But when He promised them high stations in His kingdom of mirage, they yielded to His fantasy as clay to the potter.

 

 

Know you not, the slave in his dreaming would always be master; and the weakling would be a lion?

 

 

The Galilean was a conjuror and a deceiver, a man who forgave the sins of all sinners that He might hear Hail and Hosanna from their unclean mouths; and who fed the faint heart of the hopeless and the wretched that He might have ears for His voice and a retinue at His command.

 

 

He broke the Sabbath with those who break that He might gain the support of the lawless; and He spoke ill of our high priests that He might win attention in Sanhedrim, and by opposition increase His fame.

 

 

I have said often that I hated that man. Ay, I hate Him more than I hate the Romans who govern our country. Even His coming was from Nazareth, a town cursed by our prophets, a dunghill of the Gentiles, from which no good shall ever proceed.

A RICH LEVI
IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF
NAZARETH

Jesus the Good Carpenter

 

He was a good carpenter. The doors He fashioned were never unlocked by thieves, and the windows he made were always ready to open to the east wind and to the west.

 

 

And He made chests of cedar wood, polished and enduring, and ploughs and pitchforks strong and yielding to the hand.

 

 

And He carved lecterns for our synagogues. He carved them out of the golden mulberry; and on both sides of the support, where the sacred book lies, He chiselled wings outspreading; and under the support, heads of bulls and doves, and large-eyed deer.

 

 

All this He wrought in the manner of the Chaldeans and the Greeks. But there was that in His skill which was neither Chaldean nor Greek.

 

 

Now this my house was builded by many hands thirty years ago. I sought builders and carpenters in all the towns of Galilee. They had each the skill and the art of building, and I was pleased and satisfied with all that they did.

 

 

But come now, and behold two doors and a window that were fashioned by Jesus of Nazareth. They in their stability mock at all else in my house.

 

 

See you not that these two doors are different from all other doors? And this window opening to the east, is it not different from other windows?

 

 

All my doors and windows are yielding to the years save these which He made. They alone stand strong against the elements.

 

 

And see those cross-beams, how he placed them; and these nails, how they are driven from one side of the board, and then caught and fastened so firmly upon the other side.

 

 

And what is passing strange is that that labourer who was worthy the wages of two men received but the wage of one man; and that same labourer now is deemed a prophet in Israel.

 

 

Had I known then that this youth with saw and plane was a prophet, I would have begged Him to speak rather than work, and then I would have overpaid Him for his words.

 

 

And now I still have many men working in my house and fields. How shall I know the man whose own hand is upon his tool, from the man upon whose hand God lays His hand?

 

 

Yea, how shall I know God’s hand?

A SHEPHERD IN SOUTH LEBANON

A Parable

 

It was late summer when He and three other men first walked upon that road yonder. It was evening, and He stopped and stood there at the end of the pasture.

 

 

I was playing upon my flute, and my flock was grazing all around me. When He stopped I rose and walked over and stood before Him.

 

 

And He asked me, “Where is the grave of Elijah? Is it not somewhere near this place?”

 

 

And I answered Him, “It is there, Sir, underneath that great heap of stones. Even unto this day every passer-by brings a stone and places it upon the heap.”

 

 

And He thanked me and walked away, and His friends walked behind Him.

 

 

And after three days Ganaliel who was also a shepherd, said to me that the man who had passed by was a prophet in Judea; but I did not believe him. Yet I thought of that man for many a moon.

 

 

When spring came Jesus passed once more by this pasture, and this time He was alone.

 

 

I was not playing on my flute that day for I had lost a sheep and I was bereaved, and my heart was downcast within me.

 

 

And I walked towards Him and stood still before Him, for I desired to be comforted.

 

 

And He looked at me and said, “You do not play upon your flute this day. Whence is the sorrow in your eyes?” ý

 

 

And I answered, “A sheep from among my sheep is lost. I have sought her everywhere but I find her not. And I know not what to do.”

 

 

And He was silent for a moment. Then He smiled upon me and said, “Wait here awhile and I will find your sheep.” And He walked away and disappeared among the hills.

 

 

After an hour He returned, and my sheep was close behind Him. And as He stood before me, the sheep looked up into His face even as I was looking. Then I embraced her inn gladness.

 

 

And He put His hand upon my shoulder and said, “From this day you shall love this sheep more than any other in your flock, for she was lost and now she is found.”

 

 

And again I embraced my sheep in gladness, and she came close to me, and I was silent.

 

 

But when I raised my head to thank Jesus, He was already walking afar off, and I had not the courage to follow Him.

JOHN THE BAPTIST

He Speaks in Prison to His Disciples

 

I am not silent in this foul hole while the voice of Jesus is heard on the battlefield. I am not to be held nor confined while He is free.

 

 

They tell me the vipers are coiling round His loins, but I answer: The vipers shall awaken His strength, and He shall crush them with His heel.

 

 

I am only the thunder of His lightning. Though I spoke first, His was the word and the purpose.

 

 

They caught me unwarned. Perhaps they will lay hands on Him also. Yet not before He has pronounced His word in full. And He shall overcome them.

 

 

His chariot shall pass over them, and the hoofs of His horses shall trample them, and He shall be triumphant.

 

 

They shall go forth with lance and sword, but He shall meet them with the power of the Spirit.

 

 

His blood shall run upon the earth, but they themselves shall know the wounds and the pain thereof, and they shall be baptized in their tears until they are cleansed of their sins.

 

 

Their legions shall march towards His cities with rams of iron, but on their way they shall be drowned in the River Jordan.

 

 

And His walls and His towers shall rise higher, and the shields of His warriors shall shine brighter in the sun.

 

 

They say I am in league with Him, and that our design is to urge the people to rise and revolt against the kingdom of Judea.

 

 

I answer, and would that I had flames for words: if they deem this pit of iniquity a kingdom, let it fall into destruction and be no more. Let it go the way Sodom and Gomorrah, and let this race be forgotten by God, and this land be turned to ashes.

 

 

Aye, behind these prison walls I am indeed an ally to Jesus of Nazareth, and He shall lead my armies, horse and foot. And I myself, though a captain, am not worthy to loose the strings of His sandals.

 

 

Go to Him and repeat my words, and then in my name beg Him for comfort and blessing.

 

 

I shall not be here long. At night ‘twixt waking and waking I feel slow feet with measured steps treading above this body. And when I hearken, I hear the rain falling upon my grave.

 

 

Go to Jesus, and say that John of Kedron whose soul is filled with shadows and then emptied again, prays for Him, while the grave-digger stands close by, and the swordman outstretches his hand for his wages.

JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA

On the Primal Aims of Jesus

 

You would know the primal aim of Jesus, and I would fain tell you.