One day mother Mary was out and about doing her daily errands for food preparation when she came upon a man standing beside a food cart. She had had nothing to eat since early morning, so she decided to see what the man had in the way of food. As she looked over the delicious-looking food, she spied something that she had never seen before.
Mother Mary asked the man, "What is that over there if you please?"
The man looked to where she was pointing and spoke to mother Mary and said, "It is asparagus."
Mother Mary replied, "What in the whole wide world is asparagus?"
The cart attendant replied, "It was a vegetable grown in the Nile valley. Would you care to try some? It is very delicious."
"If you think I will like it, I guess so. Okay," mother Mary replied. After mother Mary had sampled it, she exclaimed, "That asparagus is very delicious, and it has such an unusual flavor as well! I really like it, although it is not very filling."
"You can eat all you want for one farthing," replied the food cart tender.
"I do not have that much," mother Mary replied. "What if I were to trade you this one loaf of bread for it, would you trade me then?" asked mother Mary.
"I do not think so!" replied the food cart tender rather unpleasantly.
"Alright, then I guess I will pass on it," replied mother Mary who turned to walk away.
"Wait, just one minute," replied the food cart tender after he thought it over. "I guess I will let you trade me that one loaf of bread for this delicious asparagus. It is also quite nutritional, you know. Anyway, give me the loaf of bread, and you can have all the asparagus you can carry. Is that generous enough?" asked the food cart tender.
"Oh, yes!" replied mother Mary. "More than generous. I am so excited to serve it up to my family. How do you cook it?" mother Mary wanted to know. "
All you do is put it in a pot of boiling water for 15 minutes, and it should come out nice and tender. Try not to overcook it though, since you might destroy all the nutrients in it," said the food cart tender.
Mother Mary was so excited to introduce the new food to her family that she ran off without giving the food cart tender the one loaf of bread she had offered in trade. Pretty soon the Roman soldiers were trying to track down mother Mary. It seems she had actually stolen the asparagus and the food cart tender was a bit upset by what mother Mary had done. Eventually, the Roman soldiers were able to find mother Mary, and they almost took her into custody until Joseph showed up.
"What is this all about?" asked Joseph.
One of the Roman soldiers spoke to Joseph and informed him by saying, "Your wife stole some asparagus from the food cart tender."
"What in all the whole wide world is asparagus?" responded Joseph.
"This is asparagus," replied mother Mary.
"It sure does not look very filling," replied Joseph.
Mother Mary said, "That is what you think. Wait until I cook some tonight and you will see how really delicious it is."
Joseph looked at mother Mary and asked her, "Why did you steal it?"
Mother Mary replied, "I did not steal it, I just forgot to pay the man that is all."
One of the Roman soldiers interrupted and said to mother Mary, "You will have to pay now, or we will escort you to jail. What will it be?" Mother Mary looked to Joseph for an answer; however, Joseph just raised his shoulders a bit and just shrugged.
"How much was this asparagus, if you please? replied Joseph.
"It was for the price of one loaf of bread," replied the Roman soldier.
Mother Mary looked to Joseph again and then handed the Roman soldier the one loaf of bread. The Roman soldiers left satisfied the debt had been paid.
Joseph looked at mother Mary and said, "That is all you had to pay?"
"He wanted one farthing. However, I did not have that much," replied mother Mary.
Joseph then said, "That is a lot of money for whatever that is."
Mother Mary responded, "It is a delicious vegetable called asparagus and I got it all with one loaf of bread. Is that not a bargain?" Mother, Mary replied.
"That remains to be seen," Joseph replied rather disappointedly.
Meanwhile, the two Roman soldiers could not resist the smell of fresh bread, so they ate the one loaf of bread on their way back. Then confessed their sin to the food cart tender upon arrival. The food cart tender then asked them to pay for the one loaf of bread.
The two Roman soldiers, satisfied by the one loaf of bread, then said, "Would you take one farthing for the loaf of bread?"
