Promises Pt. 02

When I posted the first part of this story I fully expected a barrage of indignant comments about my religious viewpoint. But none appeared. Could it be that those who would normally emerge from wherever to criticise me did not read beyond the opening statement, choosing instead to write it off as blasphemy? Or could it be that they could find no answer other than the Bible is the truth and should not be questioned?

CM.

Chapter 5

Trial Day 3

"But you wouldn't be questioning God, would you Pastor Mayotte? You would be questioning man's version of God.

Day three didn't begin at the normal time for a very good reason. Pastor Mayotte was conspicuous by his absence. "Mister Johansson, where pray tell is your client?" Judge Foley was not in a happy frame of mind.

"I regret to inform the court that my client has been taken ill and is at present undergoing treatment in a medical facility. I am forced to request an indefinite adjournment of this matter."

"Mister Henderson?"

"Your Honour, far be it for me to cast doubts as to the veracity of the witness' illness, but I cannot agree to an indefinite adjournment without compelling medical evidence to support such a request."

"I agree. Mister Johansson I will agree to an adjournment until 2:00pm at which time you will either produce your client, or evidence of his inability to attend. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes your Honour."

A rumour quickly spread around the court room that Mayotte had attempted, unsuccessfully, to take his own life with an overdose of prescription medication. He had been found unconscious by his wife and rushed to hospital where the prognosis was that he was expected to make a full recovery.

At the Shining Light Christian Church, a prayer session was in full swing, the music team was singing its heart out and the Pastors were exhorting the followers that were in attendance, a disappointing number as it turned out, to participate in a prayer vigil until such times as Pastor Mayotte was out of danger.

At the medical facility Pastor Mayotte had been enjoying a sumptuous breakfast with his wife and the treating physician in his suite. Mayotte's cell phone rang and he answered it. "Praise be to you, how may I help?" Those present could hear the agitated voice of Johansson. "What? They want evidence of my condition? Very well, if it's evidence that they want it is evidence that they will get. Leave it with me."

"What is the problem?" Cynthia Mayotte asked.

"That bastard Henderson wouldn't accept Johansson's word that I am ill and unable to be in court today. He demanded medical evidence and the Judge agreed with him. What can we say is wrong with me?"

"You can have a cardiac arrhythmia," His Doctor volunteered, "that sounds impressive and it's easy enough to fake, all we have to do is to down-load a real scan result and put your name to it. We can stall them by saying that we have to run a whole series of tests and it could be days before we get the results back."

"Let's do it! The last thing I want right now is to have to face that cynical bastard. He is taking great delight in tying me up in theological knots. I have to get advice from someone who knows the answers to these questions, someone who has been there and won. I can't lose this because if I do I lose everything."

"Have faith Darling, God will provide the answers."

"At the present time I am a little low on faith. I want a strategy, I want a way that will let me win and I don't think that faith will cut it right now. The first thing that we have to do is to buy some time, then I need ideas, I need advice."

A crisis meeting was in progress at the Shining Light Christian Church. Pastor Fenton had assumed temporary control of the running of the church. "We have to rally behind our Senior Pastor in his time of need! There have been vicious rumours spread that he has attempted suicide, I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. While we don't know at this time what the medical emergency is, and I have only now got off the phone to Cynthia, it would seem that he has had some sort of heart attack. The hospital is running further tests to determine the extent of the problem but it is highly likely that the events of the past three weeks have had a significant impact on his condition."

"We as a church have to be seen to be totally supportive of our Senior Pastor, so we will maintain a prayer vigil for as long as necessary. I have contacted all of our affiliated churches throughout Australia and they are sending their best 'prayer warriors' here in a show of solidarity and support. I have also contacted the Senior Pastor of our Parent church in America to alert him of our situation and seek advice. He is coming here, at our expense, to lead the fight against the devil who has dwelt amongst us for the last ten years. We must win this fight! We will win this fight!"

The whole administrative team rose as one in tumultuous applause and cries of 'Right on Brother!', 'We will win!' and 'God will triumph!' echoed through the room. They filed out leaving Pastor Fenton and Janine alone in Mayotte's office. "Tell me what happened." Fenton asked.

