The Childhood of Jesus
The Gospel of James
Biographical Gospel of the Lord
- Chapter 146 -
Joseph Defines True Love Of God
THE CAPTAIN now asked the lesser priest no more but went right over to Joseph again,
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promptly told him all he had heard from the lesser priest
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and asked Joseph how seriously he should take all that.
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Joseph answered: 'For the time being place only as much value on what has been told you as the words in themselves are worth,
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but await everything else in patience as the future brings it and you will fare best.
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See, the holy kingdom of the Messiah does not consist in asking and answering,
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but solely in patience, love, gentleness of manner and in complete submission to the divine will.
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For with God nothing can be unduly hurried, nothing forced and least of all can anything be obtained from Him by obstinacy.
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When the Lord considers it to be good for you, He will also lead you into the higher revelation.
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So conceive an immediate, living love to the God I have just revealed to you in all clarity - in this manner you will arrive where you really seek to be in the shortest possible time.
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Yes, such love will at once give you more life than you might gain with a million dead questions.'
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The captain agreed, 'Good, my highly honored, truly wise friend! I will do all that - but you must tell me this: How does one love your God, about whom one still knows too little?'
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And Joseph replied: 'As you love your brother and your eventual bride, so also love God!
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Love your fellow men as nothing but brothers and sisters in God, and in that way you will also love God.
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Do good at every opportunity, and you will have God's grace.
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Be compassionate toward everyone, and you will also find the true, living compassion with God.
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Furthermore, keep your temper in all things, be gentle and full of patience, and flee vanity, pride and jealousy like the plague -
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'then will the Lord awaken a mighty flame in your heart
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and the powerful light of this spiritual flame will banish all the black shades of death from within you, and you will find all your questions answered in a most splendid and quickening manner!
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See, that is the right way to the light and life coming from God. That is the right kind of love toward God - this road tread.'
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When the captain received this forceful doctrine from Joseph, he desisted from his many still remaining questions and became deeply absorbed in thought.
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At the same time the curtain was drawn widely apart by the youths, and Joseph saw that the time had come to go into this imitation of the Holy of Holies.
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And while they were still at the entrance to this great hall, a mighty shout of thanks rose toward them from the poor guests.
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But when the splendidly dressed Cyrenius with Joseph and Mary with the Baby stepped into the imitated Holy of Holies for the first time, the poor ones were beside themselves.
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This sight cost Cyrenius many tears of joy and sympathy, as it did Joseph and Mary.
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There were many blind, lame and cripples of all kinds among them, for they numbered into the hundreds.
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Here Mary prayed secretly, then took the cloth with which she often daubed the Baby and daubed the eyes of all the blind therewith - and all regained their sight. After this deed the praising and extolling just would not end, so the company returned to the main hall for a short time.