© 1992 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
[In the previous issue of Six-O-Six, it was announced that our editorial panel is attempting to put together a work having the aim of bringing the teachings of Jesus, as revealed in The URANTIA Book, to non-readers. Contributions were solicited, perhaps a chapter, but even a plot to go along with your favorite teaching could be a help. The story should be “fictional” but the teachings are expected to have a firm foundation in the book itself.
In the review of Borg’s book, “Jesus: A New Vision” in the previous article, you will appreciate that the Christian laity is in desperate need of the true teachings of Jesus. Although Borg has done a marvelous job in presenting the human Jesus in a persuasive but non-confrontational manner, his book is unlikely to reach many of the laity. The purpose of our “Adventures” is gap-filling — to bring The URANTIA Book teachings of and about Jesus to the Christian laity now.
The story that follows is part of a potential chapter of our “Adventures” and is presented to act as a guide to what we hope to accomplish. Jesus is accompanying Jayant, a merchant, on a journey in the Mediterranean area, acting as an interpreter for Jayant and also a tutor to his son, Sardri. The departure of their boat to Alexandria has been delayed.]
The next morning they received news that the departure of the boat would be delayed because one of its huge steering paddles was in danger of cleaving. Jesus and Sardri went down to the boat and talked with the captain who was now distraught because he was unable to obtain skilled woodworkers to repair the paddle. Jesus told the captain of his experience both as a woodworker and in boat building and volunteered his services — to which the captain agreed gratefully.
The foreman of the maintenance gang servicing the boat soon realized the Jesus was more capable than himself or his gang of doing the work on the steering paddle. As soon as it had been propped in a satisfactory position for the repairs to be carried out, Jesus was allocated a slave-boy named Xanand and left to do this work while the remainder of the gang did other essential work. The boat had been beached at high tide and propped to stabilize it. The base of the paddle rested on the sand and a scaffold held the top section. Jesus and Xanand worked on a platform on the scaffolding.
Jesus soon discovered that Xanand was very embittered at the kind of treatment he received from the foreman. Jesus’ attitude to Xanand was entirely different from anything the boy had experienced previously. It was as if Jesus was Xanand’s brother rather than a master who had the right to do with him as he chose. They talked together while they worked, becoming firm and cooperative friends. For the first time in his life, Xanand began to enjoy and take a pride in the work he was doing. He also became curious as to why Jesus treated him so. Finally his curiosity became greater than his wariness and he asked directly why Jesus was so good to him.
Xanand was amazed when Jesus said, “Xanand, you are my brother. We are all God’s children and our heavenly Father makes no distinction between kings and slaves.” There followed a long discussion on the nature of this heavenly Father. Xanand had received no education of any kind, knowing only what he could gather from his limited contact with the society in which he lived. For him there were many Gods, none of which had any interest at all in mere slaves. A God who was interested in him as a person, who looked upon and loved him as his child, who was looking to help him grow spiritually, who sought to nurture rather than punish, all these were strange and almost unbelievable ideas to Xanand.
Over the next three days, Xanand questioned Jesus unendingly about God, about the nature of good and evil, about sin, and particularly why such a wonderful God allowed people like Xanand to become slaves to cruel and unjust masters such as his foreman. Jesus told Xanand that God does not make us slaves or kings, mankind does that of its own freewill. But Xanand had great difficulty in understanding why God did not intervene to prevent the foreman treating him badly. He did not expect the reply he received from Jesus.
“Xanand, since you have now been introduced to the ways of love and of kindness and you have learned to value justice, perhaps God has brought you and this foreman together so that you may show him, through your own example, that there is a better way. You cannot overcome evil with evil, but it is indeed possible to overcome evil with good. Devote your life to returning good for evil. You will sometimes be amazed at the result. You will not always appear to succeed, sometimes it will appear that you can never succeed. This world is a growing place for souls. Often when you are most disappointed and you think that your best efforts have been a total failure, unknowingly you will have sown a seed that will ultimately bear fruit.”
“Xanand, I have absolute confidence in my heavenly Father’s overcare; I am consecrated to doing his will. Hence I do not believe that real harm can befall me. Though my body could be destroyed, my soul would always be safe, and that is what really matters. I am absolutely assured that the real universe is friendly to me — and this all-powerful truth I insist on believing with total trust in God in spite of any appearances to the contrary.”
“At present, this foreman you call evil is your master in that you allow his evil ways to upset you. Why not assert your mastery over evil by virtue of the power of goodness?”
In this way you become the master of all relations between the two of you. Give it a fair try and I know that the good in you can overcome the evil in him — perhaps not today or even while you are still together — but eventually good will be triumphant. Since you are more blessed with the light of truth than is your foreman, his great need should challenge you. Surely you are not the coward who could stand by and watch a fellow man who could not swim, drown. How much more of value is this man’s soul, drowning in darkness and evil, compared to his earthly body drowning in water?"
“How Much More Of Value Is This Man’s Soul, Drowning In Darkness And Evil, compared to his earthly body drowning in water.”
It was soon after this discussion that the work on the steering paddle was completed. The time was late in the afternoon and the men were beginning to depart to their homes or their lodgings. Jesus signalled to the foreman who then came over to inspect the work, finding that it had been done superbly. He knew that Jesus was a paying passenger on the boat, not a hired workman but one who had volunteered his services. Thus Jesus was treated with a respect that the foreman did not normally show to those under him. After being thanked for his help, Jesus said goodbye to Xanand and departed for the inn.
