Cristi
The Voyage: Chapter Five
Cristi
Cristi sat staring at the star charts. Michael had dropped them off this morning. Cristi needed help and he knew it. Michael had poked his head into his tent and then pushed his way in, letting the flap drop-close behind him.
“Hey, Tziri,” Michael rumbled with his bass voice. “These are for you. Raj was supposed to bring them but he got sent to Earth instead. So, here I am.”
Cristi smiled at the old nickname. He and Michael had been friends before the separation that caused the deep rift between angelic groups. He stood up to receive the scrolls.
“Thanks, Michael.”
“Yahweh drew these up himself. He said to tell you that whatever help you want, you just need to ask.”
“What happened to my orderly?”
“I sent him away. I beamed ahead to let him know I wanted some time with you.”
Cristi grimaced slightly. “Beaming ahead” was the practice of projecting thoughts and messages ahead of oneself when approaching others to give them a clear picture of your intent and message. It saved time as one could get ready to respond or gather anything needed. His angels had been fiercely trained to reject any beaming because along with the message there was powerful persuasion due to the fact that the messages radiated truth. Back in their stage as demons, the fallen angels had refused to admit or acknowledge that Michael or Gabriel or any of their soldiers bore the truth. Beaming had been attacked and beat down with a vengeance and it was a rare soldier indeed who even attempted it any more. Of course, that was all changed with the peace treaty. Christi shrugged. That wasn’t his problem. They could all beam their heads off for all he cared. He had deeper things to think about. He had to draw in humans and angels and how he was supposed to do that was anyone’s guess. The two races had been enemies since man’s appearance in the world thousands of years ago. He had no idea how to bridge the gap with communication in its current state.
He looked at Michael appraisingly. “Whatever I want, he said?”
“That is what he said.”
“Okay. I want Jesus’ help.”
Michael laughed. “Well, welcome back, stranger. Good choice. Do you want me to pass the message on or do you want to ask him yourself?”
“Would you mind, Michael? I appreciate the scrolls. Timothy is drawing up a map with our forces on Earth and in Hell. I will get that to you as soon as I can. But where I really need help is with connecting with humans.”
“They’re not so bad, Cristi. I have met many valiant people over time. And Jesus is genuinely fond of them. He will help you.”
“Thanks. I just don’t want to botch my first assignment because I don’t know how to do it. Yahweh might think I have not sincerely returned or that I am reluctant. I hardly think that torturing people in Hell qualifies me as some sort of Ambassador. In fact, I am pretty sure that they won’t think so either.”
“Well, you never know. The Creator tends to fit every experience into his plans for us. In fact, he told me to invite you to a party he is having to celebrate the reuniting of his armies and the planned unification of Earth. He is planning a roast. There will be humans there too.”
“Roast?”
“Yes, it’s a human thing. A roast is when people gather together and make fun of someone.”
“They are going to make fun of us?”
“No. This is going to be a roast of Yahweh. The Master of Ceremonies is a comedian named Don Rickles. Yahweh figured it would help put the Sons of God at ease. I heard that Moses is preparing a very funny skit. I saw a bit of it where Moses was laying on his face with tears flowing onto the ground while Yahweh stood over him, shouting, ‘Get up! Get up!’.” They really had Yahweh down to a tee. It was funny and Moses was very good-humored about it.”
Cristi smiled a bit at the image. He well remembered that when Yahweh wanted to get going one had to scramble to keep up. Oh, it was so good to be back!
He straightened his shoulders as he walked Michael out of his tent. He felt better after talking to his long-time friend. His mind went to his troops and he mentally started sorting them into platoons and stations for the campaign of Earth’s Restoration once they finished formulating the plans. He felt the Holy Spirit’s presence and he relaxed. He glanced at his approaching orderly and nodded before he turned and went back inside.
Raj
"Hey, you look tired" Cristi said.
Raj nodded. He was tired. He had been running back and forth from his sister's house to his own apartment for weeks now.
"Oh, sorry. Just trying to get the hang of this social media campaign. I wish Jesus would just tell everyone at once."
"Well, that's what you are doing, isn't it?"
Raj straightened up and looked full in the big angel's face. "Yes, of course. Good point."
