Given the season, many of us have been meditating on Advent these days. Our small group read through Luke 2 on Sunday and had a wide-ranging conversation about this absolutely implausible story. One of the themes we returned to a few times had to do with the characters in the nativity story. In Luke’s version of the story there are many “outsiders” who play a rather prominent role. Consider Anna, an old widow who never left the temple. Or the shepherds, the very low men (boys, probably) on the totem pole. And what about Simeon’s prayer in the temple when he proclaims that the baby Jesus would be a “light for revelation to the Gentiles.” The Gentiles: outsiders, Romans, oppressors. Think about how chapter 2 begins, with Caesar Augustus (a Gentile to be sure) as ruler. For Mary, Joseph, and Jesus this ruler was really a foreign oppressor.

It’s a crazy story, all of these outsiders- women, dirty shepherds, Gentiles- given a role to play. It’s shocking and should probably appall us if we’re paying attention. The baby Jesus grows up and continues to welcome the outsiders and marginalized. Worse, he welcomes the enemies of his countrymen- tax collectors and Roman soldiers. A person could get in trouble for this kind of thing.

All this makes me wonder if we, after all this time, have completely aligned ourselves with Jesus so that there is nothing he could do to shock or offend us. Or, is it possible that we’ve re-formed Jesus a bit? Have we smoothed off the rough and offensive edges? Have we buried his teaching about loving our enemies under a bunch of theological mumbo-jumbo?

One of PCC’s global missionaries recently pointed us to a blog post by Pastor Greg Boyd of Woodland Hills Church that raises similar questions. Included in that post is this painting. I hope it will be provocative enough to send you over to his blog to read his thoughts.

After all, Christmas isn’t all stockings and sugar plums. Right?