Divine Mercy Sunday

-Susan

The Tunic (part 6)

(The Tunic is a fictional story based on the Passion of Jesus. The story began on post March 18, 2019.)



  The following morning Livia quickly began her daily chores.  She looked at the blood-stained tunic and half wished she hadn't agreed to clean it. She knew it would be time consuming and difficult.  She would have to draw extra water from the well, and since walking was too difficult for Remus, she would have to make two trips as quickly as possible while he remained at home. She kissed Remus on the forehead and promised she would return shortly.  
  As Livia walked to the well, she remembered the days when Remus would laugh and run circles around her.  Her hand instinctively brushed away the stream of tears.  She had no time for this pain today.  She had to stay focused. Perhaps this time they would find the right doctor to help Remus.  "Yes, this time will be different," Livia convinced herself.  "I will do whatever it takes to get the stains out of the tunic."  
  As she was filling her pitchers, she overheard some of the other woman discussing yesterday's crucifixion.  Livia remained quiet.  The woman were saddened and shocked that Jesus could heal others and perform countless miracles, but was not able to do anything to help himself.  It was hard for Livia to understand why he was crucified, he seemed to have helped so many. Livia thought how unfair life was for so many good people, especially for herself and Remus. "How can one day change everything....?" A question she had asked herself too many times.
  When Livia returned home she saw Remus was exactly where she had left him. He just sat motionless in his chair.  Livia kissed him on the cheek as she silently asked herself again, "Why?  Why did this have to happen to us?"  Livia was about to return to the well for more water when she decided it would make sense to start soaking the tunic.  Perhaps if it soaked long enough, the stains would be easier to remove.
  She poured some water into a basin and then submerged the tunic in the water.  Immediately, the blood was released from the fibers.  The water had been cool, but suddenly Livia felt a surge of heat pulse through her hands and arms. She looked down at her arms and couldn't believe what she was seeing.  The terrible scars on her arms were fading.  She no longer had any pain.  Her skin was smooth.  They looked like they did before the fire!  An incredible joy filled her whole body!  She was healed! She was healed!  But how?  This didn't make any sense. How could washing a tunic heal her?  It was the same water from the same well that she had used for months.  It had to be the blood from the tunic! Livia remembered Cato saying this man claimed to be the son of a god.  The women at the well said he had performed miracles. Could this man's blood be healing her right now?
  Livia's thoughts quickly turned to Remus.  "Remus I have to wash you right now!"
  "I don't want to.  I'm not dirty." Remus answered.
  Livia had no doubts that this man was a powerful healer.  "Remus, look at my arms!  The scars are gone! I am healed!  You need to put your legs in this water!"
  Remus had no idea what his mother was talking about.  He had never seen her act like this before.  He looked at her arms--her ugly scars weren't there. " Where did they go?"
  Livia quickly picked up her son with unusual ease and placed his legs in the water.  She took the tunic in both hands and rung it out over Remus' legs.  "Mom, that feels really warm."
  "Good," Livia said as she carefully placed the tunic over her son's legs. She placed her hands on top of the tunic and said, "Remus this tunic belonged to a man who performed miracles.  Some say that he was the son of a god."
  "Which god, Mom?"
  "I don't know, but if he heals you, I will spend the rest of my life searching for that answer.  His name was Jesus.  Let's both close our eyes and ask Jesus to heal you."
  Livia closed her eyes and begged that the blood of Jesus would heal her son. Over and over Livia begged for Jesus' help until her thoughts were interrupted-
  "Mom, my legs stopped hurting!"
  Livia opened her eyes and looked at her son.  He was smiling!  Remus was smiling again!  Again her whole body filled with joy as she slowly removed the tunic from Remus' legs. His scars were gone as well! Livia threw her arms around her son.  "Thank you, Jesus!  Thank you!"  This time Livia didn't stop the tears from streaming down her face. She had never been happier!

(to be continued...)

-Susan

The Tunic (part 5)

(The Tunic is a fictional story based on the Passion of Jesus. The story began on post March 18, 2019.)

