Joe had only taken a few steps on
the trail when he noticed someone in the distance coming toward him. As he got
closer Joe realized it was Mr. Rick. He prepared himself to greet this odd
little man as they passed, but Mr. Rick stopped in the middle of the trail. He
stood there with that look Joe had come to recognize, a hand on his hip, and
held something out to Joe. It was a brown paper bag.
“Excuse me, sir,” Mr.
Rick said, “you neglected to take your sandwich.”
“But, I…”
“You expressly instructed me at
lunch to keep a sandwich for you. I can’t keep making things that people refuse
to eat!”
Joe was going to say “you’re
mistaken” but two thoughts came into his mind at that moment. First: Mr. Rick
did not have complete access to reality. Second: God loved Mr. Rick even if he
was crazy.
“Sure, Mr. Rick,” he said. “I’m
sorry if I inconvenienced you. Can I walk back to the house with you?”
“Yes, of course,” Mr. Rick responded
as he handed Joe the bag. As they approached the house Joe noticed a car in the
drive. Someone was visiting. He returned the book to the library. Mr. Rick had
told him dinner would be served at 6:30. That gave him a couple of hours to
kill. He went down to the TV room. It was more like a small theatre. It was a
carpeted room perhaps twenty feet square. There were no windows. The screen
dominated one wall. Opposite the screen were eight leather recliners in two
rows. The back row was raised up a foot or so from the front. There were
speakers at all four corners and another one over the screen. Joe found a
remote that finally turned something on, but he could find nothing that
interested him. He used to spend hours in front of a nineteen inch TV in his
apartment. Now here he was with access to a state-of-the-art system and it
bored him. Something had changed in Joe. He pushed the “off” button, leaned
back in the recliner, and closed his eyes. In a few minutes he was asleep.
Joe woke with someone speaking his
name. It was Lana.
“Joe, we’ll be eating dinner in
thirty minutes or so. You might want to wash up,” she said.
“Sure. Thank you,” he answered
sleepily. He went to his room and took off his shirt. He washed his face and
hands and put on the shirt with the fewest wrinkles. Traveling really limited a
person’s fashion options. If he spent much time with this family he’d have to
buy a whole new wardrobe. But that probably wasn’t going to be an issue. He was
leaving tomorrow.
When Joe got downstairs the
Cornells were already in the dining room. Each of them had a glass of wine.
“Am I late?” Joe asked.
“Not at all, Joe,” Mr. Cornell
said, “we just got here. Would you like some wine? This is a nice Pinot from a
little winery we visited on vacation last year.”
Joe said thank you and took the
wine. They sat in the same places at the table they’d sat for lunch and Mr.
Rick came in a few minutes later. He was wearing a white chef’s jacket and
black slacks.
“For our meal tonight,” he began,
“we will start with a baked truffled Brie en Crouté. We will follow that with a
Lime-Basil sorbet to cleanse the palate. Our main course will be grilled pork
loin in a blackberry-wine sauce and a three pepper salad. For dessert I have
prepared a lavender crème Brulee which I will serve with tea cookies.”
“Excellent, Mr.
Rick,” Mr. Cornell declared.
“Well, I hope you eat it this time.”
Mr. Rick sighed heavily. “After the sandwich debacle this afternoon, I’m
nonplussed and crestfallen to say the least.” He looked askance at Joe, then
turned sharply and walked out of the dining room. After he left Joe explained
the incident on the trail.
“How can I put this?” Mrs. Cornell
explained, “You have to be kind of ‘flexible’ with Mr. Rick. Things don’t
always line up correctly with him.”
“I understand,” Joe said as Mr.
Rick came back. Soon all was forgotten as they began to eat. It was the most elegant
meal Joe had ever eaten. Then Mr. Rick brought out the dessert. Like everything
else, it was wonderful. Even the coffee was better than anything he’d ever
tasted. When he commented on it Mrs. Cornell told him they roasted their own
coffee beans. The coffee they were drinking had been roasted only yesterday.
Their conversation over dinner had
been a continuation of lunch. As the meal wound down and they got up to leave,
Mrs. Cornell said, “Joe, you will need to wait until tomorrow to see Eddie.
He’s still in pretty bad shape.”
“Okay,” Joe responded, “maybe I
could see him before I leave tomorrow.”
“That would be fine,” Mr. Cornell
said. “By the way I’ve spoken with Ames
“Ten is great. Thank you,” Joe
responded.
