idea that no one will escape Hell save that he will accept every doctrine of whatever Christian faith has brought the most guns and money into his homeland for his salvation."

"Well, that idea is in error. It is in very grave error. In fact, that idea is probably the only part of anyone's present religious understanding that I would change. Every effort on the part of any person who strives to reach closer to the face of God in an effort to perfect himself as a human, in other words to act to the best understanding he may have to please his God, then that is a godly man. There could be no possible greater joy than helping to make a world filled with godly men."

"All these maps, not withstanding your undoubtedly good intentions in preparing them, have no value at all to My, uh, campaign. I believe every religion has in its time stood in arms either to defend itself or to impose itself on others. I have no intention of flexing any muscle whatever. If anyone will benefit from My message it will be due to his willingness to do so, not from the force of arms or the threat of other things."

"I'm sorry that this misunderstanding has caused you to spend so much trouble preparing all of this. Perhaps you will be able to use it in one of your military adventures."

"When the time comes I will speak to the hearts of every person in the world. I already have My commission. It is the same one which I had before, two thousand years ago, and I will be able to fulfill this responsibility without the benefit of an army or a gun. It will be just like last time."

"Last time You were executed after only a few years of preaching." The General hesitated. "Should I call You, well, You, as if You were the same as the Jesus in the Bible?"

"General, the Jesus in the Bible is essentially a stranger to me. No expression of this interchangeable idea will offend Me, however." Jesus slid into one of the overstuffed chairs around the table, motioning the Marine to do the same. "You know, General, sometimes you make Me nervous. All of the officers who accompany you always stand when you stand. That makes Me think that I also should stand in respect to your age and your accomplishments. Then, when I stand, you stand, perhaps in some sense out of respect for Me. What happens is that everyone stands. This ends up with everyone standing all the time. That creates a sense that we are not and cannot be friends with each other. I can see your thoughts in your face. I can see your deep commitment to My safety and your concern over it. I appreciate this in a very personal sense. Both Juan and I do, and We have grown to have a great affection for you. I know that you must always act as a soldier, but I wanted very much to make this clear to you. Whether or not you believe I am Who I say I am, you have always treated me and Juan with great courtesy and respect, and we both appreciate it very, very much."

"Because it is time that we have a better understanding of each other, I'll tell you a very ancient story which I hope will not create any troubling paradox in your religious beliefs. If it does, please accept my apologies in advance for it is the simple truth, told with no intention to disturb affairs between you and your Creator or the practice of your religion." Jesus began.

"When I lived before, I followed what could be called a normal life for the times. Oh, yes, the Romans were there and fighting sometimes would break out, but these things had almost no effect on my life. I was born in the year of Rome 749, grew to manhood near my family, took a wife and had two sons. I worked as a carpenter, sometimes with my father. Everything about my life was quite normal for the times. When I was about 30 or 31 years old, a remarkable thing happened to me. One night I was standing, actually sitting on the roof of the house, praying. I was a law abiding Jew -- what you would call an Observing Jew these days -- and by this I mean that I was no rebel or heretic. A strange cool breeze blew up that hot night. When the breath of this breeze touched me, I knew that the Father was talking to Me somehow. Great streams of knowledge -- amounts beyond anything you could understand -- seemed to flow into Me along with a new special comprehension of absolutely everything. I rose from that experience filled with great joy and with a new, complete understanding of every part of the world."

"Because there was no means to spread the incredible knowledge I had been given, I was frustrated. I was driven to share what I had learned, but seemed to be unable to carry out any plan to spread this wonderful gift. Later, I was baptized by John, and somehow that experience inspired Me to begin preaching." Jesus looked into the General's eyes. The shade of disinterest and disbelief which had always colored the old soldier's face faded for a moment. "I will give you the proof you need when the time has come for such a thing. I cannot demand your faith in Me after all that has gone on here. I seem to be able to create what you call 'miracles' but only when the time for them has come. We will see the miracle which will bring you ease together, and we will each know of it for the first time just then."

