The Eternal Messiah Jesus of K'Turia

Excerpt 2

Prentiss paused in indecision. She desperately wanted to hear what
Jesus was saying, but she did not want to intrude upon the small
gathering. Finally she began to make her way through the trees, trying
to be as quiet as possible.
She got as close as she dared, and began to listen.
“Just as this fire keeps the dark at bay, so too can Light show you the
path to Paradise. Without the Light you can stumble, or be led astray.
The Light is the Truth, it will lead you along the right path, the true
Way.”
Jesus paused, and one of the disciples asked, “Where do we find this
Light to guide us?”
Jesus turned to him. “Tthean, that is a good question. Let me tell you.
The Light is within you! Each of you have this Light, but it has been
obstructed and dimmed by the corruption of the Way. You have
become so intent on maintaining the rules and rituals of the Law that
you have not nurtured your internal Light. Blindly following the Laws
have made you blind to the Light that is within you. You must rekindle
this Light, just as you would light a lantern, or as you did this fire. This
Light will guide you, so that you will know the Truth, and you will be
able to shout it for all to hear. Such a Light is also a beacon, and it will
attract anyone who seeks the Truth. And the Truth will overcome even
those who deny they are in darkness.”
Prentiss felt a rush. Once again it sounded as if Jesus were speaking to
her. For this was what she was trying to do, bring truth to the
disbelievers, those who rejected what she knew to be true. But she had
been unable to open their eyes, for they refused to accept that their
minds were closed.
“Jesus, do we all have this Light?” Prentiss put her hand to her mouth.
Had she spoken? No, it had been one of the women around the fire,
voicing the very thought in her mind.
“You do!” said Jesus. “But you must believe it is in you. Until that time
I will help you, I will be your Light. And I will walk ahead of you on
the path to Paradise; you have only to follow my footsteps. Yet you
must do more than follow blindly along. I can show you the Way, but
you must choose whether or not you will walk the path. And once upon
it, how you will walk the path.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” the woman asked.
“No! Think of it this way,” explained Jesus. “You are walking on a
road through the hills, and you reach a crossroads. You do not know
which way to go. You see me there at the crossroads, and you ask of
me: ‘Which of these roads will lead me to Paradise?’ And I say to you,
‘As long as you stay on the road that I will show you, they all do!’ Thus
each of you will walk the path a little differently, for the path is one of
sacrifice, and helping others. Each of you will make different sacrifices,
each to your own gifts. This is why I say that you can be shown the
paths, even though you are not blindly led.”
“But the Pertise and priests tell us there are many rules we must follow
to find the Way—and if we don’t follow the Laws we will suffer. Are
their teachings wrong? What of the Order?”
“You must discover the Truth, and then choose to follow the Way of
your own volition, not out of fear. Remember my words: there can be
no true peace while there is fear. If you choose the path out of fear and
compulsion instead of belief, you will be lost. Many of the priests and
the Pertise are good people, and those who are will find the Way. But
many others have become lost to meaningless rituals which have
crowded out the real reason that the Laws were created. They have
become slaves, shallowly following a set of rules, thinking such a life
will lead them easily to Paradise. What sacrifice is there in this? I say to
you: the true Way is not one of harsh rules and punishment. Yes, you
must make many sacrifices, but these sacrifices must be those you
choose to make out of love, not those you are told to make. The
Sacrifices of the Order are not the sacrifices of the Way. They are
nothing more than taxes, material goods and other things from with-
out. Surely there will be times when a sacrifice of a worldly good is
worthy and right, such as when you help your neighbor by giving him
food when he does not have enough to eat. But you must do more. You
must give something of yourself, out of love.
“The suffering which the priests threaten you with is nothing more than
a creation of the Pertise, a yoke to hold you in their power. If you act
out of love, there will be no need for you to suffer.”
“I still do not understand, Jesus,” said another. “The path we have been
taught by the Pertise is very clear. The Laws tell us exactly how to act,
how to live. It is very real. Yet you tell us we must decide how we will
walk the path, and which sacrifices we should make. How will we know
which sacrifices are the right ones? How will we know which sacrifices
will show us the Way? The path is invisible to me.”
The fire had died down, and much of the clearing was now in shadows.
Jesus said, “Look around you! See how everything grows dim in the
darkness. It is as if the trees that you know are here are no longer real.”
He stood up and put a log on the fire, and the flames crackled, growing
higher. He put on another and another, and the clearing grew as bright
as day.
“Just as these logs are sustenance of the fire, faith is sustenance of the
spirit. You must feed the light within you as I feed this fire. You worry
that the path is not real because it is not laid before you out of strict
rules, and thus you feel you cannot see it at all. But much that is
invisible is real. Look around you now! See how this light makes the
trees real again? If you have faith, then the light within you will show
you all that you need to see, and it will bring forth wondrous things
which were hidden. Once you know the Truth, your lives will be
changed forever, and for you especially, you who hear my voice, you
will have a special mission, to shout the Truth, so that you can change
the lives of others. If you speak from your heart, your voice will be
heard by even those who do not believe in me! The very power of your
faith will cast aside their disbelief, and open their eyes to the Truth.”