We were on a break doing what employees do on break; criticizing management. Well, criticizing is too harsh a description. Mulling over managements decisions might be more accurate. The boss had extensive real estate holdings world wide that he let local managers operate. He sent representatives from the home office frequently to inspect and encourage. Only no one wanted to be a representative. The job was thankless and frankly, dangerous. The first delegates he sent to one of his prize developments always came back worse for the wear. They were beaten, tortured, maimed, and some arrived back in body bags. Those were the luckiest! Over the years the torture methods increased in severity as the community developed nastier approaches to discourage “spies”, input from abroad. We saw nothing of value in the present location; we all thought the boss should cut his losses and explore other territories. The universe was at his disposal so to speak, he was a pioneer in space travel. He started projects from scratch more than once. The citizens of this far off development didn’t want to be overseen by distant supervision. They wanted representation that lived among them, that knew their situation. That could be bought to cut corners. That could lie convincingly and tell them only what they wanted to hear. Those that boss left in charge were ambitious, greedy, conniving men that could sway the townsfolk and turn a good dollar; for their own pockets.
Boss and Son flipped through a wall calendar and pointed to some date in the future, it looked like years ahead. The son bowed his head in resignation. Boy, we’d have given anything to hear that conversation.Time went on and no new delegates were sent out of the country for sometime though updates on the situation arrived daily. Petitions were received regularly from the minority of residents who actually wanted changes made. We just observed the business from a distance. Hopefully Boss had decided to call it quits. That is the way it seemed to us when he cut back his interest.
The day came when we heard a horrible rumor. It was being said that the son was being sent to the outpost to straighten things out. The worst one! He didn’t seem thrilled about it but he never said no to Daddy. He wasn’t capable of this task. We were wiser than the boss on this matter. The son’s privileged life hadn’t prepared him for the destinations ruggedness. He’d never had anything but comfort and servants for as long as we could remember. He hadn’t just been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he’d arrived feet first into a gold mine.
The boss convened a mandatory meeting to inform us of fractions of the upcoming plans. We only worked for him, as in any company we never got the full scoop. We were given orders and shifts to keep and eye out for his son’s welfare but to stay in the background. Anything Son requested or called for was to be doled out, no exceptions. Our only thought was to destroy the sight, wipe out the rebels that assumed they could take over the enterprise, conduct business, and usurp the Boss’ authority. They didn’t like micromanagement but they weren’t handling things well on their own! It was absurd how the men that were hand picked by the boss fell from Boss’s good graces. The benefit package was excellent if they followed orders. They were promised good healthy soil, a land that would yield all sorts of crops. The opposite was true if they disobeyed; famine, drought and insect infestations. Boss was a mastermind at horticulture and agriculture.
The son was to go incognito and inspect things from the sidelines. Living arrangements had been made but were sparse. We silently placed bets he wouldn’t be gone for long, since he knew what he could come home too. He would be deprived of his position here and he’d never had to fend for himself before.
The day came for the start of his assignment. He had two contacts to join up with that would provide him with room and board, easing him into the culture. He was reduced from thousands of servants to just two, beggarly types at that. This wouldn’t last long. We monitored him continuously. Boss sent three care packages in the hands of a caravan who passed by where son and his associates were staying to help him and his two companions, who seemed to have tainted reputations. The woman had almost been executed for some criminal offence but had been given an 11th hour reprieve; the man was scorned for his connection with the woman. People were judged by their actions and associates.
Over time, Son picked up a few friends of all sorts. I use the word friends freely, they were oddities to say the least, no way would they be useful to him in getting inside information and, they would hurt his reputation in the end. We wished he would ask for our advice. You are identified with those you connect with.
The local competitor hunted Son down and tried to coax him over to his side. He made joining up with him sound unbelievable attractive. We were actually surprised Son had the fortitude to withstand the bribes. He and the boss had a fantastic relationship; he really respected his dad and wanted to do the job assigned to him. We began to have some hope. We met up with him to provide encouragment. He had character, you had to say that.
Son stayed in touch with Dad daily. He made no move unless he passed it by dad. We could tell Son was homesick, though. Sometimes he spent hours talking to Dad, late into the night while everyone slept.
His friends proved shockingly loyal and stuck with him to the end. The end being when the CEO’s and shareholders started hearing the buzz that Son was there doing a search and rescue. Searching for loyal followers and rescuing them from the negligence of the wealthy upper class. They heard claims that he was taking over the business again, after all it was his family‘s business. They had trepidations of a huge rebellion and take over. Homeowners were flocking to him, listening to the improvements that could be achieved if they built their houses on solid ground instead of the sand that was being recommended by the unscrupulous usurpers trying to cut overhead. He promised excellent living conditions in housing with warranties that would last for more than a lifetime.
Son spent hours one long night in dialogue with Dad, begging him to let him come home but only if he thought it was the right time. One of Son’s so called friends had informed the contractors and builders where Son could be found. We knew Son had made a bad choice when he picked this person out. Son never saw the bad in anyone but we’ve been around and suspected this person was villainous from the get go.
The CEO’s had tolerated Son’s interference long enough and trumped up charges of embezzlement. Gathering many false witnesses together, they conducted a ridiculous trial and beat Son to death. To death. Slowly and painfully, to death. Alone. This is when his friends deserted him. We all gasped. He could have called on us to yank him out of town, but he suffered the abuse. We were armed and ready. But our orders were to not interfere without his request. He was no rich, spoiled wimp.
Dad locked himself up in a dark room for a long time before he finally came out and sent two of us to collect Son’s body.
We were all sickened. How would the boss handle this? It had been the two of them for eons. They had never been separated. They were so close you couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. We fell into a melancholic silence; waiting for Son’s body. It came. It came under its own power. Up through the clouds, down the streets of gold, right to Boss’s office and he sat down, on Boss’s right side. He didn't look so dead to us! Such cheering erupted the ground shook, even on the far away construction site. Tombs opened, more dead walked. People ran. People ran to the Boss. They accepted Son’s contract. The new contract he had been able to engineer in his brief visit. Things were starting to look up for that distant project on a little piece of land called Earth. Maybe we had been wrong. Annihilating the planet seemed extreme… for now.
Immediately after Son was seated sparks started to fly. The air looked like electrical feather scarves were being tossed up and falling randomly. The tongue shaped embers landed on three thousand men and women gathered at the town square in that distant development and strange languages spread the word; the word that there was a renewed administration in town.
Talk in the break room took on a whole new flavor, for a while, after all something new and scandalous will surely surface to give us something to complain about.
Math 4:1-11
math 26:36-44
Math 27:45-46
Math 27:-51-53
Mark 12:1-12
Luke 6; 46-49
Luke 23:3-7
Act 2:1-4
Gal 4:4-5
Phil. 2:5-11
