Uncategorized – Page 23 – Darrow Woods: Writer of Things

L is for Love

letter l Dec 12, 2019 Second Week of Advent – Day 12 of the Advent Alphabet

L is for love.

“My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and God’s love becomes complete in us—perfect love!” (1 John 4:11-12) (The Message)

When I was a teenager, I went through a time of spiritual searching. There was a period of about three years after my family moved out of the neighbourhood of our home church, and before I had a driver’s license, when I got to church only if someone else drove. (Buses did not run all that regularly on Sunday mornings.)

There was a guy named Dan who was vigorously trying to “save me”. In his way of thinking, this meant I had to say that I believed certain things about Jesus, repeat a simple prayer, and then my eternal soul would be assured of a place in heaven. If I sound a bit cynical about this, it is because I am. There were members of my family who’d been raised on this kind of “Old Time Religion”, and I had heard it all before. Maybe because I heard it as a young child, the frightening images of eternal hell-fire and sulfurous damnation actually got to me. Dan would preach this vile stuff, warning that if Jesus came back this afternoon I would not be with those on the roll to be called up yonder. (The pictures he painted made it hard to fall asleep at night.)

I sometimes went to church with Dan. He would pull up to my house in his little yellow Volkswagen beetle- an original, not one of the neo-retro versions we see today. I knew that as soon as I got in the car he would start in with his monologue. Dan had two things he liked to talk about: the valiant Russian soldiers who fought against the German army in world war two, and the horrors of what would happen if I didn’t get saved. (I realized years later that Dan was fighting his own particular military campaign, for his idea of Jesus.)

One bright Sunday morning Dan and I went to worship at an evangelical church. I ‘d suggested this church because there was a young woman I knew who attended there, who had a friendly smile. She wasn’t there that Sunday- at least I didn’t see her. But God was there. There was a feeling in that place. I had been in churches before that seemed to be places of reverence- in the sense that people became quiet when they walked in- a kind of holy hush. This sanctuary seemed different. I felt an aliveness in the room, that did not seem to have much to do with the worshippers, or the music, or even the preacher (who in tone, and content, sounded very much like Dan.)

I experienced for a few minutes in that place a sense of God’s presence. It was reassuring, like a kind person’s smile, or a hug from a toddler. This presence seemed to be saying, “I know you. You’re going to be okay- don’t worry about what they’re saying. You are loved.”

It didn’t happen that day, but there came a time, a few months later, when I had a conversion experience, and made a conscious decision to follow the way of Jesus. I don’t know if I got saved, but I know that I am loved by God. And so are you.

The Advent Alphabet is a ministry offering from Rev. Darrow Woods, pastor at the United Church in Harrow, Ontario. Each day in Advent, a different letter of the English Alphabet will be a jumping off place for a reflection. These reflections will be sent out via email to those who have asked to be on the mailing list, and will also be posted to Rev. Darrow’s Facebook page.

K is for Kite

k is for kite

Dec 11, 2019 Second Week of Advent – Day 11 of the Advent Alphabet

K is for kite. No really, it is. The K is as big as a kite!

Said the night wind to the little lamb,
“Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, little lamb,
Do you see what I see?
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite,
With a tail as big as a kite.

“Do you hear what I hear” is a popular seasonal piece, a favourite since it was written in 1962. It became a hit the following year when Bing Crosby made his record, and many other artists have since covered it. (Here is a link to a video of Pentatonix offering back-up vocals to a version by the late Whitney Houston. https://youtu.be/GqwmBO5L0xI )

This song is a good example of what story-tellers often do. They take elements from a well-known tale, and use them like a painter uses the colours on their palette, to create something new.

The “new” story may remind us enough of the old one to ensure that we pay attention, and take the new piece seriously. This is often quite deliberate, to gain an audience for a message the writer wants to get across. In this case, the composers, Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker had a definite agenda, that is revealed in the line “pray for peace people everywhere”. They wrote their song at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, when they feared a nuclear war was very possible.

The casual listener can easily grasp the message, and is likely not too concerned about the factual details. We know that in the “real” Nativity stories from Matthew and Luke there is no talking wind (or lamb!) no shepherd boy, and that Herod is not much like the King in the song. We also know the song writers went beyond the biblical text when they described a star with a tail as big as a kite, dancing in the night.