The foreman was being paid a bonus for getting the maintenance work completed to a tight schedule. Although the light was failing he worked on so as to get the remaining work finished early the following morning. Xanand was sent to the fore of the vessel to clean up while the foreman commenced to hurriedly dissemble the scaffolding supporting the huge and heavy steering paddle. In his hurry, he made an error of judgement and brought the paddle crashing down upon himself thus pinning him to the sand. His right leg was broken, he received a blow to the side of the head and lost consciousness.
Xanand witnessed the accident and ran to the rear of the vessel expecting to be told what to do. He called to the foreman and received no reply. Then he noticed that the tide was coming in quite rapidly, that within perhaps half an hour it would flow over the head of the hated foreman. The bitterness over the abusive and violent treatment that he had experienced at the hands of this man overwhelmed him. Nobody else was around, nobody had seen what had happened, there was almost no chance that anyone would find the pinned and injured man before he was drowned by the incoming tide. And even if that happened there was nobody to say that he had witnessed the accident. If he left now and said nothing, no-one would ever know the truth.
Xanand concluded that was how it should be. Quickly he made his departure taking care not to be seen and hurried towards the shabby huts where slaves such as himself had to find food and shelter for the night. He thought of Jesus, the only person that he could remember in his whole life who had ever said or done anything decent to him. This man, a Jew, had even shared his food with him, a lowly, worthless slave. Jews did not share food with gentiles, let alone with a gentile slave. The vision of those kindly, caring eyes, that friendly voice, the wisdom, the patience and the love he had been shown haunted Xanand as he scurried in the shadows towards his lodgings. What were those last words — “How much more of value is this man’s soul, drowning in darkness and evil, compared to his earthly body drowning in water.”
Xanand carried on but more words came back, “Surely you are not the coward who could stand by and watch a fellow man who could not swim, drown; since you are more blessed with the light of truth than is your foreman, his great need should challenge you.” Xanand turned and ran to the inn where he knew Jesus was staying. Unthinkingly he rushed into the dining area, sought out Jesus at table with Jayant and Sardri and blurted out what had happened.
“Getting to know your newly-acquired brothers and sisters, getting to share their problems and their joys, learning to love each of them as a member of your own family is the supreme experience of living.”
Jesus knew that there would be no time to summon help, that if the foreman was to be saved they had to go immediately. Jayant understood and the four of them ran from the inn to the vessel. When they arrived water was already lapping around the head of the foreman who was still unconscious. Others who had seen the four running to the vessel came over out of curiosity. Soon there were enough of them to use some of the scaffolding to lever the paddle upwards while the foreman was dragged from beneath. A crude stretcher was made from scaffolding timbers and sail canvas so that the now half-conscious foreman could be taken to a nearby doctor.
Jesus told Xanand to come to the inn early the next morning and together they went to visit the foreman whose leg had now been set and who was fully conscious. He remembered only that he had been dissembling the scaffolding. Jesus filled him in on the details, emphasizing that it was Xanand who was entirely responsible for him still being alive. Then, with a few kind parting words, Jesus left Xanand and the foreman together.
The foreman was aware that his treatment of Xanand had been exceptionally bad, even by the low standards of his society for treatment of slaves. He was puzzled by the fact that Xanand had saved his life. Conscious of his status Xanand stood mute, awaiting instructions on what he should do now that his master was bed-ridden. He was also disconcerted when the foreman looked him in the eyes and asked why Xanand had saved his life.
Not knowing what else to do, Xanand told the foreman everything that he could remember of Jesus’ talk with him on the previous day. Finally he repeated those words of Jesus that had induced him to seek help, “How much more of value is this man’s soul, drowning in darkness and evil, compared to his earthly body drowning in water.” The foreman was mightily moved by Jesus’ words. He asked Xanand to try to get Jesus to visit him once more before the boat sailed for Alexandria. Xanand was able to arrange this meeting. An eventual outcome was that Xanand was given his freedom. Many years later both of these men, one formerly a ex-Greek slave and now a builder, the other now a Roman building contractor, would become prominent in the Christian church that would be founded in Caesarea by the disciple, Philip.
On route to Alexandria, Sardri asked Jesus why he took so much interest in people who were comparative strangers and of lowly status in life. Jesus answered, “Sardri, no one is a stranger, nor do they have lowly status, to one who knows God. In finding God, you will also discover that all men and women are your brothers and sisters. Getting to know your newly-acquired brothers and sisters, getting to share their problems and their joys, learning to love each of them as a member of your own family is the supreme experience of living.”
During this discussion which lasted well into the night, Sardri had noted that Jesus often stated that the supreme purpose of living is to do the will of God and asked how he could know God’s will for him. Jesus replied, “The will of God is the way of God and the way of God reflects the nature of God. At the present stage of our progress along the pathway to our attainment of God’s presence, it is best to think of God as a heavenly Father who wills the utmost cosmic good for each of his children. Hence we can best do the will of God by willing for our brothers and sisters what we believe our heavenly Father would will for them. Our Father is one who is gracious, nurturing, and compassionate in all his dealings with his earthly children, and whose love as a Father transcends his righteousness as a judge. You do the will of God when, to the best of your ability, your elect to treat your brothers and sisters in like manner.” Sardri’s respect for his teacher-companion was steadily growing into a state of loving devotion that would ultimately be boundless.
