The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Again in Kis
- Chapter 208 -
The Lord with His in the garden. Matthew orders his Scriptures. Quiet before the storm. The wise angel comforting the people in the face of the impending hurricane. Earthquake, sea and thunderstorm.
We leave the hill and move to the shady trees. There was a nice grassy bank under a wide fig tree, where I sat down and fell asleep, and all the others, even Mary near Me, took their places and slept. Only Jonael, Jairuth and Matthew sat at a garden table, where Matthew started ordering his tablets, with Jonael and Jairuth's angel making him aware of certain deficiencies.
2
Towards the middle of day Baram, who meanwhile found himself aboard the ship with Kisjonah, noticed immensely heavy storm clouds rising over the horizon in the west, with the water surface growing progressively calmer, it being a sure sign of imminent and destructive tempest, combined with earth tremor.
3
Baram therefore at once had all edibles brought up from the ship, tying the latter down in the firmest possible manner. He had hardly finished the work when the sea already began to rise prodigiously from afar.
4
Said Kisjonah, 'We shall have to awaken the Lord and His disciples; for such, the like of which I have not seen before, may submerge the whole garden, and those asleep could suffer harm, and the chances are that the ship will be cast ashore.'
5
Says Baram, 'Yes, friend, failing the Lord restraining the storm this time, there could be nameless destruction. But I count upon the Lord; He is certain to prevent our perishing. And I reckon that so long as He quietly sleeps, we shall have nothing to fear from the imminent storm; let us nevertheless go up to Him and make Him aware of the approaching storm.'
6
Thereupon the two, together with the deck hands, rush over to Me, trying to awaken me; for good reason this time however I do not awaken, and the angel steps over to them saying, 'Let Him rest, and do not waken Him; for it is on account of this necessary storm that He sleeps! The immediate future however soon shall tell the good reason for this necessary storm.'
7
Says Kisjonah, 'But what if the mountainous seas shall soon be washing over my garden with the wildest floods?'
8
Says the angel, 'Don't be troubled by that. Do you think that whilst appearing to you asleep the Lord is not aware of this storm? Behold, this is His will, hence it is so. Hence settle down.
9
Asks Kisjonah, 'Do you know the reason?' Replies the angel, 'Even if I knew, I would not be allowed to tell you until that is the Lord's will; inquire no further and do not fear, but settle down. The eyes of you all shall be opened by what follows!'
10
After these words of the angel, who then quietly helped Matthew to upgrade his tablets, Baram spoke, 'I must confess that in my whole life I have not seen a more threatening storm, yet at the same time I never before watched a storm so undaunted and indifferently. Just look; no more than a quarter hour average travel time further on, the length of this bay. In just a few moments the storm should hit us.
11
Yet watch now the billowing rollers move along the length of the sea towards Sibarah, a mere quarter hour's distance outside the bay, resembling swimming mountains being smashed by thousands of lightnings. And yet the bay is so calm that one can behold the storm in its external aspect, like a section of the coast; this truly is a rare phenomenon. One has to admit that, observed calmly, it takes on a rare and frightfully beautiful aspect. But for those perhaps finding themselves out in that high sea shall feel quite differently to us near the mirror-smooth bay.
12
It is at least a half hour from the weather front, yet what mighty roar of the thunder. It must be downright deafening at that front. Now I also feel a marked earth tremor. Do you not notice anything?'
13
Says Kisjonah, 'Indeed, I just wanted to tell you; nevertheless, it is a wonder of all wonders that my bay still remains calm. For I know the spectacle of what this bay is capable of, once it starts raging. Yet the bay, together with a considerable stretch beyond, is totally calm. But hearken, the tremor intensifies. If only the dwellings escape harm; I am seeing a peculiar circular swell in the bay, and the start of a tidal wave further out. We haven't long to go. In the name of the Lord, we can't lose more than this earthly life, and so let come what may. The Lord and His angel in any case are with us. But it has a terrifying look. The Lord have grace and mercy on all sinners.'
14
Now the bay too is getting rough. Powerful wind gusts are tearing through the trees, and countless flashes of lightning through the heavy clouds. Several hit the bay with an unbelievably frightening racket, causing a roaring froth, yet there still falls not a drop of rain from the glowing cloud. Lightning hits the hill on which we spent the night; the exceeding racket of this flash now wakens all from their good sleep except Myself.
15
As the many awakened ones take in the unprecedented din, and the storm of all storms, fully awakening with the tenfold simultaneous flashings, they leap off the ground, with the disciples rushing over to Me to awaken Me, shouting with fear.
16
Says the worked up Judas, 'But Lord, how can You sleep with these raging elements? It is raining lightning from the sky. Who could be safe from death for a moment? Help Lord, or the entire earth is rubble!'
17
Say I, 'Has lightning actually hit you?' Says Judas, 'Not yet of course, but what hasn't happened may easily still do so with this storm. I therefore speak whilst I still live, the next flash shall probably finish off all my talking for good!'
18
And behold, whilst Judas is speaking, the tidal wave is heading for the bay with a mighty roar. And with the wall of water seeming to exceed our garden position by several fathoms, all disciples are yelling, with some even turning heels towards the next rise, driven back however by thousands of lightnings. 'Lord help us, if You can or will, or we perish', cried hundreds. Only Matthew, Jairuth, Jonael and the angel remain unperturbed, putting the finishing touches to their business.
19
This time however I don't curb the storm, letting it roam, simply not allowing it to do any ever so small damage.