For if the reckoning is wrong, and He does
not come, then men despair, and no longer make ready for Him."
"How does a man make ready for Him, Rabbi?" asked the Boy.
"By prayer, son, and by study of the law, and by good works, and
by sacrifices."
"But when He comes He will rule over the whole world, and how can
all the world come to the Temple to sacrifice?"
"A way will be provided," answered the old man, "though I do not
know how it will be. And there are offerings of the heart as well
as of the altar. It is written, 'I will have mercy and not sacrifice.'"
"Will His kingdom be for the poor as well as for the rich, and for
the ignorant as well as for the wise?"
[Illustration: From a painting by Holman Junt. The Finding of Christ
in The Temple]
"Yes, it will be for the poor and for the rich alike. But it will
not be for the ignorant, my son. For he who does not know the law
cannot be pious."
"But, Rabbi," said the Boy eagerly, "will He not have mercy on them
just because they are ignorant? Will He not pity them as a shepherd
pities his sheep when they are silly and go astray?"
"He is not only a Shepherd," answered Hillel firmly, "but a great
King.
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