"Do you know what an adversary is?" asked Story Teller.
The small community grew quiet.
"An adversary is one who wants your downfall," he said.
"An adversary will do whatever is possible to see if you can be crippled or destroyed.
"Tonight I wish to tell you the story of Yeshua and the adversary.
"As you recall, Yahweh decided to become human and go through all the stuff we go through. All of it. He went through the birth canal, became a baby, a child, a teenager, and was now a young man ready to achieve his mission.
"After being baptized by John, Yeshua decided to go on a retreat. Retreat is a funny name for it, because a true retreat is also an advance. You retreat from the hardened form you have become and advance into new and deeper realms.
"Yeshua needed to get away from everybody and all their expectations. His Mama wanted this; his brothers and sisters wanted that. His neighbors were already staring at him funny.
"All of you know how it goes. It begins to seem like everyone wants a piece of your action. That is why we have vacations. To vacate means to empty, to let it all go for a while. We also call it a holiday, a day or days when we can become whole, holy.
"I can see by the look on some of your faces that you most definitely need a holiday now."
Several folk began laughing.
"That's it," said Story Teller. "Laughter is a small vacation. So is listening to a story. We leave behind what has become so ordinary, so constricting.
"As anyone who has gone on vacation or on a retreat knows, it takes a while to let go. One still has some things to work through, to let go of, before being truly vacated or wholly into this moment, this momentum, now.
"Well, Yeshua has a little help with that. No sooner is he out away from it all than his adversary wants to knock him off his path.
"Hi Yeshua," he says. "You've been out here for quite some time now. I know you must be hungry. Think of hot steaming bread dripping with butter and honey. Since you are really Yahweh, you could turn these stones into that. No one would ever know. Nobody here but you and me."
Story Teller said, "We all recognize that one. Put your physical body first.Then you can do all that other stuff. But Yeshua has a lot at stake here. His mission is to lead a fully human life. If he transforms stones into bread to satisfy his human needs, he has abandoned his mission.
"So he says, 'Nope.'
"The adversary switches gears. He decides to try to throw Yeshua off course by appealing to his personal power. 'Throw yourself off this high place here. It would kill anyone else, but you know you would be alright. Come on. Prove yourself.'
"Yeshua laughs. 'I don't have to prove myself. I am my proof.'
"The adversary says 'hmmmm, this dude is tough.' But he has one more thing to try. It has worked with most everyone else. Empire! Build your personal empire!
"He says to Yeshua, 'Abandon your vision of the cosmos and accept my vision which is realistic and true and based upon hard core experimental data. If you do so, I will make you Emperor of the World.'
"Yeshua laughs out loud at that one. 'You have to be kidding,' he says. 'I'm not going to worship you. How about if you worship me?'
"The adversary didn't particularly care for Yeshua's attitude. So he turned his back on him and left.
"It was then that the angels came and the retreat shifted into an advance."
They all sat quietly for a while absorbing the story.
The small community grew quiet.
"An adversary is one who wants your downfall," he said.
"An adversary will do whatever is possible to see if you can be crippled or destroyed.
"Tonight I wish to tell you the story of Yeshua and the adversary.
"As you recall, Yahweh decided to become human and go through all the stuff we go through. All of it. He went through the birth canal, became a baby, a child, a teenager, and was now a young man ready to achieve his mission.
"After being baptized by John, Yeshua decided to go on a retreat. Retreat is a funny name for it, because a true retreat is also an advance. You retreat from the hardened form you have become and advance into new and deeper realms.
"Yeshua needed to get away from everybody and all their expectations. His Mama wanted this; his brothers and sisters wanted that. His neighbors were already staring at him funny.
"All of you know how it goes. It begins to seem like everyone wants a piece of your action. That is why we have vacations. To vacate means to empty, to let it all go for a while. We also call it a holiday, a day or days when we can become whole, holy.
"I can see by the look on some of your faces that you most definitely need a holiday now."
Several folk began laughing.
"That's it," said Story Teller. "Laughter is a small vacation. So is listening to a story. We leave behind what has become so ordinary, so constricting.
"As anyone who has gone on vacation or on a retreat knows, it takes a while to let go. One still has some things to work through, to let go of, before being truly vacated or wholly into this moment, this momentum, now.
"Well, Yeshua has a little help with that. No sooner is he out away from it all than his adversary wants to knock him off his path.
"Hi Yeshua," he says. "You've been out here for quite some time now. I know you must be hungry. Think of hot steaming bread dripping with butter and honey. Since you are really Yahweh, you could turn these stones into that. No one would ever know. Nobody here but you and me."
Story Teller said, "We all recognize that one. Put your physical body first.Then you can do all that other stuff. But Yeshua has a lot at stake here. His mission is to lead a fully human life. If he transforms stones into bread to satisfy his human needs, he has abandoned his mission.
"So he says, 'Nope.'
"The adversary switches gears. He decides to try to throw Yeshua off course by appealing to his personal power. 'Throw yourself off this high place here. It would kill anyone else, but you know you would be alright. Come on. Prove yourself.'
"Yeshua laughs. 'I don't have to prove myself. I am my proof.'
"The adversary says 'hmmmm, this dude is tough.' But he has one more thing to try. It has worked with most everyone else. Empire! Build your personal empire!
"He says to Yeshua, 'Abandon your vision of the cosmos and accept my vision which is realistic and true and based upon hard core experimental data. If you do so, I will make you Emperor of the World.'
"Yeshua laughs out loud at that one. 'You have to be kidding,' he says. 'I'm not going to worship you. How about if you worship me?'
"The adversary didn't particularly care for Yeshua's attitude. So he turned his back on him and left.
"It was then that the angels came and the retreat shifted into an advance."
They all sat quietly for a while absorbing the story.
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