by D A Walmsley
“You should really just be called sailors, for that’s all you’re doing,” adds Philip.
The boat they have borrowed only has a small net. The lads have to throw it over the side and trawl across the lake, but the fish seem to see them coming and swim out of the way. Peter and Andrew caught more out on the Mediterranean with fishing rods.
It hadn’t been that bad, they have at least done something rather than been stuck inside waiting for the boss to turn up again and Thomas has coped with the soft rolling motion of the boat, only being a little ill.
Peter decides they’ve been out long enough, and they head back into the harbour but when they are a hundred yards from the entrance, with the sun starting to come up, John spots a solitary figure standing on the harbour wall.
“Morning lads, caught anything?” shouts the man.
“Not a thing, it was terrible,” says Nathaniel.
“Try looking on the right side of your boat,” calls the man.
What does he know? Peter keeps a path straight to the harbour, but the others look over. They can see lots of fish swimming alongside them. James and John scramble for the net.
“Wow, I’ve never seen so many fish,” says Thomas carefully looking over the side.
The net sweeps up the fish. James starts to pull it on board, but is worried that the weight of the huge catch will tear the net. Peter gives Thomas the helm and the rest quickly help haul the fish into the boat. Thomas concentrates hard on keeping the boat straight so much that he steers away from the harbour, heading along the coast a little. He can’t take his eyes off the man who is now walking on the shore.
“That man, he looks like the boss,” says Philip.
They all look closer.
“Oh, yeah, he does.”
“It is the boss,” says Nathaniel.
“Just think, if the boss were a fisherman, we’d be rich!” says James.
“It’ll take this boat ages to get to the shore, the little engine is struggling to cope with the weight.” says Peter, “I don’t want to wait that long.”
He slips off his boots and fishing gear and in only his t-shirt and shorts dives into the sea and swims to the shore.
“He’s mad, it’s freezing,” shivers Thomas.
“Well at least the boats a bit lighter now,” says Philip.
Jesus shouts to the lads. “Bring some fish, I’ll cook us all some breakfast.”
Andrew takes over and carefully nurses the boat back to the harbour.
When Peter gets out of the water Jesus has started to build a fire. He looks slightly different in a way Peter can’t quite figure out.
Now standing alone with the man he denied, Peter can’t find the words. He feels so guilty for what he’d said and done. “Sorry,” is all he can say and to his surprise Jesus doesn’t answer. He half expects Jesus to turn him away, telling him he is no longer one of the team. As a result he can’t look Jesus in the eye for fear of breaking down in tears again. In the boat all he wanted to do was be near Jesus, back to how it was before the trial and crucifixion. When he’d jumped into the water he hadn’t cared how cold it was, now as his t-shirt clings to his freezing body he shivers, the small fire doing little to warm him. He is relieved when the others arrive from the harbour with the fish, even more so when Andrew throws him a towel.
In no time Jesus and Andrew have gutted the fish and placed them on the fire to cook and during their breakfast, Jesus speaks of the scriptures; how they have been fulfilled, how good it is that they can see him alive and that soon more things will be revealed to them. He even teases Thomas about his steering skills.
“Call that steering in a straight line!”
“It was my first time and at least I didn’t hit the harbour wall!” he says, looking at James and John.
After the breakfast, during which Peter had sat quietly eating and not joining in any of the conversations. Jesus asked Peter a question.
“Simon Peter, do you love me more than fishing?”
“What! Boss, of course I do.”
“Then I need you to tend my lambs.”
Peter tries to look Jesus in the eye, but he can’t quite bring himself to do it.
Jesus asks again.
“Simon Peter, do you love me?”
“Yes Lord you know that I care for you.”
“Then take care of my sheep.”
The others are all looking on, not daring to say a word.
“Simon Peter do you care for me?”
Why is he doing this to me, surely Jesus can know my heart, “Lord, you know all things, I can’t hide anything from you, so you must know that I love you.”
“Then tend my sheep.”