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him… Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem… the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” (excerpts from Matthew chapter 2)

At this time of year there are often articles that put forward explanations for the appearance and behaviour of the star. The “tail as big as kite” alludes to the theory the Magi had spotted a comet. I have also heard versions involving a distant star going nova, or some alignment of planets that together reflected an unusually bright light. I will say a little more about the star when we get to Z is for Zoroastrian.

I wonder if 2000 years from now there will be commentators taking time to analyze the words of “Do you hear what I hear?”, and offering plausible explanations of how a message could be passed from the wind, to a lamb, to a shepherd boy, and then to a mighty king? If they go to all that trouble, I hope they also get the message, and pray for peace.

The Advent Alphabet is a ministry offering from Rev. Darrow Woods, pastor at the United Church in Harrow, Ontario. http://www.harrowunited.org/ Each day in Advent, a different letter of the English Alphabet will be a jumping off place for a reflection. These reflections will be sent out via email to those who have asked to be on the mailing list, and will also be posted to Rev. Darrow’s Facebook page.

J is for Joy

printable-letter-j_5627eada83283 December 10, 2019 Second Week of Advent – Day 10 of the Advent Alphabet

J is for Joy. On the third Sunday of the Advent season, we will light the candle for Joy. What do we mean by Joy?

“ joy is the intersection between the human and the divine, and that’s why at some points, when you experience joy you throw your hands in the air, you laugh, you dance, but at other times you experience joy you cry, and you like release in this other way, and it’s the same thing, and its coming from this place of letting go…”

That came from a hip-hop artist named Michael Franti, who leads a band called Spearhead. I heard him interviewed on the CBC radio show Tapestry. Franti is a deeply spiritual person who was raised a Christian, and is now a Yoga teacher. He uses music as a way to work for peace and unity.

I am attracted to Franti’s idea that joy is found at the intersection of the human and the divine. During my training for ministry I worked and studied with Quakers. Many Quakers say that every moment, of every day, is potentially sacramental. (God is equally present with us at all times, everywhere, but there are times when we are more open, more able to accept what God is offering us, which is Presence.)

I don’t think God ever “goes away”. God is everywhere, in everything, including us. But most of us are not able to sustain that awareness of God’s Presence all the time. There are times when we feel like God is very far away, or that God is just an idea, and not a reality.

The image that comes to mind is of feeling so weighed down with the pain and grief that we all experience, that we are unable to look up. Our head is downcast, and our eyes are pointed at our own feet. All we can see is what is just ahead. It becomes hard to imagine we might ever feel different, or better.

In our culture there is a powerful tendency to avoid feeling bad. We have numerous medications and distractions available. There are all manner of short-term highs we can use to numb our feelings, or mask them, or allow us to feel something other than what is real. But these do not lead us to joy.

There our times when our spiritual path must take us through the sadness, through the famous “valley of the shadow of death”, before we can come out the other side.

In the first chapter of Luke, Mary’s first response to being greeted by an angel was to be “greatly troubled”.

When the angel told her that she would bear a special child, she said, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Mary accepted the angel’s news. But then she got moving.

“At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.”

It was only after a physical (and perhaps spiritual) journey to her cousin Elizabeth’s home, that Mary said, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”.

Mary’s did not immediately rejoice, when the angel told her about the baby. I wonder if she used the time on the road to pray, to come to a deeper understanding of how God was with her, and would sustain her, even in those challenging circumstances. Only then could Mary sing the song of joy that has come to be known as the Magnificat.

Michael Franti talked about this in musical terms: “in the history of African-American music we have the blues, which is this expression of deep sadness, and sorrow, and struggle, and then once you have passed through the blues you come to funk, which is the same chords, just played faster, and now you have music that is celebration, and it is that transformative quality of music…”

When we find ourselves open again to God’s presence, there is a transforming power. The song of sadness can become one of celebration. Our slow sad shuffle through life can become a dance of joy.

