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Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com
The Jesus Story
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The Lord and the Lady (and the Fool, of course) looked at the
Men and Women, and were not pleased.
"Look at that! They saw Your Sacrifice, and went and elaborated
it into some kind of magic." The Lady spoke disgustedly. "Cutting out
human hearts. Sacrificial Kings. Ritual burnings. Ritual torture. Blood
sacrifices. Cannibalism. Blood, killing and more blood! What -do- they
think they're doing?"
"I agree it's pretty grim," said the Sacred King, "But it does
work, though in a very limited way. So....what can we do about it?"
"I know what We can do, but it will take all of Us," said the
Fool, unsmiling. "Listen up...."
As he began to explain, the faces of all Three grew grimmer and
grimmer, and sad beyond words.
The Fool incarnated as a Child within a Woman, who was the
Mother and the Maiden. He was born in poverty, and laid in a straw bed.
He grew up in a small village in a backwater nation on the edges of a
great Empire. Some, a very few, knew Him and honored Him, seeing Him as
the Child, truly the Child of Promise, but most simply went on with
their lives, unknowing. When He was of age, He turned, and from Child
became Transformer, and He began to teach.
As Transformer, He went out on the dusty roads of the small,
conquered nation, and taught the Way of Love. Love for -all,- not just
some. He taught of the Brotherhood of Man, and of the Fatherhood of the
Lord.
He taught of the Way of Salvation: to love. To love the Diety,
and to love your neighbor, whoever he might be.
He brought a message of hope to the poor, and a warning to the
opressor.
Around Him, He assembled a small band of men and women, and
taught them His Mystery. But one was given a role to play, and the role
was Betrayer.
A man asked, "Teacher, what shall we do when those that hate us
strike us?"
And He answered, "Turn the other cheek, and let them strike you
again. Give them love in return for hate. If you must take up the sword,
then do it in great reluctance, and only after you have stepped aside
time and time again. Remember that I bring you not peace, but a sword,
for this Path will separate you from your families and friends, and your
enemies will persecute you in their ignorance."
"And forgive your enemies, and those who wrong you, that you may
put away your anger and live in love."
Another asked, "Sensei, what of the poor?"
And He answered, "The poor you shall always have with you, but
give them the tools to lift themselves out of their poverty. Clothe and
feed them, but give them the means of independence also."
"But what of the rich, then?" said a wealthy man.
"Give what you have to the poor. give them of clothing, and
food, and, more importantly, of learning, for if you feed a man, then
you have only given him one meal, but if you teach him to feed himself,
then he may eat for a lifetime, and move from the cycle of poverty and
ignorance," He said. "Lay not treasures up for yourself on earth, save
that you give of that treasure to those in need, but rather lay up
treasure in heaven, for it would be easier for a camel to pass thru a
needle's eye than for an avaricious man to leave his earthly treasure
for heaven."
A Doctor asked Him, "Healer, what of the sick?"
"Verily, let them be healed by the knowledge of man, and by
prayer," He answered, "For whatsoever you ask in prayer, if you have
faith even as small as the tiniest grain of mustard seed, what you need
will be granted you. But be wary of what you ask for, for you will get
what you need, and not always what you want."
A woman asked, "Rabbi, what of those that follow other Teach-
ers?"
And He answered, smiling, "There are many rooms in your Father's
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house, and many fields in Heaven. And I come again, and yet again, and
as there are many languages of mankind, so are there many Names for
Deity. Rejoice in it, and be glad of the diversity of Deity, and do not
hate those that call the Diety by other names, but rather weigh them by
their deeds."
And one asked of Him, "How should we pray?"
And He answered, saying, "Pray in your own fashion, as you will,
for all prayer is good. But if you wish, pray thusly:"
"Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom
come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread, and forgive us our errors, as we forgive the errors of
others. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
"And if you feel this prayer should be given to the Mother, then
let it be so."
And a Priest shouted, angrily, "Shall God be then female?"
