A Rainbow Connection

The Rainbow Connection

Luke 2:41-52

Karl Evans

2007

Donkeys. Good grief, donkeys. Donkeys have been the stock of motherly love and admiration since the earliest of times. These steady workers have also been the butts of constant jokes. Even political commentators and tired travelers have lamented their stubbornness and cries of woe.

Yet donkeys have a reputation as docile, plodding, easy-going animals, willing to accept any load. Faithful donkeys have been the burden-bearers of almost the entire world since domestic animal history began.

Along a hot trail or standing in the sun or lying in the shade, donkeys seem always to be the same. Legend says donkeys will never stray, never flinch. Much of the hoopla about donkeys is true.

That is, all but that little part about being gentle, easy-going, and docile. And especially except that part about being comfortable to ride.

Donkeys are common on the busiest street in Jerusalem. In front of the Temple of Judaism, the holiest shrine in the world, donkeys may not seem so pleasant. There are a few problems at a sacred site.

Every day, hundreds of people from Jerusalem itself came to the temple. Many more came from faraway places such as India and Spain and Madagascar and Egypt.

The visitors came with their yapping dogs and with their neighing and prancing horses. Pilgrims came with their singing and talking birds and with their oxen and their camels. They came to make an offering to the Lord and to give thanks.

Of course, they also came to buy and sell. They came to yell at and bicker with each other. All this made this one of the most crowded and cosmopolitan of markets of the time.

Now, about the donkeys. What do you think? In this mess, will a donkey stand still? Will a donkey stand quietly while dogs chase each other and fight each other between the legs of the donkey?

Will the donkey stand calmly while huge oxen plod by? Or will it remain placid as the governor's chariots race back and forth?

Can the donkey be calm while camels three times the size of the donkey buck and roar and spit over them? Would you? Of course not.

But now it is early morning, and time to go back home. Time to return to Damascus, and Alexandria, and Bagdad, and Delhi. Time to hit the road.

So the donkey pilgrims form their caravan as early in the morning as possible. When the first light of day comes, they already have their packs tied together and strapped to their beasts.
They are usually some of the poorest of the pilgrims. The wealthier travelers had camels or chariots for themselves. These poor but faithful visitors have only donkeys and dogs. The travelers with camels and horses looked down on them.

Yet the donkey pilgrims are not quite destitute. A donkey, though not a huge animal, is still worth good money. And it still requires feed, and water, and care.

These pilgrims have come to the Temple for the sake of faith rather than status. Some have perhaps done a small bit of buying or selling in Jerusalem to help pay for the trip. Now, with the rituals and the trading done, the Temple visited, and homesickness setting in, it is time to leave.

With the first light of dawn, the men of the caravan make their last walk into the courtyard of the Temple. Many meaningful prayers are uttered here. Often the prayers are for another opportunity to see the temple again one more time before death.

Then the families and animals wait, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. The men offer their last prayers for a safe journey home--wherever around the world that may be. Many of them will never see Jerusalem again. Then, donkey after donkey, camel after camel, sandal after sandal, the ragged bands begin the long trek home. They are long gone before the confusion of the daily marketplace really erupts.

In relief and in a spiritual high, the whole caravan of pilgrims and sightseers and small-time traders move off down the road. They are beginning what will be for many families a 10-day or ten-week trek to home, to Nazareth or Athens wherever their home happened to be.

Almost this whole caravan left.

Almost this whole family left.

There was the boy--oh, about twelve or so. The trip was a present from his parents on his becoming a man. This was in the good tradition of the Jews.

He has been confirmed in the faith just after his twelfth birthday. His family and friends affirmed him and his place in the community. They supported him in his relationship with his God and with God's Chosen People.

Jesus had gone through the ritual in the winter. Now it is spring and the rainy season is past. The family has made the trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem. They came partly as a sightseeing and business trip and partly as a gift to Jesus.

Now Joseph has been getting along in years. This would almost certainly be his last trip to Jerusalem. As he knelt, he felt the majestic presence of the Great Temple. The power of God seemed to force itself upon him from the spot of the Holy of Holies.

In his last few moments alone with the beloved Temple, Joseph prayed for peace for all the world. He prayed for his wife and family. He prayed for Jerusalem, and for Israel, and for the family of David.

At last he let his mind and heart see a new Israel springing up around the Temple. He could see sunshine and flowers and rainbows.

