Yes, yes I know what day it is, I know tis the season of green beer & drunken debauchery in the name of an Italian driving the snakes out of Ireland. Not that he was definitely Italian. Because that is the important point. But here at Useless Ranch we like to offer alternatives. Preferably alternatives with something quirky going for them.
& so I offer you Joseph of Arimathea. First of all, you're welcome.
Secondly, no really, it was no trouble at all.
Thirdly, yes, I guess everything & everywhere & everyone has some quirk if you look hard enough. Considering how wildly popular Monty Python remain, I guess you could argue that being named in a Monty Python movie barely rises to the level. But Joseph of Arimethea is all I've got right now.
Let's get to the man. He is the one who asked Pilate if they could take Jesus's body away (Pilate said go for it, just so you know). It seems like a big middle management step for a guy who was a secret disciple of Jesus (apparently he kept a low profile because he was afraid of Jews...? Maybe I read that wrong, but that's what the saint-blurb seems to say). I like to imagine how mundane task are done (this is not a joke actually) so last night, after I found this guy, I imagined his pitches. Did he offer to take away ALL the crucified as maybe a beautification program? Or just the jewish ones because they might lower property values? Or just that one there because no one wants his followers hanging around under his cross? Let me assure you, these were the least offensive persuasions I thought of.
So Joseph of Arimathea takes the body & puts it in his own already prepared tomb. He also bought the linen etc. & generally did all that funeral grunt work & picked up the tab, which is not nothing. If you were already looking for him, you could say he fulfilled part of Isaiah's prophecy in the Songs of the Suffering Servant, specifically & literally about the servant lying in the tomb of a rich man (& people do say that). What happens next is better covered elsewhere, so lets stick with Joseph.
After the main event, Joseph went walkabout, bringing the word as far away as the British Isles. & apparently brought a famous cup with him which brings us to Monty Python. Because that cup was (or was not) the Holy Grail. Once he had done that, he was apparently finished.
Lastly, Old Joe here is the patron saint of funeral directors & what's not fun about that? So drink your green beer & toast the man: Joseph of Arimathea. & you can toast him again later this year because he was actually moved off of March 17th & on to several different days, depending on which calendar you went with way back when.
No comments:
Post a Comment