And He answered, "The Deity is what It will be, not what you
make It into. You see the Diety in your own image; if you are vengeful,
then your God is vengeful. If you are full of hate, then your God is
hateful. But if you have love, then you shall know the Deity's love.
Listen, and be wise."
A child asked, "Father, how shall we know what is right, and
what is wrong?"
And He replied, "Weigh it by it's fruits. If it gives a bad
fruit, then it is wrong, but if the fruit is good, then eat of it and be
happy."
"But Brother, what of a fruit that seems to be good, yet will
poison us slowly?" asked another.
And He answered, "If a man die of it, then it is an evil fruit.
Look you to the past, see the mistakes therein, and learn therefrom. And
beware those who would lead you into error thru their own need of power
over you; leave them to the trap of their own making."
One of the Priests came to Him, a man enmeshed in legalism, and,
thinking to trap Him said, "Teacher, What is the Law?"
And He looked at the Priest and said, "Love God. Love thy
neighbor. All else is commentary, and the Law of Man. Study the holy
books of all faiths, weigh the good and the bad in each, and learn."
And the Priest went away abashed.
And a person came to Him and said, "What of magic?"
"Know that your will is that of a human, and you are not
omniscient. You cannot see all the results of your actions. Therefore
ask 'Not my will, but Thine be done' and leave the ordering of the
MultiVerse to Deity, not to human will," He replied. "Order yourself,
not the MultiVerse."
And two came to Him, and asked, "O Mahatma, We are of the same
sex, and love each other. What shall we do?"
And He looked upon them, and said, "An it harm none, do as you
will. You are all the Children of the Deity, and the Deities' Love for
you is greater than you can imagine."
A policeman asked of Him, "But what of the Laws of Man? If these
Laws of Man conflict with the Law of the Diety, what shall we do then,
Padre?"
And Transformer answered, "Listen and hear. Obey the Laws of
Man, for these Laws have power over your body. But if there is a
man-made law that is not good, then strive to change it, in peace. But
if you cannot change it, then obey it. And, if you must disobey it to
change it, then accept the judgements of Man's Law in good grace until
it is changed. But put not your trust in Rulers, and Kings and Princes,
nor in those that would lead you, be they Priest, Priestess, or any 45
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other Office and Position, but weigh their words carefully, that their
words match their deeds, and no hypocrisy enters into them, for as your
leaders you have given them power over you. And always remember that
Man's Law is made for humanity, and not humanity for Man's Law."
And with the policeman was a woman, who had violated the Law of
Man, and had been taken for her crime. She said, "But what of me, Lord?
I am to be stoned by the crowd."
And He picked up a stone from the ground, looked at her, and
said, simply, "Let he who is without mistakes cast the first stone at
you." And He dropped His stone from His hand.
And there was a silence from the crowd, and those with stones in
their hands dropped them guiltily to the ground.
And He said to her, "Learn from your error, go in peace, and
make error no more."
And he said to those that had dropped their stones, and who were
burdened by their guilt, "Be not guilty, for guilt is but a warning from
your conscience. Be you delivered from your hell. Learn from your error,
put it from you, and err no more."
"And equally, if the tree that gives a bad fruit can be taught
to give a good fruit, then do so. But if it persist in giving bad
fruits, then leave it."
And He walked to a nearby hill, and turned to the people, and
spoke thusly:
"Blessed be those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven."
"Blessed be those that mourn, for they shall be comforted."
"Blessed be the meek, for they shall live to inherit the earth,
long after the strong, and the proud, and the warlike have killed each
other in their pride."
"Blessed be those that hunger and thirst after the Truth, for
they shall know it."
"Blessed be the merciful, for they shall have mercy shown unto
them."
"Blessed be the pure in heart, for they shall see the Deity all
the days of their lives and after."
"Blessed be those that make peace among men, for they shall be
called the Children of the Diety."
