Book of James: a novel Read online

  Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” He said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house divided falls on itself. Thus I say, if the owner of the house knows a thief is coming, he will hire a strong man, fully armed, to guard his castle, and his property is safe. But when one stronger than the guard attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. Tell your brother to sell the inheritance and join us, for alone we are poor, but together we have abundance. If we gather together, we pick the field clean; if we gather alone, the ravens will have their fill.”

  “There can be no peace until there is division! God’s faithful must set themselves apart from the world of greed because greed is a fire that cares not which tinder it consumes. Houses will be divided and they will fall. From the wreckage, new houses will be formed according to God’s plan. From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

  “Whoever loves their father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not leave worldly things behind cannot be my disciple. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.”

  “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you.”

  Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame, bring the sinners, bring the prisoners, bring the paupers. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

  “Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

  “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

  “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

  “In that way, God rewards the just, and punishes the unjust. Do not give your tithes, give all of your possessions, live among the just and righteous, and God’s grace will be your reward.”

  Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when I will be gone. But when I am is gone, you will not be alone. My mandate, from John, will go to James, and you will be faithful to him as you were to me.”

  Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the messiah.” He said, “I am not the messiah. We are all but sons of men who walk this earth to proclaim the kingdom of God. No man can save the people. It is for the people to save themselves by living according to God’s law.” And he sternly ordered them not to repeat Peter’s profanity.

  Then we came to Jerusalem. And Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And when the Herodians and the Manasseh heard it, they began looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came, we went out of the city.

  Again we came to Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “From the same authority as John.” And they said, “That does not answer our question.” And he said, “We obey who appointed us. You were appointed by man, and you obey the laws of man. John obeyed the laws of God, that is where he derived his authority.”

  And then he said to them, “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenants and then went to another country. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him and beat him and killed him. He then sent two slaves, and they killed one and beat the other, and sent him back with the message that they will only give the share to the landlord when he arrives in person. But the landlord was wise and knew that they would kill him if he came, so he sent soldiers who beat the tenants, burnt their crop, and dispossessed them of the land.” When the Herodians and the Manasseh realized that this was a parable against them, they wanted even more to kill him, for the crowd understood and believed.

  Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Jesus said to them, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

  As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have places of honor at banquets! They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others, but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

  He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two thin copper pieces. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For
all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she contributed out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. She will be first into the kingdom of God.”

  One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “There is no first and there is no last, for they all come from God. But they can be spoken in two: The first is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

  It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The Herodians were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; for the Manasseh said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”

  But the Herodians insisted that he be arrested so, in the evening, their guards found him outside of the city. They brought him in chains to the council of priests and elders. Many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. One said, “He told us he was the messiah.” Another said, “He claimed that he was the Son of God.” The High Priest asked him if he was the messiah, and Jesus replied, “I am not, for the messiah will be a king and will lead the people in war. I am but a son of man, and teach peace and supplication.” Then the High Priest asked if he was the Son of God, and Jesus replied, “Anyone who calls themselves the Son of God blasphemes, and in my life, I have never uttered blasphemy.”

  And then the High Priest said, “You say we have no authority from God.” And Jesus replied, “You were appointed by Herod, you are not of the house of Zadok, God’s law is that the high priest must be from the house of Zadok, so yes, you have no authority from God.” And then the High Priest asked him, “So you speak for God?” And Jesus said, “I speak the truth, you act without God’s authority.” Then the High Priest tore his clothes and said, “He claims to speak for God! We need no more witnesses, you have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death. Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him over and beat him.

  As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. They told Pilate their evidence was that Jesus claimed to be king of the Jews. So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And Jesus replied, “I am not.” Then Pilate said, “The chief priests and the elders have found otherwise.” Pilate then handed Jesus over to be crucified.

  They flogged Jesus and then forced him to carry his cross to Golgotha where he was crucified. I, our mother, Mary, and his wife, Mary Magdalene, watched him die. As we had no money to bribe the soldiers, his body remained on the cross over the course of several days, and was consumed by ravens and dogs.

  On the third day, after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene awoke and said, “I saw Jesus in a dream, floating on high with the angels of heaven. He told me that his disciples must return to Jerusalem, and live a life of righteousness and justice.” Where we resolved to save ourselves from this corrupt generation, and all were baptized. We who were baptized are bound together and have all things in common. The disciples returned, they would sell their possessions and goods and we would distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.