Whispers flew among the onlookers. Then a motion began in the center of the crowd. People began to shift until a body emerged from their midst. It was an old man. His arms and neck were covered with sores. The villagers backed away, afraid of his affliction.

The farmer took a hesitant step toward them. “My name is Esok,” he began. “Please. He is my father.”

Jesus looked to Ruth and then to the farmer. “I do not understand,” he said.

Esok dropped to his knees before him. “Please,” he begged. “Sweet angel of God, please, I beg of you. Make my father well.” So saying, the farmer and the crowd shuffled back to a safer distance.

Ruth felt Tabitha’s grip loosen. She looked down at the old man, standing alone before them. She could tell by his wandering eyes that he had poor vision.

Jesus held still, uncertain what to do.

“Can you see from here what ails him?” Ruth whispered.

Jesus narrowed his eyes. “Is he a leper?”

“They seem to think so,” Ruth said, nodding toward the crowd. “But what do you notice about his lesions?”

Jesus observed the old man carefully. He saw him scratch furiously at the wounds around his neck, scraping them raw. “His wounds seem to gather at the edges of his tunic,” he said.

Ruth nodded. “His skin reacts badly to wool. Tell them that he is not dying. And that he will not make them sick. But we need to get him inside a dwelling.”

Trembling, Jesus stepped forward. “Esok, your father will not die. And he will not make anyone ill. We need you to take him to your house where we can apply a remedy.”

Esok nodded to two men and they came forward to carry his father.

Inside the mud dwelling, Jesus requested that the old man exchange his wool tunic for a linen one. The eyes of onlookers, bunched like seeds in every window and crack, widened with befuddlement at the strange request. Undeterred, he and Ruth set about mixing a balm that would ease the man’s itch. Tabitha helped to wrap the most infected sores and laid the man on his mat to rest.

“He will be better in a few days,” Jesus told Esok. “But he must never wear the skin or wool of any lamb.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Esok repeated. “Our great Lord has shown His mercy.”

Jesus looked to Ruth. She sensed his desire to correct the man’s misperception and tell him that it was gifts from the Mother that were responsible for his father’s healing. But Ruth lifted a hand as if to say, Not now. Not yet. Seeing her signal, and knowing that his actions had already caused her distress, Jesus held his tongue. But not without effort.

“This matter had delayed our journey,” he told the villagers. “And our family is expecting us. We must offer you final blessings and depart.”