“Joe,” Mr. Cornell continued, “We
were going to watch a movie this evening. You are welcome to join us.”
“I think I’ll do that.”
“Good. We’ll start in a few minutes
if that’s okay.”
They met in the little theatre Joe
had napped in earlier. Lana sat with them for part of the movie, but seemed to
have other duties that called her away from time to time. The movie they
watched was about a boy who had escaped from a prison camp after the war and
how he had to learn who to trust and who not to trust. The movie really touched
him because Joe saw himself on a journey. He hoped that someday he would find
his place and his people, but for now he was mostly alone.
After the movie the Cornells
retired for the evening, and again gave Joe the run of the estate. He wasn’t
tired and so he decided to walk up to the Perch. He got a cup of that wonderful
coffee from Mr. Rick in a thermal mug and went out to the pool. By the wooden gate
he found a light switch that lit the walkway on the other side of the door. The
walk wound up the hill to a pergola that covered a wrought iron garden bench.
The structure was mostly carved wood and lattice. Around the outside flowering
vines had grown up the walls. As Joe sat down it reminded him of the gazebo at
Gloryhaven. Only now he looked down on a vast expanse of city lights stretching
out below him. How long ago had he sat in the park with the statues and talked
to Philo? It seemed like forever. Had he made different choices he might be
leaving one of those skyscrapers about now. Joe heard the gate open below him.
Then he saw Lana walking up the path. She sat down next to him on the bench.
“Joe,” she began, “I owe you an
apology. When you arrived, I thought you were, you know…a loser. I thought you
were like Eddie’s other friends, but it’s pretty obvious you’re not. I can see
you are a man of God.” She looked at him directly. Joe felt uncomfortable. It
was not that he wasn’t attracted to her, she was beautiful, but the situation
was really odd. It just wasn’t appropriate. Joe stood up.
“I have been trying to be a true
follower of the Way, but I don’t think I…” she cut him off.
“No, Joe, I can see it. That is why
I came up here. I want to ask your advice.”
“Sure, anything. What is it?”
“I have been married for five years.
About three months ago my husband took me out to dinner and told me he’d been
unfaithful with someone at work. It lasted a couple of weeks and then he felt
guilty and called it off. According to him nothing more has happened with her
or anyone else. I had no reason to disbelieve him, after all he confessed of
his own free will, but I don’t know what to do. I love him, but the idea of
leaving him doesn’t seem right.” She started to cry silently. “So, what do I
do, Joe?”
Joe thought about that for a long
time. He didn’t feel prepared for this at all. But she clearly thought he had
something to offer. Finally he said, “I don’t know whether you should leave him
or not, but it seems to me, either way, you ought to forgive him.”
“I want to forgive him, but I don’t
know if it will change anything.”
“It will change you,” Joe
responded. “That may be all you can expect.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I know this much. I had a
hard time forgiving my father for a number of reasons, but I found out that my
bitterness had no impact on him, only on me. It almost destroyed me. I had to
forgive my father for my sake, even if he never knew about it, or cared.”
“I don’t know, Joe.” Lana
countered.
“What do you gain by not forgiving
him?” Joe asked.
“Satisfaction, I suppose.”
“Do you feel satisfied? Do you feel
better?”
“He broke my heart, Joe. How am I
supposed to feel?” She was crying fully now.
“Lana, my point is that if you forgive
him, he might respond, you might be able to save your marriage, and you can let
go of your anger. But if you don’t forgive him, your marriage will surely fail,
and your anger will eat away at you for a long time.”
“I guess you’re right,” she finally
said, “but this won’t be easy.”
“Get some help,” Joe said.
“Something wasn’t working your marriage before the affair. Find out what you
need to heal and commit to that.”
“Okay, Joe. Thank you. I think
that’s good advice. I’m glad I came to see you.”
“Can I pray for you?”
“Yes, please do.”
Joe prayed. After he was done Lana
walked down the path and Joe was alone again. Again he looked out on the city. He
had plenty of advice for other people, but not much for himself. He sat there
by himself for a long time. He sipped on the coffee and looked at the lights.
Eventually he went inside. The house was still. He slipped out of his shoes and
went up to his room as quietly as he could.
The next morning Joe woke up to the
phone ringing next to his bed. It was Eddie.
“I want to see you, Joe. Do you
know how to get to my room?”
“Lana can help me. Give me a couple
of minutes to wake up, okay?”
