Christ Figure

 It was a Friday night. I was walking to the bus stop. There were people all over the sidewalks and flowing out of bars and clubs, but I noticed one particular man in an alley. He was completely alone and isolated from his busy surroundings. I was drawn to this man. I could feel his loneliness and despair. My heart broke when I saw that he was in the middle of shooting himself up with what looked like heroin. I just stood there and watched until it was over. I wanted to do something, but I just stood there and watched the life drain from his eyes. The mans body went limp, but the needle, stuck in his arm, continued to hang there. I was in shock. I had lived a pretty uneventful life compared to that until then. I never knew anyone who did hard drugs like that so I had no idea what to do.

"Hey man, are you alright?", there was no response.

I walked over and knelt beside his body. I started to panic because I thought he might be dead. That made me want to cry. I had never felt the urge to cry more in my life and it was for a man I never even knew. I hesitantly felt his neck for a pulse. Thankfully he was still alive, but he was not in good shape. His arms and face were covered in scars and sores and who knew what kind of diseases he had. Something came over me, I felt so much empathy for this man. It was a feeling that I had never felt before. With tears falling down my face I prayed. I had never prayed before in my life, never even thought about praying. But without even thinking about it that's what I did. I prayed that I could help this man, that I could take his pain away. With my eyes closed and my arms wrapped around this man I prayed. Without opening my eyes I knew what had happened. The second I looked at this man and saw that he no longer had scars and sores covering his face and body, his face no longer pale, but healthy, meat on his bones, I had no regret. I went home. I didn't know what I felt. It was a feeling of amazement and pleasure, but I was in pain. I went to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror; my face and body were now covered in the scars and sores that recently covered the man in the alley's face and body. My skin was now pale, my bones and ribs visible through my skin, I was weak and helpless. I prayed with all of my heart to a God I didn't know I believed in that he would take away this mans pain. I prayed that I would take his place and take on his pain and restore his health. It was an odd feeling. I had never felt so much pain and suffering in my life while at the same time feeling an amount of joy that cannot be described in words, or at least words I would never use to describe a feeling; glorious, forgiven, sacrifice, unconditional, hallelujah....

"Simply and Wonderfully"

I recently watched the movie The Terminal. I love this movie. Yes it has Tom Hanks in it and was directed by Steven Spielberg so it's automatically a good one. However, the reason that I love this movie is because it is simple. Not simple in the sense that it isn't complex, because it is an original idea. But simple in the sense that it is about a simple, but wonderful character. Victor (Tom Hanks) is a man that becomes stranded in the JFK airport when his country goes to war while he is on the plane to New York and is therefore a non-citizen and is not allowed to step into the United States or he will be arrested. Victor simply begins to live his life in this airport. He meets friends, has adventures and finds love in these confines. He doesn't stop living because of his restrictions. He lives simply, but with purpose. He is fulfilling a promise to his father, but until he is able to do so he continues to enjoy life. Simple does not mean unadventurous or boring. Simple is defined as "easily understood or done; presenting no difficulty". Living simply doesn't confine someone, but the opposite. He knows life is a gift and continues to make the best of it even though he is stuck in an airport while his country is at war. I believe Victor lives simply because he made a promise to his father and set out to follow through with it and does so. It is not complex, he made a promise and kept it. New York City the greatest city in the world was just outside the door from him, but he was still able to find happiness in the airport through the simplest things; Burger King, fixing things, helping friends, and the few and short meetings he had with the girl of his dreams. And when it is all finished and he finally goes out into New York and keeps his promise to his father by getting the signature of a famous saxophone player... he then goes back home. Perhaps I am reading too much into a movie that was possibly just supposed to be a good film with a few laughs, but what I saw was a man who could make his life great no matter what his surroundings were. I read a book full of great life quotes; one of which was, "The tragedy of life," said W.M. Lewis, "is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it." Personally I think that is my problem, I keep waiting for a more convenient time to have a full life, like when I'm done school, when I have a career, a family... but I don't think a full life is about convenience, but about action. Live like Victor, simply and wonderfully!

