THE GOSPEL OF TRAVIS - Chapter Eighteen

A MEAL BEYOND THE WALLS
Travis stayed behind to watch the soldiers stab the body of Jesus in the side with a spear, a precautionary measure that nevertheless came across as overkill to him. He saw the body taken down, and he witnessed a couple of disciples, whom he did not recognize, take possession of it. He even followed them from afar to a garden where tombs had been carved into the rock. There they buried him and rolled a boulder in front of the opening.

With that done, Travis resolved to try and put this all behind him and enjoy the rest of his holiday in Jerusalem. Obviously he was disappointed, what with the whole death of his presumed savior, this supposed King of the Jews, but there was no sense in letting foiled plans spoil his few remaining vacation days and there were still some delicacies to try before shlepping back to Tiberias.

He decided to take in the baths. Even though they were typically reserved for ritual cleansing, Travis managed yet to talk his way in with the help of a few spare denarii and enjoyed a nice dip. He took some naps, had some decent meals, enjoyed some strolls around the town and did some snooping around the stalls of his rival merchandisers in Jerusalem to adopt some of their ideas for his own back in Tiberias.

And yet, for all of the various distractions that he sought out and all of his admonishments to himself to think about something else, his mind could not let go of what he had seen. Memories of the trial, of the death, of Jesus in the garden, seemed to follow him through the twisting lanes of the city as the debt collector stalks his debtor.

Finally, a small handful of days after the brutal event, Travis decided to take a walk around the city walls, whereupon he found Thomas sitting on a stone, staring out upon the horizon.

“Cousin!” said Travis. “I’m so glad to see you, alive and well. I had worried about you fellows. It was dangerous enough as it was for me to be so closely associated with your little group. I can only imagine what each of you must be feeling now, with the wrath of Rome or the Sanhedrin potentially awaiting you around each corner. No, my kinsman, I wouldn’t want to be an Apostle right about now. Anyway. What a lovely day for a walk, eh?”

Thomas turned his attention vaguely in the direction of Travis, but his eyes remained glossy and distant.

Seeing his relative in such a state of utter devastation caused Travis no small twinge of secret guilt, for he suspected that Thomas had lost his reason to live and he worried that some uninformed people might think that Travis could be considered in some small way responsible.

“You need to eat. Come, Thomas. Let us sit down somewhere.”

They came to a small place outside the walls, where Travis ordered flat bread and cheese, fruits of various types, smoked fish and even some roasted fowl for them to share, although Thomas seemed only interested in picking at the olives.

“The weather today is absolutely lovely,” remarked Travis.

Thomas turned to him, his expression still blank. “Judas killed himself. Did you hear?”

“I had not. I went to the baths yesterday. Very relaxing.”

“He hung himself from a tree.”

“You should try these dates,” said Travis. “They look delicious. Honestly. We have pears. Citrons. I asked if they had dragon fruit but the server looked at me like I was crazy. Must not know about dragon fruit around these parts. Anyway, you should eat some of this fruit.”

Thomas picked up a fig and tore it into little pieces but did not eat of it.

“I keep turning it over in my mind,” he said. “I can’t understand it. His actions feel so unlike him.”

Travis leaned back in his seat. “Who, Judas? I tried to warn you all, didn’t I? I said he wasn’t trustworthy, but nobody wanted to believe me and now look what happened.”

“But why? Why would he do it? I can’t see the reason.”

“He probably didn’t want to go on living after what he’d done.”

Thomas looked at him with some annoyance. “Not the suicide. I get the suicide. I’m talking about his betrayal, Travis. Why would he betray the rabbi if he loved as we loved him?”

Travis shrugged and popped some flakes of fish into his mouth, “Maybe he was secretly driven by greed? Maybe he was jealous of the Lord’s power and wanted it for his own? Maybe he was possessed by Satan? Who can say? It’s starting to seem like the Son of Man might have put his trust in the wrong people, huh?”

Thomas’s face fell even further. “Our poor, poor teacher. I can’t sleep for all the grief.”

“What will you do now?” asked Travis. Thomas did not answer, for he could only put his head in his hands and stare at the table.

“It wounds me to see my cousin like this. Why don’t you come and work with me in Tiberias selling merchandise? We can get you back on your feet. I wouldn’t be able to pay you much at first. Obviously, you’d have to earn my trust. But one day, if your sales are good, we could talk about negotiating some better compensation scheme for you.

“Oh Thomas, I know you are grieving. I understand. We all are. Don’t you think that I feel the same sense of loss? I was as close to him as any of you Apostles, except I managed to maintain my independent spirit unlike the rest of you. But it’s not his life for which you grieve but your own. You have thrown years away on this fantasy of love and peace. Of course you would feel disappointment.