“Sure.” Eddie hung up. Joe looked
at the clock over the dresser. It was a quarter to six. He got dressed and went
downstairs. He couldn’t find Lana, but Mr. Rick was in the kitchen doing
something with eggs.
“Mr. Rick, can you tell me where Eddie
is staying?”
“Downstairs,” was all he would
offer. He didn’t even look up. Joe found a stairwell that led down to the
basement. Everything was dark, but at the end of a hall was a light coming from
under a door. He took a chance and knocked. Thankfully he heard Eddie’s voice
say “Come in” from the other side.
The room was dark except for a
light by the bed. Eddie was propped up with pillows. He still didn’t look very
good. Joe took a chair in the corner.
“Hiya, Joe.” His voice was weak.
“Hi, Eddie. How are you doing?”
“I’m hanging in there, man, but I
feel like…well, you know.” There was a pause, then he said, “I know what
happened.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you saved me. My mom told
me the whole story.”
“It’s nothing, Eddie.”
“No, listen. I owe you big time. I
know you don’t want money, but I want to make you a promise. I’m going to get
better. I’m going to get some help, quit drinking, and go to meetings. I know
I’ve said this all a thousand times, and you don’t have to believe me, but I am going to get better.”
“I’ll pray for you, Eddie.”
“That’s cool. I’ve been thinking
about God all morning, like he gave me another chance. I don’t deserve it, but
here I am.”
“I’m glad you’re alive, Eddie.”
“Hey, I’m really tired. When are
you leaving?”
“Ames is taking me into the city at
ten.”
“Come say goodbye before you
leave.”
“I will, Eddie. See you later.”
“It’s Ed now,” Eddie said as he
closed his eyes. “Call me Ed.”
“Okay, Ed,” Joe responded as he
went out.
Back upstairs Joe found Lana in the
kitchen with Mr. Rick.
“Would you like some coffee?” she
asked as she held out a cup.
“Definitely,” Joe said.
“Breakfast is usually about seven,”
Lana said as she poured. “You can do whatever you want until then.
Joe took his coffee and went out
and sat by the pool. There was a newspaper on the table and Joe picked it up: City Press. He browsed through the
headlines, but nothing really grabbed his attention. He had mixed feelings
about going back to the city. He was looking forward to renewing his
friendships at The Refuge, but the city had overwhelmed him the last time he
had been there. What would this trip bring?
They had omelets for breakfast by
the pool. Mr. Rick also brought out fresh squeezed orange juice, maple nut
scones and a carafe of coffee. Man, he was going to miss this food.
“Joe,” Mr. Cornell said between
sips of coffee, “I want to reiterate how grateful we are for what you did for
Ed. I know you don’t want money, but I would like to repeat my offer for a job.
It isn’t just that you helped our son; it’s also that we can see your honesty
and integrity. That’s something you don’t get on a résumé.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Cornell,
but-”
“I know, Joe, but here, take my
card. Call anytime. Even if you just want to visit, okay? We’d like to keep in
touch.”
“I’d like that too. Thanks.”
“Ames has the address and
directions to The Refuge. He’ll be out in front at ten.”
“That’s great.” Joe answered as
everyone rose from the table. “I wanted to say thank you again for your
hospitality. You’ve been very kind.”
“It’s been our pleasure, Joe,” Mrs.
Cornell said. “Please call sometime, you know, when Eddie is better. We’ll have
you up for dinner. Okay?”
“Okay.”
After the goodbyes, Joe made sure
he was packed and ready. Then he went back to the library and read until it was
time to go. As he stepped out in the hallway, Mr. Rick was there.
“Are you forgetting something?”
“I was just coming to say goodbye,
Mr. Rick.”
“Yes, I’m sure you were. But
wouldn’t you like some coffee beans to take with you?”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, I did, and here they are.”
He handed Joe a bag like you’d see in the coffee section of the grocery store
with the wire clasp at the top. “You are a nice young man, Joe, and I hope
things go well for you on the road crew.”
“Road crew?”
“Oh no, that’s not right. Uh, I
hope things go well for you in…in…in that place you’re going.”
“Thank you, Mr. Rick. I will miss
your cooking.”
“Well, I will miss serving you. Now
you have a nice day!” With that he turned sharply and strode off to the
kitchen.
Joe went back downstairs to Eddie’s
room to say goodbye. The light didn’t appear to be on so he tapped on the door.
