Martin Fieber - He Who Returned

“Friends, men and women of Nazareth.” Samuel’s loud words did not allow even the slightest noise from the audience. His deeply set dark eyes even increased this powerful presence. “May the peace of God descend upon you and may you sense his blessing upon you. I am happy that we today are allowed to celebrate our reunion with Joseph, the craftsman and his family in our humble home. Many years have passed since they left for Jerusalem. Let us lift our cups in honor of this reunion and in honor of God our Lord. Joseph, Yeshua, and Miriam. Here’s to you. Be blessed and let us praise God our Lord for this gift.”

The cups were lifted toward the heavens, the blessing was spoken and then the sweet wine of Galilee was drunk. The children were allowed to toast with grape juice and giggled merrily.

Then a second strong voice rang out. It was Josephs.

“Samuel, friends, people of Nazareth. My wide and I want to thank you for this wonderful celebration. We are happy to be so welcome, even though my then pregnant wife Miriam and I left on such short notice about five years ago and had to leave both my sons Jossi and Judah with their aunt Anna.” Joseph paused briefly to wait until the murmuring of the audience subsided. “We were not able to return earlier because destiny showed us another direction. Accept our thanks from the bottom of our heart. Now let us enjoy this feast together. Afterwards we will gladly report what we experienced in the last couple of years. God and his loving wisdom be praised for all eternity.” Again the cups were raised.

Now was the moment that all had been working towards on this day. All of the delicacies were served. There was warm sesame bread, cheese in olive oil spiced with garlic, fish fried in coriander and lamb roast with mint. Additionally grain and lentil soup, diverse salads, pastes and honey. Naturally the barley cake was not missing nor the wheat grain roasted in olive oil. There was something for everyone. And now everyone was smacking their lips, laughing, giggling, and some even singing. Joshua glanced over to Yeshua often, who always gave him a smile when their eyes met. Other than that the new arrival was quiet and absorbed in the meal. He looked very hungry. As it seemed to Joshua sometimes Yeshua even made a rather sad impression instead of a happy one.

“Joseph, please tell us where your destiny led you.” Samuel gave Joseph an intense look after he had set down the jug of wine on the low table next to himself and adjusted his garb.

“We are all very interested, or no?” Samuel’s jolly laugh raised the volume so quickly that Joshua nearly had a piece of lamb get stuck in his throat.

“Yes Joseph, tell us your experiences“, some called out and clapped their hands. Joshua looked over at Yeshua, who from that moment on kept his gaze downcast almost the entire time. Joshua could almost sense how embarrassing it was for Yeshua. Or was he even afraid?

“Good my friends, then I would like to begin.”, Joseph started, after he had removed the last remains of food from his bowl with a piece of sesame bread. With a glance across to Miriam at the neighboring table he could see that she was already well into sharing her stories, for the women were all laughing.

Joseph had a good-humoured face. He had dark and slightly curly hair that had taken on a slight greyish sheen. He had to be a little bit older, perhaps as old as Samuel. But was really nice about Joseph were his smiling eyes. They were not blue, but they were happy.

“Back then, when my wife Miriam was well into her pregnancy, she had a dream in which a messenger of the Lord appeared who told her that we should set out to Jerusalem.” Joseph had closed his eyes in order to better recall his memories. “That was the reason why we left Nazareth and went to Jerusalem. In the beginning I was opposed to it, since it was very dangerous in her condition, but she said that the child would not see the light of day until we reached the capital of Judah. I was not to be worry for she knew what she was doing. I let her convince me, for we all know who is in charge at home.”

Loud laughter of the men interrupted his narrative, only Samuel did not even break a smile.

“That was the last you heard of us for a long time. My sons Jossi und Judah from my first marriage found shelter with my sister Anna and were to continue my small craftsman workshop in the meantime. So we left for Jerusalem about two weeks before the Passover celebration. We had made arrangements that we would meet in Jerusalem if possible since Samuel and some others from the village also made the journey to Jerusalem every year. Unfortunately that did not work out for our son simply kept on not wanting to be born yet. “Joseph laughed toward Yeshua and sought eye contact, which his son however denied him. “After a while my wife heard another voice, after we had found shelter in a little house of an old acquaintance. We were to leave Jerusalem toward the south, toward Bethlehem. You all know that Miriam owns a small piece of land in Bethlehem that she leases out. And do you know what happened then?” Joseph looked around the group triumphantly.

“No, how are we supposed to know that. Go on with your story!”, Zephaniah shouted.

“You will not believe it.” Joseph stopped briefly in order to raise the level of attention even higher, though that was hardly possible at the moment since all were eagerly awaiting his story, some of them even almost forgetting to breathe.

“When we left the village, we could hardly believe our eyes, for a ray of light fell upon us although the sun was shining. But the light was much brighter than the sun. And the funny thing was that the ray accompanied us for our next few steps. And then, after the light had vanished, about fifty to sixty happy but excited people from all over the world received us and led us directly to a cave in Bethlehem, which had already been prepared for the birth of Yeshua. And do you know that?” Again Joseph paused and smiled at the group. His eyes flashed as if he were telling a joke. “This barn cave was on the land owned by Miriam. And that was good, for we had barely arrived in the cave when her contractions began. A midwife whom the tenants had called was also there. Everything, truly everything was prepared. Then the many men blocked off the cave entrance so that no one would be able to disturb the birth, as they told me later. The men began to pray. Despite the many different languages it became a quiet singsong that accompanied the entire birthing and gave especially Miriam much strength. Despite the many strange faces I felt strangely moved and a deep joy filled my heart..”

It had become quiet at the table of the men, and only quiet laughter was audible from the women’s table.

“Who were the men that received you in Bethlehem?”, Jeroham asked.

Before Joseph could give an answer, he was not sure at this moment whether he should tell the truth or invent a story, especially since his son was giving him an intense look just now. But in the end Joseph thought that he was in his home village, with his friends and his family. They would understand everything. So Joseph continued with his story.

“These men were wise people and seers from all of the countries in the world. Some came from Babylon, Rome, Greece, Media, Hispania, Arabia and Mesopotamia, from the legendary kingdom Wa, a German was among them, a few Egyptians, one seer even came from India, one from the Ch’in Empire in Asia. A mage of the Zapoteks was also present. He told us he came from a country across the great ocean. “

“Across the great ocean?” Samuel wanted to be sure he had heard correctly, since he could hardly believe his ears.

“Yes, exactly. I can still hardly believe it, even now as I am telling it to you. And all these men told the same story. Each of them had had the same dream, in which a voice told them that they should travel to Jerusalem. There in Jerusalem a bright star would show them the way. And this star would cast its rays on a very pregnant woman, who would then give birth to a king. A saviour, who would free all of humanity from its bondage. The wise people from those many countries said that they had to protect the birth since the demons of darkness wanted to prevent the birth at all cost.” Joseph took a sip from his cup of wine.