The Great Gospel of John
Volume 7
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the Mount of Olives. (cont.) Gospel of John, Chapter 8
- Chapter 108 -
The desire of the magicians for the true God.
We also ate and drank in a good mood. But now, little was said during the meal. Only the Romans spoke in Latin about different things. At the other tables it was very quiet.
2
When we finished the meal, the magician stood up again and said to Lazarus: "Friend, the three of us did now eat and drink exceptional deliciously, and now this has to be paid for. Name your price, so that I can pay for it right away."
3
Lazarus said: "Did you then not receive salt together with the bread?"
4
The magician said: "Oh yes, there is still some in a golden small barrel."
5
Lazarus said: "Well, then everything is already paid, for it is the custom with us that a foreign guest for whom we put the salt ourselves, does not have to pay. Therefore, praise the only, true God, because He pays me for everything in all eternity."
6
The magician said: "Yes, friend, you are quite right about that. If only we also could find Him, like probably you all have already found Him, then we even would praise Him much more than we can do now. But we are also already more than satisfied that we have received the full assurance here that an only, eternal, true God exists. For without such a God it would never be possible for this lovely young man to show us a few signs that can only be done by God and speaking words, which we have never heard from the mouth of the greatest wise man.
7
Yes, this extremely friendly God, who you know better than we do, is highly glorified and praised with all our vital strength, for by His holy will He certainly has shown us the way to this place, and through you He has revealed Himself further and more clearly to us blind seekers than during years of our long searching for His possible existence.
8
Yes look, friend, your home here looks also so well taken care of in everything that someone can conclude from it - even if he does not know you - that you must be a very wealthy and very wise father of the house. But if he then inquires from your members of the house about you, and with the best of their will they could tell completely nothing about your existence, then this would be very unpleasant, which makes the heart sad. Because when a house belongs undoubtedly to a wise father of the house, and is organized in such a way that every intelligent man is extremely amazed and which he has to admire greatly, then it certainly is easy to understand and he cannot be blamed when he is really trying to know such a wise father of the house better. But for such a person, who is making effort, it is becoming more and more oppressing for him if after a long search and questions he can only discover very unmistakable and clearly demonstrable traces of the existence of that wise father of the house, but cannot ever find him.
9
Then after some time you feel like a son who loves his father above all but whose father left for his many landed properties and is staying away for a long time. The son is becoming more afraid from day to day. With the worldly company which is around him he tries the best he can to drive away the sorrow, but one sad night follows the other and the days are going by, but neither during a night nor on the most beautiful day is the father coming back to his son. Then finally it becomes so unbearable for the son that his heart is heavy and he makes up his mind to go and search for his father whom he loves so intensely. He visits all the possessions of his father and finds unmistakable traces, of which he clearly can see that his father has been there. In short he finds literally everything, except his father. He goes down into the deep of the Earth and climbs on the tops of the highest mountains and shouts out loud: 'o dear father, where are you!? Why, why may your son not find you!? If he sinned against your seldom heard of commandment, then forgive him, the poor one, the weak one, the blind one, and let your holy fatherly voice be heard!'
10
And look, this is how the son searches for the father, and this is how he calls him. He finds everything, and he hears how the wind is rustling through the forests, how the storm is raging over the lands and seas. Yes, he hears the harmony with multiple voices of the happy singers in the air and he sees the lightning flashing out of the clouds. Only the face of his father is showing nowhere and there is no echo resounding from his voice.
11
And look, this is how it goes with us, sons of the great India, already for a long time, and no one of us knows who was the one who gave our book of books Ja seam skrit to the people. But there is one thing of the book which remains always true, namely that the one great father of the house of all men is always hidden from our kingdom, and will also remain hidden, for if the searchers cannot find him, how will those who are not searching him, find him?
12
But we were so happy here to come so close to the traces of His existence and for this reason alone we are overjoyed. However, how happy would we be if we could find Him, see and talk to Him in all love and humility. But if we are not worthy of this grace - what we realize and understand now - then we ask all of you, dear friends, not to forget us when you are standing before His holy face.
13
And with this, let us once more this evening bring Him, and also you, His friends, the glory and praise out of the deepest of our heart."