Asher's unnormal, normal day

Asher tugged on the reins of his donkey, giving his animal the needed encouragement to continue the descent through the loose stones, broken twigs, and other debris on the floor of the Mount as he headed to the southern gates of the city. He understood his donkey’s reluctance; normally they traveled this during daylight hours, but the urgency of his errand and the necessity of his cargo drove him to travel through the night. A messenger arrived after dinner from the city’s shops he supplied, their stock of pigeons was dangerously low and they needed more. With the high holiday mere hours away and a steady stream of new arrivals from all over the countryside, Asher bid farewell to his family and set out, hoping for a sizeable return of payment for arriving on time. In fact, with his hustle (and an almost constant tug on the reins) he’d arrive before the merchants woke, allowing him time to rest and clean up (plus, sleeping outside the city area in the hills leading up from the valley below were dangerous, so he pushed on.)

Winding south towards the Kidron Valley, Asher picked his way slowly and carefully through tents and small gatherings of people asleep and unaware of the night’s travelers. 

“Unquestionably too many people here on the Mount. I must remember to go around the city the other way to head home later” he thought out loud.

The torches along the city walls glowed on top of Mount Moriah, pointing him toward the city of the people outside the walls on the southern side of the city. Asher knew he and his family should be sleeping among the others in the city of the people, but his wife, mother, and youngest child all were too ill to travel. Maybe he could provide his merchants a couple of free pigeons to sacrifice on their behalf for this year’s high holidays? That would cut into his profits, but well worth it for the life of his soul. 

As he thought about the life of his soul, he heard a large (and loud) group of people moving towards him from his left. He stopped walking and quickly lowered his torch and stomped it out…no need to bring too much attention to himself.

A patrol of guards and soldiers appeared, torches overhead, walking in formation, surrounding a man in the middle. A large guard pushed the man forward, even lifting him a bit as the man stumbled while limping toward the city. Asher could see blood in the man’s hair, and the guard controlled his right arm behind his back, causing the man pain. Long hair draped down and across the man’s face, but Asher clearly saw the cheekbones tight and locked, giving Asher a good feel for the amount of pain the man felt. The man stumbled again, and the guard hauled him up while shouting at him. This time though, the man turned his head and looked right at Asher.

The man’s face looked like a dichotomy of emotions. Clearly the cheeks and teeth, taunt and gritted, showed pain and suffering. But the man’s eyes looked into Asher’s face and Asher saw something he could not imagine; compassion, life, love, and forgiveness. How could one man’s face say one thing, and his eyes say something completely different? Obviously, the guards and soldiers were hurting the man, but Asher knew the pain did not touch his soul, just his outer self.

None of the guards or soldiers even noticed Asher, standing there, eyes locked with the man in the middle of the patrol. Asher felt cold, and warm at the same time, but frozen solid watching the procession. For several seconds the two looked at each other until the patrol moved past and Asher lost sight of the man.

Darkness returned after the patrol headed up towards an eastern city gate. Asher stood looking towards the patrol, not seeing them, but looking in their direction. Several minutes passed before the donkey brought Asher back to his senses. He shook his head, tugged on the reins, and continued his trek to his destination.

Later that morning, after the sun rose and the merchants arrived at their stalls, Asher arrived at the stalls to deliver his pigeons.

“Good morning Mishael, my friend!”

“Asher, brother, you are a welcome sight.  I am down to my last dozen pigeons and I expect hundreds of pilgrims today.”

“Well, I don’t have that many birds, but you can have all I brought, minus two for my family. These two, plus one more for yourself, I will give you for free if you sacrifice them on my family’s behalf. Are you selling chits as well, or just pigeons this year?”

Mishael reached under his counter and pulled up a large bag filled with clay chits.

“Chits as well, though I don’t get as much for a chit as I do a pigeon. Apparently, some people just don’t trust me to make a sacrifice on their behalf” Mishael replied while a smirk crept across his lips. “I guess they might follow that prophet that destroyed the marketplace earlier this week, chasing the money changers away for a time. What a loon.”

“I didn’t hear that one. Did the guards arrest him or anything?”

Replacing the bag below the counter Mishael answered “I don’t know, I don’t really care but I hope so, he was bad for business if you understand. Speaking of which, how many birds do you have, and how much are you overcharging me?”

The business done, and after eating a small lunch and walking around the city, Asher started his travel home. Although he didn’t earn quite the profit he wanted, it was close, close enough that his family could eat for several months. Remembering the host of people along the trail down the Kidron Valley, he decided to go west and then north around the city walls. Climbing Mount Zion, he walked along the ridge above the Valley of Hinnom and towards the crossroads near the northwest part of the city.

Leading his donkey, he walked through the much smaller crowd coming up from the west since many pilgrims followed the passes up from the Jordan River Valley, but he would need to turn in that direction later. Rounding the walled city and turning a bit east he saw a large group of people gathered below the Rock of the Skull as soldiers lifted three men up on wooden beams. Women cried and wailed from below. Asher noticed the one in the middle immediately, the eyes unmistakable. Although the man looked much bloodier and severely beaten down, his eyes still beamed with love and compassion. Then, Asher saw the man lift his head and speak loudly over the wailing. 

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Asher looked around, trying to find the old man whom this criminal looked for, but found only men his own age or younger. Surely this man was not talking to himself, he was addressing his father, so where was his father? Whoever he addressed, it didn’t seem to matter, because he was asking for forgiveness to the very people causing him pain and suffering.  Asher recognized that to be very noble and righteous, especially for a man suffering so much.

He kept thinking about this man as he traveled home. What a pity this man, who showed so much love, compassion, and nobility would surely die on the wooden beam, forgotten by everyone besides his family and gone forever. Soon, the sky turned dark, and then the ground shook so much that his donkey almost ripped the reins out of his hand and ran off. It took quite some time for Asher to calm the beast before finishing his journey.

Arriving home, he led the donkey to its spot and called out to his wife “Tamar, I’m home. I brought some fresh bread and a jar of wine.”

Tamar’s head popped out of the doorway, a smile on her smudged face, “See anything interesting in the Holy City today?”

“Nothing to write down, just your typical high holy day pilgrimage. But I did bring two pigeons to the altar for sacrifice since we all could not make the trek, it’s the most a man could do on a day like today.”