"Absolutely!" said the food cart tender, and everyone was satisfied with the outcomes.
Meanwhile, back at Joseph and Mary's house, mother Mary began to go to work preparing the delicious asparagus anxious for her family to try the new-found food. As mother Mary was serving up the delicious food a knock could be heard at the door. Joseph got up from the table to answer the door. And, when he did he found the food cart tender at the door, although Joseph did not know who he was. Joseph asked the man to come in and have supper with them.
The food cart tender declined and then said, "How did you like the asparagus?" Anxious to know what they had all thought of it.
Mother Mary was the first to answer and she said, "I may not have cooked it properly. It seems a little tough."
The food cart tender then jumped up from his seat and put the asparagus back on to boil. As the food cart tender waited for the water with the asparagus to boil, he prepared a special sauce that he had prepared to serve atop the asparagus. When the food cart tender was satisfied with the delicious asparagus he served each family member, pouring the equally delightful sauce on everyone's asparagus. Everyone thought it was so delicious and filling as well, so ultimately, they were all delighted with the outcome of their respective transactions.
Then one day, as mother Mary was preparing another delicious meal of asparagus she made her own special sauce. Mother Mary was famous for her unique sauces and creams. She might have been considered a renowned chef if there had been such a thing at that time. Her meals were always delicious and nutritious. Even many of her friends commented on how delicious her desserts were and her sweat slices of bread. Joseph loved to be called to supper, which was usually the best meal of the day. It was always so delicious and good for him that he did not have to worry, concerning how much he was eating. Mother Mary always made sure that Joseph only enjoyed the best foods and produce and the most delicious loaves of bread that Joseph had ever tasted. Eventually, once they were forced to move to Jerusalem for the Roman census they never were able to enjoy another homemade meal until they finally settled in Egypt. That was a very long and arduous trip to Egypt across a lonely stretch of road, then across a desert, and finally to the fertile delta of the Nile. They both enjoyed the much cooler climate and all the water that flowed down the beautiful Nile River.
Once again, they made a home and raised baby Jesus in the comfort of the Nile River Valley and all of the beautiful birds such as Flamingo, the Secretary Bird, and the tall and lanky-looking Ostrich. All of these birds were a fascination to mother Mary, who would sit for hours just watching all the birdlife that called the Nile River their home. Mother Mary also witnessed the extraordinary size of the Nile Crocodile. Most were over 20 feet long. Giant animals and the Hippos that were so big and strong that the Nile Crocodile gave them plenty of leeway and never challenged them for dominance of the river.
One day while Mother Mary was watching the Flamingo dance around and entertain one another, one of the smaller Nile Crocodiles decided to try and eat a Flamingo. Well, the Flamingos were not going to have that, so they organized and chased the smaller Nile Crocodile away and it never came back. Mother Mary saw so many astounding sights that she wanted to write a book and tell all of her family and friends what she had done or seen. Baby Jesus would eventually grow up in this unique environment and enjoy it more since baby Jesus was like any other boy. Even more so in some respects. For example, Jesus, the young boy, could run faster than anyone else in his age range. He once chased down a Flamingo that refused to fly away and then plucked out one of its tail feathers and placed it into his hair. Jesus' hair was not very long, although it was thick and coarse from the Sun. Jesus, the boy spent much of his time near the Nile River, and what a place to play and romp it was. The village where Jesus grew up is still very much the same way it was when Christ Jesus walked this Earth. It is still a primitive place; however, the children are happy and cheerful, and healthy. All of the environmental essentials they need for good health care are provided by the environment. The area has very fertile soil for growing vegetables, fruit trees, and melons, and they grow profusely. The melons are very sweet tasting and highly nutritious. Even today, Egypt is one of the most nutrition-oriented societies in the world. They also have an excellent education system and everyone attends for free. Unlike the United States, where you pay for your education the rest of your life through taxes on almost everything, Egypt does not have this tax system in place.
