by R D Hathaway
Rennie looked at Angie and Matthew. “And very dangerous.”
“What kind of threat?” Matthew asked.
Rennie wasn’t sure what to say. She leaned on the table. “During my research on the story and before we came to London, I was warned that someone might harm me, and someone broke into my house. In London, I know people were tracking us there. Very strange things have occurred at my office and at Angie’s since I made known what we discovered. It is clear this story is of great interest to some very powerful people. In fact, they may want me, and maybe Angie or you, out of the picture. Roger, you witnessed unusual behavior at my house just today.”
Rennie took a sip of water. “Also, today several men who claimed to be with the FBI approached me and wanted me to go with them. They said it was about Matthew and his travels to the Middle East. But, I’m not sure what they wanted. This is a dangerous situation, and that’s why we’re out here. We have the letters with us. Whoever is after them is out there, and we must not only care for them, but make them known to the world.”
Roger looked at the others. “I don’t know what to say, but I’m grateful I’m here. Just tell me what I can do.”
Rennie put her hand on his. “I’m sorry I got you into this.”
“It’s okay, neighbor. This might be the best opportunity in our lives to do something really important.”
“Amen to that,” Angie said. “Okay team, we’re an odd bunch, but that’s the way God puts things together. Let’s get at it.”
As they got up, Roger suggested that he stay there instead of going for more food. They agreed that was a good idea, so he went out to the RV to lock it up.
Matthew laid out his notepads on the table. Angie and Rennie sat in anxious silence. “Angie, I will soon retrieve the letters from the box. I said to Rennie the only way I’ve been able to review the letters has been to stay in the analytical aspect of my being. When I slipped for a moment into the more human part of me, my emotions ran away. So, please understand why I must try to be scholarly as opposed to the simple man that I am.”
“Matthew, I don’t know how anyone could possible deal with it differently and be functional. We all know we’re dealing directly with the hand of God here.”
“Precisely. That grants to us an awesome responsibility as well as privilege,” he replied. “There is no doubt in my mind that there are people who are after these letters. There are countless stories of powerful people either wanting or fearing something as profound as these letters. Once the word gets out among them, the darkness in the human spirit can take over.”
Rennie felt a surge of anger. “Darkness versus the light. I know what team I’m on. Let’s decide where we go from here.”
“Excellent.” Matthew exclaimed. “Our mission appears to have two aspects. One is to care for the letters. The second is to make them known to all people. Where shall we begin?”
The cabin door burst open, surprising them. Roger seemed perplexed as he entered. “What?”
Angie got up and rubbed her hands with excitement. “I’d like to play a role in the second part, the revelation of His words.”
Rennie tapped Matthew’s arm. “You know, you have to look out for the quiet ones. She’s always coming up with a good idea while I’m sitting like a lump.”
As they chuckled, Matthew offered a notepad and pen to Angie.
“Thanks, but I’m more of an electronics media type. If I could have an hour or so with the letters, with your assistance Matthew, I could get started on one approach to preserving and displaying the letters. Have you written out the translations?”
“Yes Angie, I have them in my notes.”
“Good. I don’t know what your handwriting looks like, so I’d like you to print your translation of each letter, one to a page. I’ll set up in the girls’ bedroom, over here. There is only a small window and it’s up high on the wall. What will we do with them for the long term?”
Matthew scratched at his beard. “That is a critical question. They must be preserved in the proper environment with proper handling. We cannot stuff them back into a tin box whenever we wish to set them aside.”
“What are our options?” Roger asked.
“They’re not much different than they were for Matthias. Placing them in the hands of a museum or similar authority will generally relinquish any assurance they will be revealed. We cannot know, and we may never know if there have been similar finds in the many libraries and museums between Jerusalem and here. We know of some interesting discoveries just in the last few decades. The question remains however, what was found and not made known?”
Rennie nodded. “That’s been my fear. If I had walked into my office with that tin box and just handed them over, or if Angie had turned them over to the college, there is no telling who would have them now. We like to assume the best.”
Matthew replied, “Exactly, but the best rarely happens.”
Rennie turned to Angie. “What’s your plan for making the letters known?”
“It begins with digital photography. I brought my photography gear. I better get going.” Angie hurried into the women’s bedroom, closing the door behind her.
“Okay, I like that. Matthew, what can you do?”
“I need a bit of private time in the gentlemen’s bedroom. I have an idea that needs to be pursued.”
“Of course. Roger, how about you?”
“It’s good I brought a magazine. I’ll be the bus driver until you tell me what to do.”
Rennie went to work organizing the kitchen and preparing the meal. Roger noticed it was getting dark outside, so he turned on a few lights. As he returned to his chair, he stopped and looked at the windows. He went to each one and pulled down the shades.
Twenty minutes later, Matthew and Angie left their rooms and joined the others in the dining room, as Roger helped Rennie set the table.
When they were ready to eat, they joined hands for a prayer.
