Jesus the Son of Man Read online

and parables had never been heard in Syria. He seemed to spin them out of

  the seasons, even as time spins the years and the generations.

  He would begin a story thus: "The ploughman went forth to the field to

  sow his seeds."

  Or, "Once there was a rich man who had many vineyards."

  Or, "A shepherd counted his sheep at eventide and found that one sheep

  was missing."

  And such words would carry His listeners into their simpler selves, and

  into the ancient of their days.

  At heart we are all ploughmen, and we all love the vineyard. And in the

  pastures of our memory there is a shepherd and a flock and the lost

  sheep;

  And there is the ploughshare and the winepress and the threshing-floor.

  He knew the source of our older self, and the persistent thread of which

  we are woven.

  The Greek and the Roman orators spoke to their listeners of life as it

  seemed to the mind. The Nazarene spoke of a longing that lodged in the

  heart.

  They saw life with eyes only a little clearer than yours and mine. He saw

  life in the light of God.

  I often think that He spoke to the crowd as a mountain would speak to the

  plain.

  And in His speech there was a power that was not commanded by the orators

  of Athens or of Rome.

  MARY MAGDALEN

  IT WAS IN THE MONTH OF JUNE WHEN I SAW Him for the first time. He was

  walking in the wheatfield when I passed by with my handmaidens, and He

  was alone.

  The rhythm of His step was different from other men's, and the movement

  of His body was like naught I had seen before.

  Men do not pace the earth in that manner. And even now I do not know

  whether He walked fast or slow.

  My handmaidens pointed their fingers at Him and spoke in shy whispers to

  one another. And I stayed my steps for a moment, and raised my hand to

  hail Him. But He did not turn His face, and He did not look at me. And I

  hated Him. I was swept back into myself, and I was as cold as if I had

  been in a snow-drift. And I shivered.

  That night I beheld Him in my dreaming; and they told me afterward that I

  screamed in my sleep and was restless upon my bed.

  It was in the month of August that I saw Him again, through my window. He

  was sitting in the shadow of the cypress tree across my garden, and He

  was as still as if He had been carved out of stone, like the statues in

  Antioch and other cities of the North Country.

  And my slave, the Egyptian, came to me and said, "That man is here again.

  He is sitting there across your garden."

  And I gazed at Him, and my soul quivered within me, for He was beautiful.

  His body was single and each part seemed to love every other part.

  Then I clothed myself with raiment of Damascus, and I left my house and

  walked towards Him.

  Was it my aloneness, or was it His fragrance, that drew me to Him? Was it

  a hunger in my eyes that desired comeliness, or was it His beauty that

  sought the light of my eyes?

  Even now I do not know.

  I walked to Him with my scented garments and my golden sandals, the

  sandals the Roman captain had given me, even these sandals. And when I

  reached Him, I said, "Good-morrow to you."

  And He said, "Good-morrow to you, Miriam."

  And He looked at me, and His night-eyes saw me as no man had seen me. And

  suddenly I was as if naked, and I was shy.

  Yet He had only said, "Good-morrow to you."

  And then I said to Him, "Will you not come to my house?"

  And He said, "Am I not already in your house?"

  I did not know what He meant then, but I know now.

  And I said Will you not have wine and bread with me?"

  And He said, "Yes, Miriam, but not now."

  NOT NOW, NOT NOW, He said. And the voice of the sea was in those two

  words, and the voice of the wind and the trees. And when He said them

  unto me, life spoke to death.

  For mind you, my friend, I was dead. I was a woman who had divorced her

  soul. I was living apart from this self which you now see. I belonged to

  all men, and to none. They called me harlot, and a woman possessed of

  seven devils. I was cursed, and I was envied.

  But when His dawn-eyes looked into my eyes all the stars of my night

  faded away, and I became Miriam, only Miriam, a woman lost to the earth

  she had known, and finding herself in new places.

