Sergius Paulus by Heidi Dru Kortman DTM

Acts 13:6-12

 

 

If the Empire were not in this state of unrest, I might be back in Rome in a month, but my term of office here on Cyprus is extended indefinitely. I’ve been warned to watch the Jewish segment of the population, since in other parts of the Empire, they’re troublemakers. I’d prefer that Rome hear that Sergius Paulus has kept his assigned area trouble-free, and productive.

Actually, keeping my eye on the Jews makes it easier for me. I’ve been dissatisfied with the common religions, lately, and the Jewish insistence that there is only one real God is fascinating. Two months ago, the synagogue caught fire and as I directed the efforts to extinguish it, the rabbi and his aides stumbled into the street with their arms full of scrolls. One was dropped, and it rolled to my horse’s feet. I dismounted, and picked it up, intending to give it back.

To my amazement, they refused it. When I demanded to know why, the rabbi stammered an explanation. Because the scroll had touched the ground, it was now defiled. Something about his expression made me wonder then whether that was the complete truth, but I took the writings home with me, and they’re in my library now. I can’t read the language, but the scroll will be a curiosity when I return to Rome.

When I took Elymas Bar-Jesus onto my staff, I asked him to explain what was in the scroll, but he refused, saying he was not a rabbi, and that if he were, he couldn’t teach me, because I’m a Gentile. Why do I keep a man like that around me? He exposed a plot to send a false report about me to Rome. I pay him well, since he seems to have insights into peoples’ minds.

I’m still sure I need to know what the God of the Jews has to say, and I think this afternoon, I have an opportunity. News has come from outlying villages that three men are crisscrossing the island, preaching. Elymas Bar-Jesus stands in my garden muttering. Every few minutes, he dares to give me a black look, but I am master here.

He insinuates that I need not hear anything these men might be saying, because I am doing everything required of a successful Roman procurator. Actually, the opposite is true. I must listen to these men at least once, to be informed of what is happening in my region.

They approach, two mature men, and a gangly teen. The taller man introduces the others. One of them is also called Paulus. I take another look at this “namesake” of mine. He’s not impressive, covered as he is, in dust. He looks back at me, and there’s no mistaking the brilliant vehemence in his eyes.

Out in the garden, Elymas Bar-Jesus begins the whining singsong with which he usually prefaces one of his prophecies. Without so much as a glance in my direction, the one called Paulus faces the sorcerer.

“You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right!” Paulus says. “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?”

Despite myself, I blink. Could it be that Elymas Bar-Jesus fabricated that information about the plot? Paulus the traveler isn’t finished.

“Now the hand of the Lord is against you,” he says. “You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.”

Immediately, the sorcerer staggers. Flailing his arms, he blunders about the garden, stumbling through bushes and falling against the fountain. I direct my bodyguard to eject him from my house.

I am so glad that such physical and spiritual blindness is not my own. Paulus and Barnabas have taught me that the Jews’ God is the source of all good laws. No person can keep the good laws, no matter how hard he tries. So, God is merciful, and he has sent his Son, Jesus Christ who took God’s anger and punishment in our place. This relief and freedom isn’t for the Jews alone. I’m included in it too. The Son of God has a kingdom greater than the Empire, and I have a place and work in it.

Heidi Dru Kortman, a CWG Apprentice graduate, ACFW member since 2004, and Word Weaver member has published devotionals in various newsletters, and a collected volume of devotionals. Her poetry, flash fiction, and short stories have appeared in small magazines, and a website. She is applying herself to the task of writing smoothly polished fiction.