“Rat! Dirty Jewish pig! Get out of here! Go back to the swine where you belong!” The Samaritan boys’ taunting shouts filled the air as they threw rotten garbage at the Jewish girl trying to slip through the circle surrounding her. The adults hurrying busily through the street ignored her predicament.
The city of Roama Samaria Judah
David ben Solomon watched her go with a satisfied smirk. “That will teach those filthy Jews to wander in our city,” he muttered. David didn’t understand why she lived in Roama. She did not appear to have any family and everyone hated her. She worked odd jobs all day around the city to get a few scraps of moldy bread, though many refused to pay her afterwards. Once he had seen her try selling woven baskets, but no one would buy them. Her ventures had been completely quashed when the boys in the area had followed her home one night and destroyed the rest of her baskets. If she was lucky, she might find a corner to sleep in where beating sticks, chamber pots, and curses were not raining down upon her. David was surprised she had not left for a Jewish settlement…
“DAVID!” Abria was standing behind him. Hands on hips, braids shaking, she glowered at him. “Me and Raya have been calling you for at least fifteen minutes! Mama sent us to get you. It’s dinnertime and Papa is coming home, so you’d better change. And you’d better hurry or I’m going to tell on you for throwing garbage again!” David laughed at her pretended indignation. His younger sisters loved delivering messages; they considered it a marvelous opportunity to tell him what to do. He playfully held up his dirty hands and pretended to pat her braids, “EWWWWW DAVID!” Abria protested shrilly as he laughed again and ran home.
Quickly, he ducked up the back stairs and into his room to clean up and change his robes. Their home was one of the few on the street that could boast of two staircases rather than ladders. Roama’s location between major seaports and cities made it a very profitable location for trade. His father, Solomon, was one of the richest merchants in the city, and the house bustled with preparations for the feast to welcome him home.
Hastily, David finished changing and tossed his dirty clothes in the corner for Lev, his servant, to have cleaned. Ducking down the backstairs, he went into the back kitchen to grab some food for his growling stomach. Although it had only been a few hours, it felt like forever since he had last eaten.
The kitchen bustled with servants busily preparing the platters for the table. Lamb, olives, fresh bread, figs, herbs, honey, and roasted fish were a few of the platters he saw being carried out to the low table where dinner was served. His fingers dipped swiftly onto a nearby tray and grabbed some grapes. “Yeva, is father home yet?” The harassed kitchen servant turned and glowered at him as she replaced the missing grapes on the elaborate fruit arrangement. “He is indeed, and it’s in better standing you’d be if you’d get up there and greet him instead of stealing food from the kitchen,” she shooed him out with a towel.
As David ducked into the dining room, he ran directly into his father. “David!” Solomon’s deep voice boomed out. David hastily jumped back and bowed his head, “Shalom, Father.” David felt himself too old to use the more familiar “papa” title. Solomon was a tall, muscular man with shrewd eyes and a commanding presence. He held David at arm’s length and studied him with a pleased look, “You certainly have grown tall.”
“And he eats like it to,” David’s mother remarked as she entered the room. Marian was a graceful women with, long, dark brown hair just streaked with gray. She smiled affectionately at him. David glowed, since his father had last been home, nine months ago, his 16-year-old frame had grown four inches and filled out to match. Standing between his parents, his light brown hair, and sturdy build were duplicates of his father; his warm brown eyes flecked with green, a heritage from his mother.
“Excellent. I have received good reports from your tutors and I have decided that you are ready to join me on my next trip to Tarsha in a few months. You will oversee most of the transaction.”
“Yes sir!”
David was excited. As the eldest, he was expected to take over the family business. However, up to now, his experience had been limited to working at his father’s warehouse, driving camel teams, loading ships, and watching his father negotiate with other merchants. It was a bit unusual for an eldest son of David’s age not to have yet done a business transaction, but his father had felt that he was too impulsive and needed more physical labor first. At his mother’s gentle nudge, David stirred from his daze of excitement and followed his father into the dining room. They all gathered around a low table, his father and mother, little sisters Abria and Raya, and younger brother Ephraim. They bowed their heads, and Solomon began the long prayer on the meal….