I is for Incarnation

Letter I design Dec 9, 2019 Second Week of Advent – Day 9 of the Advent Alphabet

I is for Incarnation. Another name for Christmas is the “Feast of the Incarnation”.

When I was a child, my mother prepared our milk by mixing water with flakes poured from the red and white box of Carnation powdered milk. The result was a literally pale imitation of the real thing. Money was tight. On special occasions, like Christmas, my parents splurged and bought ”real” milk- the good stuff!

Twenty years later, while studying theology, it was hard to keep a straight face when the seminary professors spoke of the “good news” of the Incarnation. Growing up, good news meant “no-carnation”- I hated the pale bluish, thin fluid. The manufacturing process which began with milk, freeze-dried it, powdered it, and boxed it, to be reconstituted later by well-meaning parents only took away from its natural goodness.

“Incarnation” comes from the latin for “flesh”- caro. In Christian theology, it means that Jesus, is “God in the Flesh”.

There are times I find that idea as hard to swallow as I did the milk mixed from powder. Please, don’t get me wrong. I believe God sent Jesus to help us understand the incredible depth of love, and compassion that God has for us. I believe that God wants each of us to know that we are loved, and cherished, and vitally important to God’s hopes and dreams for the world.

But after Jesus’ earthly life, the people who passed on the Good News did not just deliver the message, they “processed” it. They broke it down, and put it back together, and packaged it as they saw fit. (A bit like the Carnation people do with milk!)

In the process they subtly changed the focus from God’s love and acceptance, to our need to “accept Jesus”. I find no evidence in the Gospels that Jesus was drawing attention to himself. Jesus wanted everyone to feel free to approach God with the confidence of a child who knows that they are loved. I don’t believe Jesus was trying to start a new religion, or to ever have people worship him.

One unfortunate result of the “Jesus is God” idea taken to its extreme, is the inference which is drawn, that if you don’t know about Jesus, or make Jesus the focus of your religion, you can’t possibly know anything about God, or God’s love.

The powdered milk people have a vested interest in convincing us their product is the best. Well-intentioned followers of Jesus, living in a world of competing religions, made similar claims- that Jesus was the best, and perhaps only way to experience God’s goodness.

We understand when an advertiser claims one product is better than others. It’s the game they play, to capture market share. That behaviour can be offensive when it comes to faith.

I believe the way to follow Jesus, is to offer people the same radical love and acceptance he offered. We might begin by acknowledging that all people are God’s people, and our human ideas about who is “in” and who is “out” cannot limit divine love. We should not “water down” the incredible gift of God’s love. We should share the “good stuff” and proclaim Jesus, who as we say in our United Church Song of Faith,

“ announced the coming of God’s reign—

a commonwealth not of domination

but of peace, justice, and reconciliation.

He healed the sick and fed the hungry.

He forgave sins and freed those held captive

by all manner of demonic powers.

He crossed barriers of race, class, culture, and gender.

He preached and practised unconditional love—

love of God, love of neighbour,

love of friend, love of enemy—

and he commanded his followers to love one another

as he had loved them.

H is for Herod

h letter design creepy Dec 8, 2019 Second Week of Advent – Day 8 of the Advent Alphabet

H is for Herod, the evil King of the Jews who urged the Magi to reveal the location of the Christ-child.

“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi…. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel… So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.””(Matthew 2:16-23, excerpted)

Herod’s name is a short-hand way of pointing to a villain. I remember the lyrics of a James Taylor song which used the images of the Magi and Herod as archetypes for heroes, and the evil they face.

“But Herod’s always out there
He’s got our cards on file
Its a lead pipe cinch, if we give an inch
Old Herod likes to take a mile” (James Taylor, Home by another way)

Here is a link to the song!

For the last few years I’ve studied the craft of writing a murder mystery. My first effort, The Book of Answers, was short-listed last year for an Arthur Ellis Award for unpublished manuscripts co-sponsored by Dundurn Press and Crime Writers of Canada. I have much to learn, and I am grateful for good teachers and mentors.

Stories need a villain to give the hero someone to oppose, and to further the plot. (Can you imagine watching a detective show where there was no crime, and no “bad guy” to catch? The villain provides needed conflict.)