  It was late evening by the time Cato returned home.  It had been a long, exhausting day and he was looking forward to dinner with his family.  His wife, Livia, greeted him with a smile.  "I have dinner ready if you are hungry."
  "I'm starving," replied Cato. "How was Remus today?"
  "The same.  He tries to hide the pain.  Walking is very difficult for him.  He just sits and looks out the window.  He fell asleep just before you got home.  Should I wake him?" asked Livia.
  "No, let him sleep. No sense waking him up and having him be in pain." Cato's thoughts turned to the past.  If only that day never would have happened.  He blamed himself for not being there when their house caught on fire. At least Livia had woken up in time to pull Remus from the flames.  His legs were badly burned.  They were a source of constant pain for Remus.  They never healed right even though Cato had implored the help of every god and doctor in Rome.  No one could heal him. His eyes looked at the terrible scars on his wife's arms.  They took away from her natural beauty, but she never complained about her own pain.
  When dinner was finished Cato announced, "I had a bit of good fortune today. He walked over to his bag and pulled out Jesus' tunic."
  Livia scowled.  "What is so fortunate about a bloody piece of material?"
  "I won it today.  It belonged to one of the crucified prisoners.  Look its seamless. If you get the stains out, I can get some good money for this."
  Livia took a closer look.  "I feel bad for this man.  That's a lot of blood."
  "The poor man didn't even do anything wrong.  He just claimed to be the son of some god. It must have been the god of the Jews because they were in an absolute uproar over it.  They were all going crazy about it. Pilate couldn't take it anymore and just let him be crucified.  Anyways, his bad fortune will be our gain.  Could you wash this tomorrow?

 I think I know where I can sell it."
  "I will do my best," replied Livia.  "I'll see if my luck is as good as yours.  Perhaps we could consult another doctor for Remus with the money?"
  "Yes.  I was thinking the same thing, too."

(to be continued...)

-Susan
  

The Tunic (part 4)

(The Tunic is a fictional story based on the Passion of Jesus. The story began on post March 18, 2019.)

  Cato wished he could shake the image of the woman's eyes out of his mind.  With his eyes still closed he heard a man's voice say, "Leasen her pain."  Cato opened his eyes and looked around.  No one was even standing near him.  Who just spoke to him? He began to feel very uneasy as his stomach painfully tightened.
 Cato beat his fist against his chest trying to shake himself back to reality. "What is wrong with me?" he questioned himself. "Great, now I'm hearing voices.  I think I just need to get some rest. The sooner I get this job done, the sooner I can get home."
  Cato decided he would help take down the body of Jesus from the cross. He tried not to look at the woman, but he couldn't stop himself. Her tear stained face was fixed on Jesus. A much younger man seemed to be holding her up as if her frail frame was too much weight for her to support herself. 
   Cato bit his bottom lip as he remembered the voice, "Lessen her pain".  He tried as best he could to carefully remove the nails. (Usually he just ripped them out without any thought to the mangled flesh.) With the help of another soldier, he  gently lowered Jesus body down. He saw the woman's outstretched arms, so together the soldiers placed the body into her arms.  Cato could hear her sobbing uncontrollably as she wrapped her arms around him. Although Cato had done this countless times, somehow this time--this man, this sobbing woman was different. The scene was too emotional to watch.  He had to get out of there.  After all his job was done.
  He climbed onto his horse slinging his bag with the seamless tunic behind him.  He would give his report to Pilate. Jesus, the King of the Jews, was dead.  It was all over now.  Hopefully this would be the end of the riots.  Everyone should be happy now. Cato rode away as quickly as possible.

(to be continued...)

-Susan

  

The Tunic (part 3)

(The Tunic is a fictional story based on the Passion of Jesus. The story began on post March 18, 2019.)

