The annual celebration of the sacrifice to Aroha is coming, the greatest festival of the people of Salem, and people from all over the world flock to the city to pray and thank the gods for their blessings. The sacrificial ceremony is also a folk carnival, and various celebrations last for seven days.

This celebration has its roots in a historical legend. Nearly 400 years ago, when Moses led his ancestors of the Salem people back to their homeland, they were blocked by foreign evil spirits on the way, and they were trapped in the mountains with no progress and no food. Aroha performed a miracle, and the dew drops on the blades of grass turned into small snacks like hoarfrost balls, which were very delicious to eat. Picking up these snacks every day is just enough to feed the clansmen.

Moses and the miners of Duk knew that a god who claimed to be Bakri was tempting them to turn their back on their belief in the one god, Aroha. Moses duly walked down Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments agreed upon with Aroha and crushed Bakri's plot. (Note: See Chapter 186 of this book, The Faces of the Gods.) But history has changed its face to this day. In his later years, Joshua, Moses' assistant and friend of Aesop, collected various materials about the miracles of Aroh, the history of the people, and the praise of the gods among the people of Salem, and also compiled a Bible for the people of Salem, which became the scriptures in the temple of Arroha. The dew dripping from the blades of grass turned into snacks that Aroha gave to his people in a miracle - as recorded in the temple texts.

Not only that, when the miners of Duke Town left Eju, the main god of the Nine Divine Systems, Seth, sent a divine envoy to carry out a series of obstructions, and Moses and others suffered a lot. In today's temple records, things are completely reversed, and the series of "miracles" that stopped Moses and others from advancing have become Arohal's means of punishing the Ejutes and blocking Eju's pursuers.

Historical memories are formed by word of mouth, as if only such legends can make their gods appear perfect. But the adaptation of history apparently also raises the question of why Moses and the others suffered so much if their god Aroha was really so omnipotent? The explanation of the temple priests was that it was God who was testing the world. In fact, Amon himself at that time had not yet transcended eternal life, otherwise it would not be so difficult to bring Moses and others back to the Duc Plain.

Nearly 400 years have passed, and every year when the legendary time comes, people from all over the world will flock to the Aroha Temple to thank the blessings of the year and pray to the gods for more blessings. This celebration was also a folk festival, and the city of Salem would be crowded, and Joshua chose to go at that time.

Peter said, "Our guide, your decision is wise. The God-appointed Savior will come to this world, and he will inevitably encounter all kinds of tribulations, and Satan will deceive people into harming you, but there are many people who respect and love you, and those enemies with sinister intentions will not dare to do it lightly. ”

But Jesus shook his head and said, "I chose to go when the most people were coming, not so that the people would protect me, but so that more people could hear the gospel of Aroho and witness my appearance." ”

A few days before the celebration, Jesus led his disciples across the river to Mary's village in the countryside of Bethany, where they had stopped some time ago, and which was very close to the city of Salem. After crossing the river this time, they took a road that was further north than when they came, in the middle of a remote wild hill.

In a valley, they met a group of people with terrible faces. When they saw people passing by, they cowered in their huts made of branches, and did not dare to show their faces. When Jesus stopped and ordered his disciples to ask who they were, they heard that it was the Son Jesus passing by, so they came out of their tent and knelt down in the valley and pleaded, "Are you the Son?

It turned out that these people had a strange skin disease, and their faces and bodies were covered with terrible scars, and the disease was contagious. The priests in the city of Salem could not cure them, and fearing that more people would be infected with strange diseases, ordered them to leave the city-state and live in seclusion in the wilderness. Those who wanted to return to the city-state had to get permission from the priests to confirm that they had been cured. The temple priests could not cure the disease, but their detection skills were able to determine who was sick and healed.

It was a very difficult disease to cure, but thankfully they met Jesus today. Jesus stretched out his hand and stroked it over everyone's head, and the fingertips with a faint, imperceptible golden light sank into everyone's body, as if a gray mist had lifted, and then those terrible scars had scabbed and fell off.

Jesus waved his hand and said, "Now you can return to the city of Salem and go to the priest, who will declare you recovered." ”

The group jumped up in surprise and ran through the mountains and forests to the north in the direction of the city of Salem, and they had been separated in despair for a long time, and the sooner they saw the priests in the city, they would be reunited with their families sooner, and everyone could not wait for the excitement.