No one answered. He didn’t want to wake him up, so Joe turned and headed back
down the hall. Upstairs he found Lana, said goodbye, and told her she would be
in his prayers. Then there was nothing left to do. Joe picked up his bags and
stepped outside. Ames had the Mercedes running and waiting. They put the bags
in the trunk and off they went. Joe chose to sit in front with Ames and they
talked all the way. As it turned out Ames was an aspiring comedian. He did
stand up some weekends at some of the local comedy clubs. He gave Joe a couple
of tickets. Then almost before he had time to think about it, Ames was pulling
to the curb in front of the main entrance to The Refuge. He put the car in park
and turned to Joe.
“Here’s the thing, Joe,” Ames said
as he took a manila envelope out of the glove box. “Mister Cornell told me to
give this to you now. He said there is some stuff in here that can help you get
started; contacts, people, that sort of thing. There is also a letter and some
other stuff. You gotta take it, Joe. Cornell said I can’t leave until you have
this in your hand.”
“Okay, no problem.” Joe took the
envelope and they got out.
“Be sure to come see my show.” Ames
repeated as he closed the trunk.
“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away,
Ames. Thanks for the tickets.”
“Okay, see you then. By the way
Joe, it’s Tom. Tom Ames.”
“We’ll see you, Tom.”
Ames got in the car and drove off.
Joe turned and looked at what he hoped would be his home for a few days-or
longer. He didn’t know what to expect. Should he just walk in like anyone from
off the street here at the main entrance, or should he go around to the private
door he’d been at before? As he was standing there he noticed a young man
leaning on the wall of the building next to The Refuge with his arms crossed. He
was wearing jeans, a black t-shirt and a short pea coat. He was smoking a
cigarette and staring at Joe. Joe wasn’t sure what to make of it, but then
subtly the man pointed at him. Joe wasn’t sure he’d seen right, but it felt
somehow menacing. When he took a step toward the man, he turned and walked
away. Before he could decide whether he should follow him or not he heard
someone call his name. He looked to see Sam coming toward him.
“Joe,” he said as he embraced him.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again. We weren’t sure…we’d heard stories.
We thought…well, anyway, I just got off the phone with a city councilman friend
of mine who told me you were on your way over. How is that possible?”
“Well, that’s a really long story,
Sam.”
“You can tell me over coffee. It’s
good to see you again, Joe.”
They put Joe’s bags inside and went
across the street to a little coffee shop. The sign above the door said: From
the Grounds Up. When they sat down Sam pestered Joe with a dozen questions. Joe
told him about the ship, the beach, Luther, Gloryhaven, and especially the mountain.
“There are a few people who are
really anxious to see you, Joe. How long has it been?”
“Two or three months maybe. It
seems a lot longer.”
“So, what are your plans?”
“Well, I’ve got a little money
saved. I was wondering if I could volunteer here for a while. Your work really
impressed me and I’d like to see if I have what it takes.” Joe raised his
eyebrows and looked expectantly at Sam.
“We’d love to have you, Joe.” Sam
said without hesitation. Why don’t you stay for a month? We’ll have a meeting
then and see what we see.”
“That’d be wonderful.”
“Let’s go back and get you a room.
Rachel,” Sam said to the waitress across the room, “could you put this on my
tab?”
“You bet, Sammy.”
They left and went back across the
street.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, Joe,”
Sam began, “but you’ll be on the top floor.”
“That’s okay,” Joe said, but he
looked up and saw the building was at least six floors.
“Thing is, the women are on second
floor, the third floor is short term guests. That’s where you stayed before.
The fourth floor is being remodeled. The fifth floor is mostly storage and
junk. That leaves the sixth. The good news is there’s lots of solitude. The bad
news is you have to use the elevator. Pol has an apartment there and there are
a couple of other rooms being used by other volunteers, so you’ll probably get
to sleep through most nights. Nice view from the roof too. Pol’s got a little
patio up there.”
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Joe
responded.
They went inside and Sam found him
a key. They went to an old elevator. Joe understood why it was bad news. The
thing rattled and creaked and jerked all the way up. Plus it was painfully
slow.
“There are no phones in the rooms
so if you want phone service you will either have to use the pay phone in the
lobby, or get a cell phone. We do have wireless internet. If you get a computer
you can get online, do email and that sort of thing from your room. Otherwise
you can use one of the computers in the library on the main floor.”
