38. Palms Sunday

Here I was in Jerusalem having been booted from both heaven and the Patriarchate. The only instruction I was given was to ask Saint Mary of Egypt to lead me into the cocoon of repentance. So I did.

"Blessed Mary, if it is possible, please show me today what took you decades to learn, and without all the suffering, how to become faithful to Him, by forsaking the ways of those mischievous demons who continually lure me onto their webs. I want to be an angel of God, I really and truly do.

I am afraid, dear Mary, of being a deluded angel, of thinking that I am translucent, when in fact my rebellious attitude muddies me up. Can it be that I am not the angel I think I am? I have been banished from heaven and I fear I will never be able to return. Please I beg of you, please guide me. Mary, pray for me. Woes is me if I am consigned to this Hades of Earth forever!" Did she hear me?

Weeping, I wandered aimlessly through the stone streets of Jerusalem, flying in and out of doorways and alleyways. I flew out of Jaffa Gate and headed towards the Mount of Olives when I saw a large raucous crowd in the distance, so I went up to see what the commotion was all about.

Easily passing over layers of men, women, and children, a fantastic sight appeared before my angel eyes! There was Jesus sitting on a colt. All of the people along the road were shouting in a cacophony of 'Hosannas' and 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of The Lord!' and 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' And 'Hosanna in the highest heavens!'

Men spread their coats on the street, and children gathered branches from palms trees and laid them over the coats to create a cushion for the colt to walk on. The scene reminded me of a wedding procession where the bride follows flower girls strewing rose petals on her path to adorn the ground she walks on. Was Jesus pretending to be a royal bridegroom?

What in the world is going on here? I thought. Is this real? They are treating Jesus like a king, but He is riding on a little colt instead of a regal horse. The parade was heading to Jerusalem. For miles and miles it was the same scene. Old women and young men running out of their houses and up to the road to join the crowds. Young women and boys jogging alongside Jesus. Miles and miles of palms and coats blanketed the dusty road. With His holy head held high Jesus soaked in the glory.

I even saw gaggles of angels overhead alternately chanting Hosanna and Alleluia in perfect harmony. I cringed to be reminded not to join them. Instead I hovered behind Jesus wondering how it would end. As we approached the Golden Gate, I flew in front of Him so Jesus could see me.

Waving at the crowds, He noticed me and smiled with recognition. I gazed at Him in unbelief and said in angel-speak, "What is going on here?" He replied telepathically, "I'll explain it to you later." and kept on riding. By the time we reached the city, it too was in turmoil. People were asking each other, "Who is this?"

Every few hundred feet someone would shout above the din, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. Remember, the man who has been performing miracles. Come, let's follow Him and see what He does next."

When Jesus and His colt had arrived at the temple, He dismounted, and with the authority of the master of the house, He surveyed the temple flea market. Jesus had known about the flea market and always despised it, but today He decided it was time to provoke and to purify. I could see the anger welling up in His soul until He looked like He was about to explode. What was He going to do?

I could hardly believe what happened next.

With royal confidence and authority, Jesus actually turned over table after table and yelled at the merchants! I had never seen Him so angry, not even at me. He hollered, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers!" Doves flew out of their fallen cages and shekels were strewn all over the ground so that from one merchant to the other, no one knew whose money was theirs. Boys ran up to scavenge the change and merchants didn't know whether to yell back at Jesus or fight for their fallen money. Some merchants fought and others scrounged adding to the frenzy in the temple.

Meanwhile, the crowd of men, women and children that had followed Jesus all the way from Bethphage were still near and shouted, "Hooray and Hosannas." Such holy chaos had never been seen on Jerusalem, not since the Romans took over anyway.

After His tirade with the merchants, Jesus regained His composure, and walked over to the east corner of the temple. And then the most unusual thing happened, the merchants retreated to their homes, the loyal crowds dispersed, and the hosannas were hushed.

All that remained were the blind and the lame. One by one a blind child, an old woman with a cane, a man being carried, approached Jesus. And one by one He healed him or her so that all walked out of the temple on that day whole and healthy, some for the very first time. Mothers wept with joy; the necks of the newly sighted turned back and forth, back and forth blessed with vision for the first time in their lives. 'Is this what a face looks like, and a column, and a dove flying high in the temple?'

