The slave arrived in the morning at the usual time to bring him bread and water. For the first time, he spoke. He asked, “Why were you singing?”
Nicholas answered, “It’s a dangerous question you ask.”
“Yes, but I must know.”
Nicholas smiled. “Because Christus died and rose from the dead... Because his Spirit is in me, seeing me through this... And one day, I will see him face to face.”
The slave said nothing and left. Over the next few days, the slave returned to his usual silence. Then one morning when he brought the bread, he whispered, “He is risen.” It was a familiar refrain believers would repeat to one another.
Nicholas smiled. He whispered back, “He is risen indeed.”
The slave said, “I have spoken to the brothers. They are praying for you.”
Nicholas gasped. He suspected the believers knew of him, but now he knew it. He was not alone. He said, “Thank you.”
The next day, a new slave came to bring him bread. He never saw the first slave again. He could only assume Silvanus had discovered the slave believed in Christus. At best, he was reassigned to other duties, but most likely, he was dead.
When his back had mostly healed, Silvanus paid him another visit. He said, “I can still offer you freedom, if you are ready for it.”
“I am already free,” said Nicholas.
“Free?” sneered Silvanus. “Free to do what?”
“To forgive and to love.”
Silvanus frowned. “You worship a weak god. Forgiveness and love cannot save. Only you have the means to free yourself.”
Nicholas answered with silence.
Silvanus said, “You Christiani are taught not to love riches, yet you cling to your riches as if they’re your very life.”
“I cling to nothing but Christus,” said Nicholas. “What do you cling to? Power? Wealth? How will those save you in the day of wrath?”
Silvanus turned and left. In his place, the lictors came and gave Nicholas another beating. After that, Silvanus no longer had him beaten. Neither did he try to engage him in conversation. He would check in on him once a week, saying, “Still alive...” and then, after a pause, he would turn around and leave.
As the weeks stretched on to months, the silence weighed heavy on Nicholas. Most days, all he could catch was the tease of distant voices and the random clatter of the street. On two occasions the silence was broken at night by the groaning of some poor soul nearby, presumably from another cell down the corridor. Both times he tried to whisper to the other, but he never got an answer. He figured Silvanus was trying to pry wealth from others like himself. One day, he heard a man laughing and sobbing at the same time, saying, “Thank you, thank you. Yes, this will be just between us.” Apparently, the man had been driven to the edge of his sanity and had agreed to pay Silvanus for his freedom. He began to wonder if the silence would drive him mad too.
Nicholas answered, “It’s a dangerous question you ask.”
“Yes, but I must know.”
Nicholas smiled. “Because Christus died and rose from the dead... Because his Spirit is in me, seeing me through this... And one day, I will see him face to face.”
The slave said nothing and left. Over the next few days, the slave returned to his usual silence. Then one morning when he brought the bread, he whispered, “He is risen.” It was a familiar refrain believers would repeat to one another.
Nicholas smiled. He whispered back, “He is risen indeed.”
The slave said, “I have spoken to the brothers. They are praying for you.”
Nicholas gasped. He suspected the believers knew of him, but now he knew it. He was not alone. He said, “Thank you.”
The next day, a new slave came to bring him bread. He never saw the first slave again. He could only assume Silvanus had discovered the slave believed in Christus. At best, he was reassigned to other duties, but most likely, he was dead.
When his back had mostly healed, Silvanus paid him another visit. He said, “I can still offer you freedom, if you are ready for it.”
“I am already free,” said Nicholas.
“Free?” sneered Silvanus. “Free to do what?”
“To forgive and to love.”
Silvanus frowned. “You worship a weak god. Forgiveness and love cannot save. Only you have the means to free yourself.”
Nicholas answered with silence.
Silvanus said, “You Christiani are taught not to love riches, yet you cling to your riches as if they’re your very life.”
“I cling to nothing but Christus,” said Nicholas. “What do you cling to? Power? Wealth? How will those save you in the day of wrath?”
Silvanus turned and left. In his place, the lictors came and gave Nicholas another beating. After that, Silvanus no longer had him beaten. Neither did he try to engage him in conversation. He would check in on him once a week, saying, “Still alive...” and then, after a pause, he would turn around and leave.
As the weeks stretched on to months, the silence weighed heavy on Nicholas. Most days, all he could catch was the tease of distant voices and the random clatter of the street. On two occasions the silence was broken at night by the groaning of some poor soul nearby, presumably from another cell down the corridor. Both times he tried to whisper to the other, but he never got an answer. He figured Silvanus was trying to pry wealth from others like himself. One day, he heard a man laughing and sobbing at the same time, saying, “Thank you, thank you. Yes, this will be just between us.” Apparently, the man had been driven to the edge of his sanity and had agreed to pay Silvanus for his freedom. He began to wonder if the silence would drive him mad too.
Click here to go to beginning of the book
No comments:
Post a Comment