The Soul of the World
The laws that were brought down in biblical times were guidelines for men and women who lived in the ancient world. They were harsh but were intended to regulate a then mostly lawless society.
What do these very old and archaic rules teach us about how to do battle with Covid19?
Those laws may present a blueprint of what is needed to fight this pandemic.
We have a common enemy that knows no borders. We must be rigorous in our defense and incorporate the laws of hygiene into our daily lives to do battle with this plague.
The Leper Messiah outlines exacting and harsh laws that govern war and battle in the ancient world. However, our weapons are not chariots, swords, or the banners of different tribes.
We do not have War Priests to dictate when and where we shall fight. We have doctors and scientists who guide us through this dark time, but the message remains the same.
Rigorous vigilance is the cry! Every action is important. Each rule of hygiene must be followed.
Social distancing and social isolation are as old as time.
People were advised to return to their homes and shelter there away from the plague and away from people who might be carriers of that sickness.
We must turn our engines of war and business into the driving force that builds medical supplies, not armaments. Our soldiers must fight not on the battlefields but in the hospitals, and hospices and elderly care homes around the world.
We must turn our war banners into cleaning wipes!
A World on fire!
The soul of the world must be reborn.
The world has shed its skin and is changed forever. How it will look in the future is anybody’s guess, but it will be something new to us.
As we huddle in our homes and abide by the social distancing guidelines, is it even possible to follow the cultural traditions that weave our social fabric together?
Easter, the holiest of holidays on the Christian calendar, is so very important this year.
Excerpt from the Leper Messiah:
“I’m not so much a slave trader as a soul trader.” Whispered the old Egyptian nurse, Nebemakhet, as he wiped the caked dirt away from Davids’ limp body.
A warm Egyptian breeze blew along the Mediterranean and down the Nile, ruffling the Red Sea as it raced along the desert and finally stopped at the doorway of the small infirmary at the Timna Copper Mines.
He dipped the cloth in a pan of water and began to scrub at David’s face and body until the dirty fell away leaving clean skin in patches.
“More than that,” he whispered to the unconscious boy. “ I dig up buried souls.”
The nurse felt the boys’ limbs and put his old rough hands on a shrunken stomach. He bent forward to catch a whiff of breath and looked curiously at David.
“Do I say a prayer for the dead?” The old nurse smiled. “Perhaps I will trade your soul for a new one!”
He continued washing Davids’ body while looking at his curly red hair and angelic features.
“Yes, a new soul.”
Just as Mary Magdalen went into the tomb of Jesus and found him gone, only to find him resurrected days later. In The Leper Messiah, David goes through his own transformation.
At this moment, our world is transforming and so are we all.
Will we trade our collective soul for a new one?
Robert