"Pastor Mayotte and I came back from the court yesterday afternoon and he was not feeling all that positive. I tried to comfort him the best way that I could but he just collapsed."

"Tell me what happened." Fenton asked more firmly.

"It's as I told you. He was feeling down so I was comforting him."

"How were you comforting him? Did you make him a cup of coffee? Did you give him a shoulder massage to ease the tension? How were you comforting him?"

"I was giving him oral sex, I was sucking him off, all Right!" She burst into tears. She was not prepared to admit to him of all people what had really happened. "If you must know, before I started working here I was on the game." She was safe in admitting this, he already knew. "I was a prostitute and he was one of my regular clients. He saved my life by getting me out of the world of the sex trade, pimps and drugs. It was the very least that I could do for him, and that has been the only way that he has been able to overcome the stress of this job and his life. He asked me to do it to him about six months ago because Cynthia had decided that she wouldn't do it anymore, and we have done it on a regular basis since then. It seems to be the only thing that relaxes him."

"I don't suppose..."

"Forget it!"

"There's no harm in asking. What actually is wrong with him?"

"Nothing, he is just trying to buy time until reinforcements arrive. He is scared witless that he is going to lose this fight and if he does it all goes."

"Does he really think that there is a chance that he could lose?"

"Just think about it. He said that what happened yesterday is just the tip of the iceberg. Henderson is the scout hyena and if he manages to sink his teeth in the whole pack will come swarming in and there won't even be any bones left to pick over."

"It sounds as if he is ready to pack it all in."

"No he's not! But he's a realist who has thought through the repercussions of losing. More than anything right now he wants support from all of us. We have to hold back the enemy until the cavalry arrives."

For some reason Fenton was pleased with this news. He smiled to himself as he left Janine, if he plays his cards right, his ambitions will soon be realised.

Frank and Michael were also in conference. Joan had just stepped out for a few minutes to help Chantelle get in provisions for the long haul. With Frank and Michael were Michael's clerk Jason, and Bill who Michael also used from time to time to gather information. "There's something fishy about that diagnosis." Bill was saying, "If he is as bad as we have been led to believe he would be in the cardiac unit wired for sound, but no, he has a private suite and no-one but no-one is allowed in unless Mayotte clears it. None of the nursing staff have been inside that suite for the last hour, just his wife and some tame physician who, surprise, surprise, just happens to be a member of the Shining Light Christian Church."

"Two can play silly buggers! I am going off to the court right now and I want a second medical opinion. If he's stalling then he is either just buying time so that he can get his head around this or he's got reinforcements coming in. Either way I want to force him back to court as soon as possible!"

Mayotte was back in court. Mayotte was not happy to be back in court. Mayotte was even less happy to be back in court after Judge Foley had finished with him. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again I will see you in jail for contempt of court. Who do you think you are trying to fool with such a transparent stunt like that?"

Mayotte mumbled an apology and braced himself for Henderson's next onslaught.

"Pastor Mayotte, the birth of Jesus was a pretty significant event was it not?"

"Of course, along with his death and resurrection it is the most significant in the life of Christians."

"If it was so significant, how is it then, that neither Mark nor John thought it important enough to mention in their Gospels?"

"I don't know. God must have had a reason."

"When one reads the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke one would think that the Magi and the shepherds would have been tripping over each other, wouldn't one? It must have been crowded in the stable, wouldn't you think?"

"I don't know where this is leading but I suppose that would have been the case."

"But it wasn't! Matthew mentions the visit of the Magi or Wise Men, but makes no mention of the shepherds while Luke completely ignores the Magi. It is almost as if these were two entirely different events."

"As I said before, there must be a reason for that."

"Pastor Mayotte, tell me where did the Gospel writers get their information, neither of them were there?"

"Jesus or his mother Mary must have told them."

"If that was the case then why are they so different?"

"I don't know."

"If Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus fled to Egypt, how was it that they were still in Jerusalem a month after his birth?"

"Who said that they were?"

"Luke, he tells us that after the period of purification, which is twenty eight days post-natal, Jesus was taken to the temple in Jerusalem to be consecrated, and it wasn't as if that event was kept quiet, we have Simeon, a Holy man taking Jesus in his arms and praising God and then a prophetess, Anna, came up to them and told all about the redemption of Jerusalem. Two things about this, it would have been the perfect opportunity for Herod to kill Jesus but that didn't happen and Matthew doesn't mention it, just as Luke doesn't mention the trip to Egypt. Now doesn't that seem just a little strange to you?"

