The Trespassers - "The Shuttered Father Museum."

The building had been closed many years ago. They boarded the doors and shuttered the windows of the Father Museum. The children were not permitted to even say the word "father" out loud. If they spoke about fathers, the elders would punish the children. The Father Museum housed the relics saved from the time period when fathers lived in families. The Museum used to be open to the public until some families began to express a desire to bring the fathers back into the community. The Trespasser politicians voted to close the Father Museum for fear that the people would once again embrace fatherhood and they would lose their power.

The children were very inquisitive while they were still young. As they aged, they began to accept that fathers served a brief purpose and then disappeared. The older children thrived on controlling the youngsters and talk of fathers interrupted their control. One of the younger boys found an old ad for the Father Museum in his Mother's Hope Chest. The ad described the attributes of a father from days gone by. He read the ad out loud to his friends while they met secretly:

"A father is patient. 

A father is kind. 

A father cares more for his children

 than he does for himself. 

A father doesn't keep a record 

of his children's mistakes. 

A father apologizes to his children

 when he is wrong.

A father doesn't tease his children.

 A father protects his children. 

A father hopes for the best for his children. 

A father never gives up on his children. 

A father disciplines his children. 

A father guides his children in the right direction

 so they won't get lost when they are older. 

A father teaches his children

 about love  by loving them.

A father teaches his children about

 the Way and Truth of Life.

^{The children sat in stunned silence. It seemed like such a short time ago that they had banished fathers by chanting: "Fathers or fun" and they had chosen to be Or-funs. The children sat in silence until they were distracted by the wind bringing more sounds from the nearby mountain. They thought they could hear another "F" word. They focused on the sounds that were mixed with cries of agony and jeers of derision. The clouds overhead became thicker and the day became darker. The children could feel raindrops. The falling drizzle felt like liquid sadness. The first "F" word they had heard was "Father." They strained their ears and could barely make out another "F" word;}

^{"F   o   r   g   i   v   e"}

^{They now had heard the words "Father forgive..." These words were foreign to them and they were confused and felt fear. Some of them cried, others shook uncontrollably while a few got up and walked away. They all wondered: "What is a Father?"  "What does it mean to forgive?" Could the children bring the fathers back? Could the children learn and teach forgiveness?}

A still, small voice in the wind says: "F   O   R   G   I   V   E"

 ^{Next: The Final "F" Word on Golgotha}