GRM 182.2 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
He [Jesus] goes straight to caress a little shepherd, who is standing towards the centre of the woolly bleating mass of sheep. He asks the boy: «Are they yours?» Jesus knows very well that they are not the boy’s, but He wants him to speak.
«No, Lord. I am with those men. And the herds belong to many owners. We are all together for fear of the bandits.»
«What is your name?»
«Zacharias, the son of Isaac. But my father died and I work as a servant because we are poor and my mother has three more sons younger than I am.»
«Has your father been long dead?»
«Three years, Lord… and since then I have never smiled because my mother always weeps and I have no one who caresses me any more… I am the first born and my father’s death has made a man of me, while I was still a child… But I must not weep but earn some money… But it is so difficult!» Tears stream down his face which is too serious for his age.
The shepherds have drawn near and so have the apostles. A group of men in the midst of moving sheep.
«You are not fatherless, Zacharias. You have a holy Father in Heaven, Who always loves you, if you are good, and your father has not ceased loving you because he is in Abraham’s bosom. You must believe that. And because of such faith you must endeavour to become better and better.» Jesus speaks kindly and caresses the boy.
Detail
A real-life case of a child who lost his father three years ago and now looks after flocks of sheep.