************
“Where is she?” one of the boys grumbled, scanning the street again for the Jewess. “She’s always here, and we’ve been waiting an hour!”
“You don’t know that Jonathon. We haven’t been here in weeks.” A dark-haired boy scoffed as he joined the circle. The festivities brought by the return of Solomon’s caravan had lasted for several weeks, distracting the boys from their normal pursuits. After the excitement had ended, neglected chores and studies had reluctantly occupied their attention and the boys’ itching for distraction had driven them to street prowling again.
“Oh, she’s hasn’t been here for the past four weeks,” Adamin reported as he arrived. He lived several houses down and saw everyone who went by.
“Maybe she finally got smart and went home,” Kumin muttered.
“Well she’s obviously not coming,” David interjected. “And I have to go home, my father is leaving for Tarsha in the morning and I will accompany him. I’m going to oversee most of the dock loading and the final transactions.” He swelled a bit at the envious looks on the other boy’s faces. They wished him luck and loitered away in separate directions.
David ran home. As he raced around the corner to the front door, he almost knocked over a man entering the house. “Shalom, sir” he said, hastily bowing his head in respect when he saw that it was the head priest Ezria.
David had never been on the best of terms with Ezria. Ever since an occasion four years ago when David had contracted a strangely incurable case of the hiccups during one of the head priest’s long speeches, Ezria had disliked him. Certain mischievous impulses and slightly disrespectful remarks over the past few years had strengthened the antagonism between them. Solomon, however, strongly admired Ezria and consulted him often. David had to hide his dislike as Ezria often came on business.
Ezria raised his bushy eyebrows and scowled at David. David bowed his head and tried to look repentant, impatient to hurry inside. Finally, Ezria turned from David in distaste and abruptly entered the house. David followed softly.
Later that evening, David was undressing when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. “Lev!” he called, “Would you see if there’s something stuck in my shoulder? It’s been there for awhile I think, but it didn’t hurt before.” Lev came in silently and lifted the tunic from his left shoulder. Upon looking, he gave a sharp exclamation and ran from the room. David was confused.
“Wait! What is it?” Silence answered.
Moments later, he heard running feet. Solomon, Lev, and Ezria the high priest burst in. Lev grabbed David’s arm, roughly turned him so his back was to Ezria, and quickly rent the tunic from David’s shoulder. His father held up a lamp for Ezria as the high priest examined the back of David’s shoulder. After studying it for a minute, Ezria murmured an affirmative to David’s father. Solomon made a strange moaning sound, and gave low-toned instructions to Lev, who ran from the room. Quickly, Ezria and Solomon grabbed David’s arms and began forcibly escorting him out the front door. Two waiting guards grabbed him and proceeded to drag him through the city, remaining silent to his questions. A crowd collected and began following. Among them were the boys David had been with a few hours before.
When they reached the edge of the city, Ezria seized the front of David’s clothing, tore it, and placed a bell on his neck. While David stared at him with increasing dread, Ezria proclaimed, “Leprosy! Thou art cursed of God!” The crowd recoiled in horror. Leprosy was the worst disease of the time and the most feared by everyone. It was deadly.
“You are banished from association with any except those of your kind, unless the Lord God Almighty sees fit to remove this curse from you!”
David was reeling, trying to comprehend it all. Leprosy? Him? “Father?” his voice was a plea, “But I’m to go to Tarsha with you tomorrow!”
At Solomon’s expression, his voice faltered and he said weakly, “May I not even see Mama? Abria and Raya? Ephraim?” His voice completely died away at the cold look on his father’s face.
“No, you have already contaminated us enough. Heaven bless us that it will stay with you,” his father said frigidly. As David searched the crowd’s eyes, he saw no kindness or pity, only cold terror of the disease. His beseeching eyes rested a moment on Adamin, one of his best friends. Adamin only stared back in horror and backed away into the crowd. Lev arrived carrying several bundles and a goatskin. His father flung them to him, clothing, sandals, a blanket, a bundle of food, and a goatskin of water. Ezria turned and walked away, the crowd followed. Solomon was the last to finally turn around and leave.
