An Unforgettable Voyage
Mike Cunningham
March 8, 2015

Those of you who have been following this series, will, no doubt notice that I have used many excerpts in today’s thought provoking sermon. If this is the first story you are reading, I strongly recommend you stop right here and start by reading the first one “It’s Only A Story” which I posted on January 25, 2015.

I hope you folks will be able to understand and tie them all together in such a way as to understand the gist of today’s story. It’s been my prayer filled hope that each of you folks will be as blessed by today’s’ story as much as I was while I was crafting it. It’s called “An Unforgettable Voyage.”

“…. Joshua rose at four-thirty, precisely as planned and without an alarm. Father Pat and Reverend Joe Engman arrived at five-thirty, right after Joshua finished breakfast. They had a cup of coffee with him and shared a few jokes, and started out. Joshua looked around the house with a touch of melancholy.”

Here’s another excerpt.

“…. He walked out the back door, over the fence, and petted the sheep, affectionately pulling their ears like he always did, then went into the house and out the front door with his two companions. They saw tears trickling down his cheeks but said nothing.”

As I said in the beginning of today’s message, there are lots of excerpts in today’s message. For example, here’s another one.

“…. Once they were fully awake the men talked all the way. They stopped at the service area near the last exit to get gas and another cup of coffee and a donut. Traffic in the city was not heavy yet and they arrived at the dock in plenty of time. The ship was all ready to leave. It was an old ship but presentable. As the three men walked up the plank to the deck the captain greeted them. He was a pleasant man, good-looking, and spoke with a refined Italian accent. He looked distinguished in his naval uniform. He presumed Joshua was the passenger, being accompanied by the two clerics, so he asked for his papers. Joshua took them out of his pocket and handed them to him. He looked them over and welcomed Joshua coolly, then called a deckhand to show Joshua his cabin. Pat and Joe followed. Down the stairs to a back corridor they walked. The room was by itself. It was the only one left by the time the bishop made the arrangements. It was a room not ordinarily used. The deckhand opened the door and let the men pass into the room. It was small, but neat and freshly painted. There was one bunk, a chest of drawers, and a bathroom. They all laughed at Joshua’s luxury apartment and went back upstairs together.

It was almost sailing time so Pat and Joe said goodbye. It was a difficult parting for all of them. They had become close and had similar approaches to life. Pat told Joshua he would pray for him. Joe did the same. Joshua told them to be true to themselves and follow their convictions, and not become discouraged because people did nor understand them. Things that are of value are usually out of the ordinary. It’s the same with ideas. To lead people you can’t think the way they do. So don’t expect them to understand. You are doing God’s work, He will give the reward in due time.

“The two men hugged Joshua and left the boat. The gangplank was lifted and the ship’s whistle blew. Slowly the huge boat slipped away from the dock. From down below the men waived to Joshua. He waved back. He was a sad, lonely figure all by himself on the big ship. That was the last time his friends saw him.

Joshua was assigned duties in the dining room. He was to report to the cook at six in the morning to set the tables for breakfast. He would again come to the kitchen at eleven and do the same for lunch. Supper would be at six o’clock, so he would be ready at five to serve that meal.

When the sailor finished with the instructions Joshua walked back on deck and looked across the water toward the land. It was moving further and further away. A trace of melancholy passed over him as he thought of all the goodness and beauty he had found in so many of the people he met during his brief stay in Auburn. He thought also of the pastor and the bishop, and pitied them. Their lives were so shallow and empty. They had little to give people. He looked out to sea and wondered what the next few weeks would bring. Would it be pleasant or disheartening?

In no time it was eleven o’clock. Joshua went to report to the cook.“…. There were only some twenty-five people in all, including the captain and his officers. Joshua was sharp. He watched and anticipated each little need, and if someone wanted something he would approach the person and courteously asked if he could help. The women, particularly, were impressed with the delicacy of his manners and how prompt he was in noticing when anyone needed something.

Please remember that the following are only excerpts. I haven’t counted how many there are, but there are a lot of them in this sermon.

“…. It didn’t take long for some of the more observant guests to notice Joshua and the graceful dignity that flowed with such ease from his personality. They were tempted to ask him questions to learn more about him but decided against it, thinking it more courteous to respect his privacy. But as he became the topic of talk at the tables the curiosity deepened. By the second day of the voyage people were keenly aware that this was not just an ordinary ship’s servant. There was a majesty about him even as he served them that belied the simplicity of his appearance. Although it was not his place to talk to the guests, they could detect from the way he answered questions that he was highly intelligent. From conversations with him on deck between meals they got to know him more intimately and developed a respect for him that embarrassed them when he waited on tables. He sensed this and tried to put them at ease by telling them what nice people they were and how much he enjoyed waiting on them.

