It is likely many of you can recall the excitement of young love. And the uncertainty of unfamiliar territory. Samuel didn’t have to recall it; he was living it. As is often the case, instead of talking with his mother, he found her close friend, Naomi, to be an ideal confidante. Samuel’s mother did not feel left out because Naomi was well versed in the intricacies of mother’s talk.
Naomi was also well qualified to talk. She had, along with her close friends, spent time in the company of Yeshua himself, and a way of orienting herself in relation to others had become embedded in her heart. I could say heart and mind, but rather think what her teacher had said brought about a change in heart more than understanding in the mind. In her mind, ‘young love’ was a distant memory, but in her heart, helpful understandings were fresh and timely.
“Do you think Sophia likes me?” Samuel asked. “I mean enough to be special friends”.
“Of course she likes you; Sophia likes everybody” Naomi responded. “As for a ‘special friends’ relationship, that’s something you need to be ready for, then you can ask her”.
“Are you saying I’m not ready for a relationship like that?”
“I am saying Sophia is secure in who she is, well grounded and settled in her view of the world and her part in it” said Naomi, before adding “The question is, do you feel settled and grounded?”
Samuel wasn’t prepared for that. He would have preferred some tips on starting a relationship that didn’t involve an examination of his being ‘grounded’ or not. He wasn’t even sure he knew what it meant.
“I’m not sure how I feel really. All I know is that I have changed from a wild boy to a better one since working for Eli” he said.
“You sure have” said Naomi. “I am proud of you, and so is Eli, and your mother”. “You have made a great start, but what you do, is not who you are. Relationships are established and sustained by all the unique characteristics that make up the person you are – your essence, and you need to know what that is”.
“This is getting pretty deep for me. I thought I could just start a relationship without all this other stuff” said Samuel.
“You can” said Naomi. “Lots of relationships start that way, and most of them don’t end well, or just muddle along to avoid the complications of ending it. You don’t want that, and neither does Sophia”.
“I am learning to speak Greek so I can talk with her. What else do I have to do?” Samuel asked.
“It’s more ‘thinking’ than ‘doing’. More reflection than action. Or perhaps I should say a reflection on action, especially actions that leave us with a deep sense of right living” Naomi said, with emphasis on the final phrase. “A lot of people go through life without ever knowing what right living looks like”.
“Eli talks like that. I listened when he was talking with Rueben the other day. Rueben was all worked up about some ruckus in the temple … something about priests and adultery … he was angry. Eli didn’t even look up from his work, he just listened until Rueben slowed down a bit then told him that that’s how people live when they ignore everything about Yeshua. Eli said the priests have no idea of what right living looks like” exclaimed Samuel, getting a bit worked up himself.
“Yes, we shouldn’t be surprised at what people who ignore Yeshua do, to themselves and to others” Naomi said, wiping her hands on her apron and lifting the discussion to another level. “Those priests might define themselves by what they do – temple authorities, even Yahweh’s representatives – but not by what they are; self-centred and hedonistic. They are only focusing on themselves and their own pleasure. You see, Yeshua embodied love. That’s not just a word, but something that can change a person’s whole life-orientation. And it does this because love is relational, it introduces an ‘other’, and that changes a person’s focus from themselves to others. Love changes their minds about who they are, from an anonymous creature to a loved child. It’s relational and that is how people can live the way they were meant to live”.
Samuel listened intently, and although such concentration was difficult for him, he felt sure he understood, or at least grasped enough to see where it would help him come to terms with how he defined himself. He had grown up without a father. His most significant influence had been the gang, and for the first time, he now saw that he was defining himself by who he was with. The feeling that he belonged, overrode any concern about the violence and carnage he caused. Now, with a change of mind; a change in perspective, he realised that wild boy was not who he was meant to be.
It is tempting to say that Naomi knew what he was thinking. Perhaps she did, for she said “People still associate you with running amok in the village, but don’t let that bother you, you aren’t that person now. It’s not a bad idea to start by identifying what you aren’t in order to get to see the person you really are. And to know who you don’t belong with in order to see who your real companions are”.
“I get that Naomi. I feel I have made a start. I can say that that life is finished. And Eli tells me, whenever this comes up, to not feel guilt and shame, not even regret, because those things only weigh us down. Instead, he asks, why carry around stuff that Yeshua has taken away. It is starting to make sense to me” said Samuel.
“I am so pleased for you Samuel” said Naomi. “Can I suggest you do some homework for me, and let me know how it goes”.
“Sure, I’m not real good at writing though” said Samuel.
“No, just thinking. A special kind of thinking that works best in a special kind of place. Somewhere without distractions; where you can be alone. Perhaps the place you take Sophia one day, so you can talk and be together” said Naomi with a knowing look in her eye.
“I know where that place is, but what exactly do I think about?”
“Think about everything you have heard about Yeshua; from your mother, myself, Eli, Hannah, even Rueben. Take your time, don’t try too hard. Maybe switch off thinking a bit, and just wait in that place with no distractions” said Naomi earnestly.
“I can do that” he said without hesitation, partly influenced by the reference to Sophia that wasn’t lost on the young man.