David stared at the crowd’s retreating backs until his father was out of sight. Finally, he picked up the bundles, turned, and walked away, the tinkling of the bell his sole companion in the drawing blackness of night.
He wandered for days, as though in a dream, unable to comprehend his sudden change in station. Was it only hours and days before when he had been the first-born son of Solomon ben Daniels? About to leave for Tarsha to follow in his father’s footsteps? Heir to the possessions of the richest man in Roama? Now he was a leper, shunned by all he met, wandering with his shattered dreams and the dreary moan of the wind. The tinkling of his bell warned all to stay away from him. It was his curse, yet he could not part from the only sound to enter his empty world. One plaintive question in his mind continued, why had God cursed him so? And if it was a curse, was it better to struggle for survival? Or give up and let himself return to God’s presence for judgment? He had obviously done something terrible to deserve such judgment.
Months passed. Despite his careful rationing and begging, his food ran out. He licked every stale crumb from the cloth his bread had been wrapped in. As the hotter days drew on, water sources dried up. No one would allow him near their wells, and he began to starve. Trained as a rich man’s son in all the arts and the wiles of negotiations, he had never learned survival skills. His clothing tore, his sandal straps broke, and his attempts to repair them were so crude as to be almost useless.
His stomach squeezed with hunger, his strength was gone, his tongue swelled with thirst, his leprosy had spread, and his shoulder was often in agony. His leathery, coarse skin burned with fever. He was so dehydrated that the ridges of his fingers stood up, limp without water to sustain them. Soon, he collapsed, too weak, hurt, sore, sick, and miserable to even care about life anymore. He wished for death.
***********
“Easy now,” a voice broke through the hazy mist surrounding him. David felt water touch his parched tongue and a cool touch or wet cloth on his head. He struggled a moment for consciousness, then gave up and sank back into an uneasy sleep…
***********
David woke to the murmur of voices and opened his eyes; his vision swam for a moment before settling on the gray stone over his head. Startled, he looked around and saw that he was in a cave. His fingers brushed cold stone as he tried to sit up. The murmur outside stopped and footsteps approached. Someone from behind helped him up and offered water. He drank eagerly until it was taken away. “That’s it for now,” a musical voice lilted by his head. He turned slowly, and looked full into a familiar face.
“You!” he gasped. It was the Jewish girl, the one who had disappeared from Samaria what seemed like a lifetime ago. From the look of her face, he surmised that it was the same reason he had been forced out.
“Me,” she smiled. “I see that you’re back among the living a bit,” as she moved away he heard the soft tinkle of her bell.
Looking around he noticed that the cave walls were lined with piles of blankets and clothing. He realized that he was in one of these piles, and summarized that they were beds. A rusty pot of some kind of soup simmered over a fire pit just outside the cave entrance. The Jewish girl was standing next to it blowing on a ram’s horn. David examined her as she began dishing up wooden bowls of soup. She wasn’t particularly pretty, maybe if she were healthy with proper nourishment. Her long, brown hair hung in a dirty, limp braid. Her warm, dark brown eyes stood out sharply in her to-thin face, which was distorted on the left side by leprosy. She had a pronounced limp, he noted; possibly had leprosy on her leg or foot. That or someone had thrown a rock a little too hard in the city before.
He turned his attention to those gathering around the soup, all lepers; he must be in a leper colony. But how had he gotten there? Had the person who rescued him seen his bell and brought him here? Why on earth was the Jewish girl helping him? What did she want? As the thoughts raced rapidly through his head, he felt dizzy and lay down. Soon, the Jewish girl approached him with a bowl of broth. “Eat,” she ordered, as he attempted to avoid the spoon of broth.
“I can feed myself.”
She cocked her head, “Oh really?” Handing him the spoon and bowl, she indicated for him to begin. Annoyed, he tried to take a spoonful, but quickly found that she was correct, he couldn’t even lift the spoon.