Peter realises he has been asked three times. Three times he had denied Jesus, so three times Jesus had questioned his loyalty.
“I am going to tell you something,” says Jesus, “when you were young you could go anywhere you wanted, but when you are old your hands will be tied and you will be taken where you don’t want to go.”
Peter, his heart restored with the knowledge that he still has an important part to play, is more than happy to suffer for Jesus, whenever that time may be.
Chapter 47
“We’ve only been home a couple of weeks and we have to go back to Jerusalem.”
“You heard the boss, he wants us down there.”
“Yeah, but how come you get to drive?”
“'Cos, I’m the one with the keys.”
James climbs into the driver’s seat of the minibus and turns the key in the ignition. After a couple of attempts the diesel engine splutters and rattles into life. There haven’t been many occasions when he’s been allowed to drive it. The lads feel a lot safer with Andrew or Philip behind the wheel. Matthew throws his bag onto a seat and climbs in. He is joined by Thaddy and Nathaniel.
“Come on John,” shouts James, revving the engine.
John jumps in the front passenger seat and turns round nodding to the lads in the back.
He hasn’t had chance to put his seat belt on before James floors the accelerator.
“It’s going to be a long journey,” Nathaniel says to Matthew and Thaddy.
Matthew still misses his Merc. He never did buy a new car and hasn’t got used to begging lifts everywhere he goes. Today may be the worst one yet.
“Those two have been using the bus to tow boats this week,” says Thaddy.
“So that’s why I can smell burning oil?” says Nathaniel.
As they travel towards the motorway heading south, they are trailing a cloud of smoke and it is definitely getting thicker and blacker. Matthew, Nathaniel and Thaddy take it in turns to point it out to James.
“It’s been like that all week, it’s fine.”
“It’s burning a bit of oil, that’s all. We’ve had loads of boats do that,” John shouts over the engine noise.
A car sounds it’s horn as James overtakes, covering it in a blanket of oily smoke. Matthew sinks into the seat, embarrassed that anyone should see him.
Suddenly there is a loud BANG as the engine blows up, scattering bits of metal and oil all over the place. Other cars have to swerve out of the way as James fights with the bus, eventually stopping it at the side of the road. They all jump out as quickly as they can, coughing from the smoke.
“Huh,” says James.
“Now what we going to do?” says Thaddy.
* * *
The lads had to beg for lifts with the other followers all heading south. Matthew has spent the last two hours squashed in between two elderly women who constantly talked about what they’d just eaten, were going to eat and what it does to their bodies. It’s put him off puddings for life. Every time they passed a car dealers he’d looked longingly. He makes a promise never to rely on James and John for lifts ever again.
When he is dropped off, the ladies are delighted they could help him and even pay for his bed and breakfast, thrusting a handful of notes into his hand when he says goodbye. They thank him for his company. They
know who he is, they will have known what he used to do to people who couldn’t pay him, yet they don’t bear any ill will towards him, even giving him money.
He feels guilty at the nasty thoughts he’d had. He’d wanted to shoot them or at least tape their mouths shut. There was a time, before Jesus, when he would have done just that, no question. It’s a strange feeling he has these days, the knowledge that people are not afraid of him anymore. Weird!
Walking up to the Mariths B&B where he’ll be staying over the next few days, he finds the city buzzing with news of more confirmed sightings of Jesus. People are recognising him, smiling and saying hello. The danger he felt the last time he was here has gone. There is an excitement and anticipation that something is up, something is about to happen. There have been too many reports of Jesus alive for the lads to be under suspicion of stealing the body. Hundreds of people have now seen and talked with the boss.
When he arrives at the B&B, Peter and his family are unpacking their truck. Peter organises the family like he does the lads. Ruth, Naomi and Toby are all given bags to carry and he shepherds them inside. He sees Matthew and waves. It’s good to see Peter so happy again.
“We are meeting in the upper room later,” says Peter as Matthew comes inside and goes over to a small reception desk.
