NOVUS VIA XIII

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume XI, Issue XIX

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” – Psalm 91:1

And so the man whom all assumed to be the ‘Beast’ of Revelation came quietly to the little group of disciples on Big Diomede. ‘BSB One’ landed on the abandoned strip after a coded assurance was flashed with a mirror from the ground. The pilots of Zimmerman’s operation had always maintained an edge by simply remembering old ways of doing things. After his communications had all dropped out on the bridge years ago, Zimmerman had insisted that ‘old fashioned’ backups be employed. Thus his pilots knew semaphore code and periodically dropped out their ‘new’ technology on purpose to keep themselves alert.

The Worldstate Plane was left untouched on the abandoned runway. ‘Ransom’ concluded that any attempt to embellish the story it told would make it more suspicious anyway. Any one of a myriad of rebel forces operating in the area could have abducted the crew and the subsequent investigation would divert Worldstate resources for quite some time. ‘Ransom’ for his part was becoming quite at home with the whole “hidden in plain sight” phenomenon. Someday it might cost him his life… but he longed ever more to hear the commendation: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” from the Master.

Of more immediate concern to ‘Ransom’ was the safety of his fellows. He felt sure of Corvinus’ changed heart, but could he risk others’ lives on his own feelings. Here was a man who had killed many of his fellow pilgrims. Yet here was a working of the Divine that was not at all unprecedented.

As Corvinus and ‘Ransom’ prayed together, Mátyás had indeed seen his sight restored! Still, ‘Ramsom’ wrestled with what to do with his new disciple. In the end he brought him blindfolded to Big Diomede where he was coldly and cautiously received by the company. Indeed some were present who had seen loved ones murdered by this man’s decree so all found themselves asking if the Divine could change a life.

Not the least of these was Corvinus himself. ‘Ransom’ was working beside him in the kitchen, preparing the institute’s signature macaroni and cheese. Corvinus, though born and bred to power, was taking a liking to manual work and that encouraged his mentor greatly. “Is it possible for G-d to forgive one such as me, so ‘unnaturally born’ into His Kingdom?” he asked. ‘Ransom’ was stabbed to the heart, for he still wrestled with his feelings for this man who was now his apprentice. Yet he answered by drawing a vertical bar graph. The bars were of varying heights and ‘Ransom’ wrote the names of the various sins under them. Murder and deceit rose pretty high. Genocide was the tallest. Petty theft ranked not so much, but there was definitely a range of possibilities. “This is how WE see sin, here among the sinners.” Then ‘Ransom’ drew a second graph. This time populated only by uniform squares in a row. “This is how the DIVINE sees sin,” said the man, “from ABOVE. He sees not the degree, only the sin! Thus it is within His way of seeing that your redemption is possible!”



He then told the story of slaver John Newton, who had destroyed at least as many lives as Corvinus in his day. Newton, in his changed life, became a great minister of the Gospel that had brought change to him. He had written the great hymn: “Amazing Grace” to the tune of the ‘slave notes,’ those notes found in African music. Indeed, ‘Ransom’ noted, REDEMPTION was one of the Divine’s most cherished works!

What of my two brothers?” Corvinus asked another time as the two walked to dinner in the golden evening light. ‘Ransom’ caught himself for a moment, then said: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” “That promise is in Peter’s second letter and it is true. He has certainly shown that patience to me. I do not know what will happen with your brothers… that battle must be won within each of their own hearts. To be sure, there are those who reject the gracious hand of the Divine and we see from this writing that it causes Him sorrow.

I do not know why this is so, but it should be contrasted with the forced compliance that is the bedrock of your Worldstate. You yourself have said that it is not freedom and you discovered, you said too late, that it wrought no change in your heart. Without the continual oversight of Worldstate, mankind was destined to descend into chaos. The Divine, in contrast, rules very little from without, but if allowed to do so He brings great change within.