Shouts of exaltation softened into hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God.

Young boys, anxious to participate in the celebrations of healing gathered around behind Him and softly sang rounds of Hosannas to the son of David in choral harmony while Jesus continued to heal man, woman and child who approached Him with hope and faith.

After a short while, priests and scribes in groups of two and three strutted up to Jesus, as if infected by His former rage. The chief priest roared, "Do you hear what these children are chanting? Tell them to stop!"

Jesus replied, "I hear what they are saying. Have you never read (challenging their scholarship) 'out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have prepared praise for Yourself."

The chief priest looked around at his colleagues and shouted, "Did that vagabond just tell us that he accepts the praises due to God alone?" They were all appalled, looking back and forth at each other for affirmation. They were more than appalled, they were incensed. Who does this man think he is, who evicted their commercial tenants, and accepts praises in their temple! Does He think he is God or something?!"

Frankly, I was frightened for Him. Witnessing this day, I had left my own problems behind. I didn't have time to consider my ego or my voice or even how to get home. I realized that I had only one thing to do and that was to stay as close to Jesus as I could, and to guard Him as best as I could because this young man seemed bent on getting Himself into big trouble.

40. Holy Wednesday - Betrayal and Healing

While the Bridegroom was sleeping peacefully in a cozy clean bed under the dry thatched roof of Lazarus' home one of the men in His inner circle of friends was meeting with the very same chief priest who hours before, Jesus had provoked to anger. On the first Passover night the Angel of Death passed over the homes of the people of God, but on this Passover night, through Judas, the Angel of Death pointed to the Son of God. 'I warned Him, didn't I?'

When I heard this from the angelic grapevine, I was in such a dither that I didn't know if I should wake Him up right away and take Him back into the wilderness or let Him get a good night's rest first. I waited.

In the morning Jesus woke up refreshed. Mary and Martha were scurrying around trying to find ways to please Him. Martha set out bread and honey and fish for His breakfast, His favorite foods. Mary was praying. Jesus ate heartily while I tried repeatedly to get his attention. Finally, when Martha forced Mary to go with her to feed the chickens, I got my chance.

"Jesus, we have to talk. Can you break away from here? We need privacy." I whispered nervously.

"What's wrong?" He responded. "Never mind; I'll meet you out in the field behind the Joshua Tree in fifteen minutes, okay?"

I went straight away and rehearsed ways to tell Him the bad news.

Jesus arrived refreshed, happy and healthier-looking than I had ever seen Him before.

"What is it angel?" He asked.

"Lord, I have some very bad news for you. Your friend Judas Iscariot just made a deal with the chief priest to turn you into the authorities for 30 pieces of silver. See, I told you he would try to kill you! I'm afraid they will come to arrest you soon. Listen, I will do everything in my power to prevent that!"

Jesus smiled and said in jest, "Only 30? I think he should have held out for a lot more! I'm offended."

"Lord! This is not a joking matter. What are we going to do?"

"Angel, he replied, I know that My time has come, and I will be betrayed into the hands of My enemies. Be prepared. I will go through a trial and I will be crucified. It is for this reason that I was born. Don't you remember when we were in the wilderness and the Holy Spirit told Me that I only had three more years to live? Well, I have made the most of it. I think I am ready. Will you stay with Me? I will need you more than ever, my friend."

"Every step of the way My Lord. Does that mean we are going to reach the Tree of Life together, and let Adam and Eve out of Hades?"

"Yes," He replied, "The Father sent John the Baptist on to Hades to give everyone the good news that I will release them soon. They are preparing themselves."

"Jesus, something just occurred to me." I said, then asked the unthinkable,"Did you provoke the chief priest on purpose?"

He replied, "Yes, and soon you will see me doing even more to set myself up. The only way I can reach the Tree of Life is through the flaming swords of death, and I can't die naturally. The Holy Spirit wrote all about it in the Scriptures. Have you read the Scriptures angel?"

