The Third Truth

Joe stood there at the stop looking around and wondering what he might do next. This appeared to be a pleasant little town. He saw a park down the block. It was a nice day. He thought he might go sit there for a while. The park had a grassy area and benches, a covered area with tables under it and a playground. Joe sat on one of the benches closed his eyes and soaked in the sun. He thought he would read from his Bible before heading on, but as he reached to take it out of his pocket a dog trotted up with a ball in his mouth. It was a cute golden retriever and very friendly. “Hey, boy,” Joe said as he patted the dog on the head. The dog dropped the ball at Joe’s feet. When he didn’t pick up the ball the dog picked it up and dropped it again. Joe got the idea. He picked up the ball and threw it out on to the grass. The dog took off like a rocket and got to the ball before it stopped rolling. He picked it up on the run, raced back and dropped it at Joe’s feet again. On the third cycle of their little game Joe heard someone yell “Lady!” Apparently the dog was a female. He looked up and a young woman was walking toward his bench.

“I’m sorry if my dog has been bothering you. She’s friends with anyone who will throw a ball for her.”

“That’s okay. It was kind of fun.”

“She would wear you out trust me,” The woman said laughing. “I don’t think she ever gets tired of chasing the ball or a stick or anything you might want to throw. My name’s Lucy, by the way.” She put out her hand.

“Hi, my name is Joe.”

“Nice to meet you Joe. I haven’t seen you here before. Are you new in town?”

“Yes, I am. Do you live here?”

“All my life. I went off to college in the city, but I wanted to settle down here. I love this place. Do you mind if I sit down?”

“No, not at all.”

She sat and they talked for two hours. She was a pretty blonde with a ponytail tucked through the strap of her baseball cap. She wore a knit sweater and Capri pants. As it turned out they had a lot in common. They liked the same kind of music and a lot of the same foods. Lucy loved to cook. Her dad owned a hardware store in town. The conclusion of the matter was that if Joe was interested, she would talk to her dad about a job for him. She gave Joe her number and invited him to call her. She stood up, put a leash on the dog, smiled and said “Bye, Joe,” and walked away. As he watched her go, he found himself fingering the phone number and thinking about when he could call her.

Joe was starting to get hungry. He saw the cafe across the street and thought he could eat there and look at his Bible. The sign said: “The Rose of Sharon Café.” Inside were four booths, two on each side of the door, and a row of stools at the counter. There was a single rose on each table, and a rose trellis mural on the right wall. That explained the name.

There weren’t too many people in the café, so Joe took a booth. The waitress came and he ordered a hamburger and a cup of coffee. He decided that he would try to remember all the Bible verses he’d read on his journey. Maybe he could mark them for future use. “Let’s see,” he thought, “what were those first verses? Something from Psalms.” He’d remembered Philo talking about the Psalms. So he looked up Psalms in the table of contents, found it in the Bible, and then started thumbing though it hoping something would catch his eye. When he got to chapter 14 he saw that verse one had already been underlined. “Wait,” Joe thought, “that was the verse!” In chapter 19 he found the other verse underlined also. “Abigail must have marked these for me. How could she…?” There was no real answer for that. Apparently she knew. That was good enough for now. So Joe spent the next hour leafing through his Bible. He eventually found them all. He took the time to write the references in the order he’d discovered them, and a short summary of the verse, on one of the blank pages at the back of his Bible. Here is what he wrote: Psalms 14:1; Psalms 19:1; John 18:38; John 8:32; Proverbs 14:12; Ecclesiastes 3:11; Matthew 6:25-34; John 12:24-25; Luke 9:62; Matthew 7:7-8; Deuteronomy 6:4; Genesis 1:1.

The lunch crowd was beginning to file in and Joe thought it best to get on his way. He put the Bible back in his pocket, grabbed the check and walked up to the cash register. He had not thought about the money Abigail had given him until that moment. The cashier said: “That’ll be four fifty.” He reached in his pocket and handed her the money. Her eyes got big and she looked at him with alarm. She grabbed his arm asked a really odd question: “Have you been to Abigail’s?”

“Yeah, why?” And then he looked down at the money in her hand. Abigail had given him a hundred dollar bill. The cashier quickly put the bill in the register, gave Joe the change, and then turned to the waitress and said, “Cover for me, honey. I’ve got some business to take care of.”

“Okay, Sharon,” the waitress answered back.