She continued to watch in amusement. David glowered at her, “I can do it myself! But you’re watching me. I can’t eat when you’re watching me.”
“Why? Afraid I’ll contaminate you? It’s a little late for that,” she shrugged and joined the other lepers by the fire. A comment from her made them burst out laughing. David felt his ears burning as he tried to turn his back to them, the effort caused him to fall over, spilling the broth across the floor. The Jewish girl came back with an annoyed look on her face.
“If you don’t want it just say so. Don’t throw it all over the floor; food is hard to come by!” David was too frustrated and embarrassed to say anything as he futilely attempted to push himself back unto his bed.
“You know, you’re going to have to learn to use another arm for awhile, that arm is bound up to get the grime out of the sores on your shoulder.” She finished cleaning up the broth and returned with a partial bowl full, dipped the spoon, and held it up to his mouth.
“Now eat, and no more nonsense” she said sternly. Too hungry to argue anymore, he finally complied. Between spoonfuls of the smelly but surprisingly good soup, he began asking questions.
“Where am I?”
“You are in the leper colony outside of Samaria
“Who brought me here?”
“I did,” she answered, taking advantage of his dropped-open mouth to stuff in another spoonful. David hastily swallowed to avoid dribbling hot broth across his clothes.
“Why?” Her face indicated that it was a dumb question.
“Because otherwise you would have shriveled up and died, would you have preferred to shrivel up and die?” David muttered something unintelligible.
“What?”
“I said maybe.”
A new voice suddenly joined their conversation, “Ah come now lad, leprosy isn’t so bad, extremely painful and very lonely of course, and it certainly makes strange bedfellows, but all in all, you know that you’re dying and don’t have to worry about asking that question.” A formerly big man leaning heavily on a staff hobbled over, followed by the rest of the lepers. “My name’s Avriam,” David saw now why he hobbled, his toes were mostly gone and his feet were misshapen.
“What’s your name lad?”
“David”
“Alright David, this here is Yehoyakim, Gad, Hodiya, Kaniel, Lavi, Liron, Maher, Yeshar, Amel, and Tamir.” Each man nodded in turn as his name was called. Most weren’t as chipper as Avriam; rather, they appeared surly and sour.
“Ah don’t listen to him, cursed men we are, hated everywhere, miserable existence it is, and just look at the company,” Maher said in disgust as he glowered around him. “Hopefully boy you’re not one of those Jewish swine?”
David was confused, glancing at the Jewish girl he saw that her knuckles were turning white as they gripped her spoon. “If you will excuse me” she said as she stood up abruptly and strode off.
Yeshar angrily leaped to his feet “I warned you Maher!”
“I was addressing the boy, not you.”
“I come from Samaria
Maher smiled, “There see? At least there is some pure stock!”
“It’s not the Jews that are the mixed breed,” Yasher hissed. Instant argument arose between them. Avriam grabbed the two and flung them apart, “Go fight outside!” he snapped. Grumbling, they moved swiftly outdoors, where yelling, cursing and fists began to fly in a rather awkward dance, seeing as both were missing various limbs. Avriam turned apologetically to face David.
“Sorry about that, they’re rather opinionated. You’ll get used to it after awhile.”
“Don’t you care?” David asked
“Oh no, you see first of all I could crush any one of them and they know it. Second, as I said, leprosy makes for strange bedfellows. I say we’re all outcasts of our peoples, so we’re all our own people.”
“How come you only have one female?” David asked
Aviriam shrugged, “Females for some reason don’t usually contract leprosy, or at least they don’t usually come out here. We have a rather small colony.”
“Who is she?”
“Her name is Kadia.” Avriam cocked his head. “But I thought you already knew her, she said you’ve met before.” With that, he stood up to leave. “Well you had better be getting to sleep, you’ve been very sick, should be dead too.” David sighed, shook his whirling thoughts away, and tumbled into sleep…
***********
It was several weeks before David worked up the courage to speak to her again. After he had claimed Samaritan heritage, she avoided him. He spent those days recuperating and attempting to work his muscles. While Kadia was checking on him one morning, he made another attempt. Glancing at her, he noted the hostile look in her eyes nervously.
