Jesus the Son of Man (Illustrated Edition). Kahlil Gibran

offended.

      "I alone love the unseen in you."

      Then He said in a low voice, "Go away now. If this cypress tree is yours and you would not have me sit in its shadow, I will walk my way."

      And I cried to Him and I said, "Master, come to my house. I have incense to burn for you, and a silver basin for your feet. You are a stranger and yet not a stranger. I entreat you, come to my house."

      Then He stood up and looked at me even as the seasons might look down upon the field, and He smiled. And He said again: "All men love you for themselves. I love you for yourself."

      And then He walked away.

      But no other man ever walked the way He walked. Was it a breath born in my garden that moved to the east? Or was it a storm that would shake all things to their foundations?

      I knew not, but on that day the sunset of His eyes slew the dragon in me, and I became a woman, I became Miriam, Miriam of Mijdel.

       Philemon A Greek Apothecary: On Jesus the Master Physician

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      The Nazarene was the Master Physician of His people. No other man knew so much of our bodies and of their elements and properties.

      He made whole those who were afflicted with diseases unknown to the Greeks and the Egyptians. They say He even called back the dead to life. And whether this be true or not true, it declares His power; for only to him who has wrought great things is the greatest ever attributed.

      They say also that Jesus visited India and the Country between the Two Rivers, and that there the priests revealed to Him the knowledge of all that is hidden in the recesses of our flesh.

      Yet that knowledge may have been given to Him direct by the gods, and not through the priests. For that which has remained unknown to all men for an eon may be disclosed to one man in but a moment. And Apollo may lay his hand on the heart of the obscure and make it wise.

      Many doors were open to the Tyrians and the Thebans, and to this man also certain sealed doors were opened. He entered the temple of the soul, which is the body; and He beheld the evil spirits that conspire against our sinews, and also the good spirits that spin the threads thereof.

      Methinks it was by the power of opposition and resistance that He healed the sick, but in a manner unknown to our philosophers. He astonished fever with His snow-like touch and it retreated; and He surprised the hardened limbs with His own calm and they yielded to Him and were at peace.

      He knew the ebbing sap within the furrowed bark -- but how He reached the sap with His fingers I do not know. He knew the sound steel underneath the rust -- but how He freed the sword and made it shine no man can tell.

      Sometimes it seems to me that He heard the murmuring pain of all things that grow in the sun, and that then He lifted them up and supported them, not only by His own knowledge, but also by disclosing to them their own power to rise and become whole.

      Yet He was not much concerned with Himself as a physician. He was rather preoccupied with the religion and the politics of this land. And this I regret, for first of all things we must needs be sound of body.

      But these Syrians, when they are visited by an illness, seek an argument rather than medicine.

      And pity it is that the greatest of all their physicians chose rather to be but a maker of speeches in the market-place.

       Simon Who Was Called Peter: When He And His Brother Were Called

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      I was on the shore of the Lake of Galilee when I first beheld Jesus my Lord and my Master.

      My brother Andrew was with me and we were casting out net into the waters.

      The waves were rough and high and we caught but few fish. And our hearts were heavy.

      Suddenly Jesus stood near us, as if He had taken form that very moment, for we had not seen Him approaching.

      He called us by our names, and He said, "If you will follow me I will lead you to an inlet where the fishes are swarming."

      And as I looked at His face the net fell from my hands, for a flame kindled within me and I recognized Him.

      And my brother Andrew spoke and said, "We know all the inlets upon these shores, and we know also that on a windy day like this the fish seek a depth beyond our nets."

      And Jesus answered, "Follow me to the shores of a greater sea. I shall make you fishers of men. And your net shall never be empty."

      And we abandoned our boat and our net and followed Him.

      I myself was drawn by a power, viewless, that walked beside His person.

      I walked near Him, breathless and full of wonder, and my brother Andrew was behind us, bewildered and amazed.

      And as we walked on the sand I made bold and said unto Him, "Sir, I and my brother will follow your footsteps, and where you go we too will go. But if it please you to come to our house this night, we shall be graced by your visit. Our house is not large and our ceiling not high, and you will sit at but a frugal meal. Yet if you will abide in our hovel it will be to us a palace. And would you break bread with us, we in your presence were to be envied by the princes of the land."

      And He said, "Yea, I will be your guest this night."

      And I rejoiced in my heart. And we walked behind Him in silence until we reached our house.

      And as we stood at the threshold Jesus said, "Peace be to this house, and to those who dwell in it."

      Then He entered and we followed Him.

      My wife and my wife's mother and my daughter stood before Him and they worshipped Him; then they knelt before Him and kissed the hem of His sleeve.

      They were astonished that He, the chosen and the well beloved, had come to be our guest; for they had already seen Him by the River Jordan when John the Baptist had proclaimed Him before the people.

      And straightway my wife and my wife's mother began to prepare the supper.

      My brother Andrew was a shy man, but his faith in Jesus was deeper than my faith.

      And my daughter, who was then but twelve year old, stood by Him and held His garment as if she were in fear He would leave us and go out again into the night. She clung to Him like a lost sheep that has found its shepherd.

      Then we sat at the board, and He broke the bread and poured the wine; and He turned to us saying, "My friends, grace me now in sharing this food with me, even as the Father has graced us in giving it unto us."

      These words He said ere He touched a morsel, for He wished to follow an ancient custom that the honoured guest becomes the host.

      And as we sat with Him around the board we felt as if we were sitting at the feast of the great King.

      My daughter Petronelah, who was young and unknowing, gazed at His face and followed the movements of His hands. And I saw a veil of tears in her eyes.

      When He left the board we followed Him and sat about Him in the vine-arbour.

      And He spoke to us and we listened, and our hearts fluttered within us like birds.

      He spoke of the second birth of man, and of the opening of the gates of the heavens; and of angels descending and bringing peace and good cheer to all men, and of angels ascending to the throne bearing the longings of men to the Lord God.

      Then He looked into my eyes and gazed into the depths of my heart. And He said, "I have chosen you and your brother, and you must needs come with me.