Rennie pushed her fork into the food on her plate. “There’s something about sharing food with friends that brings a sense of peace to a house.”
“Good food,” Roger said. “Say, Matthew, what is it about your work that keeps you going?”
“It’s the questions. There will always be plenty of them as gifts from the intersection of history, archeology, and religion.”
Matthew set down his utensils. “For example, Christians tend to think the church they know is the one that grew up after the Ascension of Christ. The facts are quite different. The development of the new church was pushed by revolt and turbulence into regions away from the holy land. Ephesus, Antioch, and Alexandria became centers of the faith. The books we know as the gospels were likely written in these distant lands. Paul’s letters were written in and sent to many points around the Mediterranean. Finding letters and documents that are directly related to Jesus and the early faith in places such as Egypt or elsewhere is to be expected.”
“You mean, like the Gnostic Gospels?” Angie asked.
“Exactly, and more,” Matthew responded. “The document known as the Secret Gospel of Mark became notorious in scholarly circles. A professor found a reference to it while rummaging about in a monastery. He actually found dozens of manuscripts.”
Matthew seemed to look into the distant past, clearly excited with the thought. “Comments by Clement of Alexandria in the second century referred to this Gospel of Mark. Prior to him, Pantaenus was highly regarded and was probably a Hebrew who may have known some of the original twelve disciples. Before him was Philo, another great teacher and devoted to his Jewish heritage. Here you have a Jewish man, in Alexandria, who may have set the framework in place for the birthing of the Christian church. So, finding letters from Jesus in Egypt is reasonable. Someday, we might even find another letter from the Apostle Paul.”
Rennie passed a dish of food to Roger. “There i
s so much about that time that is important and I’m ignorant of it. The idea of them writing letters is a surprise in itself.”
Matthew chuckled. “You mentioned writing letters? The ancient Egyptians documented nearly everything in the administration of the kingdom, two thousand years before Christ. Before Abraham in old Mesopotamia, there were libraries with thousands of documents on everything from science to philosophy and law. The Weld Prism was a type of Genesis book containing a history of the world and it dates back to 2200 BCE. There are tens of thousands of documents that are far older than texts from the time of Jesus. Many are not even properly stored! In the 1990’s, scholars studied papyrus fragments of documents that had been stored in common paper folders. They were found in the Berlin Egyptian Museum in the 1960’s and weren’t looked at for thirty years. It’s called the Gospel of the Savior, and it dates to the second century. So, finding the letters of Jesus the way Matthias did is not a big surprise.”
Roger pushed his empty plate away. “What about the Gospel of Thomas?”
Rennie and Angie looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
“What?” Roger expressed with mock shock. “Do you think I just grow weeds all day?”
Matthew was amused. “You are right on target. Some said Thomas was a late interpretation and blending of the canon Gospels, particularly since the order of sayings is entirely different. It’s probably one of many documents shared among early churches.”
Rennie sighed, “What are we supposed to make of all this?”
“The truest of all books or letters are the Gospels. They were written most closely to the time of Jesus, within a few decades of His ministry, and they were written by people who either knew Him directly or knew those who knew Him. Then you have Paul’s letters, which were written before the Gospels. In addition, there are large numbers of original copies of our New Testament written in the early centuries.”
Matthew stopped, and his face became pale.
Angie got up and went to him. “Are you alright? Do you need something?”
“I just realized I have the real letters. They are there, in that very room. I’ve been talking about this theory and that, this document and that. We can get up, walk in, and touch the real thing. Dear Lord, we must regain our senses and press ahead.”
A Campground
Outside Indianola, IA
XII - 2
Everyone helped put away food and clean the area. They gathered in the living room.
Rennie paced across the room. “Let’s be clear, we are in hiding, from a tangible threat out there.” She pointed to the window. “Angie, you said you had a plan. What is it?”
“I’m excited about this idea. I had it before I left work, so I came here prepared. I play with website building and digital photography. So, with Matthew’s help, we lay out each of the letters. I take a high-quality digital image of each one, and then I upload it onto a new website. We can also put up his translation of each one. In that way, we get them out to the entire world all at once. With the right links to some big sites, with loads of productive meta tags, and by putting referral messages onto targeted blogs, we will get tons of people to the site. They can download the images and there is no way it can be stopped. People will comment and debate, comparing their ideas about the letters.”
“Brilliant!” Matthew exclaimed.
“Excellent,” Rennie added. “Can you do it from here or do you need to go somewhere?”
“I’m all set. I brought my laptop, and I have my camera and a monopod to provide a steady shot.”
“Is the cabin wired with a phone line?” Rennie asked.
“Yup, it’s in. I checked before selecting the cabin. It’s too bad we have to use dial-up versus cable. If I shoot the images at five megs, they will take forever to upload.”
“I’ve got cable at my house.” Roger said. “But it means we have to go back there.”
Angie’s eyes flashed with thought. “Well, that would get it done a lot faster. I don’t know how to weigh the risk thing.”
