bath behind the
poor-box, in order to see whether the well-washed hands of believing
Jews took the bread away from their brothers, or, rather, did not
bestow it liberally upon them. And as Jesus stood in the Temple, he
observed the well-to-do Nazarenes dip their hands into the basin, with
pious air throw large pieces of money into the poor-box, and then look
round to see if their good example was observed. When it grew dark, a
poor woman came and with her lean fingers put a farthing into the
poor-box.

"Well, what do you say now?" asked the Rabbi of the carpenter.

Jesus answered: "I think the haughty rich people have washed
themselves, and that still they give with unclean hands. They give
away a small part of what they have taken from others, and give from
their superabundance. The poor woman gave the largest gift in God's
eyes. She gave all that she possessed."

And so it happened that Jesus became more and more estranged from
Nazareth. Only poor folk and little children were attracted to him: he
cheered the former and played with the latter. But otherwise men drew
apart from him, considering him an eccentric creature and perhaps a
little dangerous. His mother sometimes tried to defend him: he had
grown up in a foreign land among strange customs and ways of thought.
At bottom he had the best of natures, so kind and helpful to others and
so severe towards himself. How like a mother! What mother has not had
the best of children? They despised her remarks and pitied her because
her son was so unlike other boys and caused her anxiety. There was
nothing to complain of in his work when he stuck to it. What a
carpenter he might be with such aptness! Only he should not interfere
in things he could not understand, and should not disturb people's
belief in the religion of their fathers.

One day there was a marriage in the neighbouring town of Cana. Mary
and her relatives were invited, for the bridegroom was a distant
cousin. So far as Jesus was concerned, there would have been no great
grief had he stayed away. Possibly he would not take any pleasure in
the old marriage customs and the traditions to which they still held.
Jesus understood the irony, but it did not hurt him, and so he went to
the marriage in order to rejoice with the joyful. When the merriment
was at its height, Mary drew her son aside and said: "I think it would
be well if we went home now; we are not regarded with favour here.
They wou