Nativities and Narnia

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Reading: Luke 4:14-21, Romans 15:4-13
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, December 8th, 2013

A printable PDF file can be found here

Back in the day... when I was younger... the second Sunday of Advent was always one that focused on the gift of God's Word, given to us in the Scriptures. Acknowledgment was made that if it were not for the written Word passed down to us then we would have no Christmas story to celebrate. No carols to sing, no Christmas plays, no traditions of giving and receiving, no Christmas tree, nor so many other things we take for granted about the festive season.

C.S. Lewis in his classic book for children 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' describes the mythical frozen land of Narnia as being a dismal land, not because of the cold, but because it was 'Always winter, but never Christmas'.  Only with the return of Aslan (in his books the symbolic representation of Jesus) does Father Christmas once again make an appearance and all is well.

Critics of C.S Lewis complained that he would confuse children having figures like Aslan, representing Jesus, and then include characters like dwarves, badgers and Santa Claus. How would the children determine which were the mythological elements and which bits were supposed to represent something real? It could get confusing!

I am tempted to answer on Lewis's behalf; “You mean confusing... like Christmas?”  After all the festival we celebrate is truly a strange mixture of ancient traditions, from different cultures and ancient practices, some of which have nothing to do with the Christian story.

A great deal of the Nativity story, as we tell it, has more to do with speculation and elaboration upon the texts than it does with the actual story that scripture contains. The date itself, December 25th, which we  acknowledge as the birth of Jesus, was chosen in the fourth century as a good day to celebrate because it coincided with the winter solstice, when adherents of pagan religions built bonfires to welcome the return of longer days.  Most scholars are unsure about the true date of Christ's birth.

C.S. Lewis's intention with his “Chronicles of Narnia” was not to rewrite the whole biblical story as an allegory. Before he wrote books for children, he was a classical scholar of English literature, and chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge University. He knew the power of story to ignite the imagination. His hope was that his works would inspire people to acquaint themselves with the true gospel story, not see his works as a replacement for it!

I suggest that we are attempting something similar with our Christmas celebrations. We know that what we do is not the actual historic biblical story. But we give ourselves permission to celebrate and to imagine and to invent, because that's what humans do! By creating this warm, folksy, festive story,  with it's Santa and Elves and Baby in a manger and all the rest of it... maybe we can actually get folk to ask, “Well, what's the real deal with the season?”

And maybe that's why... back in the day... a Sunday was put aside in Advent to stress the Bible as being so important, especially for the understanding of the events we call Christmas. Because in many ways the biblical story is far more gritty and radical than our festive celebrations.

In our reading from Romans we heard Paul telling us, “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)

For the New Testament writers the story of Jesus does not begin in a stable in Bethlehem, but in the visions of Old Testament prophets and the hopes of a nation.  Everything that surrounds the birth of Jesus is seen as the fulfillment of prophecy.  Paul writes  - verse 12 “Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in Him the Gentiles will hope."

In that verse alone are so many strands of theology and history that it could take a series of sermons to truly unpack it's implications. 'Jesse' was the father of Israels' most celebrated king, King David. The mission of Israel is pictured, not as self preservation, but for them to be a light for all nations, a model of how obedience to God created an opportunity for God's blessing. As events unfold, so hope is enabled, hope for freedom and justice and all of this focused upon the 'One who will arise'. 

Even the events we know of as being part of the Nativity narrative can be interpreted in so many ways. Mary is a young girl facing an unexpected pregnancy. Joseph is the potential husband who struggles to do the right thing, guided only by dreams and his love for the girl to whom he was betrothed. The images we are given of Herod are disturbing. He is everything a King shouldn't be. Violent. Despotic. So insecure that he orders an act of child genocide. 

The Holy family, are driven to Bethlehem by a political census, eventually have to flee beyond the borders to Egypt as refugees, before a change in governmental leadership  offers an opportunity to return home.