The door finally opened on Joe’s
floor. “Your room is down the hall to
the right. Pol’s room is to the left. Two other men have these two rooms,” Sam
said pointing. “I have things to do, so settle in, roam around, meet everyone
who is here, and I’ll see you at lunch. Then let’s have coffee tomorrow morning
and talk about what you can do here.”
“Thanks, Sam. This is perfect.”
Joe found his room and took his
stuff inside. It wasn’t a big room, but it would be adequate. There was a bed
and a small desk, a dresser and a closet. Across from the bed was a door that
led to the bathroom. He unpacked and hung his stuff in the closet or put it away
in the dresser. He sat down on the bed. He had a lot to think about. Then he
remembered the envelope. He opened it and found the letter from the Cornells.
The letter basically reiterated what they’d said at breakfast. They thanked him
again for his care for Ed. They appreciated his honesty. They hoped he would
prosper in the city. They urged him to keep in touch. That didn’t surprise Joe.
The other things did. He found several envelopes labeled: “Cell phone,” “Bank,”
“Car,”, “Computer,” and “Clothing.” He opened them up one at a time. The first
one had a card in it and a note that said: “If you plan to get a cell phone,
see this man.” The next one said, “When you go to start a bank account go to City
Mutual. The branch nearest The Refuge is just a few blocks away,” and they gave
the address. By now he was getting the picture. In each envelope was a contact
person who could help Joe out.
Since he still had most of the money he’d
earned at Gloryhaven, Joe decided to go start a bank account. He found the bank
branch and went in. The woman at the help desk got him started on some
paperwork and after a bit he was all set up. After his train ticket, food, and
the big tip for Suzy he had a thousand forty five dollars left. He kept the
forty five as cash and gave the bank lady the thousand. When she brought him
back his ATM card and checkbook she also handed him the receipt from his
deposit.
“So, you’ll be starting with three
thousand five hundred dollars, Joe.”
“That’s a mistake. I only deposited
a thousand.”
“Yes, I understand,” she said
smiling, “But someone put in a little bit to help you out. I was instructed to
tell you after the account was established.”
“I know who the someone is,” Joe
said. “I don’t know what to say. Could you tell them ‘thank you’?”
“I’ll pass it on, Joe. Welcome to
City Mutual. I put my card in your welcome packet. Call us for all your banking
needs.”
Joe left the bank humbled and
frustrated. He didn’t want to be a charity case, and he didn’t want to be
greedy, but what could he do? The Cornells clearly felt the need to help him,
and this was how they were able to do that. When he got back to The Refuge he
went up and knocked on Pol’s door. Pol answered and a big smile spread across
his ravaged face and he gave Joe a big bear hug.
“Hey, buddy, good to see you. Sam
told me you were here. Come on in. How are you?”
“Incredible, Pol, a lot has happened,
but the big thing is, I found the Seventh Truth. I’ll tell you the whole thing for
a game of Cribbage.”
“Okay, it’s a deal.” Pol got out
the cards and the board. Suddenly as he was dealing the cards, the smile left
his face. “Uh, I need to prepare you for something.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, there is someone who wants
to talk to you.”
“Felicitas?”
“Yeah, she wants to see you too.
But no, someone else. As soon as Sam told me you were back in town I told him.
He should be here pretty soon.”
Joe had a strange sinking feeling.
“Who are you talking about, Pol?”
Just then there was a knock at the
door. Pol stood up and so did Joe. The door opened. Nothing could have prepared
Joe for what he saw. It was Bruiser. Joe’s knees almost gave out and he had to
grab a chair to steady himself. But Bruiser looked shocked as well.
“Pol, I’m not ready for this, man. I
thought I was, but…I’ll see you later.” Bruiser turned on his heel and made a
beeline for the elevator. Joe was out of breath. Pol started.
“Sorry Joe, I was trying to tell
you Bruiser was here.”
“What’s going on? Do you know what
he did to me? Why is he here?”
“Joe, calm down. I know everything.
Well, I know everything that happened to you to the point where he threw you
off the ship. You’ll have to fill me in on what happened after that.”
“But, what’s he doing here?”
“Look, Joe. He wants to tell you. I
promised I wouldn’t say anything. All I can say is: a week after you left he
showed up. He told us what he did to you. He-well all of us-thought you were
dead. Then this morning Sam gets a call and this place has been a beehive all
morning. Look, let me make this suggestion. Why don’t you wait in your room
while I go find Bruiser? He really does want to talk to you. When I find him,
I’ll send him up. It’s going to be okay, I promise. Are we cool?”