“If I could play physician to you, I’d give you a very simple remedy. I would prescribe money for what ails you. Money can cure your disappointment. Money will never let you down. Money does not promise you peace or love or eternal life. Money is money. The only disappointment with money is in not having enough of it.”

TRAVIS AND THOMAS RECEIVE THE GOOD NEWS
However, as Travis finished up eating the fish, Mary the one from Magdala saw Thomas and came running to him.

“Thomas!” she cried out, “We have been looking all over for you! A most wondrous thing has happened! I have seen the Lord!”

“Not this woman again!” remarked Travis. “Which demon has possessed her now? The one of false witness, no doubt.”

But Mary, who until then had always gone back at Travis with many a pointed comment, ignored him entirely. “It’s the truth. I swear it. I went to his tomb to mourn over him only to find the stone rolled away and his body gone. Instead, there sat two beautiful men in strange garb who asked me why I was weeping. When I turned away, I was approached by a man. I thought he was a gardener at first, but when he spoke I knew. It was him, Thomas. I swear it. He has risen, just as he said he would.”

“I know that delusion are part of the woman’s monthly uncleanliness, but this seems too ridiculous even for you,” piped up Travis. “Honestly, when will this madness end? Leave my cousin alone.”

Mary grabbed Thomas’s hands. “Two others saw him walking the road to Emmanus. Speak to the others, Thomas. It’s all true.”

“Enough! Did we not all see what happened?” asked Travis incredulously. “They stabbed him with a spear and he did not move. He is deader than the fish we just ate.”

“He’s right,” said Thomas, who’s heart was too fragile to accept Mary’s stories. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my fingers into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I cannot believe.”

“Then come with me, and be with your brethren,” said Mary before noticing the table. “All of this food, and yet you’ve only eaten the fish and torn apart some olives? This seems most wasteful.”

“If you want a piece of bread, just ask for it,” replied Travis with much annoyance. “And I’ll tell you no.”

THE SURPRISE GUEST
Before too long, Mary brought Thomas to the house where the Apostles were hiding, which meant Travis trailed behind them. Of all the things that Travis knew, of this he was certain: that he had seen the Lord Jesus die on that cross. No amount of wishful thinking on the part of some trollop would have him think otherwise.

Although, if feigning interest or even belief meant finally getting access to the Apostle circle, Travis was perfectly happy to look the part.

When they came to the house, Travis tried to enter but was barred from the door by Peter, who now was going by just Peter, and the Jameses.

“Come on, let me in,” demanded Travis. “You’re down one Apostle. I know you have an extra place setting.”

But as he spoke these words, a thin man with a prematurely balding head scooted around the door frame.

“Who in the name of Methuselah’s beard is this who enters this house without so much as a whisper of protest from you?” demanded Travis.

“His name is Matthias.”

“I’ve never heard of any Matthias.”

“You have now,” remarked Peter. “He’s our replacement Twelfth Apostle. Have a good evening.”

Matthias gave a meek wave to the sputtering Travis before closing the door in his face. Travis rapped his knuckles against the heavy oak but knew they were unlikely to reopen the door. With no way inside but nowhere to be, Travis remained below the windows of the house, which had all been shuttered in case the Romans came looking for them, and waited.

Before long, he heard what sounded to be a great commotion coming from within the house. He could not be sure, for he was not inside, but it sounded like the most joyous jubilation imaginable.

The hours passed slowly and Travis sat in the street late into the night. His nice, warm bed awaited him back at his well appointed room, but he had to know what had happened. Were they all in there trying to trick Thomas with various deceptions? Or had they been mistaken? Had they seen someone who perhaps looked very similar to the Lord? Or indeed, were they right? It would be impossible, he surely knew, and yet his heart couldn’t help but yearn for the impossible. Had he risen? Was he there with them? Were they sharing a meal? And were they talking about him?

In the morning, Thomas emerged from the door.

“Well,” said Travis as he wiped sleep from his eyes, “Tell me. Did you see him? Is he...?”

Thomas nodded, and Travis knew in his heart that Jesus had come before them. “What did he say?”

“He said, ‘Peace be with you.’”

“I knew it. Classic Jesus. So like him. I knew he would return. You doubt too much, Thomas. You always have. It’s a very unattractive trait. I’ve always said this. And what about the nails? The wound in his side? Did you touch him?”

Thomas continued, “And he also said, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.’ I almost missed him. Because of you and your rambling nonsense about money, I almost missed the Lord.”

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