Pilgrims To Jerusalem Read online

  Gene was silent. He pondered on what it meant to be born again in the Spirit of God.

  “Receiving Jesus the Messiah into our hearts is the most wonderful and greatest thing which happened to us, Gene. That’s why we are sharing this with you, too. We hope that you will also be born again and become a child of God. This is the most important thing in life, for everything will pass away, but the spirit of man lives forever. Our bodies will decay and turn to dust after death. But our spirit lives forever,” Ruth said.

  “I agree, Ma’am Ruth. We are just here on earth for a while, and once we die, then we are gone from the earth forever,” Gene said.

  “We are just pilgrims on earth, Gene. This world is not our eternal home. A person will either live in Heaven or in Hell for eternity. There is no middleground,” Jonathan said.

  “Consider what we are saying, Gene. Tomorrow morning, our journey in this ship will end in Cyprus. Then, we will fly back to Australia via Europe. We don’t know when we will see each other again. But we will be very glad to know that you have received Jesus as your Messiah, your Lord, God, and Savior for eternity,” Ruth said.

  “Every journey has an end. And at the end of our earthly journey is eternity,” Jonathan said.

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  . . . CHAPTER . . .

  9

  “Port Limasol, Cyprus. Gene felt bad that his immediate officer-in-charge on the Queen Virginia had not given him permission to see Jerusalem despite his two requests.

  Two weeks have passed since the Australian tourists have left Cyprus. After that batch of tourists, the Queen Virginia made four more trips from Port Limasol in Cyprus, to the Port of Haifa in Israel, to Port Said in Egypt, and then back to Port Limasol. That route was the Greek-owned cruise ship’s bread and butter.

  In those past trips, only the Abrahams from Sydney were the people thoughtful enough to have bought a key for Gene. Most of the travelers he encountered wouldn’t even interact with him, much more give him a souvenir as a gift. Something about the couple made him and even his fellow waiters and crew members notice a difference in the way they lived their lives even though they only spent a brief moment on that ship. Little things like being courteous with their fellow travelers as they waited in line, or passed through the ship’s corridors, being patient with the ship’s staff, the smiles and the respect that they give back to the staff when they were greeted, and the way they interacted with Gene made him believe that their thoughtfulness was due to their Christian faith.

  Gene opened his travelling bag and took out the gift that the couple had given him – the symbolic key to the city of Jerusalem. He held it up near his bedside lamp so that he could clearly read the words that were inscribed on it.

  ZECHARIAH 12

  Gene’s Bible was also in his travelling bag. He got it and opened its pages to the 12th chapter of the book of Zechariah in the Old Testament. He read the chapter silently:

  A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel.

  The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. (Zechariah 12: 1 to 3)

  Gene paused for a moment. Could this be a prophecy concerning Jerusalem that has not yet been fulfilled? Will there come a time in the future when all the nations of the earth will gather against it? He was aware that many nations hate Israel, including the Arab oil-rich countries. He continued reading the chapter.

  On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

  “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

  “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12: 4 to 9)

  “If this were a prophecy concerning the future, then the nations that attack Jerusalem will fail. The Lord Himself will destroy these nations and make sure that Jerusalem will reamin in tact,” Gene thought. He continued reading.

  “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the One they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, and all the rest of the clans and their wives. (Zechariah 12: 10 to 14)

  “This must be a time in the future. Until now, the Jews living in Israel have failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah,” Gene thought. Coming from the Philippines, a religious nation familiar with Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, he knew that the passage pertained to Jesus as the One whom the Jews pierced. His hands and feet were pierced when He was nailed to the cross. His body was pierced by a spear when a soldier tested if He was dead while He hung on the cross. He was crucified because He claimed to be God. And to the Jews, this was blasphemy. Never mind all the signs and evidences of His deity. Never mind all the miracles and healings He performed. And even until this day, almost two centuries later, many Jews still refuse to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. But in the future, when the Lord Jesus returns to Jerusalem to save them from the invading nations, God will lift the blinders from the Jewish people’s eyes, and though they weep and mourn, they will finally recognize Jesus Christ as God.

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  . . . LAST CHAPTER . . .

  “Gene, Engineer Aristotle Karamanlis is looking for you. I met him at the dining hall after breakfast. You were not there anymore. He said that if I see you, I should inform you that you should see him in his office right away,” Engineer Mario Encomienda told Gene Ensomo when he saw the latter cleaning the deck of the ship at ten o’clock in the morning.

