Faith In Fiction | The Blessing
Three-year old David awakens from a late morning nap to the sound of hushed voices in the room. Rubbing his eyes, he turns his head slowly to the left to see his mother, father and aunt sitting at a table a few feet away from him. “Why is Abba home now?,” he wonders. Because of the blazing heat during the day, his father, a fisherman, works at night, then, when the sunlight first starts to shine, heads to market to sell his catch, usually returning home late in the day. A few years ago, two of his father’s companion fisherman, Andrew and Simon, had abandoned their fishing nets, without warning, when a Galilean rabbi walked by and said:
“Come, follow me,...and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Mark 1:17)
He hears his father retelling the story about how he watched the brothers drop their nets and follow the man, without even asking what ‘fish for people’ meant.
Pretending to still be asleep, David closes his eyes and listens closely, hearing the voice of his aunt, Joanna, excitedly saying, “the Messiah is here, we need to go now if we are to see this prophet.” His father’s commanding voice replies: “Were Andrew and Simon foolish to abandon the fishing trade to walk from town to town with that rabbi, becoming his disciples? Or is he truly a prophet? I am not wise enough to know the answer but I too want to hear what he’s teaching the crowd outside.”
Softness in her voice, he hears his mother answer, “Many people believe that this teacher is our long awaited Messiah. There are daily reports of him healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and even driving out demons. Joanna, give us a moment to get David and we’ll join you. Let’s pray that we can see and hear this prophet’s words today.”
Directing her voice lovingly to his father, she continues, “Jonathan, you followed our tradition when you took our son to the synagogue as a baby and prayed a blessing over him with the elders. If this man is truly the Messiah, imagine how honored we would be if he would pray a blessing over our child.”
As his mother walks over to his mat, David raises his arms, “Em,” he giggles as she picks him up and, as she always does when he awakens, sings one of the psalms in her lovely voice,
“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
His aunt opens the door and calls insistently, “we must hurry,” as she scurries outside. His mother hands David a piece of bread topped with olives and they quickly follow Joanna and his father down the street to where a large group of people are gathered.
As they join the crowd, David feels excited although he doesn’t know why. A man is talking about marriage, that much he understands, but the words make no sense to him.
His father catches a glimpse of his old fishing buddy, Andrew, and pulls the family in that direction. Several parents are already pushing forward towards the teacher and asking Andrew and other disciples to allow the rabbi to bless their children. David is surprised to hear his mother shout, “please, let us come closer to the teacher so that he might hear our plea to bestow a blessing on our son.”
The disciples’ voices sound harsh as they scold the parents, discouraging them from trying to approach the rabbi with their young children. Whether he has heard the disciple’s rebuke or heard the pleading parents is uncertain, but the rabbi turns his head towards the families and speaks with such deep emotion that the crowd falls silent.
“And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Mark 10:13-15)
David’s parents nudge him towards the gentle-eyed man. He runs excitedly beside other children to this man who has called for them to “come to me.” As Jesus pulls the children close and begins praying over each one, David sees his parents weeping.
“Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.” Mark 10:16
To David, the touch of this man, this teacher, this prophet, the Messiah, is the pure love of God himself.
“Truly, I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17)
Like a child, let us enter into His presence, with humility, honor and joy. Let us feel, like David and the other children that day, the thrill of His embrace and the pure love of God’s incredible touch.
