The atmosphere among the merchants is good.”
“Are you happy with your frankincense?” Jacob knew that Samuel had made a large purchase earlier in the day.
“Yes, a very select quality. God gives in rich measure. Cyrus is reliable. The caravans that pass through here are getting larger and larger. Did you also see that one of the merchants even offered balm?”
“Yes, that I did.”
“And did you see that he sold his two small jugs?”
“No, is that really so?”
“I’m telling you it is! I think it was to the two families that built their houses at the other end of the village. They seem to be rich people, even though one can not tell by looking at them. Jeroham told me that they are friends of the Romans. They know some influential person in Sepphoris and earn their money with some kind of construction work.”
“Joseph will not be pleased if Roman families from outside come into this village now. Ah well, Joseph, perhaps he deserves this after having called his son the Messiah.”
“Oh Samuel, give it a rest now. Joseph is a nice guy who desires only to help everyone. He truly is a little talkative, but his heart is in the right spot. And besides, by now dust has settled on that whole matter. I have heard that his son is not the exactly the brightest when it comes to playing with the other children. He certainly is no Messiah. The village has already forgotten about that unfortunate incident.” Jacob raised his large shoulders.
“People are already ordering small stools Joseph again. They seem to have forgiven him. May you too forgive him. And Jesus, well, he seems to be a bit reserved sometimes and a bit odd, but he is a good kid.”
“You call him reserved? Pah, he is a know-it-all, a glib little lout. One who befouls the scriptures of our forefathers. And what is worst is that he is highly intelligent., or so at least it appears to me. Now Simeon on the other hand is truly stupid. But he is predictable. With him one always knows what to expect. But Yeshua? He is dangerous, mark my words.”
“Psst, do you here that flute melody, Samuel? Where is it coming from?” Jacob perked his ears.
“It seems to be coming from the hill up there.” They ran a few feet across the stream toward the only intersection in the village. And there sure enough a small figure playing a flute was coming down the stony path.
“That is Jesus. Were we not just speaking of him. He sure plays well for only being five years old.”
“No man plays flute, Jacob. Not even a boy. Flute playing is something for sissies“, Samuel whispered to Jacob, since Jesus was already closely.
“God be with you Rabbi, God be with you Jacob. No need to worry about me. I am already on my way home.”
“God be with you, Jesus.” Jacob fumbled with an awkward moment of silence. “You play very well.. And now you really must be on your way home. May the 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