“Yeah, I guess so, Pol. We can play
our game later.”
“I’ll see you at lunch.”
Joe went back to his new room. He
didn’t have much to do but sit and look out the window. He could see the coffee
shop across the street. He saw people behind windows in various buildings.
Everyone looked busy. Even the panhandlers looked busy. Pretty soon there was a
knock at the door. Joe’s heart jumped.
“Come in.” It was Bruiser. “Have a
seat, Bruiser.”
“I don’t know how you must feel
right now man, but just let me get this out. My whole life changed when I
tossed you off the ship. I really thought I’d murdered you. I’ve done a lot of
bad stuff in my life, Joe, but that broke me. As soon as we got into port I
quit my job and hitchhiked back here. I found Polycarp. I was lost, man. Pol
and I went to the police and I turned myself in, but with no body and no report
or anything, what could they do? I came to stay here. Pol and Sam have been
talking to me about the Seven Truths, Joe, and now I’m a follower of The Way.
But now that you’re here I feel relief that you’re alive, but I also feel guilty
seeing you and knowing what you must have been through. I’m so sorry, man. Is
there some way…is there some way you can forgive me?”
“Stop, Bruiser. Just stop it. You don’t
know what I’ve been through. Do you want me to tell you about my night in the
ocean, or being stranded on a beach, or…?” Joe was angry now. His anger
surprised him. He stood up. “Do you expect to just cruise in here and ask for
forgiveness and expect me to smile and say everything is okay? Listen, you
piece of garbage. You put me through hell, and for what? For what?”
“For nothin’, Joe. Bad mix of Blow
and Tequila made me crazy and mean.”
“Not much of an excuse if you ask
me.”
“I was fighting God, Joe. You were
just my whipping boy.”
“Not anymore, Bruiser. Could you
leave? It’s obvious I shouldn’t have come back here.”
“Bad timing, I guess,” Bruiser said
as he turned to leave. Joe noticed he had something in his hand. He held it
out.
“I brought your Bible back Joe.
I’ve got the rest of your stuff in my room.”
Joe just stared at the Bible.
Bruiser set it on the table and left. Joe felt awful. He fell back on his bed.
All those weeks on the beach and at Luther’s…not once did he imagine the scene
he’d just experienced. What came out of him just then was shocking. It made him
feel foul and disagreeable. Joe got up and opened his door. Bruiser had gone.
He took the elevator down to the lobby. No one was around. He wandered through
the hallways and pretty soon he smelled food cooking. The aroma led him to the
kitchen where a woman was at the stove. She didn’t see him.
“Hello?” Joe ventured.
The woman looked up and a big smile
came across her face.
“Lemme guess, you must be Joe.”
“Yeah, I’m Joe.”
“Name’s Marge,” she said as she
wiped her hand on a towel and then shook Joe’s hand. “You’re the one who came
back from the dead.”
“Yeah, I guess, though I wasn’t
really dead.”
“So, how’re you doin’?”
“I’m okay. I mean it’s good to come
back and all…” Joe trailed off.
“You okay, Joe?”
“Sure, why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. You don’t look all
that happy for a guy who just come back from the dead.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Hey,
can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, Joe.”
“I mean, we just met and all, but I
need to talk to someone.”
“Shoot.”
“Do you follow The Way?”
“Everyone here does.”
“Okay, what if someone did
something to you; something pretty bad? What’re you supposed to do?”
“Don’t you already know the answer
to that?”
“I suppose. I mean I think I
understand the idea of forgiveness, but I sure don’t feel like it.”
“You’re talking about Bruiser.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not a Bible expert like Sam or
Pol, but I know a story Jesus told. You wanna hear it?”
“Okay.”
“Seems there was this king, and a
guy owes him a ton of money. He can’t pay so the king’s gonna drop the hammer
on him. Guy begs for mercy and the king gives in. Cancels the whole shebang.
Doesn’t owe squat. But this guy goes out and runs into an old buddy a his. Guy
owes him a coupla bucks. Like meter money, or something. First guy blows his
stack. Has the other guy thrown in the pokey. King finds out about it and has a
cow. He has ‘em bring the guy to his place. ‘What gives?’ He says. ‘I cancelled
your debts but you wouldn’t cancel his.’ Guy’s got nothing to say. They throw
him in the slammer and that’s that. So Jesus says this is how God’ll treat us
if we won’t be forgiving.”
