In the reflection of their eyes he did not see himself Judas Iscariot, the unwanted child; he did not see Judas Scorpizein, the betrayer of his village; or Judas the Sicarri traitor to his nation. He saw a newborn Judas Maccabeus, that great warrior who had once fought to restore the Kingdom of Abraham.
23
EAGLE
On the day of his birth the sun rose in the constellation of the Eagle, signifying that destiny had chosen the boy’s kinship with all that exists above in the rarefied airs of the world.
Lazarus had two sisters, Martha and Mary, and theirs was a family of wealth and position for their father had rendered a lifetime of service to the Roman Caesar in Syria and in return he had earned riches and property, both in Magdala and in Bethany. In Magdala, stood the family’s principle home, a house, steadfast and stout, set among a lush oasis of walled gardens and waterfalls. This was by far the grandest house in the region. Bethany, on the other hand, was a modest castle but well situated near Jerusalem.
Lazarus loved Magdala, for its tower, and Bethany for its serenity and silence. For as well as a love of heights and wide spaces, he also possessed a deep sensitivity and inwardness of soul, which had fashioned for him ears more sensitive than other ears and a heart more perceptive than other hearts. And they remained so, even after his intellect was stimulated by learning.
His mother, a Jewess from the lineage of Pharisees, had made certain that Lazarus was given a good Hebrew education. His father, an Egyptian noble who had been broadly educated himself, ensured that his schooling was supplemented with tutoring from the best Roman and Greek teachers.
His Greek tutor, Photismos was a wiry old man with clear blue eyes and a quick mind. He had developed in Lazarus such a love for the Greek language that some thought the boy resembled a Greek, even in his manners and outward appearance. They also shared a love for high places, and Lazarus rejoiced whenever his teacher took him to the Migdal tower as he had this day, to observe the plains and mountains.
The tower had been built to observe and to defend the ancient trade routes connecting Nazareth to Damascus, its walls were mighty and steep and from them Lazarus could follow the caravans carving their way through the fertile plains of Gennesaret. Standing upon its ramparts Lazarus demonstrated his oratory skills by calling out his own name, which echoed in the distance. He told Photismos that he liked to hear this call and that sometimes imagined that it came from another boy answering him from another tower.
Photismos nodded, thinking on it. ‘Does the sound of this word express your inner self?’
Lazarus was taken by this thought. ‘It must, since it is my name.’
‘Ah…’ The old man smiled. ‘But Lazarus is not so strange a name, is it? There are many boys called Lazarus, but tell me, what is the name that only you can use?’
‘I do not know.’
‘You have just said ‘I’ do not know. Can you give this name “I” to any other being?’
Lazarus paused. He alone could say “I” to himself.
‘But are we not also given a name, according to the quality in our souls?’ he asked.
‘Yes…this is true,’ his teacher said, ‘names are not given without rhyme or reason. Your name means helped by the Lord, but I do not believe that you alone in the world are helped by the Lord. The word “I” however, you alone can say. It is yours even if you do not have a name.’
‘But who has named me, I?’
‘God has named you, of course...who else? You see, you are a word that was once spoken forth by God! Just as you have spoken your name forth, a moment ago, and it has created a sound that manifests your inner soul. This means that by uttering your name, you have also created something!’
‘And so I am a God?’
‘Do the Hebrews not say that all men were made in His image and likeness, child?’
‘Yes…but I have never understood how that can be.’
‘Let us see if we can explain it. Do you know the meaning of the word, Logos?’
Lazarus shook his head.
‘It is the word of God, my son. In the beginning, the warm word of God was spoken out into the world and it created life.’
‘But the sun creates life.’
‘Yes, but what quality does the Sun possess that enables it to create life?’
‘Light?’
‘Bravo!’ Photismos clapped him on the back. ‘Yes…in this world nothing can grow in the dark, except for evil things, and no man can see on a moonless night, except for sorcerers…am I right?’
Lazarus agreed, for this was well known.
‘In the same way that the sun shines over the world, a spirit light shines over your soul, did you know that? This divine light is the word of God, and it has made you divine. This is why you can say “I”, because this word shines into you! A plant cannot say I am, nor can a camel. The I am, the divine light-word of the universe, has entered only into man.’