  Engineer Aristotle Karamanlis is the immediate officer of Gene on the Queen Virginia. Gene had asked him permission twice to visit Jerusalem, but the Greek officer just told him, “We’ll see, Gene.” To Gene, that was the officer’s polite way of saying “No”.

  Gene was nervous. He assumed that his officer may have thought badly of him after his requests to see Jerusalem. He wasn’t a tourist. He was a hired worker. Why should he be given the privilege of a tourist?

  “Why does he want to see me?” Gene asked Mario Encomienda.

  “I don’t know, Gene. He just told me that you should immediately see him,” Mario said.

  Gene shook his head.

  “Just go to him and ask him why,” Mario told him.

  Gene nodded. His countenance turned very sad.

  “Okay, I’ll go and see him,” Gene said. He started walking towards the Greek officer’s office.

  As he walked, his thoughts wandered back to his family in Manila. If he would be sacked from his job, he would return home and be jobless again. His three children were in college. If he l
ost his job, his family would once again feel the economic difficulty they had when he was out of work.

  He knocked on the door of his officer’s office in the ship.

  “Come in!” It was the voice of Engineer Karamanlis.

  Gene carefully opened the door. His officer was sitting behind a table, signing documents.

  “Oh, Gene! Please take a seat,” Engineer Karamanlis said as he pointed to a stool near the door. “Let me just finish signing these papers,” the Greek said.

  Gene quietly sat down on the stool his officer pointed to. When Engineer Karamanlis had finished his work, he turned to Gene. He noticed the sadness on the Filipino’s face.

  “Why do you look sad, Gene?” the Greek asked.

  “I’m just not feeling well, Sir,” he replied.

  “Well, I was looking for you at the dining hall this morning, but you weren’t there anymore. This is about your request to visit Jerusalem. You can do that tomorrow, when our ship docks at Port Haifa, in Israel,” Engineer Karamanlis said.

  “What, Sir?” Gene asked. He couldn’t believe what he just heard.

  “You requested my permission for you to visit Jerusalem, right?” the Greek said.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Well, you can visit Jerusalem tomorrow morning. We’re sailing to Port Haifa tonight, right? Tomorrow, I’ll allow you to visit Jerusalem. We have two officers who will go there tomorrow with their wives. They’ll ride with the tourists on the buses, and you can go with them,” Engineer Karamanlis said.

  Gene Ensomo could still not believe what the officer just told him. He stood up, and shook the hand of his officer.

  “Thank you very much, Sir! Thank you very much!” he exclaimed. His face turned radiant. He was now smiling, but at the same time, he wanted to cry. He jumped with joy like a kid!

  The ship officer was amused. A while ago, Gene Ensomo was so sad. And now, he was like a kid who had just received a brand new toy from his father!

  “Okay, Gene! Enjoy your trip to Jerusalem tomorrow,” Engineer Karamanlis said.

  “Thank you, Sir! Thank you, Sir!” Gene exclaimed again. Then, he joyfully walked out of the Greek’s office.

  He ran to the deck to inform Mario Encomienda that he would finally get the chance to visit Jerusalem!

  Engineer Encomienda was still on the deck, sitting on a chair. He was surprised when he heard Gene shout his name.

  “Mario! Mario! I’m going to Jerusalem!” Gene shouted as he ran to Mario.

  Mario smiled. He had a feeling that that was the reason why Engineer Karamanlis was looking for Gene. And if it was really the case, he wanted it to be a surprise.

  “Mario, I’m going to Jerusalem tomorrow! I have been praying for this!” Gene told Mario again as he shook the latter’s hand.

  “Yeah, man! I heard you. Congratulations!”

  Gene joyfully began to sing in front of his friend a song titled Jerusalem.

  Mario laughed when Gene started singing. He had never seen Gene so happy since they started working as crew members of the Queen Virginia.

  When Gene finished singing the song Jerusalem, he quoted the words of the Lord Jesus Christ:

  Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20)

  THE END

  The writing of this novel,

  began on the morning October 6, 2014.

  It was finished on October 8, 2014

  in Fisher Mall, Quezon City at 6:45 P.M.

  Norbert Mercado

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  . . . DEDICATION . . .

  I warmly dedicate this novel to the following family members and friends who are all dear to my heart:

  Mr. & Mrs. Aurelio Mercado Sr.

