XII
Phase Two.
All systems check – ready for takeoff.
Queue the music.
The dentist’s chair reclined all the way back and that suction tube in his mouth always made Charles think of astronauts in liftoff position and Livin On A Prayer. Charles was already set to meet Alex in England or Scotland, nevertheless him still being in Denmark, where he had been attending some meeting with the Danish Customs Officials counterparts, which he also was, a Custom Official, that is; but, now, spaced out amidst the stare at the dentist light and her questions – why do they do that, anyway?, being, well, difficult to answer, given the circumstances –, but already thinking about his latest meeting with Alex.
– Another subject that usually is misinterpreted, is the episode of Abraham, where is said, in the Bible, that God asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. To my understanding, God doesn’t need that sort of thing so to know whatever it may be about a soul, as in, that episode happened, not because of God, for Him to know something about Abraham, but so that Abraham would gain self knowledge about himself.
Charles was very passionate about evangelizing, that being the reason for his nickname, Mr. Renfield, you know?, got to find lives for the Master...
– Jesus, when addressing certain subjects, apparently didn’t raise completely the veil over their mystery, when mentioning Elias, for instance, after His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, when He became brighter than the sun, and Moses and Elias appeared to Him, and a cloud descended or formed over Him and the Apostles that were there with Him, and the Voice of God came from the cloud, saying, this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. But, after the Transfiguration, when coming down the Mount, after Jesus having said to the Apostles not to tell anyone about what they had seen and Who He was, that is, the Son of God, until after He resurrected, to what the Apostles asked Jesus, then, why were the scholars saying that first, that is, before the Messiah, Elias would come first, because of what it’s written in the Book of Prophet Malachi, Jesus seems to have responded with something of a paradox, concerning that mystery, when saying, yes, Elias will come first. But I say to you, Elias has already come, and he wasn’t recognized. Understanding the Apostles that Jesus was referring to John The Baptist. So, how is this a paradox? Well, because Jesus is saying that Elias had already came, with John The Baptist, but He also apparently agrees with the idea of Elias coming again. At first sight, this could be confusing, and no one should know what to think about it. But you have to keep in mind the, let’s call it, dynamics of the Messiah, of Jesus, as in, well, The Messiah has already come, with Jesus Incarnation, but He will come again in His Glory. So, maybe, and this is just maybe, and speculating, before Jesus returns in His Glory, maybe Elias will come first, or the Angel of God, as is also written in the Book of Prophet Malachi, alike the first time, with John The Baptist, that is, so to prepare the people for His Return. Again, this is just speculation.
Charles thought of Alex as in being, metaphorically speaking, in a «spiritual place» similar to that elderly American Indian on that movie – what’s its name? run to the stronghold, you know?, Thunderheart, I think –, watching cartoons and stuff. He thought of God as a return to simplicity, so he took pleasure in the simple things in life.
– There’s this comparison that Jesus makes of the generation He was among, when He Incarnated, as of being like children defying themselves, in playing different types of music, and getting no response, as in, we played up beat tunes, and you didn’t dance, we played songs of lamentations, and you didn’t cry, then explaining: John The Baptist didn’t eat nor drank, and you said that he was possessed by evil spirits; The Son of Man, meaning Jesus, ate and drank, and you said, here’s someone that eats, drinks and that dwells with sinners. That is to say, do whatever it might be done, nothing goes through those hardened hearts.
»Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, Padre Pio, once said something interesting that is more or less related with this subject: some people are always questioning everything, why?, why?, why? It was because of that type of behavior that the world is in the state is currently in. As in, going down that road, at some point, the sky is too blue…, and the honey is too sweet…, etc., etc. It has nothing to do with a healthy thirst for knowledge, but when questioning everything, well, the human being has free will, so, it’s not impossible to set yourself to nothing will never be good enough.
Alex was someone that didn’t mind silence and being alone from time to time. Although that «silence» and being «alone» having to be well understood. That is to say, at some point, if he was to say what was going on in his soul, you would think that he was listening to Heavenly Jerusalem FM – hey, everybody, I’m glad to know that our signal is finally getting to the Pilgrim Church. For our first guest, we have a real treat for you. No, it’s not the Lord nor the Holy Spirit nor God The Father. Despite of broadcasting to you from Eternal Life, there’s no reason why not to keep up with tradition, that is, an Angel usually appeared first than Our God. So, our first guest is a Seraph. That’s right. Despite of, well, all of you might be guessing what he’s going to say. They always say the same thing! – So, hmm… how’s being a Seraph working out for you? Answer: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus. What time is it? Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus. I’m not kidding. It’s in the Bible. Book of Prophet Isaiah, I think. You can check it out for yourselves.
»I’m just playing. We love all Seraphs, as we do all of Our Lord’s friends. And, so you know that this is also an educational radio, for all of you that don’t know or might have forgotten, the word Seraph is related with fire or blaze, as in the fiery love that they have for God. God bless them for that! And thank You, Lord, for making such beautiful friends! That was also the way that San Francis of Assisi was called by his brethren, their seraphic father, given his flaming love for God.
– You can spit now – said the dentist.