Matthew says Herod ordered the death of all boys in Bethlehem under the age of two, in the same way Pharaoh ordered the death of all Hebrew males born in the time of Moses. Moses escaped death when he was discovered hidden in a basket, floating amongst the rushes. He was adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter, and raised as a Prince of Egypt. Moses grew up to be a leader of the Hebrew people in their struggle against slavery.

Matthew’s Gospel draws parallels between Jesus, and important figures in the religious history of the Jewish people. It suits his aim, which is to identify Jesus as the culmination of thousands of years of “salvation history”. (Being like Moses is poetic short-hand for saying Jesus was sent to save his people.) Jesus is another miracle child who narrowly escapes death.

Herod, the Roman-appointed “King of Judea” was a genuine villain. Sources outside the Bible document his abuse of power and mental instability. There is no evidence, however, that the “slaughter of the innocents” ever happened. It is possible Matthew crafted the story to suit his theological purposes. Matthew may have also needed this story element to help resolve another plot issue, which I will address when we get to N is for Nazareth. (Mystery writers often scenes with a cliff-hanger to encourage the reader to stick with them.)

G is for Gold

letter g design gold December 7, 2019 First Week of Advent – Day 7 of the Advent Alphabet

G is for gold. When the Magi “saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:10-11)

Another day I want to discuss the Magi finding Jesus in a house. Today I want to talk about gifts.

Do you ever wonder why it is that the Magi gave Jesus gifts to honour his birth, and now we celebrate his birth by gifting each other? This Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas offers insight into the development of the gift giving tradition. It also discusses the importance of holiday spending to the first world economy. (G is for Gold!)

Many retail businesses in Canada depend upon December sales to make their profits for the year. It is sad and ironic to hear business and political leaders encouraging us to spend more, in honour of the birth of Jesus, as a way to make things better. It is as if it is our patriotic duty to shop!

I can remember living in the United States and being warned by friends to stay away from stores on Thanksgiving weekend- the beginning of the annual shopping frenzy. Sadly, there are stories every year about people in stores actually being hurt, and killed, in disputes over “bargains”. This extreme behaviour, and the terrible consequences that will be experienced by family members, should serve as a warning for the rest of us- like the canary in a coal mine.

There are good reasons to look carefully at our spending and giving patterns at Christmas time. The first may be the one I eluded to earlier- that we may have got off track from the start, by giving each other gifts, when it is Jesus we intended to honour. There are other reasons.

We may want to consider the ecological impact of all the goods that are transported here from around the world (mainly China, as far as I can tell!), the packaging, and the wrapping. We may want to consider just how much “stuff” we actually need. We may want to consider whether or not the things we buy actually convey the message, and communicate the feelings we have for our loved ones. We may want to consider the morality of exchanging expensive (and often un-needed) gifts while other people continue to struggle to acquire the basics needed for life.

One year, my family hosted a pre-Christmas open house, and served baking and hot apple cider. We accepted donations for World Vision, and together with our contributions, we raised enough money to buy sheep, and farming implements, and classroom supplies, for people in the developing world. Our kids loved the project, and the memory continues to provide a good balancing effect against some of the media-induced “needs and wants” that appear on our Christmas lists.

Have you finished your planning and shopping for this season, or is there still time to make some changes? Here is a good website to check out: https://giftswithvision.ca/

F is for Frankincense (and Myrhh)

f letter design December 6, 2019 First Week of Advent – Day 6 of the Advent Alphabet

F is for frankincense (and myrhh), from the story of the Magi who visited Jesus, and brought gifts. There is a great article by a master gardener about these plant-based gifts at: http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/adams/2005/frankincense.htm

“Frankincense is a gummy resin from the non- descript Boswellia Thurigera. The deciduous tree is a low twisted, thorny shrub without a central branch. Today, almost all frankincense comes from Somalia, where the trees grow along the coastline, without soil, growing out of rocks. The young trees give the best gum while the older trees yields are less desirable. To harvest frankincense, a deep cut is made into the bark and a 5-inch strip is peeled off. A milk-like juice exudes and is hardened by exposure to air. In 3 months the resin hardens into “yellowish tears” which are then scraped off and harvested.

