Yeshua

Yeshua

A Poem, Or Perhaps, A Paean

You were born to a hard-working but poor Jewish carpenter named Joseph, who did his best to make his friend Mary, who was pregnant, into an acceptable female in the eyes of his contemporaries by marrying her, about two thousand years ago in Bethlehem of Judea. So, you were called Yeshua bin Joseph, Joshua (after the great Jewish warrior) son of Joseph, throughout your youth.

By all accounts you were a precocious child, to say the least, who like so many other first-born Jewish boys of your generation had to flee your homeland to be taken by your parents to the relative safety of Egypt, because of Herod's paranoia about replacement.

There, you grew to be a healthy young man, a carpenter's apprentice, but so much more. You developed a reputation for having mystical powers and understanding the Torah in a way which belied your age. About the age of 12, when most males were having a Bar Mitzvah, you disappear from the written record for a long time, about seventeen years.

But young man, we have a pretty good idea of where you were. To avoid scrutiny by the Romano/Jewish

establishment, you were once again squirrelled away by either your father, or more likely, by his friend, the other biblical Joseph of importance, from Arimathea. This time, far, far away.

There were records found by a Russian explorer who got lost in the Himalayas, found a Buddhist monastery in what today is Tibet, which are helpful in our search for you. They revealed that, two thousand years earlier, the monks received into their care, a young man from another place. He was called Esau. During your time at the remote monastery, you were first taught the Buddhist scriptures, and, then, true to form, you began interpreting them to others, including the monks themselves. Later you journeyed to India and continued your teaching there before returning home to the Galilei around the age of twenty-nine, after those "missing" years.

Now, however, your followers did not hear the traditional Jewish message. For sure, the basic Torah rules remained, but now some of the harshness was ameliorated by the lovefest inherent in the Buddhist teachings. Perhaps, even more important, you taught the concept of rebirth-a short jump from Reincarnation to Resurrection. Even though your ideology was not radical enough for the revolutionaries in your midst, who were ready to fight to be free from the Roman Empire, it was anti-establishment, to say the least. Enough so that both the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, the controlling body of Jewish law, rules and regulations, and the court of the emperor Tiberius in Rome, began to pay attention to your movement.

Let's talk about that for a moment, shall we? That odd mixture of lawyers, fishermen, and a tax collector that followed you around, calling themselves "The Way." You walked all over Galilei, stopping at village after village to spend the night, eat some food and spread the Word. By the way, even allowing for the hospitality of the villagers, who paid for all this? Inquiring minds want to know.

Actually, I think I do. The women in the group, especially Mary of Magdala, who had been a successful

businesswoman before joining the group, and not as a prostitute either, as her jealous male detractors throughout history falsely claimed. Yes, Iscariot might have been the treasurer, but Mary provided most of finances.

But you remember all this, don't you Yeshua? I for one don't care if you kissed her on the lips, or even married her. After all, what would be expected of a young rabbi? The important thing is that you got the message out during those years wandering and teaching. And people, ordinary people, rich and poor, listened and heard a message, clear and new and hopeful.

Sure. It had to be. The Establishment, both civil and clerical, became aware of your ever-growing popularity in their territorial backyard. The Roman authorities, Pilate and others, didn't like any disruption in the provinces, especially one that claimed the Messiah, the Great Deliverer, had arrived. The emperor, now Tiberius, was viewed as the only living God, as well as the head of state. As for the Jewish population within the empire, the Sanhedrin had a very personal interest relating to the maintenance of their complete authority to interpret and regulate all religious matters. In colloquial terms, they wanted to keep their jobs. They, and only they, would determine who and when the Messiah arrived, and to be sure, "He" would be controlled by them.

In your defense, and you had no defense since you were never offered a true Roman trial following your arrest, You never claimed to be God. "Son of Man" and other such terms, Yes, but, even in your most famous prayer, You refer to Your Father ("Our Father") who is in heaven above. Your followers accepted you as the Messiah, even the Son of God, but you never said you were God (“Q”). The Trinity concept comes much later and was not part of the reformed Jewish law You espoused.

After your unjust trial, suffering and death, a lot of ideas were attributed to You by men who had agendas of their own. One in particular who never walked with You, or even knew You. The misdeeds that were to be done in Your name throughout history, even down to our own time, are not to be blamed on you. No, power hungry men claimed your authority for their own greedy purposes.

I like the contemporary hymn "El Shaddai." To be sure, it has its theological flaws, but says a lot of what I feel:

"Age to age, You're still the same, By the power of Your name."

I think we both agree that Our Father in heaven is where the emphasis should be. You, my friend, were his

messenger. You spoke honestly and truly to those who would listen.

Hopefully, I have done the same.

Peace.