The Galilean Secret: A Novel (34 page)

Camera operators from the Israel Broadcasting Authority and the European and American television networks were recording the event from every angle. The CNN camera was focused on the emissaries from the Vatican—three elderly men in the black ankle-length cassocks and red skullcaps and sashes of Cardinals. But as everyone gave full attention to Brother Gregory, all Karim could think of was Rachel.

“I’m old enough to have experienced the jubilation of many past discoveries—the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi library, the secret gospel of Judas. I have devoted my professional life to the translation and study of these magnificent texts. But never in my most cherished dreams did I imagine this day.”

Brother Gregory paused to take control of his emotions and have a sip of water before continuing, “Today I have the sacred honor of unveiling an antiquity unprecedented in importance and inestimable in value.”

If Rachel were with him, Karim could have enjoyed this moment and celebrated with her. With each word that Brother Gregory spoke, the monk came closer to describing the revelations of the Jesus letter, and then the spotlight would shift to Karim, who wasn’t eager to speak. He barely heard Brother Gregory say what everyone in the room had been waiting to hear.

“A month ago I began translating an ancient letter written on well-preserved papyrus. The letter was addressed to Mary Magdalene.”

An excited murmur swept the room and turned Karim’s attention back to Brother Gregory.

“The author makes the most audacious claim: He refers to himself as ‘Jesus.’” Commotion erupted at the words, forcing Brother Gregory to raise his arms and plead for order. When the reporters finally calmed down, he said, “As I translated, I wondered if the letter might be fraudulent. But by the time I finished, I believed I heard Jesus’ voice in the letter—the same voice that resounds in the gospels of the New Testament. I took the scroll to the scientists and epigraphers seated here, and the many tests they ran on it, including radiocarbon dating, multispectral imaging, and analyses of the ink, script and linguistic styles, point to its being authentic—indeed, to its being the most important archaeological discovery in history.”

Karim kept listening as he surveyed the crowd and saw the emissaries from the Vatican whispering among themselves. The representatives of many of the museums and universities exchanged glances of disbelief, but Brother Gregory kept speaking.

“The letter clarifies the nature of Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene, and it explains how he came to embrace and embody perfect love. The letter’s revelations have profound relevance for relationships today and for our dreams of peace between Israelis and Palestinians— even our dreams of peace on earth.”

Karim clasped and unclasped his hands as he observed the expressions of fascination, disbelief and skepticism on the faces of all those gathered.

“On the same papyrus, below the letter,” Brother Gregory continued with a sweep of his hand, “I also discovered the diary of a Jewish woman named Judith of Jerusalem, a friend of Mary Magdalene. This diary reveals that Jesus was not the only man who loved Mary. Judas Iscariot also loved her.”

Cries of protest erupted, startling Karim. Murmurs of incredulity ran through the crowd as Brother Gregory walked over to the scroll and lifted the purple cloth in dramatic fashion.

Amid the cacophony of cameras clicking, Karim glanced at the reporters and camera operators, historians and archaeologists and continued to see the skepticism on their faces. One emissary from the Vatican passed a note to his fellow Cardinals as Brother Gregory exclaimed, “According to Judith of Jerusalem’s diary, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ out of jealousy.”

Karim stiffened as he absorbed the buzz of emotions and spontaneous reactions that the monk’s statement evoked.

“That’s outrageous!”

“How can we believe this?”

Brother Gregory paused, raising a hand to call for quiet. He waited for the protests to die down before he went on. “Judith reveals that Judas wrote to Mary Magdalene and professed his love before he committed suicide. Judas’ note is the missing piece of this puzzle. It could substantiate, once and for all, the exact nature of Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene. It could also verify the authenticity of the Jesus letter. Judith says that Mary Magdalene told her that she buried the note in the northeast corner of the Cave of Gethsemane. This is why I wish to raise funds for an excavation of the cave.”

As soon as Brother Gregory finished, questions erupted from the reporters, sending a wave of fear through Karim that someone might ask the wrong ones.

“Why did you wait so long to reveal the scroll?”

“Didn’t you know that all antiquities belong to the Israeli government?”

“Have other scholars seen your translation?”

“What will you do with the scroll now?”

Brother Gregory once again appealed for quiet and agreed to answer questions. An American reporter spoke first. The stern-looking middle-aged woman identified herself as Marjorie Stevens. “You have told us little about the content of this letter. What does it say?”

Brother Gregory stepped to the podium. “The letter disproves two prominent theories about Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene. One theory says that the relationship was strictly platonic; the other, that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child. This letter reveals something quite different—that the relationship was charged with romantic feelings, but that Jesus transcended these and achieved true spiritual enlightenment. He was tempted as we all are, yet remained chaste through the marriage of the masculine and the feminine within.”

Marjorie Stevens asked, “What kind of marriage?”

“I’m using contemporary language to describe the mystery of Jesus’ enlightenment,” Brother Gregory said. “As he struggled in prayer with his attraction to Mary Magdalene, he had a vision of the human soul as both masculine and feminine. He saw that a person can only become whole through the inner marriage of the two, as the two are one in God. The Jesus of both the biblical and the Gnostic Gospels was made whole in this way. His inner intimacy liberated him to speak to women publicly, which was prohibited for the men of his day. He treated all women with respect and compassion, especially those of poor reputation. He even had women disciples and on occasion used feminine imagery for God. Out of his prayer life came this extraordinary spiritual understanding, personal integration and practical wisdom. In the letter he shares all of this with Mary Magdalene so that she, too, can become enlightened.”

Another American reporter, a bald, stocky man who identified himself as P.W. Richardson, pressed the point. “Why would it have been a sin for Jesus to marry the woman he loved?”