Sharon was a woman of indeterminate age. She had thick black hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore red framed glasses. She was a little on the heavy side. She wore jeans and a black sweatshirt. Sharon took Joe down a short hallway. There was an opening to their left. They turned into the opening and immediately went up a flight of wooden stairs. At the top was an attic that had been converted into an office space. There was an old wooden teacher’s desk in the middle of the room. A wastebasket overflowing with paper was next to it. The desk was covered with paper, file folders and an assortment of coffee cups. Next to one wall was an old wingback chair. On the other wall was a couch. Over the couch was one of those black velvet pictures of a flamenco dancer. There was a filing cabinet in the corner by an old radiator heater. Lying on the floor in front of the heater was a German shepherd. When they got to the top of the stairs, the dog’s ears perked up and it came over to check Joe out.

“Don’t mind Adolph, he’s a sweetheart,” Sharon said. Then, “Have a seat…I didn’t get your name.”

“Joe.”

“Have a seat, Joe. What I’m about to tell you is vital. If Abigail gave you money that means that you are a follower of The Way. Am I right about this?”

“How’d you know the money was from Abigail?” Joe asked. “That can’t be the only hundred dollar bill in town.”

“She puts a little mark on it so I’ll know if she’s sending someone my way. So, tell me Joe, do you follow The Way?”

“Yes. I want to find the Seven Truths,” Joe responded.

“Listen, Joe,” she said almost in a whisper, “if that’s true, this isn’t a safe place for you to be. There are people in this town who don’t like followers of The Way. The only reason they leave Abigail alone is because she’s blind. They don’t take her seriously, but they totally underestimate her. That woman, in ways most people will never understand, is the most powerful person in this town, male or female.”

“Does she have a lot of money?” Joe asked misunderstanding.

“Oh, it’s not about the money, Joe. Sure she has some dough she got when she sold her husband’s business, and David sends money every month, but her power comes from something else. First of all, God’s hand is upon her in a mighty way and secondly, she has helped a lot of regular people for many years. If she ever was threatened, or got hurt, there literally would be an uprising. Anyway, Joe, I’m not worried about Abigail, I’m worried about you.”

“Do you think someone would hurt me?” Joe asked.

“Probably not in the way you think. You are in a dangerous place because you have not discovered all the Seven Truths. The big danger for you, the biggest danger of all, Joe, is that you won’t finish the mission. Listen to me!” She grabbed a coffee cup off the desk and slammed it back down. The noise shocked Joe. “This town is half filled with people who used to follow The Way, but now have all but forgotten it. It isn’t dangerous because it’s a bad town; it’s dangerous because it’s so damned nice! The City, down on the coast, is really bad. But that kind evil hits you right in the face, full frontal. You know where you stand with it. But here it’s different, Joe. Outside are pretty girls and good jobs and cozy cottages.” That made Joe think about Lucy. “One of those,” she continued, “could pull you off the path, but the three of them, and a dozen more you can’t even imagine, will destroy you. It will smother you slowly like a soft quilt you wrap up in, and then before you know it, you can’t breathe. Joe, if you want to continue on The Way, you need to get out of town, like asap. Don’t talk to anyone…You haven’t talked to anyone have you?” She said in alarm.

“Well, I met a girl in the park and she gave me her number.”

“It started already!” Sharon was almost yelling. “Joe, where’s her number?” Joe gave her the slip of paper Lucy gave to him. Sharon shoved it in a half-filled coffee cup. “Trust me on this, Joe. I’m doing you a favor.”

Joe did trust her, but he was confused. “What should I do now?”

“I think you should wait here until nightfall and then make your way to the river, and get on with it.”

Joe was stunned, but finally he asked, “So why didn’t Abigail talk to me about this?”

“I’m sure she would have, given enough time. My guess is she got a phone call.”

“Yes she did,” Joe exclaimed. “Why did you think that?”

“Well, she gets lots of phone calls. Most of them are from needy people she wants to direct to The Way. If she feels someone is in need, she tends to get rather focused. That is probably why she didn’t tell you everything about this town.”

“Sharon,” Joe said, “Are you a follower of The Way?”

“Yes,” she said quietly, “but I’m ashamed to say I’m a secret follower. I don’t have as much courage as Abigail. She led me to The Way several years ago. I could do more, but I lack faith. I’m afraid. But let’s quit talking about me. Stay here until tonight. Don’t leave this room. Your clothes are kind of ratty, Joe. Do you have anything else?”

“No.”

“I’ll get you something to wear and a little food. Do you have anything to carry it in?”

“No.”

“Here, give me some of your money. I’ll get you a shirt and some pants. What are your sizes?” Joe told her. “Okay, I’ll get you a backpack. Is that all right?”

“Well, I had stuff at one time, but I lost it all,” Joe explained.

“Yeah, I know about that. This is different.”

Sharon took the money from Joe and left. When she got back she had the clothes.