Changing the subject I mumbled "Poor Judas" under my breath, and then out loud to Jesus I said, "So what should we do tonight Lord, since your days are numbered and all? Are there any weddings in town?"

Surprisingly Jesus already had the answer. "My Bride and I are going to hold a healing extravaganza! It will be the biggest, and best healing services the world has ever known!"

Jesus looked wide-eyed and cheerful like a five year old on Christmas Eve. "This evening, Wednesday, and on this same Wednesday in every country around the world throughout history from this day forward, in every one of thousands of my Bride's churches, my priests will be anointing all of Our Children for the healing of their bodies and souls.

We are going to go through this crucifixion together, and I want everyone going into it to be as strong and healthy both physically and spiritually as I am."

"Lord, surely you are joking," I said as seriously as I could. "This is your idea of a good time? You are about to be tortured, and your last wish on earth is to hold a healing extravaganza?" I could not believe He was serious.

"Yes angel," replied Jesus "and what is wrong with that? Do you remember your daydream when we were visiting John Climacus?"

I had to think hard, it seemed like lightyears ago. Then it came to me. I had been remembering when My angel-friend was speaking to Zechariah who wanted to know what was meant by the two olives trees pouring oil into a golden lamp. My friend told him that it was the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.' I thought then and now that for the olive oil to create light was certainly more amazing than a hundred suns. I thought too how the word of The Lord was a form of light. Certainly the spirit is mightier than the sword.

"Yes, it is that same Spirit that turned the hard little olive into an oil light-giver, that My Bride uses to anoint priests and kings. Not only are our children anointed for spiritual and physical health but also as fellow kings and queens of My Father's Kingdom, to reign with Him forever. My Father reigns, not by His almighty might, nor by His infinite power, but by His loving Spirit."

Then Jesus seared my soul with His X-ray eyes and added, " Angel, you will never reign, you are a little lower than Our kings and queens, but to serve God, as you say you want to, is nevertheless an awesome honor, and you must have a pure heart to do so.

For My sake, please stop insisting on chanting out-of-key and ruining the heavenly worship services."

I immediately fell flat on my face before Him and cried, "Forgive me my Lord, my King and my God."

From that healing moment on, I knew that I wanted more than anything on earth or in heaven, even more than returning to heaven, or singing with the heavenly hosts, to cling to my Lord like feathers to a dove, and worship Him with the gift He gave me, a softer heart.

As I sat there weeping, Jesus lifted me up with His eyes and said, "I love you to death angel. Come, we have work to do to reach that Tree of Life."

"Lord," I said, not wanting to ruin the moment with my curiosity, but nevertheless I asked, "Were those two olive trees that poured their light giving oil into the lamp, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Life?"

Jesus flashed me a mysterious smile and simply replied, "We have eons to talk about these things. Hush, and follow Me."

41. Holy Thursday - The Last Supper, The First Communion

'Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. For The Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, The Lord will Passover that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. You shall observe this rite of perpetual ordinance for you and for your children. When you come to the land The Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep this observance. And when your children ask you, 'What do you mean by this observance?' You shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to The Lord, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.' And the people bowed and worshiped.

The Israelites went and did just as The Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

At midnight The Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on the throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.'

Jesus shut the book, and looked around at His disciples, and at me, and said, "The Lord our God delivered us from the bondage of slavery on this night. But there is a bondage to sin that is greater than that of slavery. Sins of mistrust, of faithlessness, of hatred and falsehood, any thought, word or deed that separates mankind from the image and likeness of God is sin. Sin creates a chasm between heaven and earth, between life and death, that cannot be traversed because the bondage to sin has bolted mankind to the earth and to death.

Who is the pharaoh that keeps God's people tied to sin? The enemy of mankind is this spiritual Pharaoh, Satan. His armies of demons work within men's hearts to disobey and distrust the Father. Satan will not easily let mankind go free.

What lamb will be slaughtered and eaten so that humankind may paint its blood on the lintels and doorposts of their hearts so that death will pass them by?"

Silence spread throughout the room, not even a mouse could be heard scurrying into its hole.

