The Trespassers - "F" Words on Golgotha

A cross on a mountain is a foot bridge.

 The children's minds seemed to soak up the darkness descending on the mountain. Most of the children had lost their flow of venomous insults against the Chosen Victim. Without the verbal abuse intended to devalue the heart of the Victim, they could not continue the game of Put Downs. The wind  carried sounds down the mountain into the valley of Shabbat. When the children listened intently, the sounds began to take the shape of words. They strained to hear and decipher what the words were. The words were mixed with cries of anguish distorting any clarity that would help them understand. One sound seemed to be as loud as the cries themselves. It sounded like an "F" sound. The "F" words slowly became louder than the groans of agony as the cheering had disappeared.

Some of the older children who always won the game of Put Downs tried to restart the game. They did not like the idea of losing control and possibly losing the Crown of Opinions. They even tried throwing fruit from the Gossip Tree at the other children which backfired as it made the children angry at them. The wind carried the "F" words with greater clarity. They could almost make out a word as it slowly seeped into their hearts. It was a word they had heard before but they knew very little of it's meaning. The wind strung the letters of the "F" word together and it sounded like:

"F          a          t          h         e          r"

The children all began repeating the word: "Father." They had heard the word several times while growing up. They began to tell each other what they knew of the word "Father."

• "My Mom says that's how I got here."
• "I had one but he's in a jail."
• "My Mom doesn't know who mine is."
• "Doesn't he send money sometimes?"
• "I stopped talking to mine because he always lies."
• "Father's only help Mom's make us and then they go away."

The children gave many other answers until one of the older boys got their attention. He was bitter because he had a greater understanding of what a "Father" was. His "Father" had made him feel good until his "Father" was killed by some religious people. The boy remembered the day his "Father" died. The religious people were arguing with him about someone called God. His "Father" was very intelligent and the men were getting angry because they knew he was telling the truth. Then some men came and told lies about his "Father" and the crowd became angry and killed him. The boy became lonely and bitter as he started acting like the angry crowd. His bitterness infected the other children until today. He wanted his control of their opinions back so he made up his own lie.

The boy told them a story that he said happened long ago when "Fathers" still lived in families with the Mothers and their children. A wizard appeared one day as all the children were gathered together during a game of "Neighbor." The object of the game of "Neighbor" was to amass points by doing something nice for somebody (everybody is a neighbor.) The clothing of the wizard was eye catching, his words were ear grabbing. One look from his eyes froze the children's hearts. He told them that he could make their dreams come true.He asked them a question: "Would you like to have anything that you ever wanted on everyday of your life?' The children joyfully shouted as one: "Yes!" The wizard continued: "Then gather in dear children and I will give you the secret. You are very smart children and I'm sure you have noticed that your "Father's" give you many rules. I'm sure that sometimes you have had the thought that life would be more fun without rules from "Fathers." I will show you how to remove the rules so you can have anything you want. Would you like that?" The children once again shouted joyfully and this time with anticipation: "Yes!"

The wizard continued: "The first step in your beautiful new life of having everything you ever wanted on everyday of your life is to remove the "Fathers." They are the problem. They set rules that you don't like that prevent you from having the fun you deserve. The first step in making you happy is to make your neighborhood "Father-less." There is a secret code that I can reveal only to those who want to have a life of fun. Who is ready to hear the secret code?" Most of the children once again said: "Yes!" A few of them left and were jeered by the crowd who remained enraptured by the wizard's words."Listen carefully as I reveal to you what most children never have a chance to hear. You must say the phrase very fast everyday for the rest of your life. As you keep repeating the phrase, the first word will disappear and only part of the phrase will remain. There is only one more rule, you must look upon me as your father. Whenever you feel lonely for your "Father" you must call upon me. I am your wizard and my name is Leye Ar. I will help you get anything you ever want. Are you ready?" A few more of the children drifted away but the majority remained.

Here is your secret phrase that will remove rules and get you anything you ever want, remember to say it fast without thinking. Repeat after me:  

"Father or Fun!      Father or Fun!      Father or Fun!"

The wizard and the children chanted the phrase for many hours. The change happened quicker for some and happened without them even noticing it. The more they chanted, the latter part of the phrase erased the first part. Pretty soon, the chanting sounded like: "Or Fun! Or Fun! Or Fun!" The children were in a frenzy and decided that they would have no more rules and live in happiness. They would give themselves a name and they would be called the "Orfuns!"

Next: "The Shuttered Father Museum."

Thank's for your time. Go do something nice for an old head.
Jesus loves you and so do we.

Bob Kuebler is the Founder & Director of Youth With A Purpose. Bob has spent the last 12 yrs. learning about pain and perseverance from inner city young people and their families. Healing starts with love and encompasses compassion and empathy. Our mission at YWAP is to inspire inner city young people to develop as God's leaders who overcome the mindset of poverty and gang violence. Bob is the Author of four books, several magazine articles and blogs including The Bright Spot Report. He regularly shares with audiences about how God is redeeming our cities through young people.



Bob can be reached at 716-830-8240
or ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com.
www.youthwithapurpose.org

The Trespassers - What is a Man-tree Cross?

A heavy film seemed to be spreading over the sky. The light of the noon day was slipping into the shadows on the nearby mountain. The children sat under the Gossip Tree sipping on freshly picked fruit as they began their game of Put Downs. It was strange that there would even be shadows on the mountain as the sky had grown quite dark. The day began with 3 shadows of the strange man-tree crosses and now it appeared that 2 of them had converged as one. Now there were only 2 distinct shapes of man-tree crosses and 1 seemed darker than the other. The children could feel that something strange was happening. Their lack of understanding caused them to feel fear, so they focused on what they had become comfortable with - playing games.

Trees play Put Downs and let their leaves fall. People play Put Downs and let their neighbors fall.

  Put Downs was a game taught to them by their parents. Many generations of Trespassers had played this game. The object of the game was to see who could score the most points by saying cruel things about the Chosen Victim. One person would be given the role of submitting to whatever cruelty the children could inflict. Points were awarded by a panel of judges called the Rejecters. Bonus points were awarded if the victim was made to cry out in pain. Total rejection inflicted upon the heart of the victim was the goal. The winner received the Crown of Opinions. The Crown entitled the winner to force all the other children to agree with his or her opinions. There were a select few who always seemed to be declared the winners and thus their opinions ruled the neighborhood.

How close do you have to get to see the likeness of Christ on a Cross in this tree — at On Lafayette Street near Main in Buffalo, New York, USA.

The wind was still carrying the strange mixture of sounds down the mountain, across the valley and onto the Highpoint of Shabatt. As they sat under the Gossip Tree, the drifting sounds caused the children to interrupt their game of Put Downs and listen. Sometimes the children would hear mocking cheers and taunting laughter that sounded like games that their parents played. At first, the children reasoned that some adults must be playing a game of Put Downs over on Golgotha Mountain. Then the wind shifted. Sounds of moaning mixed with cries of sadness filled with pain entered the ears of the children and flowed straight to their hearts. They were touched in a way that was foreign to them. Unable to understand this strange Heart Touching, the children wondered if the adults had found a new way to play Put Downs. This caused a greater fear than they had ever known. Their fear was mixed with excitement, what was a Man-tree Cross and how could it cry?

To be continued.....

Next: "F Words in The Wind"

The habits of adults create traffic patterns that are the draw bridges to the future habits of children.