“Oh, dear, oh, dear.”
Gabriel looks up from his scroll. He unfurls magnificent wings, made purely of light. “What’s wrong now, Mizelle?”
The angel turns worried eyes upon him. “They did it again!”
“Who did what?”
Mizelle scampers across the golden street, his wings casting a shadow. He tugs slightly on his tunic. “They made another Bible-based movie!”
Gabriel’s dark brows go up. “So?”
“So?! They took liberties! They put stuff in there that never happened! They left out stuff that did!” Mizelle huffs slightly and leans closer, his voice darkening with concern. “I’m not even sure the producers are saved! I don’t know if their names are in the Book! Michael won’t let me look!”
Distant singing fills the air, along with the occasional lion’s roar. Gabriel rolls up his scroll. “What does their salvation have to do with it?”
Mizelle gapes at him and nearly drops his armload of scrolls. “B-But, it’s important, isn’t it?”
Tilting his head, Gabriel asks, “Is it?”
“B-But the message…”
“Is the most important thing, isn’t it? Not the presentation? Not the packaging?” Gabriel puts his arm around Mizelle, a good head shorter than he is. Archangels have certain privileges. “You’ve been here throughout history, right? How many times has God used Christians to carry out His will?”
Frowning slightly, Mizelle answers, “Many times.”
They cross the street, to let a stout former British writer and his immense golden lion pass through a gate to knock upon the door of another former British writer with a sturdy clump of Halfling’s Leaf growing on his front step.
Gabriel smiles in passing and asks, “And how many times has he used unbelievers to share the Truth?”
Mizelle rubs the back of his head. “Many, many times.”
“How did the Reformation get to England?”
They turn the corner in the mighty golden city and suddenly are in the midst of a field of flowing grain where giant butterfly’s wings shimmer like diamonds.
Mizelle answers, “Henry VIII!”
“His name, as I recall,” Gabriel says with a discreet cough, “was not in the Book of Life.”
“No … and he didn’t even believe it, either! He just said he did so he could get a divorce!”
Gabriel turns to look down at him. “Interesting, isn’t it? He wasn’t saved, but still changed the world.”
Long grass tickles their legs. Mizelle’s face brightens. “Aha!”
They smile at one another and Gabriel adds, “I’m off to consult with Michael on affairs of heavenly state. I presume God is on schedule?”
Mizelle nods. “Yes. He does so love creating new souls. He takes such care with each of them, whether or not their names will ever wind up in the Book. He pointed to one this morning and said, ‘He will cure cancer.’ I’m quite excited about him! Oh, and then there was the writer! Another great writer! No one will think much of her in her time on earth, but He told me, ‘She’ll write something important’!”
Stretching out his glorious wings against the clouds, Gabriel says, “Maybe even a movie based on the Bible!” and winking, soars away into the sky.
The Sacred in the Secular 
Awww–I love this! Rather than seeming cheesy, I thought including Lewis and Tolkien made it more inspiring, like a glimpse of what we might hope for in heaven!
You ought to totally write more stories in this vein! A lot of people would love ’em. This actually reminds me a bit of Discworld. But from a Christian perspective, and with a feeling that’s somehow both more somber and joyous.
I try to avoid cheesiness at all turns, so thank you for the validation! 🙂
There’s a book about angels brewing in my head, but I haven’t sorted out the complexities of how to approach it yet. I’d say more but don’t want to give anyone my ideas that might happen by this blog, so I’ll share them in an e-mail. 🙂
Ha, that is so cute! Gave me something to think about too. I wasn’t a fan of the mini-series, but I forgot that God uses all means to reach out to us.
It’s okay to be “not a fan” of something — but I’ve seen a lot of fear-driven, vicious attacks against the movie (and the upcoming “Noah”) that just… sadden my heart. Why are we, as believers, so terrified all the time that one little insignificant thing is going to do irreversible damage to the tremendous Kingdom of God?
Very fitting considering the new movie that is quite awesome. Bravo! 🙂
So did you see Son of God, then? Did they do a decent job of condensing the miniseries? What are your feelings on it — when you have the time?
Their Pilate is the genuine article, isn’t he?Thought-provoking, with a touch of humor. Loved it.
Thank you! Glad you liked it! 🙂
I think you made me cry. Just a little blur on the edge of my vision. Just the thought of those two still meeting in heaven and possibly still writing companionably with each other – with a hobbit and a lion in tow – is enough to get my *feels* going.
And now I think I’d enjoy the great adventures of Mizelle, angel-in-training. Mini-series. A la short stories in the “Strand”. He helps people, gets advice from gabriel, and maybe delivers a message or two.
And here I wondered if throwing in a little Lewis and Tolkien would be cheesy! I’m glad I did, though. It made me (and others) smile… or tear up, as the case may be.
I’ve planned on writing a book about angels for some time now, but Mizelle just kind of snuck up on me. I like him though, so who knows? He may get his own set of adventures — short or long — after all.
I think the moment was quiet enough that it wasn’t cheesy. Had you gone on for paragraphs? Might not have worked as well as it did. 🙂
I like the dynamic you’ve created. The young, naive angel. It’s cute. I’d read him.
That is brilliant.
Thanks! 🙂
Words cannot explain how much I love this. Especially the part where the writers get to meet their creations in Heaven. *crosses fingers*
One can always hope, right?
Though, a tiny piece of me also hopes God looks like Aslan! I’d like to share that with Lewis. 🙂
I know, right? When I was a kid, I used to pray and ask God to pleasepleaseplease let me go to Narnia…
I sometimes still wish I could go to Narnia! =P
What animals or creatures have you created that you’d like to meet there? The only one that comes to mind is that there may be a big white cat waiting for me in heaven named after Sebastyan Flyte’s teddy bear…
There’s a dragon named Fioch, a human/djinni hybrid named Rua, a djinni named Aeril, and a couple laghairts (a lizard-like creature of our own invention) that I’d love to meet in person. 🙂
That’s extremely cool!