"Blessed be those that are persecuted for the sake of the Truth,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Blessed be you, when men shall persecute you, and perjure
themselves against you, and lie about you, and say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for your reward is great indeed."
"Let your Light so shine before all humanity, that they may know
the Truth of you, and learn to live in love."
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And he placed His hand upon the head of a dog, and said, "Your
Brothers and Sisters in fur are your Brothers and Sisters in truth. They
are in your care, and in your hands. Treat them with kindness, and that
kindness will be returned to you a thousandfold. To those that give
themselves to be eaten by you offer thanks, and be grateful to them for
your sustenance."
"Treat your Mother the earth likewise with kindness, and all the
growing things thereon will sing your praises to the Highest, and you
shall eat and drink of Her fruits, and live in joy and gladness all the
days of your lives. Little children, love one another!"
In truth, there was much more that He taught, and much of it is
written for our study and learning, and the study of His teachings is a
good and worthy thing. But the following of His teachings is a better
thing, for He was who He said He was, and that is also a Great Mystery.
And the Betrayer spoke to Him, and said, "Renounce this Path. It
only leads to destruction. Give over to me, and I will give you
rulership of all the kingdoms of Earth."
And He gazed upon the Betrayer, and spoke, and said, "Get thee
hence, foolish one, for I have no need of earthly treasure, nor earthly
power, for all such is false, and an illusion."
And on the night that He was betrayed, during a Festival that
celebrated the conquered people's deliverance from tyranny, (and to
choose such a time and place is also a Great Mystery and a great lesson)
He took of the Sacred King, the Bread of Life, blessed and broke it, and
gave it to His followers, and said, "This is My body. Do this in
remembrance of Me."
And then he took wine, fruit of the Mother, and blessed it, and
gave it to them also, and said, "This is My blood. Do this in remembr-
ance of Me."
And Transformer was betrayed by the Betrayer, betrayed to the
legalists and the soldiers of the occupying army, accused of sedition
and taken by the Law of Man, and sentenced to die.
And they fastened Him to an instrument of torture, to kill Him
like a common criminal, with cruel jokes.
And He was hung from a Tree.
And, watching, was the Mother, and the Maiden, and the Crone,
and They all three mourned Him.
He turned, and was the Sacred King, and simultaneously the Fool
(and that is a Great Mystery indeed) and, as He died, he said, "It is
finished." And His Blood ran out upon the Earth, and worked a great
magic.
His body was buried in a tomb of rock, and the soldiers of the
occupying army guarded it.
But after three days and three nights, a greater magic was done,
and He took His body again, sitting with the Lord and the Lady, and
showed Himself to His followers, to show them that Death is not to be
feared.
And He said, "You have been bought, and redeemed, and nevermore
shall you make sacrifice of blood, for this is the Final Sacrifice for
all time, for all places, and for all those there are and were, and will
be."
"And fear not Death, for it it but a change in a MultiVerse of
changes; another turning of the wheel on a road all must travel."
And He shall come again, as He has throughout all history,
teaching the Great Truth: that we shall love the Deity, and love our
neighbor, for Love is the heart of the Law, and that Law is Love.
For He is always with us and in us all.
"I don't -ever- want to go through that again!"
The Fool spoke vehemently, thru tears.
"I don't think you'll have to go quite -that- far the next
time," said the Lady. "They'll still play their stupid games with blood,
but not for very much longer."
"I hope not," said the Sacred King, "But do We have to put up
with that Paul fella? He's a bit of a nut-case."
"If you want it to work out right, yes," said the Lady. "He may
be a nut-case, but he'll spread the Word quickly, and, after a time,
they'll get the idea. And from that will come the seed of My future
believers."
"Sorry about that," said the Fool. "I did my best, but in such
a patriarchal society as that one was, I just couldn't make much headway
about You."
"No problem," She said. "They can deny Me all they want to, but
I'm still here."
Thus it was, and so it is, and evermore shall be so!
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