Christmas: A Light in the Darkness
People often ask me how I get anything out of the Christmas
story anymore since I am a progressive Christian who doesn’t
take the Bible literally. They assume that just because I no
longer believe that things happened exactly as they are
portrayed in Scripture, that just because I don’t believe in a
literal virgin birth, for instance, there is no truth or message
or meaning or power I can experience from the stories.
But of course they are wrong - in fact, by removing the burden
of literal factuality, the stories from my faith tradition have
more meaning and power than ever before, including and most
especially, for me anyway, the story of the birth of Jesus.
Before I go any further I should make a distinction between
truth and fact. I am indebted to Jesus Seminar scholar, author,
and New Testament professor Marcus Borg for sharing this
distinction with me, which is that something doesn’t have to be
factual in order for it to be true. In other words, something
doesn’t have to have actually physically happened for there to
be truth in the story. Think of Aesop’s Fables or other stories
we grew up with as children. For instance, a lion didn’t
necessarily have to have actually had a thorn removed from his
paw by a slave in order for the truth (or moral) of the story to
be true.
That said, from the very beginning of Luke’s gospel we are asked
to understand the story of Jesus’ birth in the context of the
world’s principalities and “powers that be” of that time -
because for Luke, one cannot fully comprehend the depth and
power and meaning of the story of Jesus’ birth without
recognizing the world situation into which he was born - namely
the brutal and bloody domination of the Roman Empire over Israel.
Thus Luke begins his tale of the birth and life of Jesus with
these words, that “in those days, a decree went out from the
emperor, Augustus, that all the world should be registered.” Or
in other words, an order was issued from the Roman emperor to
register all Jews so they could be taxed, and further abused by
their foreign rulers.
Scholars now say there was no such registration during the time
Quirinius was governor of Syria, and that Jesus was probably
born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. But whether or not it literally
happened the way Luke tells it, the truth of the story is still
clear - that the baby Jesus was born into a very dark and dismal
world. The Romans claimed that they were bringers of divine
peace and that the Emperor himself was the divine son of God -
but nothing was further from the truth for Luke. So it was
important for him to convey that the true Prince of Peace, the
Light that broke into the darkness of the world, was not born in
a palace wrapped in royal Roman garb, but in the humblest and
poorest of circumstances. Very simply put, the one who came to
seek and save the “least of these” did so by becoming one of
them - by being born into their situation, by growing up with
them, by immersing himself as an authentic part of their
community.
So what can all of that mean for us 2,000 years later? The 13th
century preacher and teacher Meister Eckhart said that Christmas
isn’t just about a one time event, but is also about the birth
of Christ within each of us. In other words, Christmas is not
primarily about the past - it is about the present and the
future.
Thus I find it interesting that John’s Gospel opens not with the
story of Jesus’ birth, as Matthew and Luke do, but with the
story of the Light coming into the world, reminding us that we
have all been given power to be the children of God, to be
lights to the world. And I think that’s what Eckhart was saying.
John wrote that “the true light…enlightens everyone.” So that
whatever darkness may envelop the globe, whatever gloom may be
present in our own lives - it is never strong enough to
suffocate the light. It wasn’t 2,000 years ago, it isn’t now.
They say the smallest match can light up a room - if that’s true
then the smallest gesture of kindness, or act of compassion, or
good deed can light up the our entire world. For instance, I am
reminded of a story that ran years ago about an 11-year-old boy
with cancer who lost all his hair as a result of chemotherapy.
When it came time for him to return to school, he and his
parents experimented with hats, wigs, and bandanas to try to
conceal his baldness. They finally settled on a baseball cap,
but the boy still feared he’d be teased for looking “different.”
With all the courage he could muster up, he went to school
wearing his cap - and discovered that all of his friends had
shaved their heads so they’d be just like him. I first heard
that story several years ago in the fall, months before
Christmas. But even then it struck me as a sort of Christmas
story.
During this holiday season, may we all catch glimpses of light
shining out from shadowy corners of our day-to-day existence.