  Finally, Jesus made it through the streets of Jerusalem and to the Place of the Skull. Cato was surprised he was even still alive. The soldiers had to force some man off the streets to help Jesus carry his cross the rest of the way. He was in really bad shape.  Next, the soldiers threw Jesus down on his cross and began to pound the nails into his body. Cato always hated that part. It was always difficult for Cato to witness the wrenching pain. Cato would ease his mind by telling himself criminals deserved this extreme punishment.
  Together the soldiers pulled the cross up and into place. Now it was time for the soldiers to collect a little reward for a job well done. Jesus barely had much to divide up.  There was his tunic though. It was seamless.  That could be resold for some good money thought Cato. When another soldier suggested they draw lots for it, Cato quickly agreed.  Cato could not believe his luck when he ended up winning the tunic! "Yes!" he yelled. "I guess this is a good day after all." He picked up the tunic and examined it.  There was plenty of bloodstains to be removed, but he was sure he could easily sell it. 
  Cato smiled at the thought of his good luck and looked at the crowd. His eyes immediately found the woman he had seen in the streets. Her pain seemed to match the crucified Jesus.  Cato looked up at Jesus and then at the woman. She had to be his mother. Cato had seen plenty of crucifixions and family members sobbing, but there was something very different about these two. There was no swearing or yelling or even anger. It was as if they were both resigned to accept this painful end. Cato shook his head.  He would never understand these people.
  A few hours later Cato heard Jesus say, "It is finished," as his last breath silently fell to the ground. Oddly, the sky darkened and the earth began to shake. Cato was scared. Was this going be the end for all of them? Some of the people began screaming and running away. Cato heard a fellow soldier say, "Truly, he was the Son of God," as he pierced Jesus' side with a lance. 
  Those words "Truly he was the Son of God" played over and over in Cato's mind. Did he just help crucify God's son? Which God? He tried to close his eyes to make sense of what was happening. With his eyes closed tight, Cato could see the pain filled eyes of Jesus' mother burning through his darkness.

(to be continued....)

-Susan

TheTunic (part 2)

(The Tunic is a fictional story based on the Passion of Jesus.)

  Cato's gut feeling was correct.  Today was a bad day.  The Jewish people were completely out of control screaming for Pilate to crucify Jesus.  Cato thought this whole situation was ridiculous.  Who cares if this man thinks he is God's son?  There were plenty of Roman gods. What difference did one more god make?  The whole thing was stupid.  Cato also knew Pilate couldn't afford to have any more bad reports sent back to Rome. Cato was sorry he was ever assigned to this region.
  By midmorning the situation was almost completely out of control.  Pilate had Jesus scourged hoping this would settle things down, but it didn't.  Pilate then gave the decree. He handed Jesus over to the Jewish leaders and told them to go ahead and crucify him.  Cato and the other soldiers were instructed to keep the crowds under control. It was up to them to make sure Jesus and two other criminals didn't die before their crucifixion.
  Cato saw his fellow soldiers throw the wooden beam at Jesus.  It was pathetic.  Jesus was so badly beaten, the weight of the beam almost crushed him.  Cato was good at his job, but he didn't enjoy torturing people as much as his fellow soldiers did.  Cato believed in justice and following orders.  He would make sure this pathetic man would still be alive for his crucifixion.
  As they began to walk down the streets, Cato pushed back the screaming crowd.  There were so many people in the streets making Cato's job difficult. Two men tried to push past Cato forcing him to break rank and push them to the ground.  When Cato turned around he saw Jesus had fallen.  A woman was bent down next to him.  Cato quickly grabbed the woman's arm to remove her.  As he turned to yell at her, Cato saw the pain in her eyes.  Her pain sliced through him as he heard her quietly cry, "My son....."  He held her back as his fellow soldiers forced Jesus to stand. Cato wished he had not looked into her eyes. The pain in her eyes were burned into his memory.
(to be continued...)

-Susan

The Tunic

(The Tunic is a fictional story based on the Passion of Jesus.)

  Cato woke up early. He knew it was going to be another long day. The Jewish leaders were in an uproar over some wandering, miracle healer claiming to be the Son of God. Cato didn't like or understand the people in Jerusalem. They made his job as a soldier very difficult.  He thought life could be a lot easier if they would just surrender their lives to Caesar.  
  Crowd control will be ridiculous if the Jews continue to riot for this Jesus to be crucified.  Cato had seen Jesus taken into custody.  There was nothing special about him.  For the most part, he stood there silently.  He didn't even try to fight back.  He did not exhibit any special god-like powers.  Cato wondered for a minute what Jesus did to get everyone so mad?  Then Cato thought to himself, "Who cares?  What difference could this man's life make anyways?  Who will even remember this man past this week?"
  Cato quietly exited his house.  He didn't want to disturb his wife and son.  The only time his son Remus looked free of pain was when he was sleeping. Cato jumped on the back of his horse and headed towards the praetorium.  He hoped Pilate's mood would not be too foul today.
(to be continued....)

-Susan