The Childhood of Jesus
The Gospel of James
Biographical Gospel of the Lord
- Chapter 232 -
On The Burden Of Money
NOW JOSEPH had no trunk wherein he might put the money.
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At this Cyrenius at once ordered his servants to go into the city and buy a chest there at whatever cost necessary.
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And the servants went at once and in the short space of two hours brought an elegant cedar chest which had cost ten pounds of silver.
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This chest was then placed in Joseph's bedchamber, and Joseph's sons laid the large and heavy amount of money into the ornate and heavy chest.
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When the money was thus put away, Joseph said,
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'Now I am - from a worldly standpoint - rich for the first time in my whole life,
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for I have never seen and all the less owned so much money!
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Until now my house knew nothing of a thief and still less of a robber,
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but from now on all of us will not have sufficient eyes and time to protect this money from thieves and robbers.'
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Here Jonathan observed, 'Brother, never mind about that!
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I know only too well whom the robbers and thieves seek out.
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See, they seek out only those who are mean and stingy.
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And that certainly does not apply to you, so you need not be concerned - for everyone who asks anything of you receives three times more from you anyway than what he asks for.
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Therefore I would say that you will no doubt have to deal with a lot of beggars, but certainly not with thieves and robbers.'
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Here Mary also came over and said to Joseph,
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'Listen, dear father, you know that while in the city of our father David we also received a great burden of gold from the three wise men of the East who came from Persia;
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and behold, now we do not have any of it even the size of a grain of sand, although we were never robbed of it!
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So I would say that it will be the same with us here: not a year will pass, and we will have nothing left of it without thieves and robbers.
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So just do not worry; for in a house where the Lord dwells, gold has no standing and the robbers and thieves just do not want to have much to do in the Lord's house!
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For they know as well as I and you that it is tempting the super-natural to lay violent hands on treasures which lie as it were in God's poor-box.'
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When Mary finished, the little Child also came over and said,
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'Joseph, you faithful man, you must not look so fearfully at yonder chest in which My brothers have laid the money.
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For when you look so apprehensive, I get the impression that you are sick.
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Now see, I do not want you to be sick.
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This money will not burden you for any length of time at all. Buy quite a lot of flour now and other foodstuffs and some clothing, and distribute the rest among the poor,
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and the chest will be empty again in short order.' - These childlike words becalmed Joseph so greatly that he was promptly full of good cheer.