"Who am I to question God?"

"But you wouldn't be questioning God, would you Pastor Mayotte? You would be questioning man's version of God. One more thing that bothers me about the birth Narrative Pastor Mayotte, why was it, that when Mary and Joseph were told by the angel to leg it to Egypt, because of the impending danger to Jesus, they didn't warn any of the other parents of young children that Herod was going to kill all boys up to age two? A couple of points need clarification here; as there is no time line to this story, how soon after Jesus' birth did this happen? Do you think it consistent of a loving God that He should allow all those innocent children to die?"

"I don't know! God must have had His reasons."

"Another thing that worries me Pastor Mayotte, when exactly was Jesus born?"

"On the 25th of December."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"Are you sure that this wasn't an arbitrary date set by the Emperor Constantine at Nicaea, and that just happens to be his own birthday?"

"No, it was on the 25th of December."

"Does the Bible tell us that?"

"It must be there somewhere."

"It's not. Apart from the fact that the Gregorian calendar in use today wasn't in existence back then, nowhere does the Bible give that date as the date of Christ's birth. Another thing that worries me just a little is that there are two other really major events in the life of Jesus that John doesn't mention, his baptism and the Last Supper. Why do you think that is the case?"

"He does!"

"Where does he?"

"In his Gospel."

"I have read his Gospel from beginning to end, and he doesn't, why would that be, Pastor Mayotte?"

"I don't know!"

"And you've never bothered to find out, have you?"

"I believe in the truth of the Bible!"

"What you mean is that you care so little for God that you can't be bothered to search for the truth, choosing instead to follow a teaching just because it sounds good and makes you feel good, not to mention the fact that it allows you to live a very comfortable lifestyle."

"That's not true!"

"What's not true? That you don't care about God, or that you live a comfortable lifestyle? You would have a hard time convincing me or anyone else that neither of those is true. Speaking as we were of the lack of a baptism and the Last Supper in John, we will explore these important omissions in greater detail later, something to look forward to I would think. Tell me Pastor Mayotte, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, why did he ride a donkey?"

Mayotte's eyes lit up and a smile erupted across his face, he knew the answer to this one. "It was so that a Messianic prophecy would be fulfilled."

"Wow! Go to the head of the class, but don't take your books, because you won't be there long! He used a donkey to tell the Jewish people that he wasn't the military Messiah that they were expecting, he wasn't there to free them from the shackles of Roman bondage, he was a Spiritual Messiah come to save them from their worst enemy, themselves.

Mayotte mumbled to himself. "I beg your pardon, what did you say?" Henderson knew exactly what had been said.

"It was nothing." Mayotte said quietly.

"Nothing? What you said was that you didn't appreciate having to sit here to be lectured on theology. Well Pastor Mayotte, if you had been taught Theology at Bible School instead of how to preach the Bible along Pentecostal lines, I wouldn't have to quiz you to find out how much, or in your case how little, you know about the very book that you claim to have implicit faith in, and which you obey in its entirety. All you learnt was the Scriptures that fitted the Pentecostal ideology and how to use them."

"Tell me Pastor Mayotte, I admit to being a little confused here, can you tell me why, in Matthew's account of this event, while Jesus is entering the city the people are chanting 'Hosanna, Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' then, in the same breath, they had to ask who he was, a little confusing, don't you think?"

"I can't explain that, there must be some mistake."

"Mistake? Did I hear you just say mistake? How could that be? It is the word of God and therefore without error!"

"I didn't mean that there was a mistake in the Bible, what I meant was that you have made a mistake in how you interpret it."

"I think your first reaction was the correct one. Now getting back to the passage; could it be that this was a rent-a-crowd that was ignorant as to the purpose of the procession and had to ask who Jesus was, and what it was about?"

"I don't know."

