The Childhood of Jesus
The Gospel of James
Biographical Gospel of the Lord
- Chapter 181 -
Cyrenius Comes To The Right Place
NOW JOSEPH did not go directly into the hut, but sent in a messenger and had him notify Jonathan that he was there.
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Jonathan soon arose and said to Cyrenius,
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'Imperial, consular highness, I again ask your forgiveness if I have offended you in anything by my well-meaning rudeness!
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For just as everything else is heavy about me, so also on occasion is my tongue!
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But now I must go out again; for my neighbor and highly honored friend has called on me today.'
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Cyrenius replied, 'Oh friend, my highly esteemed rescuer, do as you please and do not consider me, your debtor.
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I am only going to put on some better clothes, whereupon I will promptly follow you myself!'
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Jonathan now left Cyrenius and quickly went outside to receive Joseph.
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Joseph in the meantime went nearer to where the ship was made fast so he could look at it more closely,
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whereupon Jonathan hurried after Joseph and his company and soon caught up with them.
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When the two had greeted each other and Jonathan had taken the little Child which had run to him upon his arms and caressed Him,
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Joseph asked his big friend in great surprise,
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'But brother, tell me - where did you get that ship?
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Or did traveling guests arrive in it?
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Truly, that is a magnificent ship, the likes of which one sees arrive only from Rome!'
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And Jonathan replied, 'Oh friend, see, that is why I had to leave your villa even yesterday!
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A heavy gale ran a Roman ship aground on a sandbank outside the bight yesterday.
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My efforts - by the grace of this your little Child - succeeded in saving the ship from certain destruction.
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The rescued, numbering about a hundred, are still in my living quarters which fortunately are roomy enough for them;
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and I think that they will depart today, since the place of their destination is luckily our city itself, as they told me.
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They still do not actually know where they are - for one must not tell the rescued that too soon -
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but when they make their departure, I shall pilot them out anyhow!'
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Joseph now asked Jonathan whether the rescued did not say who and whence they were.
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At this Jonathan answered, 'You know that one must not tell tales out of school,
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for as long as the rescued have not departed their names must not be revealed, since that could be injurious to them on a future journey.'
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Here the little Child said U Jonathan, 'Oh man, you do indeed have a noble heart in which there is no guile,
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but you are still richly endowed with many an old superstition!
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Just the same it is better to be silent here than to speak - for the matter will clear itself up in a few moments, anyhow.'
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When the little Child had said this, Cyrenius with his company stepped out the hut and went toward the ship, and thus straight toward the spot where Joseph was.
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On the way over Cyrenius suddenly exclaimed to Tullia, 'Wife! Just look over there! Is not the group over there with our rescuer altogether like the one on whose account we journeyed to Ostracine?
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By the living God! I have never seen anything like it! And look, our host right now has a little Child on his arms who wholly resembles the holy One that our heavenly friend has in Ostracine!'
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Here the little Child wanted to be put down, and when He was free He at once ran toward the already closely approaching Cyrenius.
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And Cyrenius stood still and gazed at the toward-him-running little Child very attentively.
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And the little Child, when He was about three steps away from Cyrenius, called out,
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'Cyrenius, Cyrenius, My dear Cyrenius, see how I hurry toward you - why do you not hurry toward Me also?'
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Hereupon Cyrenius recognized the little Child, immediately fell on his knees along with Tullia and actually shouted,
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'Oh my Lord, o my God! Who - just where am I, that You - my God - my Creator - my life - You who alone are all in all to me - come to meet me in this strange place?'
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And the little Child answered, 'My dear Cyrenius, you are already in the right place - for where I am, there is surely the right place for you! See, there comes Joseph, and Mary, and Eudokia, My brothers and the eight children!'
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Here Cyrenius declared, 'O my life, this is too much happiness for me at one time!' Thereupon he began to weep from happiness and could not speak for his too sacred feelings.