1970

"How did this all change and impact your relations with the boy?" wonders Carl, slowly pulling from the bag a scant handful of chocolate chips that he now  almost meditatively drops into his mouth. "The relations were problematic from the very beginning. He was not just my servant, but my personal property.  My possession  As a slave and as my slave, Thaddai had no right to personhood, nor to personal dignity or integrity.  Only his utility, his service to me mattered.  And that was so contrary to the law of God's love, to the two great commandments.  Still, I developed great tenderness towards him, and even in my rough handling of him in bed, tried to spare him as much discomfort as possible.  But there was no pleasure in it at all for him, and from the moment when I layed down my life for Jesus, I began to see there was neither for me any great pleasure in this.   Setting Thaddai free set us both free, and also from the unclean carnality of my mishandling of him, for I had committed against him a grave bodily crime.  The first words I uttered after I first knelt before our Lord that night in the olive grove, surrounded by the faithful, were a plea for forgiveness from Thaddai.  Then I declared him free.  I am glad to say that from that moment on we became bonded and united as true brothers in Christ..."