SCENE FOUR.
Mary’s House the Next Morning.
MARY
MAGDALENE:
Rabbi
Yeshua, are the Pharisees possessed by Satan?
You
have taught us to love our enemies.
What
love can we give Satan?
YESHUA:
How
can we judge another’s hidden heart?
Some
call the sick and poor the seed of Satan.
[Reads]
Heaven’s Lord alone knows all.
Father
and God of all, he chose to not
Disclose
his mind. He’s not your neighbor, so
Near
at hand to ask your questions. And he
Is
perfect. You are clearly not. Would you
Be
pure in everything? Cut out your jealous heart.
It
can’t be done. Haven’t I said to love
Your
neighbor as yourself? To pluck out your
Lustful
eye? Amputate a thieving hand?
Don’t
sin at all. Doesn’t the Law instruct
Thou
shalt not? And the Pharisees will orate
Be
ye pure! They don’t do it, can’t! So only
Succeed
in making sick and miserable
Ones
more wretched with fears of punishments
And
pains in the prison house of the grave. Satan is served
In
this. But shall we hate the Pharisees?
No.
No. Oppose their words but not their bodies.
Civil
war is children killing. Fight
The
Pharisees with life but not with death.
MOTHER MARY:
What
of the zealots then who fight with Rome?
YESHUA:
Oppose
the sea and drown. Drawing blood will
drown us all in blood.
MARY
MAGDALENE: Love is greatest.
YESHUA:
There was a king who thought the
only way to finally end the conflict between
his land and his enemy’s was to send his son to marry his enemy’s daughter. So, with the prince the king
sent his ablest minister, an Egyptian who
ate only vegetables and had sworn to do no harm to living things. Once they were in the country of their
enemy they met with the ruler and his daughter,
who was surpassingly beautiful and by all accounts wise and generous of spirit. Her desire was first
for peace and second to marry a worthy
man. The offer of marriage greatly appealed to her as a good union of great houses. But her father would
by no means allow it. He sent the minister and
prince away rudely. And he told his chamber henchmen to go out disguised as common thieves and kill the
prince before he returned to his own
land. While the Egyptian minister and prince slept near the road leading home, the henchmen came wearing rags
and beat the prince with rocks and fists,
for they didn’t want to appear as agents of a wealthy ruler armed with kingly weapons. But the Egyptian had
with him a strong arm and the sword from
his lord the king. He awoke while they beat the prince but did nothing because of his oath. Later he came
to the king and told him his son was dead. Hearing
this, the king took the minister’s sword and struck him down where he stood.
MARY
MAGDALENE: What does the parable mean?
BARTHOLOMEW:
Never
trust no vegetarians. A good man’s hard to find. Oh, I woulda sawed ’im in half myself!
YESHUA: [Clears throat]
What is love? Preserving life or
taking it?
MARY
MAGDALENE: It seems the minister loved an
idea more than he loved the prince.
YESHUA:
Are ideas
embodied, are bodies ideas? What’s an idea without a body or a body without an
idea?
BOY: [He enters] I have another message for Yeshua of
Nazareth.
YESHUA: Give it
then. Another?
BARTHOLOMEW: [Slaps his own head] Oh!!
BOY: Are you Yeshua?
YESHUA: I am.
BOY: Of Nazareth?
YESHUA: The same.
BARTHOLOMEW:
[To
Yeshua] That kid’s a picky one. I
wouldn’t trust him, Yeshua.
BOY:
I have very pointed instructions to
tell you from Judas Iscariot that he is on his
way to Jerusalem where he will be for the Passover. He sends for you to meet him there.
ALL: What? [And similar reactions.]
BOY:
Judas intends to pose as you before
the Temple and all of Jerusalem, telling them
that he is the Christ from Nazareth sent by God to clean the altar.
MOTHER MARY: Bastard!
MARY MAGDALENE: Betrayer!
YESHUA: The winds
are fickle.
MOTHER MARY: God hides
behind a will inscrutable. We always knew that.
