He returned to his work then, and she realised with relief that again he had not seen her.
71
SOPHIA
At the foot of her son’s cross, amid the dark-full outburst of elements Mariam’s soul fell open. Now, all the waking dreams of worlds, all the wisdom that unites their intelligences and weaves them together, all that came from the sphere of the Virgin, the virginal selfhood of heaven, entered her fully. It was as though the Great Mother in heaven had leant her clothes to the smaller mother below to adorn her with her glory!
Her son’s words spoke in her soul,
‘Mother! Behold Lazarus-John, he is now your son!’
She looked to the young man and knew that his soul was ready for wisdom.
Her son now told the young man, ‘Lazarus-John, behold my Mother. See in her the Sophia, the wisdom that lives in me, this you must henceforth recognise as yours! Take this wisdom into the housing of your soul and dedicate yourself to it!’
Two worlds came together then, above and below, for the wisdom that was hers was bestowed upon Lazarus-John, as a gift.
The sky stooped over and made a tumble of the wind.
She heard her son say, once again, that he was thirsty.
The centurion battered by the gusts soaked a sponge in wine vinegar and put it through the end of a stick to lift it to her son’s lips.
The wind railed against it.
The soldiers took up their weapons and began to flee the storm.
Only the two centurions remained.
From the cross Jesus said to the Christ in him, ‘Eli Eli lama sabachthani. My God, my God, how you have elevated me!’ and Christ spoke then to the Holy Spirit above him, ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ And then He said, ‘Father…into your hands I commend my spirit…’
She felt death come as he said, ‘It…is…accomplished!’
With these words, she felt a great release and she would have fallen, if not for Lazarus-John.
These words had fired in the east a spirit-light that could be seen far away in the west by the Druid priests in their stone circles. They saw it in the quality of the fine upper airs and in the colour of the auras around the shadow of the stones that a healing force was entering the world to save it from death.
But in the east, from whence came the light, a great rumble was heard. For the powers of death, frustrated and furious began now to assail the world and the wind stirred dust made a cloud rise that blotted out the sun, and darkened the day, seeking to eclipse the day-radiant light of Christ as it entered the ethereal round.
Fear and fury was felt by the evil ones, those darknesses that had held sway on earth until now. These beings, wedded to the shadows shrieked with pain and with anger when He came before them in all His power! For the spirit of Christ had overcome death, their master, and was now descending into the centre of the earth, that place which they call Hell, to imprison and to fetter all that was evil for a thousand years.
And it was from Golgotha, that a crack was made in the earth, and it tore its way over the ground to that other Mount on which stood the Temple of the Jews – the Mount of Zion.
72
FOUR VEILS
Caiaphas was in the Temple with Ananias preparing for the evening ritual when two Pharisees burst into the court with their eyes wide in their pale faces. He knew they were afraid, they were all afraid. The events of these last hours had all men jumping out of their skins.
But not Caiaphas.
He sighed and scratched his back absently. Would this day never end?
‘What do you want?’
One man said, ‘We’ve come to ask why you have not dispatched the Levites to Golgotha? They have to break the bones of those men before the beginning of the Sabbath so that they can be taken down!’
Caiaphas did not like being told. He said, ‘Impossible! It is too late, soon is sunset, besides, I have to go and kindle the incense.’ He began to ascend the steps.
But those dreadful Pharisees would not be put off.
‘Listen Caiaphas, there is time. If not, the families will have to wait until after the feast to bury them.’
‘So what?’ he said looking at the fools. ‘Let them rot for a few days on their crosses…what harm can it do? It may be a good thing to let the birds have their fill of Jesus’ pitiful carcass. Let all men see it as they come and go! That way whoever passes will be reminded that Jesus of Nazareth was not a god, just a liar full of his own importance!’
He turned to go but was prevented by the other man.
‘No!’ the stubborn Pharisee countered. ‘The Sanhedrin must comply with the law. This Sabbath is a High day, Caiaphas, and you know as well as we that when the Sabbath falls on the second Paschal day the law is even more strict! How can the people celebrate the Feast of the Unleavened Bread with the smell and sight of carrion meat outside the gates!’