  Architect Ria (June) Morales Mercado

  Engr. John Mark M. Mercado

  Dr. Jerusalem Angela M. Mercado

  Joanne Gregoria Francisca M. Mercado

  Linda Mercado Sto. Domingo

  Aida Mercado Magalong

  Mary Ann Mercado Magalong Pascua

  Monette Mercado Magalong

  Eva Lacierna

  Julius Pascua

  Engr. Ray Pelaez, Dr. Eileen Morales Pelaez

  Ging Gumban Dimaano

  Elvira Aquino

  Rosita Jose

  Frances Morales Estella

  Lourraine Morales Uy Sison

  Araceli Aban

  Sgt. Jose Aban

  Myrna Bañaga

  Irma Tolesa Canlas

  Dolores Parasdas

  Geri Rhodes

  Doc Pinky

  Almario and Agnes Santos

  Jaime and Lizabeth Sto. Domingo

  Emma Parasdas

  May Cordoba Amores

  Dr. & Mrs. Manny Reinoso

  Ron de los Reyes

  Fil Barbasa

  Nimfa Padro Salosagcol

  Thelma Erica del Carmen

  Kent and Dianne Hutcheson

  Sylvia Reyes

  Agnes Atanacio

  Marlene Damolo Howe

  Virgilia Morales Bernal

  Marissa Valenton Bernal

  and

  Mrs. Eloise Hatfield

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  . . . A HISTORICAL NOVELIST FOR PEACE . . .

  "In this age of revolution, the contemporary writer should utilize the pen for the preservation of peace," Norbert Mercado, a Filipino author, stressed. The books he has written and published, including his anthologies, unapologetically assert the indispensability of peace in a nation’s progress.

  The author has written more novels than any Asian writer had in just a brief period of time. In fact, he has surpassed the number of novels written by world-renowned novelists like Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1970) and American authors Ernest Hemingway (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1954). Solzhenitsyn has four novels to his credit, while Hemingway has eight.

  His style of writing is simple and succinct, but poignant and colorful like Hemingway’s THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, and Solzhenitsyn’s ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DESONOVICH. "The simpler the novel, the better," he said.

  In line with Japanese Yasunari Kabawata’s writings about the Japanese way of life, most of Norbert’s novels focus mostly on the current situation in his country. Kabawata is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968.

  His books present hope to the Filipino, especially to the "economic exiles" in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan whom he has spent most of his time with, in their daily struggles. But most of all, his novels lucidly show the futility of war and violence in the resolution of political-economic-class conflicts in the Philippines.

  "War should not be used as an instrument in resolving political conflicts. Writers who abet wars and revolutions must think of the widows and the fatherless, the chaos, destruction, and suffering of the people whom they claim to be concerned about," he said.

  What if, like Solzhenitsyn, Hemingway, and Kabawata, he eventually wins the Nobel Prize? What will he do with the US$1,000,000 award?

  "I will use the prize for establishing a Peace Foundation that will assist in the formulation of policies which will resolve the current shooting conflicts in the country and help alleviate the continuing poverty of our countrymen."

  He will take charge of the foundation and personally campaign for a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the Philippines.

  "The insurgency and the secessionist rebellion have foreign support. A Nobel title will give me the personality to approach the leaders involved in the conflicts," he explained.

  Born on March 25, 1955, he is the youngest among the children of Mr. and Mrs. Aurelio Mercado, Sr. of San Manuel, Tarlac. He graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, with two degrees, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication.

/>   Voted Outstanding Campus Journalist in 1974, he was a columnist and associate editor of the Philippine Collegian, the campus publication of the University of the Philippines.

  He has also written articles for various newspapers and magazines in the Philippines, as well as abroad.

  He also won the 1981 National Essay Writing Contest sponsored by SIDESTREETS Magazine.

  Norbert is a graduate of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), the topmost armed forces school in the country, where he was conferred a Master’s degree in National Security Administration (MNSA) and the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

  He graduated from the NDCP at the age of 32, the youngest in Class 21 which had already produced several generals in the Armed Forces, and the youngest graduate in the history of the National Defense College of the Philippines. He was elected one of the fifteen directors of Class 21.

  He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity (Applied Servanthood), Honoris Causa, for his almost 30 years work in Christian literature. His batch mates include Senator Robert Barbers, Undersecretary of Trade and Industry and Bulletin Columnist Nelly Villafuerte, Actor and Producer Fred Galang, Rev. Peter Vasaya, and the His Royal Highness Sultan of Sulu and Sabah Ishmael Kiram.

  A sports lover, he was a rifle marksman in his UP ROTC days, and a winner of the 1988 and 1989 5,000 meter-run sponsored by the National Defense College Alumni Association. His sports include swimming, basketball, volleyball, boxing, karate, cycling, and marathon among others.