“Um, ah, Kadia?” She barely glanced at him as she checked his shoulder.
“Yes?”
“Why… why are, why are you helping me?”
She sat back on her heels and studied him. “Well that’s a good question, you really don’t deserve it. It’s not like you have been that gracious about it, and you are one of those terrible despised Samaritans,” she shrugged, “I can’t really tell you now, except that everyone who is alone needs a hand.”
Her gaze went right through him as he colored and looked away. He certainly hadn’t helped her when she had most needed it. Had he been in her situation when she found him, he wouldn’t have bothered to stop at all, except maybe to gloat at the reversed positions. He still couldn’t get over how she just ignored his Samaritan blood.
“Well, um, ah…” he stuttered for a moment, fumbling nervously with his sleeve. Kadia waited, “Yes?”
He swallowed, but finally managed to force the words out. “Thank you.” After a slightly surprised look, a tiny smile crossed her face. “You’re welcome.”
A shadow fell over them “Buddying up to our Samaritan now aren’t we little pig?” Maher hissed. His insult was particularly cutting as he had called her an unclean animal. Kadia’s face tightened, David was angry.
“Leave her alone Maher.”
“What? Changing religions already? You shame your family.”
“Go away now,” David hissed angrily as he struggled to get up. His muscles were still weak from lack of exercise however and he sweated as he tried to move.
Maher leaned over him and kicked Kadia, “Make me.”
A firm hand clapped down on Maher’s shoulder. “I think it’s time you leave. One more such incident and you may leave our colony as well.” Maher shrugged the hand off angrily and strode out. Avriam glanced at them, turned, and hobbled away. Kadia quickly finished with David’s shoulder and turned to go. “Why didn’t you hit him or something? Why don’t you answer him?” David demanded, “He has no right to treat you like that.”
She sighed, “What good would that do? He is a good deal stronger than me, especially with my leg. Besides, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth doesn’t do anyone any good.”
David snorted, “If Moses had followed that principle we’d still be in Egypt
“It certainly seemed like it to me,” David disagreed. “For each punishment Pharaoh inflicted on us, Moses returned greater evil on him.”
“God was in charge there. God returned the greater evil, and with an entire nation’s future at stake, I think there was a slight difference in importance between them and me.”
“If God did it, we should to."
“David, you are not a God and that is blasphemous! God judges our hearts and he knows when it is best to chastise and when to bless.”
“Right, like God even cares about us.”
“David!”
“Think about it, if he cared so much about me, then why am I sitting here wasting my life in a leper colony?” David demanded.
“And why was I born and abandoned in a city where I was hated my entire life? Why was I given leprosy? I can tell you that the leprosy that forced me out of Romoa was a blessing to me. Life here has been much kinder then it ever was there.”
David was stung into silence. “As for you, I have no idea why you were sent here, life has no simple answers. I do not know that leprosy is a curse; perhaps it’s a test to learn to appreciate the good in life. Things taken for granted, like your home, family, friends, even your physical body. Maybe,” she glanced at him challengingly, “It’s given to learn what its like to be despised by all you meet.” David opened his mouth to give an angry retort and found that there really wasn’t anything he could say. Grabbing his blanket, he rolled over and ignored her.
***********
Over the next few years, David fell into a strange rhythm. He learned to work, eat things he never would have in his life, and to live with pain, extreme pain. Learning to work was an interesting adjustment that took awhile. Although David was used to menial labor from working at his father’s warehouse, his jobs had always been relatively clean. At the colony, he initially balked at the idea of picking through old bread to extract bugs or using feces to fertilize the small garden Kadia had planted. However, after several altercations with Avriam, he reluctantly did his duty. At one point, Kadia disgustedly compared his arrogance to Maher. Following this jibe, David stopped complaining and began working harder.