  And now again I said to Him, "Come into my house and share bread and wine

  with me."

  And He said, "Why do you bid me to be your guest?"

  And I said, "I beg you to come into my house." And it was all that was

  sod in me, and all that was sky in me calling unto Him.

  Then He looked at me, and the noontide of His eyes was upon me, and He

  said, "You have many lovers, and yet I alone love you. Other men love

  themselves in your nearness. I love you in your self. Other men see a

  beauty in you that shall fade away sooner than their own years. But I see

  in you a beauty that shall not fade away, and in the autumn of your days

  that beauty shall not be afraid to gaze at itself in the mirror, and it

  shall not be off ended.

  I alone love the unseen in you."

  Then He said in a low voice, "Go away now. If this cypress tree is yours

  and you would not have me sit in its shadow, I will walk my way."

  And I cried to Him and I said, "Master, come to my house. I have incense

  to burn for you, and a silver basin for your feet. You are a stranger and

  yet not a stranger. I entreat you, come to my house."

  Then He stood up and looked at me even as the seasons might look down

  upon the field, and He smiled. And He said again: "All men love you for

  themselves. I love you for yourself."

  And then He walked away.

  But no other man ever walked the way He walked. Was it a breath born in

  my garden that moved to the east? Or was it a storm that would shake all

  things to their foundations?

  I knew not, but on that day the sunset of His eyes slew the dragon in me,

  and I became a woman, I became Miriam, Miriam of Mijdel.

  PHILEMON A GREEK APOTHECARY

  THE NAZARENE WAS THE MASTER PHYSICIAN OF His people. No other man knew so

  much of our bodies and of their elements and properties.

  He made whole those who were afflicted with diseases unknown to the

  Greeks and the Egyptians. They say He even called back the dead to life.

  And whether this be true or not true, it declares His power; for only to

  him who has wrought great things is the greatest ever attributed.

  They say also that Jesus visited India and the Country between the Two

  Rivers, and that there the priests revealed to Him the knowledge of all

  that is hidden in the recesses of our flesh.

  Yet that knowledge may have been given Him direct by the gods, and not

  through the priests. For that which has remained unknown to all men for

  an eon may be disclosed to one man in but a moment. And Apollo may lay

  his hand on the heart of the obscure and make it wise.

  Many doors were open to the Tyrians and the Thebans, and to this man also

  certain sealed doors were opened. He entered the temple of the soul,

  which is the b
ody; and He beheld the evil spirits that conspire against

  our sinews, and also the good spirits that spin the threads thereof.

  Methinks it was by the power of opposition and resistance that He healed

  the sick, but in a manner unknown to our philosophers. He astonished

  fever with His snow-like touch and it retreated; and He surprised the

  hardened limbs with His own calm and they yielded to Him and were at

  peace.

  He knew the ebbing sap within the furrowed bark-but how He reached the

  sap with His fingers I do not know. He knew the sound steel underneath

  the rust-but how He freed the sword and made it shine no man can tell.

  Sometimes it seems to me that He heard the murmuring pain of all things

  that grow in the sun, and that then He lifted them up and supported them,

  not only by His own knowledge, but also by disclosing to them their own

  power to rise and become whole.

  Yet He was not much concerned with Himself as a physician. He was rather

  preoccupied with the religion and the politics of this land. And this I

  regret, for first of all things we must needs be sound of body.

  But these Syrians, when they are visited by an illness, seek an argument

  rather than medicine.

  And pity it is that the greatest of all their physicians chose rather to

  be but a maker of speeches in the market-place.

  SIMON WHO WAS CALLED PETER

  I WAS ON THE SHORE OF THE LAKE OF GALILEE WHEN

  I first beheld Jesus my Lord and my Master.

  My brother Andrew was with me and we were casting our net into the

  waters.

  The waves were rough and high and we caught but few fish. And our hearts

  were heavy.

  Suddenly Jesus stood near us, as if He had taken form that very moment,

  for we had not seen Him approaching.

