As I was listening to it, I realized that to someone who wasn't raised as a Christian, there are an awful lot of assumptions we make about the Christmas story. We say the word "Shepherds" and an image comes to our minds - even though many of us have never seen one - but what if you weren't raised on these stories.
Vicky said that to me afterwards... "You've heard this story before, haven't you?" Well, um, yes... perhaps I have. Actually, I've heard and read this story many times each December since I can remember. She was curious as to why we would all sit around in rapt attention to hear it again. I tried to explain that each person and each retelling offers a different take on the story and all that builds over the years into what we call faith. Rev. Suzanne's take was to help the listeners try to picture themselves in the story... and bring the present world into the story.
I gave Vicky a Bible and encouraged her to read the first few chapters of Luke. That may have been a mistake as I'm getting a steady stream of questions as I write this blog. So far...
What are Magi?
What is a descendant?
Who was David?
Who was John? (Which one... my son... the disciple... the Gospel author... turns out it was John the Baptist - from Luke 1)
What does "manger" mean?
Why did God pick Mary?
On that last one, I tried telling her that "learned people" have been debating that for thousands of years. Answering these challenge my own faith in new ways. What exactly does the Christmas story tell us? Which details are important to my faith, and which are adornments?
As I said earlier, it's a privilege to be along on this journey.
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