As the leprosy continued its steady destroying hand, everyone was affected. Simple tasks became extremely painful due to mangled limbs. As leprosy spread to his hands, David learned to rely on those with a steady arm and clear hands to help with simple tasks such as dressing, washing, and eating. In turn, he would help those who could not walk due to their feet and leg leprosies. Lavi, one of the quiet men in the colony, shrank to under a hundred pounds and had to be carried due to his shriveled legs. The leprosy apparently had a sense of justice; two years after David arrived, Maher was the first to be buried.
Over time, David finally won the respect of and became good friends with Kadia. They spent hours talking. He learned much about her, although she knew very little of her childhood. She couldn’t remember a time when she wasn’t in Samaria working for something somewhere, she was pretty sure that she had gotten lost there when she was very little, or abandoned. She had contracted leprosy over a year before leaving Romoa, but she had thought it was just a rash. It was not until she saw a case of real leprosy that she realized what her own was and left. She knew that if she had stayed, she risked infecting the rest of the population. Also, if she was discovered, she would be cruelly expelled from the city.
As they talked one day, the subject came up of the Jesus, the carpenter’s son who was reputed to be a prophet, healing many, and preaching a strange doctrine. Kadia said she had heard much of his teachings from listening to passerby’s from her lookout. Over the roadway, a cliff jutted out just enough to provide nice shade to stop and rest on an otherwise inhospitable road. Perched in a niche atop the cliff, Kadia was able to overhear anything discussed. Although several of the men laughed at her for even caring what happened to the rest of the world, everyone listened eagerly when she would return with fresh news or ideas to discuss. When she mentioned Jesus however, David scoffed at most of his ideas.
“Why on earth should we love our enemies? Are you telling me that you prayed for Maher? Or the people who threw garbage and dung at you in the Roama? That is the stupidest thing I ever heard.”
“David if I thought that way you would be dead.”
David was silent for a moment as he pondered this. “How could you help me? Especially after I was so cruel back in Samaria
“Once, when I was about eleven, living in Roama, I stole some bread from an older woman in the market square. She caught me and brought me back to her stall. She didn’t yell at me for stealing, she didn’t even take it back. Instead of spitting at me because I was Jewish, she gave me three more loaves of bread and some dates from her lunch. She then told me that if I was ever hungry enough to steal again to come back. I never did. She was so gracious I felt ashamed of stealing. I determined that day to try to copy her graciousness and never stole again. I used to dream of having enough to help someone like that one day, but I never did. So, when I saw you, I almost passed by, then the picture of her face came to my mind and I knew she wouldn’t.”
*********
As the days passed, Kadia’s leprosy became worse, much worse. Her legs became so bad that she could not even get out of bed. She became very sick, her gums deteriorated and she couldn’t eat anything more than very thin broth. It hurt David badly to see her in so much pain. He spent most of his time with her in the cave, bringing her any news of Jesus he could get. One day she grabbed his hand and said, “Promise me, if Jesus comes near here, you will go to him and be healed, and then promise that you will go home to your family.” David had been gone for four years, and he sorely missed his home.
“Why would he heal me? I’m a leper. Lepers are unclean, being near us is like eating swine. Besides that, I’m a Samaritan. Jews hate Samaritans.”
“David, you just must believe, he will heal you if you believe. Besides, healing you has nothing to do with eating you,” she smiled in amusement “and unless you’ve forgotten, I am Jewish. I do not think I have quite thrown you out the door.”
David shook his head, “What about you? Won’t you go be healed then?”
Kadia was silent. “David, I am not going to make it much longer”
“That’s ridiculous, don’t talk that way”
“David, it hurts to even talk and I can barely move; my leprosy is progressing extremely fast. Please, promise me, I want you to meet him for me.” David promised and abruptly left with a mumbled excuse about getting a drink.
As he angrily stumbled out of the cave, the cruel sunlight seared his vision, which was accustomed to the dim light of the cave. Clapping his hands over his eyes, he fell on the ground and lay there for a moment before he attempted to force his eyes open. Trying to blink away the lights dancing in his head, he stumbled away from the cave and ran as fast as he could. What seemed like miles later, he collapsed and stared at the desolate desert before him. “Oh God, how can you do this?” He demanded, angrily kicking at a rock, “How can you allow so much pain in this world?” Tears streamed softly down his face as he cried for a long, long time.
