Notes for this keyword
Reading comfort
GRM 74.9
«Who are You?»
«Judas of Kerioth, I was a man of the Temple, now I am a disciple of rabbi Jesus of Galilee. I am a friend of Simon the Pharisee, of Johanan the Sadducee, and of Joseph of Arimathaea, the Counsellor of the Sanhedrin, and finally, of Eleazar ben Anna, the Proconsul’s great friend, and you can check.»
«I will. Where are you going?»
Roman soldiers ask Judas:
GRM 109.1-7.13
GRM 187.3 · Volume 3
«Where are we going exactly?» asks Peter.
«To give Passover to those who suffer. I have been wanting to do it for a long time. But I could not. I would have done it going back to Galilee. Now that they compel us to go along roads that we have not chosen, I am going to bless Jonah’s poor friends.»
«We will be wasting a lot of time! Passover is near! There are always delays for various reasons.» Another chorus of complaints rises to the sky. I do not know how Jesus can be so patient…
Without reproaching anyone He says: «Please, do not hinder Me! Endeavour to understand My need to love and to be loved. I have but this solace on the earth: to love and do the will of God.»
«And are we going from here? Was it not better to go from Nazareth?»
«If I had suggested that, you would have rebelled. No one will suspect that I am here… and I am doing it for you… because you are afraid.»
«Afraid? Ah! No! We are ready to fight for You.»
«Pray the Lord not to put you to the test. I know that you are quarrelsome, resentful, anxious to offend those who offend Me and to humble your neighbour. I know all that. But I do not know you to be brave. As far as I am concerned, I would have also gone by Myself and along the main road and nothing would have happened because it is not yet the time. But I feel sorry for you. I have to obey My Mother, yes, but I do not want to upset Simon the Pharisee. I will not disgust them. But they will disgust Me.»
«And where do we go from here? I am not familiar with this area» says Thomas.
«We will reach Tabor, we will coast part of it and will go to Nain via Endor; from there to the plain of Esdraelon. Be not afraid!… Doras, the son of Doras, and Johanan are already in Jerusalem.»
GRM 190.1-3 · Volume 3
The sun is setting in a red sky when Jesus comes in view of Johanan’s fields.
«Let us quicken our pace, My friends, before the sun sets. And you, Peter, go with your brother to inform our friends, Doras’ men.»
«I will go indeed, to see also whether the son has really gone away.» Peter stresses the word «son». And he goes away.
In the meantime Jesus proceeds at a slower pace, looking around to see whether any of Johanan’s men are about. But He can only see the fertile fields, in which the ears of grain are already well formed.
At last, a face, wet with perspiration, appears among the vine-leaves and an exclamation is heard: «Oh! Blessed Lord!» and the peasant runs out of the vineyard and prostrates himself at Jesus’ feet.
«Peace to you, Isaiah!»
«Oh! You remember my name too?»
«It is written in My heart. Stand up. Where are your companions?»
«Over there. In the apple-orchards. But I will tell them at once. You will be our guest, will You not? The master is not here and we can welcome You. In any case… what with the fear, what with the joy… it is better. Just imagine, he gave us a lamb this year and will allow us to go to the Temple! He has only given us six days…. but we will run all the way… We will be in Jerusalem, too… Imagine!… And thanks to You.» The man is in his seventh heaven of delight because he has been treated as a man and as an Israelite.
«I have done nothing, as far as I know…» says Jesus smiling.
«Eh! no! You have done a great deal. Doras, and the fields of Doras, and these ones here, which are instead so beautiful this year… Johanan was informed of your visit, and he is not a fool. He is afraid and… and he is afraid.»
«Of what?»
«He is afraid that what happened to Doras may happen to him. Both with regards to his life and to his property. Have You seen Doras’ fields?»
«I have come from Nain…»
«In that case You have not seen them. They are a complete ruin. (The man whispers that in a low but clear voice, like someone imparting a secret concerning something dreadful.) They are all ruined! There is no hay, no fodder, no fruit. Vines and orchards withered… Dead… everything is dead… like Sodom and Gomorrah… Come, I will show You.»
