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Sticking around after Christmas
Did you know that the three kings in the carol weren’t really kings? They were more likely wise men or ‘magi’ and there were probably more than three of them. Also they didn’t come to the stable, they turned up to see Jesus a lot later.
You did?
Oh ok. Well did you know that the stable was probably more likely to have been a cave? Or that the inn keeper could have been a relative of Joseph? Or that the likelihood of a little donkey carrying Mary safely to Bethlehem is next to nil?
Of course you did! Because you’ve sat through a great number of Christmas talks over the last few weeks and many more over the years. In fact, you could call yourself something of an expert on the nativity story.
It’s odd isn’t it, how much we know about the first chapters of the three gospels that deal with the Christmas story? It reminds me of the map produced a few years ago that showed the distribution of wealth in the world. In the map the wealthy countries north of the equator are swollen like balloons while the impoverished south looks malnourished.
If we illustrated our knowledge of the bible in a map like that, it would probably be very similar. Great balloons of knowledge around the early life of Jesus and his crucifixion while other parts lie flat and undisturbed.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not criticising ministers for overemphasising Christmas. Each year they come to the same few chapters and mine them for fresh angles, append them with new illustrations and try to provide fresh application (or at least the same application in a new way). Moreover they do this for the Advent service, the family service, the carol service, the school assembly, the welsh language service, the christmas morning service and whatever other service has been arranged for December. They have an opportunity to speak to a variety of people they might not see any other time. That they find new and interesting angles is testimony to their hard work, their love of the gospel and the richness of the story of the incarnation; we celebrate their efforts and benefit spiritually from their work.
My point is not that we shouldn’t explore and understand every facet of the nativity but rather, that it’s strange to know so little about the rest of Jesus life and the world he inhabited. Why don’t I know the geography of Israel, the topography of Galilee or the economy of Nazareth? Shouldn’t I be familiar with the social norms and niceties of first century Palestine? Wouldn’t it help me to understand the thrust of Jesus teaching if I knew the difference between a levite and a pharisee or the synagogue and the temple? And not so as to pass an intellectual test. I want to know as much as I can about these things in order to appreciate the fulness of the gospel narrative and to enjoy my Saviour more fully.
Of course we learn so much at this time of year because of the cultural acceptance of Christmas- we still take a national holiday to focus on this subject, don’t forget. The other eleven months of they year require independent study. Nonetheless, this January, when the decorations are in the box with the lid closed, I want my Bible to still be open. I want to go further in the story. After the Shepherds went back to the fields and the wise men went back to the East, Jesus got lost in Jerusalem. He performed a miracle at a wedding, made friends with fishermen and spent 40 days in the wilderness. I want to immerse myself in these things.
Perhaps you’ll be doing the same and next year, we may have some new anecdotes and illustrations that go beyond the nativity story.
