While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:6-7
Last time I shared my enthusiasm for a beautiful song, Stuart Townend’s “From the squalor of a borrowed stable”.
But I pointed out that that first line can in fact be challenged at each point - in all probability Jesus wasn’t born in “squalor”, he wasn’t born in a “stable”, and the place where he was born wasn’t “borrowed”. I pointed out that much of what we have been taught about the Christmas story comes not from the Bible, but from details added over the centuries by hymn-writers and preachers.
The question at the end was an obvious one: but does this actually matter? And I suggested that the answer is simple: Yes and No.
First, No it doesn’t - as long as we ensure that the essence of what we believe remains true to scripture.
The Gospel-writers (that’s just Matthew and Luke, by the way; Mark and John don’t tell the story) give us such bare details that it’s not surprising that Christian people have wanted to flesh those details out from their imaginations.
You could even say that this is a good thing, for presumably it arises from prayerful meditation on the details we are given; and what could be wrong with that?
(Indeed, it can serve as a challenge to all of us: how much time do we reckon to spend on meditating on the Bible as a whole, not just the Christmas story? Oh, we read the Bible, of course, those of us who mean business about our faith. But reading is one thing; allowing it time to sink deep into our minds and hearts can be quite another.)
So yes, let’s by all means emphasise that Jesus - God in the flesh! - was born to lowly parents and in far-from-ideal circumstances; that he was revealed first to shepherds, people who were at the bottom of society and despised by many; that he was born in a tiny backwater in Judah, not in the capital city of Jerusalem or in a palace fit for a king; that he narrowly escaped being killed by a jealous ruler... yes, let’s emphasise all this and more besides. And if that stirs our imaginations to enlarge the story to make it even more real and moving, so be it.
But second, on the other hand, let’s beware that these imaginative embellishments, however sincerely meant, can be harmful if we don’t keep them rooted in scripture.
I pointed out last time that the suggestion that the baby Jesus didn’t cry can create in our minds a misleading idea of his humanity - that in fact he wasn’t fully human after all, in spite of various things he himself said as an adult.
More generally, there is a danger that we sentimentalise the Christmas story. We end up in effect making it into a lovely fairy tale that appeals particularly to children. (I’m sure we’ve all heard people say “Oh well, Christmas is really for the children, isn’t it?” And you want to respond, “No, it’s even more for sinful men and women who have no greater need than to have their sins forgiven and be reconciled to God!”)
If we slip into a sentimental way of thinking about Christmas we are in effect buying into the whole sugary business of Santa, and robins on Christmas cards, and baubles and tinsel, and trees, and parties, and presents, and...
I knew a man once who, when Christmas was getting close, chose to wear a Santa Claus hat with a difference: it was black, not red, and it had the words “Bah! Humbug!” inscribed on the front (words which originated, I think, with Charles Dickens’ Scrooge).
All right, that’s sad, really sad. But let those of us who are Christians, even while we thoroughly enjoy the celebrations, at least keep a hold on the fact that the Christmas story is deeply serious. Why? - because it shows us our loving and merciful God acting to resolve a deeply serious problem: nothing less than the grip of sin on our lives and upon our world.
I started by sharing a song I have come to love. I can’t think of a better way to end than with the words of another song, this time from the nineteenth-century writer Phillips Brooks...
How silently, how silently,/ The wondrous gift is given!/ So God imparts to human hearts/ The blessings of his heaven./ No ear may hear his coming;/ But in this world of sin,/ Where meek souls will receive him, still/ The dear Christ enters in.
Yes! What matters at Christmas is that we receive “the dear Christ” into our lives. That may be something we did many years ago, in which case let’s do it afresh.
And if it is something you have never yet done, let me simply urge you to do it now. Jesus is waiting, longing to find a place, not in a manger, but... in your heart.
Holy Jesus, every day/ Keep us in the narrow way;/ And when earthly things are past,/ Bring our ransomed souls at last/ Where they need no star to guide,/ Where no clouds thy glory hide. Amen. W C Dix (1837-1898)
Last time I shared my enthusiasm for a beautiful song, Stuart Townend’s “From the squalor of a borrowed stable”.