“Here you go, Joe. Change into these. I’ll check back with you later.”

Joe hung around in the office. He read his Bible. He read magazines. He dozed on the couch. Sharon came up around dinnertime with a deli sandwich a plate of French fries, a slice of blackberry pie and a glass of milk. After the dinner rush Joe could hear them downstairs cleaning up and closing. When it got dark Sharon came up with a backpack.

“I put a thermos of coffee in here, a couple of sandwiches, an orange and some cookies. I also got you a flashlight. The rest of your money is in the outside pocket. God bless you son.”

Joe was moved. “You’re the best, Sharon. If it weren’t for you and Abigail…” he trailed off. Sharon hugged him and then guided him back down the stairs and out the back door where she hugged him again and then sent him on his way. He’d been hugged more today than any other day in his entire life. He never really had a mother, now he felt like he had two. Life was good. He was in an alley. Sharon told him to head down to the end of the alley, which was about three blocks. From there he would find a path between a warehouse and an abandoned gas station that would lead him back to the river. He was to follow the riverbank downstream until he came to an old dock in front of a fishing shack. The man who owned the shack was her uncle Rocky. She told Joe to hire Rocky to take him down the river. Joe realized why she had chosen this way: the alley was littered and ugly. There were dumpsters, piles of cardboard boxes, and steel drums all along the alley. The pathway also led through an unattractive part of town. She was keeping him from the lure of beauty. The last thing she whispered to him was: “Remember Lot’s wife.”

The trail was just as Sharon had described. Past the warehouse was a field, and beyond that he could see the river. At the river the trail ran into another trail that followed the bank both ways. Joe turned west. After a few hundred yards Joe heard a sound. Then up ahead he saw an odd sight. Someone was lying in a hammock tied between two trees. Beneath him was a small radio. It sounded like a baseball game was on. Hanging from a rope was a big light. As Joe approached he recognized the person in the hammock. It was Philo. He was writing on a yellow pad. He looked up and said, “Joe, it’s good to see you. I was hoping you’d come by this way. How have you been?”

“I think,” Joe said, “that I have never been better. What are you writing?”

“Nothing much. It might end up as a poem for a friend of mine. So what has been happening since I saw you last?”

Joe told him everything. When he was done, the old man closed his eyes and smiled. “Ah, Joe, you’ve listened well and made good choices. Press on son, and don’t ever look back.”

“Are you Sharon’s uncle?”

“No, but I’ve met him once or twice. I know Sharon. I stop in her place when I’m passing through. She makes a great club sandwich. So, what have you decided about the Seven Truths?”

“A lot of it makes sense to me, Philo, but I’m still not a hundred percent convinced. I am just taking it one step at a time. I want to be sure.”

“I think that’s best anyway. Plus I’m glad to see you’re moving on from here. This town is a distraction.”

“Sharon told me as much. Listen, Philo, thanks for your guidance. I wouldn’t have gotten down from the mountain without you.” Joe sat down and they talked until it was late. Finally the old man said, “Joe I have to scoot. If you want you can sleep on this hammock and head down river in the morning. The owner of the property is a friend of mine. No one will bother you.”

“That would be great, Philo. Thanks.”

“I’ll see you around, Joe,” Philo said, and with that he walked off into the darkness with his radio.

Joe slept on the hammock that night and resumed his walk the next morning. He walked about a half an hour before he came upon the shack. No one was home. He found a tree and sat down under it to wait for Sharon’s uncle. That gave him time to find out about Lot. He looked in the table of contents, but there was no book of Lot. But he did notice that the Bible had something called a concordance. He didn’t know what that was but he turned there to find words with Bible references after them, and there was Lot. There were several references to him in the book of Genesis, particularly in chapters 18 & 19. He knew where Genesis was so he turned and read those two chapters. It turned out that Lot’s wife looked back at the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and was turned into a pillar of salt. That advice from Sharon was good. He’d try to keep it for a long time. After a couple of hours, he ate some of the food for lunch.

Joe was reading on in Genesis when he heard the sound of a motor. Pretty soon a boat pulled up to the dock. At the wheel was a man who squinted at Joe like a gunfighter. He was short & stocky. His bicep was as big as Joe’s leg. He had a head full of black hair that probably hadn’t been combed in a decade. He wore cutoff jeans, a Starbucks t-shirt, and deck shoes. Without getting out of the boat, he said, “Whozat? Who be atta my dock?”

“Uh, my name is Joe. I’m a friend of Sharon’s.”

“’Kay. Whizzit ya want?”

It took Joe a second to translate that into ‘Okay. What is it you want?’ Then he said, “Sharon said I might be able to hire you to take me down the river.”

