Chapter 91

Early winter in Virginia was cool and quiet.

A light snow fell outside, frost formed on the windowpanes, and the wild animals had one by one gone to slumber, leaving the fields silent. As frost and snow blanketed the land, the world was cloaked in a monotonous white. Snow clouds veiled the sun, which had been scattering a feeble light, and shadows soon descended.

Beneath those shadows, He stood. His Apostles knelt. And beyond the door, thousands of people waited for them.

To his Apostles, He spoke in a low voice.

“A certain man told his servant to clean his house and care for his sheep.”

He gestured as if pointing to a subordinate. The next moment, He picked up a broom that lay nearby and began to sweep the dust from the floor of his room.

“And so the servant took up a broom, as I do now, and cleaned the various rooms, took a cloth and wiped the windows and their frames, gathered the scattered items and placed them in a box, and dusted the fixtures that had gathered dust.”

Setting the broom down, He drew back the curtain from the window and gestured toward the wailing Englishmen outside.

“Furthermore, the servant went to the crying flock of sheep and tended to the injured and sick among them with splints and bandages, led the hungry to the fields to eat, and took the dirty to the river to be washed.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“And the master returned to his house and saw the work the servant had done.”

He put down the broom. He closed the curtain again, hiding the crying Englishmen from His sight.

“The master saw that the servant had used the house’s broom, cloth, and duster without asking him. He learned that the servant had led the flock to the fields and the river, and had tended to the injured with splints and bandages, all without telling him.”

His voice was low yet firm. It reached their hearts with more clarity than the voice of one who shouts and bellows. Countless words, like rain, poured down upon them.

“And so the master asked, ‘Why did you use the fixtures of this house without my word, and why did you lead the flock out without telling me?’ And the servant answered, ‘I did so because I was doing what you desired of me. I did so because I knew you were watching over me.’”

His words fell like a fierce and violent storm. His voice was not loud, but its rising and falling cadence moved like a wave, resonating powerfully throughout the entire space.

“And so… the house became clean. The flock became peaceful. And everything in the house was pleasing and satisfactory to the master’s will.”

The resonance of His voice left them all speechless.

“Thomas.”

“…Ah, ahh.”

“Thomas Hewitt, I call you.”

“Servant of the Lord… Nameless One… I hear your voice.”

As Hewitt crawled forward on his knees, He—Nemo—smiled and brushed a hand across his shoulder. He then gently took his chin and lifted his face. Hewitt’s trembling eyes met His. Once, those eyes had held the sight of Heaven, had held the image of Him who is the Light and the Word. Now, Hewitt saw his own reflection in those pupils.

“You have not been idle in your study of the scriptures, so I ask you this. When the Lord commanded Gideon to strike down the Midianites, with what did He tell Gideon to kill them?”

“Y-yes?”

“Did He tell Gideon to raise a sword and strike the Midianites? Or to wield a spear and pierce them? To shoot a bow and arrow? Or to kill them with a slingshot?”

“W-well… uh…”

Hewitt’s mind went blank. He mentally scanned the passages about Gideon in the Book of Judges, mouthing the words of the Lord to himself. And he came to a conclusion.

“I-I do not know… The Book of Judges says no such passage…”

“…exists.”

That single word made Hewitt go limp with relief. With a gentle smile, He continued.

“God said to send away those who were afraid of battle, and to send away those who knelt to drink water, and to fight with only three hundred men… but He did not specify what weapon he should use to kill his enemies.”

He whispered into the ear of the trembling Hewitt.

“Gideon, by his own will, took up a sword and killed the enemy.”

“…”

While Hewitt, speechless at His whisper, continued to tremble, Sir Nemo turned to Eleanor.

“There are people around you who are sick and dying, and I have told you to save them. Time is of the essence, and I am watching you directly.”

“…O Angel, O No One.”

“When you save that person, will you ask my permission for which bandage to use and which medicine to apply? Or will you devote yourself to the command you were given and save the person?”