As a ruler of that former world, you enjoyed unlimited access to pleasures and power, but did it complete you? No, for most certainly your recognition of a void in your heart has led you here. Here our life is simple, but our simple pleasures fill us richly.”

And so, Mátyás Corvinus became a student of the Way.

This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of G-d the Heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

But the Heavens and the Earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of G-d, wherein the Heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new Heavens and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” – 2 Peter 3

(to be continued) [click to read]

Copyright © 2016, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

NOVUS VIA XI

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume XI, Issue XVII

Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.

Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.” -- Psalm 39:5-7

The Big Diomede Service Plaza was by now fully in operation again. The van pulled into a loading dock behind the kitchen that served the various restaurants in the building that spanned the highway. The driver helped Fred… now ‘Joe’ with his bag. “For Heaven’s sake, remember your new name!” whispered the driver. “Come with me.” Now the two entered the busy kitchen and its pantries. “We need to slip into the Ladies’ room,” the driver said. ‘Joe’ hesitated but the man urgently pushed him along. The room was momentarily deserted but the driver made some frantic gestures in front of a mirror and quickly pushed them both into a trucker’s shower room. Locking the door, the driver held his finger to his lips, calling for silence. He opened a locker in the room and the back soon opened as well, revealing a secret passageway.

Joe’ went on alone. The dark hallway appeared to be a steam tunnel and it went on for a considerable distance before ‘Joe’ sensed the presence of another human being. “This was Mama Greene’s greatest triumph!” the shadowy figure whispered. “Call me ‘Ransom.’ You might be interested to know that when the great bridge was built, Mama Greene was the Pastor’s wife and she sort of shocked everyone by taking a job at the service plaza. She was the reason many of her coworkers found ‘The Way,’ but there was one thing about the great bridge that really troubled her…

It was the young girls, they passed through here constantly in the company of their benefactor-captors… headed for the vilest and most degrading form of servitude. The secret passageway allowed her to whisk many of them out of here unseen. She would lead them through this portal into a new life!”

They walked along as ‘Ransom’ spoke. “Now I shall show you what redemption looked like for these young women.” Passing now from back to front of a similar cabinet to the one by which they had entered the tunnel, they found themselves in the locker room of some sort of workspace. Mannequins and sewing machines identified it as some sort of clothing factory. “Mama Greene knew that without the hope of something better, the girls would simply disappear into servitude again… so she created this! Here she created a line of designer clothing and cosmetics, right here on Big Diomede. Everyone thought they came out of New York City in the ‘Lower 48,’ but that was not the truth.

This is the basement of one of the college residences in the original Biosphere. I know you may have heard that this area is permanently sealed off due to a lab accident that happened as a result of the disappearances. Indeed there was a small radiation spill, but that has been dealt with. We ‘seed’ a bit of radiation near the entrances to the Biosphere and that keeps the enforcers away. Even better, I and some of my fellow staff are in permanent ‘isolation’ here because we are classified as ‘radiation survivors.’ We get supplies from the Service Plaza via a robot carrier but no-one wants to come in and bother us!”

Joe’ was now ushered up the stairs where he was assigned a little room and ‘Ransom’ left him to freshen up. The room was simple and tastefully furnished. On a nightstand was a copy of the book: ‘Notes to Priscilla and Aquilla’ and a Gideon Bible. ‘Joe’ picked up the little book and picked up where he had left off with it. He was dozing off and dreaming about magic wardrobes, or something like that when ‘Ransom’ knocked on his door, inviting him to dinner.

Stepping out of the little building, ‘Joe found himself in a place of well-manicured lawns and somewhat overgrown gardens. Little robot mowers quietly striped the deserted greens and a perfusion of bright hollyhocks bordered them. Here and there was a miniature horse contently grazing on the crisp pastures. “Another of Mama’s inspirations!” the man said. “She insisted on there being butterflies and hummingbirds here. The little horses were one of her projects too. She thought they would eventually replace the little mowers.”