«It is not necessary. I am going to see those peasants…»
«But they are no longer here! Did You not know? Doras, the son of Doras, has scattered them or dismissed them, and the ones he sent to the other country places which belong to him, must not speak of You, or they will be lashed… Not to speak of You! That will be difficult! Also Johanan said so to us.»
«What did he say?»
«He said: “I am not so foolish as Doras and I will not say to you: ‘I do not want you to speak of the Nazarene’. It would be useless, because you would do it just the same and I do not want to lose you by lashing you to death like untameable animals. On the contrary I say to you: ‘Be good as the Nazarene certainly teaches you and tell Him that I treat you well’. I do not want to be cursed, too”. Of course, he can see what these fields are like after You blessed them, and what the ones You cursed are like.
190.2
Oh! Here are the ones who ploughed the field for me…» and the man runs to meet Peter and Andrew.
But Peter greets him briefly and proceeds on his way and begins to shout: «Oh! Master! There is no one left! They are all new faces. And everything is laid waste! He could very well do without any peasants here. It is worse than the Salt Sea!…»
«I know. Isaiah told Me.»
«But come and see! What a sight…»
Jesus pleases him after saying to Isaiah: «I will stay with you. Tell your companions. But do not go to any trouble. I have enough food. All we need is a barn to sleep in and your love. I will come back soon.»
The sight of Doras’ fields is really distressing. Fields and meadows are dry and barren, vineyards are withered, the foliage and fruit of trees are completely destroyed by millions of insects of all kinds. Also the garden-orchard near the house looks like a desolate dying wood. The peasants wander to and fro uprooting weeds, crushing caterpillars, snails, earth-worms and the like, shaking branches under which they place basins full of water to drown little butterflies, aphides and other parasites which cover the leaves and eat away the plant until it dies. They endeavour to find a sign of life in the vine-shoots, which break like dry wood as soon as they are touched and sometimes fall off the main branch, as if the roots had been cut by a saw. The contrast with Johanan’s fields, vineyards and orchards is most striking and the ruin of the cursed fields seems more impressive when compared to the fruitfulness of the others.
«The hand of the God of Sinai is a heavy one» whispers Simon the Zealot.
Jesus makes a gesture as if to say: «How right you are!» but He does not say anything. He only asks: «How did it happen?»
A peasant replies between his teeth: «Moles, locusts, worms… but go away! The steward is faithful to Doras… Don’t cause us trouble…»
Jesus sighs and goes away.
Another peasant, who is bent under an apple-tree earthing it up, in the hope he may save it, says: «We will reach You tomorrow… when the steward goes to Jezreel for the prayer… we will come to Micah’s house.»
Jesus makes the gesture of blessing and goes away.
190.3
When He goes back to the cross-road, all the peasants of Johanan are there and joyful and happy they surround their Messiah and take Him to their poor dwellings.
«Did You see, over there?»
«Yes, I did. Doras’ peasants are coming tomorrow.»
«Of course, when the hyenas go to pray… We do that every Sabbath… and we speak of You, we tell what we heard from Jonah, from Isaac, who often comes to see us, and what we learned from You in Tishri. We speak as best we can. Because it is impossible not to speak of You. And the more we suffer, the more we are forbidden, the more we speak of You. Those poor people… they drink the essence of life every Sabbath… But how many there are in this plain who are in need of knowing, of knowing You at least, and yet they cannot come here…»
«I will see to them as well. And may you be blessed for what you do.»
The sun is setting while Jesus enters a kitchen blackened by smoke. The Sabbath rest begins.
"The man runs to meet Peter and Andrew. Cf. EMV 109.4: Peter and Andrew, James and John, who took the place of the ploughmen to enable them to listen to Jesus' word.
The God of Sinai has a heavy hand. Direct reference to Jesus' words in EMV 109.12.