Jesus could even feel the peace of the new Israel. This vision was the most precious gift of any pilgrimage to the Temple. Every Son of Abraham is privileged to witness that vision, given a little faith.

With the vision firmly embedded in his heart and mind, Joseph was ready.

The men of the caravan slowly rose to go back to the caravan and begin the long trek.

Joseph left Jesus kneeling in the courtyard, deep in prayer. Joseph was used to this by now.
Jesus spent more time in prayer than did other boys. Mary and Joseph had long since decided the best parenting style in this situation was benign neglect. He chose to let Jesus be. He did not understand Jesus. Joseph just tried to stay out of Jesus’ way.

Joseph frequently remembered Jesus had a special relationship with God. Often he thought it might turn out to be more trouble than it was worth. Sometimes, such as just now, Jesus was a confusing nuisance. By his special interests, he was not quite in the mainstream of the community.

His extra time reading or in prayer might have been better used to help in the carpentry work. Even at the age of twelve he could have made some money working or trading here at the gates of the Temple. Right now he could have been helping the caravan prepare its departure.

Now that Jesus had become a man, Joseph was hoping he would be a little more reliable about the family business. Jesus can work hard as a carpenter's helper. Jesus could and should do the things needed to make the family life better.

But today, because it is special, Joseph let Jesus have a last few minutes. Joseph had a donkey and a wife to look after. Jesus would be along shortly. Joseph really needed Jesus with him now. Jesus could both carry part of the load and help lead the donkey.

Now as a man and a Jew, Jesus finally lifted his eyes. He rose slowly but resolutely in the morning light of the courtyard. Steadily he turned to join his parents. He really wanted to just stay in the courtyard of the Temple, but he knew he must go back now to Nazareth. There would be another day.

As he took one last look around the yard, his eyes landed on a blind man. The man's dog was just setting on a fight with another dog, a stray. They were yapping and barking and biting and crying.

The leash on the blind man's dog was getting tangled in the legs and mouths of both dogs. The blind man tried to separate them but succeeded only in getting himself bit by his own dog.

Jesus ran to the man and the dogs. With the help of another man he pulled the dogs apart. Jesus struggled to untangle the leashes and legs and teeth of the dogs. He spoke as calmly and gently as he could to sooth the emotions of the frantic dogs.

Jesus spoke the thoughts running through him, deep inside. "There has to be a better way for the Father's creatures to live. Mister, let me look at your dog. Come on, now, that's better. Let's have a look at you."

The blind man knelt beside Jesus, running his hands over his dog. He tried to find the places of torn skin and muscles, but could do little without help. The young Jesus helped him locate the bites that were the most dangerous.

The man found a little oil in his pouch, and Jesus helped him put it on the worst of the places. Jesus tied some of the hairs around a torn spot together to help the skin stay in place until it could heal.

Then Jesus looked to the other dog. He found a panting, heaving, skinny, half-starved mongrel, a wild dog of the streets. Jesus tried to work on his hurts. There was no one to hold this dog. Everyone else had left when the fighting was over.

Jesus thought again, "There has to be a better way for the Father's creatures to live."

Finally a woman knelt beside him to look at the wounds. She poured some water from a skin pouch at her waist. She bathed the open sores. Gently the unknown lady spoke to Jesus and to the dog.

Just as the kind lady brought out a little oil pouch, a large man, a course man, grabbed her by her hair and pulled her roughly to her feet. "Stupid woman. No sense at all. That's about the stupidest thing I've seen ever in this world!"

Jesus heard the words, " . . . in this world," and something in him moved. Something had to change. This was not the world hoped for in Creation.

Then, with the movement within the heart of Jesus, something began to change in the world. Jesus went to the well where another woman helped him clean the mud and the dogs' blood from his clothing and hands.

As they cleaned him off, Jesus questioned himself about his life. There must be another world, another kingdom, another life. But how?

He was supposed to be a man now, but really he was only a boy of twelve. He was the son of a carpenter, the son of Mary. But there was more. The congregation of the synagogue had confirmed Jesus as a Son of the Covenant, a Son of David, a Son of the Creator.

Somehow he didn't know all this meant for him yet, but now he was a man, a responsible adult. He knew he was ready to take his turn in the synagogue, ready to teach, ready to serve.

Just ready! But for what?