At the prospect of money, he got out of the boat, wiped his hands on his jeans, and came over and shook Joe’s hand. He smelled like fish and gasoline.

“Name’s Rocky. Yoosta box. Frens call me Rock. Whereja wanna go?”

Joe said, “I’d like you to take me to the city, if that’s possible.”

Rocky looked at Joe for a long time. He thought he was going to say no and send him away. He crossed his massive arms, and buried his chin in his chest. He closed his eyes and thought. Joe waited. Finally, as if coming to a decision Rocky said,

“Dat a be twent’ dolla, plus dinna. Pay now ora latta, ‘sokay eeder way.”

Joe thought about this for a moment, then said, “I’ll pay you ten now. We stop wherever you want to eat and I’ll pay for dinner. You get the other ten when we get there.”

“Datza good deel, Joe. Git inna da boat.”

As they made their way down the river, Rocky stayed at the wheel and Joe sat on a bench seat at the back of the boat that still bore a few remnants of foam padding. He located the largest piece and balanced himself on that. The long periods with no sound but the motorboat and the splashing of water gave Joe time for reflection. It was then he remembered that Abigail had written something in his Bible before she gave it to him. He turned to the presentation page and read: “#3 – 1 John 4:16.”

Certainly the #3 had to be a reference to the Third Truth. Joe found John 4:16 and it read: “He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” That didn’t seem to be right, so he looked at the inscription again and noticed there was a 1 in front of the John. Down the list he found 1 John 4:16. It read: “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” Abigail had underlined this verse. She had also put two lines under “God is love.” So the third truth is God is Love. Why that now? He had seen aspects of God’s love on the mountain. Then he read the verse again and saw the part that says “whoever lives in love lives in God.” Now he understood. God can love us directly, and he does so in many ways, but he more frequently loves us through people. God had loved him through Philo, Abigail, Sharon, and now Rocky. It had become clear that Rocky followed the way, he saw an old Bible stuffed in his back pocket. Also, Joe had slowly realized that the trip to the city was worth more than twenty dollars and a meal. It was quite a ways. Joe closed his eyes and let the sun hit him full on the face.

Just before sunset Rocky pulled the boat up to a dock that appeared to be marine parking for a restaurant. They sat down at one of the outside tables, and a young man walked up.

“Hey, Rock, what’s up?”

“Gotta fren here need to a tase somma youse fich and chips.”

“Two orders of fish and chips. Large or small?”

“Whenya livin’ large, man, ain’t no place fer a da small. Gimme two larges. Yeah, anna gimme a large Dokker Pep, an…whatta youse want to drink Jogo?”

“Same fer me.” Joe was beginning to talk like Rocky. “Jogo?” he thought. Where did that come from?

“So, Rocky…”

“Call me Rock.”

“Okay. So, Rock, I saw your Bible. Are you a follower of The Way?”

“I am, Jogo.”

“How did you find out?”

“Howja tink? Dat Jess’ anna hees wife Abbie.”

“What do you think of Abigail? She’s quite a woman.”

“Dat’s a wun fine dame, Jogo. Year afta Jess die, I tinka mab’ I ask a her to marr’ me. I don’ a wanna her ta be alone. But den I tink a blind dame prob’ not too good at a cleanin’ fich. I dunna no. Dat’s a probba bad ting ta say ‘bout her, she a fine dame. Fine dame inna my book. An’ innaway I’ma too ole, an’ I canna read. Watta kinda husban’ I a gonna be, huh? Hey, hers da fich. Les’ eat!”

The waiter put a couple of wicker baskets on the table filled with food, and then Rocky said, “Hey, Jogo. You wanna pray fer da fich?”

That was a bit of a surprise for Joe. He didn’t feel comfortable praying, since he was so new at it. But he thought it was about time to learn. “Okay, Rock. I’ll pray,” he said. They bowed and Joe didn’t think he needed to worry about anybody making fun of them. Rocky looked pretty tough. “Dear God,” he began, “thanks for this food. And thank you for loving us. Amen.”

“Dat’s a good one Jogo. Youse praya good.”

The fish and chips were excellent. In the basket were three large Halibut filets covered in batter and deep-fried. Accompanying the fish were French fries, tartar sauce and ketchup. The soft drinks were brought out in large fruit jars with ice. It was more than he could eat. When he paid for the meals the bill was only $9.50. He was amazed. Then Rocky told him, “Owners’ a fren a mine.”