Meanwhile, an older man had lost something he wished he hadn’t. His temper. “I want to go in there, grab their knives and castrate them … at the altar if necessary. That will teach them”.
Eli said nothing. However, the picture in his mind of this stocky little street fighter creating havoc in the temple, tassels and shawls flying everywhere, almost made him smile.
“And before you give me the Yeshua line, just remember he caused quite a stir in that place before they killed him” Rueben said.
“I don’t intend to give you anyone’s line. You know as well as I do that religion is not for changing, and challenges from an angry and indignant laity go nowhere. All the power is in the priest’s hands, and they are the ones who care the least” said Eli.
Samuel said nothing either. But something struck him. He realised that there was a time when Rueben’s intention would have Samuel’s enthusiastic endorsement, ready to render knife-wielding assistance. He was no stranger to such violence, but when Rueben was speaking, he was repulsed by the idea. The thought passed, and it hardly came to mind again.
Until now. High up on a rocky overlook, not far out of the village. It was one of the first things that came into Samuel’s mind. One cannot be sure that he fully understood his homework task, but there is no doubt that his intention to have something significant to report to Naomi was for real. He knew that his task was to contemplate what he knew about Yeshua from what his friends had told him. Yet, the thought of being repulsed now by something he did with dreadful regularity and without remorse, seemed to his young mind a good starting point.
It gave him a good start. For as he looked out into the valley shrouded in an early evening mist, he came to see that perhaps the best insight into that mysterious man Yeshua, was that he had become a friend, and that his influence was already steering Samuel toward the right living that his followers spoke so much about. Away from the impulsive violence toward a considered intention to get along with people. The fleeting thought from Rueben’s anger became embedded in Samuel’s mind with a clarity that excited him. He had begun his homework.
The Yeshua of his mother and Naomi was very similar. They both had been deeply impacted by his words and life. Similarly, they had been a witness to his cruel death and triumphant return from the tomb. For the first time, Samuel had a profound sense of gratitude that they were the closest people in his life, and what an amazing opportunity he had to get to know the person they devoted their lives to. The uncertainty about being able to complete his homework task was evaporating.
The Yeshua that Eli knew, Samuel saw as friend and mentor. Eli, too, had known Yeshua directly, and when he spoke about him, it was from his experience. They were words that had authority, and Samuel had seen on several occasions with a variety of people, the response to such convincing witness. Although, Samuel recognised, their response probably had as much to do with the way Eli dealt with people, as it did his declaration of his friend and mentor. Then something else became clear to Samuel. Yeshua was ever-present and played the mentoring role, even though unseen. Samuel found himself yearning for that too – the homework was getting exciting.
Samuel loved Hannah deeply. He remembered her as the Rabbi’s daughter, and knew that the Yeshua Hannah came to adore was someone who changed her entire world. Changes that took place very publicly, yet with such grace and generosity that the entire village treats her as royalty, like a beloved princess. The village saw her father, now stripped of his priestly status, once bring a disheveled and abused stranger into Hannah’s care. A responsibility Hannah discharged so well, that this girl has flourished. No longer a stranger, but the object of Samuel’s affection. It occurred to him, that Yeshua’s fingerprints are all over the relationships where love has dominated.
Now for Samuel, Rueben was another matter. It was just as well that the homework was sufficiently completed by now that if this part doesn’t come together it won’t matter. Rueben is a believer, and worships with the others in Naomi’s home. As he thought about Rueben’s view of Yeshua, he concluded that belief is not enough. And what led Samuel to this conclusion was the tendency for Rueben to say ‘Leave Yeshua out if this …’ almost as if Rueben wanted to be the authority on his own, and not have to share winning the argument with anyone else.
Something checked Samuel’s thinking. He wondered if he was being too harsh on him; misjudging his friend. Then, just before the homework was completed the thought of being too harsh, from someone who routinely beat and robbed people, was the climax for Samuel. That ‘something’ that checked his thought was indeed someone; it was clear Yeshua was his friend and companion even though Samuel thought he didn’t know him.
The evening light had almost faded. The time had gone so fast, and the concentration so intense that Samuel realised he hadn’t taken in the view. So he waited for the light to fade further, and savoured the feeling of a new dawning in his view of himself. He felt loved, and committed to showing that love to others. He felt settled and assured, perhaps ‘grounded’ is the word; pleased that he now knew what the term meant. He knew too, that the homework tasks had been completed, and Naomi’s assessment was not important. The teacher of right living had appeared in the many encounters Samuel had had with his friends, as well as this night on the rocky overlook.
……………………………………………………
Some time later, Samuel looked out over the valley again, the memory of his previous time there still fresh in his mind. This time however was different. There was no evening mist, and the air was clear and crisp. He remembered the homework Naomi had set for him, how uncertain he was about what was required and whether he could complete it. He remembered the excitement as things became clear to him in a way that he had never experienced, and the sense of having completed it thoroughly, and in a way that changed his mind about so many things. He remembered too, there was a special reason to complete the homework, and this time Sophia sat beside him, their hands entwined.
Very likely, you can remember the excitement of young love. They were living it. And loving it.
Merv Edmunds
June 2025
