Straight away he led his family and disciples to Capernaum (Kephar Nachum), to become his base of operations. The synagogue stood by the shores of Lake Galilee, built of white limestone on a dark basalt foundation

Straight away he led his family and disciples to Capernaum (Kephar Nachum), to become his base of operations. The synagogue stood by the shores of Lake Galilee, built of white limestone on a dark basalt foundation.

Jesus’ conversation with Nathanael was in fact his first sermon and here he made use of a significant expression concerning himself, Son of Man. Nathanael had referred to his divinity, the Son of God and so. Here, Jesus reminds them too of his humanity.

Our focus shifts to John the Baptist and, particularly, the question about his identification with Elijah. The answer lies in understanding the difference between Old Testament times and Gospel times.

As to what follows next there can be no greater contrast. And yet, what followed the Baptism was entirely necessary, as regarded the ministry of Jesus.

John’s message of repentance awakened echoes throughout the land and brought hearers from city, village and hamlet. For once, every distinction was irrelevant. Pharisee and Sadducee, the outcast taxman and semi-pagan soldier met here on common ground.

There is something mysterious, even mystical, in the almost absolute silence in the thirty years between his birth and his first call to duty. The story now switches to Zacharias’s son, John, as he explodes onto the scene like his Old Testament precursor, Elijah.

The silence is broken by his first visit to the Temple. Jesus was twelve years of age, not yet a ‘Son of the Commandment’ (Bar mitzvah) and so not yet obliged to attend the feasts in Jerusalem. But it was Passover time and he had tagged along with his parents.

The tyrant Herod was dying … horribly and his sufferings were at times agonizing. He knew that his time was almost up and had himself installed back in his palace under the palm trees of Jericho.

The story of the visitation by the Magi is a curious one. The very term, Magi, used by many commentators, has negative and positive connotations.

Mary seems an enigma, but is she? Her role as a mother is a timeless one, but not all mothers are called to nurture Mankind’s Messiah! Strange that she should have pondered in her heart the shepherds’ account

Both the Old Testament and Rabbinic teaching pointed to Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah. Yet nothing could have been less expected; a counting of the people, a census taken at the bidding of a pagan Emperor and executed by the hated Herod.

The focus now moves from this insignificant priest to a humble unassuming family in the Galilee, simple ‘country folk’, with their awkward speech. If the Rabbis had been writing the script for what was about to come, the cast of characters would be very different and far more important!

Just imagine this. You are one of fifty priests (out of a pool of around 20,000) on duty that day at the Temple. The first lot was drawn. This was for inspection duties of the courts by torchlight in the early hours. Then the next lot covered the lighting of a fresh flame in the dying embers of the altar …