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Ep 103: Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes (Part 2)
"How has tradition shaped your view of the nativity? Today we discover the nativity story's depth, exploring tradition, scholarship, and different perspectives to enrich your understanding of Christmas' true meaning and enduring grace."
What if the story of Jesus's birth isn't quite what we've been told? Brace yourself for a thoughtful re-examination of the nativity narrative that might change your perspective on Christmas forever. On this episode of Plays on Word Radio, Pastor Teddy invites you to explore the profound layers of meaning behind the Word becoming flesh, unpacking the true origin of giving through the lens of Jesus Christ's story. Drawing insights from Kenneth E. Bailey's "Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes", we challenge traditional interpretations of the Christmas story, offering a fresh viewpoint that melds historical and cultural contexts with deep spiritual reflection.
Join us as we navigate the complexities of the nativity story, from the welcoming warmth of a peasant home to the steadfast solitude of Mary, and uncover the roles of shepherds and wise men in heralding a moment of redemption and grace. We explore the tension between longstanding traditions and scholarly insights, encouraging intellectual honesty and open-mindedness. With an engaging blend of scholarship, personal reflection, and Eastern Orthodox traditions, this journey through the true meaning of Christmas promises to enrich your understanding and appreciation of the holiday. And as always, we end with a heartfelt blessing for a joyous holiday season.
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Speaker 2:It's the best, that Christmas spirit you hear now, that Christmas spirit it's about giving. Well, okay, yeah, but if you missed the gift, the origin of giving, you missed that that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And why? Because God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life. If you missed that, then you've missed everything. You've missed out completely. Jesus, your name, your name, your name. You're the only name, you're the only name, you're the only name.
Speaker 1:Hello and welcome to Plays on Word Radio, where we discuss, analyze, work and play on the Word of God. Thank you for joining us on this excursion today. Let's join Pastor Teddy, also known as Fred David Kenny Jr the founder of Plays on Word Theater, as he does a deep dive into the Word of God.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Amen, amen, amen. Thank you and welcome to all you listening to Plays on Word Radio. This is our third season. Ah, season three, yeah, all right. Thank you to all the Plays on Word family supporters that have made this program possible. We have been downloaded and streamed in 57 countries now Around the world. You guys are blessing folks, so thank you again for that.
Speaker 2:Last week we started, and I did something that I don't normally do, and it's almost something you just don't do on radio is read a large section of text from a book, and we got an interesting response, though, when I touched on this subject at the end of our 101st episode, and so I wanted to oh, also, happy New Year to you guys. Yeah, and I wanted to just give more context of where I was coming from, and I mentioned this book by Kenneth E Bailey, jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, and he's a scholar, a professor, that lived in the Middle East for decades and studied the culture then and now, and he just makes very compelling case for his points, and I just wanted to share. So I just basically read the chapter Titled. What was it? The story of Jesus's birth. Yeah, the story of Jesus's birth, and he goes farther. I won't. I won't read that, or else these publishers will be coming after me the Genealogy and Joseph the Just. But yeah, you know, we read that. I want to give a shout out to IVP Academic, also the publishers. You can get this book on Amazon if you want. You can get this book on Amazon if you want. I wanted to interview this guy but he passed, so I'm bummed about that, bummed out. But yeah, kenneth E Bailey, jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, we'll put a link up so you can check it out. If you want to check it out, or go to your local theological library. I'm sure they have it. If you're in New Jersey, roll over to Princeton man, princeton Theological Seminary Libraries open to the public. You can just roll up man. You know how many hours I spent in there. If that library could talk. Anyway, we're going to continue so that those of you who we left hanging last week are not upset with me anymore. We're going to continue this and finish this chapter up. It's not long, we're just about done anyway. So check it out. Here we go. Okay, welcome to the extended content of this book.
