001:Don't myth out this Christmas

The vicar of an evangelical Anglican Church I know wrote his Christmas message to the parish in the magazine which is delivered to every house in the area. He was writing about the Christmas stories in the Bible and mentioned the story of the wise men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus. He said, and I quote, 'it's a nice story, but a myth'. I was a little surprised to read these words because in England, evangelical churches are renowned for their belief that the Bible never lies - every word is true even if we don't understand it or it seems not to make sense. Some go even further and believe that every full stop and comma is divinely inspired. A few go further still and believe that everything in the Bible must be taken literally and they can tell you the exact month and year on which the world was created and that Adam and Eve were real people. Needless to say, not all Christians take this extreme view of the Bible.

But it was the word 'myth' that caught my eye. You see, there are two meanings to the word 'myth'. One meaning is that which is used by Bible scholars to explain passages like the creation of the world, Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark and other similar stories in the early part of the Bible. The second meaning is the one we use today where we consider a 'myth' to be a pack of lies. Now I know that the vicar concerned was using the first interpretation of the word, not the second, but what I was wondering was how his parishioners would understand the word.

Going back to stories like the creation of he world and Adam and Eve, most Bible scholars today would not look upon these stories as a scientific explanation of the origins of the world and mankind but as a theological insight into the 'why' rather than the 'how' of how the world and humankind came to be here. The disobedience of Adam and Eve is seen as a situation which blights all of humanity today. You only need to look at your TV screen day by day to see how bad choices and disobedience to the common rules of how people should treat one another have inflicted untold suffering on millions. A man who was struggling with his faith asked God one day, 'why do you allow so much suffering and starvation to happen in the world?' In reply God said to the man 'I was about to ask you the same question'.

Try reading the first 12 chapters of Genesis and you will see how the style of writing changes in chapter 11. The opening chapters are mythological but then it starts to merge myth with history as it recounts the story of Abram.

So let's go back to the story of the wise men. Why did he vicar consider this a myth? Well, one reason is that it is only told in one of the four gospels which indicates it was from an obscure source. In fact the Christmas story only appears in Matthew and Luke and they originate from different sources. We don't know how many wise men there were - tradition tells us there were three because they brought three gifts. Where did they come from? We don't know. Were they kings or astrologers? We don't know but we are told that they were directed first to Jerusalem and then Bethlehem by the appearance of a star in the night sky. And it stretches our imagination too far to believe that a star could come to rest over the house where Jesus was born. Stars don't do that because they are millions of miles from the earth. But we can believe that people of great importance used their astrological know-how to perceive that something of great significance was happening in the land of Israel and that they should go in search of it.

But let's be honest about myth. Some people really struggle with anything that can't be proven scientifically or is classified as non-fiction. And yet the world in which we live is totally comfortable with myth. The epic film The Sound of Music tells the story of the Von Trapp family who escaped the Nazis at the start of the Second World War because of their opposition to Hitler. Of course Maria didn't waltz her way through the Austrian hillside singing 'Doe a deer a female deer' or 'Edelweiss'. These were the inventions of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and excellent ones too. But we do know that Maria came to be part of a military-minded family where discipline and obedience were paramount. She injected a new spirit of love, joy and happiness into this family and later married the father of the household, Captain Georg Von Trapp. It reminds me of the teaching of St. Paul who argues tirelessly with the Jews of his time that the Old Testament Law is incapable of transforming peoples' lives. All the law can do is expose peoples' faults, not correct them. Only love can do that and only love can set people free to be themselves. In the same way, the strict regime of the Captain may have made his seven children obedient and submissive but it didn't allow them to express their real personalities. That only happened when Maria turned up on the scene - and the Captain was won over and the two got married.

And do you remember the song 'My love is like a red red rose'? Do you think the singer rushes to the garden centre to buy fertilizer, a watering can and some well rotted manure to keep his love healthy? No, this is the language of love.

And so, just as with The Sound of Music, the story is not literally true, but is based upon real facts and contains timeless truths, so it is with the wise men, and for that matter the creation of the world and Adam Eve. We shouldn't be too surprised that in ancient writings, myth was used regularly to convey truth. After all they didn't have our scientific knowledge and couldn't express things as we can today. But also, it was their way of passing on truth. Jesus is renowned for his teaching. But if you look at the main technique he used, it was myth - we call it parable. He told many stories which have penetrated and transformed the lives of people throughout the generations - parables like the Prodigal Son or The Good Samaritan. No one would ask the name of the Samaritan or how much money he gave to the Inn Keeper to look after the man who had been mugged. These are forensic facts which don't matter. What matters is how we respond to people who have fallen victim to crime or injustice. That matters today just as much as it did in Jesus' time. We can either be like the priest or levite and walk past on the other side of the road, too busy with our work to show compassion, or we can go out of our way to help those in need.

Still not convinced? We let me run his past you. Some people say it's silly believing in God. You can't see him or prove his existence scientifically. Well what about love - can you prove that scientifically or see it with your eyes? Of course not, but it is the most powerful force on earth and can transform situations like nothing else. The same is true of forgiveness, wisdom, kindness and so many of the virtues which are essential to life.

So don't myth out this Christmas by being too scientific about the story. We know that at the heart of the story are real truths which come to life as we share gifts with one another and tell each other, in our different ways, that we love them. After all that is the message God gives us in his gift of a child - Jesus Christ - born as a vulnerable baby, and yet the Prince of Peace and the King of Love - again this is metaphorical language but speaks volumes.

For reflection...

• What are the stories or myths you tell each Christmas about people in your family, past and present? Does it matter if they are not absolutely accurate?
• Do you struggle with stories which cannot be verified scientifically? Why is this?
• Think of a song and a story which uses metaphorical language.

© Roger G Johnson 2013