The Childhood of Jesus
The Gospel of James
Biographical Gospel of the Lord
- Chapter 227 -
The Generosity Of Jonathan
THE FOLLOWING DAY JOSEPH, as usual, was up much earlier than anyone else and went outside to see what sort of a day was in the offing.
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He found all the signs for a beautiful day, then returned into the house and awakened his sons so they might prepare a good breakfast for the guests.
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The sons soon arose and went to see what provisions the larder might still contain.
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When they had searched through the larder, they promptly came to Joseph and said,
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'Listen, dear father, your request would be easy enough to fulfill,
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but our larder has been so greatly depleted these last few days that it is just impossible for us to scrape together a meal for even ten persons.
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So advise us whence we are to take the foodstuffs, and the meal shall be ready in one hour.'
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Here Joseph scratched himself a bit behind the ears, then went into the larder himself and there found the assertions of his sons confirmed, which disconcerted him all the more.
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He thought back and forth but could not think of anything that might help him out Of his predicament.
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Now as Joseph stood there in the entrance hall considering what to do next, Jonathan came out of his sleeping chamber, greeted and kissed his old friend and asked him why he stood there so unhappily and thoughtfully.
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And Joseph promptly showed Jonathan the cause of this perplexity, namely the empty larder.
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When Jonathan beheld this, he said to Joseph,
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'Oh my very dear friend, that need not concern you at all.
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See, my larders are still quite full - I still have about two thousand hundredweights of smoked fish.
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So have your sons come with me right away, and in an hour and a half your larder will be well stocked!'
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This offer acted as a true balm upon Joseph's heart and he quickly accepted it.
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Hardly an hour and a half passed, when Jonathan and the four sons already returned with a heavy load of fish.
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The sons brought about four hundredweights of smoked fish, and Jonathan brought three large casks filled with fresh fish and ten large loaves of wheat bread.
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When Joseph saw the arrivals thus burdened, he was full of joy and thanked and praised God for such a gift and then embraced and kissed Jonathan.
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Thereupon the kitchen soon teemed with activity.
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The sons busied themselves in a lively manner, while Mary and Eudokia soon came from their sleeping chamber, wasted no time and milked the cows.
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Thus a plentiful breakfast was quickly prepared in an hour for more than a hundred guests.