Jesus According to the Prophet

By Declan O Leary

Jesus returns to present-day Israel and selects a less than enthusiastic Jewish journalist for a crucial mission This very human Jesus combines both Christian and Islamic beliefs about him. There is more than enough comic relief and this time Judas gets what he deserves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Declan O Leary
• Release date: Feb 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310800566

Declan O Leary

Previously, Declan taught at the European School in Munich, but is now free to write. He was educated by the Christian Brothers in Drimnagh, a working class area in South Dublin. Alienated by the inequality around him, he became a socialist, playing a leading role in promoting left-wing politics. While at college in the eighties he joined “The Workers’ Party”, but later resigned having become disillusioned while on a party delegation to East Germany.Despite this, he returned to the GDR and started married life in East Berlin two years later. Having completed his studies at the Humboldt University, he returned to Dublin for a number of years before returning to Germany and setting up home in Munich and raising a family of three.Looking back at a life in the classroom from a distance, Declan has come to look ever more critically at the system of values and beliefs which he was forced to uphold as a teacher in his homeland.His first novel: "Death of a Teacher" is for anyone who has had to face depression and felt defeated by life.Should life be about finding the one or finding oneself? As one often finds more wisdom at a wake than a wedding, the answer may be the most thought provoking you will find. Set against the backdrop of Ireland, East Germany and Poland in the mid-eighties. Shaun, an idealistic Irish communist, although disillusioned in East Germany by the sinister activities of those he trusts,he returns the following year and meets the love of his life. This unlikely love story sets him on a course of action no one could ever have predicted, least of all himself.If my novel helps you to think outside the box please share it with others.Both of his published books: “Death of a Teacher ” and “Jesus according to the Prophet" are available as ebooks and in print on Amazon.

Book preview

This book is dedicated to six very special Jews. Their names appear in random order: Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein, Gideon Levy, Karl Marx, Groucho Marx and last but not least Jesus Christ.

Thank you for opening my eyes, for making me laugh and for showing me how breathtakingly beautiful life can be.

CONTENTS

According to Adam

Jesus according to the Prophet

1 Tell and Vive

2 Holy Jesus!

3 The Virgin Birth

4 The Visit to the Temple

5 The Wedding Feast

6 John the Baptist

7 Jesus the Wandering Preacher

8 The Woman at the Well

9 Lena

10 The Loaves and the Fishes

11 The Worm Turns

12 The Last Supper

13 The Betrayal

14 The Road to Emmaus

15 The Award Ceremony

The Innkeeper and his Noble Wife

According to Adam

Here I sit alone among the ashes and mourn what might have been. How can I ever come to terms with the absolute failure of my relationship with Eve, the tragic death of my dearest son Abel, and the self-hatred of my rebellious son Cain? Too late, I understand what Dad was trying to warn me about, but like the rest of you I had to make my own mistakes. Life here on earth has been a constant struggle. Since leaving Eden I have experienced both the mind-blowing joy of chasing after my own dreams and the absolute terror of being confronted by the outcome of my mistakes. I can see both sides now, and when I return to Eden it will be as a man, just as Dad planned it. He will welcome us back as adults who have learned to appreciate his perfect love because we have survived so long without it.

Forget about the fruit tree and the talking snake. Don’t blame it all on Eve or believe your problems are down to me messing up in Paradise and Dad having no option but to throw me out. I know, it suited you to believe such nonsense, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. The doubters among you have questioned the idea of a loving dad throwing his son out on his ear, leaving him to make his own way in life. I have to admit, it came as quite a shock to me as well, but, having become a dad myself, I have learned that love needs to be tough sometimes.

It was lovely growing up as a child in Paradise. Everything I experienced was perfect. Dad made sure that I always had the best of everything and the beauty around me overwhelmed my senses. Dad was never demanding, I was sure of his love and he was always there to share in my successes and praise me for every little thing I did. As I grew older, he allowed me to wander further and further in his garden, making sure at the same time to keep a watchful eye from the distance as I played freely and made my own discoveries.

Knowing I was his son, even the greatest animals like the lions and the tigers accepted my dominance over them. They became my faithful pets. They were my slaves and I knew I could depend on their affection whether I deserved it or not. I love my furry friends, I told my dad, and he looked a little concerned.  That’s not love, he replied. There’s no challenge in a love of that sort. I don’t know what you mean, Dad, I answered, with a question in my expression. I know, Son, but you soon will.

The next morning when I woke up there was something new and wonderful in the center of the garden. It was a creature the likes of which I had never seen before. What is that? I asked my dad. 

Not what is that, but who is that, he corrected with a grin which I didn’t understand at the time. Then who is that? I persisted.

She is the friend you need to make you whole, he explained. She is like you in so many ways, but so different, too. No matter how much time you spend with her, you will never have the feeling that you understand her fully. Does she have a name? I asked. Of course she does, Adam, her name is Eve and she will become a better friend to you than all the other animals in the garden.

I had no reason not to trust my dad as he had never told me a lie and I knew that I could absolutely rely on his judgment. However, something scared me about this new addition to our peaceful garden. I wasn’t sure I wanted to have anything to do with this Eve who made me feel so strange from the first moment I set eyes on her. None of the other animals in the garden had ever made me feel that way. I moved away from her and kept my distance, standing on the other side of my dad, but she stayed right in the middle of the garden and it was impossible to keep avoiding her.

There is one thing you will need to know about Eve, my dad told me. You will not think it possible now, but your feelings for her will become much stronger than your feelings for me.

That will never happen, Dad, I protested. Trust me, Son, he insisted with a serious look on his face. I can see into the future and I know it will be so. When this happens, Adam, you will need to leave me and the garden and find a new garden of your own.

His words made me very sad because I had never considered spending even a day of my life without my dad. He had always made me believe that I was special and now he was talking about sending me away. Don’t send me away, Dad, I begged. Unless you go away and learn to love another human like yourself, he explained, you will always be a child depending on me for everything.

Don’t you love me anymore, I cried, feeling let down by the father I had always trusted. You don’t understand now, but I have decided to do this because I love you so much, he answered.

I managed to avoid Eve for quite a while, but there was something about the way she looked that drew me to her. I felt bad about it, but I started spying on her from behind the big fruit tree which also occupied the center of the garden. I couldn’t understand why the beauty of her body and the sound of her sweet voice thrilled me so much as she sang so happily. After all I had heard birdsong before and marvelled at the grace of the leopard and the beauty of the pheasant. Now, none of that meant anything to me. I only had eyes for her. As I watched from behind the tree, I got the impression that she knew I was spying on her, but she pretended not to see me. She just combed her long, silky hair or washed her shapely body in the pond at the foot of the waterfall.

My feelings for Eve grew to such an extent that even when I wasn’t spying on her my mind was full of strange thoughts. I imagined running my fingers through her hair or touching her face, and then there were other thoughts that I would have been too embarrassed to share with my dad. I tried my very best to forget her, but even when I lay down to rest at night she filled my dreams. 

"Don’t you think it’s time you went and told Eve that