He noticed Cristi's wings were starting to unfurl slightly and he stood back courteously to let him pass. They were standing at the entrance to Raj's rooms. Cristi came and went at odd times, frequently stopping in, or sending a messenger to address some point or another with Yahweh, who had set up a de facto court off to the side of Raj's living room. Raj couldn't always see him but he knew he was there. What amazed him and humbled him was. Cristi's willingness to seek help always. He would drop in to clarify a point with Yahweh, or ask for advice, or to request orders when a particular task was done. His good-natured acceptance that Yahweh was happy to see him in the midst of things encouraged Raj who still felt a bit reticent to bother the Almighty. He had accepted that Yahweh expected friendship with all his Creation but he didn't want to be a bother. He knew he tended to struggle with things longer than he should when he should just ask. He smiled at Cristi and determined that he would follow suit to the angel's example.
"Did you really ask Yahweh for Jesus as a helper." He blurted before the Angel launched away with his powerful wings. Cristi paused and folded his wings as he settled to reply.
"Yes. Michael told me that Yahweh had said I could have whatever help I needed and I thought that what I needed the most was Jesus' help."
"Why did you want Jesus' help in particular?"
"This was when I was first tasked with uniting angels and humans. I knew that humans are afraid of us because of all our years as demons. I remembered hearing about Jesus saying, "kindness makes a man strong".
"When did he say that?"
"He was moving in Mexico. One of my spies overheard him telling a Believer there that kindness is the element that makes a man the strongest. She questioned him and Jesus said it was because of fear. He said that if a man is powerful his wife and children might benefit from his strength, yet fear him at the same time. He said that if the man is kind always to her and the children, then they will love him and trust him in spite of his strength. Then, he will be supported by their strength which would be fully aligned behind his. Thus, his strength would be increased. The same is true of women and Jesus said it applies to the police force as well. Kindness to others builds strength."
Raj pondered that a moment. "So, why did that make you want Jesus as your helper?"
"Well, I anticipated fear might be the response to us from humans. Fear, and anger, of course. I wanted help and advice from Jesus. He is known for his kindness to each person. I thought he might be able to help us begin to interact as you were getting the word out that we are no longer hostile."
"What did Jesus do when he heard about your request?"
"Oh, he was good natured. He and Lucifer came and spent a few weeks teaching us."
"Lucifer!"
"Yes, Lucifer. I am occupying the position he once held, you know. He was supposed to be Commander-in-chief of Jesus' armies as Michael is of The Holy Spirit's and Gabriel is of Yahweh's up in heaven. That's why Jesus calls Lucifer the B-I-C, at times. It stands for Backstabber-in-chief. That's what the Holy Spirit called him for usurping Jesus' leadership over the Sons of God when they fell into demon-hood. Lucifer has a charismatic and forceful personality. He follows Jesus everywhere now to help make up for the wrongs he did and to assist Jesus in general."
"What did they teach you?"
"Jesus taught us to look into people and see where they are coming from. He said that our lack of love was partly because of our blindness. Our hatred and self-absorption kept us from really seeing. We spent a lot of time in jealously and anger. We blamed humans for things they could not possibly have been involved in and we pretty much opposed and oppressed them since birth. He said we never saw what is really present inside their spirit and their hearts and how we are made to interact with them."
Raj stared at him. "How...what?" He sputtered.
Cristi laughed at the look on Raj' face. "It took us a while for us to get it, too." He said. "And there was Lucifer piping up about being friendly all the time. The thing that Lucifer taught that had the most impact was not to feel guilty. He said that it is a waste of time. It does not accomplish anything. It is over. You did it. Now man up - if you will excuse the expression - and make it right. Don't waste time on a debilitating emotion."
"Didn't they care what they did and the harm and pain they have caused?"
"Yes, they did. When Sons started to see what the Trinity meant at Creation, and they saw how mankind truly is in his image, as we are also in his image in spirit, many began to weep. Yahweh told us that we sang for joy at creation but we hadn't trusted him when it came to what was in man. Our foolishness and lack of faith has caused untold harm."
He reached his hand out to touch Raj on the arm and Raj saw the tears in his eyes. "We truly are sorry," he said. The two stood in silence a moment and then Cristi said, "But we will make up for it now."
