The birth Narrative of Jesus is interesting. It is probably
the best-known story in the bible along with the crucifixion and resurrection
of Jesus Christ. We only find the details of the Jesus' birth in two of the synoptic gospels,
Matthew and Luke. To sum up the version in Matthew’s gospel, it happened, and Jesus is the
messiah. Matthew’s intent throughout the narrative is to detail the
significance of Jesus’ lineage and the divine happenings surrounding his birth.
Matthew shows the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Essentially Matthew is
building a case for Jesus to be seen as the Messiah.
Luke takes a different approach. Luke is a great story
because Luke tells a great story. The problem is that Luke’s story doesn't seem
to cut the mustard for us today. Christmas has become commercialized; you don’t
need to read this blog to find that out. What is tragic is that our
commercialization has polluted the story. Drummer boys, innkeepers, stables,
even the animals, have become essential parts of the way we see this story. No where
in this story do we find any of those details. Now don’t get me wrong, my kid
makes a slam-dunk of a cow in the Christmas pageant at school but it ain’t in
there! It reminds me of a scene from the movie "Love Actually" when characters discover there will be lobsters and octopus' in the school nativity.
So why do we do it? The story is full of a recurring theme I
have a tendency to latch onto, a theology of suffering and human frailty. In our Christian roots and even today we struggle with the
misconception that there is a God of the Old Testament and a God of the New
Testament. We see the God of the Old Testament as angry and vengeful, whereas
the God of the New Testament is gracious and loving. This is the view we tend
to latch onto. A dualist approach to the one God we claim a monotheistic
devotion to. I would argue that here in the birth narrative we find the
difference. In our Old Testament texts we see numerous voices crying out to God for sympathy but not a single tear drop falls. God does give mercy but the emotion cannot be seen by humanity. Job even demands that God
justify God’s self to which God simply replies “who do you think you are?” It
is with the birth of Jesus Christ that God becomes fully human and fully God.
God exists as one of us, suffers as one of us, and yes, cries like one of us.
The point of the manger scene is for us to visualize this
suffering, this poverty. This is great imagery if we want to portray Jesus as a
God that not only exists with us (Emmanuel) but a God who suffers with us. The
problem lies in the fact that the nativity is no longer a scene of suffering.
If it were a scene of suffering, I am not so sure we would want our kids in a
Christmas pageant. I mean, hey, when is the last time you saw a crucifixion
pageant?! It doesn’t go with our Christmas casseroles, stockings, Christmas
trees, and presents. The tragedy is that this is what the truth that the
nativity presents. The mighty and powerful God, omniscient, omnipresent,
omnipotent, and so omnibenevolent that God submits to the human form. God
doesn’t pick a wealthy family, a powerful family, but is born to a modest
family that is subjected to the same suffering as all those who follow YHWH and
face occupation at the hands of the Roman empire.
Scholars believe that the word we translate as inn was most
likely meant to be translated as guest chamber or a guesthouse. Many also
believe that this “stable” in which Jesus was born was not in fact a stable at
all but a separate room within the same building in which they could not find
room within the “guest chamber”. Now I am not trying to paint a rosey picture
either. This separate room could very well have been occupied by animals and
anyone who has ever worked on a farm knows very well that a closed chamber
which is occupied by animals is never a pleasant experience for the human
senses. It is not sanitary and it is not pleasant. St. Jerome, in fact, uses
this vision to utilize the allegorical perspective claiming that Christ is born
into surroundings as filthy as our sin.
This is depressing, yes there are Angels and Shepherds but
when we strip away the paper mache angel wings and plastic shepherd staffs its
just not as warm and fuzzy. A more responsible vision of this birth is perhaps
a more controversial vision today. Picture the incarnation of God taking place
in a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. Picture a baby born in a U.N. shack, among
the filth, starvation, and poverty of that existence. How’s that for a
Christmas message?
I know it’s awful but it’s also HOPEful. What gives us hope
is that God in all of God’s power and might reaches down into the most modest
of circumstances to live as one of us, to truly be one of us. God sweats,
cries, and bleeds with us, and it all begins with the birth of a child, Jesus
Christ. This is the hope we receive at Christmas and that should be enough.
Christmas is a significant holiday as it should be, but it stands alone as a
significant day. Should we destroy and disregard our other traditions that
surround this High Holy Day? Perhaps not, but if we are to be followers of
Christ in a broken and dark world we must look to a Savior and a story that
isn’t always comfortable, it isn’t always pleasant, but it is hopeful and it is
most certainly a story for us. Let’s not water it down but hold it up for the
raw beauty of the mercy and love we are shown. Take a moment and consider that
possibility in the midst of Santa Claus, eggnog, turkey, and plastic nativity
sets. It’s a powerful image and it should be an image that permeates this day
if not every day in our lives.
I
pray you all may find peace, joy, and comfort in the sacrifice and love of the
One who chose to suffer as one of us. We celebrate the God who loves us,
chooses to be with us, and chooses to suffer beside us.
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