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| Jacob and Ezra have joined the crowd that has met Jesus across the Jordan on the way to Jerusalem. Some amazing things have happened. |
| JACOB: | I think Jesus was a bit tough on that rich young man. |
| EZRA: | You mean young Benjamin? I knew his father well - an honest businessman with a real flair for making money. |
| JACOB: | And - Benjamin, you call him? - he got the lot when the old man died? |
| EZRA: | I have watched the young lad grow - really seeking to know the truth, to do the right thing, to know God! |
| JACOB: | And the money - it all came to him? |
| EZRA: | It did! It certainly did! Would have meant disaster for a lot of young people, but not Benjamin! |
| JACOB: | I think I know what you're talking about. Some of us are sure we could do with a lot more, but for those who have it... |
| EZRA: | ... trouble! trouble! trouble! |
| JACOB: | So I judged the boy right, and you agree that Jesus was a bit tough? |
| EZRA: | Especially since he has always lived strictly by the commandments! |
| JACOB: | Not everyone can say that, can they? |
| EZRA: | I can imagine Benjamin as an old
man, having always done the right thing, having given generously
to support the widows and the orphans... |
| JACOB: | A whole life of being good - how pleasing to God! |
| EZRA: | Rather preferable, I would say, to some of the undesirables Jesus has picked up along the way! |
| JACOB: | Some of them - like Matthew the tax collector and Mary the prostitute - seem to have made good. We should be happy about that! |
| EZRA: | Don't get me wrong, Jacob! I am genuinely glad about their reform. But they've spent maybe thirty years or so doing the wrong thing. That's coming into the picture a bit late, don't you think? |
| JACOB: | I wonder how late a person can turn back to God and still be accepted anyway. |
| EZRA: | Don't worry, Jacob! Stick to the law, be generous, worship the Lord - I'm sure that will secure the best possible favours from God! |
| Reader: | Matthew 20.1-16. |