Rennie felt a rush of anxiety. “Will the photography be a problem for the letters?”
“There should be no need for a flash to take the photos and the documents are in extraordinary condition. After the photos, we must get them into the proper hands. I have an answer to that concern.”
Matthew stood and began a slow stroll around the room. “When we first arrived, I retreated into the bedroom and used my cell phone to call an old friend at the British Museum, Donald Abramson. It was quite a shock for him considering the time in London at that moment was about two o’clock in the morning.”
Rennie interrupted him. “Do we want them to back in the British Museum? Besides, how on Earth can we get them there? Time is of the essence.”
“My friend Donald is a member of an ancient order known as the Knights Templar.”
“Oh no,” groaned Roger. “This sounds like a movie plot.”
Matthew chuckled. “My friend, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. The Order has existed for a thousand years. It’s alive and well, scattered across the globe, and there are members here in the States.”
“So, are we going to have knights in shining armor ride in and take the letters?” Roger asked.
“That would be dramatic and highly unlikely. Members of the Order are people like us, who share high ideals and a devotion to Christ. Their aim is to promote love, charity, respect, and of course, chivalry.”
Rennie nudged Angie. “We need to meet a couple of these guys.”
“I informed Donald of the situation we are in, describing the treasure as a relic of profound historical value to the faith. He mentioned he knew of people in Chicago and in Minneapolis, but we were not certain of the time requirements to drive those distances.”
“Minneapolis is less than four hours away,” Roger offered.
“Excellent,” Matthew replied.
Rennie was skeptical. “So, how would this work?”
“Donald, representing the museum, and then the Order itself, would mutually be responsible for the security of the letters and for ensuring their proper and prompt disclosure and technical analyses. Since the museum is in a bit of a financial situation right now, Donald was delighted that such a find might renew the prospects for the institution.”
“I’m with Rennie,” Roger said. “Do you trust this guy?”
“Absolutely, sir. I’ve known him for several decades. His word is his honor, and it’s part of his faith. For this situation, the Museum and the Order would have a symbiotic relationship in securing and revealing the letters. The specific nature of what is being transferred need not be known. They will simply be aware it is of profound importance to the faith. Now, we must await his call.”
Angie washed her hands in the kitchen sink. “In the meantime, I need to get to work. Matthew, will you help me? If we all participate, it will go more quickly.”
Everyone got up and followed Angie into one bedroom. Matthew went into the other bedroom and returned with his personal bag. It was made of heavy tapestry material with a leather handle. It bulged with a hard, rectangular object.
Angie had covered the small window with a double folded sheet. She spread another sheet onto one of the beds and moved a short bookcase up to the end of the same bed. She tilted her monopod against the bookcase and secured her camera to the top. Matthew removed the biscuit tin from his bag. He gently set it on the bed sheet and stepped back.
“Should we say a prayer?” Angie whispered.
“I think we are the prayer,” Roger answered.
Angie stepped to the side of the bed. “Matthew, you can place the letters down in consecutive order, with each letter followed by your translation notes.”
“Good. I will need to look at each briefly. Before you are ready to shoot, let me review my notes.”
A loud kno
ck on the front door made everyone jump. There was another knock.
“I’ll go,” Rennie said.
“No, I’ll go,” Angie said. “They know me here.” She marched out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her.
Rennie could hear the front door open and barely heard some conversation. Matthew’s cell phone began to ring in the other bedroom. Rennie heard the front door slam shut, followed by Angie running into the other bedroom. A moment later, she entered the room with the phone to her ear.
“Thank you, sir, Matthew is right here.” She offered the phone to Matthew. “It’s Mr. Abramson.”
“Donald, thank you for calling back. Can we do this? This treasure exceeds all others. Yes, the gift will be entirely anonymous. For now, no one must know from where or from whom it has reached your hands. I know it will come under harsh criticism without the origins being known. How it came to be will be laid out at the appropriate time. Donald, you and I will never touch such glorious treasure again. Would you hold for a moment?”
Rennie felt hot with doubt. She remembered her confrontation with Agent Maxwell and his concerns about Matthew.
“How will this work?” She glared at him.
“A gentleman of the Order is driving from the city of Rochester, Minnesota. He is familiar with Des Moines, but he needs directions to where we shall meet to deliver the package.”
Roger, Angie, and Rennie huddled. Rennie debated several sites then they agreed on one. Roger stepped from the group. “There’s a zoo on the south side of the city. Adjacent and to the south of that, there’s a golf course. You’ll meet in the parking lot of the golf course whenever he arrives. It’s at the corner of County Line Road and Southwest Ninth Street.”
Matthew repeated the instructions into the phone. He glanced at Rennie. “Donald, can he be entrusted with this package? Good. I look forward to seeing you soon back in London. God bless you, my friend.”
Matthew slipped the phone into his coat pocket. “The gentleman who is coming will call my cell phone number when he is one hour away. That may be sooner than we expect, so we must get busy here.”