—A Rendition of Luke 14:16-25—
Slowly, suddenly the darkness closed in on Becher. He hurried his small flock of sheep down the path, urging them forward in a gentle but greatly wearied voice. It had been a long, hot day, but the coolness of the evening was beginning to work its way into the landscape. Becher could see his house just up ahead. A golden light seeped out of the courtyard; Becher even thought he could smell his supper cooking. A shadow momentarily caused the light from within the courtyard to flicker— his family was expecting him; his daughter was probably even now at the gate. As Becher drew near to the house, the gate opened and his daughter cried out, “Oh, papa, peace to you!”
Becher guided his sheep into the courtyard, and was turning to embrace his daughter when he suddenly straightened and looked down the path further toward the city. A man on a donkey was hastily drawing near. Becher turned, got the last of his sheep through the gate, and then took his daughter’s hand, “Peace to you my little one; now see that the sheep get to their stalls and that they have some straw.”
The little girl slipped off to attend to the sheep, but Becher stayed at the gate, watching the approach of the man on the donkey. It did not take long for the man to reach Becher’s house. When he did so, he did not continue past but stopped and stiffly dismounted. “Peace to you, my friend!” the man called out in a strange accent.
“Peace!” Becher responded.
“My master invites you to come to the banquet he has prepared tonight,” the man continued.
“My family has food enough, and I have only just returned from the hills with my flock,” Becher said somewhat sternly.
“Ah, but my master’s banquet is ready. The food is finer that that which you have ever tasted and there is wine enough for all,” said the man.
“I thank you kindly for your master’s invitation, but I do not know him nor the reason for his sudden invitation,” said Becher. “I will eat my supper at home with my family.”
“My master prepared for this banquet and invited many, but when he sent me tell his friends and family that the banquet was ready, they all excused themselves and made other plans. When I told this to my master, he was angry with those he had invited, and sent me to go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame. This I did, and yet there still is room, and so my master has sent me to go out to the highways surrounding the city. This I have done and am doing. Will you not come to my Master’s banquet?”
Becher looked back over his shoulder. He saw that his wife and children were gathered in the doorway to the house. The walls of the courtyard seemed like a safe hedge around his family. Becher’s mind was churning. Who was this man who was inviting him to his great banquet? Why should he and his family leave their humble dinner to eat with beggars? How could he know that it would be safe?
The man reached out and took Becher by the arm and looked him in the eye, “Come for everything is now ready.”
Not knowing what to say, Becher set a sterner countenance and looked deep into the man’s eyes. Despite the strange accent, he saw a tender, trustworthy, relentless love in this man’s eyes. Becher’s scowl melted. His mind’s churning ceased. He would trust this man and go to the banquet in the city. He called to his family. His wife hesitated, and then reached for a lamp, pulled the door shut, and joined her husband. The children came also, not knowing if they should be happy or afraid. Becher hoisted their smallest little one on to his shoulders, and together the family struck off down the road toward the city.
The servant got back on his donkey and continued down the path away from the city. He told Becher that there were still a few more houses he must reach.
As Becher and his family got closer to the city, they began to pass and be joined by other groups of people. Everyone whispered about the strange invitation. Their bewilderment began to catch tones of excitement.
They easily found the house. It was brightly lit, and music and laughter floated out from within. Becher, his family, and a small group of others gathered in front of the door. They hesitated. Becher stepped forward and knocked on the door. They waited a few moments, holding their breath. Someone in the group sneezed and they all giggled nervously. Then the door was thrown open and light and music and good smells flooded out upon them.
“Come in, come in!” said a big, cheerful voice. “This must be the master,” said Becher to himself.
4 Comments
March 15, 2008 at 10:21 am
This short story has stemmed out of my study and homework for the missions course I am taking.
Jason, I mentioned on your blog that I was thinking that I should try to write a short story every now and then. Here is my first fruits.
-Stephen
March 15, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Stephen, that was great.
I don’t always like stories that are written as allegories of Scriptural accounts or parables, because, frankly, many of the allegories are unimaginative. Rather than drawing from the Scriptural account and applying Scriptural principles, many stories change locales and characters’ names and want to pitch it as a story new to the audience. Sometimes this might be appropriate, to help the audience to see how the Scriptures personally apply to their own lives (maybe variations on the Good Samaritan, for instance), but in such cases, my sentiment is usually, “Just give me the story as Jesus told it!”
The Pilgrim’s Progress is, of course, one of the great exceptions. It is Biblically sound and undoubtedly allegorical, yet has great poignancy. It casts a realistic picture of the details in a way that ultimately draws the reader’s attention to the underlying Biblical themes and principles.
I know we’ve talked about this all before. But all of that is to say that I like your story because you didn’t read between the lines to change the emphasis of the story nor re-cast it to try to pitch the same story as something new, but instead wrote an imaginative “this is how it might look.” I’ll probably return to re-read it later to catch more of the subtleties.
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