They got back in the boat, and headed down the river. This time Joe sat up by Rocky and they talked the rest of the trip. Rocky felt that Joe shouldn’t linger in the city. “Eetsa bad joint alla round, Jogo,” was his description of the place, “spesh’ fer sum’n new to da Way.” By the time they got to the city it was completely dark. Rocky turned his boat in between two docks. He pulled behind a sea-going fishing boat. Rocky tied off the motorboat and they climbed up a short ladder to the dock.

“Dees here’s ma fichin’ boat, Jogo,” he said pointing at the big boat. Les’ git aboard.”

They walked a gangplank up to the boat, and Rocky unlocked the pilothouse. After they got inside he handed Joe the key. “Youse keepa dat, jus’ in case. I gotta nudder wun. ‘Sokay?” Joe nodded. Then Rocky rummaged through a couple of cupboards, and finally found a fold up map. They went back to the galley and Rocky spread the map out on a table.

“Now, youse lissen, Jogo, whila I talk, ‘sokay?”

Joe nodded again, “Yeah, Rock, ‘sokay.”

“Hey, lissen you! Youse talka lika, da Rock! Dassa ahrite!” He grabbed Joe on the back of the neck and sort of rocked him back and forth a couple of times. It was a sweet, kind of macho gesture. He touched the map with his forefinger. “Hers us.” Then he touched a place on the other side of the map. “Hers a fren can help you. Sam. He gimme hees a dress & numba on deesa card. Say’f inna wun need a help, he c’n help ‘em. I tink youse go seea dat man a good ting. Hees a good’n dat one is. Holy man. Me tink he c’n tella youse ‘bout da four. C’n pray fer ya ifn nuttin’ else, ‘sokay, Jogo?”

“That’s perfect, Rock. Thanks, man. I’ll never forget you.”

“Eesta late. So I’ma tink youse c’n sleep her, and go ta da holy man tomarra. Jus’ lock up whenja go, ‘sokay?”

“Again, Rock, thank you. Now, I think we need to settle up.” With that Joe got out his money.

“Lissen, Jogo, I been tinkin’ ‘bout dat moeny. I doan needa da bucks. I gotta plent’ money. Fak is, Jogo, I likka ta giva you sumpin’, whachu say?”

“Rock, you’ve already given me more than you can imagine.”

“Whinjur bertday, Jogo?”

“A couple of months.”

“Cupla munce, who noze? Lemme giva youse a presn’ now. ‘sokay?”

“Rock, what can I say?”

“Say yull taka my giff.”

“ ‘sokay, Rock. I’ll taka youse giff.”

“Das right, Jogo! I lika youse berra much. Now, I’m giva youse a coupla hunnert bucks. Doan look so shock. I gotta lotsa more. Fak is, ifn youse needa more, youse gotta key. Anna time, Jogo, anna time atall.” He shook Joe’s hand. He hugged him. He grabbed Joe’s neck and pulled him into his chest and clapped him on the back three or four times. Then, as they were walking out, he said, “I neva gotta wife, neva gotta son. Lemme say dis, Jogo, youse do a lot more fer me dan I do a fer youse. Datsa fak! I hope a see youse sumtime, ‘sokay?”

            “It’s a deal, Rock. I’ll be seeing you, man.” Rocky grabbed a can of gas, climbed back down to his motorboat, and topped off the tank. Just before he started the engine, he yelled up at Joe, “doan fergit, Jogo. Youse owa me ten dolla! Then he burst out laughing, started the boat and drove away. Joe laughed too, and then he turned and went inside feeling more loved than he ever had in his entire life. He thought he’d figured it out when he had learned to believe in the right things, but love gave those beliefs substance. It made the beliefs real. He went back to the galley and drank the rest of the coffee from his new thermos. He saw a plaque on the opposite bulkhead that read: “Proverbs 20:6.” He found Proverbs in his Bible, and it read: “Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?” Rocky had said he couldn’t read, but he was a living example of this message. He read his Bible for a while, then he studied the map and planned out his route. After a while he got sleepy. He decided to sleep right there on the padded bench. It was hard to imagine that just this morning he’d swam out of a cave. It didn’t take long for the gentle movement of Rocky’s boat to lull him to sleep.
Questions:

1. What is biblically significant about the name of the café Joe stopped in?

2. Why was the town a dangerous place for Joe?

3. In what things or people did this danger lie?

4. What was the issue with half the people in the town according to Sharon?

5. What is the difference between the city on the coast and the little town?

6. Which do you think would be the harder to live in for a Christian?

7. What is the Third Truth?

8. How had Joe experienced this truth after he got off the mountain?

9. How is Lot’s wife an illustration of Joe’s situation?

10. What is different about Rocky in terms of the Christian life?

11. In what way was Rocky a living example of Proverbs 20:6?