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
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 passerby 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 Gamaliel, 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?”
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 in 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, to One of 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 gravedigger stands close by, and the swordman outstretches his hand for his wages.
Joseph of Arimathea
You would know the primal aim of Jesus, and I would fain tell you. But none can touch with fingers the life of the blessed wine, nor see the sap that feeds the branches.
And though I have eaten of the grapes and have tasted the new vintage at the winepress, I cannot tell you all.
I can only relate what I know of Him.
Our Master and our Belovèd lived but three prophet’s seasons. They were the spring of His song, the summer of His ecstasy, and the autumn of His passion; and each season was a thousand years.
The spring of
