STAFF MEETING

(Gabriel) “Good morning, Jake.”
(Jake) “Good morning, Gabriel.”
(Gabriel) “I trust you found your room OK??”
(Jake) “Well, if you call it that. It’s more like a mansion!”
(Gabriel) “And you picked up your key?”
(Jake) “Sir, I’m afraid you must be mistaken. Only Christ holds any keys up here. And besides, why on earth --- I mean why in Heaven --- would I need to lock it?”

(Laughter)

(Jake) “Why is everyone laughing?”
(Michael) “It’s OK, Jake. Gabriel’s been using this same joke now for over a thousand years. But you’re the first person who hasn’t fallen for it. I guess even angels sometimes meet their match.”

(Gabriel) “OK, then. Let’s get down to business. Welcome to team Omega. Jake, I’d like you to meet Michael, Ed, and Thomas.”
(Jake) “Hi guys! Glad to be here!”
(Gabriel) “We’ve got quite a bit on our plate today. As you can see on your briefing sheets, there’s a lady named Sarah in Nigeria, who’s been praying for her husband. We‘ve got a sick child in Argentina, where the doctors have been praying for wisdom. And here’s something about a prayer for the children of America, that they would have exciting Christian storybooks to read. We‘ve also got several prayers for protection, coming from all corners of the earth.”
(Thomas) “Our Father’s goodness. How wonderful. It’s such a blessing to get to help Him.”

(Michael) “Hey Ed. I saw your latest poem, out on the kiosk at Diamond Street and Golden Avenue. You’ve really become quite the literary man.”
(Ed) “Thanks, Michael. God is good, isn’t He?”
(Thomas) “Hey, Ed. Take a look at page two of our briefing sheet. Our Father has plans for your poems. They’re going to be translated. That must have something to do with the prayer for the children‘s books.”
(Jake) “Congratulations, Ed. How long have you been up here, anyway?”
(Ed) “Oh, about forty years, give or take. They still call me the new guy.”
(Jake) “I wonder what they’ll call me. I’ve been here for barely forty minutes.”

(Gabriel) “All right, gentlemen. Let’s focus on our task. Say, Ed, take a look at page three. The translator --- I think you know this guy. Isn’t that your little girl’s younger son?”
(Ed) “You’re right! It is! But I’ve heard that he hates literature. So what’s the deal, Gabriel? Do you get to go speak to him in a dream or something?”
(Gabriel) “Nope.”
(Ed) “Oh, of course. Our Father plans to use the direct approach. Let me guess. We’re going to sneak some carved stone tablets into his garage. I‘ll get started right away. Which of my poems does He want me to carve, and should it be on granite or marble?”
(Gabriel) “No, Ed.”
(Ed) “Huh?”

(Gabriel) “Jake, you get to go with Michael. It’s your chance to earn your wings.”
(Jake) “I’m sorry Gabriel, but only angels have wings, and I’m not an angel. Is this another one of your jokes?”
(Michael) “No, Jake, it’s not. Take a look at Ed and Thomas. See?”
(Jake) “Oh. I thought that you guys were pilots.”
(Thomas) “Nope. I died in 1517. I earned these golden wings while helping Martin Luther.”

(Jake) “OK, then, what do Michael and I get to do?”
(Gabriel) “You guys get to cause a traffic jam.”
(Michael) “What? Let me see that!”
(Jake) “And why does this city bus need to be delayed by precisely four minutes?”
(Michael) “We’re supposed to tinker with some traffic lights?”
(Ed) “Say…
Bus rhymes with Gus.
I think I understand the Father’s plan.
But by itself this could not work.
I’m afraid that boy would never understand.”

(Gabriel) “Ed, don’t worry about that. Team Alpha’s been at work on this, too. They sent a dog into a grocery store last week. And we know that the Spirit works in amazing ways. Trust in God.”
(Ed) “I can’t wait to see his poem. Just how precise will the translation be?”
(Gabriel) “Here, Ed, take a look and see.”

OBEDIENCE SCHOOL

We found a young Dalmatian
Beneath our Christmas tree…

(Ed) "Ha! I found a discrepancy. He spelled Dalmation wrong."
(Gabriel) "Ummm, Ed? I need to tell you something..."


David J Allen
April 4, 2005


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