These Times

“But if Christ hadn’t delivered his Sermon on the Mount, with its message of mercy and pity, I wouldn’t want to be a human being. I’d just as soon be a rattlesnake.” — Kurt Vonnegut, “A Man Without a Country”

Imagine, if you will …

It’s circa 30 A.D. and Jesus Christ is in his late 20s and starting to make a name for himself. He’s on a hilltop near the Sea of Galilee and a crowd has gathered to hear the carpenter deliver a major speech.

Among the assembled is an old man named Strange. He’s trailing his stout and much-younger employee, named Aide, who is clearing a path for his boss.

They arriv...