Jesus nearly ran to the circle of priests gathering now for the daily Temple work. His eagerness could hardly be contained in his young body. Jesus needed to ask how they could transform this world into the New World.

Jesus partly asked from the Law, which said Jesus had the right to ask questions now. Partly he lived out their tradition, which said he could sit among them for a time. Partly from kindness, but mostly from Jesus’ own boyish eagerness, the priests opened their circle to him.

He began to ask them the questions which were troubling him, questions which have troubled every generation of teenagers.

It was well he did. There were many ideas, refreshing ideas. These learned men were eager to attempt to answer fresh questions, though they were also old questions.

They discovered life anew, these men and the boy/man. Learning together. Dreaming together. Preparing together.

Some of the priests talked about their own frustrations with families who did not understand the commitment to the faith. Some families didn't like the constant emphasis on prayer and ritual.
Jesus could see the real frustrations of temple life in these men. Yet he knew this was only a symptom of the difficulty of living in such a world.

They talked for hours. As their talking went on Jesus became more excited about the forces available to change this world.

He began to see there actually were adults in the synagogues and in the Temple who cared. Many cared as deeply about the world as Jesus did. He began to experience the frustrations of a society which tries to do what is right and just cannot quite hit the mark.

The place of the faithful people of the Lord became much more clear in his mind. His heart seemed to overflow with the possibilities for a new world.

"Jesus! What are you doing? Gentlemen, I'm sorry for butting in, but Jesus has no business here. He is supposed to be with us in the caravan.

"Jesus, we've looked all over for you. Your mother is worried sick. We walked halfway to Jericho before we turned back for you.

"We brought you to Jerusalem because we thought you had become a man, you were no longer a child.

"But now you act like a child. You are supposed to be a man, a Son of the Covenant, a Son of David, a man of the people. Maybe you are too proud to even be with people who have a donkey

"Maybe your people are these rich priests who never have done a day's work in their lives!"

Jesus' vision wandered off to the donkey. He knew his friend was getting old. Hundreds of times he had heard the story of how it had carried Mary and her yet-to-be-born Child to Bethlehem. Jesus had spent hundreds of hours climbing on the donkey, petting him, talking to him, pretending he was another friend. Now it was his job to feed it, to comb it, to keep it healthy and out of harm.

There was a newborn donkey, just a few weeks old now, which would one day replace this old friend on these trips.

Just now the baby donkey was back in Nazareth, just eating and playing and growing. Soon his father would be tired, too tired to make the long trips, but by then the son would be ready.
Jesus thought of the blind man. He remembered with his touch the quivering dogs. His heart churned for the woman with the oil who suffered at the hand of an abusive and violent man. He felt thankful for the one who helped him clean up. His eyes began to see another world.

Jesus looked around at the understanding eyes of the priests. His vision was of them each holding a scroll of the scripture in front of them, reading, explaining, teaching.

He looked at Joseph who just hours ago was kneeling beside him in the Temple courtyard. Together they had prayed for the New World. "Dad, you need to know now I must take care of my Father's business. But you are right. There is work to do in Galilee."

Though the rainy season was past, a rainbow appeared in the bright Jerusalem skies.

Naki and Balo Find a Home

Naki and Balo Find a Home
John 20:24
Karl Evans



Nakim pulled the rag of a blanket closer around his body. Only stars and a little of the sun's early rays lit the scene. Part of that light was beginning to come in the east so far this morning.
The boy wanted to get a few more minutes of sleep before rising. Actually, it was very warm and cozy here. Balo curled up in Nakim's arms under the blanket. The air felt cold on his face.

Nakim and Balo had been together as long as Nakim could remember. Nakim was not really sure how long that was, because no one knew for sure how old Nakim was. Nakim thought he could remember at least nine or ten Passovers, but most people thought him to be about seven or eight.

Balo was just a little fellow with lots of hair and big floppy ears. He didn't eat much. That was very good.

Nakim worried sometimes about Balo getting old. He might get too old to run and play. But since he did not know how old Nakim was, he surely did not know how old Balo was.

Actually it didn't matter too much how old Nakim was. There was no school for someone so poor as Nakim. It only mattered when he thought about going to the synagogue with the men.

When the boys turned twelve were they allowed into the discussions and debates and teaching in the synagogue. Until that time they could go with their families, but they had to be quiet and just listen.

