Entry Twenty-Six: Ecclesiastes 4:12
Elizabeth tells me there are some young men to see me. I tell her to bring them to Benjamin’s house. If they cross his threshold, I will welcome them.
They file in, one by one, looking sheepish…embarrassed…awkward. One appears to be quite agitated. They greet me…touch me…kiss me on either cheek as is our custom. They sit but they say nothing. The agitated one speaks first. He tells me he cannot believe we have mourned Benjamin as dead. I am struck dumb by this outburst. The other young men look away…they are mortified by their friend’s lack of tact and decorum. But the young man weeps freely…openly…he is honest…and I love him for his honesty. I reach out to him and smile. He suddenly realises that I feel the same way and he falls to his knees before me. He is shaking with emotion…they all are.
Now they begin to speak, first one then the other. They speak about Benjamin in the present tense…they speak his name. I am drinking greedily from this refreshing fountain of brotherly love. They make my son come alive to me. They tell me stories of their antics together with my Benjamin. Their energy revives my soul and rekindles my hope in humanity. I am not the only one to question the behaviour of my community…our community…I am not the only one to question the harshness of their rules…their interpretation of God’s law…their interpretation of God.
I am aglow with life tonight. Benjamin’s friends have become my friends…no, more than friends. My lifeline. I will seek them out again. Together we will keep the flame of faith burning brightly…the preacher said that a threefold cord cannot be easily broken…first it was only me…then it was me and God…now it is me, God, and Benjamin’s friends. Surely, nothing can break this cord of hope.
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