Chapter Ten
Now as they traveled, The Voice and his companions
met a group of traveling entertainers who were a bit down on their
luck. The people in the villages where they had performed, had
not been too generous. And the group lacked provisions. So
The Voice and his companions shared their food with them.
2 Now the leader of the group was friendly but
mischievous, and as they relaxed by their fires after the evening meal,
he said to The Voice, "Now I have heard you are a great Teacher among
your people, one of considerable wisdom, and that you have said that
the greatest of all Laws is this...that 'we should love our neighbors
as ourselves.'
3 Now, in all my life I have never had a
proper home. I have journeyed from place to place and no land has
called me citizen. Tell me, good Teacher, who is my neighbor?"
4 The Voice stirred the fire with a stick. "I
will tell you a story," he began, "and afterwards you will answer the
question for me.
5 Now, a certain man, a merchant of Spirit,
left Western one day along the Tr road, and he was fallen upon by
thieves. They beat him severely, took his robes and riding ox,
and left him naked, by the road.
6 Now, as he lay there, a Speaker came by, and
seeing the man's nakedness covered his eyes as he passed, saying,
'Shameful man! Cover yourself!'
7 Now, a short time later travelers from the
man's own city happened along. But they were in a hurry and did
not want to be bothered. 'Surely,' they said, 'someone wise will
deal with this matter.'
8 Then, from the opposite direction, came a
Trn merchant, and when he saw the man he took pity on him, got down off
his oxen, gave the man water, bathed his wounds, dressed him in one of
his own robes, put him on his oxen, and carried him to the nearest inn.
9 There, he told the innkeeper, 'Tend him. I
will give you some money now, and when I pass through again, I will pay
you whatever else is due.'
10 The innkeeper agreed, tended the man until he was well, and sent him on his way.
11 Now I ask you, truly, who was the man's neighbor?"
12 Now all had been interested in the
story, and they thought for several minutes until the leader of the
group finally spoke.
13 "I see your point," he explained, "and I
understand. The Children of Tr are the ancient enemies of The Children
of Spirit. Yet it was a merchant of Tr that came to the man's
rescue. So he was the true neighbor, the true friend!
14 Yes, I see! Anyone that does good for
another is their neighbor. It does not matter where they are
from, or what they believe, a neighbor is one who does good for
you. So you should do good for all men, for all men are your
neighbors."
15 "Today," announced The Voice, "you have grown in wisdom."
16 The man smiled. "Thank you, Teacher,"
he praised, "what they say of you IS true...you are the wisest of men!"
17 "I am but a Servant of The Lords," The
Voice told him. "I merely speak what They put in my heart to
speak."
18 "Yes," the man answered, "but there are few
that have the courage to speak what you speak. It is far easier
to teach hate than love. Many consider kindness weakness. You
dare tell them they are wrong. Few men have that kind of courage."
19 The Voice smiled. This man, he knew,
was more than he seemed, and the Lords would use him for a purpose.
20 In the morning they parted company, and went their separate ways.
21 As The Voice journeyed on, he stopped and
spoke at every village. No matter what day he arrived the people were
waiting. The Temple was packed. The children lined the
roads awaiting him, and would rush into the villages crying "He's
here! He's here!"
22 The Voice would stop and speak. Now, there
were some that opposed him, and questioned his authority. "He has
only been a Temple Speaker for a little over a year," they said, "yet
he questions the authority of The First Speaker.
23 He tells people to take The Law into their
own hands, to fight evil in the streets? Who is he, that he
should be obeyed? Is he really of The Lords, or is he a clever
demon spreading discourse?"
24 "Surely," answered the people, "he cannot
be a demon. Demons flee from their victims at his very
approach. You have heard what happened to the south. He
freed a man possessed for years, and sent the
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