I was thinking back to last Christmas where our attention naturally turned to the Nativity Story that we all know and surely love, but there is an aspect to it that is frequently overlooked. Something that Mary, Joseph and the Magi (‘wise men’) all share and that is the incredible journeys and sacrifices that were undertaken to see the Baby Jesus, “..the child who has been born King of the Jews…” (Matthew 2:2).
We know from Luke that because of a census the pregnant Mary and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem- a journey of around 90 miles. Bearing in mind Mary was probably in the third trimester of her pregnancy it would have probably taken them around 7 days to walk through the Jordan River Valley, Jericho, past the Dead Sea and onto to Jerusalem and finally Bethlehem. It would have been a very challenging journey not just because of Mary’s condition but that it is quite literally uphill all the way and they would have journeyed through hill country. Where would they have rested, or ate, or slept? Being an unmarried mother then, they may have struggled with people giving them aid on the way, requiring them to ‘live rough’.
Around the same time another, even longer journey, was taking place. The Magi, traditionally thought to be three wise men namely Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar, were travelling from “..the East…”, and that may have been Babylon, now part of modern day Iraq. That was a journey of around 600-900 miles and conservatively probably took 5-6 months to complete- no easy journey then or now. We know from Matthew that by the time the Magi reached Bethlehem, Jesus was no longer a baby but a child living in a house where they bowed down to honour and praise Him with fine gifts.
That though was not the end of the travelling because the Magi had dreamed what would happen to them if they returned to see King Herod, so they left to return to their countries by other routes- so that was probably another 5/6 months on the road. It was another journey that Jesus, Mary and Joseph had to go on as they were warned that Herod would kill Jesus if he found him and told to flee to Egypt -a trip of 250 miles. When Herod died they then returned and settled in Nazareth- a trip of around 500 miles.
The amount of travelling and the discomfort people endured is really breathtaking – the Magi effectively traveling for around 12 months, Jesus, Mary and Joseph effectively commuting from Nazareth to Bethlehem, from there to Egypt and then back to Nazareth-quite astonishing!
However, the travelling had the greatest goal and reward of all- the safe protection, birth, parenting and honouring of the Son of God, the Messiah-our Saviour. I hope you all had a blissful Christmas one and all!
One of the interesting facets of the Bible to me are the sacredness and mystical significance of certain numerals that come up time and time again in passages, to signify something of particular significance which have a deeper meaning we need to understand.
Perhaps the most obvious example is the number ‘12’. You will find it mentioned almost 200 times in chapters as diverse as Genesis, Revelation and Daniel. But why the number 12? One general accepted theory is that 12 in Hebrew culture signified perfection and wholeness in the Government and community and represents a complete divine arrangement.
Jacob, later named Israel (meaning incidentally ‘May God Prevail’), had 12 sons which represented the 12 tribes. Revelation talks about 12,000 people from each of the tribes converting to Christianity at the end of times. Leviticus tells us there were 12 unleavened cakes in the Tabernacle, where there were also 12 silver plates, bulls, bowls, ram and lambs. The book of Daniel has 12 chapters and talks about “blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of 1,335 days”. Add 1, 3,3 & 5 together and you get…12.
Going into the Gospels, we again see the importance of the number 12. How many disciples did Jesus choose? – why 12 of course! It was also at the age of 12 that Jesus first spoke in the temple when he and his family travelled to Jerusalem for the Passover. At the feeding of the 5,000, Matthew records that there were 12 baskets of leftover food.
The New Jerusalem or Celestial City as described in Revelation consists of 12 gates manned by 12 angels. Each gate is named after each of Israel’s 12 tribes. The walls are described as being 144 cubits thick or 12 x 12 and the city being 12,000 furlongs square.
The modern secular world to this day still recognises the importance of the number 12- a day consists of two periods of 12 hours, there are 12 months to the calendar year and just over 12 lunar cycles of the Moon.
We will of course be looking forward shortly to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas, something Christians have been doing since the 6th Century, and of course you are expected to take down your Christmas decorations no later than……..twelve night, which tradition tells us was when the Wise Men visited the baby Jesus.
So 12 is a really important and significant number in both our spiritual and secular world-from the beginnings of biblical time to the end days.
