Posts by Deborah van Kroonenburg
… Still Speaking to the People
We had been listening to our Rabbi speaking us for some time, until it seemed there was no time anymore, just the sound of birdsong outside and the voice of the Teacher. Gradually those who had come to argue and criticize fell silent as men drew closer to him to catch each word and children…
Read MoreAnxiety
I grew up used to hunger. There was almost enough in our kitchen but never quite enough to stop the pain in my stomach. My father went out early each day to seek work, and if no one took him on, he was ashamed to come home. My mother tried to make a little grain…
Read MoreA Covenant of Love
Supper: before the Feast of the Passover, that night was unlike any other. I look back to the time as if it took place in another lifetime. It was the beginning of a time of such intensity that it burned into my memory forever. We celebrated the Passover together, following Our Lord’s instruction, as a new…
Read MoreThe Crowd Seek Jesus
The whole crowd went in pursuit of Jesus, from one side of the lake to another. If I am honest, I knew that many people were seeking the miracle worker who had fed them the previous day. How could we forget the joy of that day and the sight of all the bread and fish…
Read MoreDrinking in His Words
A temple guard seeks to hear Jesus. It was the time of the festival, the Feast of Tabernacles, and we had heard that the teacher, Jesus, was present in Jerusalem. As an officer of the Temple Guard, I was to be ready, if the order came, to arrest him. In the middle of the week,…
Read MoreFollow Me
‘After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth.’ A tax collector I did not look out into the crowds from my booth. I was a wealthy man and I had no right to be. The only reason I was rich was because I…
Read MoreLord of the Sabbath
The pharisees waiting in the synagogue were the same men who had lingered at the edge of the field. I do not know why they had waited as we came through the field on that Sabbath day but I do know that one man was delighted to call out the Lord for the shocking sin…
Read MoreA Just Man
My friend was a fair and generous man. All the men in his family looked to him for guidance and the women said that no one would find a better husband. He was faithful. He obeyed the law to the letter, but we never heard him condemn anyone. If someone had strayed from the right…
Read MoreApproaching the Temple
Year on year, we measured out our lives in waiting; waiting for our liberation, waiting for a new Kingdom of justice and right. Year on year, we made our way to the holy Temple of the Lord. We sang psalms as we approached the gates of the city, our limbs losing the fatigue of days…
Read MoreWaiting for the Wedding Feast
Be dressed ready for service. I have been a maid for a long time, and I am no longer young, but I have never known an employer to be so loving and generous as mine were. I knew that I will never find a fairer master or mistress than those I kept the house for,…
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