Saul was not as quick at recognition as Duncan, but he did know the difference between aggression and welcome. He responded by examining the animal closely, making sure that there was no message attached to him. There was none, but he could not help noticing that this dog had a scar on his head. It was identical to the one Duncan had. Everything matched; colour, behaviour, scar and those eyes. He said softly, “Duncan?”
Duncan turned and ran swiftly to Bailey and Asbuz. He gave a sharp yap to make sure Saul’s attention was focussed on that spot. As on many previous occasions, Duncan pondered the problem of how humans could be so slow in some things when they were so clever in others. Surely it would not have been difficult for The Great One to have given them a good set of nostrils that could pick up scent properly. He would hate to have to go through life with such a handicap.
Saul looked up and, squinting into the rays of the rising sun, saw that the girl trudging beside the donkey toward him was indeed Bailey. He did not know how this could be but had to believe his eyes. His wounded leg would not bear his weight. He stood, in forced immobility, and waited for her.
He looked at Bailey and could see that she had not recognised him through the grime and beard. He called loudly, “Bailey, it’s me, Saul.”
“Saul, is it really you?” she yelled back. “Please wait where you are. I must tether the donkey and then I will be with you.”
“Take him round behind the rocks. There is food and water for him there; there is also company, by the name of Kharub.”
When Bailey came back to join Saul she said, “I assume Kharub is your donkey. Asbuz certainly seemed to recognise him as a friend.”
“He is friendly to everybody.” Saul said, smiling behind his beard. “I got him at the same time I got this.” He patted his ankle, indicating what he meant.
Saul proceeded to tell her what had happened. “It was very early one morning, three days ago, when there was a noise out the back. I knew immediately that something was seriously wrong. The horses were screaming and moving around violently. I thought it was animals threatening them, so took my stick and went out to investigate. It wasn’t animals. It was people, thieves.”
Bailey asked if the heavy cudgel-like walking stick he was leaning on was the one he had taken with him. When he told her that it was indeed the stick he used, she said, “I would run pretty quick if I saw you coming at me waving that.”
“Something certainly frightened them,” Saul said, “but I doubt if it was me. There were three of them and only one of me. I only had a stick, they had an array of knives. They seemed to go into some kind of panic. I think they saw something that I could not see.”
Bailey interjected here, saying that she was not surprised that something had spooked them. The power of The Presence was so strong around the camp that if she had not recognised what it was, she would have been terrified too. If those thieves had seen something, as well as feeling the intensity of power around them, wow-eee they would certainly have run for their lives. She smiled at her own secret thought. Maybe Alias had poked a face at them.
“How did you hurt yourself?” She asked.
“I tried to chase them. They had my horses. I twisted my ankle very badly. Maybe it was just as well I did fall. One of them threw a knife and I think it would have hit me if I had been standing.”
“And the donkey was theirs?” Bailey guessed.
“It was theirs. Now it’s mine,” Saul said. “It escaped in the melee and came wandering back. It looked glad to be with me and seemed to be saying, “Will you look after me and be kind to me?”
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT- HOW THE GREAT ONE PROVIDED
The next hour was a little like some family festival, with the opening of presents. Bailey brought all the packages that Asbaz had been carrying, into the area under the shelter. Saul, being almost completely immobilised, devoted his energy to investigating the packages.
In everything that had been packed onto the donkey, there was nothing that was not useful. In fact, some of the items were of particular value, due to the situation they found themselves in. There was a length of cloth which Saul immediately recognised as being suitable to provide a private area for Bailey. There were lots of food items and some light cord which could be used to snare animals for the pot. This particularly excited Saul because he recognised that, without it, they could well starve. His own snaring and trapping equipment had gone with the horses.
Saul looked at Bailey and said, “Who packed this?” She responded by telling him that she had no idea. Asbaz was already loaded and ready to go when she first saw him. She explained how her journey had been arranged by Alias.
Saul looked at her with growing amazement and said, “The hand of The Great One and of his son Saviour, our commander is in this. No one else could know our needs so accurately. Look at this.” He handed Bailey a jar containing a jellylike substance. She sniffed and almost threw it to the ground. “Phew, if that is what I suspect, I am glad it’s meant for your ankle, not our faces.”
Saul smiled. “You are right about the smell, but it’s the only thing I know that actually does anything to help an injury such as mine.” He proceeded to smear an application on the offending ankle.
While Saul was doing this, Bailey watched Duncan with interest to see what his reaction would be to such a strong odour. His nose certainly twitched but he did not leave the shelter; in fact, he went over to Saul and sniffed all around, paying particular attention to the ankle. If the twitching of a nose can give any indication of what its owner is thinking, then Duncan found the smell to be most unpleasant, but somehow, not undesirable. He even went so far as to give it a tentative lick, then settled beside Saul who said, “I think your dog approves.”
Bailey responded “Yeah, I reckon he’s saying that’s exactly what he would have recommended,” her Aussie accent breaking through unexpectedly.
Saul looked at her quizzically. “Where does that accent come from? I have never heard anything like it before?”