Cristi sat staring at the star charts. Michael had dropped them off this morning. Cristi needed help and he knew it. Michael had poked his head into his tent and then pushed his way in, letting the flap drop-close behind him.
“Hey, Tziri,” Michael rumbled with his bass voice. “These are for you. Raj was supposed to bring them but he got sent to Earth instead. So, here I am.”
Cristi smiled at the old nickname. He and Michael had been friends before the separation that caused the deep rift between angelic groups. He stood up to receive the scrolls.
“Thanks, Michael.”
“Yahweh drew these up himself. He said to tell you that whatever help you want, you just need to ask.”
“What happened to my orderly?”
“I sent him away. I beamed ahead to let him know I wanted some time with you.”
Cristi grimaced slightly. “Beaming ahead” was the practice of projecting thoughts and messages ahead of oneself when approaching others to give them a clear picture of your intent and message. It saved time as one could get ready to respond or gather anything needed. His angels had been fiercely trained to reject any beaming because along with the message there was powerful persuasion due to the fact that the messages radiated truth. Back in their stage as demons, the fallen angels had refused to admit or acknowledge that Michael or Gabriel or any of their soldiers bore the truth. Beaming had been attacked and beat down with a vengeance and it was a rare soldier indeed who even attempted it any more. Of course, that was all changed with the peace treaty. Christi shrugged. That wasn’t his problem. They could all beam their heads off for all he cared. He had deeper things to think about. He had to draw in humans and angels and how he was supposed to do that was anyone’s guess. The two races had been enemies since man’s appearance in the world thousands of years ago. He had no idea how to bridge the gap with communication in its current state.
He looked at Michael appraisingly. “Whatever I want, he said?”
“That is what he said.”
“Okay. I want Jesus’ help.”
Michael laughed. “Well, welcome back, stranger. Good choice. Do you want me to pass the message on or do you want to ask him yourself?”
“Would you mind, Michael? I appreciate the scrolls. Timothy is drawing up a map with our forces on Earth and in Hell. I will get that to you as soon as I can. But where I really need help is with connecting with humans.”
“They’re not so bad, Cristi. I have met many valiant people over time. And Jesus is genuinely fond of them. He will help you.”
“Thanks. I just don’t want to botch my first assignment because I don’t know how to do it. Yahweh might think I have not sincerely returned or that I am reluctant. I hardly think that torturing people in Hell qualifies me as some sort of Ambassador. In fact, I am pretty sure that they won’t think so either.”
“Well, you never know. The Creator tends to fit every experience into his plans for us. In fact, he told me to invite you to a party he is having to celebrate the reuniting of his armies and the planned unification of Earth. He is planning a roast. There will be humans there too.”
“Roast?”
“Yes, it’s a human thing. A roast is when people gather together and make fun of someone.”
“They are going to make fun of us?”
“No. This is going to be a roast of Yahweh. The Master of Ceremonies is a comedian named Don Rickles. Yahweh figured it would help put the Sons of God at ease. I heard that Moses is preparing a very funny skit. I saw a bit of it where Moses was laying on his face with tears flowing onto the ground while Yahweh stood over him, shouting, ‘Get up! Get up!’.” They really had Yahweh down to a tee. It was funny and Moses was very good-humored about it.”
Cristi smiled a bit at the image. He well remembered that when Yahweh wanted to get going one had to scramble to keep up. Oh, it was so good to be back!
He straightened his shoulders as he walked Michael out of his tent. He felt better after talking to his long-time friend. His mind went to his troops and he mentally started sorting them into platoons and stations for the campaign of Earth’s Restoration once they finished formulating the plans. He felt the Holy Spirit’s presence and he relaxed. He glanced at his approaching orderly and nodded before he turned and went back inside.
Raj
"Hey, you look tired" Cristi said.
Raj nodded. He was tired. He had been running back and forth from his sister's house to his own apartment for weeks now.
"Oh, sorry. Just trying to get the hang of this social media campaign. I wish Jesus would just tell everyone at once."
"Well, that's what you are doing, isn't it?"
Raj straightened up and looked full in the big angel's face. "Yes, of course. Good point."