Speaker 2:Of this book, the option for Cataluma was chosen after Alfred Plummer in his influential commentary published in the late 19th century. Plummer writes it is a little doubtful whether the familiar translation quote in the end, close quote, is correct. It is possible that Joseph had relied upon the hospitality of some friends in Bethlehem, whose quote guest chamber close quote however, was already full when he and Mary arrived. Howard Marshall makes the same observation but does not expand on its significance. He gives a footnote here. Fitzmer calls the Cataluma a quote lodge close quote, which for him is a quote public caravansary or con, close quote.
Speaker 2:I'm convinced that Plummer was right. If so, why was this understanding not adopted by the church, either in the East or the West? In the West, the church has not noticed the problems I have already listed. When the traditional understanding of the story, therefore, is not broken, it would seem that the best course to follow is don't fix it. But once the problems with the traditional view of the text are clarified, they cry out for solutions.
Speaker 2:On the other side, in the East, the dominant Christian presence is the venerated Orthodox Church in its various branches. What of its traditions? Christianity in the Middle East has traditionally focused on the birth having taken place in a cave, many simple homes in traditional villages in the Holy Land being in caves and are then expanded. The tradition of the cave can be traced to Justin Martyr writing in the middle of the second century. What I have already suggested is in harmony with this tradition. The Eastern tradition has always maintained that Mary was alone when the child was born. In worship, even the altar is hidden from the eyes of the faithful, and the event of the elements becoming the body and the blood of Jesus in the Eucharist takes place out of sight. How much more should the Word that became flesh take place without witnesses?
Speaker 2:Father Mata al-Miskin, a 20th century Coptic Orthodox scholar and monk that's a mouthful who wrote six weighty commentaries in Arabic on the four Gospels, reflects with wonder on St Mary alone in the cave. As he writes, my heart goes out to this solitary mother. How did she endure labor pains alone? How did she receive her child with her own hands? How did she wrap him while her strength was totally exhausted? What did she have to eat or drink? Oh, women of the world, witness this mother of the Savior. How much did she suffer and how much does she deserve honor along with our tenderness and love. This genuine and touching piety is naturally not interested in considering birth in a private home with all the care and support that other women would have given. Therefore, among Christians, east and West, there have been understandable reasons why a new understanding of this text has been neglected, why a new understanding of this text has been neglected.
Speaker 2:To summarize, a part of what Luke tells us about the birth of Jesus is that the Holy Family traveled to Bethlehem where they were received into a private home. The child was born wrapped and literally put to bed in the living room in the manger that was either built into the floor or made of wood and moved into the family living space. Why weren't they built into the floor or made of wood and moved into the family living space? Why weren't they invited into the family guest room? The reader might naturally ask. The answer is that the guest room was already occupied by other guests. The host family graciously accepted Mary and Joseph into the family room of their house. The family room would naturally be cleared of men for the birth of the child and the village midwife and other women would have assisted at birth. After the child was born and wrapped, mary put her newborn to bed in a manger filled with fresh straw and covered him with a blanket. When Jesus engaged in ministry as an adult quote the common people heard him gladly close quote. That's from Mark 12, verse 37. That same acceptance was evident at his birth.
Speaker 2:What then, of the shepherds? The story of the shepherds reinforces the picture I have presented. Shepherds in first century Palestine were poor, and rabbinic traditions label them as unclean. This may seem peculiar because Psalm 23 opens with the Lord is my shepherd. It's not clear how such a lofty metaphor evolved into an unclean profession. The main point seems to be that the flocks ate private property. Five lists of prescribed trades are recorded in rabbinic literature and shepherds appear in three out of the five. These lists hail from post-New Testament times but could reflect developing ideas alive at the time of Jesus. In any case, they were lowly, uneducated types.