For a moment, Bailey looked lost and then said, “I don’t know. Most times it doesn’t matter because this is where home is but on occasions, like just now, I get the tiniest glimpse of another place where I remember being loved and belonging. Then I can’t remember any more. I know that I will be taken back sometime. I always am.” Then she proceeded to tell him about her journeys and the things she had seen. She looked puzzled for a moment. “What I do find strange is that I can remember everything about those journeys, in different times and places, but I know nothing about where I come from.”
Saul was a very wise and educated man but all he could do was look puzzled. He asked the only question that he could think of. “Are you sure you are not a messenger from The Great One?”
“Oh no, no, no,” Bailey said, “I know nothing of The Great One except what I have seen and heard here on earth. As for the journeys, I think I do go home, but I can’t remember anything of it, except that I am loved. I am sure of that.”
Saul stood to his feet supporting himself with his staff and said, “Come outside with me and I will explain where we are and what our situation is here. While we are doing that I will ponder some more on what you have told me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE- DUNCAN SMELLS GUM LEAVES
With the aid of his staff, Saul took her a little way from the camp, where they could see the surrounding country more clearly. “Firstly,” he said, “our position is not good, or it wasn’t until you came. That is why I was so excited about that piece of cord you brought. I was almost out of food, with no means of obtaining new supplies. With that cord I can snare prey, even with my ankle the way it is. With the supplies you brought, we can live quite well for some time.”
When she heard this, Bailey pondered on the provision that The Great One had made for them.
Saul continued speaking. “As to where we are, I must tell you a little of what I have been doing since I lef
t Damascus almost three years ago.”
This was news to Bailey! She had to adjust her thinking as she realised that the time she had spent in the rippling of travel had used up three years of everybody else’s time. She said nothing, just waited for Saul to continue.
“It had always been my ambition to make a pilgrimage through the Sinai Peninsula and retrace the journey made by Moses and his people. I particularly wanted to visit the places where The Great One had spoken to him. When Ananias touched me and invited me to welcome The Presence into my life I was overwhelmed with new experiences. One of the things that flooded into my awareness was the certain knowledge that I must make that journey immediately without stopping to talk to anyone. I am learning to follow instructions. That is what it means to belong to The Way.”
“Did you discover why you had to go immediately?” Bailey asked.
“Yes, I did. It was so that I wouldn’t mess things up by teaching my own ideas. By the time I had finished my education in Jerusalem I was well on the way to becoming one of the leading scholars in Judaea. No, that is false modesty. I should say, I was well on my way to becoming one of the leading scholars in the whole world. There were positions waiting for me throughout the Empire.
So far as my knowledge of The Book of Ancient Writings is concerned, I could almost recite it from beginning to end. I knew every interpretation that had been put forward by the best scholars. I thought I knew it all. It has taken me the three years I have spent here to unlearn all that I had come to believe, and to discover the simple truth.
“What truth is that?” Bailey asked.
Saul’s reply was immediate. “It is the same as Saviour claimed it to be when he was with us. He said then, ‘Follow me and you will be in the Father’s Kingdom.’ That has not changed. Entering the Kingdom of Heaven is a free gift. It is still the result of becoming his follower and welcoming The Presence into your life and surrounds. There are no absolute laws, no demands of understanding or ability. It just happens.”
Bailey nodded, “That is what Peter believes also. It is how the followers of The Way live.”
As Bailey said those words Saul looked at her in a puzzled way and said to her, “You’re speaking in that strange accent again. I have never heard it so strong before.”
“Crikey, mate!” she exclaimed. “You’re weird.”
All this time Duncan was tugging at her. In the clearest doggy language he could muster, he was saying, “Come this way. It’s urgent.”
Finally, she gave in to his persistence and went with him. Just a few steps seemed to be enough to satisfy him.
Duncan was not encumbered with a brain that demands to make logical sense of everything. He knew something that she was unaware of. He could smell the leaves of gum trees, mixed with the smell of the best treat that his doggy bowl could produce – Lucky Dog, the kind that comes out of a tin, the kind you eat – if you’re a lucky dog. Without any need to understand, Duncan knew that he had to make a little distance between Bailey and Saul.
Saul was amused by the little drama he saw unfolding between Bailey and Duncan. Then his amusement turned to awe as he saw a faint shimmering around them and watched them slowly disappear into a hole in that shimmering air. The Presence remained strong all around him, reassuring him that they were perfectly safe and been taken home to the land they loved best.
Saul walked briskly back to his simple shelter and busied himself, preparing for the journey that he knew he must make, back to Damascus where it had all begun for him. It was there that Ananias had promised that he would receive a sample package of the kind of difficulties he would have to face throughout the rest of his life.
The certainty grew within him that Damascus was his destination. He was becoming happier by the moment as he realised how well prepared he was. He had two donkeys, food and trapping material. As he pondered this, there came the sudden realisation of the most amazing provision of all. All the time that he had been packing and preparing for the journey he had been getting about briskly on two good legs. His spirit soared. He knew now how much The Great One loved him.