Above them was the dome of the Biosphere, which sealed out the harsh Wintery weather of the far North. The panes were blue-tinted and milky so no one could photograph what went on inside… they were ionized so that you could electrically clear them when there was a glorious sky that everyone wanted to see but during the months of prolonged darkness they remained milky… reflecting back the full-spectrum lighting that simulated a more normal day. The Biosphere was driven by geothermal energy and since it had its own source and power plant, no one bothered to ask why it was still running. “When the Dome is clear,” ‘Ransom’ continued, “You can see across that green to open sea and the rising sun! As the sun first illuminates a new day, we can see it here.” ‘Joe’ continued to take in the wonders of this new place. As they walked to the refectory, a brilliant hummingbird or butterfly frequently punctuated their conversation.

As they rounded a corner, ‘Joe’ froze. He pointed silently to a rather large BEAR who was ambling into the building they intended to enter. “Oh,” said ‘Ransom,’ “You will need to make the acquaintance of ‘Mister Bultitude!’ You see, we had a little biological research lab here studying hibernation. They hoped to find out how to slow down the human metabolism to fight diseases, so they engaged the services of a most experienced hibernator! He’s quite friendly and the staff all love him.”

Around tables in a paneled room, a small but rather diverse group of people were enjoying some rather deep conversation. ‘You will get to meet our students in the days to come.” Said ‘Ransom,’ “but for now enjoy a decent meal and our hospitality.” The students actually dined in courses, which they took turns serving to their fellows. There were tablecloths and cloth napkins… the whole setting seemed to be from another Century, right down to the soft lighting. Ransom explained: “Dr. Greene felt that the high dinner was often a better setting for learning than the classroom. In the day, students actually dressed for dinner. Greene was not one to write dress-codes and you are quite fine in what you are wearing, but you must know that Dr. Greene was one to nurture traditions of meaning, particularly when they were instituted by his students.

I remember when his little daughter would dine here with her parents and politely tell the young men how nice they looked. Indeed there was a sense of a higher way of living established here, aside from bears in the refectory! The students nicknamed her ‘Queen Lucy,’ for she, tomboy as she was, loved to put on a long dress for the dinners. The students would always feign wonder at the ‘transformation,’ but in reality they saw it as another affirmation of the work they were engaged in. They loved her for it even as they teased her mercilessly when her smiling face appeared upside down from the tree she was hiding in!

After dinner, ‘Ransom’ and ‘Joe’ took a leisurely stroll on the campus grounds. “Here is the first real house that was built on Big Diomede,” said ‘Ransom’ as he pointed out the little parsonage. It is empty now for since the family disappeared none of us have wanted to disturb it. Most of the good Doctor’s books found their way over to the college anyway and though those of us who remain did not at the time love his G-d, we loved Dr.Greene! We try to continue the work here as he would have wanted us to.”

Walking beyond the campus, the two men passed the Zimmerman family houses, which were also dark and uninhabited. “Here is where the men and women who designed and built the great bridge ultimately spent their lives. It is no accident that the houses look to be of the same size and design as the parsonage. They were all built by a Swedish designer from Virginia who valued beauty and economy in construction. In the end, the Zimmerman and O’Malley families sought a fairly simple and unencumbered life as they pursued their various projects to build the ‘Better Kingdom.’

Joe’ wanted to learn more. “How does one come to study here?” he asked. He was used to admissions forms and standardized testing from his academic career in the ‘Lower 48,’ so he was a bit surprised when his host said: “You’ve already begun the process if you wanted to.” ‘Joe’ was perplexed, but ‘Ransom’ continued: “It always started with dinner with Dr. Greene. Greene would watch you as you interacted with him and his family. He was particularly observant of how you treated children and how you treated us who were in the custodial department. You could be the brightest bulb in the bunch but if you had no respect for a man in coveralls you were already out.

