M: Your message is certainly unique. I don’t think I’ve heard of anything quite like this.
VH: (laughs). ‘There is nothing new under the sun.’ Ecclesiastes.
I snort out loud. Ain’t that the truth. Besides death and taxes, the other given is the banality and pervasiveness of crime.
M: Moving on, let’s take some callers with questions. First on the line is the Reverend Takahashi from the Riverside Christian Church in Astoria. Reverend, you’re on.
My ears prick up. So he’s had contact with the pastor before. Interesting.
RT: Your sentiments are laudable and heartfelt, Ms. Harkness, but I’m afraid you’re misguided. The Holy Spirit isn’t the muse. It gives counsel and wisdom, but not art lessons. Your views are not supported by scripture.
VH: On the contrary, First Corinthians, chapter twelve, says true followers will receive messages and miraculous abilities. Who is to say what those abilities might be?
RT: The gifts are listed out: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing — nowhere does it talk about painting.
VH: Many of the gifts are those of communication: as you said, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, the ability to speak or understand diverse languages. Art is just another language, another means of communication and expression. I see no contradiction, only endless possibilities. Are you, Reverend Takahashi, qualified to dictate the choices and gifts of the divine?
And the point goes to Harkness, notes my inner scorekeeper.
RT: The job of the Holy Spirit is primarily to seal a soul to God, and to communicate God’s messages to a believer. It’s about faith, not works and self-glorification.
VH: Of course not. But according to First Corinthians, chapter two, no one knows the wisdom of the Creator except the Spirit; it is the Spirit that provides the direct conduit for that wisdom. And how better to express the thoughts of the Creator except through artistic creation? You know yourself how open to misinterpretation words can be. Any good lawyer can tell you that.”
The moderator laughs, and I think, she’s won him over at least. But Takahashi goes on doggedly.
RT: The only job of the Spirit is to convict a soul to God and the gospel. You make it sound as though it’s a personal genie, something outside of the Christian tradition.
VH: On the contrary, I seek to put the spirituality back into religion. I ask for offerings that come from the soul, not from the wallet. The true fruit of the Creator has nothing to do with little green pieces of paper. In the words of the prophet Joel, ‘God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.’ And I say to everyone who might be listening: follow your dreams that the Spirit has bestowed on you, wherever they may lead. Never apologize for the visions that inspire you; instead, allow them to be your guideposts. Follow the Spirit for they will bring you home.
I feel a rippling chill, a high alert like the distant ringing of a bell. The moderator is speaking but I’m no longer listening. I’d been caught up in the argument, the point and counterpoint of theological logic which I’m admittedly not qualified to judge. Yet now, here was Harkness validating dreams and visions; deliberately seeking out the impossible, the irrational, the spiritual rather than the coldly logical. It felt as though she were shining a light on my own experience.
If I could only talk to her, maybe she could bring some sense to the chaos. She wouldn’t think I was crazy. She might even help me make sense of the hallucinations, the visions. She saw they had value — the fruits of the soul.
I tremble and wrap my arms around myself. The power of this woman goes far beyond the actual words spoken. I find myself really wanting to believe her.
I remember a snatch of conversation from Wednesday night between Claire and Takahashi. Claire had said to the reverend that ‘he had already had his chance.’ I didn’t remember the context of her remark, but maybe this broadcast is what she was talking about. To my untutored mind, it seems he had come off the loser.
Where could Harkness be? If she isn’t just playing hooky, then what? Something more sinister? I suppose being in the spotlight as a pastor, plus the fact that she's a beautiful woman, it’s to be expected that some of the attention she garners wouldn’t be positive or healthy. Has she been threatened, or stalked, or just made uncomfortable in some other way? Is she trying to escape from an unpleasant situation? I’ll have to ask Claire when we meet. Maybe she’ll know if anyone has been after Victoria.
CHAPTER SIX
CLAIRE AND I meet at a coffee shop called Three Beans, two blocks from the Portway and within walking distance of my house. It’s late Saturday morning and the place is hopping, hot drink consumption incentivized by the dollops of cold and clammy fog swirling outside. The shop’s plate glass windows front onto Marine Drive and the buzz from the traffic is audible, competing with the hiss of the espresso machine and the chatter from the teenagers on the sofas in the corner.
I spot Claire at a table near the window, a heavy white mug and a muffin in front of her. She’s wearing a red leather cap and a matching jacket hangs on the back of her chair. The pervasive odor of fresh ground beans tempts me into an Americano with room, and I select a cranberry-orange scone so