Nakim used to go to the synagogue sometimes with his grandmother Nona. Nakim had lived with Nona for a long time. He lived with her from the day his mother died.

Now Nona was very old and very weak. Nakim spent most of his time on the street with Balo. They went to Nona's house sometimes to see how she was doing, or when he did not feel well himself. Sometimes he went there to sleep a night or two.

The women from the village brought in only a little food. Usually enough only for Nona. Nakim and Balo left again to find food by begging or scavenging.

Early in the morning Nakim and Balo went to the back doors and scrap heaps of the wealthy homes around Nazareth. At these homes they were sometimes given lamb or goat bones or pieces of meat for Balo. Sometimes there was some bread or fruit for Nakim. In the scrap heaps Balo often found other food wasted the day before.

Just a little later, early every morning, Nakim and Balo went to the village oven where the less wealthy people came to bake their bread.

Almost everyone who came there gave them a little something to eat. Sometimes it was the first slice off a fresh, hot loaf. It might be still so hot Nakim could not even hold it in his hand. Sometimes it was a piece of flat bread or a hard roll. A roll could be soaked in warm goat milk.

This morning Nakim knew it was the time of the Passover. He hadn't been to the synagogue for several weeks. He just knew it was spring.

At the back doors of the wealthy homes Nakim could smell the strong odor of maror, something like strong onion or horseradish. Cinnamon smell was everywhere. At the oven, several people gave him matzoh for himself and Nona.

Today Nakim filled his little shoulder bag nearly full of fruit and matzoh. This should be enough for Nakim and Nona for several days.

He knew Balo didn't like matzoh, so they would have to find something else for the little dog. But Nakim was very good and didn't eat too much, so they should be all right.

When Nakim came to Nona's home, the neighbors were already there. It was just a little house, just one room large enough for a bed for Nona and a bed for Nakim and a table. There were two chairs at the table and some shelves along the wall. All the ragged clothing was on the shelves.

The visitors that morning were very good people. They lived in the house just behind Nona's, with a little fence between the two families. Nakim often played with Jesus in the streets of Nazareth and in the fields around town.

Jesus' mother was one of the nice ladies at the oven who often gave Nakim and Balo and Nona something good to eat. Nakim was glad to see Mary and Jesus at the house.

Nakim worried a lot about Nona. She was very old now, and getting weaker every day. The grandson knew his beloved Nona would die one day soon. Sometimes her breath seemed to rattle in her throat as if life itself were escaping.

When Nona died, Nakim and Balo would be all be themselves in the world. That would not be good, because someone could come and take Nakim away as a slave. Nakim did not want to have to be someone's slave just to have food to grow up. He was very worried.

Mary gave Nakim a good hug and a smile when he came into the little house. Nakim went to Nona's bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

She smiled a little and squeezed his hand. "You are such a good boy, Naki. You are so good to an old woman. I hope you are always good to people when they get old."

Nakim liked it when Nona called him `Naki'. It just sounded loving and warm and homey. He laid his supply of food on the table. The food Mary and Jesus had brought was also on the table.
The bread didn't seem like much, but it would do for a while. None of them ate very much. Then Nakim and Jesus went outside.

Jesus and Nakim took turns throwing a stick for Balo to fetch. Sometimes Balo brought it back to Nakim. Sometimes he brought it back to Jesus.

On some days, though, Balo had a little fun. When he wanted to tease the boys, Balo brought the stick back toward the boys and just kept on running right past them.

Then he ran down the street a little way, laid the stick down between his paws and just barked. "Wark. Wark. Wark. Jesus and Nakim, come try to get the stick. You can't catch me."

So Nakim and Jesus ran to catch Balo. They wrestled with him to get the stick. Then they threw the stick and the game started all over again.

Finally Nakim and Jesus were tired for a moment. Balo sat with the stick in his paws and barked at the boys. Jesus and Nakim sat under an olive tree to rest.

When Jesus talked, it was very soft. Nakim could barely hear Jesus. "Nona is very old, isn't she? She just seems to lie on the bed most of the time now. Whenever we come that is all she does."

Nakim was worried now, but he needed to talk to someone about Nona. "I think she will die before long. She doesn't have much strength now. Sometimes she can't even feed herself. I'd like to help her, but I don't know what to do."