BARTHOLOMEW: But what?
But how?
MOTHER MARY: Or another
sign, my son!
BARTHOLOMEW: Won’t the Sana-head-urn—
BOTH MARYS: Sanhedrin!
BOY: Sanhedrin. [Nodding his head confidently.]
BARTHOLOMEW: Won’t the Sanhedrin
jail Judas right off?
YESHUA:
You can count on it. Judas is dead
before he passes through the gates if he calls
himself the Christ. Dead and the gospel with him. The word Messiah means but one thing to the Roman
Prefect: a revolutionary bandit.
MOTHER MARY:
We go and show up his lie. The Son
of God must be revealed! With you in front
of the Temple the earth will tremble, the skies will peel—
YESHUA:
Don’t you ever have some doubts, Mary? [He
exits. Others except Mother Mary exit
after him.]
MOTHER MARY:
What is this mannish thing, this
Magdalene?
SCENE FIVE.
That Night. Still Mary’s House. [“Nighttime” lighting is used. Mother Mary
hasn’t left the stage. She has been the focus of the spotlight as the mood is
changed around her through lighting effects. There is no full black out, no
closed curtain.]
MOTHER MARY:
[Somewhat
absently to Magdalene.] “God
willing,” yes. It’s always “God willing.”
Yeshua’s work is good. God rewards the good at heart.
MARY MAGDALENE: What reward
found John the Baptist?
MOTHER MARY:
[In
an access of sudden rage.] What have I
told you about saying that name?
MARY MAGDALENE:
Finding it upsetting makes no
difference. Worry changes nothing. Worry can’t
blow out candles, the master says. I just wondered what reward John found. I can’t remember what his last
days were like. I wasn’t there, of course.
It was a long time ago, anyway.
MOTHER MARY:
I think Judas has boiled his brain
fasting on a dune.
MARY MAGDALENE:
Dunes, pure dunes. Harmful, poisoned
gales called harmattan rush over crystal crests, and with blistering force
hit a wadi where one prays to Ahriman,
or Asmodeus, Semihazah, Beliar. [Mary
Magdalene lists names of various demons.] Hurricane prayers and demonic heat can curdle
every last sinew and nerve.
MOTHER MARY:
Stop-it!-Stop-it!-Stop-it! [She stops, panting. There is a pause.]
MARY MAGDALENE: Someone’s
coming.
YESHUA: [Enters] Mother.
MOTHER MARY: Yes. [The other Mary starts to go.]
YESHUA: Mother.
MARY MAGDALENE: Yeshua.
YESHUA:
[He
turns to Mary Magdalene. She looks like she is about to say something but then turns and exits.]
MOTHER MARY:
[Without
waiting to see if Yeshua and Mary Magdalene will speak to one another.] Wouldn’t it be good, a great blessing, to
spend Passover in Jerusalem? We
could find a Succoth hut like when I was a girl. I haven’t been to Temple in so long. The Seder –
YESHUA:
Mother. [Reads] Some say in sleep our spirits stray
Free, exploring things we awake
can’t see.
Death, sleep’s brother, they say, is
freer still.
Freely released, the soul goes home
to liberation.
“Many of the sleepers who slumber in
the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
life everlasting, and some to shame, unending punishment. The wise shall shine just as the brightness of the
heavens. And those who turn many to righteousness
as the stars for ever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the scroll, even to
the end of time: many shall run to and fro, and
evil shall increase.”
MOTHER MARY:
Daniel is the Bible and that’s good.
The other sounds like more Greek foolishness.
You should pay no attention to that. We might as well take advice from those hairy Gauls that are always
pestering the Romans. If they’re even real.
They say their skin is made of snow and their hair is fire. [After a long pause.] Jerusalem. To make an offering there.
Your father took us once. Remember?
YESHUA:
Caesar’s thousand thousand eyes
await
The shadow of sedition’s first half
gesture, an aspect around the eyes of one being
about to speak out against their power. They are jealous gods.
