One day, a well-known televangelist with a bad temper and a penchant for stoking division gave a sermon to an overflowing audience of around 500 people. The preacher, who was adorned in a golden silk robe, ran a hand through his slicked-back hair and excited his fundamentalist following with one of his infamous hate-filled speeches:
“Today, we gather as a proud community of worshippers who are under attack by all the Devil’s servants. Make no mistake about it, gay people are one of our greatest enemies. Their lifestyle is an abomination and an affront to the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. We can not sit idly by and watch them threaten our way of life.”
The crowd started wildly cheering as the preacher paused for dramatic effect, and then continued in a menacing tone:
“But gay people are not our only enemy. The Muslim religion wants to destroy our God and our great nation. Mark my words, before long, we’ll make those radical Islamists stand and kneel before our flag and Bible!”
The congregation roared with approval as the multi-millionaire charlatan pounded his fist on the lectern and continued on his tirade:
“Let us be clear that all those border-hoppers, hippie degenerates and homeless vagabonds are also our great enemies, and will be swiftly dealt with in whatever manner our Father wants us to. He will see to that. As will the forces of law and order who are on our side!”
An unexpected visitor
The applause from the audience was deafening as yells of “Amen!” were heard from many in the congregation. Once more, the rabid preacher paused for dramatics.
But just as he did so, a strange man suddenly appeared in the centre aisle of the megachurch and interrupted the preacher’s hate-filled sermon. The tanned-faced man was dressed in a tethered plain white robe. He wore sandals on his feet and had a long beard and hair down to his shoulders.
The audience turned towards the man and gasped, as the wicked televangelist turned red in the face with anger and exclaimed in a frightening tone:
“Who dares to interrupt my sermon?!”
The strange man’s eyes beamed with a brilliant radiance of unconditional love and humble acceptance. He smiled at the irate preacher and replied:
“My brother, allow me to apologize for my tardiness and disrespect. You see, I’ve had a very eventful morning. I began the day early and basked in the glorious love of two wonderful men who asked me to marry them. My heart was overfilled with joy to honour their request and bless their beautiful union together.
“After marrying these two devout lovers, I then spent the middle part of the morning praying with both my Muslim and Christian brethren under the same house of worship. And, let me tell you, the two traditions are really just like different paths up one mountain to the same peak of God.
“Following morning prayer, I continued my work to secure a safe passage across this country’s border for some of my Hispanic brothers and sisters who are simply fleeing the horrors of war in their homelands. I then spent the remainder of my morning picking up trash at a cleanup organized by those very ‘hippie degenerates’ you speak ill of.
“Finally, in the moments just before I arrived here, I followed a calling from the Divine to feed, clothe and wash the feet of the homeless at a local shelter, only one block from this very church. I’ve come here to share a message from our Creator that I fear you and this congregation aren’t yet grasping … the word of the Supreme One is truly the spirit of unity and love, not separation and hate.”
The preacher’s face turned an even brighter shade of red, as he glared at the strange man standing before him and sarcastically said:
“Now that you’re finished speaking, allow us to show you our appreciation!”
The 8-foot stake
Within seconds, three large men from the congregation seized the man by the arms and pushed him out the door of the church, into a hidden meadow behind the parking lot. The three men then tied him to an 8-foot stake as the entire congregation gathered around them.
The preacher approached the tied-up man with one big stone in each hand, and one more on the ground between his feet. He said:
“Any words you wish to say, before I unleash God’s fire and fury upon you?”
The unknown man on the stake replied:
“Yes. There is indeed one thing I wish to say. The fire and fury you speak of doesn’t belong to my Father in Heaven. Boundless compassion and infinite wisdom are the only two qualities that can be attributed to the God you claim to speak of. My only wish for you and this entire congregation is that you learn to be and to love.”
The man on the stake then closed his eyes and fell into a trancelike state, as he began repeating his last words: to be and to love. With his supporters gathered around, the violent preacher stepped within about 9 feet of the man, and threw the first of the three stones at his face.
The man cried out in excruciating pain, as blood instantly ran like a river down his cheek. The crowd cheered as the preacher devilishly grinned and hurled the second stone even harder at his victim’s head. But to everyone’s shock, including the preacher’s, the stone passed straight through his body without leaving so much as a mark. Just as incredibly, the man’s inflicted wound from the first stone miraculously healed and then vanished before everyone’s eyes.
All but two of the false preacher’s flock dropped to their knees and bowed their heads in reverence to the divine being on the stake. The two who didn’t do so charged at the preacher to prevent him from throwing the last of the three stones. But before they could get to him, he managed to throw the final stone with all his might.
What happened next became the stuff of extraordinary legend. Just a split second before the third stone was about to hit the sage’s head, it instantly transformed into seven glorious doves that took flight into the heavens above. The foolish preacher turned in horror and exclaimed:
“Impossible! It can’t possibly be you!”
He ran immediately into the hills above the church, and was never heard from again. The three men who’d tied the holy man to the stake hurried over to bow and untie him, with tears in their eyes.
All gathered and rejoiced with the God incarnate that now stood before them, wearing nothing but a look of pure forgiveness on his unblemished face. It has been said that on that day, the living spirit was reintroduced into an old and storied tradition that had just simply forgotten how to be and to love.
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