Monthly Archives: November 2021

Nativity of Christ in Early Christian Literature

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The Martyrdom of St. James, who was thrown from a parapet of the Temple (where Jesus was tempted by the Devil) and then clubbed to death—Mosaic from St. Mark’s in Venice.

Much early Christian literature, the so-called “apocrypha” of the New Testament, are collections of Christian folktales and sermonettes that are meant to make connections between the Old Testament and the experiences of the early Christian communities. The audience of these collections were not stupid people; they knew what was an exciting novella based on the experiences of the martyrs and what were the scenes made up to fill in the gaps of the story.

One example of such “midrash,” the homiletic-style of telling a Bible story with commentary included, is the Protoevangelium of James which tells the stories of the birth and childhood of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. The Protoevangelium is said to have been written by the Apostle James, the author of the epistle with his name in the New Testament. James was the step-brother of Jesus; he was the youngest son of St. Joseph, who was an older man who had been married before. The stories in the Protoevangelium make explicit what the New Testament implies and underscore-reiterate what the Gospels tells us of Christ.

The Protoevangelium was written approx. AD 150 but incorporates much older material, including the memories of the Jerusalem community of Christians. Long thought by Western scholars to be a complete fiction because of its unusual details, many of these details in the Protoevangelium have been proven correct by recent archeological discoveries (such as the dormitory of a women’s community that lived adjacent to the Temple) and the discovery of other manuscripts that reveal previously unknown 1st century Jewish practices. So, rather than making up fairy tales about Christ and his mother, we now know that the Protoevangelium has preserved long-forgotten details that the original readers would have been familiar with.

Beginning next week, and continuing for the next three-four weeks, we will examine some of the stories in the Protoevangelium about Jesus’ birth and discover what these old stories, meant to supplement the Gospel accounts, can tell us about Christ’s nativity.

Apostle James & Prophet Job

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The prophet Job is seen in these two Byzantine manuscript illuminations and a Russian icon: the illuminations show Job’s initial affliction with boils and his arguments with his wife and friends as well as Job’s final discussion with the Logos at the conclusion of the Old Testament book (“Where were you when I made the world?” God asks Job). The Russian icon depicts Job as a king (which is how Job is described in the oldest texts of the Old Testament).

Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. You know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. (James 5:10-11)

The figure of Job in the Old Testament has commonly been considered a prophet for most of Christian history because of his stalwart preaching to his friends during the afflictions he suffered and because he was thought to be a type–a prefiguration–of Christ because of his patient, innocent endurance. In the version of the Old Testament that James and his audience knew, the conclusion of the book of Job reads:

“And it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up.

  “This man is described in the Syriac book as dwelling in the land of Ausis, on the borders of Idumea and Arabia; and his name before was Jobab; and having taken an Arabian wife, he begat a son whose name was Ennon. He himself was the son of his father Zara, a son of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth from Abraham. And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over. First Balak the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dennaba. After Balak, Jobab, who is called Job….”

(Job 42, LXX)

Job not only endured his unjust suffering patiently, he was expected to be among the just who would be raised on the Last Day. His suffering and promised resurrection were both seen by early Christians as pointing to the innocent suffering and promised resurrection of Christ as well as the innocent suffering of the early Christian community and the resurrection they expected to share as well at the Last Day. (It is this version of the conclusion of the Book of Job that is read on Good Friday afternoon by Eastern Christians each year.)

Patiently enduring undeserved suffering and affliction is one of the major themes of the epistle of James. Various sins–pride, hypocrisy, favoritism, slander–only bring more suffering to the community. James urges his readers to live with humility and godly–not secular–wisdom. Prayer is an essential part of this, James tells his readers.

Patience and humility are the direct result of the prayerful expectation of the coming Resurrection. Knowing they will be raised, James’ readers are able to see their experiences from a different perspective and in another light than those who think their deaths will mean the end of their existence. Expecting the resurrection, James’ readers no longer need to fear death and because they do not fear death, they can endure suffering with patient prayerful endurance. They can be like the prophet Job, sharing in Christ’s patient suffering and victorious resurrection.

Unpaid Wages Cry to Heaven

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Cain kills Abel in the 12th-13th century Byzantine style mosaics of the cathedral in Monreale (Sicily).

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like fire. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. (James 5:1-4)

Do these words sound familiar? So much early Christian preaching, so many of the Church Fathers, say the same thing in a variety of ways: the money and possessions of the rich have been stolen from the poor and should be returned to their rightful owners. The unpaid wages owed the workers cries to heaven as the blood of Abel cried out to God, demanding justice against his brother-killer Cain. By not paying their workers, the rich do as great an injustice to them as Cain perpetrated against his brother. Economic injustice is as great a crime as murder.

The stolen wealth of the rich will rot away and testify against them on Judgement Day, the epistle tells us. The fine clothes the rich wrap around themselves are already rotten shrouds falling away from the walking corpses of the rich.

Christian care for the poor was fundamental to the life of a Christian community. Julian the Apostate, the emperor who tried to revive pagan worship after the legalization of Christianity, famously complained, “… the impious Galileans [Christians] support not only their own poor but ours as well; all men see that our people [pagans] lack aid from us.” Christians cared for everyone, whatever their beliefs. Anyone in need was one of the least of Christ’s brethren and deserved the care of Christ’s Body, the Church.

Too many modern people do not realize how rich they are compared to the rest of the world. Too many modern people do not appreciate what they have stolen from the poor who are both next door and on the other side of the earth. I’m afraid that many people would repeat Julian’s complaint that the Christians put everyone else to shame in terms of caring for the poor. On Judgement Day, that will probably be the greatest indictment against contemporary Christians.

Read more about the blood of Abel crying out to heaven here. Read Takanori Inoue’s work on The Early Church’s Approach to the Poor in Society and Its Significance to the Church’s Social Engagement Today online here.