Matthew puts the money he was given down on the counter, looking in his wallet for the rest. The gift will come in handy and he might be able to stay here a little longer than he could otherwise.
“I don’t need that, it’s all been taken care of,” says Mrs Marith, handing him a room key.
“Really?” he wonders who would have done it.
“Don’t ask me who paid it, you know I won’t tell.”
Matthew picks up the money, leaving one of the notes on the counter and winks.
Once he’s been up to his room and freshened up a little, he decides to see who else is around and wanders outside. He climbs the stairs to the upper room. Inside he finds Alphie talking to one of the bikers along with Thomas, Simon and around thirty other followers.
“Yo, Matt! So you finally made it.”
“Get the man a drink, he deserves one,” says Alphie to a young couple at the bar making drinks for everyone.
They already know about the exploding minibus and the disrupted journey. Alphie and Simon had come down with Thomas and his twin.
“Where’s the boss?” asks Matthew.
“He keeps appearing occasionally,” says Simon.
Over the next few hours all the team arrive including James and John who were driven down by their parents. They don’t look too pleased. Many more arrive and call in, they are staying all over the city in a range of places, from B&Bs and hotels to friends and acquaintances - anywhere they can.
Philip arrives with four lads Matthew has never seen before and once they are all fixed up with drinks Philip comes over to introduce them.
“This is James, Joe, Jude and Simon,” Philip says.
They all say their hellos.
“We are Jesus’ half brothers,” says James.
That surprises Matthew. For all the time spent with the boss and his mum for that matter, Jesus never really talked about his family much. Mary did, on many occasion, but from what Matthew could gather they weren’t that keen on their older brother being the proclaimed Christ and Son of God. He could understand their scepticism. It must be a difficult thing to take in. Yet here they are talking happily about him.
“He was always the favourite,” says Joe.
“We never believed who he is until…”
“…we saw him after he had died,” says Simon finishing Jude’s sentence.
Peter enters holding a clipboard.
“Can I have everyone’s attention.” The noise level quietens. “Thank you for coming, I hope everybody has been allocated a room, or at least a bed. Please see me if there are any problems. As for meal times, Mrs Marith will be serving a running buffet here in the upper room at lunchtime and for the evening meal.”
James raises his hand, “How come some of you are staying in a hotel, while me and John are stuck at mum and dad’s place.”
“James, I thought you liked my cooking,” says Salomé.
“Because you destroyed the minibus that’s why,” says Simon, to laughter.
“Apart from James and John, anyone else need anything, see me. Mrs Marith says the evening meal is now ready, so please enjoy.”
Matthew had only just begun to eat when Jesus appeared.
“How come he always turns up at meal times?” whispers Alphie.
After they had eaten Philip asks, “Boss, we’re all wondering if this is the time you’re going to restore the Kingdom of Israel?”
“It’s not for you to know the times that the Father has set, ” says Jesus, “but…you’ll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you; and you’ll be my witnesses here in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and even to the ends of the earth.”
“OK, I think we can settle for that,” says James, laughing.
Matthew is having such a good time, laughing and joking that he didn’t notice when Jesus disappeared. It was dark when he realised that Jesus had left them. They all have a good time eating and drinking together before heading back to their various lodgings.
Later that night, unable to sleep, Matthew opens the complimentary bottle of water from the mini-fridge and sits by the window, looking out at the city. Even at this time of night there is an energy, a buzz unique to Jerusalem. Sipping the water, he goes over in his head the days events, trying to make sense of it all. The sounds of the city recede and he becomes still, focusing on Jesus. He wasn’t sure at what time that night the boss had disappeared, but now as lights from passing cars sends strips of light across the room, he can see in his mind Jesus talking, encouraging. It feels significant. He smiles, thinking back to the time he was in his office and Jesus appeared. From that day Matthew’s life changed. It wasn’t always easy, there were a few times when the others wanted him gone… or dead. Hard to believe he now considers them friends. Who would believe what he saw, who could raise a dead man to life, who could calm a storm, with words alone. No-one but God himself. Ever since Jesus appeared, was resurrected, there has being this clarity of thought, not just for him, Matthew but the for whole group, even James! Now when Jesus teaches and talks it all makes sense. The scriptures about the Messiah telling of his miracles, his death, his res… Matthew shakes his head unable to finish the word, it seems too unbelievable even now.
