Alabaster: Stories Behind the Gospel

By John Charles Berry

Alabaster, Stories Behind the Gospel is John Charles Berry at his best and marks his return to historical fiction. His historical thriller on the 24 Hours of Lincoln’s Assassination is a best-selling historical thriller ebook. Alabaster is a unique collection of short stories that provides a glimpse into the back-stories of some of the most beloved encounters in the New Testament. These fictional back-stories don't simply retell the Bible passages in a narrative fashion, but develop the characters, explore their motivations, and reveal the mysteries of belief. All the while, Berry delivers emotional energy, historical context, imaginative insight, and literary texture to the people and passages we've grown to love.

From the woman who dares to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment to the disciples on the road to Emmaus to the prostitute who bathes Jesus’ feet with perfume and tears, these stories illuminate the tragic nature of the human condition, the struggles and triumphs of love, and the inspirations of faith. Find out why readers hail Berry as a master of historical fiction with this collection of short fictional back-stories to the New Testament.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Charles Berry
• Release date: Sep 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781940745565

John Charles Berry

John Charles Berry has spent more than 20 years as an executive in the High Tech and Banking industries. During that time he has also published articles, speeches, and fiction in Newsweek, The Financial Times, The Harvard Business Review, Vital Speeches of the Day, and After Hours. He earned a Ph.D. in English. He resides in Charlotte, NC, with his beloved wife and children.

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Alabaster

Stories Behind the Gospel

by

John Charles Berry

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

ALABASTER

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This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you’re reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

Copyright © 2014 John Charles Berry. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

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Praise for John Charles Berry’s Historical Fiction:

A Night of Horrors, A Historical Thriller about the 24 Hours of Lincoln’s Assassination

John Berry’s historical novel of the assassination of President Lincoln is a gourmet serving … Author John Berry has crafted a worthy and imminently readable addition to the writings that tell of Lincoln and the uncertainties in the period immediately following the Civil War. I, for one, am curious to see what next flows from the pen of this writer.

David Bishop, author of Who Murdered Garson Talmadge?, a Matt Kile mystery, and other mystery series

John Berry has written a masterpiece of historical reality woven into the form of a novel … The assassination of Lincoln has received so much literary attention over the past 146 years; I had doubted anyone could add much to the tale. I was wrong. Dr. John Berry has taken it to a new level with his blending of research and creative license in a completely believable way. Historical novels will never be the same.

Gerald L. Summers, author of the Mobley Meadows Western novels

I came across A Night of Horrors because I was looking for a book written in a timeline style, something like the show ‘24’ where everything unfolds hour by hour or Pinkerton’s ‘Killing the Boss.’ John Berry delivers! … I felt like I was in the head of John Wilkes Booth and could just feel the intensity build hour by hour. But what was more fun about this novel is the quality of the writing and narration … John Berry can WRITE.

Atul Kumar, author of Seven Patients

Readers Praise A Night of Horrors:

What a pleasant surprise! I wondered before reading this book how much more can be written about Lincoln’s assassination. But Berry truly created a thriller in which knowing the results doesn’t take anything away from the journey that gets you there. I felt like more of a witness to history than a reader of history.

This book was difficult to put down once I stared reading! I was instantly transported back to 1865.

John Charles Berry weaves together a thrilling tale of the hours surrounding Lincoln’s assassination.

I absolutely loved this book. The writing is excellent, and the suspense builds as the 24 hours before President Lincoln’s assassination is laid out from the perspective of everyone that was involved in the crime as well as the victims and their families. The descriptions of people and places made me almost feel like I was there watching the scene unfold.

To learn more about John Charles Berry and his other novels or to contact the author, visit www.johnberrynovels.com

Foreword

I’ve been reading the Bible for most of my life, certainly all of my adult life. I’ve studied it as a student of literature—a source of countless symbols, literary references, and character types. I’ve studied it as a student of faith, gaining insights for the Christian life and love. I’ve found the Bible to be a book rich in truth, wisdom, and literary elegance. I’ve always been amazed at the beauty of the poetry, the musical qualities of its wisdom books, the passionate nature of the lovers, and especially the power of the characters and narratives. The Bible also contains some of the most exciting and entertaining stories that you’ll ever read in literature, sacred or not.

I want to make clear, up front, that these stories are in no way put forth as alternatives or additions to the actual Biblical stories from which they were inspired, nor are they postulated as the actual events that occurred in the background of these Bible stories. Rather, the stories in Alabaster are my imagination, turning over what life could have been like for the people we read about in the Bible, many of whom only appear for a few verses.

These brief appearances in scripture have changed countless lives and inspired commentaries and sermons on the power of God’s redemption and salvation. The original inspiration for these stories came from a sermon series preached by Steven Furtick at Elevation Church. His sermons on the Stories Behind the Gospel Stories weren’t fictional as mine certainly are, but his original idea of exploring the backstories of famous Bible passages took root in my imagination and eventually found their way to life as this collection of fictional backstories.

Let me offer a couple of notes for the reader. Throughout these stories I’ve used the name Yeshua for Jesus. Yeshua is the Hebrew version of Joshua; Jesus is the Greek version of Joshua. Joshua, when translated, means God saves. I’ve used Yeshua to defamiliarize the reader from what is a very familiar name. In these stories, Jesus hasn’t yet been accepted or recognized as the Son of God. He is still seen as a mighty prophet, a fraud, or a threat, depending on the character’s point of view. By using Yeshua for the name, I’m hoping to create some space for that lack of clarity in the stories. I’ve also not used a capital H when I refer to Yeshua in the third person for the same reason.

Also, I’ve written author’s notes for each of the stories. Some readers will want to read those prior to the stories and some will want to read them after, and others won’t want to read them at all. Under the title of each story, there’s a link to the notes and at the end of the notes a link back to the beginning of the story. This allows each reader to do as he or she prefers.