MOTHER MARY:
Yeshu, you are good. You teach no
war, no harm.
You preach a marriage feast
For God and man. You’ve shown the
hardness of
A husband’s heart, the harshness of
the master with his slave,
The wealthy well oblivious to the
sick impoverished,
Heaven’s indifference toward
prosperity.
What fault could Rome find with such
sermons?
YESHUA:
Much. And Herod too. My crime is
being no Caesar. They are not gods but they
will prove we aren’t either by crushing us. But I will go to Jerusalem.
MOTHER MARY: Good, son.
Good. [She exits.]
YESHUA:
How can I leave Judas hanging. If we
fail, Israel fails. And all the hope is strangled.
MARY MAGDALENE:
[Enters.]
Yeshua, I have bad . . .
premonitions, Yeshua, about Jerusalem.
YESHUA:
It’s a pit of tangled pythons for
me.
MARY MAGDALENE:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for
they will see God.” You taught us that. I’ve become
confused lately. It used to seem as clear as a bank of lilies or a hillside of almond blooms. [Laughs nervously; then, after a pause, in a
reverie] I digress into nectar.
Into jacinth and rose scent I
digress. [Suddenly frightened] But now… I’m not sure of
anything, Yeshua. I’m scared. I’m—
YESHUA:
Hush. [He embraces her silently for a moment.] God is pure. Who else can
be pure enough to see God and have no
doubts, no fears? “Truly, you are a hidden
God.” How many times did the psalmists sing out to a silent God? Listen to me, Mary. We do not see the dark end
of our path. So we must strive for
the light. We must act in faith through unbelieving darkness.
MARY MAGDALENE:
I could do it if…. Oh, if things
were otherwise. [Looks him in the eye.]
YESHUA:
[They
break apart] I have to go to Jerusalem.
They’ll kill Judas otherwise.
MARY MAGDALENE:
[Flatly]
They will kill you both. [Suddenly with more emotion] I don’t
think there’s enough world to hold all I want to say!
YESHUA:
You have found it on your own.
MARY MAGDALENE:
Why, why then can’t you let the rest find it on their own? You’ve done so much—
YESHUA:
I’ve done so little. It’s too late
now to say it, but, I’ve done so little.
MARY MAGDALENE:
But enough to be murdered for it? [Accusing him now] Or is it murder if
you walk knowingly into a
trap? That doesn’t sound like martyrdom, it sounds like suicide!
YESHUA: If there is
any means of escape I will take it.
MARY MAGDALENE:
[Very
sane] None. There is none! There is Herod
and there is Rome. One is stone, one is
steel. Herod. Rome: choose your executioner, Yeshua. Or maybe you won’t even get to choose that.
YESHUA:
The gospel suffers, is compromised,
if I turn away.
MARY MAGDALENE:
[Becoming
tired] What good news does a martyr
bring? Or is martyrdom for everyone
the only good news there is? [Suddenly resigned]
It’s settled then. You will go to
the Temple.
YESHUA: I have
decided. [He hears a noise] Who’s
there?
MESSENGER:
A tired
traveler. I am looking for Yeshua of Nazareth.
YESHUA: Then praise
God.
MESSENGER: Why?
YESHUA: You’ve
found him. I’m Yeshua.
MESSENGER:
Praise God, indeed. I have come from
John and Peter. They send their greetings
and would like to know where they can rejoin you.
YESHUA:
Plans have changed. Tell them we are
going ahead to Jerusalem. They should stay
where they are and do as they have been doing. Tell them to continue and flourish.
MESSENGER: They won’t
like that.
YESHUA: That’s the
message.
MESSENGER:
I’ll convey it. But could I ask why
you are going into the lion’s pride – into Jerusalem?
Herod has made it very dangerous and Pilate is the Emperor’s pirate. His chief amusement is torture
and maiming of his enemies. Nothing delights
him more than extending the death of those he hates. You would be like a lone antelope on the plain
there. Those are the rumors, anyway.