The Chase

Jerry had never been the same since the accident. If he wasn't keeping busy he was thinking about it. So he kept himself by working, which meant he had to travel a lot. He had to travel a lot for his work and made his way to New York City quite often. He was just leaving the airport consuming his thoughts with work when a young guy walked up by Jerry and bumped into him and began to run. Confused, Jerry started to check his belongings and realised his phone was missing. He saw the young teenager running and weaving through the crowds. Without even thinking about it Jerry started to chase the kid. The teenager stole a cheap older flip-phone from Jerry. A type of phone that Jerry could easily replace, it wasn't essential to his work, but Jerry had other motives for chasing his phone. He was running after the kid with every fibre in his being to retrieve this cheap phone. The young boy that was being chased was quite confused. The reason that he would target business men such as Jerry was because he would usually get very expensive phones, which he didn't in this case, and because they normally give up after a while because they know they can replace it, but Jerry was not giving up. The kid was peeling in out of alley ways, hopping garbage cans, dodging taxi's, and every time he would look behind him Jerry would be right there gaining more and more distance. The kid was started to wonder that there might be expensive information on this phone. Jerry's heart had only been pumping this fast one other time. The accident. He started to think what it would be like if he lost this phone and started to run faster and faster. Jerry went back to that day when he lost everything. He thought about how it was before and how it is was now in that moment and was close to tears. He thought about how he already lost everything, he couldn't lose this phone, it was all he had left. As he came back to the present moment he realised he was in reaching distance of the teenager. He stretched his arm out and grabbed his jacket, just as he finally caught him the  teenager fell into the doorway of a building. Jerry and the teenager fell on the ground, the boy quickly tossed the phone to another guy waiting their for him and tried to make a run for it, but Jerry immediately caught him. He threw him on the ground. He threw his hands around the kids neck and ordered for him to give the phone up. Both of the young guys were in shock. They were terrified at Jerry's determination to retrieve this ordinary phone. He immediately gave up the phone. Jerry scrambled to see if it was still there. He opened up the phone and clicked on the small camera icon. He started to scroll through his pictures. The other guys were frozen in confusion. They just stood there waiting to see what Jerry was gonna do. He was looking through all of his pictures and started to panic when it didn't appear right away. And then he finally came to it, he clicked on the picture and it took up the whole screen. A flash of relief came across Jerry as he stood there gazing at the only picture he had of his late wife and three week old daughter together. He always thought he would have his whole life to capture those memories of his lost daughter. They were both taken from him three weeks after the birth of of his daughter in a horrible accident. This picture of his two beautiful girls was all he had left of them. He looked up and saw the fear in those boys eyes, he smiled at them and threw them all of the money he had in his wallet and walked away with his priceless phone in hand.

The Alley Way

John had enough. He hit his breaking point. He always knew what he was capable of, but he taught himself to control it and promised himself never to use it. However, he hadn't expected to be bullied either. He always thought of himself as a good guy, a nice guy, a friendly guy, but he had no friends. He didn't know why he was bullied. He maybe didn't look like a popular guy, but they couldn't bully him just because of that, right? It was the worst with Mack. He took it way too far with John. He is the sole reason that John got to the point that he did. Mack had made a mistake. A big mistake. John was shy to begin with, but with his capabilities and his desire to hide them he became even more shy. On this day John was no longer going to take it. He was angry and was looking forward to it. School ended and John started to walk home just like he did everyday. And Mack stopped him in an alley just like he does everyday. But today events did not take place like they did everyday. Mack walked up to John calling him horrible names and making jokes about him. Mack pushed John against the wall with all of his force. John hit the wall. A smirk appeared on John's face. It was almost in slow motion that John could see Mack's left fist coming towards his face. John saw his chance and took it. He stopped Mack's fist inches from his face. And with that simple touch of his hand touching Mack's he brought Mack to his knees. John very calmly and confidently moved his hand on to Mack's chest where he made him lay flat on his back in complete and utter pain. He left Mack laying there on the ground in pain. He knew the pain would subside, but long enough for John to take his time walking out of that alley with a smile on his face. He knew that would have scared Mack enough to leave him alone. John knew he had taken it too far, but he was fed up. He didn't deserve to be treated like that, so he decided to do something about it. He told himself it was a one time thing to get Mack off his back, but it made him feel good. It made him feel respected. It made him feel powerful. It became his go to move. Any time someone tried to mess with him or was even a little rude to him he would simply rest his arm on their shoulder and they would fall to their to knees because John had the capability to force pain upon anybody he touched. This was the reason that John never used his ability, because he knew what kind of person it would make him. But it was too late, he had already become that person. He became greedy for power. It became a way that he would get what he wanted. Nobody bullied him anymore, in fact, he was now known as the bully. Mack became the shy one. He stayed as far from John as he could and never told anyone what happened because he was too scared. John had hit a knew breaking point, but that was about to change. John knew he had been given this divine ability, he knew that it could have been used for good, but he abused it. But this power was given to John for a reason. This reason was found out on the most important day of John's life. It seemed like a normal day. John went through his normal routine. He started walking the same way as he always does. He was approaching the alley and saw that Mack was near the end of the alley with another man. The man pushed Mack up against the wall similar to John's previous position. John thought to himself that Mack was getting what he deserved. Then the man pulled out a gun and shot Mack. The man ran away as soon as it happened. Mack slowly slid down the wall with a streak of red making a path down to the ground. John was in shock. He didn't know what to do. He ran over to Mack and dropped to his knees. He held Mack in his arms. The blood seemed never ending. He couldn't help but think it looked like a scene right out of a movie, but this was reality. He kept telling Mack he would be alright. He thought he was lying. Mack suddenly opened his mouth and very slowly tried to talk to John. John was able to make out the words; "I'm sorry". John started to cry. He was disgusted with himself, but in that moment, that moment of shame, he finally knew the reason he was given this powerful ability. It was not to help himself, but to help others. As he held Mack in his arms and his tears rolled off his face on to Mack he placed his hand over Mack's wound. John could feel it. He could feel the wound appearing inside of himself. You see, his ability was not to give people pain, that was his curse, his ability was that he could take pain away. He finally knew that as the wound disappeared from Mack and appeared in himself. The blood started to pour out of himself. But he wasn't scared. He simply layed down knowing this was what he was meant for. John knew that if he realised his potential earlier he could have saved many more, but he died with the satisfaction of saving at least one. And that was enough.