“I… I would…”

His eyes, black as the night sky but warm as embers in a fire, enveloped her. Eleanor lifted her head, met his gaze, and said, “…I would save the person.”

At that, he smiled.

“Correct. That is what aligns with my will. And my actions are just like that.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

In the dark room, He pulled back the curtains, and the faint light felt intense to their eyes, which had grown accustomed to the gloom. He stood silhouetted against the window, and the light of the heavens shone through Him and down upon them.

“The holy Lord said to make man as the angels.”

To make man, as the angels. More good. More great.

“And just as He did not tell Gideon to use a sword or to raise a shield, He did not tell me what means to use. So I saved you and made you my servants and my tools. I established this community to benefit you. This is not the will of the Lord.”

This community is not the Lord’s community.

“But you are the servant’s broom, and you are Gideon’s sword.”

But this community exists to follow the Lord’s will.

He walked slowly, moving among his Apostles. As they all turned their heads, they saw He was slowly… making his way toward the door.

“You are all David’s sling, and Samson’s jawbone of a donkey!”

He threw the door wide open and cried out. The thousands of people outside rose to their feet and stared at Him. As if all the light in the heavens was focused on Him, His figure alone was bright amidst the dimness of the early winter, and His voice alone rang out over the cold, frozen air.

“Know this for truth! Neither I nor you know the full will of the Lord! I am the vessel, but not the potter; the sheep, but not the shepherd! Therefore, no one on this earth can call another a sinner, a heretic, or an unbeliever, and kill or punish them for it!”

Everyone before Him was silent. Upon that silence, His words resonated, as red and vivid as a drop of blood on a white canvas.

“No one on this earth shall take the name of the Lord in vain! Not you, not anyone other than the Almighty Lord your God Himself! No one shall judge and punish another in the name of the Lord!”

His words… crashed into the hearts of the faithful like a boulder shattering a fortress wall. They struck like a lightning bolt that incinerates a thousand-year-old tree in an instant. They cleaved through their minds like an axe breaking through a frozen river. All anyone could do was hold their trembling hearts and engrave his every word upon them.

‘I, too, have come to make humanity as the angels.’ He had once said it. That He had come to make people like angels.

‘The Lord said to love man, so I now tell you to serve man.’ He had also said it. To serve man, all of humanity.

‘Follow the conscience the Lord has given you.’ He had told them to follow their own conscience.

‘Question. Inquire and inquire again.’ He had told them to question.

And now, one more commandment was laid upon the others. He had said that one who does not know the Lord’s will must not borrow the Lord’s name to punish another.

Like the intricate gears of a masterfully crafted clock, all his sentences clicked perfectly into place, as if they had been designed together from the very beginning. At this realization, Raleigh, and thousands of others, felt a thrill run through them.

If He said to make all humanity like angels, to serve all of humanity, how could one brand another as an unbeliever and create divisions between people?

If He said for everyone to follow their own conscience, then as long as someone serves humanity and does not violate their conscience, who could call them a sinner?

If He said to question and inquire endlessly, how could one not question even the words handed down by a messenger of God?

They had not merely heard a single sentence. They were now living in a new world. A world where no one would be killed for being an unbeliever or a heretic.

The Apostles quietly bowed in reverence toward His back. The sun, in the silence, had turned in its course, changing day into night. And starlight settled upon everyone’s heads like a fine white frost.

***

…Fortunately, the situation was resolved smoothly. No. It wasn’t just resolved. It was concluded.

I had uprooted and eliminated the elements in our doctrine that could have become a threat to me and the community. The potential for arguments over heretics and unbelievers had been eradicated.

And at the same time, I had gained one thing.

Knock. Knock.

“Sir Nemo, the voting has concluded. It is time.”

“Ah… Walter? Is it that time already?”

“It has been for a while. We were just making preparations for your arrival.”

“There was no need for all that…”

“There most certainly was. Is this not the day we elect our community’s government?”

The separation of church and state. I was still the leader of this community. That much had not changed. I sustained the community, and the community protected me. But now, the people who would assist me and build this community with me were to be decided by a vote in the council. Irrespective of religion.

