Pentecost

               The television miniseries “Jesus of Nazareth” depicts many scenes from Jesus’ life, as reported in the gospels . . . well embellished somewhat, Hollywood just can’t help itself, but mostly from the gospels – from Jesus’ birth to his resurrection. Among the scenes included is the one Luke 4 and Matthew 13 relate to us, where Jesus reads the Scriptures and preaches at his home synagogue, the church he grew up in, in Nazareth. And one thing I remember about that scene is how the synagogue was arranged: Jesus was up front, being a worship leader that day; the men of Nazareth were seated on benches in front of him; and then in the back of the synagogue, behind a screen, were the women and children, including his mother, Mary. The one person who knew most, at this point, about who Jesus was and what he meant; and the one who would feel most deeply his joys and sorrows the next years, along with her own; his mother: she could only look on from a distance, and only see dimly, through that screen. […]