The Incident at the Bridge

“Forgive me Father for I have sinned.  It’s been quite a while since my last confession.  And God knows the things I have done in the past, and for them I am repentant.   For the matter of immediate concern, I shall offer you my true confession, for what little entertainment it might provide you.1

It was a perfect day for a stroll in the park. The phones in my office had been disconnected. And I really had nothing better to do before going home to tell the family. So I was just walking along ainlessly when an old friend came my way.  We stopped and spoke for a while and decided to walk together to pass the time.  I confess, we had collaborated on occasion as our mutual interests dictated.  In fact this particular friend is not without charm, nor is he without substance.  He is as often a dignified gentleman as he might choose some other pleasing apparition.  Caution had been my general rule in dealing with this devil.  But generally he had been true to his word and was not given to unreliability or sloth.  In fact, he generally acquitted himself with all due diligence.  2

On this occasion, he inquired of me how my family and I had been and I responded overall that we had been well, other than having suffered a somewhat substantial reversal of financial fortune.  He looked first concerned and then thoughtful and finally his face broke into a smile and then into a rather disconcerting laugh.  He made a few more inquiries as to the extent of my insolvency and after a time he suggested that he very well might know of an opportunity for me to reverse my hardship.3

Circumstances being what they were, I was hardly in a position to reject an opportunity without at least hearing it first. Right?”4

There was no reply.5

“He began by informing me that I would not be required to do anything immoral nor illegal, for this I was immediately grateful and relieved.  He explained to me that he had forehand knowledge of a particular crime that would occur that evening.  A great deal of money would be stolen and the get-away plan involved crossing a high footbridge that was generally closed for he evening.  The criminal would unlock the gate before committing his particular crime and make good his escape by taking the route the police would never anticipate.  If the bridge were to be closed when he arrived there, he would have to dispose of the evidence by tossing it into the river.  And as my companion put it, it would be a shame for all of that money to go to waste.  To my best recollection, he had always had a genuine regard for money, money being the root of all evil, I suppose.  I trusted in his sincere intentions not to see it wasted.6

For my part, it seemed so simple.  All I had to do was to wait until nightfall and relock the gate to the bridge, then wait downstream for the cash to float by, wade in and exit, all the better and enriched for my civic good deed.  He insisted that all I needed was a little creativity and everything else would be available to me on sight.  In hindsight, I do recall that my friend may have mentioned something about getting his fair due, and me not necessarily insisting on what that might be.   In any event, he always seemed a most reasonable man.7

That evening, watching from the bushes, I observed a dark figure walk up to the gate and with a large set of bolt cutters snip the padlock from the chain.  He spit out a wad of chewing gum.  Then he replaced the lock with another from his pocket and finally he disappeared back from whence he came.  8

After all was again still, I slipped from my wooded vantage, I picked up the chewing gum that the villain had so conveniently left me and pressed it firmly deep into the keyhole of the padlock.”9

The Padre’s eyes grew wide and his lips grew taught.10

“I wiped my hands on my pants and followed the river downstream quite a ways. The river bed was at the bottom of a very deep and steep ravine. Finally I reached a place where I could make my way down to the churning water.  From my location I could see the bridge and the gate in the distance.  I began to feel nervous about having to go into the cold water to retrieve my money, but I am a strong swimmer and had forded rapidly moving rivers before in my youth.  In any event, what could really go wrong, this plan was conceived by someone that actually had knowledge of events before they happened and surely he would have told me if I was going to drown?  What would be the sense in that anyway?  Lets face it, if the Devil just wanted to harm people indiscriminately; by deceiving them into harm’s way, he could just stay in politics.11

I didn’t have to wait long.  I heard a frantic rattling at the gate above in the distance.  I looked up and could just barely make out the figure wrestling with the padlock.  Then I heard several voices in the distance and the sounds of running men.  Desperately the figure tried to climb the tall gate without success.  I recall smiling, although I'm not sure why anymore.  The lights from the pursuers silhouetted the frantic figure against he gate and there came the sound of several angry voices issuing interwoven commands, warnings and threats.  The robber began to run along the riverbank carrying a large duffle bag over his shoulder when shots rang out. He dove over the embankment and I watched the shadows of the man and bag fall the long way down into the dark river.”12