A Final Day With Death

Jimmy was woken up several times throughout the night because he felt the sickness he was told so much about coming on. It's been like this ever since he started Chemotherapy. He had cancer for a couple years now. He woke up this morning feeling more sick than usual. He walked into his kitchen half-awake and half-asleep and went to the sink and took a drink right from the tap.

"Gross." said a voice from behind Jimmy. Clearly startled and scared, Jimmy yelled and jumped back. He saw a man wearing an old Rolling Stones t-shirt and a Yankees hat with ripped jeans. This guy was clearly passed his time. Very confused, Jimmy asked;

"Who are you and why are you in my house?", the man finished his toast and peanut butter and drank his orange juice before he spoke.

"Listen Jimmy there is no easy way to say this, so I am just going to come right out and say it... I'm death!". The man was completely surprised by Jimmy's reaction. Jimmy didn't even react, his facial expression didn't change, he didn't start to cry and freak out like most people. He simply continued on with his routine, went to  the toaster and put some bread in.

"Are you okay Jimmy?"

"Ya, I'm okay. I mean the doctors told me I didn't have long, so I expected this eventually."

"Wait, you expected me?"

"Ya, your like an angel aren't you? Wait, I am going to heaven aren't I?"

"Oh ya of course Jimmy, you did everything the Big Man and the Good Book asked, I'm just used to people freaking out, they know it's going to happen, but it still scares them."

"Well I guess I can understand that, I mean I can kind of understand, I'm not really ready to go myself."

