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What If Jesus Had Not Been Born? by Melody Ravert
Monday, December 2, 2002
Rated "G" by the Author.
What If Jesus Had Not Been Born?
I awoke, alone in my bed. No spouse lying beside me, keeping me close to his side. No sounds of children giggling, no loud voices coming from the television. Total silence.
The sky was dark, no sun peeked its head through the gloomy clouds. I went about my business. I showered, got dressed, and prepared breakfast. I bowed my head to say "grace," but something was wrong. "Thank you for this food..." I prayed, yet it seemed my prayers were simply bouncing off the walls.
I took a bite of scrambled egg and went to the counter where I kept my Bible and a daily devotional guide. I couldn't find them anywhere.
Where were they? I know I read them yesterday, and I always place them back on the counter when I am finished.
On my way to work, I turned on the radio, looking for my favorite Christian station. I couldn't find any- not one religious program on the dial.
I went through my day, feeling like I was running on auto-pilot. Nothing was as it should have been. Everywhere I went people were angry, hateful, and bitter; looking out for only their own interests.
After work, I was nearly suffocating with the despair that surrounded me. I knew something was wrong. This was the Christmas season, the one time of the year when the news of 'Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men' should ring the loudest.
I drove to the local mall, hoping for a parking space. When I arrived, I was in shock. Not one car was sitting in the parking lot. The merchants had closed their doors. Only a few grocery stores remained opened. There were no decorations, no one standing outside collecting donations for the homeless. I felt a cold shiver of panic climb up my spine.
As I neared my church, I felt a sense of relief knowing I would find some answers. The love and warmth I received from my fellow believers would give me some encouragement from the pain and anguish that filled my heart. I drove the car around the bend expecting to see the familiar parking lot in front of the two story red brick building. Instead of a church, there was an office building. The atmosphere was cold, dark, and full of dread.
As I sat parked in my car, I buried my face in my hands and cried. 'What happened? It's as if Jesus was never born!'
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You sure captured the atmosphere of a gloomy christmas. I kept visualizing the color gray while reading this. A true reflection of what may become a reality. Good job.
Your well written tale shows life without Christ in your mind, but only in your mind.
However, many of us are content without that belief - can you accommodate the fact that so many of us reject Christ and seek the truth elsewhere? Can you accept the possibility that Christ is an unproven myth? (Sorry for the tautology!).
Can you accept a person of another faith thanking Gaaia or Odin or Buddha or Mohammed or whatever for the bread on his/her table? Those persons share your method of belief/faith and differ only in their choice of god.
I wish you and all good people, Christian or not, well.
Keith
Reviewed by Mark Phillips
12/10/2003
Hello Melody, Thanks for giving your piece for me to read here today. It has a particular interest in a way for me just now because I have just started writing the life (just my version) of Jesus.
Before I pull you too far thinking one thing I had better be straight and say that I am maybe one of the people you have concerns about; in as much as I believe with a perfect faith... but that there is no God. My school background is Church of England, I now live in Sussex, but my mother's side of the family are Jewish.
I liked your piece and I want my writing to try and find the real Jesus; see the sort of pressures and concerns he had to face in his twenties perhaps... was he desperate to escape his dad's carpentery business. I would love to know what a typical day for him envolved before he started to get well known.
Thanks again Melody, Mark Phillips.............
A short story of mine was included in an anthology of short fiction by fourteen of Port Town Publishing Company's authors. It is out of print and no longer available except as a download. Contact me at charlenetess@yahoo.com if you want it.
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