He looks at his watch, half past three. “Better try and sleep,” he says, standing up and heading over to the way too soft mattress.
* * *
Surprisingly, he slept well, and once up he heads to the upper room,expecting there to be a few dozen up by this time. He is surprised to see only Nathaniel, Alphie and Thaddy.
“Eight o’clock, you slept in!” says Thaddy piling up a plate of Mrs Marith’s eggs, toast and morning pastries.
Matthew nods and goes over to the pot of coffee, and pours himself a large one.
“Wonder what’s in store for us today” says Alphie, looking around the room. Matthew suspects that because it’s meal time, Alphie is looking for Jesus to appear. “Is it me or could you listen to the boss like forever, and how come it’s taken this long for it all to sink in. I mean, water into wine, calming that storm, you and the Zealot not killing each other.”
“Maybe we’ll get this power today, the one the boss mentioned yesterday,” Thaddy says through a mouthful of toast.
As more and more of the followers arrive, and the room is filling up, it’s Alphie who notices Jesus standing at the table filling up a plate of food. Alphie nudges Matthew, “Whenever he comes, Mrs Marith serves better food.”
Matthew just shakes his head, but watches Jesus. Just as last night the boss is able to talk on a one-to one with people. Matthew wonders what is being said. Each time the person nods and smiles.
“…and then on our way home last night we met these
girls and they recognised us and wanted to know about the boss, if he was alive. Are you listening Matt?”
Matthew, turns to find John has sat down at the table with them and seems to be in mid conversation with Alphie and Thaddy. Matthew smiles, not really sure what John is getting at.
“And then what?” asks Thaddy.
“Nothing, but don’t you get it, girls talked to James… it’s another miracle!” John laughs, but when the lads just shrug, he gets up and goes over to another group and repeats the same story.
“Everyone, can we have some quiet, people, PEOPLE.” Peter tries to get the groups attention.
Eventually the room quietens down, the last voice to be heard is James. “don’t you get it, it was a miracle, girls talked to John. HA, HA, HA.”
“James shush,” says Salomè.
Jesus stands up, and pats Peter on the shoulder. “Thank you Peter.” Jesus takes a deep breath and looks around the room. “Over the last few days I’ve had a few words with each of you.” He turns to Matthew, “don’t worry Matt, Simon, I’ll speak to you later.”
Matthew smiles.
“Remember the things I’ve said to you, in private as well as in the Temple. James, where’s James?”
“I’m here,” James waves his hand.
“Use this,” Jesus points to his head. James nods.
“That goes for all of you, as I’ve said, you won’t be alone, you’ll receive help.” There is a pause as Jesus again looks around at the group and wipes away a tear.
“Good, good. Right, let’s go, follow me.”
“Boss where are we going?” asks Peter.
“The mount of Olives.”
“I need a lift then, who can fit me in?” asks James.
“No James, we’ll all walk. So everyone grab gear, or whatever you may need, we’ll set off in five minutes.
“Walking, I don’t wanna walk, why are we walking?”
“James, shut up!” say a dozen voices, including Matthew.
It takes more than five minutes for the whole group to get ready, the queue for the toilet being the main reason for the delay, but when they finally set off there is joy, an excitement in the group. Gone is the fear they had experienced just after the resurrection. As they walk through the streets, Matthew looks around for Jesus; he’s leading the group. With him is Simon. Matthew waits for his turn, and takes in the city. They have walked around the Temple and are heading towards the east gate at the city wall. Matthew can’t help thinking about the last time they went though this gate. It was all so different that day. The crowds, the singing. They all thought that was it, the City was theirs. Yes, he now understands the reasons why it had to happen the way it did, but then it was euphoria to disbelief and to anger.