Читать книгу Nicaea - The Rise of the Imperial Church - William Speir - Страница 11

Arias sat at his desk, reading his well-worn copy of the Gospel of John. It was his favorite text – the only one of the gospels written by an apostle of Jesus. Arias believed that its eyewitness account of Jesus’ ministry on earth had greater clarity than the other gospels.

As he read, several verses stood out to him.

“God is a spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth,”

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”

Arias put down the scroll and meditated on the meanings of the passages he had read. It was more than an hour before he opened his eyes and looked around his chamber, feeling the peace of God surrounding and filling him. He felt at one with all living things. If only all men could feel as I feel right now.

He noticed a stack of letters on the edge of his desk. My letter should have reached Hosius by now. I look forward to his reply. I’ll never see Alexander as an enemy, but sometimes I wonder if Alexander views me in the same way that the Pharisees viewed our Master.

As he thought about his disagreements with Alexander, a rapid knocking on his door interrupted him. “Enter.”

His acolyte Andrew entered the chamber. “Arias, come quick. A boy has been hit by a chariot. The physician told his parents that he doesn’t have long to live.”

Arias leapt to his feet and followed Andrew into the town.

When they reached the house of the child, Arias turned to Andrew. “When we go inside, I want you to take the parents and anyone else who’s there outside so I can be alone with the lad.”

“Yes, Arias,” Andrew responded.

Arias entered the house. The front room was empty. Arias announced himself but heard no response. Arias crossed the front room, looking for any signs of the house’s occupants. He heard a woman crying, and he and Andrew followed the sound to a room at the rear of the house. When he reached the room, he saw several people standing or kneeling around the boy’s bed. The lad was pale and the bedding blood-soaked.

Andrew ushered everyone out of the room as Arias approached the lad and sat down on the edge of the bed. Andrew returned a few moments later and stood in the doorway so no one could enter.

Arias closed his eyes and bowed his head in silent communion with God. After a short while, he placed a hand on the lad’s chest. At first, nothing happened. Then the child began to moan – softly at first, and then louder. Arias never moved his hand from the lad’s chest. The color returned to the child’s face. A moment later, his eyes opened.

“What happened to me?” the lad asked, looking confused.

“Nothing, my boy,” Arias answered kindly, removing his hand from the boy’s chest and helping him sit up. “You are made in God’s image, and no accident can change that fact.”

Arias turned toward Andrew, who called for the parents. When the parents entered the room, they were astonished to see their son sitting up and smiling.

“Your son is fine,” Arias said, getting to his feet.

“How can we thank you, Arias?” the lad’s father asked as the mother hugged her son. Tears of gratitude were evident on the father’s cheeks.

“No need,” Arias replied softly. Then he added, “But tell no one what has happened here. The healing of your son is a gift from God, and it’s God who deserves your thanks.”

The father nodded and then joined his wife next to their son. Arias motioned to Andrew, and the two men left the house to return to the church.

As they walked away from the house, Andrew asked, “Why didn’t you want the father to say anything about what happened?”

“Because healings like this are no longer commonplace. I don’t want anyone looking at the child differently, nor do I want the parents ridiculed by those who don’t believe in the power of God to heal the sick and injured. And there is no need to keep talking about the accident. The boy is healed, and talking about what may or may not have happened will not make the healing any more or less real. Besides, I don’t want anyone saying that the healing came about because of me. I didn’t do anything special. I knew that the boy was perfect, as God created him, and that no supposed accident could ever change that. I helped the child see the truth, and the truth set him free.”

“I don’t understand,” Andrew said.

“Then I’ll explain it to you,” Arias said, kindly. “Do you remember reading the first part of the book of Genesis?”

“Yes.”

“What does it say about the creation of man?”

“That God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them. And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”

“That’s right. Now in the Gospel of John, it says that ‘God is a spirit.’ If God is a spirit, then his image and likeness must also be spiritual, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the true nature of man: he is spiritual, and he is the image and likeness of God. The image and likeness of God can’t have something that God can’t have, can it?”

“No,” Andrew replied.

“And if God is a spirit, and He’s all-powerful, then He can’t have an accident, can He?”

“No.”

“So then how can man, who is spiritual and is the image and likeness of God, have an accident?”

“I don’t know,” Andrew said.

“He can’t,” Arias stated. “If God made man in his image and likeness, and God cannot have an accident, then man cannot have an accident either. And if man is spiritual because he is the image and likeness of spirit, then no earthly condition can have any effect on man as God’s creation, can he?”

“I guess not,” Andrew replied slowly.

“Man – man’s true being – is the image and likeness of God. That’s what the scriptures tell us. No matter what the situation appears to be, it doesn’t change the true nature of man. Jesus didn’t heal by accepting the situation and then trying to change it; he healed by never acknowledging or accepting the situation in the first place. He saw man as God sees man – perfect, indestructible, and spiritual – the image and likeness of God. And once Jesus had that perfect view of man clearly in his thoughts, all that remained was to have the patient see himself in the same way. The healing takes place in thought, and its manifestation in the body follows.”

“So all healing takes place in our thinking?” Andrew asked.

“Yes!” Arias replied. “Once you’ve cast out all thoughts about the patient other than his absolute perfection as a spiritual child of God, you can heal the patient by having the patient see themselves as you see them – as God sees them. You’re not trying to change the body as a result of a disease or accident; you’re seeing that no disease or accident can have any effect on a child of God. If God can’t experience it, then neither can man. That’s the standpoint for all healings.”

“Can you heal an enemy?” Andrew asked.

“Of course, as soon as you stop seeing him as an enemy. If he’s a child of God and everything God made is good, can he also be an enemy?”

“No,” Andrew replied. Then he asked, “Is that how you’re able to remain so calm when Alexander attacks you and your beliefs?”