Jesus stood still and watched as these figures disappeared into the mountains and jungles, when suddenly, a man panting and ran back the same way, and he fell down at Jesus' feet and said, "Forgive me for my rudeness, the Son, the Messiah, and the deliverer sent by God, who forgot to thank you and did not even leave my name and address. My name is Ver Flåm and I live in Salem City. I look forward to welcoming you to my home, and I will do my best to entertain you and your disciples!"

Jesus looked at him and smiled, "I saved a group of people, where are the others? You are the only one who has come back to thank me, so I will thank you as well." As he spoke, he reached out and helped him up, saying, "Now you can go back, the carnival is coming, on the last day of the celebration, please prepare a dinner for me and the disciples, we need a quiet place without being disturbed." ”

Vail left gratefully, and ran out of the mountains and forests with a quick pace. Jesus turned to the disciples and said, "I saved that group, and that was their gain, and Weil came back in thanksgiving, and this is my gain." ”

Judas asked, "Dear Guide, do you not hold a grudge against those who are not grateful to you?"

Jesus shook his head with a wry smile and said, "It doesn't matter if I hold a grudge, I'm just saving them, and I'm not resentful, and I'm sympathetic to their suffering." I didn't talk about the conditions of gratitude when I was cured, and when I was cured, I forgot about them. ”

John asked, "Then why do you thank Weir again?"

Jesus solemnly said, "Not holding a grudge doesn't mean I'm going to approve, and not being grateful doesn't mean I won't accept it." Only by sincerely accepting that kind of gratitude can more people follow my example. Dear disciples, if I leave you in the future, you should also remember what happened today. ”

...... As the celebration approached, Jesus and his disciples returned to their villages in rural Bethany, where Martha and Lazareth prepared a sumptuous meal to welcome them back and celebrate Jesus' imminent departure to the city of Salem. The disciples were laughing and talking that night, and they were all happy, except for Mary, who was worried as if she had something on her mind. After setting the dishes, she returned to her room, carefully packed up her jewelry, and quietly went out.

After Jesus and the others had finished eating, Mary returned, holding a large and beautiful bottle containing the most precious ointment. As Jesus was resting on a chaise longue at the table, Mary came up to him and poured perfume on the ends of Jesus' hair and on his bare feet. Then she bent down and gently anointed the instep of Jesus' feet with her long hair, and the courtyard was filled with fragrant scent.

This was a rite of dedication to the Messiah, which Mary had done in public, and Jesus accepted it, so that people realized that he was the Son who had come to earth. And now that Mary is doing this again at home, it seems unnecessary, and Judas cannot help but say, "This ointment is too expensive, Mary, you should save the money for something more useful!"

Mary's face was dark, but she knew better than Jesus' disciples what was about to happen, and she was just expressing her feelings in this way. Jesus said, "Let Mary do this, she is expressing her love and generosity to me, and it will be part of the legend." ”

At the sight of this scene, the wise Judas also vaguely guessed something, and asked: "Dear guide, you should be well aware that your enemies hate and hate you. You have spoken of the mercy and forgiveness of the Savior, and now I would like to ask what kind of person is unforgivable?"

Jesus sat up straight in his chair and told his disciples a story about a ruler who owed the king a million, and the angry king ordered: "Sell him, his wife and children as slaves, to pay the amount owed." ”

The official knelt on the ground and cried and begged: "Please be merciful, Your Majesty, I can't repay such a huge amount of money after selling it, please be patient, I will definitely try to repay the arrears." ”

The king knew that he could not afford him, but he took pity on him and forgave him. The official walked out of the palace and ran into a servant, who he grabbed and shouted, "What do you owe me, when will you pay it?"

The servant begged, "Please give me a little more time, I will work hard and I will pay it off." ”

But the official did not relent, he grabbed the servant and roared: "The deadline has come, you must pay back the money immediately, or you will go to jail." He took the servant and sent him to prison.

When the king heard the news, he said nothing more and ordered the official to be sent to prison.

At this end of the story, Jesus looked around at his disciples and said, "It is unforgivable to think that one's deeds deserve to be forgiven, but not to forgive others in the same way." ”

(To be continued)