Marcus and Dom Crossan collaborated on a book in 2007, The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Birth. They help us see with clarity the differences between the two birth narratives, one in Matthew and one in Luke. (Neither Mark nor John have birth stories even though John’s Gospel “in the beginning was the Word and the Word became flesh” might hint at one). Our Christmas pageants tend to mash together shepherds and kings and manger and star into one story. But it is clear that the narratives about Jesus are different and distinct. In Matthew it is Joseph who receives an angelic appearance to announce the coming birth of the son. Mary has no “speaking” role. In Matthew it is the Magi or wise men who are led by a bright star to go to see the child who is born in a house. In Luke it is Mary who receives the annunciation. She offers a magnificent hymn in response. Joseph is named but the story is not about him. (Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist also plays a significant role in Luke.) In Luke it is shepherds who are told of the coming child by angels who light up the night sky. And Jesus is born in a stable. Each Gospeler claims Jesus is of the line of David, from whom the promised one is to come, but their genealogies don’t match. Matthew goes back to Abraham and emphasizes kingship; Luke goes back to Adam and emphasizes the prophetic tradition.
The Kingdom of God
But there is a common overall message: Jesus’ mission was to establish the “kingdom of God,” a striking contrast to the “kingdom of Caesar.” Matthew and Luke both subvert the titles given to Empire’s Caesar, “Divine, Son of God, Lord, Redeemer, Savior of the World, Liberator,” by attributing them to Jesus. They both claim non-violence was the way of Jesus. They both affirm that God has come in this human one as the summation of the hopes and dreams of the Jewish people. They both proclaim a new creation and transfigured earth is begun.
Please see Marcus and Dom’s book for a detailed account of the birth narratives, which they note are preludes to the themes particular to each Gospel.
When were the Gospel Stories Written?
Consider that the Gospel stories were written in a time of turmoil and uncertainty. Matthew was written some 50 or more years after Jesus’ execution and Luke maybe as late as 120 CE. There was yet a second coming. There was still oppression and warring and division and calamities. There was angst and struggle to name or claim God in the midst of it all. Where was God? There was fear that an end was to come, and the signs were foreboding. The kingdom of God at best was showing up like a pesky weed. More of a nuisance to the domination system than a revolution underway.
In the midst of such times the birth stories and Gospels were written. They were conceived retrospectively. Developed years after Jesus was executed. They redeemed a tragic loss and gave assurance to the early communities that Jesus’ life was not in vain and that his vision did not die with him. The powers that overcame Jesus’ life need not overcome their own. The kingdom of Caesar will inevitably self destruct. The message was bold: Hold fast. Dare to change the world.
Meaning from the Christmas Stories
In the dark streets of the Gospel writers’ time they claimed a light shineth. Their stories are testimonies to the enduring power of hope and possibility even when circumstances defy the odds. They reflect the conviction that courage and vision will overcome the weight of Empire and its strategies of violence. There is another way. And while mortals sleep there is some watch of “wondering love.” This was the message to wearied and uncertain followers of Jesus in the first century. And this continues to be the message of the Gospels for all of us today.
How marvelous that such stories are still being told when the “blood dimmed tide is loosed upon the world.” And that such stories can be “believed.” And continue to empower. As long as we have within us the capacity to tell such stories, or sing them, as long as we strive to live them, we can endure what befalls. It was Helen Keller who said, “No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.” We cannot risk or indulge in pessimism or cynicism, failure of nerve or compassion fatigue. May the good news of our Gospels help us live forward and love more boldly even knowing how much we have lost.
“Conceived retrospectively” suggests something about the way Matthew and Luke composed stories. Would it be reasonable then to say that Jesus was “retrospectively conceived” by the Holy Spirit, which would be consistent with their compositional style? Heretic that I am, I like the idea.
Ken. I am amused and caught by your comment. Retrospectively conceived. By the Holy Spirit or by us? Now that would be heard as heretical by many. As you know, one of my prompts as I read scripture stories is why is the story told this way? By whom. And for whom? The early Christian communities’ claim of Jesus divinity trumped Caesars. As archaic as the language is “Jesus is ‘Lord’” what Jesus embodied and “stands for” is more hopeful and humane than rival “kings.” Ironically, as I understand Jesus and the early Jesus movement, his way was not hierarchical. So no lording it over…nor is another king the answer to the current one……true then. And now. Ken see you soon.
Marianne, here is the way I understand Jesus’ conception. The author did the conceiving. He had Jesus conceived in a particular way for a particular purpose. I would consider the language and meaning “artistic,” the purpose being to create an image of Jesus, consistent with the “kingdom not of this world” theme, but using the language understood by citizens of the Roman Empire. One could assume the author is proposing a challenge that says, “Our guy is as good as your guy.” Or it could be that he is cleverly offering an alternative to Caesar, using Caesar language, and providing a means for changing one’s thinking with the intent to be less confrontational. See you tomorrow.
Greetings from Wales and thank you for this piece just before Christmas. I will lead our village gathering on Christmas Eve and once again will affirm the value of the stories, not in their literal truths, but in the truth that they speak of a new kingdom. With the changing world dynamics, the potential fragmentation of a peaceful Europe, a US president that subverts truth and buddies up with international thugs, the message of the Kingdom seems to take on a meaning that today’s young people might better understand in its original conception, compared with those of us brought up in more consensual and Christ influenced times. Thanks for your ongoing work, and peace be with you and family over Christmas and the new year.
Geraint. Thank you for your thoughtful and poignant response. I have thought of you and your village community. In the midst of all that tangled, uncertain, Self forgetting. It’s a mess. And treacherous. And I have hope…for a fairer, more caring, just, creative world. That is not just an idea. It is a possibility. So, here we go. Please keep in touch and let us know what your community imagines and is doing. Btw I have some Welsh in me. The first time I visited wales I said to my husband, bury some of my ashes here. The only place I have said that about….still don’t know where the rest will go! So I obviously felt some sense of kin. Peace be with you. And thanks so much for being part of the conversation.
What a beautiful discussion of that wonderful story.
Herschel. Thanks for your comment. And today is Epiphany Sunday in the Christian liturgical year. What was hidden manifests, reveals. To borrow from quantum mechanics what manifests is not necessarily predetermined. What is before us are “adjacent possibilities.” Here’s to adjacent possibilities.