The Gospel according to Pete Buttigeig

Visiting my parents on New Year’s Day I took the opportunity to peruse the Daily Mail as often I do on these occasions.  There were a lot of angry letters on the letters page about Jesus not having been a refugee.  Like the best newspaper letters these veered off into rants that ticked a number of ideological boxes while never referencing the original context that had spawned them.   

Those feet did not in ancient time walk upon England's mountains green one correspondent informed us.  Adding that the holy Lamb of God was not on England's pleasant pastures seen to be receiving benefits.  For Jesus did not come here and if he had come he would not have come simply to use the National Health Service but to “save our souls”.  

Of course he would not have come to use the NHS as being both human and divine he would not have had the need of healthcare free-at-the-point-of-need because he could heal himself.  Most of these sentiments were not expressed as poetically as William Blake might have expressed them but they made up for their lack of metaphysical musing with a great deal of clarity of thought.

Inevitably I began to wonder from whence this outpouring of interest in scripture sprung and it appears to be from an American presidential candidate with the suggestive name of Pete Buttigeig who pondered on twitter on Christmas Day (for when there’s no real international news reprinting a twitter thread is a substitute of sorts) “Today I join the millions around the world in celebrating the arrival of divinity on earth, who came into this world not in riches but in poverty, not as a citizen but as a refugee.”

Invariably Mr Buttigeig’s correspondents heaped derision on him for not being correct – stating that Jesus had only gone to Bethlehem so that Joseph could pay his taxes.  There were other diatribes stating that even though the holy family stayed in a stable this was not because they were not middle class but because of a temporary housing shortage that resulted in the local authorities not being able to offer him Bed and Breakfast accommodation as there was no room at the Premier Inn.

This is possibly true but it is also true that Jesus was a refugee because as soon as he was born an angel appeared to Joseph telling them to scarper sharpish as King Herod was about to massacre all “the innocents” in an attempt to eliminate any other Kings who might be hanging about … so they fled into Egypt.  So on this point at least Mr Buttigeig is technically half right.  Jesus was a refugee when they fled into Egypt …although he was a citizen …but not of Egypt.  Not that the truth really mattered to any of the participants in the Biblical media bun fight that ensued … but I thought I should point that actually Mr Buttigeig was sort of right (probably more by accident than design) in case anyone had a passing interest in it.

And did the Countenance Divine,

Shine forth among internet shills?

And was Jerusalem tweeted here,

Among discussion treadmills?