I think you folks will find the following excerpt particularly fascinating.

“…. On the third day of the voyage, while Joshua was sitting on deck with some of the guests, a tragedy occurred below. One of the cabin boys fell down the stairs. They took him into the sick bay and paged the doctor. He rushed down and examined the boy. His neck was broken, and there was little life in him. The doctor did what he could, but it was of no use. The boy died a few minutes later. The doctor examined the X-ray he had taken and found a fracture in two of the upper vertebrae. The boy’s name passed quickly around the ship. His name was Michael Szeneth.

When word reached Joshua he said nothing, just excused himself from the little circle of guests and went below deck. As he walked along the corridor the captain was leaving the radio room. He saw Joshua but paid little attention to him until he noticed he was heading for the sick bay. Then he became curious. He watched him from a distance and saw him enter the room where the dead boy lay. There was no one else in the room, and as Joshua had left the door half open the captain could see everything.

Joshua walked over to the table where the corpse was lying, lifted the sheet from the boy’s head, and called out to him, “Michael, wake up!” Shivers went up and down the captain’s spine. After a moment the boy’s eyes opened. The boy did as he was told and sat up on the table. The captain was overwhelmed and didn’t know whether to scream with joy that his friend’s son was alive or to fall on his knees. The boy’s father had been a friend of his for years, and he felt terrible about what had occurred. But now his joy was a thousand times greater than his grief, and he was thrilled beyond measure. Joshua, in the meantime, was telling the boy to eat a piece of bread he had just handed him. Michael asked what had happened. Joshua told him he was all right; that he should go about his work and not tell anyone about what had happened. Joshua then left the room and went back on deck as if nothing had happened.

The captain went immediately to the doctor and told him the boy was sitting up. The doctor said that was ridiculous, the boy was dead. The two men ran to the sick bay, and when the doctor saw Michael standing near the bed he was beside himself. He told the boy to get back on the table.

“But why? I’m all right.”
“Sonny, you were dead. What happened?” the doctor asked.

When the boy said nothing the doctor insisted. Even the captain didn’t feel he could tell the doctor what had happened. The doctor insisted on taking another X-ray. The X-ray showed nothing, no fracture, and no trace of a fracture. He couldn’t have made a mistake. He impatiently grabbed the first X-ray, looked at it, compared it with the second, and, with satisfaction in his voice, showed it to the captain. “There, his neck was broken. See. But what happened? How did it heal? I can’t understand this.”

The doctor released the boy and told him if he had any feeling of weakness or nausea to come back immediately. When Michael went upstairs he became an instant celebrity. Everyone wanted to know what had happened. Michael told them nothing more than he himself remembered, about falling down the stair’s and faint recollections of people gathering around him, but nothing more until he woke up. Did he see anything when he was dead? Did he hear any music or voices? Did he see God? The boy protested that he didn’t know a thing until he woke up.

The captain didn’t know what to do. He had to make a report, but what could he put into the report? Should he just tell what he had witnessed? Who would believe it? But he had no choice. He could only write what he saw. If they believed it, all was well and good. If they didn’t believe it, then, that was their problem.

The doctor had more of a problem. He could not account for the few brief moments between his leaving the dead boy and seeing him standing up a few minutes later. The captain was no help, though later that night he confided to the doctor what he had witnessed. The doctor scoffed and was still at a loss as to what he should write in his report.

I hope you folks don’t mind that I have used so many excerpts in this message. It was definitely a challenge to select each of them.

“…. The incident brought Michael and Joshua closer to each other. They shared a common secret. Michael, who knew the captain well, talked to him about what had happened and asked him what it all meant. The captain admitted he didn’t understand it either and just felt that Joshua, for all his simplicity, was an unusual person who must be very close to God. Michael told him that he thought he was much more than that and proceeded to tell him about all the experiences in his father’s synagogue in Auburn.

What follows is also an excerpt. I hope each of my readers are still with me.

“…. The next day the ship was approaching the Azores. The weather was always unpredictable in this area, and Captain Ponzelli told the passengers that, if they were prone to motion sickness, they should see the doctor and perhaps take medicine to prevent nausea. The sea did become rough, and heavy dark clouds gathered over the horizon. The morning wasn’t too bad, but by afternoon the waves were higher and heavy rains began to lash against the ship.