"As for all these maps and things, I won't need them this time. When I leave the world all these people who seek the Creator in their own ways -- each of them will continue to do as he always has. I am completely competent to give the world my message at this moment. I only hesitate because of the unpleasant possibility of such a shock as this would represent." The General was somehow shocked to see this Young Man appear to be so vulnerable. Jesus continued almost sadly. "The Man you see before you today was not in the tomb when Tillotson unearthed it. The forces which led to that discovery and the subsequent process in Robele's laboratory originated very far from the everyday life of the world. At the end of these events, say upon my birth from my mother, Maria, I was not at all who I am now. I was a very normal little baby. The only quality about Me which was special or unique at that time was the potential to finally receive the breeze I told you about."

"That is the extent of my special genetics, and I am further convinced of two more things. First, this 'breeze' can come to whomever is selected by The Father. It almost certainly came to some or all of the men in the Jewish Bible who are called 'prophets'. So much time and so many events have passed since those men spoke their inspired truths that not even I can determine whether they had received the same startling blessing I have. The second thing is that, although I am not certain, I think it is now and always has been -- since men could first stand and think -- the idea of the Creator that every human person should receive this same thing."

"Sometimes I wonder if the 'breeze' is not every where present among us, attempting to create the same change in them as it has in Me. General Tower, I have a terrible suspicion that either people are so busy that they miss it or that they have such scales of cynicism and fear over their eyes that it cannot reach them. It is to meet this challenge that I am here again. On the positive side, General, I am pleased to say that I am a new and improved model. There is every reason to assume that I shall be able to start this sacred process all across the world." Jesus had continued to the conclusion of what He had intended to say. General Tower was dumbstruck. Never before had he related so personally with his charge! Never had he dreamed of how comfortable and honestly reassuring it could be, strange sensations for a Marine General!

But the unexpected conversation had left an opening for the military man, a precious opportunity to approach the young Man, to conveniently explore what had been to this point the total mystery of His plans.

General Tower paused for a moment. Pressured conversation right now could easily move relations with Jesus back to the chilly state of the first days after His arrival. "Not that its Your doing, but people in this country have been in an uproar since the Tomb was discovered. They don't know what to think. Now that You're here, well, You must know how desperate the situation has become in the cities."

"I know more about what is happening in the cities than I care to. But you, General, perhaps more than anyone else, must realize that the unrest is not about Me. It is about what all those people are trying to believe. Its about what they were trying to believe before I was even known to them. None of them has any idea what I will say to them. They are all arguing about what I might say to them. And by that I mean something I Myself might say, not something from a State Department ghost writer. They are each filled with the unexamined ideas of centuries of mindless obedience. I represent a new idea, and I don't think people ever like to be placed in a position where they must actually think, then, even worse for them, be responsible for the conclusions they draw." Jesus had once again become a twenty three year old Brazilian native boy. His frustration with the whole condition of the country was obvious.

General Tower countered. "The interest of the United States government is to somehow quiet the streets. The rioting has been going on for almost three months now. People are getting hurt and even killed every night."

"Perhaps if You were to speak on television, give people a chance to know You a little better. It would be an opportunity for You to present Your message to very large numbers of viewers at once. After reaching the people in Your own words, perhaps You could persuade them to calm down a little. At the very least everyone would have a better idea of what to expect from You."

Sensing Jesus' uneasiness at the prospects of joining the television shows He and Juan had been watching, Tower proceeded cautiously. "We could videotape something right here in the Watergate. Afterwards, You can take a look at it to see if it suits Your needs. If You don't like it, we stop right there and figure out Plan B."

"Perhaps just a short trial video, one without makeup or music would be okay, General." Jesus was clearly already in full production mode. Juan whispered something to Him. "Since this is just a sample, would it be alright for Juan to be in it with Me?"

Tower laughed. "Of course, of course, any arrangement You prefer is fine. I'll get us set up." The General flipped open his telephone. "Colonel Nicholson, we're going to go ahead with the trial videotape. Get the equipment ready in the third floor studio off operations. We'll film a little after lunch."