THE ETERNAL MESSIAH:
Jesus of K'Turia
by
W. R. Pursche &
Michael Gabriele
Copyright 2011 W. R. Pursche and Michael Gabriele
hardcover


           

           
             From the top of the amphitheater, on the knoll, a tall man stood and
    called out, “The Pertise have long told us that the Law and the Way are one
    and the same, that we cannot find the Way without following the Law
    exactly.   And the Law says that we must keep the Order, and make our
    Sacrifices, so that stability and harmony will be maintained. We have been
    taught that this is how we reach Paradise, and how we avoid suffering in this
    life, and in the next. Are you saying this is wrong?”
            “You have heard,” said Jesus, “but you have not yet understood. You
    have heard my story of the two farmers, but you have not understood that the
    Way is more important than the Law.
            “Let me tell you another story. A rich builder is walking along a road.
    Behind him come the farmers who work his land, pulling a cart laden with
    food. Now a poor village woman happens to be walking on the same road,
    just behind the farmers, carrying a very small sack.  Sitting along the side of
    the road are two invalids. The invalids call out to the rich builder, ‘Please,
    share with us some food!’  The builder stops and sees the farmers and the old
    woman watching him, and he puts on a great show of giving the invalids a
    large basket of food, and then he goes on his way. As the poor village woman
    passes the invalids, she stops and empties her sack at their feet, and two
    shriveled pieces of fruit tumble out. ‘Here,’ she says, ‘you can have this fruit.’
    And she picks up her empty bag and walks away.
            “Now I ask of you, who has made the greater Sacrifice? The rich builder,
    because he has given them a large basket of food, or the old village woman,
    who has given away her only two pieces of fruit?”
            No one answered, and Jesus continued, “There is nothing wrong with
    Laws, but they cannot become more important than the Way. And the Way
    is one of Sacrifice, not because the Laws demand it, but because love
    demands it. The Way is about love and compassion. Sacrifice is about
    helping others, as you are able, to the best of your abilities, no matter what
    your place in the Order.”
            Jesus pointed at the temple steps. “Those steps lead into the temple, where
    they continue on, up and up, to the altar. When you are there, the rich sit
    closest to the altar, and on the steps behind them and below them come those
    lower in the Order, all the way down to the traders, who have to strain their
    necks just to see the priests.”
            He pointed at the people in the front rows. “You here, you are builders.
    And you back there are craftspeople, and behind you, the caretakers, the
    farmers, the traders. You have sat according to the Order! Yet here in this
    amphitheater, the rich are down below, and the poorest are above. Who is to
    say which Order is right?
          “Wake up! You have been willed to sleep by the rituals of the Laws. You
    live as sleepwalkers, blindly groping in the dark. Before you can see, you must
    awaken! The Laws have trapped you in a life of stagnation. You have so
    come to rely on those who tell you what to do that you no longer think of
    what you need to do yourselves!”        
            Someone called out, “But Jesus, if we do not follow the Order, how will
    we survive?”
            “By not letting the Law become an empty ritual.  If you do, you will live
    only out of habit or out of fear. If you live out of habit, you simply expect
    everything will fall into place for you. There is no sacrifice in this. You must
    do more than what the Law tells you to do. You must think of what you are
    responsible for, and what you need to do for others. And if you live out of
    fear, you will not be making true sacrifices. A sacrifice is not a payment of a
    debt or a tax, it is an act of love and compassion. Sacrificing because you
    want to help others is what will keep you alive! It is what will keep you in
    peace, and show you the Way to Paradise.”
            The crowd was silent. Finally the tall man spoke again, almost
    beseechingly. “But if we do not make the Sacrifice as we have been taught,
    how will there be anything ready for us in Paradise?”
            Win’s gheris surged as Jesus replied, “The sacrifices of the Way are not
    about things! Your life is about who you are and how you act, not what you
    own. Those who covet possessions, who keep what they do not need, who
    dress themselves in finery—none of these people will find the Way, for you
    will not need things in Paradise! Material things are a sign of greed, not
    sacrifice!”
            There was a shocked silence. People shifted uneasily and cast wary glances
    toward the temple.
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