The captain called the radio room for a weather report. Heavy rains, severe winds. The waves were powerful and began rocking the ship. Even the gyroscopes had little effect. Sailors were securing everything that moved so nothing would be swept into the sea. Most of the people had gone to their cabins or to the recreation room where “Return of the Pink Panther was showing. Joshua stayed in his room and tried to rest. The heaving sea was too much for him.

By four o’clock the weather was much worse. The rains were beating against the ship with such force; you could scarcely hear anyone talking. The winds had risen to gale force, and radio warnings were telling ship captain’s not to leave port until the storm subsided. The captain worked his way to the front of the ship to be with the pilot. The pilot couldn’t see a thing out the window. The ship was tossing mercilessly. At one point the captain lost his balance and fell against the wall, banging his head against an iron bolt. He mopped the blood off his head and put his hat back on over the handkerchief.

The waves were rising. They were already almost fifteen feet and still getting higher. The captain was beginning to fear the ship might not make it. It was an old ship, and had gone through many a beating before, but this was the worse and there was a limit to what the vessel could take. The pilot tried to steer the ship into the oncoming waves but the wind kept pushing the ship against them, which completely inundated the vessel, threatening to capsize it.

The captain looked out the windows for any indication of the storm letting up, hoping there were no other vessels on their course. Storms at sea make everyone feel helpless. A huge, powerful ship that glides like a sailboat during good weather is totally at the mercy of the elements as soon as the weather changes. It is tossed about like a helpless piece of driftwood. The most any captain can do is keep the vessel steady and prevent the passengers from panicking.

But Captain Ponzelli was becoming increasingly concerned. There were no signs of the storm letting up, and there was nothing more he could do. He sighed a quiet prayer and continued staring into the wall of rain. He walked to the right side of the room and looked onto the deck for any signs of damage. Nothing so far. It was hard to see clearly. He thought he saw something unusual. He looked again and could see the faint outline of a figure tugging on the railing as he pulled himself up along the deck. The captain gasped in disbelief. It was Joshua. What in God’s name was he doing out there? One false move, one slip of the foot on that slick deck, and he would be swept into the sea. He started to open the windows to scream down but realized it would be useless. What in hell was he up to? The captain just watched and kept what he saw to himself. He had come to love that simple, good-natured fellow and had enjoyed the happy times of the past few days. But why would he do a stupid thing like this? He said a silent prayer for the poor fool. What was he trying to do? Where was he going?

The captain stood there transfixed, watching breathlessly, as Joshua, soaked to the bone, worked his way up along the deck. Momentarily the wind shifted. The ship steadied for only a brief moment, allowing Joshua to stand up straight. He lifted his eyes to heaven and held out his arms as if giving a command to the winds. His mouth could be seen screaming into the howling wind, as if he had gone mad. The captain felt pity for the poor fellow. Maybe this is what made the bishop nervous.

Suddenly the wind died down, the rain slowed, and the waves subsided altogether. The clouds began to disperse, allowing blue sky to appear and the sun to cast a bright ray through the opening in the skies. Joshua turned and walked back inside and disappeared below deck, into his room, to take a shower and dry off.

The captain covered his face with his hands, in awe at what he had just witnessed. The pilot thought he was praying his thanks that the storm was letting up. The captain told the pilot to go below and take a rest, he would relieve him for a while. The pilot thanked him. He sure could use a rest. He left and went below.

Left with his thoughts, the captain wondered about what he had just seen. He was more concerned than ever of the real identity of this humble, simple man. “But is it possible? Could it possibly be?” he wondered as the tears flowed down his cheeks at the thought that it could happen to him, unworthy as he was. His memory drifted far back into his childhood, to when his uncle, a priest, told his family strange stories of things that took place in the lives of people with simple faith. But the captain was not a man of simple faith; at least he didn’t think he was. He felt guilty he was not more religious. He thought of his uncle, who was now a cardinal at the Vatican. He would have to tell him all about this as soon as he landed. Perhaps he could tell him what it all meant. He couldn’t wait until the ship reached port. He would call him immediately.

The pilot came back after his brief rest and thanked the captain.

“Did you get a rest?” the captain asked.
“Yes, and I was thinking about the storm and how fast it passed. I told the radioman. He said he couldn’t understand how it could have cleared up here when he was still receiving severe storm alerts. There are storms and gale winds all around the area as far as the Canaries.”

“I’m sure there are,” the captain said simply, and then he left to find Joshua.

