The Long Journey: A Christmas Story

By Ebenezer R. Vedamuthu

The Long Journey is a Scripture-based fictional Christmas story. It deals with some of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ. The story traces the journey of the wise men from the east in search of the King, whose birth was portended by a bright star. The word journey in the title of the story signifies both the travel as well as the life-journey of the characters in the story. It describes how the lives of the wise men and the shepherds in the Judean wilderness intersect, and how their lives were affected by their visit to the manger in Bethlehem. A greater portion of the narrative includes how the life of a Bedouin shepherd boy was transformed by the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465369864

Ebenezer R. Vedamuthu

Ebenezer Vedamuthu was born in India and had his undergraduate education there. He obtained his graduate degrees in the United States. His work experience in microbiology has been in the academia and in the food industry. He is now retired and lives in Oregon with his wife Judi and their cat, Venus. He has two grown sons. He is active in his church and his interests include bird watching and the science and lore of cheeses from around the world.

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Copyright © 2011 by Ebenezer R. Vedamuthu.

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4653-6985-7

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4653-6984-0

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4653-6986-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

A Bright New Star

Westward Journey

The Third Seeker

The Bodouin Interlude

Lost and Found

The Visit to Bethlehem

Naomi’s Visit

The End of The Trail for The Men From The East

Moshe’s Own Long Journey

A Bold New Rabbi

Visit to Jerusalem

The Turning Point

Glossary

Dedication

To Judi, whose love, prayers, patience and gentle wit have sustained me over the years.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank my wife, Judi and our sons Jon and Dan for their love and encouragement. My special thanks to Dan for allowing me to use his art work in this book.

I am indebted to Les Bridgeman, who reviewed my initial manuscript and offered useful comments and suggestions. I also express my gratitude to my sisters Kausie, Ratni and Jeyanthi for their encouragement.

Without the unfailing grace of Lord Jesus I could not have completed this work.

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A Bright New Star

One late evening, Abu was sitting outside his abode and looking intently at the sky when something caught his attention. One star was shining brighter than any other and as the hours passed it seemed to be getting brighter. Abu’s curiosity was kindled. So he ran into his house, lit his lamp, and rummaged through his parchment charts. Underneath the flickering light of his lamp, Abu spotted the charts he needed. Unrolling the scrolls, he placed smooth river stones on the corners to keep them open. As he squinted, he ran his forefinger over each marked star to follow their courses. But something was missing. There was nothing marked near the area of that brilliant star. Wanting to make sure that he hadn’t missed anything, Abu hurried to the corner to check his other charts.

Abu’s heart beat faster as he realized that what he had spotted was an unknown star. Pacing up and down the dimly lit room, he mumbled to himself, Could this be true? A new star! And, I’m the one who found it? And then he blurted out Let me see what Zegrib says and put on his cloak and headgear. As he went tearing toward Zegrib’s house, he shouted to his wife, I’ll be back in a while. Don’t wait for me. Go ahead and eat when you get hungry.

Approaching Zergrib’s house with spirited gesticulations, Abu shouted, Zergrib, come out here, and look toward the western sky. A new star! I can’t believe my eyes! Come out here! Come out here at once!

Zergrib was busy eating his evening meal, and hearing the shouting outside exclaimed, What is all that shouting I hear? Who is out there yelling?

Zergrib’s son, Dumaz, ran out to see what the raucous was all about. Seeing an agitated Abu, Dumaz answered, It’s your crazy star-gazing friend, Abu, asking you to come out. He looks extremely agitated. I don’t know what has possessed him.

Zergrib loved every morsel of food in front of him, so he didn’t budge from the dinner table but hollered, Hey! Dumaz, ask Abu to come in and quit making a scene outside the house. As he made his way to the inner room, Abu kept chanting incoherently, Zergrib, the western sky… that star… can’t believe the brightness… nothing in the charts… Oh! Are my eyes failing me or what? Zergrib without taking his eyes off his dish of food, bellowed, Calm down, Abu, what are you blabbering about? I couldn’t understand even one word of all that you’ve muttered. Here, take this piece of bread and wash it down with some palm wine, and talk to me clearly and slowly. Abu took a deep breath, and took a couple of bites off the piece of bread, and a few sips of the wine. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he downed his sips. But unable to restrain his excitement, Abu blurted out, Zergrib, you have to come out and see this new star I’ve found in the western sky. There is no time to waste. Before the clouds roll over and cover the sky, I want you to see it. We’ve to make some sense out of the sudden appearance of that star. Where are your charts? Do you still have those ancient parchments that predict the significance of the positions of the stars and their appearance and disappearance? Get up now. Come with me and I’ll show you what I mean.

