every other adventurer?"
"No, he was born into wealth. He studied in London, fell in love, and married. He was a hard worker. Then he took on the mission of finding evidence of the Bible. Others before him had tried, without success. The place where the scrolls were discovered was a route of pas sage for the Jews. Jesus himself might have passed that way. He knew what had to be done and equipped himself with very expert historians and archaeologists. Money was not a problem, so everything came together in a positive fi nal result."
"Yes, but I thought they found the gospels of Philip and Magda lene, which the church considers apocryphal and not credible, along with other irrelevant things. That's what I read or heard, anyway."
"You're well informed. That was only what they made public." He hesitated before deciding to go on. "The rest is protected by an agreement."
Interesting, Sarah thought. The church and its secrets.
"An agreement between . . ." she insisted.
"Between the Holy See and Ben Isaac. It's called the 'Status Quo.'"
Sarah smiled, remembering a rock band with the same name.
"It means the current state of something. It was signed by John the Twenty-third and Ben Isaac, and later, by John Paul the Second and Ben Isaac and their team of historians, archaeologists, and theologians, obviously. It was important to maintain absolute secrecy."
"He must have been very young when he signed the fi rst agreement."
"A little more than thirty years old."
"That's something," Sarah said with admiration.
"Indeed," William concurred.
"I still don't see what I'm here to do!" Sarah exclaimed. Her curios ity continued to grow.
"We'll get there, Sarah. Be a little more patient."
At that moment one of the doors opened to admit William's reso lute assistant, who whispered something in his ear.
"We'll go at once," William murmured.
The priest left and the cardinal was available again. It was time for the question a good journalist would ask if this were an interview. "And what documents are included under this agreement?"
William didn't answer at once. He approached Sarah, stopped looking at the faces of Christ, and focused on her. He hadn't stared as intensely all night as in this moment. He felt uncomfortable, even blushed.
"Two documents from the first century," he informed her at last.
"Important?" Sarah asked uncomfortably.
"Very. One of them is the Gospel of Jesus."
17
W hen a commandment comes from God, it cannot be questioned. It is known that He always writes without error. His will is law, always, even if it is not written. It will come to pass from that day forward. And if to protect Him certain commandments must be violated, commandments that He himself inscribed and gave to Moses to communicate to us; well, then, let His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
One of the Ten Commandments he violated constantly, Thou shalt not kill, but He slept like a baby every night since He knew the majesty of His work in the astonishing Creation.
The mail was delivered every week without the name of the sender or the recipient listed, since it could be for only him, for only he and she lived there.
She always woke up before he did and never went to bed unless she was told to or unless he was not at home, which, fortunately, happened frequently. She rarely spoke unless he asked her a question, though she did speak to herself when she was alone. Every day, like taking medi cine, before bed, and first thing in the morning, she had a random pas sage from the Bible to read, or at least that's what she thought.
Tonight he returned without prior warning, and she was still not asleep at nine. She was reading a novel that he didn't know about. Her lip split from the hard slap he gave her and splattered blood on the
"No, he was born into wealth. He studied in London, fell in love, and married. He was a hard worker. Then he took on the mission of finding evidence of the Bible. Others before him had tried, without success. The place where the scrolls were discovered was a route of pas sage for the Jews. Jesus himself might have passed that way. He knew what had to be done and equipped himself with very expert historians and archaeologists. Money was not a problem, so everything came together in a positive fi nal result."
"Yes, but I thought they found the gospels of Philip and Magda lene, which the church considers apocryphal and not credible, along with other irrelevant things. That's what I read or heard, anyway."
"You're well informed. That was only what they made public." He hesitated before deciding to go on. "The rest is protected by an agreement."
Interesting, Sarah thought. The church and its secrets.
"An agreement between . . ." she insisted.
"Between the Holy See and Ben Isaac. It's called the 'Status Quo.'"
Sarah smiled, remembering a rock band with the same name.
"It means the current state of something. It was signed by John the Twenty-third and Ben Isaac, and later, by John Paul the Second and Ben Isaac and their team of historians, archaeologists, and theologians, obviously. It was important to maintain absolute secrecy."
"He must have been very young when he signed the fi rst agreement."
"A little more than thirty years old."
"That's something," Sarah said with admiration.
"Indeed," William concurred.
"I still don't see what I'm here to do!" Sarah exclaimed. Her curios ity continued to grow.
"We'll get there, Sarah. Be a little more patient."
At that moment one of the doors opened to admit William's reso lute assistant, who whispered something in his ear.
"We'll go at once," William murmured.
The priest left and the cardinal was available again. It was time for the question a good journalist would ask if this were an interview. "And what documents are included under this agreement?"
William didn't answer at once. He approached Sarah, stopped looking at the faces of Christ, and focused on her. He hadn't stared as intensely all night as in this moment. He felt uncomfortable, even blushed.
"Two documents from the first century," he informed her at last.
"Important?" Sarah asked uncomfortably.
"Very. One of them is the Gospel of Jesus."
17
W hen a commandment comes from God, it cannot be questioned. It is known that He always writes without error. His will is law, always, even if it is not written. It will come to pass from that day forward. And if to protect Him certain commandments must be violated, commandments that He himself inscribed and gave to Moses to communicate to us; well, then, let His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
One of the Ten Commandments he violated constantly, Thou shalt not kill, but He slept like a baby every night since He knew the majesty of His work in the astonishing Creation.
The mail was delivered every week without the name of the sender or the recipient listed, since it could be for only him, for only he and she lived there.
She always woke up before he did and never went to bed unless she was told to or unless he was not at home, which, fortunately, happened frequently. She rarely spoke unless he asked her a question, though she did speak to herself when she was alone. Every day, like taking medi cine, before bed, and first thing in the morning, she had a random pas sage from the Bible to read, or at least that's what she thought.
Tonight he returned without prior warning, and she was still not asleep at nine. She was reading a novel that he didn't know about. Her lip split from the hard slap he gave her and splattered blood on the
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