“ Sarah is a very nice woman “, Miriam said, truly a remarkably nice woman.”
“But her soul is very unhappy mother. Even her smile could not hide that.”
Yeshua was not entirely sure yet whether he would truly feel at home in Nazareth. Up until now they had lived in a big house of Bakenor, who was more of a father to him than Joseph even. He still could remember well how he had stood in front of Bakenor upon their departure and had thrown himself in front of him and was so tearful that he did not want to let go of him. Oh how he missed that quiet, almost holy place in Egypt. And o how much he missed Bakenor. Bakenor, oh Bakenor! Joseph was a good-hearted person who did everything for his son, but sometimes Yeshua had the felling as if he distanced himself from him. Joseph simply could not understand why he had a son with blue eyes.
Yeshua was happy that he had his mother. He often felt a strength and greatness in himself that however also made him afraid. Only his mother could then take away his fear by giving him her time to speak with him. Through her presence she gave him harmony, a feeling of being sheltered, and security. She let him be the way he wanted to be. He was different and she accepted that. She was a wise woman. And she was a strong woman. He recalled an instance when Joseph had scolded him for being so laconic and demanded that he immediately say something. However his mother stood in front of him and did not even allow a discussion about the matter. She said something to Joseph and after that no incidents of the sort ever occurred again.
I am very happy that we have finally arrived in Nazareth. But what am I to do here? The journey took too long for my taste. And my pain is too great, not being able to speak with Bakenor anymore. In the beginning I did not want to leave Bakenor, but then he told me that I should write a diary. Fortunately he taught me how to write very well. If I write regularly, he assured me, I would be able to travel to him in my thoughts and write down my feelings and problems. It would be good for my soul and lighten it. Today I am doing this for the first time and am placing all my hope in you, father, that I will like it here in Nazareth. Hopefully I will find friends with whom I can exchange and who can also understand me. Please bless the people and bring joy into their hearts so that Nazareth may become a flowering blossom and so that as little sorrow as possible is in the houses of my new home. So be it.
A Celebration and its Consequences
What a lively scene the alleyways of Nazareth offered up that evening! The celebration for the family of Joseph was held in the courtyard of Samuels home. This simply was the largest gathering place in the little village. If all attended, the 300 inhabitants of Nazareth could just barely fit into the place. Samuel, Jeroham, the shepard, and Jacob, the potter, together formed Nazareth’s council of elders, and yesterday they had had a long discussion about where to hold the celebration: whether in the house of the rabbi or rather down on the meadow before the gates of Nazareth. Ample space was an argument for the meadow, for there the children would have room to play. However since the meadow was so large, it would have required thrice as many torches to be lit. And some mothers would have had reservations about letting their children play until late in the night out on the meadow. One was too afraid of the goat-elves, those misshaped nature spirits which wandered about in the area at night and could kidnap small children. Many years ago two children actually had disappeared. However everyone doubted whether the goat-elves really were involved in that. In the end the decision was made in favor of the smaller, more cozy and secure courtyard of the Rabbi.
Evening came. Almost all inhabitants of the village were about. Women were carrying bowls of food to the courtyard of the Rabbi, the children were allowed to play out in the alleys longer, and the men stood around together in groups wrapped up in their important discussions.
Joshua was excited in a strange way this evening. He did not know why, but a kind of giddy anticipation filled his being. For surely Joseph would share the story of what his family had experienced in Egypt. Joshua loved stories and was looking forward to seeing Yeshua, the boy with the interesting eyes which had pierced him so deeply the day before. The children were still playing in small groups although it was already dark and not much of the light in the houses reached the alleyways. Joshua was playing hide and seek with Rachel, Ismael und Joseph. He constantly had to think of Yeshua, although he had not even had a full view of him yet.
“Joshua, you’re daydreaming again! Come on, you’re supposed to come and search for us.” Rachel’s voice brought him back from his thoughts.
Too bad that he would not be able to sit next to Rachel this evening, for as usual in Nazareth the men would have their own area and the women too after they had tended serving up the feast. “Umm, yes, true, I was just thinking of something else.”
“Either go sit down or play with us.”
“All right, then you had better go on and play without me.” Joshua gave Rachel the blindfold, turned around and walked through the little village on his own. He loved taking walks toward the end of the day when the first stars appeared in sky. Normally he was not allowed to do this, but this evening he used the time he still had before the celebration was to begin. Torches were already lit everywhere and illuminated the village.
And so he walked past their house and up a steep slope until he reached his favorite place. It was a beautiful majestic olive tree which throned on the small hill. Joshua always had the feeling that this noble tree guarded the village. Gazing down upon the horizon he could not see the village below from here. Joshua loved leaning up against the trunk of the gnarled old tree and feeling its bark. The view was splendid. In the west Joshua saw the Carmel Mountains, in the south he could see all across the Jesreel plains and even all the way to the Samarian hill country. He could see snow-clad Mount Hermon in the north and Mount Tabor in the east. He especially enjoyed the view of Tabor, whose majestic silhouette drew everyone’s attention, like a king.
What was that? In the distance he briefly saw a star blink. Then the light moved along the horizon, paused above the harmoniously rounded right peak of Tabor and blinked again. At the same moment a wonderful sense of comfort and love filled his being, in a way that he had never felt these before. He heard a voice in his head: “We are always with you. And do not forget that you are loved, even when life sometimes is a little more difficult.” Then the voice was gone along with the star, and Joshua became very quiet inside and simultaneously sad. Who in the world had that been? Who had just spoken to him? He looked around but could not discover anyone.
Joshua remained there for a while and listened to the wind and the leaves of the olive tree. Today he could not hear either of those tell a story. He was simply too excited. Too restless. He could think of nothing other than those beautiful blue eyes.
∞
When Joshua reappeared in the village everyone was just settling into their place, for the celebration was to begin any moment. He sat down next to Samuel, who was seated near Jeroham, the shepard. Jacob the potter and his son Ismael sat down to his left. The seats across were still available, however, as they appeared out of the shadows, he quickly realized that these were reserved for Joseph, his two older sons Jossi and Judah who had not left Nazareth, and for Yeshua. There they were again, those wonderful eyes. His excitement was so great that he was not able to say a thing. He wanted to say hi to Yeshua, but was only able to voice a silent kind of croak. So he simply nodded since he was not capable to do anything else. Yeshua’s eyes had touched him so deeply again. “I greet you too, Joshua“, Yeshua quickly said and smiled at him. Joshua returned the smile. This holy moment was however abruptly interrupted by Samuel, who stood up and requested the quiet attention of all.
“Friends, men and women of Nazareth.” Samuel’s loud words did not allow even the slightest noise from the audience. His deeply set dark eyes even increased this powerful presence. “May the peace of God descend upon you and may you sense his blessing upon you. I am happy that we today are allowed to celebrate our reunion with Joseph, the craftsman and his family in our humble home. Many years have passed since they left for Jerusalem. Let us lift our cups in honor of this reunion and in honor of God our Lord. Joseph, Yeshua, and Miriam. Here’s to you. Be blessed and let us praise God our Lord for this gift.”