Chapter 33 Uriah, an old man of Nazareth

He's a weirdo among us, his whole life hidden in dark tents. He did not follow the way of our God, but the way of the unclean, the wicked. As a child he refused to suck our natural milk. His adolescence burned like dry grass on fire at night. When he was an adult, he took up arms against us all. Such people are conceived in the low tide of human goodness and born with the evil wind. They will survive the evil wind for a day, and then perish forever. Have you forgotten how pompous he was as a boy, loving to argue with learned elders and laughing at their dignity? Do you remember his youth when he made a living by sawing and chiseling?He never hangs out with our children at the festivals, he wants to be alone.

He never answered people's greetings to him, as if he was superior to us. When I met him in the field once, I greeted him, but he just smiled, and I could see arrogance and contempt in his smile. Shortly thereafter, my daughter and her companions went out to pick grapes in the orchard, and she greeted him too, but he didn't answer, he just addressed all the grape pickers as if my daughter wasn't among them. After he left his father and fellow villagers to wander, he became very loud and noisy. His remarks were a thorn in our flesh, and his words still make us ache when we think about them.

He can only slander us, including our fathers and ancestors; his sharp tongue is like a poisoned arrow, and it pierces our chest. This is who Jesus is. If he had been my son, I would have handed him over to the Roman army on the Arabian expedition, and I would have asked the officer to put him on the front line, so that the enemy's archers could shoot him and save me from the shame. But I don't have a son, and maybe I should be thankful for that.Because, if my son is the enemy of the people, and I, with my white head and white beard, will go to hell in humiliation, what shall I do?