Advent Bible
Study
The
People & The Bible
‘A fresh look at the
Nativity’
Steve
Dixon who attended the Advent Bible Study evening at the
Vicarage in December writes.......
The Bible passages in
question were the two nativity stories: Matthew
chapter1, verses 18 to 23; and an edited version of the
story in Luke – chapter 1, verses 26 to 45 and chapter
2, verses 1 to 20. Alex Quinn, facilitating the
discussion, asked the group to concentrate on the
significance of the stories for us today rather than
dwell on the questions to do with historical accuracy.
However, there was some interest in the question of
historicity, and the group discussed the fact that only
two of the four gospels contain nativity accounts and
they are both quite different in ‘cast list’ and
geography. Christmas was not a major celebration for the
early Christians – it does not appear to have been
generally celebrated until the 4th century,
and the first popularisation of ‘the crib’ is attributed
to Francis of Assisi in the early 13th
century. The two stories that we have are intended to
express the beliefs of the first Christian communities
about the significance of Jesus. Recognising this
brought the group back to Alex’s question about the
significance of the stories for us
today.
We were asked to concentrate
first on the character of Mary. The group were struck by
her youth – we have no way of knowing how old Mary was,
but most modern translations of the messianic birth
prophecy in Isaiah (chapter 7, verse 14) speak of a
young woman being with child and bearing in mind
the marriage practices of the time it is now widely
assumed that she could have been in her very early
teens. Group members noted the contrast with the other
miraculous birth, recorded in Luke, to the matriarch
Elizabeth. It was to the young, low-status Mary, not to
Elizabeth that the task of being ‘mother of God’ was
given and this led the group to reflect on the way that
God uses the humble and insignificant for great tasks.
Some ‘famous’ examples were mentioned of people who had
purposely adopted a humble lifestyle in God’s service,
and also those many people we encountered in our own
lives who were the ‘unsung heroes’ of communities –
getting on with God’s work quietly and without fanfare.
Following Alex’s lead, we then considered the tasks that
God might have for us in our lives – and what tasks God
might have for the Church as a whole, particularly at
Christmas time and particularly for the poor and
lowly in society.
The second character Alex
asked us to consider was Jesus himself. Alex had
provided a briefing paper that included the famous
Marshall McLuhan quotation: ‘The medium is the message’
and Alex invited us to think about what message was
embodied in God’s decision to enter our world via the
medium of a baby, and a baby of humble parents at that:
what did this tell us about God? There was a strong
sense in the group that the core belief expressed in
these stories was that God was Emmanuel –
‘God with us’ – not some distant, disconnected deity
with little interest in humanity. And the humble
circumstances outlined in the stories again seemed to
emphasise that the God being described was not a God of
the high and mighty but a God for the humble, and a God
who wishes to find self-expression through that
humility.
Personally, I found it a very
enjoyable and inspiring evening, not least because the
group was able to discuss the thorny issue of
historicity in the Bible in an open way, and a range of
views were expressed in a spirit of enquiry and mutual
respect. At one point, discussing Mary, there was a
fascinating excursion into thoughts about the freedom or
lack of it experienced by women and particularly young
women like Mary today. Arising from this, the reflection
that I took away to help me through my Advent was
centred on Mary’s joyful response to God’s will for her.
The Magnificat – Mary’s song of rejoicing over
the great honour that had been done her – was omitted
from our original reading of Luke’s story, but it was
referred to in our discussion, and I was left asking
myself how often I pick up the tasks God has given me
with a slightly weary sigh rather than a song of
celebration. ‘Give me joy in my heart, keep me
praising!’ might well be my Advent prayer – ‘keep me
praising till the end of day.’
Amen!
Steve Dixon
13.12.09
Alex
Quinn writes about the same evening........
Bible Reading &
Advent
On Thursday the 10th of December a group
of people met at the vicarage to discuss the Biblical
accounts of the Nativity Story and the relevance and
insights that could be gained for us both personally and
as a community.
The meeting came about in response to some
ideas that captivated my imagination at last year's
Greenbelt Festival. For most of my Christian journey,
the Bible has been a book that I have struggled with
immensely. There have been times when I have avoided
reading it, times where I have made a concerted effort
to read it and come away slightly bruised with the
question ringing through my head, 'Surely God, you
can't be serious?' I still feel that way sometimes. The
Bible is a lot of things. But one thing is certain. The
bible is a difficult book.
Clarity began to emerge as I discovered
what the Bible actually was. The Bible (for me at least)
is a collection of writings from communities spanning
thousands of years from a myriad of different cultures,
traditions and places. It’s about real people in real
times, writing about their experiences of God to other
communities, often with differing cultural and religious
views. In the midst of this emerges a God that from the
beginning has been interested in us and seeks to move
these communities forward in their understanding of Him.
I am conceived that Christ Church could
regularly come together to discuss how the writings of
these ancient communities could deepen our understanding
of our own faith.
It would be good to have a Bible reading group
which would be a place where questions, doubts and
unique perspectives were welcomed. Where we might
together get to grips with this ‘difficult book’.
The pilot group met together for the first
time on a rainy Thursday evening in December. The
discussion lasted for around an hour and a half and
developed in ways that I could have never imagined. It
would be impossible to detail here everything discussed
in a succinct fashion, however I’ll try to give a brief
overview of the discussion.
First we read the infancy stories form
Matthew and Luke. Then we talked about the nature of the
gospel narratives itself. Should we view them as
metaphorical, allegorical or literal truth? Should we
see them as a historical narrative or take the broader
view of a community attempting to communicate the birth
of a very important figure who they felt strongly was
the Messiah alluded to in the Old Testament. We
discussed how the purpose of writing for ancient scribes
was to relay a message in response to a need to
communicate with others, rather than as a factual
account that we would be familiar with today. We
discussed how the character of God seems to change from
the Old Testament to the New or perhaps how the ancient
communities understanding of God developed throughout
history.
We discussed and wrestled with the
character of Mary. How would she have felt as a young
girl unexpectedly finding her-self pregnant? What was her
response to the somewhat burdensome task given to her?
What can we learn about the character of God from the
types of people God chooses to work through? How do we
learn from Mary’s response in responding to our own
callings? How would we feel as parents if we found our
own children were pregnant or made someone pregnant at a
young age? What would our response
be?
Finally we looked at the nature of belief
in God. Why would a loving God purposely give a young
teenager a difficult burden to carry? We discussed the
idea that being a Christian does not guarantee us an
easy ride, and that we must all take up our own cross in
order to follow Jesus.
All in all, I feel the evening was a
fruitful and I appreciated the people who gathered with
for the discussion. Many of us left with a great deal of
‘food for thought’ and a host of fresh perspectives on
the Christmas story.
The plan is to take this model forward
into the New Year and to meet regularly (perhaps twice a
month) to discuss various issues and aspects of the
Bible. We hope to grow in number and welcome
perspectives from any viewpoint in the context of
respect and tolerance. Please let Sean
know if you would be interested in joining up with us,
or ring me Alex Quinn on 300526
The next meeting will be
in Epiphany when we shall look at the arrival of the
Kings in Bethlehem and discuss who or what has brought
an unexpected gift into our
lives.
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