15 Days for Panagia {day 5}

They following story took place during the flight to Egypt and can be found on pgs 271-272 of The Life of The Virgin Mary, The Theotokos.As the were journeying, they had to pass through an area that was infested with robbers. Therefore, the Virgin and Joseph purposed to pass by that territory under the cover of night. As they were journeying, they beheld two robbers that appeared to be asleep in the road, but there was a great number of their confederates also asleep in a place close by. The names of these two thieves were Dismas and Gestas. Dismas, roused from his sleep, arose and went across the road to the Mother of God to see what she held covered at her breast. Seeing the Christ child, he marvelled at His beauty and remarked, "If God were to take human flesh, He would be no more beautiful than this child!" Then Dismas turned to Gestas and said, "I beseech thee to let these persons go by quietly. Let not our comrades be roused and perceive the coming of these people." However, Gestas would not consent. Again, Dismas turned to him and said, "I will give thee forty drachmas and, as a pledge, take my belt." Dismas gave it to his companion before he finished speaking that he might not open his mouth or make a noise.The Lady Theotokos, full of gratitude for the kindness rendered unto them by this robber, turned and said to Dismas, "My child will reward thee richly for having spared Him this day. The Lord God will receive thee to His right hand and grant thee pardon of thy sins."Indeed, more than thirty years later, at the Crucifixion of her Son and God, it was those very two thieves that were also crucified on either side of Jesus. Dismas would be to Christ's right hand and Gestas to His left. Dismas, while on the cross, repented his whole life, and said, "This Man hath done nothing amiss" [Luke 23:41]; he even rebuked Gestas who had reviled the Lord. And, as we all know, Dismas was that same day with Christ in Paradise. [Luke 23:43]This is one of my favorite stories from the entire book. What really amazed me when I first read it was my perception of the two thieves. I always envisioned them as being the same age as Christ, it was probably because that is they way they depict them in the movies. Jesus of Nazareth, The Passion, etc. However, holy tradition tells us that this is not accurate. *Click here for previous posts from 15 Days for Panagia