“Yes. I never stop seeing him as a beloved child of God. If I ever saw him as anything else, then I’d be the one needing healing because I’d be in error.”

“What about raising the dead?” Andrew asked.

“It’s the same thing,” Arias replied. “Think of Lazarus. His family and friends thought that he had been dead for days, and yet Jesus raised him from the dead. Jesus told his followers that Lazarus was sleeping and that he was going to wake him up. Jesus never saw Lazarus as a dead man that needed to be restored to life; he saw Lazarus as a child of God over whom death had no power. Jesus came to earth to show us how to overcome death, to prove that it is powerless, and to prove that life is eternal. He raised the dead, and he raised himself from the dead. What greater proof is there that man is indestructible in God’s kingdom? As long as we see that, as long as we understand that, then no earthly condition can have power over us or over anyone else. This is the truth that heals every ill, accident, or situation.”

“It sounds too easy,” Andrew noted.

“I know,” Arias said. “It may sound easy, but it requires great discipline. Some aren’t able, or are simply unwilling, to be that disciplined. That’s why so many of the churches have abandoned their healing missions and why they now attack those of us who still practice healing as our Master taught us.”

The two men continued walking back to the church in silence. As they passed by the marketplace in the center of town, Arias thought back to what he had just taught Andrew. Why is it that the Patriarchs don’t appreciate the simplicity of healing through the power of God as our Master taught us? Why is it that they no longer believe healing is possible, that the healing works of The Way were only practiced by Jesus and the Apostles? Jesus said: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” Why can’t the Patriarchs and their bishops acknowledge this? I hope Hosius can give me guidance. If the churches turn their back on our healing mission, then what remains of true faith and our duty to our Master? What will we become without the words and works of our Master as the cornerstone of our religion?

Athanasius woke early the next morning, feeling excited about the journey ahead. Unable to sleep any longer, he rose quietly and dressed, trying not to wake Sebastian and Titurius, who were asleep in the same room. Athanasius made sure that all his belongings were in his bag, and then he left the room.

As he closed the door behind him, he saw lights coming from underneath Hosius’ door. He walked across the hall and knocked softly in case Hosius was still asleep.

“Come in,” he heard Hosius shout.

Athanasius opened the door and stepped inside. “I hope I’m not disturbing you. I saw light under your door and wanted to see if you needed anything.”

Hosius smiled. “Just your company, Athanasius,” he said, gesturing for the young man to sit beside him at the table in the center of the room. Hosius filled an empty cup with water from a small flagon in the center of the table and placed it in front of Athanasius. Then he pushed a dish of fruit and dried venison closer to the young priest.

“You’d better eat something. We’ll be heading for the harbor within the hour.”

Just as Hosius said that, Athanasius heard banging on the doors in the hallway. “Everyone wake up,” the voice of the Imperial Guard Lucius Artorius Gemellus shouted. “We leave in half an hour. Anyone not ready will be left behind.”

There was a knock on Hosius’ door, and Lucius walked in before Hosius could respond. “Oh, good. You’re up,” the Imperial Guard said. “You can’t be left behind.”

“I’ll be ready to leave when you need me to be,” Hosius stated pleasantly.

“I’ll come fetch you when it’s time,” Lucius said, closing the door. Athanasius heard the Guard’s footsteps heading back toward the common room.

“Isn’t that nice of him?” Hosius asked blandly after Lucius had left.

Athanasius laughed. “He’s just doing his job.”

“I know,” Hosius admitted. “This isn’t my first imperial summons, although I admit that Constantine has never before sent so many guards to make sure that I obeyed.”

A moment later, Sebastian and Titurius entered the room to finish packing Hosius’ traveling chests. Once the chests were packed, they carried them to the common room for the guards to load onto the ox-carts waiting outside.

When Lucius returned, the Imperial Guard escorted Hosius through the inn to the ox-carts, followed by Athanasius, Sebastian, and Titurius. They climbed into the carts, and soon the caravan of ox-carts headed down the narrow street to the harbor.

Even though it was more than an hour until sunrise, the air was already warm and humid. Athanasius gripped the cart railings tightly as the carts bumped and swayed. The wheels of the ox-carts rattled down the brick-paved street, and the buildings on either side of the street echoed and amplified the sound. It’s a wonder everyone in the city isn’t awake already from the racket.

The two warships that Athanasius had passed the day before were illuminated with torchlight. The sailors, wearing the uniforms of the Imperial Navy, quickly unloaded the ox-carts and escorted the passengers to their compartments. Hosius was given one of the cabins reserved for high-ranking officials, but Athanasius’s compartment, one deck below Hosius’, was barely larger than the ones provided to him on his journey from Alexandria.

Athanasius placed his bag on the cot and returned to the deck. He had seen sailors operate merchant galleys before, but he’d never seen sailors of the Imperial Navy in action.

Light on the eastern horizon was just beginning to appear as the warships rowed out of the harbor and turned southeast. The sky looked like fire burning in the distance, which grew as the sun climbed higher. Athanasius chewed on a piece of dried boar meat as the galley cut through the water like a knife. No merchant ship I’ve ever been on sails this smoothly.

According to the captain of the warship, it would take 20 days to reach Byzantium. The galleys would be making several stops along the way for supplies: Barcino in eastern Hispania, Arelate in Gaul, Rome, and Thessalonika in Greece. Athanasius was particularly interested in seeing Thessalonika since the Apostle Paul had written epistles to the churches there, but he doubted that the Captain would give him time to explore the city. The Emperor’s summons is more important than the curiosity of a simple priest.

Athanasius remained on deck until Gades had disappeared behind them and the sun was fully visible above the horizon. Then he returned to his compartment to meditate until summoned to Hosius’ cabin.