CHAPTER FOUR: A WOMAN POSSESSED AND A MAN ON A MISSION

The discussion with James, more like an argument, had not gone as Jesus had hoped. James, always a bit feisty anyway, being the second eldest, had not liked having this dumped in his lap unexpectedly. In fact he had been thinking about getting married soon, but fortunately there had been no discussions with the father of the potential bride as of yet. James had always labored in the shadow of Jesus, envying his precociousness and the fact that as the eldest, the first born, he was entitled to the lion’s share of the inheritance, even though he, unlike James, was not actually a son of Joseph. This James found hard to swallow.

James was not even placated when Jesus had told him this morning that the inheritance of the eldest should go to him now. James had not accepted, had not believed the family whisperings about Jesus being the Promised One, God’s anointed of the line of David. For one thing, from James’ point of view, Jesus was already twenty seven and as of yet he had made no moves that suggested he might be the messianic one that was to come. Jesus had shown no interest in armies, or the Zealots, no interest in joining the community by the Salt Sea, no interest in resisting tax payments, indeed his whole approach to such troubling matters seemed to be one of non-resistance. How could the son of David be expected to act like this? It certainly didn’t meet James’ expectations or understandings of the ancient prophecies. True, Jesus seemed to have performed a miracle or something remarkable once in a while, but then a miracle didn’t make Elijah the messiah now did it? At least that’s how James viewed things. At most his brother might be some kind of healer or prophet, but he had shown no signs yet of engaging in public ministry or confronting obnoxious rulers like Elijah did. Who knew what to make of Jesus anyway? He was a mystery.

As Jesus came over the final hill before being able to look down at the Kinneret, Jesus furrowed his brow and sighed deeply. Would his relationship with his family ever recover from his leaving them suddenly? He was not sure, but he knew what he needed to do. As he began to head down the slope to the beautiful lake below, out of the corner of his eye Jesus saw someone sitting alone by the little spring that came forth from the limestone cliffs above, eagerly gulping down the water, and washing her hands and face over and over again. Parched from the long walk, Jesus decided to stop for a drink as well, and fill up his wineskin for the next stage of the journey, following the western shore of the Kinneret down to where the Jordan began again at its southern tip. Jesus was not sure where John was, but he knew if he followed the path along the Jordan, eventually he would either find John or encounter someone coming from where John was baptizing people.

Quite to his surprise, when Jesus came near to the spring, the woman who had been sitting there began shrieking at the top of her voice, and recoiling in horror as Jesus approached. Suddenly in an inhumanly loud voice Jesus heard her say “do not torment me son of David. Have mercy upon me!”

The face of the woman was contorted out of all recognition, and she was shaking all over, the spittle beginning to drool down the right side of her mouth. Jesus realized that the woman was possessed, and that this reaction was not actually that of the woman so much, as of the one or ones who had taken control of her mind and heart. Holding his right hand out towards the woman, Jesus felt a surge of power race through his body, and then he said in a stern tone of voice: “Leave her! Now! And never return again! In the name of the Almighty I cast you out!” There was another ear-splitting scream by the woman, who was convulsing and rolling on the ground, and then silence, a silence that prompted Jesus to say–Shalom to you, may G-d’s wholeness now prevail in your life.”

At first the woman stared into the distance, as if she was not even present, and then the tears quietly began to stream down her face. “What is your name, daughter of Abraham?” asked Jesus.

A feeble voice barely croaked–“Miryam, Miryam of Migdal”.

After sitting with her for a few minutes until she caught her breath and recovered her bearings, Jesus said: “Come daughter of Abraham, let us go down to your village below, and I will vouch to the local elder or priest that you are once more in your right mind.” Handing her his walking stick, as she was still shaking and wobbly, this odd pair headed to the village below.

John’s disciples could hardly believe their eyes. On the far shore of the Jordan stood several hundred persons listening, moving forward, pressing in on one another to get a better look at what was happening. And it was not just fishermen and vinedressers and day laborers either. There were Pharisees and scribes and Herodians and Levites, soldiers that were part of Pilate’s auxiliaries, elders from synagogues, women and children and grandfathers and grandmothers, drawn as if by magic to hear John, to be baptized, and to go away in a different condition. It had been a long time since there had been a prophet like John in Israel. His very presence suggested to many that the fullness of time might well be at hand, the time when messiah would finally come and save his people.

Dressed in a camel’s hair outer garment, with long unkempt hair and a beard, John looked like everyone imagined Elijah to have looked in days of old. His skin dark brown from long days in the sun, his body lean and yet muscular, his voice powerful and deep, John mesmerized those who came to hear him, and he spared no one from his words of warning. No official could curry favor with John, and most of them feared his power over the crowds, the ordinary pious Jews who would follow such a leader wherever he cared to lead them. On this very day John had baptized dozens of people, with dozens more camping on the opposite shore in preparation for tomorrow’s baptisms.

It had taken Jesus longer than expected to find John. It took more than a day of travel, following the road alongside the Jordan into Judea and down towards Jericho before finally reaching a spot across from Aenon near Salim where he had been told John could be found. John had chosen this spot, no doubt, because there was plenty of water here, unlike further north in Galilee where the Jordan had gone from being a river to being a stream by later summer time, since there was no rain at all at this time of year, and had not been for several months.

Satisfied that he had draw close to John’s locale, Jesus spent the night at a little oasis on the west side of the Jordan. In the morning he would cross over and find John. Filled with anticipation, Jesus lay on his back looking up into the stars, and found it hard to go to sleep. Even when he prayed to Abba before finally falling asleep, his mind was distracted by a thousand thoughts. What would happen in the morning would prove a surprise to both John and Jesus.