This is a continuation from Week 1.
All characters are fictional and bear no resemblance to any person, living or dead.
I wrote the original story around 34 years ago, with this version modified and updated.
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3
Through a gap in the trees alongside the road, Windsor Castle loomed in the distance, its west side illuminated by the pink glow from the rays of the setting sun. At this point, Roger spoke just after listening to the 9 o'clock news on Steve's car radio:
Russia invading Israel? Exactly what Ezekiel prophesied thousands of years ago!
We are in Windsor! Steve cut in. Let's hope we haven't lost our table due to our lateness. The last thing Steve wanted was another eruption from Phil, assuming that this Ezekiel was a Bible character.
Once in the town centre, the red Ferrari swung around a corner into a car park. After a short walk, three slender young students and one more muscular motor mechanic entered the diner and were greeted by a smartly dressed Asian waiter.
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| Steve's Ferrari. |
We have a table booked for four under the name of Mr Wright, set for nine o'clock. Steve announced apologetically. We are sorry for arriving late.
That's alright, sir. Come this way, please.
We were led to the only vacant table in the packed restaurant. The waiter removed the "Reserved" sign and handed each a menu. We then settled down. The diner offered a variety of menus from different nationalities, including Indian curry.
A vindaloo curry for me. Phil said, I like a touch of the hot stuff any time. He concluded with a smirk, watching for any response to the double meaning of his statement. We all grinned, including Roger.
I'm having a chicken Korma, I replied. I prefer the mild variety of curry.
All four of us decided to stick with curry. Although I prefer my taste to be mild, the other three ordered the extra spicy Vindaloo.
The waiter has arrived at our table. Ready to order, sirs?
Three Vindaloo curries and one chicken Korma, please. Steve spoke for the whole group.
After our orders were taken, a pretty blonde waitress arrived to offer drinks. Roger ordered a shandy, and Steve ordered an orange squash as he was driving. Phil and I went for a pint of cider.
I regarded Roger, an out-of-place motor mechanic, sitting directly opposite me and next to Phil, who, in turn, sat opposite Steve, who sat to my left. Roger had his elbows on the table with his cheeks resting in his hands. His eyes were closed, and I had the impression that he was engaged in silent prayer.
Presently, the waiter arrived with a couple of table stoves. On top of these, he laid three portions of Vindaloo curry and one Korma curry. He then disappeared and returned with four dishes of rice. We proceeded to serve our own curries from the two stoves.
The bold logo on Roger's T-shirt made my curiosity strong enough to ask about his beliefs.
Roger, we live in a scientifically oriented world where our knowledge of both physics and biology has rocketed to heights never dreamed of in history. We have technology unmatched in any past century, and our culture is the most sophisticated.
Go on. Roger prompted.
How can you have faith in a book written by ancient and ignorant men, who were bound in superstition and supposed divine miracles? The sun standing still and a talking donkey. Come on! Why, the Bible writers were just silly fishermen. They had none of our learning.
Roger looked somewhat hurt by my dig, and I felt that I had pushed a little too far.
The mechanic immediately asked, What is our calendar based on?
Well, what do you mean? I asked, hoping to delay answering.
We are in the 21st Century. Roger went on. From which apparently insignificant event do we base our calendar on?
From the birth of Christ. I was forced to respond.
Exactly! Roger confirmed. Now, we celebrate Easter, Whitsun, and Christmas each year, and we have been celebrating for the last two millennia. What do these holidays represent?
The life and death of Christ. I reluctantly admitted.
So, throughout your lifetime, you have been celebrating a load of myths written by foolish and ignorant men who lived two thousand years ago! Roger looked hard at me as he drove home his point. We have inherited our Western culture from the ancient Greeks and Romans. Among the Greeks in particular were great men such as Homer, Erastosthenes, Plato, and Aristotle. Do you believe these men existed?
Of course I do! I answered. Those men were gifted with great intelligence and wisdom.
Then why don't you have a holiday for each of them? After all, it's because of their great learning that your own knowledge is founded.
