“Never heard of him!” That was the answer I got from a seminarian when I was giving a scripture class one day in 1995. I was going through some Old Testament passages that refer to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. One of the most famous texts comes from the Book of Isaiah (9:5): “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders. And he shall be called: ‘Wonderful-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.’”

I said, “You probably recognise these words from the famous symphony of Handel. That symphony eventually concludes with the Alleluia chorus, proclaiming the glory of the Lord: ‘And he shall reign forever and ever!’”

The seminarian stared at me with a blank face. Completely blank…

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