He sang as he walked beside the donkeys. He talked with Saviour, his friend. He surrendered his wisdom and accumulated knowledge. He surrendered his bondage to The Ancient Book of Writings and gave it back into the keeping of The Great One. He was even pondering whether he should discard it altogether, as a hindrance to his work with the non-Jewish people.
The voice of The Presence was with him, “Do not discard it. Do not be bound by it.” As he walked on, one other phrase kept going through his mind. “It is useful. It is useful. It will be valuable in every phase of your life. It will be a channel of revelation for you and those you teach. It is not the absolute authority of your truth. Do not become enslaved to it. You have only one master. Remember Saviour said, ‘I am The Way. I am The Truth. I am The Life. Nobody gets to the throne room of my Father except through me. Walk in The Way.”
With an ever-increasing sense of freedom and purpose Saul danced a little as he walked beside his donkey. Like a child, for whom the final school-bell had rung, he leapt into the air as he shouted, "Onward to Damascus."
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
In the mind of the author, this is perhaps the most important part of the book so far as a portrayal of the announcement of the coming of the Kingdom. It is the key to Saul/Paul's understanding of what had happened and shapes his whole ministry. Read what he says of his own experience in Sinai and think about or discuss its significance. The relevant account is in the New Testament in the book of Galatians, chapter one. His account begins at verse eleven and continues through to verse nineteen.
CHAPTER THIRTY- TEN YEARS LATER
Oh my, there is really somebody reading my story.
I think it is time to introduce myself. My name is Bailey. The book you are reading is about me. I want to talk to you in person so that I can tell my own story. That way we can avoid having any silly things being passed off as truth. I want to be in control.
Come, follow me. I want to show you my room. It’s nothing special. We are not flash here, but we are a family. Some of my friends tease me because I am still living at home but I love it here. I know who I am and where I belong. I’m me, I enjoy being me and I enjoy being part of a family.
We do a lot of fun things together, like camping in the bush. I don’t mean setting up tent in some caravan park. I mean camping in remote bush, the ‘you could get lost here’ kind of place. We play. We laugh. We cry. We work. We do it all together. I’m going to miss that. It’s all going to change tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m going to Jerusalem. I really mean it. I am going to Jerusalem on a real plane, to a real job. There will be no ripplings or ancient lifts for this journey. This is not a dream. This is real.
First, I need to say my goodbyes here. This room is my special place. It may not look like anything special but it’s mine. It not only contains all my possessions; it is also full of my memories. When I walk into this space I become ‘me,’ with a capital M. Look over here, I think this is the bit you will like best. Yes, it’s Bear. Everybody loves Bear. Isn’t he a beautiful, monstrous, deliciously cuddly creature? You can give him a cuddle and talk to him if you wish. Everybody talks to Bear but I don’t think he will talk back. He can’t. In a way he is hibernating. But I’m sure that if I ever have children of my own he will wake up and talk to them. I have had many happy times with him. I will miss him. Goodbye Bear.
Now, there is one more thing to see. We’re going into the garden. What I want you to see is there. Have a look right under that rose bush. Yes, that’s what you’re looking for, a brass plaque in memory of a very special friend. Read it and you will understand.
It is a very simple inscription.
DUNCAN
Gone to live with the Beautiful Dog
In the Beautiful Place
I really do miss Duncan. Like Bear, he
gave me some special memories. As long as I live, he will live on as a part of what I was and have become.
Now, while I’ve got you here, I’ve got a question for you. It’s about something that has puzzled me for the last ten years since my dreamings stopped. The question is this. Is it possible for the strength of emotion generated by a dream to have a physical effect on you or your dog when he is sleeping beside your bed? This has puzzled me constantly since I had that last experience when I lived with the people of The Way in Jerusalem.
What puzzles me is this. On the occasions when we’ve had to take Duncan to the Vet since that time, he always comments on the scar on Duncan’s head. His comment is always the same, “What happened to Duncan’s head? It looks as if his ear has been cut off and re-attached.” Then he looks some more, shakes his head and says, “He should be dead. That slash across the top of his head must have penetrated the brain.”
Oh well, I will leave you to ponder that as I have done for the last ten years.
Oh yes, just talking to you like this has reminded me of where I left you in the story of my time with Saul. I have not seen him since but I read about him in the Book of Ancient Writings. I know that he did go straight back to Damascus and he did collect that sample bag of sufferings.
He lost no time in getting right down to what Saviour had told him to do. He taught in the public speaking areas around the Jewish Meeting Place in Damascus.
There he met such fierce opposition that he had to be lowered over the City wall in the night. He fled for his life back to Jerusalem where he was able to meet with Peter and John. He talked with them and checked out the accuracy of the things that had been given to him by The Presence in Sinai.
Peter and John were happy with what they heard but the people of The Way were not. They did not trust him, and the Jewish authorities hated him. He had to run for his life again and went home to Tarsus where he stayed until he was invited back into service by the members of The Way.
The Biovantic Bear Page 10