As a student in genetics, I couldn't answer. This mechanic had me stumped! And going by Steve's looks, he too was lost for words. On the other hand, Phil looked irritated, like black clouds gathering over the ocean and stirred by the strengthening wind. I was dreading what could occur in this crowded restaurant.
Roger, who sat next to Phil, was totally unaware of the student's irate mood as he continued his dialogue with me.
So, Jesus Christ must have been very different from all other great men. In fact, one of his titles is "The Word", which means he was God's spokesman. Roger continued. In fact, the Gospel of John opens with a dramatic statement. It reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Jesus himself said, "My Father and I are one".
And later, after his Resurrection, Thomas fell at his feet and cried out, "My Lord and my God."
Paul the Apostle also wrote of him:
"Who (that is Jesus), being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross."
And at another place, the apostle wrote:
"(Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and things on earth...all things were created by him and for him...for in Christ all things hold together."
And again,
"For in Christ all the fullness of his deity lives in bodily form..."
Barely had Roger finished his sentence when Phil exploded.
SHUT UP, DAMN YOU, SHUT UP FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!
He made a swipe, and the curry he had hardly touched went flying off the table. The carpeted floor softened the impact of the plate, saving it from shattering. He then rose, his face flushed, and began to make for the exit.
Roger arose and caught Phil before he made for the door.
Please Phil, no offence. It's my fault. Please come and join us, and enjoy the food. You can have my portion. I hadn't touched it. I'll order another. I'll pay for the lost meal. Phil, please come back and join us.
But Phil's anger wasn't calmed. Shaking off the mechanic, he shouted aloud, oblivious to all the other customers in the packed diner. Most of them had their heads down in embarrassment. However, a table on the other side of the restaurant had four casually dressed young men who looked on with glee. Entertainment like this was a very rare occurrence, especially between apparent toffs. At a nearby table, a young girl in a family of four began to cry, and her mother reached out her arm in an attempt to comfort her.
YOU IGNORANT FOOLS, ALL OF YOU! You let some stupid myths cloud your thinking. Damn that fabled Christ! Don't worry about me. I'll catch the bus home.
Realising that he still had his eating fork in his hand, he threw it, and, meaning to aim for the table, it clipped my cheek, leaving a sting.
I shot up from my seat, clenched my fists and would have felled him, had not Steve risen to restrain me by pulling at my shoulders from behind. Instead, I thumped the table, making the crockery jump as I shouted,
YOU MIND YOUR WAYS, YOU ARROGANT YOUNG PUP. Who the hell do you think you are?
I was gasping for breath just as the manager and the waiter appeared to see what the commotion was about.
I talk about what I damed well want to talk about, and I can say what I bloody well please! I exclaimed.
Please, George, Steve trembled as he pleaded. The cops will come, and we could end up in custody.
The thought of a police cell brought me slowly to my senses as Phil stormed out of the restaurant.
What's going on here? asked the manager as Steve, Roger and I resumed our seats.
Sir, there was a disagreement. Roger answered as he tried to play down the severity of the dispute.
Looks like you're about to have a fight, and frightening my other customers. He turned to glimpse the little girl whose face was buried in her mother's chest. I want you three to leave the premises. I'm not going to ask for payment, but if you don't leave straight away, I'll call the police.
With that, Roger interceded. Sir, I hold myself responsible for the commotion. The other fellow who caused the feud has already walked out. I'll promise to pay for the mess on the carpet as well as the lost meal if only you let us stay and finish our dinners.
The waiter sided with Roger. I have seen the commotion, and I can verify that the troublemaker has already walked out. The manager regarded the situation for a moment, then said to the group, Okay, you can stay, and don't worry about paying for the mess. But...He looked sternly at us all. A squeak from either of you, and I'll call the police to escort you out. Is that understood?
Yes sir. We answered like naughty schoolchildren at the headmaster's office. We ate our meal in silence. Despite Roger's intercession with the manager, we might as well have walked out. Our evening was ruined. Roger knew it, so did Steve, and I certainly knew it. Neither Steve nor I was bothered with religion, but thinking and talking about the subject was something I didn't mind too much, provided it didn't become an obsession. But I couldn't understand Phil's antagonism. I wondered what kind of childhood he had that had made him think and feel this way. Could it have been an ultra-strict church-going uncle who held a Bible in one hand, and a leather belt in the other?
