A Skinny Fairtrade Latte in the Food Court of Life

How is that almost without fail when it is one of the Baptist ministers doing Radio 2 Pause for Thought in the Sarah Kennedy show that what he (it's always a he) says resonates with what I'm due to preach on this week...?  Most Baptists don't follow the lectionary (I do sometimes and not others) so it isn't simply that we have read the same Scriptures.  Might it be that God is teasing me yet again?  I think it might.

If, perchance, you are in the Glasgow West End tomorrow lunch time and looking for a space to 'be' to pray or to get a free (except for optional donations to Christian Aid) lunch organised by and for Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Catholics and indeed anyone who is passing, then do drop in to my/our 'Gathering Place' at about 12:15 where you will be very welcome.  Indeed, you are welcome any time but especially the next four Thursday lunctimes as we reflect on 'The Miracle of Christmas.'

I wish I could blame this particualr amnesia on a bump on the head but I can't!

I am trying to recall and retrieve a book I read when I was at college, I think broadly Biblical studies, which took a look at how the layering of tradition on top of the Biblical narratives of the nativity, and even the elision of the Matthew and Luke accounts can be read positively rather than negatively.  For example, the popular portrayal of the 'three kings' as one white, one black and one oriental speaks about the inclusivity of the gospel and the 'neither Jew nor Greek'.  Or, as another exmaple, the inclusion of the animals around the manger is not just Victorian kitch but can point more widely to the idea of the new creation, the lion sleeping next to the lamb.  I recall at the time not being entirely convinced by the argument but intrigued by it nonetheless; now I'd quite like to revisit it.

Trouble is I can't recall what the book was called or who wrote it, only that I am fairly certain I read it in the final year I was at college - in which case Sean and Kez if you are reading this mabe you will know what I'm rambling on about.  If anyone thinks they recongnise the book from this mangled recollection please let me know via the comments.