The French Revolution was still 189 years away, and yet here we were, establishing the world’s first secular state.

Lost in these and other complicated thoughts, I felt a tremor of nervousness as I walked with Raleigh toward the council hall (which, of course, had been newly built, separate from the church).

What kind of people will I be working with from now on? Mostly natives, I suppose? How will I train them on how to use Excel and everything else? Ah… working with new people might be a little awkward…

Creeeeak! The doors swung open. And as I stepped inside.

“There you are!” 

“Sir Nemo!”

“…”

Eleanor, Vicente, Manteo, White, Hewitt… Raleigh. They were all familiar faces. They were all Apostles.

“Walter, could it be…”

“We were to elect a total of six people, and when we lined them up in order of votes received, this is how it turned out.”

“…”

“Familiarity is a good thing, is it not? As they say, you don’t change horses in the middle of a war.”

“…”

He’s right. Separation of… church and state? Is this right? …I guess it is.

***

“You must… truly, truly know this. This is indeed a new commandment, and yet it is not a new commandment. The first commandment He gave is an extension of the new commandment the Son of Man gave to us: ‘Love one another’ (John 13:34). Because we love one another, we can go further to love and serve all of humanity. Therefore, it is not new at all.”

“The second commandment is a bit more peculiar, but its basis can also be found in the scriptures. The Son of Man said to the Jews, ‘If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8:31-32). Here the Lord used the words ‘disciple’ and ‘truth.’ Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, is the Word made flesh and is Truth itself. Therefore, it is only natural that knowing Him frees our souls. But here, He called his followers ‘disciples.’ And a disciple is one who seeks and learns knowledge. What we must know is the Lord Himself. And since the Lord created this world, His traces reside everywhere. And to know, one must first question. We must question this world, and question the Lord within it. We must question Nemo, and we must question God. Therefore, the second commandment can also not be called entirely new.”

“And the third commandment… is a broad interpretation of the third of the Ten Commandments. No, it is more an emphasis and a repetition of it. Moses conveyed to the people of Judah, ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain’ (Exodus 20:7, Deuteronomy 5:11), and the important part here is ‘in vain.’ When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, He also said that those who falsely prophesy and perform miracles in His name are workers of iniquity (Matthew 7:22-23). That is right. He who seeks to punish another in the name of the Lord is one who seeks to play the part of a false prophet. Do not listen to those who say, ‘Burn the Protestants, it is God’s will,’ or ‘Behead the Catholics, it is God’s will,’ or ‘Kill the Muslims and the Jews, it is God’s will.’ He who insults and oppresses his neighbor, calling him an unbeliever, is himself the unbeliever. And he who kills and reviles his neighbor, calling him a heretic, is himself the heretic. For the Lord only commanded us to love our neighbor. Thus, the words of ‘Him’ do not deviate one bit from the will of the Lord.”

“‘He’ even called himself ‘No One’ (NEMO), which is His will to be humble before the Lord.”

Thump.

Hewitt closed the book that people had begun calling the Books of Thomas Hewitt and stepped out from behind the lectern. A great many people showed their reverence for him. For His Apostle.

“He forsook even His own name to give all glory to the Lord, so He is truly the Nameless One. But through Him, the Lord and all of humanity have been glorified, so that insignificant, non-existent name of His is, in truth, the most noble of names.”

At Hewitt’s words, everyone gathered to hear the sermon nodded.

“Following the Nameless One, we have come to share the duty of making all people as the angels. We help people, we save people, and we serve people. We do not wish for our own names to shine, but for the names of all to shine. We wish for the name of the Lord to shine! Therefore, our church has no name (Nameless Church). And if you must call it something, you can only call it Namelessism. For all humanity.”

People of many tribes and many denominations nodded and quietly made the sign of the cross or put their hands together in prayer.

A church, the likes of which had never existed before, was established in this land. A church that killed no one for being an unbeliever. A church of those who follow their own conscience.

That church had no name. Just like the angel who led it.