Greene had this thing about ‘Imago Dei,’ the ‘Image of G-d’ being in every person. If you couldn’t see it, he felt like he had nothing he could teach you. I remember once when some powerful leader decided that his son should get educated by Greene. Greene was so recognizable then as an academic leader and a man of G-d, but Rupert Zimmerman put on his coveralls and was replacing lamps and ballast in the building when the young man arrived. He was indeed impeccably dressed and Zimmerman bided his time as the youth waited in the lobby. He presently saw his opportunity and asked from his ladder if the young man would hand him up a bulb.

The youth responded in an arrogant manner that he was here for an appointment with the head of the college and didn’t want to get his hands dirty! Soon Greene’s assistant ushered him in to the office and the matter was forgotten… until a few hours later at dinner at the Greene’s house where an impeccably dressed Rupert Zimmerman joined them. Greene’s wife and daughter had been painting together that day and conspicuously wore the evidence on their fingers. Zimmerman, though he’d used a finger brush, still wore the evidence of his encounter with a rather dirty fixture he had worked on.

Greene began the pre-dinner introductions: ‘I assume you have met Mr. Zimmerman, former chair of the Zimmerman Bridge and Highway Company? He now serves on the board of this college.’ Zimmerman, for his part said later that he had really had to apologize to the young man later for the way he was enjoying the silent dinner. ‘There I was, savoring that macaroni and cheese in silence, and LOVING every minute of it!’ Rupert confessed later. Needless to say, the poor young man voluntarily withdrew his application but later became a very wise fellow in his own right… at a regular university, or perhaps we should say in SPITE of a regular university! The greatest lesson he ever learned, he would recount in speeches around the world, was taught to him that night at that dinner table!”

Ransom,’ for his part had been listening intently to ‘Joe’s’ story even as he touted the wonders of the Biosphere for him. He sensed that this young man was ready to move into some more perfect way of discipleship.

And so began a time of learning and wonder for ‘Joe.’ He began to get to know the handful of other students better as they wrestled with Scripture and its application together. He was sad that there were no longer any women there, wondering at the joy that ‘Queen Lucy’ must have cast over such a world. Those who were here, he learned, were the ones who had shut out the knowledge of the Way from their lives, even as those around them pleaded to Heaven for their loved ones to taste Eternity. They had been, sadly, like Kay in the palace of the Snow Queen, blinded to the wonders meant for them and untouched by the warm tears of their Gerdas. Untouched that is until the disappearance caused those prayers and tears to finally melt their hearts and in their anguish they turned to that which had been most precious to those who loved them.

The love that had melted their hearts was something they all cherished and that love drew them together. Outside the Biosphere, Mátyás Corvinus, head of the Worldstate Combined States Government, was working very hard to eliminate this movement, but even the threat of beheading by his ‘enforcers’ could not compete with redemptive love. Five hundred miles away in Fairgate, Corvinus was indeed plotting their demise, but for now the little company was safely hidden at the ‘End of the World.’



(to be continued) [click to read]

Copyright © 2016, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

THYME Magazine: The Bridge Builder's Tale

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume XI, Issue XIX

Pontifus, the Bridge Builder's Tale
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2015, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

The Bridge Builder's Tale [click here to read].
Table of Contents [click here to read].

Coming March 1: NOVUS VIA


Volume XI, Issue IX

This Week's Installment [click to read].
(begins March 1).

THYME Magazine: The Bridge Builder's Tale: Table of Contents

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor

THYME Magazine: The Bridge Builder's Tale XXIX

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor



Some people care too much. I think its called love.” – A. A. Milne

Joe and Kate had followed in the Greene's footsteps, but their path had taken them back to the 'lower 48,' where they pastored a church. The great bridge and her economic vitality were indeed infusing something into the spirit of a hungry world. In centuries past it had been known as the 'Great Awakening.' Jonathan Greene and Kris had unwittingly followed in the footsteps of men like Jonathan Edwards. Indeed it almost seemed like the Divine's patience with mankind was finally paying off. The world in 2060 was a bit different than the prophets of doom had predicted.