"Apart for the fact that the crowd didn't know who he was, the different accounts have different recollections of what was placed on the roadway, Matthew, for instance, has the crowd laying branches, what kind of branches isn't specified but it wouldn't have been palms because they have fronds, not branches. Mark and Luke on the other hand have cloaks laid in Jesus' path while John is the only one to mention palm fronds. Apart from the fact that we, as Christians, celebrate his entry into Jerusalem with 'Palm Sunday' it does highlight a discrepancy in the Scriptural recollections, how do you explain that, Pastor Mayotte?"

"I can't explain that, the Gospel writers must have got it wrong."

"But it is the 'Word of God'; it cannot have any mistakes in it, can it? Otherwise it could not be the inerrant 'Word of God' now, can it? Now when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem he went into the temple and drove out the traders, is this correct?"

"Yes, that's what it says in the Bible."

"When? When did he do that?"

"What do you mean when?"

"Well according to Matthew and Luke he did it on the day he arrived in Jerusalem, while Mark has him arriving too late to do anything that day and returning the next day to drive them out. Which one is correct?"

"I don't know, they both could be, but I'm not too sure about it."

"When does John have him doing it? The first day like Matthew and Luke or the next day as in Mark?"

"I'm not sure I'll have to look that one up."

"Don't bother, I'll tell you when, he doesn't! There is a mention in the Gospel of John of Jesus turning over the trading tables, but it was at the beginning of his ministry, not at the end as in the other Gospels. If you don't believe me look at John Chapter 2 verses 14 through 16. Do you find that hard to believe?"

"Yes."

"But if the Bible is the 'Word of God and is without error as you maintain, how do you explain these apparent anomalies?"

"I can't."

"Moving on to the Last Supper, again I find myself confused by some apparent variations in the accounts. For instance Matthew has Jesus predicting his crucifixion but the others don't, Matthew and Mark have Jesus and the disciples going to Bethany where Jesus' feet are anointed with expensive perfume, but Luke and John don't, in fact John makes no mention of the Passover Feast having been the Last Supper at all. In his Gospel he tells us that the disciples believed that judas Iscariat, when he left them, was going to make arrangements for the Passover feast. At the Supper Matthew has Jesus identifying Judas as his betrayer, while in Mark Jesus predicts his betrayal but doesn't identify his betrayer and Luke tells the disciples that this will be the last time he will eat the Passover feast with them before he suffers. Luke is the only writer to have Jesus passing the bread and the cup to the disciples. Matthew, Mark and Luke all have Jesus predicting Peter's denial. Luke has someone producing two swords and Jesus telling them that one would be enough. Not a very harmonious account so far is it Pastor Mayotte?"

"It wouldn't appear to be I must admit."

"John's recollection of events leading up to Jesus' betrayal are somewhat different. While he gives Judas a piece of bread to signify that he was the betrayer, it wasn't at the Passover Feast, in fact John has the disciples assuming that when Judas left them he was going to make preparations for the Passover Feast. Can you explain these differences given your claim that these Gospels are without error?"

"No."

"Off to the Garden of Gethsemane and more confusion. Jesus goes off on his own to pray, all right so far, Matthew and Mark have Peter, James and John sleeping while Luke has all of them asleep. Luke has an angel appear to Jesus to strengthen him for the ordeal ahead, while the other three don't. Luke has Jesus sweating tears of blood, the others don't."

"Now we come to Judas arriving with the soldiers to arrest Jesus, now you'd think that this would be pretty straight forward wouldn't you Pastor Mayotte?"

"It is."

"That's where you're wrong, it isn't straight forward at all! Matthew has Judas lead the crowd to Jesus and kissing him to identify him, Mark has Judas leading the crowd, calling Jesus 'Rabbi' and then kissing him, Luke has Judas leading the crowd and Jesus asking him if he is betraying the son of Man with a kiss, now John, John as a totally different spin on this whole affair. Judas guides a detachment of soldiers and officials from the chief Priests and Pharisees to Jesus. Jesus asks them, 'Who is it you want?' To which they reply, 'Jesus of Nazareth.' He answers 'I am he.' The question and answer are repeated and then Jesus adds, 'I have told you that I am he, if you are looking for me let these men go.' Now that is a very important moment, Jesus is confronting his accusers and begging them to let his disciples go, but Matthew, Mark and Luke obviously don't think it important to mention. Or was it that we know Mark and Luke weren't there, so would have no knowledge of this exchange, but Matthew was there, so why didn't he mention it?"