A Christmas Thought
So what is the Christmas story? Let's think about the well known details for a moment: a baby, born in a stable, to a virgin, visited by shepherds and wisemen or magi or kings who follow a special star, surrounded by angels, and destined to be the Saviour of the world. Myth? Fantasy? Wonderful "story" but "just a story"? I like to think about the meaning of the story and that is simply that we are loved by God, that God enters our world to be with us and to care for us. We are gifted, graced and blessed by the presence of God and the Christmas story tells us that by means of symbol, and every detail does not have to be taken literally. Joseph Campbell tells us that all religions speak in metaphor and symbol but also that all religions sometimes mistake the symbols for the realities themselves. So, when it comes to differences in religion, what is it that we have to "fight" about? Is our story better than your story? is our myth better than your myth? is our truth better than your truth? Or are we all celebrating the same reality, the same Mystery? the same truth?