There had indeed been wars, and even more rumors of war. The sins of mankind continued to play out on the world stage, and many suffered as a result. In the Northern hemisphere, Elizabeth Zimmerman's geothermal greenhouse farms, populated by refugees of these conflicts, offered a strong alternative! If the truth be known, more people around the world were discovering the 'hope and a future' that Rupert Zimmerman had first tasted over the Greene's macaroni and cheese! Though the news media was not reporting it. In every nation of the world, little 'Priscilla and Aquilla' groups were quietly changing the world.

Indeed, on a lazy Summer afternoon in a garden on Big Diomede, a group of ladies sharing sweet tea and sweet fellowship seemed to profess that all was right with the world. Yet, unlike the fat complacency of ages past, that had led to apathy and forgetfulness, they all shared that delicious feeling of anticipation! It was something like the feeling you have the day before your cherished daughter is given in marriage to a son-in-law who you yourself have come to love!

What could it be? The work in the world was far from finished, yet a new era of peace and prosperity seemed to be coming. With the world looking to the Northern Hemisphere for direction now, the Middle East was attempting to overcome her own convulsions with the establishment of the World Centre for Peace on the outskirts of Baghdad. The project of a young, charismatic visionary from Hungary, this could only help to settle the seemingly unending cycle of world violence...

But today, the light through the now mature trees of the biosphere was so... GOLDEN! so RICH! Not an ordinary day! And what was this? The MEN of these families were returning EARLY from their tour of 'Zimmerman's Folly.' That NEVER happened. The ladies had even put a later time on their reservations at Big Diomede's Asian restaurant for dinner that night, knowing full well that a short tour of the great bridge never was. Yet, the men too seemed to sense the wonder of the sunlight... and the desire to be close to their loved ones. Think of Christmas morning or the day of your wedding... or the last bell before the first day of Summer vacation... none of these can come close to the feeling our little company now shared.

Golden sunlight seemed to fill the little garden now. The hollyhocks had never seemed so brilliant!



*******

For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth all things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." -- Isaiah 61:11

The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow." -- Isaiah 62:2



Kris vaguely remembered the feeling of floating... it seemed she was floating above her brilliant garden on Big Diomede... then stepping from the still pool into a beautiful wood! Oh, the colors! This place was so new and yet to her it was also strangely familiar, like the woods she'd played in behind her house as a girl, but the colors were so deep! Somehow she'd always known the wonder of this place.

The illumination of this place was like the first light of dawn. Golden light spilled into the little grove! Somehow the source of that light seemed very close... as if moving toward her to greet her! Her first desire was to sing, and sing she did. Her beautiful voice filled the little grove. Her song seemed to add color to the place, and indeed as she sang flowers and brilliant leaves seemed to come into being! She was aware now that she was singing harmony to someone else's beautiful song! There He stood! A Man so magnificent that He appeared to be the Force that illuminated this world! Indeed He WAS! He finished His song and greeted her:

Well done!, good and faithful servant! You were my light in the world you have come from, now you shall be called..." and he spoke a name so wonderful that we may not speak it here, but it loosely translates as 'Daughter of the Morning Star.' "Daughter, come and see what I'm working on!" He seemed eager to show her the inner secrets of His Creation, and indeed He was. But as she stepped into this world of wonder she realized that she was not alone! Indeed her husband and her brother, who shared the same name had been singing her song as well. The man who had been her partner in life and the brother she had lost in childhood now stood embracing her in the presence of the Magnificent One!

Time is not the same in this world and for what might have been eons the little family shared joys that we can only imagine, since they are private to them, but just imagine the best Christmas ever when some favorite relative showed up unexpectedly and the house was filled with joy, laughter and forever memories! Yes, the smell of wonder that seemed to spill forth when a beloved and magical aunt opened her suitcase... those imprinted joys of childhood that are never forgotten!; these are but a hint of what joys our travelers now savored! Oh, how the circle grew bigger as grandparents and others joined the happy group!

