The Old Man And The Garden

My little children, come close and listen to the words of your Father. Rest your heads upon my knees; Jesus Loves You wrap yourselves in the warmth of my robes while I tell you my stories. Open your eyes and see the world as I see it. Close your eyes and dream of yourselves in it.

Remember always.

The Old Man and the Garden Would you like to hear a story of the beginning? Would you like to know what happened before what you know happened, happened? Then sit with me for a spell and I will tell you a story. There is a mountain that exists in a land across the waters that is so high its summit is perpetually covered in cloud and mist. Ancient writings have been found that tell of a fountain at the peak of this mountain that bubbles up continuously from a source hidden deep within the mountain’s roots. This fountain’s water is said to be so pure that he who is blessed to drink from it will live forever. And at first those who drank did live forever. Those who have passed down this account also describe a garden planted around this fountain by a kind and generous old man. This man’s name has been lost to history but it is said that he existed before written record and that his name was only spoken in the Old Tongue, one which must never be spoken by modern man. The garden reached across the plain at the mountain’s peak. It was filled with exotic fruit bearing trees and animal life and its song spread over the entire earth. One day the old man opened the gates he had built to hedge in his beautiful garden and sounded a shrill whistle into the regions beyond the mountain and across the skies to distant lands. At the moment his cry went out there appeared a young man and woman who had just crested the peak and were waiting at the end of the path that led up the mountain into the old man’s lands. When they heard his call they ran into his waiting arms as a child will run into his mother’s. The old man embraced the two and invited them to live with him forever in his garden. The old man showed the man and woman the trees and the fruit, the animals, the shelter he had prepared for them, and then he brought them to his fountain. “This,” he said, “is my life and the source of my strength and power. It is from this fountain and the well beneath that I have cultivated this garden and will soon cultivate the entire world. It is for you to drink from as well, to grow strong with me and to enjoy my garden and your life here forevermore.” The man and woman were astounded at the beauty that they saw in the garden and with the generosity of the old man in sharing so abundantly all that he possessed. They stared deeply into the his eyes and felt his great kindness shining upon them. They knelt beside the fountain

and with bare hands cupped water to their mouths and drank. Instantly they were refreshed from their journey; instantly they were filled with the life giving power of the water. The old man drew the two young people to his side and said very gently, “This I have prepared for you, and give to you freely. All that I ask in return is that when you drink you do not put anything but your own hands into my fountain to bring water to your mouths. In this way my water will remain pure and you, my children, will remain alive forever by my side.” And with these words the old man left the man and the woman to discover for themselves the wonders of sleeping in a garden at the top of a mountain with a fountain of life gurgling softly in their ears. The night deepened quickly and the two made their down the short path from the fountain to the little home built for them by the old man. As they settled inside they were startled to hear the sound of the garden gate swinging wildly. They heard it bang against the garden wall and then bang again as it swung back inside and hit once more. Curious, they left the warmth of their shelter and hurried to see this new thing. Standing between the posts of the gate was a dark man. He stood about the same height as the young man but he was not clothed as the young man was. This dark man was fully clad in gleaming armor and carried both a magnificent sword and shield emblazoned with fiery designs. He slowly panned the garden before him and rested his gaze upon the young man and woman who were marveling at this new creature before them. The young man stepped forward extending his arm to greet the visitor warmly, “Welcome, friend. Come into the garden and refresh yourself from your journey.” “Thank you,” he said. “I have come a long way and am weary. It would be nice to rest my soul a bit before I continue on.” At this the young woman stepped forward and bowed slightly to the dark man and said, “If you please, come with us to our home, where we can give you food and shelter for the night.” The dark man nodded his assent and together the three made their way back to the dwelling by the fountain of the old man. There they relieved him of his sword and shield and gave him cushions on which to recline and eat. They prepared a banquet for him of fruits and vegetables and listened to him as he told them stories of his journeys. The dark man regaled them with adventures and mysteries. He spun tales that were incredible to believe but too