Speaker 2:In Luke 2, verse 8-14, the first people to hear the message of the birth of Jesus were a group of shepherds who were close to the bottom of the social scale in their society. The shepherds heard and were afraid. Initially they were probably frightened by the sight of the angels, but later they were asked to visit the child. From their point of view, if the child was truly the Messiah, the parents would reject the shepherds if they tried to visit him. Think about that. How could shepherds be convinced to expect a welcome? The angels anticipated this anxiety and told the shepherds that they would find the baby wrapped, which was what peasants, like shepherds, did with their newly born children. Furthermore, they told that he was lying in a manger. That is, they would find the Christ child in an ordinary peasant home such as theirs. He was not in a governor's mansion or a wealthy merchant's guest room, but a simple two-room home like theirs. This was really good news. Perhaps they would not be told unclean shepherds be gone. This was their sign, a sign for lowly shepherds. With this special sign of encouragement, the shepherds proceeded to Bethlehem in spite of their low degree.
Speaker 2:Luke, chapter 1, verse 52. On arrival, they reported their story to everyone and everyone was amazed when they left, praising God for all that they heard and seen. The word all obviously included the quality of the hospitality that they had witnessed on arrival. Clearly, they found the holy family in perfectly adequate accommodations, not in a dirty stable. If, on arrival, they had found a smelly stable, a frightened young mother and a desperate Joseph, they would have said this is outrageous. Come home with us, our women will take care of you. This is very compelling. Within five minutes, the shepherds would have moved the little family to their own homes. The honor of the entire village would rest on their shoulders and they would have sensed their responsibility to do their duty. The fact that they walked out without moving the young family means that the shepherds felt that they could not offer better hospitality than what they had already been extended to them.
Speaker 2:Middle Eastern people have a tremendous capacity for showing honor to guests. This appears as early as the story of Abraham and his guests in Genesis, chapter 18, verse 1 through 8, and continues to the present. The shepherds left the holy family while praising God for the birth of the Messiah and for the quality of the hospitality in the home in which he was born. Messiah and for the quality of the hospitality in the home in which he was born. This is the capstone to the story of the shepherds. The child was born for the likes of the shepherds, the poor, the lowly, the rejected. He also came for the rich and the wise, who later appear with gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew informs his readers that the wise men entered the house where they saw Mary and the child. Matthew, chapter 2, verse 1 through 12. The story in Matthew confirms the suggestion that Luke's account describes a birth in a private home.
Speaker 2:With this understanding in mind, all the cultural problems that I have noted are resolved. Joseph was not obligated to seek a commercial inn. He does not appear as an inept and inadequate husband who cannot arrange for Mary's needs. Likewise, joseph did not anger his wife's relatives by failing to turn to them in a crisis. The child was born in the normal surroundings of a peasant home sometime after they arrived in Bethlehem, and there was no heartless innkeeper with whom to deal. A member of the house of David was not humiliated by rejection as he returned to the village of his family's origins. The people of Bethlehem offered the best they had and preserved their honor as a community. The shepherds were not hard-hearted oaths without the presence of mind to help a needy family of strangers. Our Christmas creche sets remain as they are because ox and ass before him bow. But that manger was in a warm and friendly home, not in a cold and lonely stable.
Speaker 2:Looking at the story in this light strips away the layers of interpretive mythology that have built up around it. Jesus was born in a simple two-room village home such as the Middle East has known for the last 3,000 years. Yes, we must rewrite our Christmas plays not Christmas Joe, though, but in rewriting them the story is enriched, not cheapened. And then he gives a summary of this chapter, the summary of the story of Jesus's birth, jesus's incarnation. This is number one. Jesus's incarnation was complete. At his birth, the holy family was welcomed into a peasant home. These people did their best and it was enough. At his birth, the common people sheltered him. The wise men came to the house. When Jesus was an adult, the common people heard him gladly. Number two the shepherds were welcomed at the manger. The unclean were judged to be clean. The outcasts became honored guests. The song of angels was sung to the simplest of all.
Speaker 2:I know that in an increasingly secular world, quote Merry Christmas close quote competes with quote Happy Holidays close quote. I long to turn the traditional Merry Christmas to the other direction and introduce a new greeting for Christmas morning. Greeting the Savior is born. Response he is born in a manger. Oh, that we might greet each other in this manner.
