Christian Comment with Brian Stanley Randwick Church Local Ministry Team

A TV programme recently about how babies’ personalities develop from a very early age, reminded me of some Advent discussions on the theme: “What shall we tell the Children about Christmas?’

Just accept Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts?

Does it devalue these that Mark and John don’t feel they’re relevant? (Implying if Jesus was a 30 year old man at the start of his ministry, clearly he was born), and surely the important part of God’s incarnation were those last three years leading up to his death.

Fair point.

And yet, strange goings-on, family secrets: Elizabeth’s older age pregnancy with cousin John, Mary’s visitation and virgin birth, humble Joseph’s royal ancestry, Jesus born in a Bethlehem byre 100 miles away, witnesses: angelic choir, low-life shepherds and rich astrology tourists, a Temple sage’s recognition and warning, and Herod’s infanticide prompting a refugee cross-border-flight to Egypt.

All this was anyway Mary’s experience, and what seeds did she sow in the child Jesus’ heart and mind about his heaven-sent mission?

What did he learn of life from Joseph as well as building skills?

What about Jesus’ environment?

Nazareth a hillside village like Bethlehem, but provincial.

Yet there, as a child, trusted to become self-sufficient, quick in his scriptural learning, ready to debate the texts beyond the bar-mitzvah expectations, all were demonstrated in his dialogue with the Temple scholars.

Despite her anxiety when Jesus goes missing, mother Mary’s influence up to this teenage turning point will have been paramount.

And Jesus himself, even aged two, will have eyes and ears wide open, languages picked up, scents and tastes remembered on the journey north to Nazareth – new to him.

So what can we tell the children about the relative likelihood of those Matthew and Luke accounts, when we know Jesus’ birthday wasn’t December 25 in the year dot?

Answer: start from the other end.

Ask what would we have lost from our understanding of ‘God-with-us’ if we had only those last three years as evidence?

Then celebrate those Christmas stories with child-like wonder.