聖書

 

Matthew 2:1-12 : The Visit of the Wise Men

勉強

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

解説

 

Christmas Gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

作者: New Christian Bible Study Staff

The Adoration of the Magi, a Design for Bas Relief.

In the Christmas story, the wise men bring gifts to the Lord: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The gold is listed first, because it is the inmost - signifying good, e.g. the good that we do when we love the Lord and the neighbor.

The frankincense is next. It signifies rational truth, which is the set of true ideas that we know, not about external things like cars or cooking, but about what is really good, and what is really true.

These rational truths are built on earlier knowledges that we learn, before we have really made them our own. Those early knowledges about spiritual things - often learned in childhood - are represented by the myrrh.

In a way, these gifts are really a reciprocation. We can't actually give them to the Lord until the Lord has given them to us. We necessarily start out by learning and doing the Lord's law (myrrh). The Lord can then call up those memories to become rational truths (frankincense). Then, over time, and with effort, those truths can be transformed into good (gold). The wise men from the East had gone through this process of learning and becoming vessels that could receive truths and goods. They were able to perceive the Lord's birth, and find him, and bring gifts to him.

スウェーデンボルグの著作から

 

Heaven and Hell#133

この節の研究

  
/ 603に移動  
  

133. Now something will be said about the heat of heaven. That heat in its essence is love. It goes forth from the Lord as the Sun which, as has been shown in the previous section, is Divine Love in the Lord and from the Lord. It is clear, then, that the heat of heaven is spiritual just like the light of heaven because from the same source. 1 There are two things that go forth from the Lord as a Sun, Divine Truth and Divine Good. Divine Truth is manifested in the heavens as light, and Divine Good as heat. Yet, Divine Truth and Divine Good are so united that they are not two but one. Nevertheless, with the angels they are separated, for there are angels who receive Divine Good more than Divine Truth, and there are those who receive Divine Truth more than Divine Good. Those who receive more Divine Good are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, and those who receive more Divine Truth are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom. The most perfect angels are those who receive both in the same degree.

脚注:

1. [Swedenborg's footnote] There are two origins of heat, and also two origins of light, namely, the sun of the world and the Sun of heaven (Arcana Coelestia 3338, 5215, 7324).

The heat which goes forth from the Lord as the Sun is the affection which is of love (Arcana Coelestia 3636, 3643); and hence spiritual heat is, in its essence, love (Arcana Coelestia 2146, 3338-3339, 6314).

  
/ 603に移動  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.