The Greatest Stories Ever... Retold: Volume 2

Copyright © 2018 Ross T. Lucas

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-0-359-07046-6

Book interior & cover design by Erin McAuley, www.impluviumstudios.com

Introduction

A few years ago, I completed my first book of short stories based on New Testament themes. At that time, there was a woman in the church I was serving who asked when I was going to write another set of stories. Her name was Carolyn Burnett (1921-2016). I told her I’d used up all the stories I could think of. Well, Carolyn had started her career as an elementary school teacher and she never lost that sprit. We had a Tuesday morning Bible study, and nearly every week she would bring in an idea I could write a story about. These stories are the result of her encouragement, an elementary school teacher who never gave up on her student.

There are many others who contributed to what I finally accomplished. It can be easy for me to give up. While there were a lot of positive comments about the first Greatest Stories Ever… Retold, there were not a lot of sales. If not for the encouragement of my wife Carolyn Lucas; my men’s group, which meets in Grand Rapids, Michigan; and my Fearless Creating art-spirit group (all women except for me), I think I would have given up.

I also want to thank Erin McAuley who was my editor. The main struggle I had with the first book was the need for a critical eye. She did a great job of reviewing my work, including pointing out where something I said in one place didn’t fit with what I said in another place.

I take my inspiration from the New Testament and I develop a story around whatever idea comes to me. Many of the characters are fictional and what I present is only one way things might have happened.

My purpose is to make the stories of the New Testament come alive. The people living at that time were real people; but we’ve heard these Bible stories so often that they’ve become two-dimensional, predictable. I want the people to be real and for their stories to be relatable.

It’s my hope you’ll enjoy these stories and you’ll connect with the characters in a way that will make the New Testament come alive for you.

Ross T. Lucas

September 2018

The Pig Herder

Inspired by Mark 5:1-20

Thaddeus made a face at the smells shrouding him—a sickly sweet odor that not only invaded his nasal passages, but also seemed to cling to his clothes. His nose should have been used to it by now, but it wasn’t.

He pulled the blanket more tightly around him, hoping the weave of the cloth would filter out the smell. The problem was the blanket was saturated. If anything, pulling it over his head only made matters worse.

It was still a bit before dawn. A quick glance at the sky in the east gave only the slightest hint of the coming daylight. Right at the very edge of the horizon the sky was a shade or two lighter. Looking up at the stars, he wondered if there was anywhere in the world he could get away from the smell of pigs.

He didn’t want to complain too much; getting this job had been a stroke of fortune. His family was dead. He’d been trying to survive and was afraid he would fail at that. When the landowner offered him a job taking care of the herd of pigs, he thought it was a real blessing. Of course, that was before he’d lived with pigs for several weeks.

Giving in to the inevitable, he sat up, then folded the blanket a couple of times and rolled it up. He had a cord he could tie the bundle with and then slip over his neck. He didn’t dare leave the blanket laying on the ground by itself. Pigs would eat anything and everything. Looking down at his sandals, he noticed the half-eaten sole of his right sandal. The first night on the job he’d taken his sandals off to sleep and was awakened a couple of hours later by a pig trying to eat them. His blanket also had places where pigs had chewed it.

Having secured all his possessions except his staff to his body, he walked up the hill to where a fire was glowing. It was a small fire and Amos, another one of the herders, was already there.

Good morning, Amos.

What’s good about it? Another day of watching pigs and smelling them, Amos answered.

On top of the hill there was a slight breeze. It pushed the worst of the odor away. Amos opened the large pack that contained their supply of food and wine and handed him a half-loaf of bread. It was four days old and hard. Still, it was food. He took a bite and chewed slowly, partly because he wasn’t in a hurry and partly because he couldn’t chew the hard bread any faster.

He looked down at the bread before taking another bite. There was a gathering of flies on the place where he had bitten off his piece. Unconcerned, he waved the bread in the air, dislodged the flies, and took another bite.

