CHAPTER 43
The Gospel According to St Barabbas
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Now this Pilate pursued the Sicarii to the threshold of the Empty Quarter. The Etruscans boasted that their sword overreached the world, but that emptiness gave him pause. In the desert neither king nor emperor has dominion, but only the Wind. And Pilate hid away his cowardice saying unto his men, Come and let us leave, for surely the Ishmaelites will kill these interlopers.
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This did not come to pass. The Ishmaelites were nomads, distrustful of strangers and loyal to each other, but they respected skill and courage. They recognised the skill of the Sicarii and the courage of their leader and made them welcome.
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They eschewed strictures. Their devotion to God they showed as they showed gratitude or wrath: artlessly and with full hearts. In time, Mary learned their customs.
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Their poetry tempered Her grief and as anger left Her heart, the Lord entered it.
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He said unto Her, Forgive me, my lady. My warning was tardy because I am not Master of this World. I am as Thou art, a fugitive.
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But I have loyal servants yet. When Thy ancestors escaped out of Egypt, they begged Me to part the Sea. My servant Water was unequal to that task, and needed Wind’s assistance. The Water is My right hand and favoured, but the Wind is My left hand and mighty.
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Mary learned humility and the ways of Water and Wind and waxed great in strength and wisdom. Under Her banner the children of Abraham were reconciled.
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But Mary had not forgotten Her vow to destroy Herod’s seed. When Word came that Galilee was oppressed by Antipas, the tyrant’s son, She bade farewell to the desert.