The preacher grimaced as if in pain.13

“I made myself ready and began to wade into the river were the current was strong.  The water was bitter cold and I fell once or twice on the slippery rocks, but did not altogether lose my footing.  After what seemed an eternity, two objects approached me in the water.  One was clearly the duffle bag, the other thrashing about in the current, was none of my concern.  I dove on the bag with all of my might.  Driven by the current it tried to drag me downstream.  It wasn’t easy, but I mustered all of my strength and fought my way to the distant shore.   I clawed my way up the steep embankment, never looking back and made my way into the woods.   Actually, as I recall, I didn’t really make it too much farther when I was discovered by a group of very angry men who relieved me of my money. They kicked me and struck me about the head with hard painful objects until I lost presence of mind. 14

It wasn’t until some time later that I regained consciousness in the hospital and discovered that I had been charged with the theft and the multiple brutal murders.   The real killer was never found.  IN fact he had been quite thorough.  He had killed all of the witnesses.  Naturally, no one believed me, and hence in short order my conviction and our meeting here under these circumstances.15

I’m not sure that’s much of a confession, is it?   You might say, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time if you don’t believe anything else I said.  I swear I intended no harm and I didn’t hurt anyone.  If you do believe my story, you should be able to believe that I was only thinking of my family when the master of deception himself set me up.  Tell me, is it any sin to be human; to believe that just maybe, one time fortune might smile on my life?  I took a risk out of need.  And who doesn’t deal with the devil?  Every day we each make our little deals and compromises, don’t we?  And most people seem better off for it.  And what exactly did I do, to wind up like this?  Should I be damned for accepting assistance from another source when God couldn’t bother to help me?  I might add it’s the same God that let this happen to me or better yet conspired with the devil to arrange it.”16

“My son,” replied the Priest after a great pause.  “I believe your story, every last word of it.  I too am familiar with the gentleman you described.  I honestly wish I could offer you more comfort.  Instead I can offer you these final thoughts.  You are not the first to strike a bargain with the devil.  And some do believe that the devil is not entirely in his own employ.  So it would be natural to conclude that temptation is within God's plan for us.  Yet, God has given us free will to choose righteousness over evil and sin.  As often as we are weak, there is forgiveness for sin.  I’m not entirely certain that your statement was much of a proper confession, but whatever sins you admit to and no matter how you put it, I am very sure that God has forgiven similar and worse sins before.  I am also pretty certain that He will continue this practice.  And I have to believe that He can even forgive sins that man can’t.  Therefore, I shall not charge you with any more earthly penance than the executioner is about to extract.   I can only commend your soul unto His infinite mercy.  17

But in all fairness to your story, I must add that your fate was a matter of your own free choice and not a divine or demonic conspiracy.  God offers us all salvation. God is always present and He sent you salvation in the river, as surely as he saved me.  Had you chosen mercy and saved the man over the money, at least, you, would not be here.  May God have mercy on your soul.”  And with that the young priest picked up his crutches, rose to his feet in apparent pain and hobbled across the prison cell.  A somber guard unlocked and opened the door just long enough to permit the padre’s exit.  The preacher wheeled about looking at the prisoner through the iron bars and spoke remorsefully, “My son be strong. You have met the devil, and you are, even now, being tested, maintain your faith and God will redeem your soul.  Good bye, go with God”  18

The condemned man ruefully watched the priest from his cot through a veil of tears. The holy man made the sign of the cross and spoke something unintelligible under his breath and again repeated the gesture.  Then the prisoner observed the man in black remove a stick of chewing gum from his pocket, unwrap it and insert the stick into his mouth, carelessly letting the wrapper fall to the ground.  The man in black paused for a moment in silence as if he had something more to add, see or hear before he swung his crutches around and hobbled out of sight.19