**************
Two months later…
“He’s coming! He’s coming!!!” Amel burst into camp as fast as he could hobble, crying the news. Everyone was gathered for lunch, but bowls clattered to the group as everyone turned in surprise.
“Who’s coming?” Avriam asked
“Jesus! Jesus is coming! If we leave now we should meet him on the road!” Avriam shook his head, “He’s Jewish Amel, he would never heal us.”
Amel fiercely shook his head, “That may be, but think of what might happen if he does? It may be our only chance!” The others agreed and everyone began hurriedly preparing to leave. David dropped his food and ran into the cave.
“Kadia! Kadia!” David exclaimed as he gently shook her awake. “Jesus is coming!”
Rolling her eyes toward him, she fought to form the word, “Go.” David shook his head, “You’re coming to,” he insisted. Kadia shook her head and pointed to her legs.
“I’ll carry you,” he said stubbornly. She smiled sadly and indicated that he could hardly carry himself. David had to admit she was right, and no one else could carry her either, most were worse off than he was. Straining, she forced her vocal chords to rasp out a few words.
“Go and see him, you promised! Then go home to your family.” With that, she fell back to sleep, too exhausted to speak further.
“David! Are you coming lad? We must leave now!” Avriam called. Reluctantly David got to his feet, grabbed his staff, and joined them. I’ll ask the Master to heal her instead of me. If anyone has faith to be healed, she does…
**********
They arrived early at the spot Jesus was to pass by, and sat down to wait. David heard the approach before he saw him, a large group of people surrounded Jesus. The sight of the man banished all thoughts from David’s mind but the desire of being healed and going home. As soon as Jesus was within earshot the lepers fell down together on their knees and cried out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and looked at them. David thought that he had never before seen such compassion on a man’s face.
“Go,” Jesus said in a firm, gentle voice, “Show yourselves to the priests.” With those words, he turned and continued on his way.
“Why should we do that?” Amel wondered aloud. David was confused as well. Although the lepers were allowed to go near the outskirts of civilization, they were not allowed to enter where a priest would be. However, they arose obediently and went to the nearby village where they often begged near for food and headed for the synagogue.
David was helping Liron, who was crippled in his feet, to walk. As they entered the village, Liron suddenly gave a cry of wonder, let go of David, and stood upon his feet. Avriam gasped and held his hand up to the light “I’m whole!” he cried out in amazement. David grabbed his tunic and rolled it up to stare at his arm. It was clean. The familiar pain and sores were gone. A feeling of pure joy welled up in him and spilled out as he shouted, “Hosanna to God! He is real! And he does care!” Tears of joy came from all as they stared at themselves and realized they were healed. Hodiya gave a shout and broke into a run for the synagogue to show the priest that he was healed, the others followed.
David stopped, “Wait! We must thank him!” The others ignored him and continued to run as fast as they could. David turned and ran back to where he had last seen Jesus. David found Jesus as he entered the village. With a soft cry, David ran to him and fell down at his feet, tears of joy streaming down his face. “Master, Master, I thank thee, I thank thee.”
Jesus answered him in a gentle voice, “Were there not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” David looked up into the deep blue eyes, piercing, yet filled with compassion and mercy; he felt a stab of shame for those who did not return. Jesus turned to those with him and said, “There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger” David humbly bowed his head.
Jesus addressed him again, “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” At those words, David felt as though a great cleansing had purged his soul. He felt fire burn within, and he felt all his hatred rooted out of him. As he closed his eyes and drank in the feeling, his life seemed to rush by his eyes. As he thought of Ezria, Maher, his father, and all of those he had been angry with for so long, he suddenly felt forgiveness in his heart. He felt cleansed from his cruelty back in Roama, which had haunted him for so long. As he felt these sensations, he suddenly felt that the second gift had been greater than the first. Standing on his feet, he turned to leave; suddenly, he remembered Kadia.
“Master, wait!”