Andrew broke the silence by asking, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?"

By sunset the disciples were sitting around a long table in a large upper room of a big house in Jerusalem. As usual, I hovered around watching. Jesus had just mustered up the hutzpah to announce that He knew that Judas had betrayed Him.Yikes! I heard Jesus say to him, "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."

I have not been on earth very long. I certainly am not a native of this planet, thank God! But over the last eight months I have observed and experienced much. I was sent here to learn about the year of the Bride of Christ, about how She plays with time and matter in miraculous ways. This knowledge was to help me become less skeptical of the Creation of this planet. Perhaps that was all a guise to keep me from chanting in the choir, I don't know. I know for certain that from the heights of my origin, I could not have imagined the intricacies of the battles between good and evil that are being played out here. It would seem that God created this theater as a magnet for evil and to cleanse the heavens. He left just enough good, enough of Himself to make the battle seem worthwhile to Satan.

Jesus coming here as God in the flesh is as an opposing magnet to draw the children of God out of this realm and to transport them to the pristine kingdom He is creating for His fleshly immortals.

"Enough cogitating we've got to go!" Shouted Poppy, nearly shocking me out of my wits.

"Poppy! What are you doing here? How can I leave now? I promised Jesus that I would stay near Him. He needs me. Where are you taking me?"

Poppy replied, " It's okay, you will be back when He needs you the most. Don't worry, this is God's idea. I can explain on the way; quickly, we have only moments."

I followed Poppy through the skies and the millennia forward to Washington, DC in the twenty first century, and back to Saint Sophia's. It was good to be home. Nothing changed. All the mosaics and icons were in their places. The seraphim in the dome winked at me when they saw me enter. I winked back and smiled. It was very early in the morning and the church was half full of yawning people.

Poppy barked, "Pay attention!"

I looked down at the altar at Father Steve in his most beautiful vestments as he was saying, "Take ye eat; this is My Body, which for you is broken unto the remission of sins. Amen." And then he said, "Drink of it ye all, this is My Blood of the new covenant which for you and for many is shed unto the remission of sins."

"I looked at Poppy as if I had heard this for the first time, which of course I hadn't, but I never understood what it meant before."

Poppy smiled with tremendous satisfaction, in fact she was glowing. Then she said, The Bride is feeding Her children with the blood of Christ, that He was about to give them before I dragged you away. But the Father wanted you to see not just the Bridegroom, but the Bride in unison feeding this potion that is the antidote for sin, that enters the body and paints Christ's blood, the blood of the Lamb of God, on the doorposts and lintels of hearts so that death may pass over them and so they may live forever, free from sin. Isn't that exciting?!"

"That's great Poppy,". I agreed, "but can I go back now? I am getting really nervous about what is going on over there, please I have gotta get back to Jesus."

"Okay, okay go" she said sounding more than a little disappointed. "I just thought you might want to see the bigger picture. Good bye and fly safe."

By the time I returned, the Passover supper was over and Jesus was praying, and obviously did not want to be disturbed. As on so many occasions during the wilderness journey, I hovered by standing guard over the Creator of the world incarnate...admittedly feeling a little useless. I have never met a demon yet that was as afraid of me as it was of Jesus Christ.

[Passover, Last Supper, Eucharist - the trifecta of Life Giving Blood.]

42. Holy Friday, The Crucifixion

As the sun set, I saw more demons appear than I had ever seen in one place. Never had I witnessed such a concentration of evil celebration.

The Bride managed to fit two or three days of suffering and torture into this one but it started at sunset on Thursday and went through Friday evening. I suppose She wanted to get this bitterest of pills chewed and swallowed as quickly as She could. I will do my best to recount what happened, but I cannot report the events as well as did Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, so I won't try; you should read them. I will tell you the story from my perspective.

After supper His students (disciples) and I went for a walk with the Christ Who stopped at a beautiful garden not far from the temple. Olive trees and rosemary bushes filled the air with a holy calming fragrance. Everyone was tired after the big meal and the long walk. Jesus was clearly agitated. No longer was He the cool joker of Wednesday who thought Judas deserved more than 30 pieces of silver to betray Him.

