Lord protect you.”
“Thank you. Good night. May you have a peaceful night and always be in the safekeeping of God.” Jesus walked on down the alleyway playing a quiet yet merry tune.
“Jacob, don’t you hear his mawkish jabbering?”
“Samuel, it is obvious that you do not like the lad.”
“Do I have to pretend that I do? He insults our faith. For me that is the worst of the worst. And besides he spends a lot of time alone. As you see is even about alone in the evening and wanders all about.” Samuel huffed deeply, the deep furrows in his brow relaxing a bit.
“Samuel, discipline your thoughts. You are the rabbi of Nazareth, it is up to you to lead by good example.”
“Maybe you are right. Perhaps I have to deal with him a little … differently.”
“O, do I hear a tiny apology there?” Jacob laughed. “Now this is truly a rare thing with you. You must be feeling excellent this evening.”
“You truly know me better than anyone else, Jacob.” Now both of the men had to smile. What they were not consciously aware of is that the flute melodies of Jesus had lent some warmth to their hearts.
When Jesus und Jacob had left, Samuels thoughts dwelled on the circumcision of a boy which was to take place tomorrow. A circumcision was always something very holy for him, although he did not like seeing blood. Good thing that he was by now even able to do the job blindly, for this allowed him to concentrate on making the ritual a contemplative ceremony. True, the boy did not always react contemplatively, however such was life – sacrifices had to be made. And one was also not joined into union with God everyday either. For on the day of circumcision the boy entered this holy union with God and became a member of the chosen people. Samuel felt good about being a chosen rabbi of the chosen people. God had to love him, yes, God had to be proud of him the way he was.
False Prophets, Demons and a King
The lesson was very interesting today. Samuel read the torah as usual, after the older boys who could already read well took their turn. The topic was false prophets and dream-visionaries. Joshua heard the clear words of his father, who repeated the words of their God.
“If a prophet or dream-visionary were to stand up among you and offer you a proof or a miracle, and it actually comes about, and based on this he tells you to follow and worship other Gods which you do not know, then you mustn’t listen to the words of that prophet or dream-visionary.”
Many more sentences followed, yet those first lines were the ones which he remembered deeply. Joshua understood the sentences, yet it was not clear to him why his father always warned them about the Messiah in this context.
“You must never believe what people tell you about the so-called Messiah.” Samuel spoke very insistently. “It is not right. I know that many of you were at the merchants yesterday and heard a bunch of nonsense. Especially an Egyptian spread the tale in our village that we are beneficiaries of God’s special grace. We supposedly had been chosen because the future saviour of our people lives among us here in the village. You have surely heard about this.” Samuel let his stern gaze wander from student to student.
“However I tell you that that is not true and must be condemned to the utmost. The Messiah does not live in this little place called Nazareth. The Messiah is still far off, and if he were to appear, he would show himself in the temple in Jerusalem.” Samuel angrily looked in the direction of Jesus. “Children, have you understood me? Our Lord has told us clearly that we must not believe such statements. Eleasar, Amos, Ismael, is that clear?”
“Yes, we have understood you, rabbi“, they all answered in unison.
“What does our Greek have to say to that? Jesus, have you also understood me?”
“I have understood the words from the scripture.”, Jesus was very serious, “I will not follow and other Gods.”
“Good. That is what I wanted to hear. And you, Joshua?”
“Me neither, father.”
“Good, then before you may go, let us conclude by confessing the Schemâ Jisrael, as we have learned it from our forefathers.” Samuel observed Jesus, who had however closed his eyes.
“Hear oh Israel! Yahweh, our God, Yahweh is the only one of his kind. And thus you are to love the Lord your God with all of your heart with all of your soul and with all of your power. These words which I bind you to today are to be written on your heart. You are to repeat them to your sons. You are to speak of them when you are sitting at home and when you go into the alleyways, when you go to sleep and when you rise the next morning. You are to wrap them around your wrist as a sign. They are to become an ornament on your brow. You are to inscribe them on your doorpost and on the gates of your city.”
Samuel was satisfied. After he had had to hear with horror what that damned Egyptian merchant had spread around here, he had had to make a change to the teaching agenda on short notice. He had to stamp out these awful rumours right away before they took on a life of their own. It had been a good decision to call the issue by its proper name and to confront the boys with this. He was surprised that Jesus had agreed with him so quickly and without any discussion. Perhaps there was a glimmer of hope left that he was turning away from his Greek way of thinking back toward his origin. Samuel noticed that he was smiling. That had been a remarkable achievement today. But now he sure was hungry. After he had placed the torah back in the shrine he slowly walked over to eat a small meal.
It is quite easy to notice that the rabbi does not really pay attention. He does not listen to exactly what I say. Or rather to what you say, to be more honest. However it is good this way, for otherwise there would be major discussions with him. So all is well.
I feel better about my Greek name. Jesus is much more to my liking than Yeshua. Yeshua feels so strict, so rigid, just like the many unnecessary rules of my people. Perhaps those old rigid laws of my forefathers cause me to perceive that name as so strict, for the sound of the name is harmonious. The rabbi thinks that I am distancing myself from my Jewish roots this way, however he is not able to understand what it means for me to have grown up in Egypt, to have seen large buildings such as the three pyramids near Heliopolis. What would he say if he knew that I spoke with Bakenor about my fears while in a chamber of the pyramids? What would he say if I were to tell him that I spoke with a very bright being in there which called itself ‚angel of the earth’? I think that the rabbi would have me be stoned to death if he knew all of that. Now I notice that while I am a Jew I am at home in the whole world and my task will not only affect the Jews. Father, I pray that I may be allowed to travel much. May it be so.
∞
In the afternoon all of the children were fathered in the alleyways. The girls sang and jumped about in a circle. Rachel was also there. Joshua watched the girls. He leaned up against the trunk of the mulberry tree in the shade. He would much rather play with the girls, however that would have given Simeon ammunition to bother him for several days at least. Rachel was one of the few girls that also sometimes played with the boys. She especially loved playing ‚Jacob and the Lord’ or other games of catch, and she seized every opportunity to join in. Joshua had to smile, because he often watched here and loved her graceful way of moving.
Suddenly he heard clanking metallic steps. That had to be a Roman patrol, which one saw more and more often in Nazareth lately. Nine soldiers came marching from Sepphoris toward the main square. A soldier who was decorated more beautifully and nobly then the others led the way. They stopped directly in front of Joshua.
“Salve. Where can I find the rabbi here?”, the leader asked.
Joshua got up. “That is the house there. His name is Samuel and he is in the school building. Shall I accompany you to him?”
“Yes, gladly.”
Joshua went ahead, however the decorated soldier quickly caught up with him and then went ahead of him a few steps. This