compelling to doubt. He told them the history of his people and their plight under the rule of a tyrant king. He told of bondage to this king, cruelty at his hands and the slavery of his people. Then he wove a tale of the final battle between his people and the forces of this wicked king. It was a battle that lasted for days and weeks and months until finally the king’s forces were defeated and the people set free. The dark man looked deeply into the eyes of the young man and woman. “I have seen much of this world, there is much I could show to you, if you would like.” “You are welcome to stay with us as long as you please,” returned the young man. “Our master has opened this land to us. He has placed no restrictions upon us, except to live here forever by his side.” “You are very kind, though I am surprised though to hear you call him master. I will have no part of that ever again. I am my own master. I have broken the chains of that kind of oppression forever.” “But, how is it that you live in the world? What land then do you call your own?” asked the young woman. The dark man turned to her and said, “I was driven out of my land when we won our freedom. We were strong, but not strong enough to drive our king out of his castle. Knowing that he would slowly rebuild his forces we left our homes. We have been scattered across the face of the earth and are waiting for the time when we are strong enough to win back our rightful inheritance.” “That is sad,” said the young man. “I am sorry for you. But I am puzzled by your account of this wicked king. Our master is so kind and giving. He promises to provide for our every need. How can it be that there are those in the world who are not like our master?” “Outwardly there appear to be many kinds of masters in the world. But at heart they are all the same. They want to be the ones with the power. They grab at it and control it in whatever way they can. Believe me; your master is no different. He may seem to care for you, but if you were to begin to desire your freedom from him, he would show you his true colors very quickly.” “Why would we want our freedom? Our master is the one who has guaranteed it right here in this garden. We can do whatever we desire right here. We can live forever without fear of any of the things you have spoken of,” responded the young man.

The dark man seemed to contemplate the words of the young man but all the while he gazed thoughtfully upon the young woman. Appearing to have decided something the dark man reached into his cloak and removed an object wrapped in leather and tied with a silken cord. He carefully untied the cord and unwrapped the object. As he did so the two young people were surprised to see the room brighten as if the sun were rising within its walls. The object glowed with a light of its own as dark man carefully revealed it to their wondering eyes. It was a chalice made of purest silver. It workmanship was magnificent; there was not a ripple or distortion at any point around its gleaming circumference. It was truly a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. As the dark man produced it from its wrappings he slowly turned it so that the couple could see its design fully. It was marked at the rim and base with strange words written in a tongue they could not decipher. It was adorned with a single ruby, delicately cut in the shape of a rose and set into the chalice midway between the rim and the stem. The young woman was the first to break their astonished silence. She gasped slightly and moved closer to the dark man. As she edged away from the young man she reached out to touch the beautiful vessel. “Please, tell me what it is,” she murmured. The young man was likewise enraptured by the shining object. It was like nothing they had seen in the garden. It was a beauty wholly different than the beauty of the flowers, and the animals, and the sun they had enjoyed during the day. The chalice was a wonder to behold. “This is the chalice of my king. During the great battle I stole into his private chambers and retrieved it for myself as spoil of the war. This is the chalice that he used to consecrate his kingship over my people. This is the chalice from which he himself drinks water from his private fountain. His fountain is said to contain the purest water in the world. It is said that he who drinks that water from this goblet will gain not only eternal life but also the wisdom and might of the great king himself. Needless to say, this chalice is a very powerful weapon against my former lord. I have carried it these long years in the hope of finding the source of his power, the fountain of life itself.” The young woman was startled by this new information and sat back on her heels perplexed. “Has something I have said troubled you young one?” asked the dark man.

“No; well yes, it is that we know something of what you speak. Our master has shown us a fountain like the one you describe. He has told us that it is the source of his very life. But he has freely given us the fountain to drink from! His only request was that we drink with clean hands, that we let no other object near the water; to do so would contaminate it and us forever.” The young woman glanced at her husband; he too was deeply troubled and did not return her look. He merely sat silent, considering what this could mean. The dark man smiled mischievously at the young woman and the young man and said, “I think that you know what this means. It is clear that my master and yours are one and the same. My master has lands all across this world. He has different peoples and different ways of controlling them in his many kingdoms. I had heard of this garden in my travels and had wondered if it were possible that this was the place where I could find my king’s treasure. It appears that my wondering is over. It also appears that your master is not who he has made himself out to be.” The dark man stood and began to arm himself once more with his sword and shield. “Are you leaving?” asked the man. “I am going to find this fountain of yours and have a drink of victory over my enemy,” the dark man responded. “But you mustn’t,” said the young man and he quickly rose to his feet to block the way of the dark man. “Do not be foolish. You may stay here and live out this fantasy your master has created for you, but I am going to find the truth. Let me pass.” With that the dark man stepped out into the night and seeing the path made his way to the fountain. He stood silently over it, contemplating its clarity even in the darkness, and wondering at its source. The dark man waited quietly, and smiled slightly when he heard the soft padding of footsteps coming up behind him. He turned to see the young woman who looked both scared and strangely curious. She too became lost in thought before the fountain of life. “If you would like, I will share this cup with you,” said the dark man. He offered her the chalice and she grasped it tightly in her hands. Gone was her fear and apprehension. They were suddenly replaced with anticipation and expectation. Without thought or care plunged the cup into the fountain and brought it quickly to her lips and drank deeply. At that moment the young man came rushing up the path in time only to knock the chalice away