The first couple of days on the job he’d eaten nothing. He couldn’t stand to eat the bread where the flies had been sitting, often leaving little black specks behind. He knew where those flies had been sitting before taking up residence on his food. Finally, hunger got the better of him and he ate.

Joseph and James were also up. Simon was still sleeping. The two pig herders walked up the hill to get their breakfast. Joseph always seemed to be in a good mood. He cheerily greeted Thaddeus and Amos.

Good morning, Thaddeus. Good morning, Amos. What treat do we have in store for breakfast today?

Thaddeus frowned and looked in a different direction. Amos responded more civilly, Why, Joseph, don’t you know we have a special treat? Four-day-old bread and flies, if you can catch them.

Joseph caught the loaf that Amos tossed to him. I thought we had four-day-old bread yesterday morning, he said.

No, no, Amos said back. Yesterday we had three-day-old bread.

At that point, James came abreast of Thaddeus. Good morning, Thaddeus. How are you doing?

Same as always, Thaddeus replied with a smile. He and James had been hired the same day and they had become friends, sort of.

The sun peeked over the hill as if to see what they were doing and the men gathered their belongs and went to herd the pigs together. They hadn’t been long in this spot and there was still food for the swine. Thaddeus was anxious to move on. The nearby cemetery gave him chills.

Around noon, Amos called to him, Hey, Thad, it looks like a boat is headed this way.

Thaddeus studied the boat for a few seconds before replying, I think you’re right. Looks like a fishing boat.

The two men took a few steps closer to where the boat seemed to be headed. Well, they aren’t doing any fishing. There are too many men in it for fishing, Amos responded.

By this time Joseph had joined them. Simon and James were on the far side of the herd. He asked the obvious, Do you guys see that boat? I wonder what they want.

Thaddeus looked at him with an expression that said, How could we not have seen it? His actual response was, Amos and I have been discussing it. We were wondering the same thing.

As the boat came to the shallows, the men started to jump over the side. They wadded to the beach, one of them pulling a long rope attached to the boat. Together, the men took hold of the rope and pulled the boat partway onto the beach so it wouldn’t drift away.

I guess they’re planning on staying for a while, Joseph commented.

I agree, Amos offered. I still wonder what they want. They aren’t actually fishing and they haven’t unloaded any cargo, so I doubt they’re merchants.

Shading his eyes with his hand, Thaddeus said nothing. He watched as they made their way to the road leading to town. He decided one of them was the one in charge. He didn’t have any evidence other than everyone seemed to be following him.

Finally, Thaddeus spoke up, At least this gives us a break from the usual boredom of watching pigs.

Taking a few more steps forward, Joseph said, Maybe we ought to go see what they want.

It’s none of our business, Amos responded. We have work to do. With that, Amos went back to where he could keep an eye on the pigs.

Thaddeus and Amos, however, moved a little closer to where the men would be passing. They had no intention of talking with these men. For one thing, Thaddeus assumed they wouldn’t be happy with a pig herder trying to talk to them. From their dress, they were obviously Jews and Thaddeus was well aware of the attitude the Jews had toward pigs. However, the salient reason was that he and his companion smelled like pigs. In the past, people had actually thrown things at them to get them to stay away.

They closed the distance so they could get a better look and Thaddeus realized they were nearing the cemetery. He was about to turn around when someone screamed. He knew who it was. There was a madman who lived among the tombs. They would often hear him screaming and they usually kept a fair distance from him.

The cemetery was a set of caves that had been dug into the hillside. There may have once been a single, natural cave. He assumed the man took shelter there, either inside the natural cave or one of the manmade ones. Thaddeus didn’t know. He did know the madman was no one to mess with.

The first week he’d been on the job, they’d been pasturing the pigs in this same place. There was a funeral and the man had come out screaming and cursing. A couple of men had tried to subdue him and all they got for their efforts were a collection of bruises.

The next day, a half-dozen men had come and they brought chains with them. They'd managed to hold the madman down long enough to get the manacles on his arms and legs. They had chained him to a tree and left him there. Thaddeus assumed they would either come back and take him away or bring him food. Although, he did wonder if they would let him starve to death, chained to an olive tree.

