 |
|
Which of the Gospel writers include an account of the birth of Jesus? When were they writing, for what audience? Mark’s Gospel is almost universally considered to be the earliest Gospel and it’s understood that both Matthew and Luke used it as a source text. But Mark has no account of the birth of Jesus, he begins with John the Baptist and Jesus’ baptism. Only Matthew and Luke have birth narratives and they are different whilst sharing some common features: Mary and Joseph are to be married and there’s a miraculous virgin birth in Bethlehem. But that’s about it. Jesus is born in a house in Matthew’s account whilst he is placed in a manger in Luke’s because there’s ‘no room at the inn’. Mary’s thoughts and feelings are not mentioned in Matthew at all, whilst from Luke we get the story of the Visitation, Annunciation and the wonderful radical song of Mary - the Magnificat.
Does any of this matter? Are we concerned with historical accuracy or do we
read these accounts as theological stories written 80-100 years after Jesus’
death in light of what his followers came to believe about him? I think it matters
that we know and understand what sort of texts we are reading; it matters that
we appreciate that too much of a literal reading of the birth narratives will lead
us into some unhelpful places. It matters that we understand each author of
the Gospel had a particular story to tell about Jesus of Nazareth and particular
audiences that they were writing for. It also matters that we understand that the
church has received these writings in particular ways and continues to make
decisions about what we hear and what we read.
I’ve never heard the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel read in church, for
instance, which is intriguing. It is of course a slightly boring opening, but then,
that shouldn’t prevent us.....
son of Abraham.2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of
Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of
Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the
father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of
Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by
Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and
Jesse the father of King David..)
The opening of Matthew’s Gospel couldn’t be more different in style and
content in comparison with John’s. John’s dramatic, powerful, philosophical
opening ‘In the beginning was the Word’ contrasts with Matthew’s genealogy
which is concerned with the patriarchal line being drawn from Abraham to
Joseph and thus to Jesus. Or is it? Is the irony lost on our author? Jesus is
born of the Virgin Mary - so is not Joseph’s son at all - if the account of the
Virgin birth is accurate, then the fact that Joseph’s lineage is traced through
David to Abraham is somewhat moot. Maybe even Matthew hadn’t realised
that God with Us is not about hereditary lineage but about God’s ability to
create something out of nothing.
The important point for us to remember however is that these writers are all
making decisions, important decisions that build a picture of who Jesus is and
therefore what and who God is. We should be asking ourselves whether they
have made good decisions, or whether some of their storytelling might need to
be revised today.
Matthew’s nativity story for instance is one that is concerned with continuity
with the Jewish scriptures and tradition, and with politics and power. For
Matthew Jesus is ‘Emmanuel - God with us’ but also a political threat as ‘the
king of the Jews’. Jesus is portrayed as someone right from the start who is to
be rejected and condemned, threatened at the very beginning by the anger of
another King; the Messiah who must journey to escape violence, but who is
worshipped by those from far and wide. His birth story echoes Moses’ whose
very life is in danger at birth from another genocidal King. Matthew’s is a
traditional world, Joseph receives all the communication in dreams and makes
all the decisions; Mary is a silent mother whilst Rachel is evoked as the
archetypal lamenting mother from the Old Testament: ‘A voice was heard in
Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she
refused to be consoled because they are no more’.
Once we attend to the narrative that Matthew is telling it becomes easier to
appreciate the quite different story-telling that Luke employs. The violence, fear
and journeys that form Matthew’s nativity story contrast with the hopeful,
justice-filled proclamation that is Luke’s. But, if we put them all together as we
tend to do in our Christmas celebrations we are in danger of not attending to
any of the narratives particularly well.
Why was Matthew so concerned with placing Jesus’ birth within a threatening
political context? Why was Luke so concerned with presenting the experience
of women and preaching justice to the poor and humble? If we were to tell of
the birth of Jesus today how would we do it? How would we communicate God
with us today, knowing what we do about God as he was revealed in Jesus
and through 2000 years of post-Jesus history?
It bothers me that we have the courage to be creative story-tellers in order to
bring the story of God with us into our current world, for God is needed. Can
the story of a Virgin birth and a long-awaited Son be relevant and meaningful
in today's world? How can this story be re-told by us in a way that brings
challenge, radical hope, expectation that God might truly notice us and care
about our future?
The Gospel-narratives were radical stories when they were written. They have
the potential to be radical again today but only if we boldly re-interpret them for
our current contexts. We are called to be prophetic as we re-imagine the
greatest story that was ever told - God with us - Emmanuel.
greatest story that was ever told - God with us - Emmanuel.
Some radical re-interpreting:
It would be interesting to read your re-interpretation of the two gospel stories. This day and age we need all the help we can get to try and understand them. Are you going to do a follow up blog to this?
ReplyDeleteYou say the Gospels were "written 80-100 years after Jesus’ death"
ReplyDeleteWell copies of John's Gospel have been found in Egypt and dated 125 A.D. His Gospel is reckoned to be the last written.
Additionally in the Gospel we find the following:
John 5
2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes.
This pool was destroyed in 70 AD when the Temple and much of Jerusalem was destroyed. The present tense suggests that the pool was still there when the Gospel was written i.e before 70 AD.