As always, I have a list of individuals I wish to thank for their support, encouragement, and reading (sometimes re-reading) of these stories as they were developed from rough draft to finished manuscript. There is, in particular, a small group of friends and associates who are my go-to reading group, because they offer honest and sincere feedback and criticism, which help to make my writing better. Many thanks to my wife, Melanie, my dear friend, Trey, and my father, Gene, who were so helpful and honest in their thoughts and guidance. Thanks also to Felicia Sullivan for her editing support in helping to improve my manuscript. I’d also like to thank the crew at Telemachus Press for their expertise and kind support during the publishing process: Steve, MaryAnn, and Johnny, you’re a great team!

I’m a storyteller at heart. When I read passages from the Bible, I’m often left wondering just who these people are—sisters, daughters, or mothers? I’ve asked what their lives might have been like before their appearance in Scripture. Each of these stories is simply one of the possible answers to that question. Simply my imaginings of what might have been going on behind the Bible stories.

John Charles Berry

Charlotte, North Carolina

Table of Contents

1. Ten Years and Two

2. Alabaster

3. Slow of Heart

4. When the Day Runs Out

5. Fires of My Dreams

6. Unbelief

7. Running Naked

Alabaster, Stories Behind the Gospel

Questions and Topics for Reading Group and Small Group Discussion

Author’s Notes on the Stories

About the Author

Alabaster

Stories Behind the Gospel

Ten Years and Two

(Click here to read the Author’s Notes now.)

I will love with urgency but not with haste.

Mumford & Sons

She sat quietly, alone in her separate room.

The sun slanted in through the windows in rays of bright light, alive with specks of dust rotating in circles of glittering infinity. Her mother used to tell her that angels walked back and forth from heaven to Earth on those shafts of light. It was quiet. Her part of the house—her separate and self-contained room—was very still except for the soft rising and falling of her breath. It was Sabbath and almost all of the village would be at the synagogue to listen to Jairus teaching from the Law and the Prophets. She waited in quiet expectation for her father to return and then relate to her all of the things that Jairus said. She wondered if he would talk about Yeshua, the prophet who was taking everyone by surprise like a sudden storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Her father had wondered aloud to her if this Yeshua could be more than a prophet.

Maybe he is the Messiah, the promised one from old. Maybe he will unite all of Israel and throw this Roman yoke from our necks! Wouldn’t that be something, Tali?

Her father called her Tali. It was short for Talitha Khoum, which was Aramaic for little girl. She wasn’t a little girl, though … she hadn’t been a little girl for a long time. She was still living with her father and mother, however, exhausting her dowry before she was even married.

The lady sighed deeply. Please, God. Please, she murmured aloud. The words escaped her lips without thought or volition, much like the air from her lungs when she breathed. She had long since given up hope in God responding to her constant prayers, so they had become rote, both for her and her parents. She shook her head as she realized it had been twelve years since the bleeding had begun. And twelve years since the bleeding had stopped.

You are a woman now! Her mother had clapped her hands, when she’d told her what was happening to her when it first started. She had reached up to hug her mother because she was afraid. She’d never bled from between her legs before. Her belly had strange cramps and she didn’t feel energetic at all. Her mother had stepped back and held her hands up, palms facing the girl.

"No, no, Talitha Khoum. You mustn’t touch me or your father. When you bleed like this, you are unclean. And so am I. The Law is clear on this. Anyone you touch and anywhere you sit is unclean as well. So you must sit on my special chair in the corner and, only there, until you stop bleeding. Her mother had a serious look on her face to reinforce her point. Then she broke into a big smile and said, I am so happy for you!" Though she didn’t feel very pleased with this new adventure in life, the girl had smiled in response to the glow of joy on her mother’s face. The mother’s smile had reassured the daughter that this was somehow a good thing.

You are a woman now, Tali. This is your womanhood, her mother said and put her palms up to her own cheeks and held her own face in her hands beaming down on the daughter before her.

She was fourteen years old. Quickly, her mother’s and father’s joy turned to worry. Her time came, then it didn’t stop. Three days, five days, ten days went by and the bleeding continued. Her mother finally decided to examine her herself and spend the five days in purification afterward that are required when you touch something unclean.

Still the bleeding continued. Twenty days. Then thirty. After forty-five days, her father asked a doctor to come.

It is rare, but it happens, he’d said. Sometimes the bleeding doesn’t stop. She’ll never have children. This last statement the doctor added almost as if it was an afterthought, but his pronouncement had sent her mother into hysterics of worry and panic. If her daughter couldn’t get pregnant, then she’d never marry. She’d never fulfill her duties as a woman for Israel.

Over time, the other girls in the village stopped coming around to see Tali, because they did not want to be ritually unclean. The lack of physical affection from her mother and father weighed on her. She would go to sleep, crying and rocking herself because she craved just the smallest touch of love from her mother.

Momma, Momma, would fill the house in the most plaintive of whimpers. Once in a while, her mother would come and hold her, willing to comfort her child and then perform the cleansing ritual. That was when she was younger and the bleeding was still relatively new. When she was 16, the age at which her friends were being married, her father used more of her dowry to build a separate room onto the house. It had a chair, table, dishes, and bed. There was a small window with a wooden door that she could open to create a conjoined space with the rest of the house. The window allowed her to see into her parents’ side of the home and converse with them while creating her own room and space in which she could move freely.

The new arrangement ensured her parents were in no danger of accidental contact with their daughter, which had occurred periodically. On those occasions, there had been plenty of self-recrimination and her father’s patient remonstrance to be more careful only made her feel worse.

"I know it is hard, my Tali, but