Gospel
ZADOK, SOME KINGS, AND A DONKEY
Up on the foothills of Bethlehem, some shepherds there all together heard angels singing on high the same Gospel song: “The Christ is come!” They saw and heard this as if in a dream caused by staring at stars too long. “For proof go find a new born baby in a hay bin down there in the inn stable!” dared the angel voices. “Oh sure, a fat chance,” said some sleepy shepherd – but he went to look anyway – “Most dreams are worth following to find what a man can find— who knows!” Other shepherds followed him down the hill of grass.
There beneath the morning star she stood – the mouth of the stable cave gaping wide behind her – lit only by the glow of her face – radiant Mother Mary. Behind her stood Joseph – and the Babe who was wrapped in a soft white swaddling cloth was right there too lying just as the angels did say fast asleep in the sweet hay manger and warmed by the body heat of ox, sheep, and ass and watched over by what seemed all of God’s angels – what a sight to be seen by common men!
Dumb struck in the absolute wonder of such a holy seeing the shepherds could only fall on their bony knees – the proof of God’s love lay in the hay! Mary with a smile picked up her new born child, the Savior of the world and offered Him to be held by one of the elder shepherds. A wizened, whiskered, kindly good shepherd named Zadok climbed to his feet and took Jesus up into his long, burly arms as gently as he would a take up a little lamb – and so cradling Him smiled a big, toothless smile. Crying salty tears of joy and not knowing really why, he said softly: “Glory to God! The angels said that this baby is Christ the Savior of the world. Can you imagine that! – this baby!”
As days followed days, and nights followed nights, the Holy Family welcomed many visitors -- even kings and wise men who came from the far East (following a dazzling star) to gift this new born King of the Jews -- not to mention King of Heaven and Earth, too! These others could earn the gift of Jesus’ sweet smile by the gaiety of their looks, but instinctively only the fuss, the caresses, the murmurs of His family made Him feel love as a baby boy. So much love would well up inside His sacred heart that His face would glow and His eyes glisten with happiness. He knew with His whole being already that no matter how hard these others would try, nothing they did ever compared to the intensity of love Jesus got from Mary and from Joseph. Even then as a little baby He could tell the big difference family makes.
It was the same for you when you were a growing baby in your home and neighborhood. These others could come and go, and that was a fine and gentle pleasure for Jesus -- enjoyed but not missed. The leave-taking of Mary, His mother, was a different matter altogether. Jesus was bonded physically and emotionally to His mother from the inside out for a long time before He was born -- and now He was at her breasts and in her arms and under the pure sunshine of her face almost all the time.
Jesus even began to feel the same way about Joseph’s comings and goings, and this perhaps is an even greater mystery of love. Not being able to give Jesus milk, Joseph would stick his pinky finger into Jesus’ little mouth as a trick to satisfy Him. Even though He did not get any warm mother’s milk from this gentle, special man, there was this same deep and vital bonding going on between the two of them. Mary could make Jesus giggle with glee, but Joseph would lift Him up high in the air thrilling Jesus to the core with excitement.
Then came danger like a sinister deadly snake suddenly into their happy life. The evil king Herod on fire with jealousy on learning from the three wise men that a new king of the Jews had been born to the world sent soldiers out to slaughter all the babies in the town of Bethlehem.
Woken by a warning angel, Joseph fled with the boy and Mary before dawn. He put them on their ass, packed his knapsack, grabbed his staff and got them on the road right away. The angel had said: “Go to Egypt until I tell you to return home!” And go they did without hesitating in the middle of the night. Taking Jesus up and out of His sweet dreaming, Mary hugged Him tight beneath her warm cloak. And then, obedient to the angel, trusting in a dream, Joseph began to take long strides and pulling the donkey along with a rope led his family away from King Herod’s horrific murdering of the babes of Bethlehem -- the Holy Innocent Martyrs whose blood foretold Calvary.
On that quiet night, the Holy Flight of a carpenter’s family is not noticed by anyone except the gentle creatures that live and eat in soft gray shadows beneath stars and earth’s silver moon. The humble ass turned back his floppy ears to hear, too, the lullaby Mary was singing to her Baby awake and so safe in her arms.
Moved by the feelings of a superabundantly human love, Jesus reached out with His little hand and took hold of Mother Mary’s finger, and linked so they hurried into tomorrow’s tomorrows on that bouncing, bumpy back of a donkey.
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