He noticed Cristi's wings were starting to unfurl slightly and he stood back courteously to let him pass. They were standing at the entrance to Raj's rooms. Cristi came and went at odd times, frequently stopping in, or sending a messenger to address some point or another with Yahweh, who had set up a de facto court off to the side of Raj's living room. Raj couldn't always see him but he knew he was there. What amazed him and humbled him was. Cristi's willingness to seek help always. He would drop in to clarify a point with Yahweh, or ask for advice, or to request orders when a particular task was done. His good-natured acceptance that Yahweh was happy to see him in the midst of things encouraged Raj who still felt a bit reticent to bother the Almighty. He had accepted that Yahweh expected friendship with all his Creation but he didn't want to be a bother. He knew he tended to struggle with things longer than he should when he should just ask. He smiled at Cristi and determined that he would follow suit to the angel's example.
"Did you really ask Yahweh for Jesus as a helper." He blurted before the Angel launched away with his powerful wings. Cristi paused and folded his wings as he settled to reply.
"Yes. Michael told me that Yahweh had said I could have whatever help I needed and I thought that what I needed the most was Jesus' help."
"Why did you want Jesus' help in particular?"
"This was when I was first tasked with uniting angels and humans. I knew that humans are afraid of us because of all our years as demons. I remembered hearing about Jesus saying, "kindness makes a man strong".
"When did he say that?"
"He was moving in Mexico. One of my spies overheard him telling a Believer there that kindness is the element that makes a man the strongest. She questioned him and Jesus said it was because of fear. He said that if a man is powerful his wife and children might benefit from his strength, yet fear him at the same time. He said that if the man is kind always to her and the children, then they will love him and trust him in spite of his strength. Then, he will be supported by their strength which would be fully aligned behind his. Thus, his strength would be increased. The same is true of women and Jesus said it applies to the police force as well. Kindness to others builds strength."
Raj pondered that a moment. "So, why did that make you want Jesus as your helper?"
"Well, I anticipated fear might be the response to us from humans. Fear, and anger, of course. I wanted help and advice from Jesus. He is known for his kindness to each person. I thought he might be able to help us begin to interact as you were getting the word out that we are no longer hostile."
"What did Jesus do when he heard about your request?"
"Oh, he was good natured. He and Lucifer came and spent a few weeks teaching us."
"Lucifer!"
"Yes, Lucifer. I am occupying the position he once held, you know. He was supposed to be Commander-in-chief of Jesus' armies as Michael is of The Holy Spirit's and Gabriel is of Yahweh's up in heaven. That's why Jesus calls Lucifer the B-I-C, at times. It stands for Backstabber-in-chief. That's what the Holy Spirit called him for usurping Jesus' leadership over the Sons of God when they fell into demon-hood. Lucifer has a charismatic and forceful personality. He follows Jesus everywhere now to help make up for the wrongs he did and to assist Jesus in general."
"What did they teach you?"
"Jesus taught us to look into people and see where they are coming from. He said that our lack of love was partly because of our blindness. Our hatred and self-absorption kept us from really seeing. We spent a lot of time in jealously and anger. We blamed humans for things they could not possibly have been involved in and we pretty much opposed and oppressed them since birth. He said we never saw what is really present inside their spirit and their hearts and how we are made to interact with them."
Raj stared at him. "How...what?" He sputtered.
Cristi laughed at the look on Raj' face. "It took us a while for us to get it, too." He said. "And there was Lucifer piping up about being friendly all the time. The thing that Lucifer taught that had the most impact was not to feel guilty. He said that it is a waste of time. It does not accomplish anything. It is over. You did it. Now man up - if you will excuse the expression - and make it right. Don't waste time on a debilitating emotion."
"Didn't they care what they did and the harm and pain they have caused?"
"Yes, they did. When Sons started to see what the Trinity meant at Creation, and they saw how mankind truly is in his image, as we are also in his image in spirit, many began to weep. Yahweh told us that we sang for joy at creation but we hadn't trusted him when it came to what was in man. Our foolishness and lack of faith has caused untold harm."
He reached his hand out to touch Raj on the arm and Raj saw the tears in his eyes. "We truly are sorry," he said. The two stood in silence a moment and then Cristi said, "But we will make up for it now."