I once heard a story of a lady preparing a special family meal, passed on for generations. Oh, this meal was delicious, a very tasty pot roast. One of the "family secrets" to the recipe, was that mom would cutoff the ends of the pot roast before she cooked it. Sure enough it was delicious as always! One day her daughter, while learning to cook, asked her mom why she cutoff the ends of the pot roast before cooking? "Well", the mom said, "I don't really know, I just know that is how my mom cooked it and it always tasted wonderful." So the young girl goes and asks her grandma why she cutoff the ends of the pot roast before cooking? Grandma replies, "I'm not sure dear...that is how my mother cooked it...and it always turns out perfect." A few weeks later, while visiting her great grandmother in the rest home, she asks, "Great Grandma, why do you always cut the ends off the pot roast before you cook it?" To which Great Grandma replied, "because my roasting pan was too small." In many ways we do the same thing in church. We believe many things that have been passed on to us, without ever trying to examine the truth of the matter...or the roots to the truth. Many church myths and legends have been passed on from generation to generation, without us ever knowing why or where they came from? Most legends have a grain of truth from where it came. Most myths are misinterpretations of the facts, as in this "pot roast example". But as believers in the One who is the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life...then shouldn't pursuing "truth" be central to our lifestyle? Now I am not suggesting that followers of Jesus "know it all", but shouldn't we, at the least, be pursuing the truth...seeking it out...striving to know & understand it. Occasions like Christmas are fraught with church myths & legends. Unfortunately some of these divide people and cause strife. Sad that at a time when peace, brotherhood and good will to all men are the underlying theme...that church myths & legends cause us to be antagonistic, argumentative & divisive. In my previous post I touched on the "myth of the Xmas scandal" that sweeps through every Christmas. Also the Santa scandal is a big one. Oh how those evil Santa secularists have robbed Christmas from Jesus. When in a brief examination we discover that first off "santa" is Spanish & Italian for the word "saint". Hmmm, Saint Claus, how odd is that? Upon a more thorough examination we will discover that there was a bishop in the 4th century, named Nicholas, who eventually became St. Nicholas. And guess what? St. Nicholas was best remembered as a man, who loved Jesus, and was also very wealthy. He felt God's heart was a giving heart, so Nicholas committed his life into giving away his wealth, mostly to children, especially poor children. He often threw gifts through their open windows at night or put surprises in their boots, as they sat out at night, on their porches. This legend of Santa began with a very real man named Nicholas. This legend spread to virtually every nation & culture. Some call him Father Christmas, or St. Nicholas, or Sinter Claus, as the Dutch called him. The Dutch brought Sinter Claus to North America...Sinter Claus became Santa Claus...and the legend lives on to this day! Now of course there has been some fancy & exaggeration added to the legend to make it fun for children...you know, flying reindeer, flying up & down chimneys, elves making toys, and naughty & nice lists...but the truth of Santa Claus goes all the way back to the 4th century. To a real man named Nicholas, who loved Jesus, and loved children, and simply wanted to give some of that love away. Why don't we embrace this truth and draw the Santa lovers towards Jesus, rather than argue them away with the "Santa is stealing Christmas from Jesus stuff"? Nothing attracts (insert sarcasm here) like bashing peoples fun childhood Christmas memories, doesn't it? Why don't we embrace the truth, and share that truth as a bridge...rather than blowing up that relational bridge with a debate based on error? We too often in church circles "believe" what we've been told, and pass it on from generation to generation, without ever consider the merits of truth involved, if any. We see this in the Christmas story itself...we tend to believe there were 3 wise men...even though the bible doesn't say how many there were. We tend to believe Mary & Joesph were 2 brave little teenagers on a mission from God, ignoring the cultural and historical fact that a family would not allow their young teenage daughter to be engaged to a 15 year old boy in those days. The common was an older man, who had proven his ability to support & take care of a family, and who had the "where with all" to pay a substantial dowery, would be the likely husband to be. Obviously, those requirements were beyond a 15 year old boys purview. He at best was apprenticing, most likely with his father, at the job that may provide for himself and his future family...as most 15 year old boys of this time would. Joseph according to history was more than likely over the age of 40, and may have very well been married already, his first wife dying. This also explains why we never hear about Joseph in scripture after Jesus is lost in the Temple at age 12...Joseph, it appears, died between Jesus' 12th year and his 33rd year when his public ministry began. If he was an older man, this would make sense. But we don't like that story in our Western world. Child brides? Older men with 15 year olds, gross? Ok, I get the creepiness factor for us Americans. But that is accurate to the common marriage in this place & time, around Jerusalem. I get why we have changed the story to fit our American/western cultural bias...but it is factually incorrect. Because we don't like the image of a 40+ year old man with a pregnant 14 or 15 year old bride...doesn't mean the biblical story changed. In fact, many middle eastern, asian and african cultures still would have marriages like this today. It doesn't make it right morally perhaps...but it is the truth. Another area of myth...the wise men, with the shepherds, Mary & Joseph in the manger? Nope, didn't happen that way. Where do we see that in scripture? The wise men most likely never saw the manger, and probably visited Mary & Joseph within 2 years of Jesus birth...but not the evening of the birth...in the manger. In reading the bible we see they visited a "house"...not a manger. The Greek language speaks of visiting a toddler, not a new born. This also explains Herod asking that all male children under the age of 2 be killed...and yet also, why Herods soldiers weren't waiting to kill every male baby presented in the Temple as was Jewish Law would dictate, just days after Jesus was born. The wise men saw Jesus sometime after He was presented in the Temple (40 days after birth)...yet before He was 2 years old. In addition, we also know that Mary & Joseph traveled, as committed Jewish people, to Jerusalem for at least 3 major feasts a year...and their friends in Bethlehem, were very likely a stopping place for them, since it is only 5 miles from Jerusalem. This appears to be more likely scenario than what we usually depict in our church plays. All this and so much more, is interesting in the quest for truth... but rather than unpack many more biblical & historical discussion points...the main gist of this post is this...we believe many things, because they have been told to us, yet not necessary because they jive with scripture or history. Because our "church plays" at Christmas have been condensed & sanitized into a one evening event of all the characters arriving at a manger...we believe that's the way it happened. Because we prefer culturally to have two teenagers or young adults be Mary & Joseph...we believe that is how it must have been. Because we decided long ago that 3 wise men was a good number...we assume it must be factual. But, once again, as people of Truth, shouldn't we seek after, examine & communicate the truth as best we can. If we don't, we confuse people, debate with people, and ultimately push people away from the very Jesus that came as a Gift of God's love for them. These myths & legends can actually become bridges of relationship that point people towards Jesus...rather than confusing them away from Him. If we seek after truth...and point people towards it...and admit we don't know, when "we don't know"...how refreshing and attractive that may be to a world seeking truth...not just the truth about Christmas...but the Truth about life...and ultimately the One who is Truth! May we be a people that pursues & expresses truth well...so that others may encounter a Truth that will set them free! Rather than chopping off the parts of truth that "don't fit" and ultimately misleading them into believing what isn't so.be God's!
Brian O
ECHO
Lead Pastor dude
Friends Community Church
Tyler, Texas
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