We speak of You, with what we have learned from Jonah, from Isaac who often comes to us, and from your speech at Tisri. Cf. EMV 109.5.
GRM 191.1 · Volume 3
The peasants of Johanan, women, men and children follow them. The men are carrying two small amphoras, which, however, are not very small, and which must be full of wine. They are jars rather than amphoras and contain about ten litres each. (Please do not take my estimate literally). They go towards a thick vineyard, which is already all covered with new leaves, at the end of Johanan’s property. Beyond it there is a large ditch which is kept full of water with, I wonder, how much work.
«See? Johanan quarrelled with Doras over this ditch. Johanan said: “It is your father’s fault if everything is ruined. If he did not want to adore Him, he should have been afraid of Him instead of provoking Him”. And Doras shouted like a demon: “It was this ditch that saved you. The insects did not cross it…”. And Johanan replied: “Why is all your property ruined, then, when previously your fields were the nicest ones in Esdraelon? It’s God’s punishment, believe me. You went beyond the limit. This water?… It has been here all the time and that is not what saved me”. And Doras shouted again: “Which proves that Jesus is a demon”. “He is a just man” Johanan shouted back. And they continued for some time, while they had breath. Later Johanan spent a lot of money to divert the torrent, to find other underground water sources, and to dig more ditches on the boundary line between him and his relative, and he made them deeper and told us what we told You yesterday… After all, he is happy that it happened. He was so envious of Doras… He now hopes that he will be able to buy everything, because Doras will end up by selling everything at a very low price.»
The peasants of Yokhanan have found Jesus and are accompanying him and some of his apostles.
GRM 198.5 · Volume 3
«I saw Joseph of Arimathea, Lazarus. He is coming here on Monday with some friends.»
«Oh! Well, You are my guest on that day!»
«Yes. He is coming to spend the day with us, but also to arrange a ceremony concerning Jabez. John: take the boy up to the terrace. He will enjoy himself there.»
John of Zebedee, who is always obedient, gets up at once and shortly afterwards the boy can be heard chattering and running about on the terrace that surrounds the house.
«The child» Jesus explains to His Mother, His friends, the women among whom there is also Martha, who has rushed back so that she would not miss one moment of joy near the Master, «is the grandson of one of Doras’ peasants. I passed through Esdraelon…»
«Is it true that the fields are a complete ruin and that he wants to sell them?»
«They are a ruin. Whether he wants to sell them, I do not know. One of Johanan’s men mentioned it to me. But I do not know whether it is certain.»
«If he should sell them… I would willingly buy them to have a refuge for You also in the middle of that nest of snakes.»
«I do not think that you will be successful. Johanan is ready to buy them.»
«We shall see… But go on. Who are the peasants? He scattered all the former servants.»
«Yes, he did. The present ones come from his land in Judaea, at least the old man, the boy’s relative, does. The boy was kept in a wood, like a wild animal, so that Doras could not see him… and he had been there since last winter…»
«Oh! poor boy! But why?» The women are all moved.
«Because his father and mother were buried under the landslide near Emmaus. The whole family: father, mother and his little brothers. He survived because he was not at home. They took him to the old father. But what could a peasant of Doras do? Isaac, also in this case, you spoke of Me as a saviour.»
«Was that wrong?» asks Isaac humbly.
«You did the right thing. God wanted it. The old man gave me the boy, who is to come of age in the next few days.»
«Oh! poor little thing! So tiny at twelve years of age?! My Judas was twice his size at that age… And Jesus? What a beautiful flower!» says Mary of Alphaeus.
And Salome: «Also my children were much stronger!»
Martha whispers: «He is really tiny! I thought he was not ten yet.»
«Eh! Hunger is a nasty thing. And he must have suffered from starvation since he was born. And now… What could the old man give him, if they are all dying of starvation there?» says Peter.
«Yes, he suffered a great deal. But he is good and intelligent. I took him to comfort both the old man and the boy.»