A Modern Day Parable - Without Love.

WITHOUT LOVE – author unknown

It was a dark and stormy night. 



You could hear the thunder in the distance. Bats flapped their wings in the darkness of the night. 


There the castle stood. The wolves were howling; the trees were swaying in the wind as it whistled. 



And inside the castle, a faint light shown…from a laboratory. 



This was the laboratory of the one and only, the maddest
scientist of them all…the laboratory of the infamous Dr. Emil Van-Gelical!



A rat ran across the granite floor as a daunting figure appeared in the light. It was Dr. Van Gelical himself with his white laboratory coat stained with the evidence of his notorious experiments. 



His eyes were glowing with mad delight as he gazed upon the table in the middle of the room, covered with a white sheet. 



Under the sheet lay a human-like form. 

Suddenly, Dr. Evan Gelical shouted: 



"Igor, come quickly! We have much to do!"



Irregular footsteps were heard coming down from the stairs. In a moment appeared Igor, a hunchback with tattered clothes and a candelabrum in one hand and a big cardboard box in the other. 



"Yes master…here is everything you ordered. All is ready!"

"Very good. Bring all the materials to the table Igor. Now we begin…. the experiment! 



Thunder was heard in the distance while Igor dragged the box towards the table. 



"Tonight I will conduct the greatest experiment of my career. Tonight shall be my greatest triumph ever!"



Doctor Evan Gelical raised his fist towards the sky: "I shall achieve what no man has achieved before. Tonight I create spiritual life! This shall be my greatest hour for I shall create… Christianstein!"



More thunder and lightning. 



"They say that I am mad Igor. But Christianstein shall be the greatest specimen of spiritual life the world has ever seen! He shall everything Igor, EVERYTHING!"

"The moment has arrived. Igor, gloves!"



"Yes master."

"Give me the voice of a great evangelist Igor!"

"Yes master" and he handed him a jar from the box. 



"The courage of Stephen!" Igor produced a dusty vial. 



"The patience of Job!" the doctor commanded and he was rewarded with an ancient-looking flask. 



"Now the hypodermic and the serums I distilled!"



Igor’s hands trembled as he presented a long, steel syringe and bottles filled with different colored fluids. 


"Double doses of daily prayer and Bible reading," 
murmured Dr. Evan Gelical while he withdrew liquid from one of the bottles and injected it into the lifeless figure’s arm.



"Then faithful church attendance…generous giving…temperance… volunteer work…ability to resist temptation…witnessing…"



The doctor paused for a moment, then filled the syringe with fluid from the final container. 



"And last-but not least-a triple injection of …orthodoxy! 



The mad doctor consulted his list once more. 



"Examine the box Igor. Have we forgotten anything?"



"Oh no master…everything must be in place!"



"Excellent! This is the moment the world has waited for. This is the moment for…. Christianstein!"



The doctor dashed to the nearest wall where an electrical control panel waited. 



"A million volts of lightning will bring my creation to life. Now stand back Igor while I throw the power switch…and prepare to meet the perfect Christian…CHRISTIANSTEIN!"



Doctor Emil Van Gelical threw the massive switch as an avalanche of thunder shook the castle. 

The figure began to tremble. 


"Doctor!” shouted Igor… “it’s…. moving!”

"Yes, yes, my creation lives!”

That thing called "CHRISTIANSTEIN" sat up slowly. Then, stiffly, it climbed from the table and stood to its full height. 



"Oh, my creation…Speak to me, speak to me!" 



The figure looked down at the doctor and frowned. Finally it began to speak in a low and hostile growl: 

"If I speak in the language of angels but have not love…"



"LOVE?" asked the doctor, examining in perplexity his list once again. 



Slowly the creature lifted his hands towards the doctor who was still consulting his list. 
"If I have the gift of prophecy and can understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have faith that can move mountains and have not love…."



"LOVE?" Igor, what is he talking about?"



"I, I don’t know master! ‘ answered Igor as he hid himself under the table. 



"If I give all my possessions to the poor and give my body to the flames to be burned and have not love…"

Suddenly the figure, growling, picked up the doctor by his coat off of his feet…."I gain nothing!"



"Nothing?" said the doctor. 



"Aaarrggghhh!" the creature bellowed throwing the doctor to the ground and reaching for his throat. 



"Igor you fool! I knew that we forgot something! And such a small thing!" while the doctor fled for his life with the creature CHRISTIANSTIEN in hot pursuit. 



A few minutes passed before Igor finally had enough courage to come out from under the table. Finally, looking this way and that, he whispered: 



"I, I think…. we have created a monster!"

During our Lenten journey may we rediscover Love – God’s love!