Synagogue

Extract 47
It’s been three months since his baptism. Three months since we saw him. We’ve heard lots of rumours – that he’s joined the Essene community out in the desert, that he’d gone mad – fasting for 40 days, that angels have taken him away, of amazing miracles in Capernaum. I suppose one day he will tell us. All I know for now is that yesterday he came home! There we were, Leah and me preparing for Sabbath and there he was. As if he had never been away – the smiles, the greetings, the questions to the boys about the business.

But for every thing that is the same there is something that is different. The same smile and laugh, but with a different glint in his eye. The same kind strength but with a resolve that scares me. I love my son, I know him so well. But who is this that has come home? My Jesus and yet more than my Jesus. My son and yet so much more than my son.

Anyway, I don’t know how long he will be here, but I’m determined to enjoy every minute!

Extract 48
We went to synagogue together. As we entered the attendant handed Jesus the scroll. I guess everyone wanted to know what had happened and this gave Jesus the chance to speak. When the moment came everyone was quiet. He stood and read from Isaiah. ‘The Spirit of Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me’. As he spoke it seemed to me not to be a reading from some long dead prophet but a simple statement of fact. Of course it’s a famous passage, everyone loves the hope it brings. But equally everyone is fed up hearing inspirational sermons that come to nothing or political speeches that end in riots or worse. When he finished reading we all held our breath to see which it would be. Slowly Jesus sat down and then in a quiet voice that I could hardly hear he simply said this. ‘Today, in your hearing this scripture is fulfilled’. For a moment we waited for him to continue. Then we realised that he was the sermon. He meant that he was anointed by the spirit to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, to bind up the broken hearted. Of course, many of them had seen the Spirit come to him when he was baptised, so there was much agreeing as they understood his words. I was so excited, the people who had so often rejected my son, were openly approving. But of course we all wanted to know what it meant, where he had been, whether the rumours were true. So he started. ‘You’ve heard rumours about mighty works? Well, why did I not do them here? Because you think you know me, but you don’t. “A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country”. But God has always been for all nations – that’s why Elijah was sent to a widow from Nain’. I didn’t hear the rest, I could see the approval drain away, the old hostilities rise. ‘Who are you to instruct us? We know you; you’re only a carpenter – Joseph’s son – and maybe not even that’. As Jesus continued to chastise us for our lack of commitment to God’s plan – that we should be a blessing to the nations, the anger rose. Eventually a crowd of the men took hold of Jesus and wrestled him out of the synagogue. We tried desperately to intervene, but they were wild, racing off with Jesus up the hill. I felt so helpless, my son and I can do nothing but watch as they half drag him to a place were they can kill him. After a few moments they were out of sight then suddenly, just as I was dreading hearing the worst, back came Jesus, simply walking through the crowd, unharmed, with every impression of being in control of the situation.

I’m not sure what frightened me most, the crowds reaction or the authority that seems to rest on Jesus.