Kris would always remember a couple of wonderful things about this moment, as if she was uniquely created to notice them. First of all the eyes of the Magnificent One were seemingly made up of every color in the rainbow... and more colors that are beyond the ability of eyes in this present world to see at all! If Kris could have seen her own eyes now she would have seen that the beautiful green of them had been joined by all those colors as well! Her eyes were a mirror of the Master's! Now she noticed that when her loved ones drew closer to the Redeeming One, they seemed to grow younger! Now she came to the joyous realization that in the presence of the Magnificent One, she herself became as a little child. She lost no knowledge or wisdom in doing so. In fact, one only GAINED wisdom as one came closer to His presence!

She thought of people she'd met who'd seen and shared visions and dreams of this place. An Egyptian woman had said that Jesus was surrounded in Heaven by children! Now Kris saw how this could be as another person, who had died and been revived as a child had said that Heaven was populated by people who appeared to be in the prime of their young adulthood. Kris had once painted a mural on a church wall called 'Journey to Jesus.' In it children from around the world approached the Saviour in their native costumes. Now it seemed that Kris' painting had come to life. Young and brilliant, from every nation, they came to greet... or more correctly, to be greeted by the Magnificent One! Now she saw that this vision was indeed a reality! She hadn't noticed the wider wood before, but now she saw the full sweep of the wonderful new world.

When Kris had painted her mural, a hallway had forced a break at the Bering Strait. In her lifetime she'd seen herself transplanted to the place where that divide had been bridged. Now mankind joined together, with no seas to separate them, in the presence of the Magnificent One!

There were others that Kris recognized as well. Abdul, the handsome Turk, walked with his wife and his sons and daughters. Rupert, Pat, Elizabeth and Martin strolled through the wood. Elizabeth joyfully pointed out new wonders as they walked! Each of them greeted Kris with the deep warmth one has for the teacher who has opened new vistas to them! Here were Willa and Joe, with their loved ones strolling through what could only be called a grove of hollyhocks... or were they hibiscus? The flowers were ENORMOUS! Willa carried a smaller one... brilliant blue, picked for her especially by Joe, who knew she loved that color. Butterflies and hummingbirds, some more brilliant than any ever seen on the old Earth, abounded here. Joe's granddaughter Kate seemed to be their family's guide through this wonderland. They each embraced Kris warmly when they spotted her. Each embrace seemed tied to the Magnificent One's blessing: "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Kris' daughter and Kate, who had painted Zimmerman's reproduction of the 'School of Athens' together with her joined arms with Kris and together they shared the ongoing discovery of new wonders.

Some theologians will likely have problems with the notion that there are people, with arms locked, SKIPPING together in Heaven. I offer them no apologies, for the three women in our story were most assuredly doing just that. For their comfort it might be best to omit the description of some of the more magical creatures as well. It is safe to say the three women had come pretty close to describing them in their childhood sketchbooks! Now they patted their noses! All the while they recognized and called to friends they had known in the old world. They called to them as well. Kate, Kris and Kris' daughter were caught up in an ongoing and glorious reunion.

It is worth mentioning at this point that these are the names they were known by on the old Earth. Kris called them by names that seemed to overflow with some deep knowledge of the Magnificent One! Somehow she knew these names, though she'd never been told them. Women she'd first met as tough truck stop workers now gently embraced her with their loved ones and she addressed them with similar holy names! Families born of redeemed lives eagerly embraced the instrument of their redemption! Also, it is worth noting that Willa, who had lovingly introduced the World Unseen and the Magnificent One to scores of preschool children was also one of the few like Kris and her husband who heard the commendation; "Well done, good and faithful servant."