Thaddeus had still been standing there watching when the madman started screaming and pulling at the chains. The men who had chained him weren’t far and they had turned around to see what the commotion was about. Then the chains had broken. Thaddeus didn’t think any man could break chains, but this man had. As soon as he had broken the last chain, the madman started after the men who had caught him. They had accomplished nothing other than to give the man the broken chains for weapons.

It was at that point Thaddeus had beat a careful, yet hasty, retreat. He didn’t want to attract the attention of the madman and he didn’t want to stay in the vicinity in case the madman mistook him for one those who had chained him to the tree.

Now the man was coming out of the tombs, shouting and screaming at the strangers who had just arrived. He still carried a length of chain in one hand and he swung it in a circle over his head as he advanced.

I think we best get away from here, Joseph said.

Maybe, but those guys don’t look particularly worried about him. I suppose they figure they have enough numbers to keep him under control. Let’s wait a moment see what happens, Thaddeus responded.

What happened was: The madman ran at the strangers and then, just a few feet from them, he stopped, fell to his knees, and put his hands out as if he was begging. The man who was in the lead was saying something to him, but Thaddeus was too far away to hear.

Their conversation didn’t last long. The madman pointed up the hill to where the pigs were grazing. The leader also looked that way and after a moment, he nodded.

Almost immediately, the pigs started snorting and squealing. They were milling about and becoming more agitated by the second. Thaddeus had no idea what was happening. All he could think of was that his job was to watch over the pigs and something was wrong. He turned and started running back up the hill. By now the pigs had started running toward the lake.

Two things occurred to Thaddeus as he ran in vain to head the pigs off. One was that Amos had been somewhere down slope from the pigs and the other was that there was a high cliff directly in front of the pigs. Pigs were pretty smart and he figured they would turn away rather than jump over the edge to the rocks and water below.

He could see Amos now, in front of the stampeding pigs. He was trying to get them to change direction and move himself out of their way at the same time. He was having some success at moving out of the way, he had no success at all in changing the direction of the stampeding herd. To his horror, Amos stumbled and fell. Thaddeus lost sight of him amidst the herd.

Joseph saw the same thing. He shouted, Amos! and ran to where they had last seen him. By the time they got close enough to see his body, the pigs were at the edge of the cliff and they weren’t stopping. The whole herd rushed right over to certain destruction.

Kneeling beside Amos, they turned him over. He opened his eyes and asked, What happened? I’ve never seen pigs act that way before. Is the herd all right? How many of them did we lose?

Are you hurt? Thaddeus asked.

No, Amos replied, I just got a few bruises. I thought I was a goner! What about the pigs? Did we lose many of them?

Yep. We lost them, Joseph answered.

Amos sat up and put his head in his hands. He didn’t relish telling his employer about losing the pigs. He sighed. How many of them did we lose?

Neither Joseph nor Thaddeus said anything.

Amos looked from one to the other of them and then tried to see where the rest of the pigs were. Tell me. How many did we lose? He focused his attention on Thaddeus.

All of them, Thaddeus whispered.

Amos stared at him. By now Simon and James had managed to join them. Simon, talking much louder than needed, ask the obvious, What happened? I’ve never seen anything like that!

Obviously irritated, Amos glanced at Simon, then turned back to Thaddeus. I said, ‘How many did we lose?’

Thaddeus repeated a little louder, All of them.

Raising his eyebrows and opening his eyes wider, Amos repeated, All of them!

All four of the other herders nodded in agreement. All of the pigs had gone over the edge of the cliff.

Standing, Amos said, We better go check. Maybe some of them survived the fall.

It was a waste of time. When they could see the bottom of the cliff, it was apparent there was nothing living down there. In silence, they stood and stared for several seconds. Finally, Amos broke the silence. Again, I ask, what happened? I’ve never seen anything like this. Did anyone see anything unusual?

Everyone shook their heads, not trusting themselves to say anything. It was after Amos started away from the cliff that Thaddeus remembered.