“It wouldn’t have been,” Brother Gregory said. “But remaining single was the only way for him to protect Mary Magdalene from devastating pain. They loved one another deeply, but Jesus knew that his life was in danger. He was too compassionate to marry her and then leave her a widow, which in those days meant a life of poverty and despair.”

Karim gripped the edge of his chair, anticipating the question that he knew couldn’t be avoided. A thicket of hands shot up as Brother Gregory finished his answer. He recognized a British reporter who gave his name as Robert Dougherty, a tall, fair-haired man with wire-rimmed glasses. “Rumor has it that the scroll will figure prominently in the March for Peace tomorrow,” Dougherty said. “Is this true, and if so, what security precautions will be taken to protect this priceless artifact?”

“The rumors are true,” Brother Gregory said. “When the GAA and I started publicizing this news conference, word of the discovery of a Jesus letter leaked out, and the organizers of the march requested permission to feature the scroll at their event. It makes perfect sense because the letter is a symbol of reconciliation and peace among all religions. But I must refer you to Dr. Abraham Saltzman, head of the GAA, to address your question about security.” He called to the podium a studious-looking man in a charcoal suit.

“I can assure you that we have taken every precaution to protect the scroll,” Dr. Saltzman said. “A detail of IDF soldiers has been assigned this task under the leadership of Commander Ezra Sharett.”

Karim’s vision went dark at this news, as if the announcement had blinded him. Memories came back of Ezra pulling him out of Rachel’s closet and trying to arrest him at the preparation rally. Karim could still see the rage in Ezra’s eyes and hear the accusation in his tone, and feel the hate in his yanks and shoves. This was the man who had ordered him to stay away from his sister and who had threatened to have him shot on sight if he entered Jerusalem again. Only as Karim silently cried out to Allah and fingered the ring that his mother had given him did his vision slowly return.

After Dr. Saltzman sat down, the barrage of questions continued. Karim braced himself as Brother Gregory called on a short woman who wore a white
hijab
. She gave her name as Yosri Elbaz of Al Jazeera and then said, “You have told us about your translation and about the content of the so-called ‘Jesus letter,’ but you didn’t say who found the scroll or where it was discovered. Could you address these questions, please?”

Karim sat up in rapt attention as Brother Gregory hesitated. Then the monk said, “I’m going to call on my assistant Karim Musalaha to address this question. He knows more about the specifics than I do.” Brother Gregory waved Karim to the podium and stepped aside. Images of Rachel pummeled Karim’s mind as, lightheaded, he went forward, a chalky feeling in his mouth.

When he got to the podium, the room appeared even more crowded and chaotic than it had from his seat. He felt badgered by pulsating bodies, swirling cameras and jousting microphones, but he drew a breath and said, “Only one person found the scroll and unfortunately he couldn’t be here today because of illness. Robert Kenyon, an archaeologist and professor at Jerusalem International University, was exploring the caves of Qumran when he came across the top of a ceramic jar buried in a cave, about a kilometer south of the visitors’ center. He dug up the jar and found the scroll inside.”

“Why didn’t the professor turn over the scroll to the government immediately, as the law requires?” Yosri Elbaz asked.

Karim knew that this was a complicated question, and since he didn’t want to raise suspicions or implicate Brother Gregory in any way, he said, “I must refer you to Robert Kenyon. Only he would know the answer to your question.”

Karim was ready to step away from the podium when one of the emissaries from the Vatican stood. A portly man of average height, he approached the microphone. “Please excuse this interruption,” he said, “but I have urgent news to share. My name is Ferdinand Cardinal Mancini, and I am here as a special emissary from the Holy See and the Vatican Apostolic Library. When my colleagues and I heard about this news conference, we consulted with the Holy Father about whether the Vatican should make a revelation of its own. I am convinced that we should reveal a document that is contained in the Vatican’s secret archives. Previous popes and archivists have dismissed the document as a hoax, but the revelations of the Jesus letter and Judith of Jerusalem’s diary provide evidence to the contrary. When we heard about the letter and the diary, we suspected that they might provide corroborating evidence for the authenticity of the document I am about to show you.”

The Cardinal held up a sheet of paper and said, “It is my privilege to unveil a translation of an unsigned note, the content of which suggests that the author is Judas Iscariot, writing to Mary Magdalene. Extensive scientific tests were conducted on the papyrus, and the results indicate that the note is authentic.”

Karim closed his eyes and bowed his head, wonder filling him as the room fell silent. The Cardinal began to read:

“No more can I bear it.

The fire in my heart burned too hot for you, Mary.

Now I am accursed, for I betrayed my friend, the man you loved, and he is condemned.

I, too, must die.”

Karim raised his head and opened his eyes as the Cardinal finished. The silence in the room gave way to a whirlwind of questions, but Karim heard only his own urgent thoughts. Could these really be the words of Judas Iscariot? Karim wished that Saed had heard them. Even more, he wished that Saed had read the Jesus letter.

With a jolt Karim realized that Judas’ note provided the answers for which he and Rachel had searched. The Jesus letter was real! The relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene was mystical in nature, revealing the path toward spiritual enlightenment, the path toward peace. Tears gathered in Karim’s eyes. If only Judas Iscariot and Saed Musalaha had walked these paths. Karim would always associate their names with suicides that could have been prevented had these men learned the deeper meaning of love.

Karim longed to tell Rachel about these revelations, but he didn’t know where she was. He had decided to give Kenyon everything he demanded and prayed that Kenyon would let Rachel go as promised. Then she could speak at the March for Peace as planned, and Karim could meet her there.

If only she would forgive him. . .

A surge of adrenaline rushed through Karim as he remembered that PPA militants would be stalking him. He had to flee immediately. With everyone still focused on Cardinal Mancini, Karim slipped away from the podium, worked his way to the back of the room and left the library.