The Gospels of Hadar

By M.E. Murphy

Bless the voice that tells these stories
Beautiful and touching.
The gospels for being humans.
How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant?...
A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths.
? Carl Sagan

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499005769

M.E. Murphy

I am a humanist. My stories fit my humanist philosophy. We are continuously rediscovering our place in the evolving universe. Our changing perspective needs a new refuge, and I advocate for Mother Earth. We need a new story. We need a new prayer. We need both science and the spiritual—and the miraculous! I am a born-again realist! I thrive as a nonbeliever filled with hope founded in awareness. I am a single parent with three children. I work full-time. I have had many careers over many years, beginning with seven years of religious life, years of odd jobs in construction, computer programming, and finally, health care. I have lost loved ones unexpectedly and expectedly. I have aged. I have lived. And I have stories to tell.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by M E Murphy.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014907449

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4990-0577-6

Softcover 978-1-4990-0584-4

eBook 978-1-4990-0576-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 04/21/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

611232

Contents

THE FIRST MIRACLE

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Sacred Place Of Rest

Chapter 2: The Tradition

Chapter 3: The Change

Chapter 4: The Welcoming

Chapter 5: Fear Of The Unknown

Chapter 6: Anger And Despair

Chapter 7: The Failed Negotiation

Chapter 8: Before The Event

Chapter 9: The Prayer

Chapter 10: The Moment

Chapter 11: After The Moment

Chapter 12: Take Refuge?

Chapter 13: The End

Epilogue

THE NEW STORY

Chapter 14: The Border

Chapter 15: The Station House

Chapter 16: The Town

Chapter 17: The Capital

Chapter 18: The Departure

THE NEW PRAYER

Chapter 19: The Troubled King

Chapter 20: The Journey To The Mountains

Chapter 21: Hadar And The King

Chapter 22: The Exchange

Chapter 23: The Journey Back

Chapter 24: The Debate

Chapter 25: The Prayer

Chapter 26: The Journey Home

THE NEW EARTH

Chapter 27: The Beginning

Chapter 28: The Quest

Chapter 29: A Brave Idea

Chapter 30: The Trial

Chapter 31: The Prison Cell

Chapter 32: The Execution

Chapter 33: Beyond The Execution

Epilogue

THE LAST MIRACLE

Chapter 34: The Rain

Chapter 35: The Arrival

Chapter 36: Troubles Continue

Chapter 37: Hadar Arrives

Chapter 38: A New Hope

Chapter 39: The First Star

Chapter 40: The Last Miracle

Chapter 41: The Beginning

Epilogue

The First Miracle

Simply put, we are Earthlings. The Earth is our origin, our nourishment, our educator, our healer, our fulfillment.

—Thomas Berry

Our voices were as one voice and gave meaning to the moment…

—Hadar

PROLOGUE

All who were touched by the Event are changed in some way.

It was a story worth telling over and over as it was passed from parent to child, friend to friend, and on again and again.

It was a miracle-legend that added to the traditional celebration of the season of light and warmth.

To the elders of the Roaming Tribe, it was a timeless moment when the Sacred Universe spoke on their behalf.

For my children

Aaron

Hanna

Ronan

CHAPTER ONE

The Sacred Place of Rest

IN THE EARLY summer when the warm winds reach far to the north and the sun leaves the sky for only a short time, the people of earth’s snow-covered lands rejoice in the