Newsgroups: bit.listserv.christia
Date:         Fri, 31 Jul 1992 03:50:08 EDT
From:         JEK@NIHCU.BITNET
Subject:      Joseph of Arimathaea (31 July)
X-To:         CHRISTIA@ASUACAD.BITNET, BSTUDY-L@UTARLVM1.BITNET,
              IVCF-L@UBVM.BITNET

JOSEPH OF ARIMATHAEA (31 JULY)

The Gospels tell us (M 27:57-61; P 15:42-47; L 23:50-56; J 19:38-42)
that after the death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathaea, wealthy, a
member of the Council, asked Pilate for the body of Jesus, and
buried it with honor in the tomb he had intended for himself. This
is our only information about him from writers of his own century.

Later tradition has embellished this account. (If not interested in
folklore, skip to the closing prayer.) It is said that Joseph was a
distant relative of the family of Jesus; that he derived his wealth
from tin mines in Cornwall, which he visited from time to time; and
that Jesus as a teen-ager accompanied Joseph on one such visit. This
is the background of the poem "Jerusalem," by William Blake, which
begins (I quote from memory, probably not quite correctly):

   And did those feet in ancient time
   walk England's pleasant vales of green,
   and was the holy Lamb of God
   in England's pleasant pastures seen?

After the Crucifixion, we are told, Joseph returned to Cornwall,
bringing the chalice of the Last Supper, known as the Holy Grail.
Reaching Glastonbury, he planted his staff, which took root and
blossomed into a thorn tree. The Grail was hidden, and part of the
great national epic ("the matter of Britain") deals with the
unsuccessful quest of the knights of King Arthur to find the Grail.
The Thorn Tree remained at Glastonbury, flowering every year on
Christmas day, and King Charles I baited the Roman Catholic chaplain
of his queen by pointing out that, although Pope Gregory had
proclaimed a reform of the calendar, the Glastonbury Thorn ignored
the Pope's decree and continued to blossom on Christmas Day
according to the Old Calendar. The Thorn was cut down by one of
Cromwell's soldiers on the grounds that it was a relic of
superstition, and it is said that as it fell, its thorns blinded the
axeman in one eye. A tree allegedly grown from a cutting from the
original Thorn survives today in Glastonbury (and trees propagated
from it stand on the grounds of the Cathedral in Washington, DC, and
presumably elsewhere) and leaves from it are sold in all the tourist
shops in Glastonbury.

Has the Glastonbury legend any basis at all in history? Two facts
and some speculations follow:
     Tin, an essential ingrediant of bronze, was highly valued in
ancient times, and Phoenician ships imported tin from Cornwall. It
is a pretty safe guess that in the first century the investors who
owned shares in the Cornwall tin trade included at least a few
Jewish Christians.
     Christianity gained a foothold in Britain very early, probably
earlier than in Gaul. It may have been brought there by the traffic
of the Cornwall tin trade. If so, then the early British Christians
would have a tradition that they had been evangelised by a wealthy
Jewish Christian. If they had forgotten his name, it would be
natural to consult the Scriptures to see what mention was made of
early wealthy Jewish converts. Joseph and Barnabas are almost the
only ones named, and much of the life of Barnabas is already
accounted for by the book of Acts, which makes him an unsatisfactory
candidate.  Hence, those who do not like to be vague would say, not,
"We were evangelised by some wealthy Jewish Christian whose name we
have forgotten," but, "We were evangelised by Joseph of Arimathaea."

Why waste time on any of the above? Because the folk-tales of a
community are part of the heritage of a community.  Someone wishing
to understand the United States will be well advised to familiarize
himself with the stories of George Washington's cherry tree and Paul
Revere's ride, although he ought not to confuse them with history.

PRAYER
   O merciful God, by whose servant Joseph the body of our Lord
   and Saviour was commited to the grave with reverence and godly
   fear: Grant, we beseech thee, to thy faithful people grace and
   courage to serve and love Jesus with unfeigned devotion all the
   days of their lives, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
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