Feature Article
Jesus' Birth Story by Luke
by Tom Boomershine
In Luke, the beginning of Jesus' journey is the story of his birth. It is an appropriate place to begin our journey into the gospel. Luke's birth narrative is probably told more frequently than any other story. During the Christmas season, it is read in local churches and homes, performed in pageants, and recited on television. It has become a romanticized narrative, full of sentimentality. But rarely is it told in a manner that is appropriate to its original meaning and intent.
The first step in the journey is to get the story off the page or out of the air and inside yourself. The goal is to master the story so that it can be told without fear. Learning to tell a story is a natural process. We do it virtually every day in some form. We hear stories of various kinds and retell them regularly. Retelling stories we have heard from someone else is the stuff of rumors, jokes, and mealtimes. Learning to tell biblical stories is an extension of the same process.
There are many different ways of learning and remembering stories. In the end, we each develop our own distinctive processes. But identifying some basic principles can be helpful for a successful beginning. I will give some hints that have worked for others. From that start, you can build your own system.