People were beginning to come back on deck when the captain came down. The sun was out and the air was beautiful. He asked if anyone had seen Joshua. Someone saw him soaking wet, a few minutes before, walking in the direction of his cabin. The captain went down below deck. He could hear him inside singing an unfamiliar tune.

He knocked.
“Come in.”

The captain opened the door. Joshua was just taking his shirt off a hot pipe that ran through a space in the back of his closet. He put on the shirt and greeted the captain as if nothing had happened.

“Anything I can do for you?” he asked the captain.
“No, you’ve done enough already,” was the captain’s reply.
Joshua let the remark pass, not wanting to get drawn into the discussion that would inevitably follow.

“I just wanted to say thank you for what you did,” the captain said humbly. Joshua just smiled at him with a strange, boyish smile as if it was nothing.
“Joshua, I don’t know how to say this,” the captain continued, but I feel proud to have you on my ship. I really don’t deserve what has taken place the past few days. But I know it will change my whole life. I feel bad about how it all came about, the investigation in Rome, the distrust of the bishop and the other authorities. I have an uncle in the Vatican. Maybe he can be of some help when you get there. His name is Cardinal Giovanni Riccardo. He’s a good man.”

“Thanks, Captain,” Joshua said, “I may need some help when I get there. I will give him a call when I get there. I’m afraid they will have a difficult time understanding me. I don’t have very high hopes.”

“But how can they find fault with you? After all, it was you who started…” his voice trailed off before he finished, realizing he was on ground where he didn’t belong. He had no right prying and knew Joshua wasn’t going to open the door more than a crack. He had already heard and seen enough.

“But they won’t have any idea, no more than you did when I first set foot on your ship. “ The captain blushed at the cool reception he had given Joshua when he arrived on board.

I think the following excerpt is the final one for today.

“…. You are quite an intelligent fellow,” the doctor observed. “In fact, you have much more intelligence than most of the people in this room. You know, young man, what’s your name, Joshua, you know, I haven’t filled out the medical report on that boy yet,” the doctor rambled on. “I’m frankly at a loss as to what I should put down. Perhaps you can help me.”

“How can I help you, Doctor, you’re the expert,” Joshua remarked.

“I may be the expert, but there are some things that baffle me. And, I frankly admit, this is one of them. Do you believe in miracles, young man?”

“No.”

The doctor was taken aback. He was expecting a pious lecture. “Then how do you explain what happened the other day?”

“A little thing like that stands out in your mind because you miss the much greater mysteries that take place continually every day. What happened the other day surprises you because it was unexpected. Look in the mirror when you go to your room tonight and you will see an evolution of wonders far more exciting than the healing of a broken bone and the revival of the spark of life. The whole course of each day is filled with endless wonder, which we take for granted because it all flows so smoothly as the ordinary course of life. But each tiny event, and each moment of time, is a miracle of creation.”

“That’s very poetic,” the doctor commented, “but you presume it is creation. I take it then that you believe in God.”

“No. We believe what we do not see. I know God is, just as surely sitting here before you.”
“What do I put down about what happened to Michael?” the doctor finally asked.

“Put down what you witnessed. It is very simple. It is because you don’t believe what you saw that you are having trouble writing the simple facts,” Joshua told him.

“I would be laughed out of the medical society if I wrote that down.”

“But if it is true then you should be the one who is laughing at their ignorance. When you witness something beautiful you should be happy and proud, not ashamed and afraid.”

“You’re a strange man, Joshua. I don’t know what to make of you. How did Michael get healed?” the doctor shot point-blank.

Joshua laughed. “When we pray God hears. When we need God grants. Faith is like the helpless look on the face of a deer in hunting season. God can’t refuse.”

“Joshua, I wish I had your faith, or whatever it is you have. You are so free and so happy. I don’t believe in God. I guess I’m an atheist.”

“No one who heals can be an atheist. Life just gets out of focus. You have become too used to seeing wonders slip through your fingers. When you take the time to put back together all the mysteries you have dissected, and stand back and take notice, you will see the reflection of God and His shadow passing by. Then you will have no more doubt. His healing power courses through your fingers every day, and you have never taken the time to sense His presence. You are God’s hands. His very closeness has hidden Him from you.”

Well, that’s enough excerpts for today. I hope each of you found them to be inspiring and that you received a lot of food for thought. I think you will agree that the voyage across the Atlantic ocean from New York City to Italy was “An Unforgettable Voyage.”

Lord willing, next week….

“JOSHUA” ©1983, 1987, by Joseph F. Girzone, and published by Touchstone, Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.