The Childhood of Jesus
The Gospel of James
Biographical Gospel of the Lord
- Chapter 215 -
In Hoc Signo Vinces
AFTER THIS HEAVENLY MEAL on top of the little mountain, Joseph said to the little Child,
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'My Lord and my God! I, a poor old man beseech You, forgive me if I have no doubt offended You; and come back into the house again with me.
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For without You I can never go back; and if I do go back without You, everyone will turn against me quite bitterly and will punish me with hard words.'
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Here the little Child answered, 'Yes, yes, I will of course go with you, for here I shall not set up a place and remain.
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But one thing I require of you, and that is that you take this My table upon your shoulders and carry it homeward ahead of Me.
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And do not shrink from its burden - for while it will indeed press on you a bit, it will not bend you nor weaken you in the least!'
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At these words Joseph took the beautiful cross while James took the left-overs from the meal and thus they started on the way back with the little Child in the middle.
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After a while Joseph said to the little Child, 'Listen, my dearly beloved Jesus, the cross is heavy after all! Can we not rest a bit?'
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And the little Child answered, 'You have already carried greater burdens as a carpenter, which I did not lay upon you;
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and behold, there you would not grant yourself a rest until you carried your burden to its destination!
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Now you are carrying only a little burden for Me for the first time and already want to rest after a thousand steps?
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Oh Joseph, carry,carry My light burden without a rest, and you will find a fitting reward in My kingdom!
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See, through this cross you will become aware of My burden, and it will tell you by its small weight what I am to you in the world!
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And when you will leave this world in My arms, then this cross will become a fiery wagon of Elias to you, in which you will ascend before Me in greatest joy!'
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After these words the aged Joseph kissed the fairly heavy cross and carried it onward without a rest;
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and it did not seem nearly as heavy to him any more, so that he brought it all the way to the villa quite easily.
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In the meantime everyone in the villa was in a state of highest expectancy and filled with great concern, wondering from which direction Joseph might return with the little Child and with James.
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And when Mary, Cyrenius and the others finally caught sight of the approaching three, they lost all restraint!
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Everyone ran toward them with open arms, and Mary at once seized the little Child and pressed Him to her heart with convulsive love.
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But Cyrenius was surprised that Joseph would carry a gallows, as the symbol of the greatest degradation and shame, home on his shoulders.
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And the little Child upon the mother's arms sat up and said to Cyrenius,
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'Truly, truly, this symbol of the greatest degradation will become a symbol of the highest honor!
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If you are not going to carry it after Me in this manner, as Joseph now carries it, you will not enter into My kingdom in the future!' - These words brought Cyrenius to silence, and he asked no more about Joseph's burden.