by Tessa Afshar
A few months later, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem. Viriato came with us to hear him, once. He had been impressed by our tales of him and wanted to see the man with his own eyes. When he found out that Jesus broke many religious rules, including healing on the Sabbath, Viriato declared that if following the Lord meant becoming like Jesus, then he would follow the Lord. To my knowledge, he never did give up pork.
Joanna had her baby a few months before me, a beautiful boy with thick dark hair and plump fingers. She named him Joseph. To my delight, she took to traveling with Jesus whenever she could, especially when Chuza was busy at work, clasping Joseph to her chest and taking him along. She said the presence of Jesus was the safest place for a child and never worried for Joseph’s well-being on those journeys. I cherished her letters as she described her adventures and told me of the many lives touched by the love of our Messiah.
My daughter, Atarah, arrived two weeks later than expected. I could not begrudge the delay; I had waited so long for this impossible dream, two extra weeks hardly seemed worth quibbling over. She stole our hearts from the moment she opened her eyes and surveyed us with her sleepy gaze. Rachel admitted that even a much younger woman could not have produced a more perfect babe.
I daresay that my own story was amongst those spread throughout Judea and beyond. Perhaps one day people I have never met will hear of me and know that Jesus of Nazareth ended the endless misery of a hopeless woman with one stolen touch and a few life-transforming words.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
THE ONLY TIME Jesus addresses a woman as daughter is in the story of the woman with the issue of blood (Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48). There are no throwaway words in Jesus’s vocabulary. He selects each term with profound intention. We can therefore assume that he has a significant purpose in addressing this nameless woman in such a tender and intimate fashion.
Three out of the four Gospels tell this story, and it is a breathtaking as well as a strange one. Why would Jesus delay an urgent procession to save the life of a little girl in order to find out who had touched him? Why would he take time they did not have to call a destitute woman daughter? The story line of Land of Silence revolves around these questions. We know this for certain: Jesus healed her body. I believe, with his words, he also healed her soul.
There is very little we actually know about our main character. Her personal story outside the sickness she suffered is a blank canvas, one which I filled with a fictional account. No one knows with certainty what caused this woman’s condition in modern medical terms. There are several possibilities. I described her illness assuming she had a severe case of uterine fibroids, complicated by a few other problems such as endometrial polyps. Most of the medical treatments mentioned in this novel are based on extant historical documents.
Although Philo and several other rabbinic texts suggest that the life of women in first-century Palestine was very limited, archaeologists have discovered some evidence to the contrary. For example, we have recovered inscriptions from that time period that refer to women as synagogue leaders. Clearly, there was some complexity to the role of women at this time. I have tried to capture that reality in Elianna’s life.
We don’t know how the Jewish purity laws were enforced on a daily basis in Jesus’s day. Although we have the biblical directives regarding the uncleanness of a menstruating woman, we don’t fully understand how these laws were lived out practically. So some of the conclusions in this novel are educated guesses.
As I often enjoy doing, I have quoted another writer in this book. Merab’s assertion that “it is a woman’s business to get married as soon as possible, and a man’s to keep unmarried as long as he can” is a quote from George Bernard Shaw.
Jesus’s words welcoming little children were actually spoken after the section that tells the story of the woman with the issue of blood and, one assumes, at a later date. I have taken the liberty to include it out of order.
The character Gamaliel is based on a historical figure who plays a role in the book of Acts (5:34-39). According to church tradition, he and his son became secret followers of Jesus. Chuza and Joanna are also based on biblical characters (Luke 8:1-3). Joanna was one of the women who followed Jesus and supported his ministry. There is no evidence that she was related to the woman with the issue of blood. That was my own invention.
While the Bible provides profound inspiration for novels like this, the best way to study it is not through a work of fiction, but simply to read the original, the way Jesus himself would have done. This story can in no way replace the transformative power that the reader will encounter in the Scriptures.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
EVERY YEAR I GROW MORE THANKFUL for my agent, Wendy Lawton, who has made the journey of writing more thrilling than I could have imagined. What a joy to work with Stephanie Broene and Kathy Olson from Tyndale House Publishers. Thank you, ladies, for your detailed letters, your gracious wisdom, and your constant support. I am indebted to Mark Norton from Tyndale’s Bible team for taking the time to answer my many historical and biblical questions.
