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On this Advent Sunday here beginneth your guide to some of the other characters caught up in the Christmas story in addition to 'Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee donkey'. When Superintendent Ted Hastings of TV’s 'Line of Duty' referred to the holy family, he had obviously forgotten all the other key suspects who in the next few weeks will feature in readings in Advent and Christmas carol services. Even before the shepherds and magi set foot in Bethlehem, we consider:

Who was the prophet Isaiah who foresaw the coming of a Saviour?
Who or what is the Root of Jesse?
And then there’s John the Baptist and the Archangel Gabriel.
There always has to be a baddie - his name; King Herod.
We also find out about that non-biblical and mysteriously beneficent figure who seems to hang around at this time of year.
Should animals including that wee donkey, be present in the telling of the Christmas story?

We might know their place in the plot but what do we know (or not know) about them, and why are they so important in the unfolding of the Christmas story? Roy Jenkins consults a modern-day cast of expert seers.

The Revd Dr Emma Whittick, Chaplain to the University of Wales Trinity St David (Lampeter & Carmarthen Campuses)
The Revd Dr Peter Hatton, Old Testament Scholar and Methodist Minister
Dr Meredith Warren, Senior Lecturer, Biblical and Religious Studies, University of Sheffield.
The Revd Professor Jeremy Duff, New Testament Scholar and Principal, St Padarn’s Institute.
The Rt Revd Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph and author of ‘An Advent Book of Days’.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Sounds episode image: 'The Ox & the Ass’, an illustration by Gregory Cameron, used with permission.

This programme was first broadcast in Advent 2021.