He knew what was coming as a scholar and as God. In fact, Jesus had told Peter and the others that He was to be crucified in a surprisingly frank and fearless manner. Yet gradually a paralyzing fear dripped its poison onto His holy soul until It was suffused by a very human inner terror.

I think I know how He felt. Like me, Jesus had had authority over nature, time and matter have not phased Him. This world was a place He helped to create. Sure He could be hungry or cold from time to time, and His feet got dirty like everyone else's, and He slept. But, climbing that wilderness mountain with neither food nor water was the first time that nature showed itself to be a formidable adversary.

Both illness and death were easily manipulated by Him. He multiplied fishes and loaves when hunger struck. He walked on water to get to where He needed to go. He raised people from the dead. This Friday would sublimate the Christ to nature and evil in a violent way. For the first time in His human life He would be weak and powerless. I can imagine how frightening that could be to a Spirit like His.

When I heard Him rant at Peter and the others for falling asleep during His darkest hour, I read in it His deep anxiety. When I heard Him beg the Father to remove the cup (of death) from Him, it occurred to me that the fear of death was overwhelming Him because it meant a unique separation from His Father, however temporary. That was a thought He could not bear, no less experience.

It is the same horrible feeling I have about not being able to travel on the hairline path back home to God and the other luminous angels. In relating to Christ, I saw with my heart, the value of adhering to God's Will as compared to my own. If Jesus's Will could have been done on that day, no one would be able to reach the Tree of LIfe. Death, separation from God, would win forever, instead of for a time.

Jesus and I went back and forth from His place of private prayer to the place of the sleeping students, each return found Him increasingly more disappointed and more irritable.

Finally the dreaded moment arrived when Judas showed up and mortified Him with his kiss. Then the God who came to set men free was handcuffed, and all of His friends ran away. The Roman soldiers didn't want the students, they had their Prize.

I must tell you that the most poignant moment of all the trials that ensued was when the high priest looked Jesus straight in the eye and asked, 'Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?' Jesus replied with the same two words that God, the Father used to identify Himself to Moses.

Exodus 3:13-15

But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I am has sent me to you."

Likewise Jesus replied to the priest-interrogator, "I am" when asked if He was the Messiah.

I didn't know who to be more furious with, those dastardly chief priests who I am sure thought they were defending their faith, and their God, or the Romans who carried out the trial and the crucifixion.

I could feel sorry for the chief priests, as I felt bad for Judas too, for being pawns, perhaps innocently thinking they were on the side of justice. After all in their righteous opinions Jesus flagrantly broke the rule of working on the Sabbath.

When I think about how self-serving they were, about how they cared more for themselves and their status than they cared about God and what was most important to Him, I am convicted of my own self-centeredness. I see their guilt so much more clearly than I can see my own. But thanks to others who have shown me my faults, I know what I can do to be more like Christ, who though innocent was willing to suffer for sinners, and less like the self-righteous chief priests and Judas.

As for the Romans, I saw how they so shrewdly appended themselves to the problem of the Jewish hierarchy and used it to their own advantage. When Pilate saw that the Jews were hell-bent to crucify the Christ, he figured out how Rome could benefit from this. By assigning this poor man the title of King, which wasn't much of a stretch, Rome could belittle the concept of a Jewish king. In this way, Rome affirmed itself as the only ruler of the Jews. The priests and the Romans were in royal cahoots.

It was all so horrible. For my part I stood by Jesus Christ every step of the way. I fanned Him with my wings, I made happy faces to try to help him remember our better times. I stayed closer and closer with each step up Golgotha. I even refused to visit the Bride, even though at one point I saw Poppy in the periphery of my sight calling me to come. No, this time I refused to go.

And then it happen. I heard Jesus cry out, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" After that His Holy Head dropped. This was the moment of death and abandonment that Jesus feared the most. Never before had He been separated from the Father. He lived in the Father and the Father in Him, but for this moment, this black second in time, Jesus was fully human and fully dead, physically and spiritually.