from her and into the pool of water. He reached for it, thinking at first only to remove the forbidden object from the fountain, but once it was in his hands he felt its power. He was entranced by the miniature pool that now swirled in the chalice he held in his hands. He brought it to his lips and drank deeply. The dark man’s steely eyes sparkled as he said, “You are now free, my children. Your master will no longer rule you, but you will rule each other.” The exultation the two young people had felt in drinking from the cup faded quickly. They turned to look at the dark man, but he was gone. He had vanished into the night leaving only the cup and its empty promise. In their uncertainty over what they had done, the two young people instinctively reached out to touch each other, but they now felt a barrier between them that hadn’t existed before. Having drunk from the chalice, they were now ashamed. Gone was the feeling of freedom they had enjoyed only that morning. Gone was the sense of protection and security bestowed on them by the old man. Gone was the love they had shared so freely. Standing over the fountain with the cup in their hands they were confused and uncomfortable in their nakedness and with each other. They turned and fled into the trees bordering the fountain and hid until daybreak. When morning came the old man came into the garden and called to his children. “Come to me my children, come quickly!” But the young man and the young woman did not respond to his call. They heard his voice and they saw him walking in the garden and searching for them among the trees and at their shelter, but they remained hidden from him, trembling with a fear they had never before possessed. He called again, “I must see you both, come to me at the fountain. I will wait for you there.” And they heard the old man walk slowly up the path to the fountain of Life at the top of the garden. “He will see what we have done,” the young man hissed to the young woman. “This is your doing, if you hadn’t been so bold as to follow that man last night we would not have done what we have done,” he said to her.

“I could not help myself. His cup was so beautiful, and the water was so inviting. Why shouldn’t I have drunk from his cup anyway? And you! You did not fare any better than I did; you drank from the cup as eagerly as me!” The young man shrank away from her, dejected. She was right, they had both done this thing and now they had to face the old man. He rose to go waiting only momentarily for the young woman to follow. They made their way out of the trees and up to the fountain, fearing what they would find, half expecting to see the tyrant from the dark man’s stories. They saw instead the old man resting easily against the tree whose branches overhung the fountain. He was watching them as they approached; he seemed to be contemplating something deeply. As if reaching a conclusion, the old man straightened up and met the two young people on the path before they had reached the fountain. “I am sorry but you may no longer approach this fountain. You have drunk freely of its waters and will live, but you have spoiled its purity and must no longer be allowed to partake of it.” The young man and woman looked at each other and back at the old man. “But we didn’t know,” stammered the young man. “We only drank once, and we are terribly sorry for even that!” “I am afraid it is done. And what is done is done. You have disregarded my request and have chosen to live among the peoples of the world instead of with me in this garden. You have chosen the dark man over me. And for that I will grant your desire and allow you to live among his people.” The man and the woman sank to their knees in terror before the old man. “Please, do not do this thing, we are so sorry,” they begged. “It is done, my children. But you will not be without help in the world. I am not the tyrant the dark man has told you I am. I am kind and generous and my arm is not so short that you will be lost forever. I will come to you and show you who I am. I will lead you back to this garden. I will aid you in your journey and provide for your needs and you will survive. Only, beware of the dark man. He has spoiled you in the world and now owns a portion of each of you. You must fight against him, rejecting him and choosing me, if you hope to return to this garden and your place at my side.”

The old man straightened to his full height and the young man and woman were amazed to see the years stripped away from his countenance. He appeared before them as one shining in the light of the sun, clad himself in gleaming armor, without wrinkle and without blemish. With outstretched hands and closed eyes, the old man sent the two young people away. They found themselves outside the garden gate. Its gate was now closed to them but before them the path wound down the mountain and into the lands below. The young man and young woman took each other’s hands and began to descend into the world. “One day we will return,” they said to each other as they went. “One day.”