The boys were silent now for a while. Jesus tossed some pebbles at a piece of broken water jug a few feet away. "I guess all you can do is help her eat sometimes. Well, I suppose you could keep the house clean. Well, a little, anyway."

Nakim and Jesus both laughed at this. No one would say the house was really very clean right now. But the word "house" brought another worry to Nakim's heart. What would he do when Nona died?

Jesus watched as Nakim's eyes began to shine from the tears. He knew what Nakim was worried about. The two had often talked about Nakim living on the street all the time. What a big adventure it would be!

But both Jesus and Nakim knew the dangers. Both boys knew living on the street was not the thing for Nakim.

Jesus began to make a little picture in the dust. Nakim could see it was a map of the area around their houses and the other houses around them.

With a stick, Jesus drew in Nona's house with the door and the window and the two beds. He even put into the plan the table and the two chairs.

Jesus sat for a long time looking at the little map. Then without a word he stood up and went inside. Mary was washing Nona's face. "Mama, I need to talk to you and Daddy. It's really important."

Mary was always excited when Jesus spoke in that tone. It meant he had thought something through with his special way. He was ready to do something important.

"Yes, Jesus. I'll be through here in just a second. Then we can go home. Joseph said he would be working at home all day today."

In a few more minutes Joseph and Mary and Jesus sat at their own table. It was time for Jesus to speak. "See, I know Nona is going to die pretty soon. She is very old and very weak. That is okay. I know what death is. I know it is all right to die."

"But I am worried about Nakim. We have been feeding Nona most of the time, and sometimes Nakim. And, oh yes, Balo likes to eat, too."

"I think we can keep feeding them. But where can Nakim live when Nona dies? What will he do?"

Mary and Joseph looked at each other in silence. Jesus went on. He had a plan. "Can Nakim come live with us? I don't want my friend to be hungry and not have a house."

Now it was Joseph's turn. "Jesus, I know you like Nakim. He is a good boy. Mary and I like him. We are glad you play with him. But we have no room. I cannot build a house big enough for all of us, and we are crowded now."

Mary spoke softly, but with real feeling for Nakim in her voice. "Yes, Jesus, I think we could feed Nakim, but your father is right. There is hardly enough room for the three of us now."

"And you are growing bigger and stronger every day. So is Nakim. Where would we put you two?"

Now Jesus smiled. He had hoped his parents would say this, and he was ready. Again he started to draw a little map in the dust. "I think there is a better way for all of us. Look here. See, here are the houses. Here is the fence."

"Now, we can take this fence and move it around to the front of Nona's house. It would almost be one big house, wouldn't it? It would be a big house with three rooms rather than two small houses."

"There is only barely enough room to walk between Nona's house and the fence now. There is not much more than that on our side. When we take away the fence, this would make the two houses into one."

"Then I could move into the other room with Nakim. You two could have this side all to yourselves. Would it be all right?"

Joseph and Mary could only look at each other with surprise. What could they say other than it might work, if the boys wanted it to work?

Nona would have to sign her name in front of witnesses to say she was giving the house to Mary and Joseph. They would then give it to Nakim when he reached fifteen.

Then he would be old enough by law to own a home, even be married. He would be grown up. But there was even more work to do.

The fence had to go. The boys and Joseph and Balo took care of that. They dug new holes for the posts along the other side of the house. They were very careful to dig them in a straight line, and just so far apart. Then they took down the fence and rebuilt it on the other side of the house.

Many other tasks were difficult. The scroll giving the property to the Joseph and Mary had to be written up and signed. Two of the village elders witnessed the signing and then signed their own names.

Finally, after Nona died a few weeks later, the family agreed to one more step. It was Nakim's idea. "I am now a new person. I have a new family. I have a mother and a father at last. I want you to call me by a different name."

Mary and Joseph and the elders of the city listened to a voice that was suddenly older. Perhaps they heard him as mature, ready now to take the place of a man among men in the community.

"I have been thinking a lot about what you should call me. Many names sound good, but there is one that is best. It sounds strong and wise."

"One of the soldiers who stayed down at the inn had the name, and he was big and strong. He helped me once when Balo was hurt. I want to be big and strong and kind as he was. From now on, I want you to call me Thomas."

So from that day the two were always together. Many people who visited Nazareth or saw the boys somewhere around Galilee thought it was normal. Mary and Joseph had twin sons, Jesus and Thomas.

Nakim and Balo had found a home.