I am grateful for dear friends Lauren Yarger and Cindy McDowell, who remain my writing partners—and partners in all manner of impossible-seeming things—and never grow tired of helping me with my first drafts. I deeply appreciate your wisdom and encouragement. Molly Chase, thank you for your capable editing, which made Land of Silence a better book. To Deryk Richenburg I owe the connection between Jeremiah’s verse on the weary (31:25) and Jesus’s own invitation (Matthew 11:28).
Warm thanks to my church in New England that is beautiful on the outside while radiating the glory of Jesus within. For my boss and coworkers, without whose support I could not even start one book, let alone finish five, I am more appreciative than I can express.
Beth and Rob Bull, you deserve special thanks for giving up the dedication I promised you, and for the love and grace you have shown us. Kathi and Taylor Smith (who were the inspiration behind Claudia and Titus), I so appreciate the unforgettable writing space.
Last but not least, heartfelt thanks to John, whose quiet strength brought me peace and helped me finish when the race seemed impossible. What a blessing to receive from God so late in life.
I am indebted to every single one of my readers who keep buying these books. Thank you for being patient when I take too long!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TESSA AFSHAR was voted “New Author of the Year” by the FamilyFiction-sponsored Readers Choice Awards in 2011 for her novel Pearl in the Sand. Her second book, Harvest of Rubies, was nominated for the 2013 ECPA Christian Book Award in the fiction category and chosen by World magazine as one of four notable books of the year. Her novel Harvest of Gold won the 2014 Christy Award for historical fiction. In the Field of Grace, based on the biblical story of Ruth, was nominated for the Grace Award.
Tessa was born in Iran to a nominally Muslim family and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life. She moved to England, where she survived boarding school for girls and fell in love with Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, before moving to the United States permanently. Her conversion to Christianity in her twenties changed the course of her life forever. Tessa holds an MDiv from Yale University, where she served as cochair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the Divinity School. Tessa has spent the last seventeen years in full-time Christian work in New England and the last fourteen years on the staff of one of the oldest churches in America. Visit her online at www.tessaafshar.com.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What is the meaning of Elianna’s name? Do you know what your name means? If God were to pick a new name for you, what do you think it would be? Why?
How does Elianna cope with her grief and guilt? How do you cope with difficult situations in life?
Name four painful circumstances in Elianna’s life. Have you had experiences that paralleled these issues? (For example, physical illness, feeling guilty for not helping someone close to you, the painful end of a relat
ionship, the rejection of a loved one, etc.)
At the beginning, Elianna’s faith is very legalistic (she tries to win God over by her effort). How does this affect her relationship with God? Have you ever struggled with legalism? How do you think you can overcome it?
Have you ever felt rejected by your father or someone else you looked up to? If so, how has that rejection affected your life? If you had a wonderful relationship with your father, how do you think that experience affects your relationship with God?
Name some of the “medical” treatments Elianna has to endure. Have you ever had or witnessed medical treatment that was difficult to go through? How did you respond (emotionally and physically)? How did you overcome or endure during that season?
In spite of having suffered a great deal, Viriato is not a bitter man. What do you think helps him remain positive in his outlook?
What drives Elianna to lie to Ethan about Calvus? Think of a situation when you felt your best option was to lie. Looking back, do you still feel that way? What, if anything, would you do differently if you could?
Elianna goes through a season of utter despair until life itself becomes unbearable. Have you ever had a similar experience? How do you overcome in times like that?
Why does Elianna choose to ignore all rules and conventions and touch Jesus? What gives her that boldness? Have you ever been bold in the midst of fear or shame?
Do you think Jesus still heals today? How did you arrive at that conclusion?
Share a few of your favorite scenes (or specific quotes) from the book and explain why these portions are meaningful to you.
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