Zergrib looked at his half-finished portion of food, and reluctantly got up from his seat. Being a burly man, he lumbered over to the basin of water to wash his hands. Abu meanwhile was pacing around the room gesticulating. As Zergrib washed his hands, he remembered that Abu had been correct in locating some of the stars that were difficult to see even for experienced astronomers in that area. With Abu leading the way, Zergrib plodded behind him out to the street. No sooner had Abu turned his sights toward the skies, than he could see the large, brightly glowing star! Highly animated, Abu pointed his forefinger toward the western sky, said, Hey, Zergrib there it is! See that bright, glowing star? Have you ever seen such a bright star on the western skies before? And in that spot in the western skies? I tell you, that’s a new star. See the charts for yourself. Something important is happening somewhere in the west. Oh! How I would like to go and see what it is. Skeptical Zergrib looked intently at the direction that Abu was pointing. And he saw the big, bright, glowing object in the sky. He gasped at the brightness of the star. Zergrib was not one to be swayed very easily. So, in measured tones he said, Abu I don’t want to throw a wet towel on all your enthusiasm, but let us scan my astronomical charts to make sure we have not missed something. A new star is a rarity. Snapping his fingers, Zergrib continued, They don’t show up just like that! With that, Zergrib shuffled back into the house with Abu on tow. As he entered the house, Zergrib hailed, Hey, Dumaz! Light the lamp and bring it to the anteroom, where I keep my astronomical charts. Hurry with that."

Soon the two stargazers were peering into various charts spread all around the antechamber. After considerable searching and sighing, Zergrib exclaimed, Abu, you lucky dog! That’s a new star indeed. Again this time too, you are right. That’s really exciting. Abu! I see why you’ve been so animated. Abu unable to contain his bubbling enthusiasm, prodded Zergrib, Let’s look at those ancient scrolls you have that tell us all about the significance of new stars appearing on the western quadrant of the skies. I’m dying to find out what this means. Zergrib searched through a stack of boxes containing his prized ancient scrolls. Finally, he carefully lifted an old box with faded writing on it. Taking it gingerly near the lamp, he brushed off the dust to read the faded writing. With a chortle, he announced, Here it is. Let’s see. These charts deal with stars appearing on the western skies. With a great deal of concentration, he peered at each scroll from the box until he found the one he was looking for. Excitedly, the normally cool, collected Zergrib let out a yell, I think I’ve got it! Abu, you know those caravans that come from the distant trade routes running through Palestine. I met a man named Micah, from Palestine in one of those caravans when they camped outside our village. He was carrying an old, old scroll, which he said contained sacred writings of the Hebrew people. And he said that those people were expecting a great leader or a king to be born among them, who will bring freedom and glory. Micah told me that there would be heavenly signs that foretell the king’s birth. That indeed could be a new star!

Dumaz was curiously watching all that was going on in that room. He could sense the pulsating excitement and discovery on the faces of the two stargazing friends. He was startled when Abu shouted, Zergrib, you’re a genious! I knew it! I knew it! I knew you would hit the right trail. A new star foretelling the birth of a great king! What a find! It’s a once in a lifetime happening. If you are game, Zergrib, I sure would like to go and see the king. What do you say? Dumaz, watching his excited father and his fellow stargazer did not know what to think, but he was quite familiar with their antics whenever they got involved in their star quests. Meanwhile Abu and Zergrib were giving high fives, hollering and dancing.

Dumaz looking at the animated pair of stargazers, shook his head and shouted to his mother, Zarina, Mama! Mamma! Dadda and his friend Abu are talking of strange things. It looks like they want to go chasing after some new star they have seen in the western skies. What madness! How are the neighbors going to react to this strange tale? By daybreak tomorrow, all tongues will be wagging with derisive talk about the moonstruck pair, Dadda and Abu going on a wild goose chase! You better drive some sense into Dadda’s head. Zarina, who was putting away the newly washed clothes, shot back, What can I do? Once your Dadda dreams up something to do, no one can stop him. Sure enough, Zergrib and Abu had made up their minds. Nothing was going to deter them from taking on the challenge of finding the king whose birth the star signified. Right away, they started planning for the journey not knowing how long it would take.

Abu paused a little while to think and declared, "Zergrib, I have a good size nugget of gold I have been