  He called us by our names, and He said, "If you will follow me I will

  lead you to an inlet where the fishes are swarming."

  And as I looked at His face the net fell from my hands, for a flame

  kindled within me and I recognized Him.

  And my brother Andrew spoke and said, "We know all the inlets upon these

  shores, and we know also that on a windy day like this the fish seek a

  depth beyond our nets."

  And Jesus answered, "Follow me to the shores of a greater sea. I shall

  make you fishers of men. And your net shall never be empty."

  And we abandoned our boat and our net and followed Him.

  I myself was drawn by a power, viewless, that walked beside His person.

  I walked near Him, breathless and full of wonder, and my brother Andrew

  was behind us, bewildered and amazed.

  And as we walked on the sand I made bold and said unto Him, "Sir, I and

  my brother will follow your footsteps, and where you go we too will go.

  But if it please you to come to our house this night, we shall be graced

  by your visit. Our house is not large and our ceiling not high, and you

  will sit at but a frugal meal. Yet if you will abide in our hovel it will

  be to us a palace. And would you break bread with us, we in your presence

  were to be envied by the princes of the land."

  And He said, "Yea, I will be your guest this night."

  And I rejoiced in my heart. And we walked behind Him in silence until we

  reached our house.

  And as we stood at the threshold Jesus said, Peace be to this house, and

  to those who dwell it."

  Then He entered and we followed Him.

  My wife and my wife's mother and my daughter stood before Him and they

  worshipped Him; then they knelt before Him and kissed the hem of His

  sleeve.

  They were astonished that He, the chosen and the well beloved, had, come

  to be our guest; for they had already seen Him by the River Jordan when

  John the Baptist had proclaimed Him before the people.

  And straightway my wife and my wife's mother began to prepare the supper.

  My brother Andrew was a shy man, but his faith in Jesus was deeper than

  my faith.

  And my daughter, who was then but twelve years old, stood by Him and held

  His garment as if she were in fear He would leave us and go out again

  into the night. She clung to Him like a lost sheep that has found its

  shepherd.

  Then we sat at the board, and He broke the bread and poured the wine; and

  He turned to us saying, "My friends, grace me now in sharing this food

  with me, even as the Father has graced us in giving it unto us."

  These words He said ere He touched a morsel, for He wished to follow an

  ancient custom that the honored guest becomes the host.

  And as we sat with Him around the board we felt as if we were sitting at

  the feast of the great King.

  My daughter Petronelah, who was young and unknowing, gazed at His face

  and followed the movements of His hands. And I saw a veil of tears in her

  eyes.

  When He left the board we followed Him and sat about Him in the

  vine-arbor.

  And He spoke to us and we listened, and our hearts fluttered within us

  like birds.

  He spoke of the second birth of man, and of the opening of the gates of

  the heavens; and of angels descending and bringing peace and good cheer

  to all men, and of angels ascending to the throne bearing the longings of

  men to the Lord God.

  Then He looked into my eyes and gazed into the depths of my heart. And He

  said, "I have chosen you and your brother, and you must needs come with

  me. You have labored and you have been heavy-laden. Now I shall give you

  rest. Take up my yoke and learn of me, for in my heart is peace, and your

  soul shall find abundance and a home-coming."

  When He spoke thus I and my brother stood up before Him, and I said to

  Him, "Master, we will follow you to the ends of the earth. And if our

  burden were as heavy as the mountain we would bear it with you in

  gladness. And should we fall by the wayside we shall know that we have

  fallen on the way to heaven, and we shall be satisfied."

  And my brother Andrew spoke and said,

  Master, we would be threads between your hands and your loom. Weave us

  into the cloth if you will, for we would be in the raiment of the Most

  High."

  And my wife raised her face, and the tears were upon her cheeks and she

  spoke with joy, and she said, "Blessed are you who come in the name of

  the Lord. Blessed is the womb that carried you, and the breast that gave

  you milk."