YESHUA:
I don’t really have a choice! My
father is prompting me, it seems. This is not your
area of expertise, is it? Or are you a wise man? Are you a messiah? Are you the spirit of Elijah raised from the
dead?
MESSENGER:
Forgive me, I . . . I only wanted to
convey what – I only want to know what to tell
Peter and John. They will wonder why you are going into Satan’s stronghold.
YESHUA:
I go for a word. Tell them that. The
word is life. Or perhaps the word is Yeshua,
since Judas Iscariot has decided to steal my name and take his own life with it. I’m going to murderous
Jerusalem to save one single man’s little life.
MARY MAGDALENE:
[Sad
but practical] Rabbi, it’s
late. You should get some sleep now. [The
messenger exits.]
YESHUA: I’ll sleep
outside tonight.
MARY MAGDALENE: Then, I will
join—
YESHUA:
[Petulantly.]
No! [Recovering himself.] No. I need
to be alone. [She exits .] How do we see at all being so blind? [He takes his jacket and uses it as a
pillow, lies down.] Father, let my
spirit rest in your hands. [He tosses and
turns, unable to get comfortable.]
GHOST of JOHN THE BAPTIST: [Enters.] Where,
where am I?
YESHUA: What? Who’s
that?
GHOST: Yeshua?
YESHUA: John! John!
GHOST: Yeshua, what
are you doing here?
YESHUA: John, what
should I do? Should I confront the High Priest face to face?
GHOST:
Jerusalem
will ruin you and douse
Your gospel’s
flame. Darkness returns, Yeshua.
Dark. Dark.
YESHUA: But the
truth burns bright!
GHOST:
Jerusalem is death to fools. The city belongs
to Rome and Rome will bury you. A
wave of steel will drown you and will thrust out your pupils in confusion.
YESHUA: But you
resist Herod’s power.
GHOST:
And drank my own life. What gospel did that
serve? I baptized myself in death
but left no message, no comfort for my followers. [He sets a chalice and a
bottle on the stage.] Don’t drink this elixir if you need to stay safe.
There is danger in this infusion. The
blood. The blood. [Exits.]
YESHUA:
John! John! Do I hallucinate? [He picks
up the bottle and the chalice and examines
them, then hides them in his pack.] What can I know if my eyes and ears and hands cannot be trusted?
MOTHER MARY:
[Enters
with other Mary.] Yeshua!
Yeshua! What’s wrong? What’s wrong?
YESHUA:
Cluck-cluck!
Cluck-cluck! I’m not your brood! Fool hens! Clutch
at someone else.
MARY MAGDALENE: [Terrified] What’s that sound?
Something’s coming!
BARTHOLOMEW:
[Enters
drunk.] Woo! Woo-hoo! Whom!
Hoomah goes thar? Stand and fold yourself
out or uh, or uh, origami – what is origami? Or I’ll a-grammar ye!
MOTHER MARY: He picks a
great time to get shit-faced.
BARTHOLOMEW:
I’m sack-sackree, religiously,
pressimented: Good ole No-ee took consolation in
the fruit of the vine. An’ I’ll survive this flood too! I won’t grow old all unconsoled. [Others help him exit.] Unhand me, ya crazy bitch! [To Mary Magdalene.
She does and he falls.]
MOTHER: What should
we— ?[unsaid word is “do,” obviously]
YESHUA:
Wait for the dawn like grinding
death,
Devour the road between here and
Jerusalem,
See if our movement prospers or
declines.
Between ambition and detachment lies
This zaftig land, its seminal
people.
MARY MAGDALENE:
How I hate their chutzpah fits of
faith and crave a balmy
Island dwelling, where there’s
jonquil girls with
Palm-frond, oil hands, warmed up,
becalmed.
YESHUA: Go get some
rest.
MOTHER MARY: Go, as the
lord commands.
MARY MAGDALENE:
Renounce your dreams, sweet Mary
Magdalene. [All exit. Lights go down.]
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