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| The face of Windsor Castle loomed in the sunset. |
During the meal, Steve was regarding Roger in a new light. How he answered my objections and how well he interceded to save our evening were notable examples of his character. Steve saw how this mechanic took the situation with astonishing calmness. There was no anger, no rancour, no ill feelings, only the sorrow he felt for Phil. I now remember Steve once telling me that he had known the mechanic for most of the three years he attended university at Royal Holloway. He was a frequent visitor to the Padula household, whose parents had always made the student feel welcome and treated him well. I was also aware that Steve was not convinced that religion is all silly superstition, although he would laugh it down to save face with people like Phil and perhaps also me.
Yet, he knew from his university course on Archaeology that religion has always been the backbone of mankind to believe in and find some hope and comfort in a world where natural forces, sometimes unleashed, are mysterious yet devastating catastrophes on humanity, as his studies could well attest.
But the faith he has seen in Roger was not based on fear of divine retribution. Rather, it was a response to an apparent favour the gods have already done for mankind, and both Steve and I could see that Roger was enjoying the full benefits of such grace.
Tears began to roll down Steve's cheeks as we finished our meal.
Roger, this Jesus is so real to you. Roger, can I get to know him, too?
Why, of course you can, Steve! Roger exclaimed as his face suddenly brightened.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The mechanic continued, Jesus also said, "He who comes to me I will in no wise cast out. The Bible also says, "He who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
However, Roger concluded, the true Gospel is encrypted in one of Paul's letters, his first letter to the Corinthian church. In it, he wrote, "This is the Gospel that was delivered to you. That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, according to the Scriptures."
You see, when Jesus Christ was crucified, he died to take away all your sins, past, present and future. His shed blood can wash you clean forever, and his righteousness will be imputed into you, making you a son of God, and as much a delight to the Father as Jesus himself. What you need to do is to trust in the efficacy of the Atonement Christ has made for you.
Steve was visibly moved. Without any encouragement from Roger, he bowed his head, and I heard him say, Lord, I believe that you died for me on the cross, you were buried, and on the third day, you rose from the dead. Lord, I'm asking you to receive me and wash away all my sins in your shed blood. Lord, I thank you dearly for saving me, and I ask you for your redemption. Amen.
Steve looked up at Roger to find him weeping. I watched the two stand up and clasp each other in a tight embrace, which caused a few other customers to look on in curiosity, while I felt my own face flush in embarrassment and jealousy of such a blatant show of emotion.
Steve, Roger said as he gently pulled away from his student friend. He then whispered, God wants you to be like Jesus, and through his Holy Spirit, who has sealed you and now lives in you, he wants you to become more and more like him.
After about five minutes, the two resumed their seats as I summoned the waiter for the bill. The waiter soon arrived and took Roger's card and swiped it through the terminal, completing the transaction in barely a second.
George, why not accept my Jesus too, and complete the circle? Steve asked.
No, forget it. I replied. To me, Christ is still a myth. You are just upset over Phil's tirade.
No. Steve disagreed. Already, I sense a deep peace and joy within me. It has nothing to do with Phil. It must be supernatural, as far as I know, human emotions don't change so rapidly as mine have.
A peal of thunder rolled outside.
Strange. I responded. The sky was clear, and we enjoyed a lovely sunset while we drove up here only a short while ago. The British weather can be so unpredictable.
The thunder lingered. Instead of phasing out, as with the case of normal thunder, this grew progressively louder until the dishes on the table began to vibrate. People began to stare wide-eyed at each other as well as around themselves as they became alarmed at the very unusual occurrence.
Suddenly, both Steve and Roger stared wide-eyed at the ceiling.
ROGER! Can you see - up there, up there - through the ceiling - there - something in the sky, and I see stars appear to be rotating, orbiting around a central point directly above our heads...I...I...CRIKEY!
All I could see was the ceiling. Nothing abnormal whatsoever. except the earsplitting noise of the thunder. Then it happened. VOOM! Roger and Steve vanished - their clothing left draping on their chairs while the thunder suddenly diminished.
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To be continued.
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