Frankincense is highly fragrant when burned; it was used in worship where it was used as a pleasant offering to God. Medicinally it is seldom used now, though formerly it was much sought after. It was thought to be an antidote to hemlock!

Myrrh is also a gummy resin. This pale yellow resin, which dries to brown even black, is from the Commiphora shrub. The Commiphora shrub is a large shrub or tree found in East Africa, Yemen and the Red Sea countries. The shrubs yielding the resin do not grow more than 9 feet in height. The shrubs are sturdy with knotted branches that stand out at right angles. There are ducts in the bark, which fill with a granular secretion that drips when the bark is wounded or has natural fissures. The myrrh drips from the gray bark, forming irregularly shaped grains of resin. Dried myrrh is hard and brittle with a bitter taste.

Myrrh was one of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil and also of incense. It served as a fumigant in the temple and was a burial spice. Myrrh was valued as a perfume as well as for its medicinal properties. It served as local anesthetic and was given to both mother and child for postnatal care, perhaps one reason the Wise Men brought it to Jesus.”

Frankincense resin hardens into “tears”. Myrhh was used as a burial spice, and to relieve pain. The symbolism is hard to ignore. Even at the beginning of his earthly life, there is in Jesus’ story the scent of death. Whatever else we believe about Jesus, he shared with us the mixed blessing of being mortal. We are all born to die.

What would it have been like for Mary and Joseph to receive visitors bearing such extravagant, and disturbing gifts? My children are both away at university, but I still remember checking on them every night to make sure they were still breathing. We long to protect our children, and save them from harsh realities.

The infant mortality rate was much greater in the ancient world than in our time. How many children survived their first few years? (The story of the Magi is intertwined with the story of the “slaughter of the innocents”- that describes Herod, King of the Jews ordering the death of all male children under the age of two.)

As I grow older, and experience loss and grief, thoughts of death are more a part of my holiday season. I think of those who are facing their first Christmas, or their twentieth, without their loved one. I think of the people I have shared Christmas with, who have since died. I also think of changes to life, and relationships that happen over the years. I tell myself these losses make it that much more important to value, and cherish what I have in life. I believe those who have died are safe with God. It does help to think of that. But grief is still painful, and death is hard to accept. Some people might like the smell of all that frankincense and myrhh. There are times when I think it just stinks.

E is for Everlasting

e letter design Dec. 5, 2019 First Week of Advent – Day 5 of the Advent Alphabet

E is for everlasting. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

That’s from Isaiah 9:6. Many of us also recognize it as part of Handel’s Messiah. It may be that Handel has done as much as any preacher or teacher to reinforce the connection between these words from the 8^th century B.C.E. and the birth of Jesus. To be fair, Handel followed the lead of the early scholars of the church, who scoured the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) in search of references which seemed to look forward in hope to a Jewish Messiah.

The poetry in the Isaiah passage is beautiful, and it is easy to see why it came to be used in reference to Jesus. After the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans in the year 70, relations between the Jewish Christians and the Jewish leadership were more than strained. Leaders of synagogues began to expel the followers of Jesus, and declare some of their teachings to be heretical. In response, and in defense of their faith in Jesus, the early Christians looked to the Jewish Scriptures to fortify their claim that Jesus was the long-expected Messiah.

Scholars ask hard, and needed questions about whether or not all the passages that were caught in the net of this fishing expedition should actually be applied to Jesus. When history is read backwards, and assumptions are made about the meaning of a text, their original meaning, in the original context is too often simply ignored, or set aside as unimportant.

The words from Isaiah 9:6 were most likely, in their original setting, meant to refer to the hope of Israel for an actual king, a military/political figure who would take the throne, and run the country: “the government shall be upon His shoulder”. In context, this passage was probably aimed at King Hezekiah. Isaiah the Prophet was calling upon the new king to remember his sacred responsibilities to God, and to God’s people, to govern faithfully, and fairly, with righteousness and justice.

That’s mostly what prophets in the Old Testament were about. We have this mistaken idea that prophets were like oracles or seers, or wizards, who could somehow see the future. Prophets in Israel’s history tended to be more like a “loyal opposition” in the house of commons. Their role, ideally, was to support the legitimate government, and at the same time remind them of their commitment to be faithful. The prophets also admonished the people of Israel when it seemed that they were losing their way.

