tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730098465384633188.post4708772967206674718..comments2023-08-03T10:27:00.364-04:00Comments on John's Right Stuff: The NativityJohn Foresmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12402155979956171152noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730098465384633188.post-49707887530636952722008-12-24T11:38:00.000-05:002008-12-24T11:38:00.000-05:00WHAT A NICE STORY!For many of us, it's that: a sto...WHAT A NICE STORY!<BR/><BR/>For many of us, it's that: a story, a nice story that somehow gets us in the right mood to swing into the season with a little bit of gusto, a little bit of enthusiasm.<BR/><BR/>However, it just won't do to think very much about this story. We could become dismal jimmy's, we could take, God forbid, the merriness out of Christmas especially for others who expect us to be chocked full of good cheer and drunk on the holiday spirit! We could even forget to model ourselves on the three kings and not go into more debt by buying presents for the more significant people in our lives. Yee gads! If we thought about this story very much, we could wind up ruining Christmas and nobody could understand that and people would shake their heads and pity us, poor souls, and whisper to each other that we need some mental help.<BR/><BR/>Think what would happen if our thoughts about this nice story degenerated into some theology that might lay behind it: "The Word Became Flesh," for instance. If we contemplated on that we might as well hangs bells from our<BR/>bodies and shout as we passed through the living room, "Unsound! Unsound!" We could begin thinking<BR/>of ourselves as the innkeeper or as Mary, as Joseph, as the Shepherds, even as the Baby Jesus, even(!) as the Holy Spirit or (and I can hardly say it) even as God the Father! Unhinged would be the verdict. That's way too much incarnation, too much theology, too much Christmas. <BR/><BR/>Best not to think about this nice story at all. Bah, Humbug!<BR/><BR/>Brother Woody, OPBrother Woodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02385829230698039037noreply@blogger.com