“In the city, taking the supper with our cousins.”

“Where is Lazarus now?”

Martha sighed. “I do not know. Somewhere in Israel, witnessing for the Lord. But wherever his journeys take him, he always returns to celebrate the Passover with us.”

“When Jesus was arrested, how did you learn the news?”

Martha shut her eyes and shivered. With the warm red glow from the coals reflecting on her strong face, I was reminded of Tintoretto’s painting of her chastising Mary for sitting at the feet of Jesus instead of helping with the dinner preparation. She replied, “Mary and I were resting here, our eyes heavy with sleep, when we were startled by heavy pounding on our door and heard someone outside calling our names. When I unbolted the lock, Andrew rushed in, red-faced and out of breath. At first he spoke so swiftly that we could not understand his words. Finally he calmed down enough to tell us the terrible news that our Lord had been taken prisoner by the Temple authorities while praying in Gethsemane. Soon afterward, Thomas arrived, and then Matthew and Bartholomew. Before sunrise, nine of them were sitting here. Only Peter and John and Judas were absent No one knew of the whereabouts of Judas, but all were certain that Peter and John had been arrested with Jesus.”

I looked around the room. It wasn’t difficult to picture nine frightened, rural Galileans, sitting in this dark room, panic-stricken and leaderless.

“What were they doing and saying as they sat here?”

There was scorn in Martha’s voice. “Nothing. Nothing except babble and sob and wring their hands in despair. They were all like frightened little boys. I remember Matthew repeating, over and over, ‘He said it would happen, he said it would happen.’ Philip kept insisting that they all flee north, without delay, into the safety of Galilee, until Matthew asked him, in anger, if he would desert the mother of three of them and the mother of Jesus who were all still in the city without protection. Thomas said he was certain there had been Roman soldiers among the Temple police who arrested Jesus. James agreed and said that they would all be taken if they remained in this house, since it was well known that we had sheltered them for almost a week. It was Matthew who finally suggested that they take blankets and hide in the woods behind the house while Mary and I watched the road from the city. If we saw any torches approaching, we were to hang a lantern in the back window facing the woods as a warning for them to flee.”

“May I see the woods?”