Chapter 28. The Second Coming.

March 28, 1972

"Still, dear Grandpa Frederic, please answer these questions that are constantly tormenting my mind and heart, which I find very curious: Who is God? Who is Jesus? Who of them is the real God? Why and for what did this man or God die? Why, after so long since he died, do people still talk about him, unlike many who die... their names and words are consigned to oblivion? Who is the devil? Who is Lucifer? Why, when my friends say the word 'God,' their parents scold them, but when they say the word 'devil,' their parents pay no attention? Why are we forced to go to church from the first days of our existence? Am I doing something bad by not going there? After all, I obey my father and mother, I obey all of you and I try not to sin—what am I doing that is wrong?" asked his nine-year-old blue-eyed grandson, Florentin, with great enthusiasm and genuine interest, as they were a significant distance from civilization, in the endless expanses of natural, pristine nature. At that moment, they were gazing deeply into the distance, contemplating not only the events of the past and future, but, most importantly, the events of the present.

"My dear Florentin, God is... it is love that is within you... love for this world and for all living things... the more love you have, the more God you have, my good boy... God is what is inside you... it is your perception of the world around you and truly... it is how you see this world! Your faith, your faith in God, and therefore in everything that is and is not, is a flaming torch that you can... I am not saying you must or you have to!... carry through the darkness of this life and through the gloom of this world! Faith is the only thing that can and is able to illuminate your entire path throughout your life... without faith, you can walk, but you will walk blindly... or, what's even worse, you will be led by others..."

"Grandpa Frederic, I was told that God lives in heaven, he is far from us, but at the same time he determines who will be well and who will be bad... How is that possible?"

"Only those who do not know the Almighty claim such a thing," he replied. "Those for whom God is something tangible and material..."

"And how can he be in the church and in heaven at the same time? And I was also told that he is on the cross..."

"My dear Florentin, God is everywhere, he is with you everywhere, for he is a part of you. You can meet him everywhere: in church, and at home—both day and night... in reality, and even in a dream! Where you are—there is God! But not everywhere where God is—are you..."

"And why is he on the cross? Who betrayed him? Why didn't he save himself if he knew he was going to die? Didn't he know his age too well, the age he lived in, and also the places and the people among whom he lived?"

"He was accused of vice when he was doing good. Many of those who accused, reproached, and reviled him in his last minutes had never heard his speeches and sermons; they did not know about the good deeds he did. However, at the very moment he was slandered and his reputation was defiled with the stamp of a lie, many began to talk about him. As you see, my dear boy, goodness has a much more thorny path than evil. Do a thousand good deeds and no one will remember you, but as soon as you stumble, evil tongues will anoint your being with poison... Why didn't he save himself? He did not want to be a hammer in this world, and so he became an anvil in it. Neutrality was impossible for him, for its price is perhaps the highest in this world. He who adheres to neutrality risks losing everything more than anyone else... He was betrayed... and the price of this betrayal was a few fleeting and ephemeral silver coins. Eternal life was valued at an amount that was not even able to give confidence in tomorrow... My dear boy, remember once and for all... wealth, by whatever path it may be acquired, is always, truly, always associated with vices and crimes, if not directly, then, of course, indirectly... As you see, if enemies in this world want something, they achieve it at any cost, including, which is the most common, through others' hands..."

"All those who were at that time on the Golgotha of Christ, all those who looked at his suffering then, at how he was leaving, never realized what event they were witnessing. No, not the death of Christ, but his birth with the help of the birth of faith. Looking at death, they did not see birth. Rejoicing in death, they did not know that they would soon grieve for this death. Looking at the shell of what was happening, they did not see what was hidden beneath it. In front of their eyes, the process of a new trend was taking place—the trend of deifying man and humanizing God..."

"Slander... betrayal... but weren't those just someone's words? My classmate recently slandered me in a similar way, but he could not prove my guilt with facts and arguments, and so I was not held responsible... So why was Christ judged then? Unlike me, he was not judged by a school teacher, but by a judge who knew the laws and was extremely knowledgeable about them..."

"You know, my dear Florentin, in some cases, one word is enough to ruin the life of a truly virtuous person, and sometimes a thousand words are not enough to expose a criminal..."

"But why, why didn't the judge want to, couldn't judge him fairly?"

"In our world, dear grandson, there are things much more impressive, much more deeply affecting the processes in human relationships, than the word... 'justice.' One of those words is... 'politics'... And besides, my dear Florentin, what judge in this world has no children? What judge in this world wishes them or himself a premature death?"

"And is there anything in this world that God does not see? For example, if no one saw me eat all the candy from the table... does God know about it? Who told him if no one saw?"