Friday, December 11, 2009

a bestselling book

Have you ever considered just how amazing the Christmas story is from a novelist's perspective? I love when Scripture comes to life (it truly is living, active, and sword-like) and particular events leap off the page and touch your heart. Novelists spend a lot of time plotting and creating character motivations and story arcs and whatnot. So it shouldn't surprise us that the Master Storyteller came up with some very dramatic elements when crafting the tale of His son's entrance into the world.

Take Mary, for example, our female protagonist or heroine. Scholars think she was probably 14 or 15 years old. She was from a poor, conservative Jewish family. Girls that age tend to do a lot of dreaming about the future and I'm sure she was no different. She may have been attracted to a man in her village. It might not have been Joseph. Theirs was an arranged marriage, remember. Most certainly she was modest, devout, and obedient. Life was hard. She was probably the last girl the local gossips would have whispered about. And then...the inciting incident occurs. She's going to have a baby. Imagine her initial shock, the crumbling of her girlish dreams, her fear of telling her parents and the news leaking to her small circle.

And our hero? Joseph was older and more mature but this may have caused him more grief. He knew that people have a long memory concerning scandal. No doubt the villagers looked askance at him or pitied him for her unfaithfulness. Imagine his crushing suspicions about the girl he was pledged to marry. This was considered adultery under Mosaic law and carried the death penalty by stoning. His hopes for a respectable family and future turn to ashes. Being an honorable man, as our heroes have to be, he wanted to do the right thing. He was going to quietly put her aside.

Suddenly the drama and tension begin to skyrocket:) She tells him something that makes her look infinitely foolish - even crazy. She's still pure and is going to have God's son. What?! I can imagine Mary still trying to make sense of it all and poor Joseph struggling for words. Then imagine having some heavenly reinforcement in the form of a dream. Take her as your wife.

Finally they live happily-ever-after, right? No, there's still the long journey to Bethlehem to pay taxes at a very inopportune time. Imagine how tired Mary was, how embarrassed she must have been since there was no woman or midwife to attend her. Think how frustrated Joseph must have felt in failing to find a decent place for her to have a child not his own. Then imagine that incredible star and the wonder of the shepherds and the amazement of the Magi. All the makings of a bestselling book:) Which it is.

What part of the Christmas story has special meaning to you?

14 comments:

  1. Laura, this is so neat to think about. It truly is!

    I love all the glorious layers. God's provision for their shelter, the shepherds and heavenly host of angels, the magi,Herod the antagonist, prophecy fulfilled. Christmas for me includes the whole story - when Jesus proclaimed himself as the light of the world at the temple during the feast of tabernacles (which is when scholars believe he may have truly been born), and let's not forget that BLACK MOMENT on the cross and the wonderful resurrection that brought us eternal life - for that is what Christmas is really all about (John 3:16).

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  2. Oh, Laura, you've hit right on what I've been thinking about lately. All those little untold tidbits of this amazing story. What a humble girl Mary was and what an even more heroic man Joseph was! I can only imagine the trials, gossip, glares, they must have endured during her pregnancy. God had a plan, in His infinite wisdom He had it all worked out. Down to every detail!

    Thanks for your wonderful take on the events surrounding the wonderful birth of Jesus!

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  3. Wonderful post, Laura! I love how this miracle and the circumstances of Jesus' birth were stored in Mary's heart where she forever pondered them. Don't we all remember each and every little detail of how our children came into the world? She was welcoming her child *and* her Savior! This makes me want to watch the movie "The Nativity".

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  4. Laura, I loved your retelling. The story of Christ's birth does have all the makiings of a bestseller. The part I like best is wondering what Mary thought as she held Jesus in her arms. Even if Joseph still had an inkling of doubt, she KNEW the truth. She had given birth to the Promised One.

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  5. Lorna,
    I know that was an incredible moment when Mary did hold him at last. I can't imagine her thoughts - but I bet they delighted the heart of God:)

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  6. Lisa, You're right - all those untold tidbits (the trials, gossip, glares, etc.) that we can only imagine! But messy as it was, God did have a plan down to the last detail. Bless you for reading and sharing!

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  7. Yes, Carla, all those layers - just like an epic novel:) And we get to be a part of it. So interesting to hear about the feast of tabernacles. John 3:16 indeed!

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  8. Mary, The Nativity movie was so moving to me - I think I cried all the way through it. And I love the verse you mentioned, that Mary "pondered all these things in her heart." Like Lorna said, too, what wondrous thoughts she must have had!

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  9. Laura, what a beautiful look at the most wonderful story of them all.

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  10. So well said, Keli. It really is the most wonderful story of them all! Blessings to you and your precious family this Christmas.

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  11. Laura, I was riveted by your retelling of the Christmas story. Indeed it does contain all the elements of epic fiction, this deceptively small story played out against the background of politics and power and decrees. And yet the story of those three souls in that stable wasn't small at all. It's the Biggest Story Ever.

    Like Mary B, I want to see The Nativity again!

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  12. Lori, Bless you for your comments. I need to rent the movie again as it's so very moving.
    BTW, I'm fully engrossed in another bit of writing and enjoying it thoroughly:) And I don't mean mine!

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  13. What a perfectly 'authorial' way to look at the nativity story! LOL. That's your steel-trap writer's mind never taking a rest. LOL. It's a lovely, fresh perspective though.

    This might sound strange, but the part of the Christmas story that has the most meaning to me is the shepherds out in their fields. I just love that God chose a group of humble, simple 'no-account' folks to bear witness of such a sacred event. They're a sharp contrast to the wise men and a testimony to the fact that Christ came to save everyone. And I love the lesson they teach about having faith and trusting in God. They were terrified, but they obeyed the angels directions anyway and went to worship the Christ Child. We can learn a lot from that simple act of faith.

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  14. Kav,
    I love your thinking of the humble shepherds as they were major players and so symbolic like you said. I'm thankful that he didn't shine His star on corrupt kings. I like to think those simple shepherds were never the same after that night. What a great thing to say - that we can learn from their faith. Yes, even when afraid and unable to see where we're going!

    Yes, my steel-trap writerly brain feels a bit rusty lately:) Hope yours is holding up amidst all the rush and fuss!

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