The Silver Cross or The Carpenter of Nazareth Part 10

The shepherds who, at the pa.s.sage of the Nazarene, watered their flocks at the fountain, also arrived; and when all this crowd, silent and attentive, was thus a.s.sembled at the foot of the mount, Jesus of Nazareth ascended the little hill, that he might be better heard by all.

The rising sun, shedding its l.u.s.trous beams on the figure of the son of Mary, attired in his white tunic and his blue mantle, made his celestial visage to appear resplendent, and casting its rays on his long chestnut hair, seemed to encircle it in a golden aureole. Then addressing these simple in heart, whom he loved equally with the little children, Jesus said to them, in his tender and sonorous voice:

'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs!

'Blessed are those who are gentle, because they possess the earth!

'Blessed are those who weep, for they are consoled!

'Blessed are those who show mercy, for they will obtain mercy for themselves!

'Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see G.o.d!

'Blessed are the peaceful, for they shall be called peaceful!

'Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice's sake, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs!

'But woe to you, rich, for you would take away your consolation!

'Woe to you who are satisfied, for you shall be hungry!

'Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall weep hereafter!

'Woe to you when men shall speak well of you, for their fathers spoke well of the false prophets!

'Love your neighbor as yourself!

'Beware how you make your gifts before men, to attract their notice!

'When, therefore, thou dost give thy charity, sound not the trumpet before you, as do the hypocrites in the temples and in the streets, to be honored by men; for I tell you the truth, they have already had their reward.

'Thus, I was seated the other day in the synagogue, opposite the poor box, observing in what manner the people threw in their money; many rich people dropped in a great deal; there came a poor woman, she placed simply in the box two small pieces, which made the quarter of a penny.

Calling my disciples, I said to them: "Really this poor woman has given more than all those who dropped into the box, for all the others have given of their abundance; but this one has given of her indigence, all that she had, and all that remained to her to live upon." When you bestow charity, let not your left hand know what your right hand does.

The same when you pray, resemble not those hypocrites who affect to pray in the synagogues, and in the corner of public places, that they might be seen of men. For you, when you would pray, enter your own chamber, close the door, and pray to your father in secret. When you fast, do it not with a saddened air like the hypocrites, for they appear with a pale and haggard face, that men may know that they fast. You, when you fast, perfume your head that it may not appear to men that you fast, but simply to your father, who is always present in all that is most secret.

Above all, do not act like the two men in the parable:

'Two men went into the temple to pray, the one was a publican, the other a pharisee. The pharisee, standing up, thus prayed to himself: "My G.o.d, I thank thee for that I am not as other men, who are thieves, unjust, adulterers, who indeed are like the publican I see there. I fast twice a week, and I give the tenth of all I possess."

'The publican, on the contrary, keeping himself afar off, dared not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but struck his breast, saying:

"My G.o.d, have pity on me, who am a sinner!"

'I declare to you this man returneth home justified, and not the other.

For he who exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he who humbleth himself shall be exalted. Heap not up treasures on earth, for the worm and the rust shall consume them, and thieves shall break in and steal them; but make to yourselves treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is there also will be your heart! Do unto men as you would they should do unto you: this is the law and the prophets.

'Love your enemies, do good to those that hate you.

'If any one takes from you your mantle, let him also take your coat.

'Give to all who ask of you.

'Claim not your goods of him who takes them away.

'Let him who has two garments give one to him who has none.

'Let him who has enough to eat do the same.

'For when the day of judgment comes, G.o.d will say to those who are on his left:

"Far from me, cursed! go into the fire eternal! for I was hungry and ye gave me not to eat! I was thirsty, and ye gave me not to drink! I was in want of lodging, and you did not lodge me! I was without garments, and you did not clothe me! I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit me!" And then the wicked will reply to the Almighty:

"Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? or without garments? or without lodging? or in prison?"

But the Almighty will reply to them:

"I say unto you that as often as you have failed to render these services to one of the poorest among men, you have failed to render them to myself, your Lord G.o.d."

To the great chagrin of the crowd, much affected by the divine words of the son of Mary, who could comprehend the poorest in mind, as the young Nazarene said, his discourse was interrupted in consequence of a violent tumult that arose. The cause was this; a troop of men on horseback, coming from the mountains, travelling rapidly towards Jerusalem, was obliged to stop before the vast a.s.semblage grouped at the base of the mount where Christ was preaching. These cavaliers, in their impatience, brutally desired the crowd to disperse, and to make room for the Seigneur Chusa, the steward of Prince Herod's household, and for the Seigneur Gremion, an agent of the Roman treasury.

On hearing these words Aurelia, wife of Gremion, turned pale and said to Jane:

'Our husbands! already returned! they have turned back; they will find us absent from our homes; they will know that we have left them since yesterday; we are lost.'

'Have we, then, anything to reproach ourselves with?' replied Jane: 'Have we not been listening to teachings, and a.s.sisting at examples which renders good hearts still better?'

'Dear mistress,' said Genevieve to Aurelia, 'I think that the Seigneur Gremion has recognized you from his horse, for he is speaking quietly to the Seigneur Chusa, and is pointing his finger this way.'

'Ah! I tremble!' replied Aurelia, 'what's to be done? What will become of me? Oh! cursed be my curiosity!'

'Blessed, on the contrary,' said Jane to her; 'for you carry away treasures in your heart. Let us go boldly and meet our husbands; 'tis the wicked who hide themselves and bow their heads. Come, Aurelia, come, and let us walk home with a firm front.'

At this moment, Magdalen the repentant, approached the two young women, and said to Jane, with tears in her eyes:

'Adieu, you who tendered me a hand when I had fallen into contempt; your remembrance will be always present to Magdalen in her future solitude.'

'Of what solitude do you speak?' said Jane, surprised: 'where are you going, then, Mary Magdalen?'

'To the desert!' replied the penitent, stretching her arms towards the summit of the arid mountains beyond which extend the desolate solitudes of the dead sea:

'I go to the desert to weep for my sins, bearing in my heart a treasure of hope! Blessed be the son of Mary, to whom I am indebted for this divine treasure!'

The crowd, opening respectfully before this great repentant, she slowly retired towards the mountains. Scarcely had Magdalen disappeared, when Jane, leading her friend almost in spite of herself, advanced towards the cavaliers through the people, irritated at the coa.r.s.e words of the escort.

They abhorred Herod, the prince of Judea, who would have been driven from the throne but for the protection of the Romans. He was cruel, dissolute, and crushed the Jewish people with taxes; thus, when they learnt that one of the cavaliers was the Seigneur Chusa, steward of this execrated prince, the hatred they felt for the master was visited on the steward as also on his companion, the Seigneur Gremion, who in the name of the Roman tax-gatherer, gleaned where Herod had reaped. Thus, whilst Jane, Aurelia, and the slave Genevieve painfully traversed the crowd to reach the two cavaliers, hootings burst from all sides against Chusa and Gremion, and they listened, trembling with rage, to words such as the following, the faint echo of the anathemas of the young master against the wicked:

'Woe to you, Herod's steward! who crush us with taxes, and eat up the house of the widow and the orphan!

'Woe to you, too, Roman! who also come to take a part in robbing us!'