There may have been something. Joseph and I were watching the people from the boat who had come ashore. The madman from the tombs came at them and the leader of the group actually talked to him. Then the madman pointed up the hill toward the herd and after a moment the leader nodded. That was when the pigs went crazy.

From where they were, they couldn’t see the party Thaddeus was referring to. They walked back up the hill and over a small rise. There were the men from the boat and the madman. They were sitting on the ground, having a conversation.

The five men stared; they weren’t sure what to make of what was happening.

Again, Amos spoke up. We have to go tell the boss what’s happened. He’s going to be livid. Thaddeus, you’re the one who saw what happened and you’re younger than me. Joseph, you go with him. We, he indicated the other two herders with a wave of his hand, will wait here.

Thaddeus wasn’t pleased to be given the job. Delivering news this bad could result in the boss blowing up and holding him personally responsible. He looked from Amos to Joseph. I guess someone has to tell him. Come on, Joseph. He started walking toward town, choosing a route that would avoid the men sitting under the shade of an olive tree beside the cemetery.

Amos shouted, I said ‘run’! We need to let the boss know right now!

Breaking into a run, neither Thaddeus nor Joseph answered. As he ran, Thaddeus tried to figure out what he was going to say to the pigs’ owners. As he thought about it, the boss was also someone hired to manage a number of businesses. The pigs belonged to several people in the village.

It didn’t take long for the two men to get to town. They went immediately to the house where they expected the boss to be. He was sitting in the courtyard, talking to several other men.

Sir! Thaddeus began, Something has happened! Joseph had stopped a few feet sooner than he had. Everyone’s attention was on him.

Bacchus looked up, irritated to have been interrupted. As the wind carried the smell that clung to Thaddeus and Joseph to his nose, he frowned. What are you doing here? Take a bath before you come into my house! He was starting to say something else when Thaddeus charged ahead with the news.

Something terrible has happened! The pigs ran off a cliff. They’re all dead! Thaddeus managed to get out.

His mouth hanging open, Bacchus tried to understand what he was hearing. The other men heard and immediately jumped to their feet. For a few moments, there was pandemonium as everyone tried to talk at once. One of the older men finally got things quieted down by shouting, Everyone, be quiet! When silence returned, he continued, Bacchus, what is going on?

I don’t know, he answered. He took a few steps toward Thaddeus, ignoring the smell. What are you talking about?

Thaddeus told him again, All the pigs are dead. There were some men who arrived by boat. They were talking to the madman who lives in the tombs. The group’s leader waved at the pigs and they all went crazy and charged over the cliff. Amos was almost killed by the stampede. I ran to tell you.

Looking from Thaddeus to Joseph, Bacchus asked, Is this true?

Joseph took an involuntary step back. Yes! It’s just as Thaddeus said. The leader of the group waved both arms at the pigs and shouted something and they just started running toward the cliff. We tried to head them off, but there was nothing any of us could do. Amos was between them and the cliff. I don’t know how he escaped being trampled.

Amos was exaggerating, but Thaddeus didn’t say anything. It was still the same basic story.

We’ll see about this, Bacchus said. He turned to the men gathered there, Let’s go. He motioned to a couple of other servants who were standing nearby. You men, gather up any of the men you can and follow us.

Turning to Joseph, he said, Lead the way!

Reluctantly, Thaddeus turned back to the pasture. After a warning from Bacchus to get going, he and Joseph broke into a slow trot. Rounding a bend in the road, the cemetery came in view. There under the olive tree sat the strangers and the man who everyone knew to be mad.

Someone had had some extra clothes and the man was sitting there, wearing clothes, which he usually didn’t, and talking to the leader of the group. He was actually smiling.

What’s going on here! Bacchus bellowed.

The leader of the strangers didn’t seem bothered by the appearance of the men from town, nor at Bacchus’ bellowing. He looked up and waited as the group from town bore down on them. A couple of the strangers stood and the leader glanced at them and motioned for them to sit back down. In some ways, the calmness with which he greeted the mob from town was disturbing.

