Word to the Wise
Tuesday, December 30, 2014 - Dec. 30 - 6th Day in the Octave of Christmas
[1 John 2:12-17 and Luke 2:36-40]When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. [Luke]
Each of the gospels is a preaching which tells the story of Jesus in different ways. Although two of them, Luke and Matthew, borrow a lot from Mark, they still add stories of their own. Mark has nothing about Jesus before his public ministry. Luke and Matthew have their "infancy narratives" from which we have all our Christmas/Epiphany traditions. The Gospel of John also lacks an infancy narrative, but does give us a majestic reflection at the beginning that gives a very broad interpretation of the story of Jesus.
Scripture scholars tell us that the infancy narratives in Matthew and Luke are actually "mini-gospels" which were written after most of the rest of the gospel and therefore are influenced by the rest of the story. This makes sense. If we know the outcome before we tell the story, the outcome will influence the shaping of the rest of the story. Matthew tells us about the visit of the Magi. Luke tells us about the presentation of the child in the temple. Yesterday and today, we have had portions of Luke's story. Both Matthew and Luke want to give us a way in which Jesus' birth was manifested to the world.
The next step is one that the evangelists took long ago, but one which we must take. They told the story and it continues to be told by faithful Christians. It may be too early to take down that manger scene. In fact, maybe we should leave it up year round to tell us the story. AMEN
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