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December 2002, Page 1.
Index of articles.
Vicar's Letters:
index,
Cell Friends,
Grilled Preacher,
Faithful remnant,
New Archbishop,
Christmas,
Read Mark.
In this issue:
(December 2002)
Vicar's Letter,
Envelopes,
Christmas Hymns,
Question,
Stewardship.
Jesus - God become man
The Motilone tribe of South America, who live in the forests which form the border between Colombia and Venezuala, have a legend. I read it in a book: “For this cross I’ll kill you”, by Bruce Olson.
Bruce Olson had gone to the remote regions of this land to try to tell the native people about God and about Jesus. Not very much was known about the Motilones, and no-one had ever learnt their language before. Even more difficult than the language were the customs. Bruce found that the local wise-woman was very pleased to use disinfectants once she found they worked, but she wasn’t in the least bit interested in telling the wise women of the next tribe - because the concept of the family of man was beyond her. Bruce found you could do a limited amount to help the people, but without a change in attitude the help would never be passed on. But how could you change attitudes?
“God” was a very distant being to the Motilones. Not that God didn’t exist - far from it. God affected many things. But he was too distant to take notice of people. At a funeral one mourner would climb the tallest tree and shout his head off, trying to attract God’s attention. Another would dig a deep deep hole, in case God might be at the bottom of it. Another would look through a long hollow reed, in case God might be hiding in the darkness. “But it is all useless”, they explained to Bruce, “because we can never find God.”
Here’s the legend. A Motilone warrior accidentally kicked an anthill while hunting, and the ants poured out to try to repair the damage. But, of course, it was a great hole - too big for them to repair. The warrior tried to help them, lifting the damaged pieces back in place. But the ants fought him, biting him and making him back away.
The warrior was very upset at the damage he had caused, and went to sleep in inner turmoil. In the night he became an ant, and went and explained his actions to the ants, who understood. The next morning (as a man again) he was able to help the ants repair the damage before he went on his way.
Bruce realized that this legend was his way to explain Christmas to the Motilones. God is far beyond us. We can’t understand him and we often fight him. But in his desire to help us, he has become one of us, born as a man - Jesus - just as the warrior was “incarnated” into an ant. But not just a one-night dream! Through Jesus we can come close to God. You can - this Christmas.
John Hartley