The shepherds are the outsiders, the people on the fringes who receive the greatest news ever told. The Wise Men are strangers, shrewd judges of character, strangely drawn in from far away... culturally, geographically and religiously... to celebrate the dawn of a new star in creation. They welcome Jesus with gifts that would have deep meaning for  His future; gold associated with royalty, frankincense associated with worship, myrrh associated with suffering.

There are angelic visitations to both individuals and groups of people, close encounters of the heavenly kind. There are ascriptions of glory and praise to the God who is seen as being behind all things, of having orchestrated the whole drama of salvation from the beginning of time, with Jesus taking center stage.

There is the cousin of Jesus, John the Baptist, the son of temple priest Zachariah, who has been struck mute until he sees his baby born. There is John's mother, Elizabeth, in whose womb, her baby leaps for joy upon meeting Mary the mother of Jesus.

There is Simeon. “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.” (Luke 2:26). Simeon declares, as he takes the baby Jesus up in his arms, “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel." (Luke 2:30). There is Anna, a widow aged 84 years, who has dedicated her life to God's service, who looks upon Jesus and declares Jesus to truly be the child of God's promise. (Luke 2:38)

All these characters and happenings and events are as much a part of the scriptural account of Jesus birth as are the innkeeper, who says 'no Room', the donkey who carries Mary to Bethlehem and the swaddling clothes in which the baby Jesus is cradled. But how familiar are they to us? I believe it is a good thing to remind ourselves that the story we celebrate as Christmas, whilst full of meaning and symbolism and joy, is not the whole story. It is a good thing to have a Sunday during Advent that invites us to take another look at the narrative contained in the Biblical Books.

In the gospel reading from Luke for today we see Jesus preaching His first sermon and reading from Isaiah, words that He claims are fulfilled in Himself.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,  to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19)

To jump from 'chestnuts roasting around an open fire' to the heat and tension of the synagogue the first time Jesus preached is quite a leap. But not if one has taken the time to consider, not so much the season surrounding the birth of Jesus, but the scriptures and events of His coming. Our Christmas celebrations, though glorious and heartwarming as they can be, do not prepare us for the life of Jesus that we read of in the Scriptures.

The idea of the Spirit of the Lord anointing Jesus is not a strange one if we consider the words of Simeon and Anna who saw the evidence of the Spirit on His life when He was a baby.  His declaration of coming to set the oppressed free does not strike as strange when we consider the oppressive circumstances surrounding the biblical account of His birth.

That a message considered “Good News to the Poor” should be first announced to shepherds does not seem so strange when we consider the low ranking position shepherds had in the society of the day. To talk of a year of the Lord's favor, in the light of the healing and good works that followed His ministry, makes perfect sense.

Returning to our verse from Paul. “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

There's a lot of people in the biblical story of Christmas who need hope. The pregnant young girl. The fearful Father. The much maligned shepherds. The far away 'Wise Men' trying to figure it all out. The 84 year old widow Anna. Simeon, waiting for something to come clear before he breathed his last.

The Scriptural account has a whole lot to offer the refugee, the persecuted, the victims of violence, those denied justice, those seeking a star to light their way, those who are wondering how on earth a world such as ours can ever become anything remotely resembling a Kingdom of God. It's all there. Hope for the world.

Nativities and Narnia have a message for us. It may well indeed feel, as C.S Lewis expressed so well, that we live in a world where it's 'Always winter, but never Christmas'. So I'd encourage you to look beyond the traditional narratives and  look at the Scriptures themselves.

For through prayerful contemplation of Scriptures words we have the opportunity of encountering the true Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Inspired by His Holy Spirit, hope can be reborn and actions of significance can be attempted. Maybe it is as simple as the bumper stickers suggest. 'Keep Christ in Christmas'. Just be sure that it's the Jesus of Scripture and not the Christ of Christmas that you make your ultimate authority!

To God's name be the Glory. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.