One of the great Christmas traditions is flicking through the film guide in the TV listings, and anticipating what you intend to watch – chance would be a fine thing! – over the holiday…
There will, undoubtedly, be a gluttonous spread of action/thrillers on the menu. And a recurring plot device in such stories is the principle that:
the best place to hide something
you don’t want to be noticed
is out in the open;
the best place to meet someone
without being observed
is in a busy public space.
The same principle is at play in the Gospels:
Jesus is the secret,
present but hidden in the open;
seen, with unseeing eyes, by everyone;
eluding the grasp of enemies
and would-be allies alike;
passed over.
But the viewer has a privileged position:
we do not lose sight of the hero,
swallowed by the crowd at the station…
not for long, at any rate:
look, there he is!
And what of Jesus?
Advent
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