Echoes of Transcendence

'Chapter 2 - Part 1' Intellectual Exchanges

"In his dream, the Archbishop of England found himself at the entrance to heaven, facing gates so large that they made him feel incredibly small. This was a new experience for him, as he was used to being a figure of significant importance back on Earth. The size of the gates intimidated him, making him wonder about the scale of what lay inside." the professor 's voice was loud and clear.

"He knocked on the gates, but his knocks seemed to go unnoticed due to the sheer size of the gates. After several attempts, a window opened, and Saint Peter appeared, looking out to identify the source of the noise."

'Please, whoever you are, wherever you are, come here before me.'

The archbishop introduces himself. He says to Saint Peter, 'Maybe you don't know me. You can ask Jesus, I am the archbishop of England.''

Saint Peter responded, "England? I've never heard of it."

The Archbishop tried again, "Surely, you've heard of Earth, our planet."

Saint Peter replied, "Earth, you say? We have many of those. Do you have an index number?"

The Archbishop was taken aback, "Index number? I don't know any index number. But I am the Archbishop. Surely, you must consult Jesus."

Saint Peter looked confused, "Jesus? Who is that?"

The Archbishop, increasingly bewildered, pressed on, "Jesus Christ, the Son of God!"

Saint Peter answered, "I'm afraid I don't know who that is. I've never seen God. I'm just the gatekeeper. Maybe someone inside thinks they're God, but I wouldn't know."

"Imagine what happened to the archbishop when he heard such words coming out of the mouth of the one he was glorifying. Now... Which clever boy or girl can tell me the meaning of the dream the archbishop saw?" Professor Reyna, who taught philosophy and sociology, had short red hair and was a fit, attractive woman of medium height. She appeared younger than her years, possibly not over 40.

There was silence in the room. Some of the children had made small groups, giggling and discussing at what the teacher had just said, but no one dared to give a formal answer.

"Anyone?" Her tone turned angry targeting the troublemakers.

"I don't think you need to be clever to answer such a parable Ms. Reyna." The voice was heard from seat 33. A boy around 15 with long black hair was sitting with his hand on his chin. It was as if he would fall asleep any minute now.

"Huuh! Then let's let you who don't have that much intelligence answer!" The next voice came from seat 117. As much as she wanted to go unnoticed, Mikaela's appearance was always dazzling. Blue eyes and long brown hair tied in a bun with a precious wand. She was a bit taller than Aaron although 1 year younger. She was furious because Aaron interrupted her as she was about to answer, but more with what he said. Because she was sure he did it on purpose!

"I'm sure you understood the way I said it Ms. Reyna." Answering the professor, Aaron casually turned to Mikaela and continued, "Mikaela misinterpreted the meaning. She has a bad habit of taking everything personally."

"I don't take anything personally! It seems that you have a bad habit of making everything you say, and when you say it, aimed at others!" Mikaela looked hard to calm down.

The students all around had stopped what they were doing and were observing the scene in front of them with a look that seemed to be looking at something ordinary. 

Reyna looked like she was going to be furious at any moment but Aaron spoke, 

"This story makes sense because it shows how small we are and how big the universe is. Back in ancient times, people couldn't understand how huge the universe was without thinking of it like a person. God was like a way for early humans to give the universe a personality. They thought of God like a father figure. You could have a relationship with him, even if it meant being against him sometimes. But at least with God, you felt like someone bigger was looking out for you, keeping you safe. I don't think you need to be very smart to understand something like that."