God Acts

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

What can we glean from the two infancy narratives of the Gospels of St. Luke and St. Matthew? There are a few facts upon which they agree. The principal characters and parents in the drama are a couple named Joseph and Mary. Jesus' conception is a supernatural event in both accounts. Each evangelist places the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The birth is dated during the reign of King Herod.

Beyond that bare skeleton of fact, many different elements of the story don't seem to coincide with the historical records of the period. For instance, there is no record that a Roman census included the notion of a person returning to the place of his birth. Luke tells us that Quirinius was legate of Syria. Historical records indicate that Quirinius held that position between 6 and 9 A.D., a time period that does not overlap the reign of Herod. At least ten years separates these two historical characters.

As many Scripture scholars have said, the problems with the historical data should convince us that the narratives are symbolic and biblical and not a diary of events. The placement of the birth at Bethlehem echoes the promise that a son of David would sit on the throne of Judea forever. The presence of the shepherds fortifies Luke's overarching them that Jesus life was spent gathering in the lost and forsaken children of Israel. Shepherds were, like so many others in Luke's Gospel, the poorest of the poor. Matthew's narrative includes elements that reflect his theme that Jesus was the new Moses. Like Moses, Jesus came to Judea from Egypt after Herod's treachery forced Joseph and Mary into exile just as their ancestors were exiled.

Rather than concentrate on the historical accuracy of the account, we sit in wonder at the basic premise: God acted to save us. Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, pitched his tent in the midst of a civilization of wanderers. God's revelation, which had been fragmentary and partial in days past, is complete in Jesus. So much did God love us that Jesus leapt out of heaven and into our flesh.

Merry Christmas!