David ran after Jesus again. Jesus turned to him and waited. “Master,” he said with his head bowed, “I know I have no right to ask anything more, you have already done more for me than I can ever re-pay. But I have a friend, her name is Kadia, she believed on you long before me, she taught me to believe in thee. If anyone has faith, it is her. She has more than I ever will, please, can you heal her? If needed, give me back my leprosy, heal her instead,” tears streamed softly down his face.
Jesus gently placed his hand on David’s shoulder. As David looked up, he saw tears in Jesus’ own eyes, and suddenly felt as though Jesus knew everything about him. Everything in his life, all about Kadia, everything, and he understood. As David felt that intensive scrutiny, he understood why Kadia and others felt so strongly about this man. He was not just a prophet. David was not sure what he was, but he knew that this Jesus was not an ordinary man. In fact, he seemed so familiar. After looking into David’s eyes for a moment longer the Master said gently, “Go thy way, her faith, which is great, hath made her whole.” David fell down at his feet again in gratitude, he then arose and stepped back as the Master went on his way. Turning, David ran back to the cave as fast as he could. He ran for several hours, stopping only a few times briefly to rest; spurred on by an intense desire to see Kadia and know that she was alive.
Arriving at the cave, gasping for breath, he burst inside to where he had left her. He stopped short; she was not there. For a sickening moment, he wondered if she had already died and someone had come along and buried her. But that was ridiculous, who would know that she was here? And who would come in a leper colony?
“You look like Goliath has been a’chasing you” a wonderfully familiar voice lilted behind him. Spinning around he saw her standing behind him, whole.
“Kadia!” he cried out and ran to her. He picked her up and spun her around. Laughing and crying they held each for a long time. Finally, David looked into her face and said, “He’s real! He is sent from God! I saw his face, and he looked at me and knew me, he’s real. He knew who you were too.”
Kadia smiled, “I know. I was lying in that corner a few hours ago; I knew I was going to die, and then I felt a touch on my head, as though someone was standing next to me. I felt Him, and I knew it was Him, and suddenly, I was whole. No pain, it was perfect. For a minute I thought I died, but I sat up and pinched myself until I knew it was real.” Suddenly she glanced around, “What are the chances do you think of getting leprosy again by staying here?”
David quickly grabbed her hand and ran down the hill. Once they reached the base, they slowed down. “I don’t know” he answered, “I don’t really want to find out though, let’s go to the village and see the priest. Then we can go home to my family”
Kadia shook her head, “David, I’m Jewish. I would not ever be accepted by your family. They will disown you if you try to bring me home. You cannot risk that just to have me meet your family.”
“What difference does it make?” David demanded, “Besides, what else are you going to do? There really aren’t very many options for an orphaned Jewish girl to find employment.”
Kadia smiled, “Perhaps I could build my own little place with a tiny garden. I could have a career selling strange soup; I’ve become quite skilled in that area you know. But really David, you do realize how odd it would appear for you to bring home a strange girl in the first place?”
David shrugged, “Most people don’t go to a leper colony and come back. I think that we have rather unique circumstances.”
Kadia inclined her head, “True. This is not exactly an ideal situation in general. I never really planned to heal. Too bad, maybe things would have been simpler if I had died”
David sighed, “Sorry, I asked him to heal you, it’s really my fault. Therefore, you should allow me to make it up to you by bringing you home to my family. My father is rich, I’m sure that there will be some arrangement which we can make.”
“You are purposefully neglecting to recall that I am a Jewess and you are a Samaritan. We don’t have the leprosy as a common bond anymore”
“We’re still friends aren’t we? Even more than that, we’re both believers in Jesus.”
Kadia smiled, “True, very true.”
“If Samaria Judah
“Prejudices are so frustrating. Why should the opinions of a few determine our destiny? You may not find any place to accept you in Judah
They began walking as David shook his head, “They wouldn’t even return to thank him. I could not understand.”
Kadia smiled, “Old prejudices die hard. I only hope that their lives are wonderful. I’m really glad that you remembered to go back though.” Their discussion continued as they moved toward the village and their new lives. What the morrow would bring they did not know, but they knew that God did, and that was enough for them.