Just when I was about to vaporize with grief, I heard Christ say, "Come on angel, let's go! Quick, no time to waste."

I looked up and there He was, good as new! Our spirits soared together for the first time since before creation. I wondered how I could have gone from such depths of grief to such elation so quickly. It was dizzying.

We headed straight for Hades and surprised the hell out of the Devil who did not expect us. Jesus entered Hades and grabbed the keys from the guard and tossed them to me. I opened the door, and the first ones out were our old friends Adam and Eve, then came Moses and Abraham, and all the rest, saints and sinners flew out of Hades and headed straight for earth to get one last look.

I looked over at Jesus who was more radiant than I had ever seen Him on earth; He was laughing and joking as He tied up the Hades guards.

"Uh, Jesus," I said. "Haven't you forgotten something?"

"What is it angel, I don't think so." replied Jesus apprehensively.

"The Tree of Life Lord," I replied, You need to find it so we can distribute its leaves for the healing of the nations and for human immortality."

"Oh that!" sighed The Christ, "Silly Angel, the wooden cross was the Tree of Life. the crucifixion was the flaming swords. It's done! Come with me, let's find a nice cloud to rest on together."

The saddest angel in the universe spun around three times to become the happiest angel in the universe. I said, "Watch this!" and showed off my figure eights and my spirals. Angel bliss! "Follow me Lord, I know just the place to get our rest."

And He did.

Meanwhile, I was told that the Bride held a beautiful entombment, and chanted Lamentations at His funeral into the night. I wish they could have seen how free and alive Jesus was while they cried.

43. Easter Sunday - Pascha

The Archangel Gabriel came to fetch Jesus and me as we were snoozing on Cloud 9 and called out, "Come Lord, the day of rest is soon over and you must go back into your body!"

"Oh, no no no" I said speaking for the Christ. "That body stuff is over. Jesus did His job, and He did it well. He went to earth, lived a human life, died, reached the Tree of Life, unlocked the gate of Hades, preached the good news, and let everyone out. Now humans can be as immortal as me. Done! Finito! Capput! We are going home, cha cha cha!"

Jesus smiled to Gabriel and nodded at me as if to apologize for my stupidity, which I deeply resented. Then He looked at me from deep within His bottomless well of kindness and said, "There are still four more months in my Bride's mystical year angel, you wouldn't want to cheat My Bride would you?"

With that, I took a deep breath of fresh clean air, and said, "Okay, let me try that again. Why do we have...why does Jesus have to go back to earth. Weren't those people mean enough to Him?"

Gabriel replied patiently, "He must return for the students, the disciples, and all those who believe that He is the Son of God. Jesus needs to prove to them that He conquered death, not just by freeing prisoners of Hades, but also by becoming resurrected."

After a pause to make sure I understood, Gabriel continued, "Jesus had to bite His tongue when on the cross He heard them say, 'He saved others, now let us see Him save Himself.' The fact of the matter is, angel, that His resurrection will be His response! Jesus didn't just jump off the cross and run away, He returned from death, by the power of God."

Gabriel continued long after he convinced me, "Many people have returned from being dead, but they returned with mortal bodies. Jesus will return with an immortal body. He will show humankind the value and power of trust and obedience to God the Father. If only Adam and Eve had trusted Him, but it had to happen this way. If not Eve, someone would have succumb to the wiles of satan."

When given a chance to get a word in, I responded, "Personally I don't believe that one must have a body to be alive, but I see your many points. The humans want Him back, they need Him back. I don't blame them. Let's go."

Jesus, Gabriel and I arrived at the tomb in the deepest darkness before the dawn. A sleeping guard lay on the ground in a fetal position to the right of the entrance of the tomb. Gabriel looked over at me and then at Jesus as if sizing us up and asked, "Who will roll this rock away?"

Jesus looked at Gabriel and then at me and replied, "I see that this is a man's job." so He walked right through the rock and reentered His fragrant body. Pushing the rock out was not as hard as pulling it from the outside would have been. The snoring guard slept through the whole event.