Call me weird but I have had a thing about gravestones and memorials- as a youngster I would walk around churchyards and memorials fascinated and often quite moved by the people who have been honoured. I don’t think it is morbid mainly because the memorials were inscribed to be read so we can commemorate their memory.
Anyway, I was in Christchurch, Dorset and whilst I was there I attended one of 'Talking Pictures TV's' (TPTV) regular Film Festivals (TPTV for those who have not heard of them, is the UK's most watched independent TV channel, and they focus on TV and film from the 1930s to 1980s or so-a great watch). I digress but whilst I was there I visited Christchurch Priory, in Dorset, an 11th century building that goes back to the time of Edward the Confessor. There are many such memorials within the setting, but one sculpture that really stands out is the one to Harriet Harris who in 1815 at the tender age of just 32 died.
Her memorial as you can see above is of her tenderly cradling one of her children on her lap, her head resting gently on his while her two older boys, their arms around each other, are at her knees, tenderly reaching out to her.
We know little of her life, but the elegant prose inscribed in her honour tell us an awful lot:
‘Gifted by nature with uncommon beauty of person and countenance, possessing manners equally dignified and engaging, she never allowed herself to be influenced by the flatteries and allurements of the world. She enjoyed with rational cheerfulness those hours which she could spare from the performance of her domestic duties. So deeply impressed with the feelings and confidence of a true Christian was this pious and excellent woman: so fully prepared was she at all times for another world, that the sudden and unexpected approach of death could not disturb the sweet serenity of her mind, nor did one repining word escape her through 14 days of acute suffering, she calmly gave up her soul into the hands of the Creator, quitting all she loved with these words: “I have had my full share of happiness in this world”’.
What an example of the way to live your life and more importantly ‘to go into that dark night’ not as poet Dylan Thomas suggested “ rage, rage against the dying of the light”, but to gracefully and serenely go on one last adventure of this world and into the waiting hands of God.
As I say, we know little about Harriet Harris, but she sounds to have been a remarkable woman and a true Christian. What an example for us to follow....
I am sure many of you are taking part in ‘The Big Church Binge’ which St Mary’s and other churches have been promoting. For those unaware of it, it is a great initiative to encourage Christians to watch one episode a week of Season 3 of the great series ‘The Chosen’. That healthy habit will take us close to when Season 4 is due to open in UK cinemas in January.
‘The Chosen’ started in 2018 with the aim of accurately representing the character and intentions of Jesus and the Gospels, by taking viewers deeper into those stories of Jesus and those who knew Him. There is no doubt how successful the series has been in that respect – as I write there have been over 500m views of the series (the target is 1bn views so 50% there already) and over 100m people have seen it – equivalent to over 1% of the entire world population.
Its biggest impact however is in how it has evangelised and discipled new, especially younger, people into the faith as its style of storytelling is in a language and form that the unchurched can really respond to. I think it passes the first test of discipleship which is you have to engage and entertain people in order to allow them to be discipled-it is also very funny and we should never forget that humour is also a way to understand and believe.
How it has done that is by showing how human the disciples were and not far removed from our own experiences today and we grow in their own development. The creative choices the production team have made are not without controversy, but they are informed by the Gospels and really work well. So Matthew is played as someone on the autistic spectrum, a person who would have been reviled by his family and community, collecting the taxes of an occupying force and forcing people into poverty, but realising on meeting Jesus that there is a better way. Thomas is shown as someone who overthinks things and has to be 100% sure of something before believing it, whilst Mary Magdelene is someone with mental afflictions and is challenged by her former life. You also learn more about the family behind the disciples -how for example do their wives and family react to them suddenly leaving home and following this man Jesus? In ‘The Chosen’, we get an idea of that.
So for those new to the series, ‘The Big Church Binge’ has started with Series 3 (think Matthew 6 and Luke 11)- we are in the second year of Jesus’ ministry, he is about to give the Sermon on the Mount speech, John the Baptist has been imprisoned by Herod and a young apprentice takes an interest in Jesus-by the name of…Judas- on meeting him for the first time Jesus says to him cryptically “ Judas, are you ready to do hard things?”: you get the picture.
Although I have seen all the series so far, I am enjoying them again and I hope you are too.
To see ‘The Chosen’ there are a variety ways to view it: a) on ‘The Chosen App’, b) at https://watch.thechosen.tv/ or c) on Amazon Freevee- all free so happy viewing!