When Jesus was 12 years of age there was a long period of calm and relaxation. Then one day as young Jesus was playing with his friends and others, a calamity of minor proportions shook the village where they lived. It killed a few people and injured a few more. It was upsetting to many considering the way it happened. One man had forgotten to secure a line that would have prevented the tragedy from happening. Everyone blamed the poor man except for Jesus who stood up for the man who was now very frightened since some of the dead man's family and relatives wanted to stone him to death. He pleaded for his life; however, the townspeople were very judgmental and sought to have the man killed. Not for justice, nor retribution since that would not have gotten them what they wanted most, and that was vengeance. When young Jesus came to the poor man's defense, the village was more than upset since he was always jumping into situations like this and then convincing everyone to find a peaceful solution. In their hearts and minds, they wanted to see someone die, and they knew that Jesus would probably talk them out of it.
When young Jesus began to speak everyone listened since he always made such good sense. Christ Jesus looked at everyone while standing next to the man whom everyone wanted to see die, and soon.
Young Jesus said, "I want to ask anyone without sin to come forward and throw the first stone."
What does that mean, everyone wondered?
Then young Jesus continued, "I asked if you or anyone else was responsible for what this man did?
Are you sure about that?" he asked the crowd. There was an exaggerated pause as everyone wondered if they had somehow distracted the man from tying off that rope. No one said anything for the longest moments, and then young Jesus continued.
"I think that someone here distracted this man from tying off the rope, and I can present my evidence if you would care to hear it?"
The village people standing around did want to hear what Jesus had to say concerning the tragedy that had befallen their small village. So, young Jesus very calmly explained that not everyone was responsible, only those who were eyewitnesses to the accident. There were more than a few who had seen the accident happen and several of them were quite near to the man accused of not correctly tying off the rope. One of those present interjected that perhaps it was he since he did remember speaking with the accused man.
Young Jesus said to him, "No, you are not the one who distracted the accused man. It was someone else."
At about this time, another man came forward and asked if it might have been him.
Again, young Jesus said, "No, it was not you either."
Both men were greatly relieved that it had not been them and a little proud to have come forward and claimed that it might have been them, even though the crowd would have probably wanted to hang them as well.
As young Jesus was about to speak again, yet another person came forward, asking if it might have been them?
Young Jesus said to this man as well, "No, it is in no way you my friend."
And the man walked quietly away. This time the crowd gave young Jesus the time to finish what he had been trying to say all along.
"Only one person among you distracted the accused man, and he is standing near me even as I speak."
The people near to young Jesus began to look around at each other, wondering who it might be. Before long, a man stepped forward and confessed that he was the one who distracted the accused man by actually drawing his attention away during the time the accused man would typically have tied the rope off. He said that he had not done it on purpose. He only wanted to ask the accused man a question.
Young Jesus then asked the man, "And what was your question?"
The man answered, "I wanted to know if it was necessary to tie off that rope each and every time. The accused man said, 'No, it was not necessary every time. However, it was always a good idea. By the time I had asked my question, and he had given me his answer, it was too late to draw his attention back to what was happening. The men had already been injured and killed."
Young Jesus stopped the man at this point and reminded everyone how curious they were while watching events unfold. Did any of you try and tell the man what was about to happen? No, you simply stood back and watched it happen. Then he thanked the man for coming forward and admitting the wrong he had done. After this, young Jesus looked around at everyone's faces and reminded them that we should all help one another and these types of accidents might not ever happen. All the bystanders came to realize that many people were distracting the accused man with their many questions. So, after this talk by young Jesus, everyone went away not feeling so all fired up to kill someone. And they all became better people from this short and eye-opening example. From then on, they became better people and less accusatory of others. So, ends this saga in our young Lord Christ Jesus' life.
Heavily inspired by our Lord Christ Jesus.
Trinity Insights Publications
Wayne Hill