I want to tell you about my new friend. His name is Yeshua. He is about thirty years old and comes to visit our village quite often. I live in a small hamlet between Sepphoris and Nazareth, where I believe he was originally from. He used to be a handy man and worked with his father Yacob as a carpenter when they were building Sepphoris, but then, one day, he just disappeared, as if the earth would have swallowed him. They told me he had gone into a quest journey, trying to find out what the Lord wanted from him. When he did, he started to travel all around Galilee teaching people to get ready for something new that was about to happen, but I never quite understood what that new thing was. I believe it is something that has to do with God’s presence among us. My friend Rachel told me that she heard her parents talking about it one night. They said that the situation for the peasants was unbearable, that they had to pay taxes to everyone: the priests at the temple, king Herod, and the Romans. They were left with almost nothing to feed their family. And I guess it is the same for us, so whatever this thing Yeshua is announcing –I think he calls it the Kingdom of God—we certainly need it, because it would mean that God is going to take control of the situation and do some needed justice around here.

Anyway, as I was saying, he and I became friends. You may ask: how can a thirty years old travelling preacher befriend a twelve year old boy who has never seen the world beyond the outskirts of his own little village? Well, I guess maybe because we have some things in common. We both know what poverty is all about, and how much people have to work in order to be able to barely survive. My parents work all day long to feed our family of five. I am the oldest child and have two brothers and two sisters who are younger than me. Food is scarce and the debt Dad had to incur in order to keep his piece of land is huge. Tax collectors –those scoundrels,– are in charge of enforcing it. So we have that in common. Also, I think we share a disgust for self-righteous people. I heard him discussing with some priests and pharisees and I really liked what I heard. He put them in their place. He even called them names, such as brood of vipers, whitewashed sepulchers, blind guides, hypocrites, and things like that. I said to myself: yeah, finally someone has the courage to tell it like it is. We are tired of kneeling down to kings and powerful people when we should only be kneeling down to worship the Lord.

But listen to what happened the other day. You are not going to believe it. We knew he was coming to Nazareth to visit his family so the whole town was in an uproar. The famous son was going to pay a visit to his folk, so everyone wanted to have a piece of his well-deserved fame. Lots of people congregated by Miriam and Yoseph’s house, his parents, many carrying their sick because word had gotten out that he had become some sort of a healer and miracle worker. So, when he arrived, everyone was trying to touch him and it was impossible for him to greet his family properly. The price of celebrity, you may say. You never have time for yourself. Knowing that, I decided not to bother him and did not approach him at all. My parents told me later that for some reason he couldn’t perform too many healings that day. They thought it was because they did not trust him. He was too well known in the village, and village people are not supposed to be miracle workers. I thought that was a pretty stupid reason, but I have been told never to question adults, so I didn’t.

The next day I was walking around by one of the hills with a bunch of friends, kids my age and younger, when we came to a clearing where we saw people sitting around, and guess who was there? Yes, you guessed it, Yeshua. He was telling them something, so we came closer to hear what he was saying and this is what I overheard: “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” After saying that, he noticed me and called me: “Hey Simon –that’s my name—come here and bring some of your friends with you.” We all ran to where he was and he, taking one of the youngest in his arms and placing his hands over him, he blessed him, and did the same with the rest of us, even with Rachel, who somehow managed that day to be with the boys, which is very unusual because girls are not allowed to do that. They usually stay at home while we boys play outside.

But if the fact that he blessed us all was amazing, what he said about the kingdom belonging to those who are like us, children, was even more amazing. Imagine how the priests, the teachers of the law, and those disciples who were following him like flies must have felt. And there were some of them among the group. Adults may not give us too much credit, but God gave us a kingdom. Imagine that. I have heard my parents talk about God’s kingdom as coming sometime in the future, but Yeshua said that it did not have to come. It was already here but people had to be able to see it and we, children, were able to do just that. We were already in the kingdom, whatever he meant by that. And I guess I do understand what he meant. Sometimes, when we are playing in the meadows, picking up wild flowers, chasing rabbits, drinking water from the creek, we feel so happy that nothing else seems to matter. It is as if the Lord had come down from heaven and was playing with us. Maybe that’s what the kingdom is all about: playing and enjoying the moment.

If you want me to tell you, I think that God is a child who refuses to grow up. God just wants to play, as he did at the beginning of time, when he created everything in seven days, moving around the universe playing, having fun with his work. Yeshua does something similar, he plays: he plays when he eats with sinners and publicans, he plays when he heals the sick and drives out demons, he plays when he tells the Pharisees to decide for God and not for the emperor. He knows that the secret to God’ kingdom is playing; that is why he said that the kingdom belongs to children, and those adults who are like them. So I guess that as long as we play, God is with us, we are in the kingdom, as Yeshua is.

But what about those who refuse to believe that God is like that? There are lots of people who want to have a judgmental God, one who will bring his reign and defeat our enemies. That sounds like a lot of blood to me. But what if God, instead of killing our enemies, would invite them to play with us? Maybe they hate us so much because they never go the invitation. But now that God is doing everything new, as the prophet Isaiah says, (my mother told me this) maybe they will. Imagine if the roman soldiers, instead of harassing us kids, would take us for a ride in their beautiful horses! And if the priests, instead of coming to our village to pick up our tithes, would instead bring gifts. And if the tax collectors and creditors, instead of requiring more than was agreed so they can have a share in the profit, would cancel our debts.

Which, by the way, brings me to another thing I heard Yeshua saying. He was teaching his disciples how to pray and he said something like this “Our Father, who are in heaven, hollowed be your name.” (I don’t understand that word, “hollowed”, but sounds important). I don’t remember everything he said but I do remember the part about forgiveness of debts. It went something like this: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” I love the idea of our family debts, which are many, being forgiven in the same manner we forgive our debtors, which I didn’t know we had. I will have to ask Dad about that, I’m sure he knows. But if God can forgive our debts, then our earthly debtors will have to do the same, otherwise their debts will not be forgiven.

Now Yeshua is gone, and I really miss him. They say he is going to Jerusalem to finish some business there. I hope he does not get into trouble. Jerusalem is a dangerous city.