“I get it, Marge.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Say, I gotta finish
lunch. You wanna talk, come by anytime, ‘cept not before lunch…or dinner, I
guess.”
“See you later, Marge.”
Joe went back upstairs. He knew he
had to talk to Bruiser, but how? He felt no peace. He had spoken horribly to
him. He went back to his room and stared out the window. Nothing had changed.
The cars went by, people went in and out of buildings. Others walked through
the crosswalks. Once in a while he’d hear a siren or see a police car go by.
Life in the city. Then Joe looked up. His window faced a side street. It was a
fair day and Joe could see up the many blocks of the street. Between the
buildings far in the distance he caught a glimpse of the mountains. His first
thought was, “Well that’s nice. I’ve got a bit of a view from my room,” but
then he stopped. Was that where he’d come from? It had to be somewhere that
way. Joe had been to the mountain. He’d heard the Everysong. Then he thought
about all that had happened. He remembered the napkin Pastor Nate had written
on. He got it out. What was that part about forgiving others? Oh yeah, forgive
others as God forgave you. He remembered what Pastor Nate had said: ‘Let me say
that sometimes God will drop a lesson in your lap, and sometimes you will need
to reach out and take hold of what’s offered. That is how The Way works.’ Man,
this was both. God had dropped Bruiser in his lap and now he had to reach out
and take it. Here was the Bible Abigail gave to him. He thought he’d never see
it again, but… He looked up forgiveness in the concordance. He found several
passages, but the one that hit him the hardest was Jesus’ words in one of his
sermons: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your
Father will not forgive your sins.”
He thought about Bruiser. Yes, Bruiser
been unspeakably cruel to him, but he’d asked for forgiveness and it appeared
he meant it. It was almost lunch time, but Joe couldn’t eat without resolving
this. He remembered a passage he’d read at Gloryhaven one morning. Joe picked
up his Bible and went out. He didn’t know what room was Bruiser’s but after no
response at two doors, he found him. Bruiser opened at his knock, but looked
wary.
“Hey, it’s me now who needs to
apologize,” Joe began. “Who am I to hold back on forgiveness when God forgave
me? I’m sorry for everything I said. I may have meant it at the time, but I was
speaking out of anger and fear. I don’t mean it now. I do forgive you, Bruiser,
for everything. And I’m sorry for what I said. Can you forgive me?”
“No brainer, man.”
“Thanks, Bruiser.”
“There’s something else. Do you
remember where the ship was when you threw me off?”
“No.”
“So you had no reason to do it when
you did?”
“No.”
“God did, man.”
“What are you talkin’ about, Joe?
What I did was wrong. You said so yourself.”
“Yeah, I know it was wrong, but
listen. I got stranded on a beach for almost a week. There was no other beach
for miles.”
“So why is that important?”
“Well, first of all I probably
would have drowned if not for that beach, but there is another reason. While I
was there I managed to catch a fish. When I cleaned it I found a coin in its
mouth.”
“No way. Do you still have it?”
“Wait a minute. It turns out this
particular coin belonged to a young bride who had an accident on her honeymoon.
Her car went off the road into the ocean and she died. The coin was sewed into
her wedding dress which was in the back seat. That was like twenty years ago.
It had to be just a few months ago that a fish saw the coin and ate it.”
“And then you found that same
fish.”
“I found that same fish and here’s
the kicker: I also met the husband. He’d gone crazy over his guilt. You see,
they’d had a fight and she’d gone for a drive…”
“No way!”
“It’s a longer story that involves
several other people, but the conclusion is that when he saw the coin, and
figured it out, it changed him. He got his mind back. So Bruiser, you and me,
we were part of a miracle. There’s a place in the Bible I was reading on my journey.
Listen to this: ‘But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place
of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish
what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”’
“Hey,” Bruiser exclaimed, “His name
is Joseph too.”
“I noticed that.”
Joe put out his hand. Bruiser shook it vigorously. Joe
massaged his hand as they rode the elevator and reminded himself he was glad
they were friends now.Questions:
1. The
Parable of the Unmerciful Servant is the backdrop for this chapter (Matthew 18:21-35). What is Jesus’ conclusion to this parable?
2. In
what way did Lana have to come to terms with this truth?
3. In
what way did Joe have to come to terms with this truth?
4. Why
is forgiving someone for a wrong they’ve done so critical to our walk with God?
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