In fact it was Willa who, if one bothered to count (and in this new world you don't), received the most and the most sincere embraces. She instantly remembered the faces of children she'd taught in her first fourth grade class in rural Virginia. Now seeing them as grown men and women, she nonetheless recognized them instantly and knew their new and holy names. Their wives and children also had to embrace the one who the Magnificent One had used to breathe His life into their families. There were parents and grandparents too. Her love was the unspoken sermon that won their hearts. There were the twins she had known as Anthony and Antinio, though she called them now by new names... once mischievous children, now strong and brown young men! Indeed they were son's of the Magnificent One!, captured by His love as seen in the vessel of their slender young teacher! Joe was caught up in the wonder of the stories that sprang like fruitful branches from the life of his wife. It did not matter to him that he did not have so many as he immersed himself in the joy of learning hers. Joe did see Chris. Though neither of them was wearing an 'Intercontinental Logistics' shirt with the name embroidered on it anymore, they needed no one to tell them the NEW names by which they greeted each other. Chris could argue all he wanted with Joe's words and thoughts, and he could poke holes in Joe's failures to live up to what he professed to believe, but he was hard pressed to try and explain away the way Joe was sustained by WHO he believed in. In the end that was what Chris knew was real as his rig plunged into the icy waters of the Bering Strait. Both men embraced Abdul when they saw him. The young Turk had hungered for what he saw in men like Joe. He had endured the withdrawal of his family and threats on his life to find it. He had had dreams of this place, and the Man who gave it life. He had been blessed with a lovely wife and children... who walked with him now in this garden. They had suffered much and died at the hands of those who opposed the Kingdom they now knew as their home.

One often wondered what you remembered in Heaven and what you forgot. Now it was clear that knowledge had only GROWN. Knowledge of the Magnificent One filled places in your being that you didn't know needed to be filled. Indeed one could remember as but a cloudy dream, things from the past. Earth had been remade in a fiery rebirth. One knew that, but it was rather like the time Zimmerman had read the words 'Citizen, Soldier, Educator' on that statue in a college quadrangle. The man so referenced had also lost a leg in battle, but here on the quadrangle there was no smoke, no pain, no blood, only the peaceful light through the trees and the memory of a life that had been lived... no man's life is totally well-lived, but that is the part that remains vivid in the memory. In fact, Kris saw this man and Rupert strolling together in a deep and animated discussion. It reminded her a little bit of the dialogue that had long gone on between Rupert and her husband. The difference was that now Zimmerman wore no anxiety and suffered no torment in the process. The man who inwardly had struggled so hard to find his place in the world seemed quite content and at home in the world he now occupied.

History was remembered, but the Master of History had made it His Story. There were indeed some who were not here that one had known in the Old Earth. Their lives were not forgotten, but they were remembered in the context of the Magnificent One's patience, "Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Indeed, one was aware of how the Magnificent One had wooed them. The Magnificent One wiped away tears; and His presence so filled you, that somehow you were made whole.

But now something new was about to happen. "Come!" said the voice Kris had first heard joined with her in song. Now on the Hillsides of a New Earth, all were gathered as the Great Jerusalem came down to join the Earth... "as a bride adorned for her Husband."

Behold, I make all things new."

Now that light that had first filtered through the trees was seen to have its origin from within the Great Jerusalem that descended. If you think of the finest feast of celebration you have ever enjoyed, the best family or church picnic on a beautiful day; you will come closer, but nowhere close to the feeling of this time when mankind sat down to enjoy a shared meal with the Magnificent One at the end of the world... or was this the BEGINNING?, yes, I believe that is a more truthful observation; and that, dear reader, is the one I will leave you with

*******


Oriental Poppy. Photo by Kristina Elaine Greer


Hibiscus. Photo by Kristina Elaine Greer

In Isaiah 60 [1.] and in Revelation 21 Believers look to a New Heaven and a New Earth where a Heavenly Jerusalem descends to join the Earth. Here is a Kingdom that needs no temple, needs no sun to light it, for G-d Himself is the force that illuminates it! [2.]