But I pointed out that that first line can in fact be challenged at each point - in all probability Jesus wasn’t born in “squalor”, he wasn’t born in a “stable”, and the place where he was born wasn’t “borrowed”. I pointed out that much of what we have been taught about the Christmas story comes not from the Bible, but from details added over the centuries by hymn-writers and preachers.
The question at the end was an obvious one: but does this actually matter? And I suggested that the answer is simple: Yes and No.
First, No it doesn’t - as long as we ensure that the essence of what we believe remains true to scripture.
The Gospel-writers (that’s just Matthew and Luke, by the way; Mark and John don’t tell the story) give us such bare details that it’s not surprising that Christian people have wanted to flesh those details out from their imaginations.
You could even say that this is a good thing, for presumably it arises from prayerful meditation on the details we are given; and what could be wrong with that?
(Indeed, it can serve as a challenge to all of us: how much time do we reckon to spend on meditating on the Bible as a whole, not just the Christmas story? Oh, we read the Bible, of course, those of us who mean business about our faith. But reading is one thing; allowing it time to sink deep into our minds and hearts can be quite another.)
So yes, let’s by all means emphasise that Jesus - God in the flesh! - was born to lowly parents and in far-from-ideal circumstances; that he was revealed first to shepherds, people who were at the bottom of society and despised by many; that he was born in a tiny backwater in Judah, not in the capital city of Jerusalem or in a palace fit for a king; that he narrowly escaped being killed by a jealous ruler... yes, let’s emphasise all this and more besides. And if that stirs our imaginations to enlarge the story to make it even more real and moving, so be it.
But second, on the other hand, let’s beware that these imaginative embellishments, however sincerely meant, can be harmful if we don’t keep them rooted in scripture.
I pointed out last time that the suggestion that the baby Jesus didn’t cry can create in our minds a misleading idea of his humanity - that in fact he wasn’t fully human after all, in spite of various things he himself said as an adult.
More generally, there is a danger that we sentimentalise the Christmas story. We end up in effect making it into a lovely fairy tale that appeals particularly to children. (I’m sure we’ve all heard people say “Oh well, Christmas is really for the children, isn’t it?” And you want to respond, “No, it’s even more for sinful men and women who have no greater need than to have their sins forgiven and be reconciled to God!”)
If we slip into a sentimental way of thinking about Christmas we are in effect buying into the whole sugary business of Santa, and robins on Christmas cards, and baubles and tinsel, and trees, and parties, and presents, and...
I knew a man once who, when Christmas was getting close, chose to wear a Santa Claus hat with a difference: it was black, not red, and it had the words “Bah! Humbug!” inscribed on the front (words which originated, I think, with Charles Dickens’ Scrooge).
All right, that’s sad, really sad. But let those of us who are Christians, even while we thoroughly enjoy the celebrations, at least keep a hold on the fact that the Christmas story is deeply serious. Why? - because it shows us our loving and merciful God acting to resolve a deeply serious problem: nothing less than the grip of sin on our lives and upon our world.
I started by sharing a song I have come to love. I can’t think of a better way to end than with the words of another song, this time from the nineteenth-century writer Phillips Brooks...
How silently, how silently,/ The wondrous gift is given!/ So God imparts to human hearts/ The blessings of his heaven./ No ear may hear his coming;/ But in this world of sin,/ Where meek souls will receive him, still/ The dear Christ enters in.
Yes! What matters at Christmas is that we receive “the dear Christ” into our lives. That may be something we did many years ago, in which case let’s do it afresh.
And if it is something you have never yet done, let me simply urge you to do it now. Jesus is waiting, longing to find a place, not in a manger, but... in your heart.
Holy Jesus, every day/ Keep us in the narrow way;/ And when earthly things are past,/ Bring our ransomed souls at last/ Where they need no star to guide,/ Where no clouds thy glory hide. Amen. W C Dix (1837-1898)
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