she had asked what that meant and what consequences could result from that, the messenger had only replied that the changes necessary with other parents would have been more complex, which however was not possible for a number of reasons. One of the consequences of this change in the genetic structure would be that her son would have blue eyes.
Miriam still flinched at the mere thought of that apparition for she knew what consequences she would face. Defamations, and the worst kind of insults. For how was anyone to believe that hers on was not the bastard of another man, but rather a son chosen by God? She had to learn how to deal with the glances and animosities of people and there words. Adulteress was the mildest of that which she had to suffer being called. Hopefully that would be different here in Nazareth. After all this was the home of Joseph, her sometimes naive but kind-hearted man.
“Yeshua, I think you already know that you are different than the other children, or?”, Miriam answered after a brief pause. “Yes mother“, he said without thinking long, “Yes, I know.”
Miriam had also noticed every day how different Jesus was. She had already noticed when he was two what healing energy the small hands of Jesus had. One day a heavy water bucket had fallen on her foot. Her foot had bled and hurt! Jesus had noticed this and simply stroked his hands over the area. The wound disappeared immediately, the pain ceased. Nothing remained to be seen of the wound. She could have recounted many such stories.
“What kind of dreams have you had in the last couple weeks, my son?”
“There were many but one haunts me. I dream this dream again and again.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It is night, I am walking along a long path with many curves up a hill. The path is shining as brightly as the torch in Bakenor’s garden. Lots of snakes and other icky creatures are crawling along the side of the path and want to pull me down into the abyss, but they do not reach me. Up on the mountaintop these ugly animals are gone and there is only an empty huge wooden cross.”
Miriam was surprised how clearly the soul of her son already now saw his future life path before him, which was not to be easy for him. Animosities and many human snakes would cross his path. Hopefully this dream did not mean that her son would end up on a roman cross, of which one saw so many on the side of the road. She quickly apologized in her thoughts however for presuming to call Yeshua her son.
“This dream is showing you the life that lies before you, Yeshua.” Miriam smiled. “Our father in heaven has prepared an especially bright path for you, from which, though it leads through darkness filled with many demons, you will not err, for they will not be able to touch you. Look at the children in this village. In their youth they play on the street, but as fathers they will stand on the fields or work on construction sites and maybe ask themselves shortly before their death whether that was truly everything in life. You on the other hand will travel about in the world, help many people and tell those who wish to hear it of another world and thereby create another world here. God has given you special gifts in this life. And for these tasks he also gave you blue eyes. Do you understand my words?”
“Yes, mother.”
Suddenly there was a knock on the doorpost and a smiling woman appeared at the entrance.
“Sarah, come on in, I am just finished with the preparations for the lentil soup.” Miriam put her left hand on her heart in greeting the way she always did. “Now I am just preparing the olive paste. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for welcoming us so warmly. “
“It is a joy for us, Miriam.”
“By the way, this is our son, Yeshua.” Miriam proudly pointed toward her son.
Sarah sat down in front of the boy. “I greet you, Yeshua. Just how old are you?”
“I am five years old“, he said in such a calm and lovely voice that it surely must warm Sarah’s heart, Miriam thought to herself. After all that is how she felt whenever Yeshua had a certain expression in his words. “O, then you are only a few years younger then Joshua. You will get along well with him. This evening the two of you will get acquainted.” Then she turned to Miriam again. “The women in the village are all very busy. I think this is going to be the most beautiful celebration that our village has had in the past years. I simply wanted to quickly see how you are doing.”
“That is nice of you, Sarah.”
“Miriam, it is nice that you all are here.” She laughed, briefly waved at Yeshua and then disappeared as happy as when she had shown up a few minutes ago.
“ 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