For the most part, the closest the “prophets” came to predicting the future would be to say “If you carry on this way, there will be trouble to come” or “if you can mend your ways and return to God, your life will be better”. Which I guess is a bit like what Jesus came to tell us.

D is for December

December 4, 2019 First Week of Advent – Day Four of the Advent Alphabet letter d design light

D is for December. Why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25^th? (It is not as if we can check Jesus’ birth certificate.) Outside of a few critical references to the early Christians that can be found in histories written within a century of the earthly life of Jesus, there are no documents that tell us anything about him, outside of the New Testament.

The contents of the New Testament, as we know it today, were not collected until around 300 years after Jesus’ time, and scholars think that the earliest parts of the New Testament were written at least 40-50 years after the first Easter. All of which is a long way of saying that we don’t actually have much to go on, when it comes to learning about the birth of Jesus.

What about the census? You may remember that Luke’s Gospel says, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.” (Luke 2:1-3)

The Roman Empire had a well-developed bureaucracy, which left detailed documents that historians find incredibly helpful. But there is actually no record of the census that Luke mentions. (Scholars actually question whether the Romans ever had a census that required people to travel to their places of origin.)

I recommend an article found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas for a detailed summary of the history of the celebration of Jesus’ birthday on December 25. It offers a depth and breadth of discussion on the topic that I can’t duplicate here.

Does the fact that the December 25 date for Jesus’ birthday is not historically supported, and not even biblically suggested, take something away from our celebrations?

Another site I would recommend is:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/december-religious-holidays_n_1126507

This above will take you to a Huffington Post article that details the dates and some background of the many diverse religious and cultural celebrations that happen at this time of year. Many of these festivals are about light. It really seems people all over the world have needed a hopeful celebration in the season of the Winter Solstice.

God is at work in the world every moment of every day, helping give birth to love and hope and new possibility. Each and every day we open ourselves up to the presence of God can be for us a holy day.

I continue to encourage you to take two minutes each day for silent prayer, and open yourself to the living presence of God. If it helps you to settle in, light a candle, and think of Jesus as the light of the world.

C is for Carols

c-made-from-music-notes

December 3, 2019 First Week of Advent – Day Three of the Advent Alphabet

C is for carols. One of my top five favourite carols is “Angels We Have Heard on High”. I can hear the words in my head:

Angels we have heard on high

sweetly singing o’er the plains,

and the mountains in reply,

echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

I think a fair amount of what people think they know about the birth of Jesus is drawn from carols, and pageants (and the Peanuts Christmas special). Is there anything wrong with that? Maybe not. As long as we pay attention to the way that additions are made to the story (stories) we find in the gospels (more about the different stories in another letter).

Angels “sweetly singing o’er the plains” is a wonderful image, but it came from a writer’s poetic imagination, and not the Bible. In the second chapter of Luke and you will find angels praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14) The text does not say the angels were singing. It also doesn’t tell us that they were speaking Latin. (Gloria, in excelsis Deo!)

Does the Biblical story suffer because of all the additions, and filling in of the scene that have happened over the centuries? (Innkeepers, cattle, singing angels, and a drummer boy come to mind.) I would love to strip away the extra brush strokes of all the artists who were eager to make the painting more beautiful, and just look at the original sketches.

It can do us good to read the simple stories as we find them in Matthew and Luke. The challenge may be to read what is there, and not what we expect to be there.

But here is something else about the stories about Jesus’ birth. Where did they come from? We don’t have Mary’s diary, or Joseph’s memoirs- we have Gospel accounts written at least a generation after the events. Did the Gospel writers take oral history they had gathered, and then exercise artistic license in how they shaped the story, and what elements and characters they included?

The Gospel writers faced the challenge that any of us face when we have had a profound experience, or been witness to something amazing. How do we use words to convey the meaning and the power, and mystery of a direct encounter with God?

Take some quiet time. You could set the timer on your phone to give you 5 minutes of silence, then read the second chapter of Luke’s Gospel. Follow this link: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%202%20;&version=31;