Bridge of Reason

One of the arresting but often overlooked aspects of the Christmas story is that not Herod, nor the priests with whom he consulted, had any doubt, or were in any way confused about the fact that the well known reference in Micah 5:2 (c.f. Mt.2:5-6) alluded to a person, that he would come from Bethlehem, and be the Messiah. “ But you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel” The final line in this verse finds its parallel in 2 Sam.5:1/2: ‘ Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and s aid, ‘Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’’ “ A ll the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron” to make him their king. It was there this son of Bethlehem was crowned, and the parallels with the life of Jesus are so striking as to be prophetic. The Sanhedrin, o...

I don’t want to spoil anyone’s Christmas and, certainly, I do wish everyone a very blessed and peaceful season but...well, it was never going to be easy bringing peace to the earth. I recently heard an  excellent sermon reminding us that the babe in the manger was destined to die a brutal and ignominious death on the Cross; you can’t have Christmas without the Cross. Of course, we often get so sentimental about Christmas – “it’s all about the children isn’t it”; or cynical about it all – “I don’t see much peace on earth.” But the Christ who made the sacrifice that might bring peace also challenges us to choose peace. It has always been this way since the beginning. Adam and Eve could choose obedience or rebellion (Gen.2:16); Israel was challenged before entering the Promised Land to choose between the gods of Egypt or the Living God who saved them (Josh.24:15); when Paul preached in Athens he declared: “ The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everyw...

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about (Mt.1:18) How it irks some people to hear the Christmas Story. How some like to debunk the whole business, setting out all the pagan motifs and festivals that have been usurped – “stolen” – by Christians to give us the familiar Christmas emblems. Oh, perfidy thy name is Christian! I recall a conversation I had with a Jehovah’s Witness who explained conspiratorially that the famous children’s “Ladybird Books” had produced a little volume explaining the origins of many of our familiar Christmas customs. He explained, sotto voce , that “they” didn’t like it and so the volume was mysteriously removed from the shelves of WH Smith. Next day I went to a book store and bought a copy off the shelf and have it on my desk as I write this. It is called “Christmas Customs”. I am not sure who “they” are but… Most of the cosy and heart-warming motifs we relish today were given us by Charles Dickens , including snow. How often have children in th...

A Weekly Bible Reading for Bridge Builders The Richmond Briefing has been a weekly feature of the Reachout web site for five years and is now available on the blog. To find out more and read earlier briefings go here Reading – The Literalist’s Christmas (Luke 2; Matthew 1&2) This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about (Mt.1:18) How it irks some people to hear the Christmas Story. This week I saw a YouTube video by a self-proclaimed atheist purporting to debunk the whole business and setting out all the pagan motifs and festivals that have been usurped – “stolen” – by Christians to give us the familiar Christmas emblems. Oh, perfidy thy name is Christian! I recall a conversation I had with a Jehovah’s Witness who explained conspiratorially that the famous children’s “Ladybird Books” had produced a little volume explaining the origins of many of our familiar Christmas customs. He explained, sotto voce , that “they” didn’t like it and so the volume was mysteriously r...