Speaker 2:Now, like I said, this is this one scholar's view, and he makes a very compelling case. I have never liked the whole cave concept. I've never been a fan of that, and you can see how it got its way into tradition. I also we don't put the wise men at the Christmas Joe scene, in part because because Herod had the boys from two years younger killed, he didn't just have the infants killed. There is a school of thoughts that says they came a little bit later.
Speaker 2:One of the arguments, though, is that, well, jesus was in a home, in the house. So that's one of the arguments that this guy kind of debunks, throws some shade at to a certain extent, because, from the get-go, from his perspective, he believes Jesus was born in the house. From his perspective, he believes Jesus was born in the house. Very compelling argument against the whole manger barn stall thing in the back. And what I like about this and what I find compelling, is that this guy isn't. He didn't just read a couple articles like this. He spent 30 years living in the Middle East and studying this whole concept. So it's not like he's just read a couple articles on the internet. And, like I said, kenneth E Bailey, you know pretty good book. I'm about to dive into the Beatitudes part. I've had this book for years and I never read this Beatitudes part. But I have to teach the Gospel of Matthew, and he might have some interesting, interesting things to say about that.
Speaker 2:Whatever it is, though, bottom line is people have found a way to divide over Christmas, whether you celebrate it or not. Some people say, oh it is, it always has been a pagan holiday. The way I approach it is that the Messiah has come into the world, and I want to celebrate that. If I never celebrate my own birthday, or anybody's birthday, let me celebrate the fact that redemption was born in a manger. There were shepherds there, and Joseph was there and Mary was there.
Speaker 2:Well obviously Mary was there, but redemption grace came to live with us. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This is the very Word that was with God. That was God, not was a God. This is the Word that was God. In fact, through Him, all things were made. Without Him, nothing was made that has been made, and in Him was life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so this Word became flesh, and that's what I celebrate, and we do it around Christmas time, which is most likely not the time Jesus was born. But it doesn't matter, because the text doesn't tell us. That doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't celebrate the fact that he came into the world to redeem sinners like us. I'm not saying, you know, sell out and turn it into jingle bells and, you know, don't even mention Christ at all. Christmas is about love, about family. Okay, yeah, you can go generic Hallmark on that, but in reality, christmas, the Christmas spirit you hear that all the time. That Christmas spirit, you know it's about giving. Well, okay, yeah, but if you missed the gift, the origin of giving, you missed that. That the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And why? Because God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life. If you missed that, then you've missed everything. You've missed out completely. You know, I can't even think of a good analogy. It's like saying a Corvette oh it's, it's all about horsepower. Oh, okay, yeah, you're missing out. Well, that's a terrible example. You know, if you guys have a good example, somebody email me. I'm going to make you guys part of this program. You email me and let me know. Anyway, that is. I just wanted to read that to you. If anybody would like to go farther into that, let me know. Shoot me a text Again.
Speaker 2:This was from Kenneth Bailey. His book he's a scholar book he's a scholar. I am not stating or saying that every aspect of what he's claiming here is 100%, but I do believe he makes a compelling case for many of his positions and I just wanted to share that with you. You will. It's easy to just dismiss stuff, but that's not really being intellectually honest when you just dismiss Whatever and just dismiss it Based on it rubs up against your understanding of something. So I just wanted to.
Speaker 2:I hope I haven't ruined anybody's Christmas. Please forgive me If I've ruined your whole childhood. That was not my intention and I think of our dear Bishop Way, who came out. He did a Christmas service and he came out and all the families were there with their kids and everybody, and he just said I want y'all to know, santa Claus ain't real. And the parents were like what? And the kids were like mommy, what? And Bishop Wade was right. He was like but y'all ain't telling your kids the truth. Oh, my goodness, caused an uproar. I love him, man, I love that dude, anyway. Anyway, that is all the time we have today, so until next week, and I hope to get some emails that aren't mean, but I hope to get some kind of response. Let me know the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and Lord be gracious to you, lift up, make his face to shine upon you and Lord be gracious to you, lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
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