"Well here is the thing, the Big Man said you can have one day."
"For real?"
"Yes, so I would suggest using it wisely."
In the world's eyes Jimmy didn't have much to live for. He was 26, he was single, no children, and his only family was his mother. Jimmy really had no idea what he should do, he seriously contemplated just going in to work, but death convinced him to spend it more wisely than that. Jimmy was a columnist for the New York Post. He had a very good job, but spent a lot of his time by himself writing and reading. He was a fairly good-looking man, very kind, humble, good job, a great lifestyle, so it wasn't like he was single from lack of female interest. He was just simply content being alone. Some people may not agree with his choice of lifestyle, but he enjoyed it and did his part for the world and in his will all of his money went to charity. However, now that he has this one day, he has no family or friends to spend it with. His mother was losing her memory and by now didn't remember him. He wanted to go visit her one last time. He spent the majority of his day with her, she spent most of that time reading, so he read too. She was about to fall asleep, he went over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. With tears beginning to roll down his cheeks he told his mom how much he loved her and said goodbye.
"Will I see you next week as usual?", his mother so innocently asked. Jimmy was conflicted, but he knew the Big Man would forgive him, especially this time.
"Yes mom, I'll be here!". Jimmy so passionately said. In a way he wasn't lying because he will be with her in spirit, he will be with her every day now. He gave her a big hug and walked out. It was about 7:00 pm, Jimmy and death were tossing a football. Death stopped and asked,
"Jimmy, you are a twenty six year old man, you have one more day to live and you are playing catch with death, there has to be something you want to do for your last night."
"You're right, a diner down the street makes the greatest burgers, the perfect last meal."
"A burger? Alright, if that's what you want."
Jimmy and death were devouring their burgers. Jimmy had a huge smile on his face. It didn't take long for death to realise that Jimmy wasn't smiling because of the burgers. He followed Jimmy's eyes and it led him to a beautiful waitress.
"So that's why you wanted this be your last meal." Jimmy started to blush when he was caught in the act of staring at this gorgeous young girl. "Why haven't you ever asked her out?"
"I'm not very good with women, I'm always afraid I'll say something stupid."
"Well it's your last night, who cares if you say something stupid."
"You mean now? I can't talk to her now, I'm going to die in about three hours!"
"Why not? That's the best way to end it all, talking to the girl of your dreams."
"I can't."
"Alright, if you want to end your night with this crappy pie and staring at this girl instead of acting on those feelings, than so be it."
"I'm too nervous, especially with all of these people."
"Alright, we will wait til everyone leaves then."
Jimmy and death waited in that booth for hours. They talked about everything, Jimmy told death his whole life story. They were becoming close even though Jimmy was telling the stories and Death just listened, but he was intrigued, he loved it. Death was living vicariously through Jimmy's stories. They laughed, they smiled, and enjoyed every minute in that booth. Jimmy started to think that his life could have been better if he had more friends, just as he started to wonder the last customer left and the last three people in the diner were Death, Jimmy, and his dream girl.
"Alright now is your chance go talk to her." Jimmy's heart suddenly dropped to his stomach and was beating twice as fast. Jimmy suddenly understood the concept of your life flashing before your eyes as it happened to him in seconds. He saw his whole life, though it was great, he had regrets, some of which were opportunities.  This was an opportunity, an opportunity to make the last minutes of his life a moment that he won't regret. He  got a big smile on his face as he knew what was waiting for him in about twenty minutes. He knew he had nothing to lose.
"Alright, but I need you to do something for me...". Jimmy walked over to the waitress.
"Hi, my name is Jimmy. You probably don't recognise me, but I come in here a lot and it is because of you, the food kind of sucks.This might sound weird  but I think you are gorgeous, I see the way you treat other people and you are the sweetest person ever, and you have a smile that is out of this world. When I think of the dream girl, I can't help, but think of you."
"I'm Lucy.", as she said with a big smile and blushing cheeks. Jimmy knew he had succeeded when he saw that beautiful smile appear. Hearing her name was Death's cue. Frank Sinatra's, "The Way You Look Tonight" started to play.
"Would you like to dance?" Jimmy said very nervously as he stuck his hand out for her to take. She just looked at his hand for a little while, but the smile never left her face. She hadn't said another word, but Jimmy knew he caught her attention.
"I would love to." She reached out and grabbed his hand. Jimmy was spinning her and picking her up and spinning her around and they loved every minute of it. They were both laughing and having the time of their life. The song was coming near the end and she suddenly stopped the energetic dancing and came close to him. She wrapped her hands around his neck and rested her head against his chest. Jimmy never felt so happy in his life. He couldn't think of a better way to spend his last moment. Death tapped Jimmy on the back, he told Lucy he had to go, but how much this night meant to him. He walked out of that Diner and she never saw him again. Jimmy left that Diner with a huge smile... and he left this world with an even bigger one.

The Man With Slicked Hair...

