Read Online Yesterday, Today, and Forever by Maria Von Trapp - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Maria Von Trapp
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in the midst of vineyards and olive groves, surrounded by big sheep pastures. The star traveled right into town and stopped above a house.
There was no doubt: now they had reached their destination. Camels and elephants dropped to their knees, horses stood still, and the next moment the Magi-kings had dismounted and were now beckoning to their servants. This was a sign which they understood well, and the kings were brought the gifts which were intended for the newborn King of the Jews. In the East it was the custom to give a present to any superior as a sign of respect. We see that repeatedly in the Old Testament. Now Matthew tells us, “Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matt. 2:11).
On this very day Joseph must not have been at home. He was most probably at work somewhere because “they found the child with Mary his mother.” And now something quaint happens: “They fell down and worshiped him.” Little Jesus was obviously sitting on His mother’s lap. And His mother, the most humble handmaid of the Lord, accepted the homage of these venerable men with complete composure. She did not stop them. She did not interrupt their adoration with polite words. She knew that falling down and prostrating was a tribute given only to God, and Mary accepted it for the little King.
Later, our Lord would exclaim several times: “Truly …not even in Israel have I found such faith” (Matt. 8:10), always talking about one or another Gentile. If the little Child could have talked, He would have said the same right then. The Sanhedrin, the official law-giving body, had formally announced that “the Christ is to be born in Bethlehem,” and everybody understood that this little Child the highborn strangers from the Orient had come to worship must be identical with Him. It is one of the greatest riddles that the members of the Sanhedrin just seem to have returned to their homes from their summons to the king. No one — no Pharisee, Sadducee, rabbi, nor any of the elders — seems to have taken any action at all concerning the child only a few miles away in Bethlehem. Some of them must have heard some rumors of the birth in the cave with the manger, of the Gloria in Excelsius, or of the talk of Simeon and Anna. It is just incredible and unbelievable that nothing, absolutely nothing, was done until the pagans — the Gentiles — prostrated themselves before Him and presented Him with gifts.
An eighth century saint, Bede the Venerable, said, “The first is said to have been Melchior, a bald man with a long beard and hair, who offered gold to the King and Lord” (princes from the East always honored their sovereigns with a gift of gold). The second, Caspar, was a beardless young man of a ruddy hue, and he came with frankincense, the most expensive fragrance of the East, always considered too precious to use for humans, and always reserved for the temples. Then came Balthasar, the dark one. His vessel of myrrh reminds us of the story of his people, grand but sad, myrrh used for the embalming of the dead. Never again in His whole life will our Lord be offered gold or frankincense, but twice He will be offered myrrh: on the cross by the soldiers, and after His death, by Nicodemus. Strangely enough, His mother will receive it from Nicodemus, as she receives it now from Balthasar.
After the official homage was paid in prostration and presenting of gifts, Mary got up, I am sure, and showed her precious little child to her noble guests. Each one was allowed to take Him in his arms and look at His smiling little face. It must have been the happiest moment of their lives.
Then with their hearts full to the brim, they must have asked the mother questions. Mary will be asked questions by another Gentile later and will tell all the wondrous secrets to him who will put them down as the Gospel of Luke. Mary might have told these great and venerable souls the story of the annunciation and
There was no doubt: now they had reached their destination. Camels and elephants dropped to their knees, horses stood still, and the next moment the Magi-kings had dismounted and were now beckoning to their servants. This was a sign which they understood well, and the kings were brought the gifts which were intended for the newborn King of the Jews. In the East it was the custom to give a present to any superior as a sign of respect. We see that repeatedly in the Old Testament. Now Matthew tells us, “Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matt. 2:11).
On this very day Joseph must not have been at home. He was most probably at work somewhere because “they found the child with Mary his mother.” And now something quaint happens: “They fell down and worshiped him.” Little Jesus was obviously sitting on His mother’s lap. And His mother, the most humble handmaid of the Lord, accepted the homage of these venerable men with complete composure. She did not stop them. She did not interrupt their adoration with polite words. She knew that falling down and prostrating was a tribute given only to God, and Mary accepted it for the little King.
Later, our Lord would exclaim several times: “Truly …not even in Israel have I found such faith” (Matt. 8:10), always talking about one or another Gentile. If the little Child could have talked, He would have said the same right then. The Sanhedrin, the official law-giving body, had formally announced that “the Christ is to be born in Bethlehem,” and everybody understood that this little Child the highborn strangers from the Orient had come to worship must be identical with Him. It is one of the greatest riddles that the members of the Sanhedrin just seem to have returned to their homes from their summons to the king. No one — no Pharisee, Sadducee, rabbi, nor any of the elders — seems to have taken any action at all concerning the child only a few miles away in Bethlehem. Some of them must have heard some rumors of the birth in the cave with the manger, of the Gloria in Excelsius, or of the talk of Simeon and Anna. It is just incredible and unbelievable that nothing, absolutely nothing, was done until the pagans — the Gentiles — prostrated themselves before Him and presented Him with gifts.
An eighth century saint, Bede the Venerable, said, “The first is said to have been Melchior, a bald man with a long beard and hair, who offered gold to the King and Lord” (princes from the East always honored their sovereigns with a gift of gold). The second, Caspar, was a beardless young man of a ruddy hue, and he came with frankincense, the most expensive fragrance of the East, always considered too precious to use for humans, and always reserved for the temples. Then came Balthasar, the dark one. His vessel of myrrh reminds us of the story of his people, grand but sad, myrrh used for the embalming of the dead. Never again in His whole life will our Lord be offered gold or frankincense, but twice He will be offered myrrh: on the cross by the soldiers, and after His death, by Nicodemus. Strangely enough, His mother will receive it from Nicodemus, as she receives it now from Balthasar.
After the official homage was paid in prostration and presenting of gifts, Mary got up, I am sure, and showed her precious little child to her noble guests. Each one was allowed to take Him in his arms and look at His smiling little face. It must have been the happiest moment of their lives.
Then with their hearts full to the brim, they must have asked the mother questions. Mary will be asked questions by another Gentile later and will tell all the wondrous secrets to him who will put them down as the Gospel of Luke. Mary might have told these great and venerable souls the story of the annunciation and
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