I asked, Bacchus continued to bellow, what is going on? These men, he motioned in the general direction of Thaddeus and Joseph, tell me you caused a stampede and our whole herd of swine jumped over the cliff into the lake. I expect you to pay for the swine we lost.

The older man caught hold of Bacchus’ sleeve and pulled him aside. They almost bumped into Thaddeus, who hastened to get out of the way, but stayed close enough to hear.

Careful, Bacchus, the older man said. See how calm they appear. Whatever happened, the madman seems to be better. And they did take control of a whole heard of pigs. These men may have some powerful magic, maybe even be in league with the devils. He might make us go mad just as easily as he did the pigs.

Having been pulled to face the older man, Bacchus looked out of the corner of his eye at the strangers, who were still seated on the ground. He whispered to the older man, So what do you want me to do? Just let them go about causing trouble!

No. Just be careful. Don’t say anything to upset them. It might be safest to get them to leave without trouble, he whispered back.

After a moment or two, Bacchus turned back to the group. Look, we don’t want trouble. Just go away and leave us alone.

For the first time Thaddeus heard the leader say something. We mean you no harm. This man, he gestured toward the madman, needed to be set free. The pigs were a means of doing that.

Attention turned to the man sitting calmly beside the leader of the strangers. Several of the group from town had encountered him before. Despite the fact that they could see it was the same man, it was obvious he no longer acted like a madman. Thaddeus didn’t know the man’s name. All he’d ever heard him called was the madman from the tombs.

Other men, the ones the servants had been sent to gather, were arriving from town. It was becoming quite a large crowd and no one seemed to know what to do. Some seemed to think this was an invasion of some sort. They’d come prepared for a fight. For weapons, some carried the tools they’d been using when they heard the news. Others had picked up sticks along the way to use as makeshift weapons.

Thaddeus saw the situation was getting out of control and he tried to slide toward the edge of the crowd. He wanted to get out of the spot where there might be fighting.

Bacchus was trying to get control of the new arrivals. He was worried about the power these men seemed to wield. To those who were crowding closer, he put his hand out and motioned as if he were pushing something to the ground. Calm down, he was saying. We don’t want to start trouble with men who may be using powerful magic.

The leader of the group of strangers sighed. If you want, we’ll leave. Maybe I’ll have a chance to return some other time.

Bacchus was still angry. However, when he spoke, his voice was controlled. Don’t do us any favors. Just get out of here and leave us alone.

The group of strangers got to their feet and began to edge away from the crowd. The former madman also stood. As the leader turned to leave, the man took hold of his arm.

Lord, let me go with you. I have nothing to keep me here and I’m sure people would be happy if I left also.

The leader looked from the man asking to go with him, to the crowd, and then back at the man. No, I don’t think so. It would be better if you stayed here and told people what a wonderful thing God has done for you.

The man was going to argue. He opened his mouth to say something, then hesitated with his mouth still open. If that is what you think best, Lord, he said, I will do as you say.

The crowd, at least those who had first gotten there, had gone from anger to apprehension. The older man had also warned them to not get powerful magicians riled up. They shuffled their feet in the dirt, anxious for the strangers to depart. They followed, although at a distance, when the strangers walked back to their boat. It didn’t take long for the men to wrestle the boat back into the water and climb aboard.

Thaddeus was now on the edge of the crowd. Joseph had disappeared somewhere along the way. With the strangers gone, the odor from Thaddeus became noticeable again. Bacchus turned to him and took a step backward. You there! Go get the rest of the herders and go down along the lake at the bottom of the cliff. See if you can recover any of the pigs in good enough shape to butcher. We have to save whatever meat we can.

Yes, sir, Thaddeus answered. What should we do with the swine bodies we recover?

Just bring them to the clearing on the west edge of the village. I will have someone meet you there. Don’t come into town unless you have a chance to bathe and get some clean clothes.

Very well, Thaddeus said as he took a couple of steps back so his smell wouldn’t be too close to the boss. And when we’re done with that, what shall we do?

Bacchus looked at him for a moment, then shook his head. "Well, I don’t need pig herders any longer. I suggest you