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9
C h a p t e r 
O
ne
 Jerusalem, AD 33
A
bigAil
 
quietly
 
withdrew
 
from the celebration and limped intothe shadows’ coolness. Her leg throbbing, she eased herself down
onto a stone bench by the courtyard’s outer wall. Around her
hummed the gaiety of wedding revelers. Never had she witnessedsuch joyous festivities. She felt as though the tension, the anguish,
the uncertainties of the past weeks had been transformed. The group
was not merely celebrating the wedding of Alban and Leah. Therewas a far greater reason beyond the joyful union of these two newfollowers of the Way.They all rejoiced in the truth they had believed but that now
had been confirmed. Their leader, the rabbi Jesus, had indeed risen
from the dead, and there were eyewitnesses to the fact.Abigail watched twelve-year-old Jacob as he danced back andforth among the merrymakers with a fervor bordering on hysteria.Abigail was still marveling that her brother was alive—whole and
well. The time since the massacre of her family had seemed an
eternity. A lifetime of feeling lost and alone. And just hours ago,
 
10
d
avis
B
unn
& J
anette
O
ke
she had caught a glimpse of the boy across the courtyard, and it
was as if he too had been resurrected—a miracle that seemed likea dream. The very thought brought tears to her eyes once again.
 Jacob must have felt her looking at him, for he turned as though
seeking her. When their glances connected, he ran over to her,
concern in his dark eyes. “Why aren’t you dancing too, Abigail?Are you not well?”“I’m fine, Jacob.” And she was. Her injured leg hurt rather alot, but just then she could feel nothing save the joy in her heart.
Her beloved friend Leah danced with her new husband, Alban,in the circle of believers, and her brother stood before her. Her
brother.
“I am only a bit weary,” she assured him.
“Shall I bring you something?” He glanced at the wedding
banquet table spread with flowers and greenery, all ready for thefeast to come.
Suddenly she needed to touch him, just to assure herself he
was not merely an apparition. She reached up to his shoulder witha tremulous smile. “Perhaps some water. Thank you.”
When Jacob dashed away, her attention returned to the jubilant
crowd filling the little plaza.
Could it be only six weeks past that our
Lord died?
The group of followers, already under suspicion, had
locked themselves away, whispering solemn and frightened wordsto one another, checking anxiously about whenever they neededto enter the Jerusalem streets.And then Jesus had appeared to them, afterward rising up into
the heavens, only to have the Lord’s own Spirit descend among
them in a most stunning fashion—in wind and fire.
And now here they were, faces flushed, eyes bright, voices
blending into song. The music of tambourines and flutes swirled
upward once more, setting feet to dancing—a wedding festivalfor sure, but also a celebration of their Lord’s resurrection and
his parting gift to them of his unseen but unmistakable presence.
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