From time to time a scare story hits the headlines, about some new survey that has been carried out, allegedly showing that a large percentage of young people nowadays do not know the story of Christmas. I've never known how much to believe these reports, because what they seldom tell you is, how the survey was conducted. You could doubtless get very different results, depending on the way the questions were phrased, or on the attitude of the questioner. You could frighten people, by making them think their answer was wrong unless they could give an account of every detail of it, including its full theological meaning. You could hook onto their rebelliousness, and make them want to deny any knowledge, just to get a rise out of you. You could insult them by implying that they might not know. You could embarrass them in front of their friends by suggesting that knowing about Christmas involves a religiosity they might no want to admit to. And so on. There are all sorts of reasons why a survey might not get true answers.
I'm pretty sure that anyone who has attended school in this country must have heard the Christmas Story at some time, even in schools where for one reason or other Christmas is not observed in a major way.
But what makes the question difficult to answer is that the Story is not, in fact, as straightforward or easy to tell as the survey implies. You might try it for yourself some time in the next few weeks, and see how you get on. For this is a story which is both simple enough for a child to love, and profound enough to occupy the thoughts of theologians and believers for two thousand years. And so there are many different ways of telling it.
Theological: God who created the world loved it, though it had gone wrong, and became a part of his creation in order to put things right.
Adventurous: A young girl called Mary was given a momentous task to do. Her mission, should she choose to accept it, was to become the Mother of the Son of God.
Romantic: Joseph loved Mary his betrothed, but nearly broke off their engagement when he discovered she was pregnant - not by him. But he had a dream that made him change his mind ...
Political: The oppressive and hated Roman occupying power commanded a census, so as to squeeze more taxes out of their subject races. During the upheaval and suffering that followed, a baby was born who would grow up to challenge that Empire, and start a movement that would one day subvert it.
Sentimental: A beautiful baby boy was born in a stable, and laid in a manger of hay among the warm, gentle animals.
Bucolic: One night some shepherds saw a vision of angels, who told them that a new king had been born; but when they went to see for themselves, they found an ordinary child, born to ordinary folk just like themselves.
Astrological: Some learned men saw a strange conjunction of heavenly bodies, which they read as a sign that a Saviour of the world had been born in Judah.
Grim: Wicked King Herod feared that a newly-born infant would challenge and overthrow him, so he ordered the mass slaughter of all boy children aged two years and under.
Cosmological: In the stillness of the night, when the world lay sleeping, the almighty Word leapt down from heaven. He came as a warrior to fight against the enemies of God, and defeat them.
So which of these stories is the correct one? The answer is: All of these, and many more, are valid ways of telling the Story of Christmas. Some of them sound more legendary or mythical, than historical; but if that troubles us, it's important to remember that Myth is the name scholars give to a story that people have told about a Truth that is deeper, and greater, than mere history. When a baby was born two thousand years ago, and given the name Jesus, it was an event in history all right. But as the event in which the Word of God took flesh and dwelt within his creation, it is something beyond history. In fact, it is the hinge and meaning of all history. This is what makes it a Story not just for telling or listening to, but a Story that changes our lives, a Story to live by.
May God bless you all this Christmas time, and bring fresh joy and purpose into your lives.
Published in the MarstonTimes, December 2005