These are my two historical novels about a character named Joseph Shepherd. The first one is about a mysterious man who appears suddenly onto the earthly scene in the early 17th century. He travels the world with a partner, Luke Greene, and together they meet some of the giants of the century- Galileo, King James, William Harvey, Francis Bacon, Oliver Cromwell, and William Bradford, captain of the Mayflower, among many others.
Shepherd is an archetype of Jesus, placed into the earth once again. I won’t spoil the endings, because they hold the answer to his appearances. My thesis was that if Jesus came again to the earth, he would once again speak truth to power and he would run afoul of the powers of the day. In fact, he would once again be persecuted and possibly killed. Jesus is always a “lightning rod” for controversy since he pursues justice fearlessly. People in power in any empire will always work to retain power, and justice and mercy may be sacrificed as a result.
In the sequel, Joseph Shepherd once again appears, this time in the United States during the Civil War. He becomes a Union soldier (field surgeon), an advisor to several Presidents, and he is involved (and unable to stop) the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley.
Once again, his upright and challenging stances conflict with the current powers, and he ends up being arrested and persecuted. Along the way his adventures bring him in contact with Thomas Edison, a young Henry Ford, Billy the Kid, John D. Rockefeller, Mark Twain, and a host of American luminaries.
My point through these books is that Jesus, no matter when or where he shows up, pursues peace, justice, mercy and healing – and he is often misunderstood and persecuted.
So, if Jesus were to show up again in a human body, how would he be treated today?
Reflections of a Counselor 