  And my daughter, who was but twelve years old, sat at His feet and she

  nestled close to Him.

  And the mother of my wife, who sat at the threshold, said not a word. She

  only wept in silence and her shawl was wet with her tears.

  Then Jesus walked over to her and He raised her face to His face and He

  said to her, "You are the mother of all these. You weep for joy, and I

  will keep your tears in my memory."

  And now the old moon rose above the horizon. And Jesus gazed upon it for

  a moment, and then He turned to us and said, "It is late. Seek your beds,

  and may God visit your repose. I will be here in this arbor until dawn. I

  have cast my net this day and I have caught two men; I am satisfied, and

  now I bid you good-night."

  Then my wife's mother sa
id, "But we have laid your bed in the house, I

  pray you enter and rest."

  And He answered her saying, "I would indeed rest, but not under a roof.

  Suffer me to lie this night under the canopy of the grapes and the

  stars."

  And she made haste and brought out the mattress and the pillows and the

  coverings. And He smiled on her and He said, "Behold, I shall lie down

  upon a bed twice made."

  Then we left Him and entered into the house, and my daughter was the last

  one to enter. And her eyes were upon Him until I had closed the door.

  Thus for the first time I knew my Lord and Master.

  And though it was many years ago, it still seems but of today.

  CAIAPHAS

  THE HIGH PRIEST

  IN SPEAKING OF THAT MAN JESUS AND OF His death let us consider two

  salient facts: the Torah must needs be held in safety by us, and this

  kingdom must needs be protected by Rome.

  Now that man was defiant to us and to Rome. He poisoned the mind of the

  simple people, and He led them as if by magic against us and against

  Caesar.

  My own slaves, both men and women, after hearing Him speak in the

  market-place, turned sullen and rebellious. Some of them left my house

  and escaped to the desert whence they came.

  Forget not that the Torah is our foundation and our tower of strength. No

  man shall undermine us while we have this power to restrain his hand, and

  no man shall overthrow Jerusalem so long as its walls stand upon the

  ancient stone that David laid.

  If the seed of Abraham is indeed to live and thrive this soil must remain

  undefiled.

  And that man Jesus was a defiler and a corrupter. We slew Him with a

  conscience both deliberate and clean. And we shall slay all those who

  would debase the laws of Moses or seek to befoul our sacred heritage.

  We and Pontius Pilatus knew the danger in that man, and that it was wise

  to bring Him to an end.

  I shall see that His followers come to the same end, and the echo of His

  word to the same silence.

  If Judea is to live all men who oppose her must be brought down to the

  dust. And ere Judea shall die I will cover my gray head with ashes even

  as did Samuel the prophet, and I will tear off this garment of Aaron and

  clothe me in sackcloth until I go hence for ever.

  JOANNA

  THE WIFE OF HEROD'S STEWARD

  JESUS WAS NEVER MARRIED BUT HE WAS A friend of women, and He knew them as

  they would be known in sweet comradeship.

  And He loved children as they would be loved in faith and understanding.

  In the light of His eyes there was a father and a brother and a son.

  He would hold a child upon His knees and say, "Of such is your might and

  your freedom; and of such is the kingdom of the spirit."

  They say that Jesus heeded not the law of Moses, and that He was

  over-forgiving to the prostitutes of Jerusalem and the country side.

  I myself at that time was deemed a prostitute, for I loved a man who was

  not my husband, and he was a Sadducee.

  And on a day the Sadducees came upon me in my house when my lover was

  with me, and they seized me and held me, and my lover walked away and

  left me.

  Then they led me to the market-place where Jesus was teaching.

  It was their desire to hold me up before Him as a test and a trap for

  Him.

  But Jesus judged me not. He laid shame upon those who would have had me

  shamed, and He reproached them.

  And He bade me go my way.

  And after that all the tasteless fruit of life turned sweet to my mouth,