The Dean of the cathedral in New Plymouth has had

[John Farrell]

a surprising reaction to his Christmas message.


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Some have said that it is a Marxist message - the Dean's reply...

"Some people’s reaction is to say the art is not Christmassy, is not from the bible, is Marxist.
But it is “verbatim” from the book of Luke, Ruka said.
The King James Version of Luke 1:52-53 reads: “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.”
“The art was a massive challenge to me. That’s why I put it up. I’m rich, I have running water... I’m in a position of privilege,” Ruka said."

[gray1720]

Someone has actually read the Gospel shock!

[zou]

Dec 23, 2022 11:55:37 GMT gray1720 said:

Someone has actually read the Gospel shock!

Surprising alright. Saw a tweet from a conservative American last week which stated boldly "Jesus didn't use pronouns". First reply was "John 18:6 - 'I am HE'"

[geoffr]

Dec 23, 2022 2:14:35 GMT John Farrell said:

a surprising reaction to his Christmas message.


View Attachment

Some have said that it is a Marxist message - the Dean's reply...

"Some people’s reaction is to say the art is not Christmassy, is not from the bible, is Marxist.
But it is “verbatim” from the book of Luke, Ruka said.
The King James Version of Luke 1:52-53 reads: “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.”
“The art was a massive challenge to me. That’s why I put it up. I’m rich, I have running water... I’m in a position of privilege,” Ruka said."

As stated, the quote is from Luke 1 but the birth of Jesus doesn’t occur until Luke 2, there is a gap of at least three months (Luke 1:56) between what is known as the Magnificat, where the quote comes from, and the birth. No argument that it is entirely relevant but “not Christmasssy”? The passage is part of the traditional Nine lessons and Carols so hardly unheard of during Advent even if it can be argued that it was said well before the first “Christmas”.

 If it promotes thoughts and discussion about our relative status, good for him I say.