Nicodemus

Rushing out of the castle, I fastened my cloak around my neck and swung my traveling pack over my shoulder. After making sure the horse was ready and bridled, I swung myself into the saddle and kicked forward. “There is no way I’m staying here,” I thought to myself, “not after what the King assigned me to do.”

Once I was in a trot, I heard my brother shouting for me to stop. “Joan, wait! You can’t disobey the King!â€

I slowed the horse and waited for my brother to catch up. “You don’t understand, Nicholas! The Kingdom of Keane does not deserve the King’s mercy, or mine for that matter. Look at all they are doing: raiding, killing, and burning crops. No, they don’t deserve mercy.â€

Nicholas looked at me with sadness in his eyes and laid his hand on the horse’s bridle. “Neither do we. The King did not have to grant us mercy like he did. We should have been hanged on the gallows.â€

Wincing at his statement, our previous life of thievery flashed before my eyes like a dagger: sleeping in abandoned huts and stealing what food we could find. My brother was right, but the evilness of Keane’s Kingdom was worse than anything we had ever done, wasn’t it?

Shaking the doubt out of my mind, I flinched the bridle away from Nicholas’s grasp and set out at a gallop.

“Joan, you can’t run away from the King’s mission!†Nicholas called out. “You must warn the Kingdom of the invading army!â€

His pleads made me pause, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn back. No, I was running away, and nothing would stop me. Keane’s Kingdom didn’t deserve warning or mercy, and they surely wouldn’t receive it from me.

Glancing back, I saw my brother standing in the courtyard. The words of the King raced in my mind: “The one who has received great mercy is willing to extend that mercy to others. That is why I am entrusting you with this mission.â€

Blinking, I shoved the King’s words out of my thoughts and galloped on. • Sophia Bricker

• What would you do if you were Joan? Why?

• Similar to Jonah in the Bible, Joan doesn’t think the people of Keane deserve forgiveness. Is Nicholas’s argument about the mercy they received from the King a fair one in comparison to the Kingdom of Keane? Why or why not?

• How does the King’s mercy reflect the mercy and grace we receive from Jesus?

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)

Read Verses:

John 3:1-22; 19:38-42; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9