The mysterious case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde had been closed. When discovery of his shameful fall was certain, he had taken his life. There was enough evidence in the light now for those close to the case to understand completely what had happened. And the doctor’s letter had filled in whatever had been conjecture before. Poole and Utterson were sitting in a drawing room, discussing the case. Utterson, disturbed by all that he had seen and heard over these last days had retreated into hours of reading “dry divinity” in his library. Somewhere between two and three in the morning he had arisen with haste from his favourite chair, caught up with excitement with an idea. Now, some eight hours later, Poole had arrived at his invitation.
“You have been thinking, my friend. It seems exceedingly strange to receive correspondence from you after midnight. You are not known for such behaviour.”
“Yes, I apologise This strange case has caused my head to ache with a certain sort of anguish. All my life I have been happy to separate the spiritual from the scientific. Jekyll was no saint, though a good man in the beginning. He was a genius though. He saw that the two could abide together.”
“We know where that left him – embroiled in villainy and dread, and ultimately dead.”
“I would be the first to admit that. My point is that he was right. He believed that evil and good dwell within us all. And he proved it with his horrifying experiment.”
“Yes, but where are you going with all this?”
“You see, Poole, I have spent the past week reading every volume in my library on the subject of religious transformation.”
“You were always partial to such works.”
“I agree, but I have never read them other than for pleasure and relaxation.”
“Utterson, surely you are not trying to be practical with such material.”
“Is that not the genius of my friend Jekyll?”
“Yes, but he was a scientist, and you are . . .”
“Like you, a passive commentator on other people’s achievements.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself, Utterson.”
“In any case, I have read and taken notes and things are becoming clear. The difference between Jekyll and Hyde was the difference between soul and flesh, as far as my volumes on divinity are concerned. And I can see that there is a process of weakening one or the other, to manipulate the dominant agent. My guess is that Jekyll’s potions worked directly on the flesh, one inhibiting it and the other strengthening its hold.”
“That makes sense, but I do not yet understand your excitement.”
“We have spent long hours working against this monster Hyde, only to find that he was . . . somehow actually . . . an incarnation of our good friend Jekyll. I have realised that you and I and everyone we see is the same. And this newfound practical divinity has brought to me a burning resolve . . .”
“You sound as if you have got religion, my dear friend.”
“Maybe. However, there is more to be said. You see, Jekyll’s potion to weaken the flesh fell short of the real potential to transform the evil into the good. This may sound strange, but God himself is on our side.”
“Pray tell.”
“In the Bible, Galatians chapter five: The Holy Spirit wars with our flesh. Romans chapter seven shows that our souls and our flesh are in conflict as well. You know – I do what I don’t want to and I don’t do what I do want to do. It seems that this Holy Spirit is on the side of our souls. Both are against the flesh, but the soul is powerless and the Holy Spirit powerful in the battle.”
“Bravo, bravo. Surely this is the most entertaining sermon I have ever heard. Preached my none other than my good friend, Reverand Utterson!”
“Poole, you may not be so far from the truth.”
“Really? Perhaps you go too far.”
“Maybe, you are right. But if our souls are good, I suppose some reflection of their original state before the fall, and if there is a means of defeating the fleshly dominion of mankind to release that good, I for one want to be a part of it.”
“Well said. But do we not stand the risk of being a casualty of the conflict. We know what happened to that good man, Jekyll, when he toyed with such mysteries.”
“I have no interest in his science, but the idea of practical divinity has entranced me. You see I have discovered that in theory, the Holy Spirit speaks for the human soul. He reads our heart and soul and speaks for us. He speaks for us to God, and I quote:
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Romans 8:26-27
And I have concluded that he speaks to us in like fashion. He is the voice of our heart and soul when the flesh otherwise has it completly silenced. It follows that if we listen to the Holy Spirit and follow his lead we are doing what we really want, rather than living out the desires of an imposter, like that monster Hyde.”
“A most brilliant analysis, Utterson. I have heard of a wierd sect that meets over in West End. They practice this business of listening to the Spirit. Rumour has it that they are an undisciplined lot. They come mostly from the lower classes, but they have a number of worthy benefactors. It is quite the anomoly. Perhaps you should take a closer look. It might be quite amusing”
“Two nights ago I did just that.”
“Astounding. Pray tell.”
“Your choice of words, weird sect, might be appropriate. They are indeed strange. Their meetings were nothing like those we have experienced before. I interviewed a member before they began and he helped me know what to expect. He described the presence of the Holy Spirit that can be felt. And I have to say, I felt what he described and experienced some illumination on my life that I thought beyond the realms of knowledge. I really felt like I heard . . . what can only be described as . . . the cry of my heart.”
“Now you really sound as though you have gotten religion.”
“Indeed. I may have gotten into me something a little more powerful than Jekyll’s potions.”
No comments:
Post a Comment