A CHRISTMAS STORY

I  RECENTLY FINISHED TWO THEOLOGY COURSES OF SIX THAT I NEED TO COMPLETE A MASTERS DEGREE IN THEOLOGY. I AM PROBABLY THE LONGEST TERM SEMINARY STUDENT IN THE COUNTRY, HAVING STARTED IN 1971. SOME THOUGHTS:

• THE THREE KINGS WERE HIRED BY CAESAR TO REPORT ON THE NEW CHRIST CHILD THAT WAS BEING REFERRED TO AS "THE KING OF THE JEWS." THE WISE MEN NEVER REPORTED BACK TO HIM AFTER SEEING THE CHRIST CHILD. THEY FLED INTO THE COUNTRYSIDE.
• A REPORTED ORDER BY CAESAR TO KILL ALL THE FIRST BORN MALES WAS NEVER CONFIRMED. NOR DOES IT APPEAR THAT IT WAS EVER CARRIED OUT.
• THERE ARE NO FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS OF CHRIST'S EXISTENCE. JOSEPHUS, A HISTORIAN, MAKES REFERENCES TO AN APOCALYPTIC PREACHER ROAMING THE COUNTRYSIDE, BUT THERE WERE NUMEROUS APOCALYPTIC PREACHERS DOING SO AT THE TIME. IT REMAINS UNCLEAR WHO HE MAY HAVE BEEN REFERRING TO.
• THE GOSPEL'S ARE THE ONLY BOOKS OF THE BIBLE DESCRIBING CHRIST'S BIRTH AND DEATH. THEY WERE WRITTEN SOME 100 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH. MOST WERE PASSED DOWN ORALLY. YOU WOULD THINK MATTHEW WOULD BE THE FIRST BOOK WRITTEN, SINCE IT IS FIRST, BUT IT WAS NOT. IT IS THOUGHT MARK WAS THE FIRST, WRITTEN BY AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR. 
• IT IS WIDELY BELIEVED THAT JESUS WAS A ZEALOT. THERE WERE VARIOUS SECTS DURING THE TIME, INCLUDING THE ZEALOTS, SADDUCEES, ESSENES, AND PHARISEES. THE ZEALOTS WERE ADVOCATING REVOLUTION. JESUS BROKE MANY OF THE JEWISH AND ROMAN LAWS, MAKING IT CLEAR HE WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THE JEWISH HIERARCHY OR THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT. 
• AT IS DEATH, CHRIST WAS FOUND GUILTY OF SEDITION.HANGING WAS RESERVED FOR THE WORST OF THE WORST. TO HIS LEFT AND HIS RIGHT WERE INDIVIDUALS REPORTED TO BE ZEALOTS, ENEMIES OF THE STATE. IT WOULD SEEM LOGICAL THAT CHRIST WAS THOUGHT OF AS A ZEALOT BY THE GOVERNMENT. 
• FOR ME, CHRISTMAS REPRESENTS A NEW BEGINNING. PERHAPS IN YOUR LIFE, YOUR FAITH, YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CHILDREN...THAT, FOR ME, WAS THE APOCALYPTIC MESSAGE CHRIST WAS PREACHING. HE CLEARLY STARTED SOMETHING OF A REVOLUTION. IT WOULD COME TO BE CALLED CHRISTIANITY.