And I saw a new Heaven and a new earth: for the first Heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from G-d out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of G-d is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and G-d himself shall be with them, and be their G-d." -- Revelation 21:1-3


Journey to Jesus, a mural depicting the nations coming to Jesus in the New Heaven and New Earth described in Revelation 21. Mural by Kristina Elaine Greer and Bob Kirchman

Journey to Jesus [click to view larger images].

Our Christian hope is that we're going to live with Christ in a new Earth, where there is not only no more death, but where life is what it was always meant to be." -- Timothy Keller.


The hope of Heaven and New Earth.

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THYME Magazine: The Bridge Builder's Tale XXIX

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor



We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet. Even longer,' Pooh answered.” – A. A. Milne

That is where Kate and Kris had become friends. The two women had balanced childcare and muralling as they worked on Zimmerman's recreation of "The School of Athens." Zimmerman could have hired any famous living artist he'd wanted to but on his frequent visits to the Greene home he was always delighted by Kris' paintings there.

If the truth be known, Zimmerman preferred the strong hand of a trusted colleague over the acclaim of the culture in choosing his partners for any project. Elizabeth and Martin had laid out the Big Diomede campus and designed the modest, but tasteful buildings joined by simple colonnades. The campus was set on the edge of the island, perpetually open to the East and the rising sun. Since no classroom was bigger than a suburban living room, Zimmerman's Swedish friend produced the campus buildings in his Virginia production center.

Kris had even shown Rupert the painting she was 'hiding' as a discreet mural in the parsonage. The tradition of their faith was that they would often move on to a new field of ministry. One of Zimmerman's favorite stories from a childhood book was that of a Methodist minister who always planted a young tree at each parsonage that he would never enjoy the shade of. The purpose was to bless the families that would come after. Generations later children would play in the shade of a stately oak. The Greenes brought that story to life as Kris sought to do that with her murals.


Inside Kris' house on Big Diomede. The college is visible through the window. 
Painting by Lola Dalton (the author's grandmother)

She had initially protested Zimmerman's request that she paint "The School of Athens," but in the end reluctantly agreed. Taking Kate under her wing made the project sweet. As the two women wrestled with the folds of tunics and the contorted coffers, Kate shared the hopes and fears of every young woman. Kris was a wonderful mentor, sharing from her own story to encourage her young apprentice. That Summer flew by... the one Kate had so dreaded. It was a tearful ending as Kate returned to school in the 'lower 48.' She looked forward to her return the following Summer.

One of Kate's most voiced laments was that: "good men were hard to find in the lower 48!" With few meaningful career paths left to them, many lived in a sort of perpetual adolescence... like actors in a beer commercial, they played and sought 'experience,' but few of them sought significance. Encouraged by the Greene's love story, she had been given a larger perspective. Indeed it was the NEXT Summer that Kate had met her husband, one of Greene's seminary students at the new college. Here was a man who indeed quietly planted so that others who followed might reap the bounty... a man of the NEW American frontier!

His name was Joe, just like the name of her beloved grandfather! Joe had had an interesting life. He'd tasted redemption after a troubled youth. He was a serious student of the Bible... but not as a detached interest. He'd seen it as a blueprint for remaking his life! He came to Big Diomede as a supervisor of the installation of the Virginia-built houses. Greene was offering some course that interested him and he ended up as one of the Pastor's favorite students. Naturally, the friendship began around the Greene's dinner table. When Kate returned to school in the 'lower 48,' the letters flowed regularly.

Kris, though she enjoyed new technology, never lost the sense of the flavor of a hand-drawn card or letter. She seemed to carry over the sensibilities of a bye-gone century as she inhabited the 21st. How she enjoyed mentoring Kate in the art of high romance! Indeed, she was an enabler... she had snuck the colored pencils and deckle-edged paper into Kate's grandfather's room as he reconnected with Willa! Now she was at it again.


Stairwell window at the college. Painting by Lola Dalton

(to be continued) [click to read]

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