Huffing and puffing, Jesus seemed to be a bit out of shape, which, considering what He just went through was perfectly understandable. Then He looked up at Gabriel and said, "Could I have a different body? This one is in bad shape."

Gabriel replied, "Okay, come here; let's see of we can refashion this one." Jesus drew near and Gabriel wafted his huge right wing over Jesus's frail body and lickety split He looked different, and yet it was the same body and certainly the same Spirit. "How's that?" asked Gabriel?

"I feel great, but I am hungry! Let's go over to Galilee and get some fish!" exclaimed Jesus, and then looking over at me, He said. "Angel, you wait here for the ladies who will come to annoint Me. Tell them to tell my students to meet me in Galilee. By the way angel, make yourself visible, okay?" With that Jesus and Gabriel rushed off and abandoned me. I sat on the marble tombstone and thought and thought about how to materialize. I knew I didn't have much time because the ladies would come soon to anoint Jesus again. After fretting about my predicament, I suddenly realized that this was God's problem more than mine, so I prayed. "Heavenly Father, please let me materialize so I can announce to the women that Jesus is alive."

Before the last word came out of my heart, there I was all shiny with a long white robe! Just at that moment I heard the ladies approaching the tomb, so I sat up straight and looked like I was expecting them. I heard one woman say, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"

Then I heard three loud gasps. When the ladies entered my tomb, I could tell that they were terrified so I tried to calm them down by saying, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified." Three wide-eyed heads bobbed up and down with shoulders up to their ears. I continued calmly, "He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples - and Peter- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."

The three ladies left me quickly and fled the tomb, trembling with fear and amazement. I was sorry to see them go. My part was so short. I waited for others to show up so I could give a repeat performance, but felt myself fading fast, and no one else came looking for Jesus anyway.

Sitting there alone again, I perceived in my soul thousands and millions of white candles lit beneath beaming faces and chanting in unison, 'Christ is risen from the dead, and by His death He has trampled down death and to those in the tombs He has granted life." They chanted it in every language imaginable and they chanted the same words over and over and over again, throughout millennia in a symphonic roar.

Back to my normal angelic self, I flew over to catch up with Jesus and Gabriel who were easy to find for their magnetism. Jesus decided that it was time to appear to his friends so He chose Mary Magdalene to be first. Mary cried with joy and wanted to hug Him, but Jesus wouldn't let her and gave her the honor of announcing His resurrection to His disciples. Off she went to find them still mourning and weeping His crucifixion, but they didn't believe her.

After that Jesus appeared in another form to two of His disciples as they were walking in the country. And they went and told the others but no one believed them either."

To bring an end to all of this disbelief, Jesus showed up at their dinner table where He found them all together. He yelled at them for their unbelief and hardness of heart. After all, He had even told them that He would rise again. It was an emotionally chaotic reunion with shouts and tears of joy, but no hugs. We were in the same room as His last supper. I wasn't sure if it was really happening or if I was experiencing echoes of the last time I was in the room, but as I was sitting there watching the chaotic reunion, I perceived long lines of people receiving His body and blood from golden chalices while holding the white candles. Each person who pro ached the golden chalice held his or her mouth open to be fed, looking exhausted but radiant. Millions of others waited patiently in line.

The Bride and Her Bridegroom were both alive and well on earth in a mystical dance with time, rejoicing and victorious. Satan's three days of victory between the arrest and the crucifixion were trumped by Christ's masterful forging through the flaming swords to The Tree of Everlasting Pure and Sacred Life with God.

Even I felt myself happy and beaming. It was as if all of heaven had come to visit us on earth for the first time since Adam and Eve had been evicted for not trusting that God knew what was best for them. On this day I learned that love is most certainly more powerful than evil with its million ugly faces. The consequences had been devastating for humankind and indeed for all of creation. Today Jesus cleared a narrow, but open path to the Tree of Life, to immortality, to life with God for His Bride who contains in Her bosom every man woman and child of every race and nation who hears Her call and answers. "Here I am Lord, take me."

With immortality in its midst, this planet is not as corrupted by time and matter as I had thought. Not that I want to stay here forever, but it is not a bad vacation spot, after all.