Bobby woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a gunshot. He ran over to the window to see a man standing over the body of a woman with a gun in his right hand.The man looked towards Bobby's house and they made eye contact. Bobby quickly ducked down below his window hoping the man would go away. A young teenager who was friends with Bobby came running into his house through the back door. He told Bobby that he saw the whole thing from start to finish and that the man saw him. The young boy started to cry in fear. The boy had been involved with a gang and did some time at a juvenile detention centre, but he didn't deserve to die, Bobby knew this. He pulled the boy close and told him to go through the back door, to take his car and drive home as fast as he could and wait for his call. He knew that if the boy went to the police alone they wouldn't believe a gang member. As the boy left, Bobby ran over to his phone. He quickly called 911 and told them what he saw. Suddenly he heard a light knock on the front door. Bobby knew who it was. He could tell just looking at this man that he wouldn't leave the scene knowing there are loose-ends. Bobby waited a little while praying the man would go away. Another light knock at the door. Bobby was surprised at this man's patience thinking the door would be kicked down by now. A couple tears rolled down Bobby's face, still kneeling on the ground he dropped his head into his hands, he prayed a prayer unlike anything he has ever prayed. He raised his head from his hands. The quick, but powerful prayer gave him a sense of peace. He accepted whatever his fate was. Bobby slowly walked over to the door and opened it. At the door was standing an averaged size man, he was clearly very fit, probably in his early to mid thirty's, his hair was slicked back, he was wearing old sunglasses even though it was night and a leather jacket, in his mouth was an unlit cigarette. He gave Bobby a smile. He politely asked Bobby if he could come in. Bobby hesitated and then let the man in his house. The man walked into the house and pulled out a gold lighter and lit his cigarette. Bobby was about to tell him to put it out, but thought twice before talking and decided not to. The man told Bobby what was going to happen, his directions were very clear.
"I know what you saw and I know what the boy saw who came in here and then conveniently drove away I'm guessing with your car, don't try and deny it because I know the truth and I don't like being lied to. So here is what's going to happen. The police are going to be here in a few minutes because I am assuming you have already called them. So you are going to come with me and we are going to go for a drive."
Bobby followed the man to the back door where he was then led to the man's car. It was a 1970 black camero. Despite the situation Bobby still mentally recognised the beauty of this classic. They drove for about ten minutes until the man parked underneath an old bridge. Bobby was terrified looking around the surrounding landscape hoping someone was watching and would call for help, but there wasn't a soul in sight.   They sat there in silence for a few minutes, the man then pulled his gun out of his jacket pocket and very slowly and gently placed it on the dash board. Then in his other jacket pocket he pulled out a picture frame with a picture of Bobby's family in it. He then very politely laid Bobby's options in front of him.
"Here's the thing; I know you aren't going to tell the police what you saw otherwise you will never see these lovely people again, the boy on the other hand, well he is a loose-end. Nobody likes loose-ends. So here are your options: you can tell me where I can find the boy and you and your family can be free to go or you can not tell me where the boy is and I shoot you. Choose wisely."
Tears started to roll down Bobby's face again. He closed his eyes, he's never prayed so hard in his life.
"God what do I do in this situation? Do I just tell him where he is and then I can go peacefully? But he might still kill me anyways. Or do I not tell him and risk my life, but save the boy's?
The tears very quickly stopped.
"Alright, where is the boy?"
With complete peace and contentment, Bobby just shook his head. He knew what was coming and he accepted that. In one swift motion the man took the gun off the dashboard and shot Bobby in the head.
Bobby sat up in his bed sweating profusely.
"Holy crap, it was a dream!"

This Is Church...

Myself and my three friends were sitting in a dark room. We were unused, ignored... empty. Just six days ago hands were all over me. So I was feeling used and abused until a glimmer of light silhouetted me in the dark. In walked a stranger toward me, us. He carried us out of the shadow and into the light to centre stage. It seems that we are featured under the lights. As the music played and the holy words were spoken we knew our five minutes of fame were approaching. The music was rising to a crescendo as we were lifted to our place of honour. The hands held us as though we were sacred. They turned for the crowd to see as they decorated us with their riches. It had begun, as we were on parade for all to see. Immediately someone tried to upstage those who had previously decorated me. Another tried to fool me with empty offering for all to see. I found myself beside one who had little to benefit me. But she dug into her meagre means to bless me abundantly. In that moment I realized it wasn't about the spotlight on me. There was a greater power at work  in this show that anyone could sense. Then there was one who dropped his head in shame as I came his way.  The one who led me passed him over despised by the mans lack of riches. From all appearances he was rugged and worn, it was clear he was feeling as I did previously ; used, abused, and empty. My calling was clear as I jerked from the hands that held me. I flipped myself, an offering plate, emptying all the riches bestowed upon me. They landed in those hands, rugged and worn, where it was truly needed. This is church...
Co-written by Lance Schubert and Leighton Schubert