Think of it Like a Candy Cane!

Did Mary ride a donkey into Bethlehem?

But did she, really?

You may want to double-check your bible before you answer that question.

Or, what did the innkeeper say to Mary and Joseph?

Are you sure?

The answers to these questions are all traditional pictures of the Christmas story, but are they accurate?

The truth is, the bible never mentions a donkey at all.

Or an innkeeper.

Sometimes we know the story around the narrative better than we know the narrative itself.

Think of it like this.

Do you know the legend of the candy cane?

Did you know that most of it is probably legend?

It was almost assuredly not invited by a candy maker in Indiana. But we love to tell that story.

And that can be a problem.

As Christians, we should not relate the myths and legends that grow up around the faith as if they are biblical truth.

And that means that we had better know what the true stories really are.

This is not to say that we cannot enjoy some of those legends.

We enjoy reading Clopper the Christmas Donkey.

I don’t have a problem with innkeepers in every church Christmas play.

But we must know the difference between what is in the bible and what isn’t.

How many wise men were there?

Three, right?

The bible doesn’t actually say. That number is based on three gifts and historical legend.

But the bible doesn’t even say that there were only three gifts. It just specifically mentions three gifts. There may have been more. And there were probably more than three wise men; and that doesn’t count how many people they brought with them. A long journey across arid lands would necessitate a larger entourage. The size entourage that would make an impression that would reach all the way to the king. (see Matthew 2:3)

And, despite what all of our manger scenes have, the wise men weren’t there. Not on the night of Jesus’ birth.  Which makes sense with the star being a herald of Jesus’ birth. And that is what they followed.

It would take a while for the wise men to show up. They arrived later. The language in the bible (Matthew 2:11) says that they entered the house and saw the child (not the infant: and yes, that is significant).

This doesn’t mean that you can’t put wise men in the manger.

We do in my house.

We do at my church.

It just means that we must know the fact verses the fiction.

The truth from the traditions.

We lose the right to be heard when we don’t know which is which. We must be people who read, study and know the Scriptures.

So, think of the legend of the candy cane when you see them around this Christmas.

Share the legend of the candy cane this Christmas.

Enjoy the traditions that you have.

Just know the difference.