Which Christmas Story do you Want me to Tell?

Today's question is: Read the birth narratives of Jesus in the four gospels. What do you think each author wants us to know about Jesus by telling the story the way he does? How are the messages similar/different?

Wow. This is such a good exercise for us! The birth narratives are so different from one another. Each one emphasizes something different and reveals something about each community that produced that particular gospel.

Here's the quick and dirty on each of the birth narratives and what they might mean:

Matthew starts with a genealogy that traces Jesus, through King David, back to Abraham. It concludes with the visit from the Wise Men and the flight to Egypt. So, my bet is that Matthew's community wanted to emphasize the kingliness of Jesus.

Mark's gospel doesn't have a birth narrative. (Did you know that?) Instead, this gospel begins with John the Baptizer and the baptism of Jesus, two sentences about 40days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted, the launch of his ministry and calling the first disciples. Mark gets down to business. So, my hunch is that the Markian community wanted to emphasize Jesus' ministry and the urgency that surrounds it in the storytelling.

Luke's gospel gives the back story on the births of Jesus and John. This is the most magical of the birth narratives because it's the one with all the angels. Form Gabriel to the throngs of angels singing to the shepherds in the hills, this story is chalked full of them. That's why I think the Lukeian community wanted to emphasize the holiness of Jesus. At the same time, the emphasis on Mary uplifts his humanity and royalty - it's through Mary that Jesus' roots can be traced back to King David.

The gospel according to John also lacks a birth narrative. Instead, we find that beautiful poetry about the Word being with God. Without a doubt, the folks who wrote this gospel must have wanted to emphasize the divinity of Jesus the Savior.