The greatest story ever told…anew…

This time of year, what has been termed the "greatest story ever told" is told again...and again...and even more times.

Of course, it is the story of the miraculous birth of Jesus of Nazareth...to adherents of Christianity(like me)the Lord and savior of the world, and the embodiment of the eternal God of the universe.

This story was first told widely in the New Testament of the Bible, in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. From there, it was re-told repeatedly by ministers of the Christian faith, its' preachers and evangelists...and even put to art, poetry, and music by those so gifted and eager to lend their gifts to the cause of proclaiming the Christian message to everyone they could.

That story directly led to the season that most of the world is celebrating right now, called Christmas in honor of the one whose birth is being commemorated. From it came secular traditions like Santa Claus, and the admirable tradition of giving gifts to people we know.

This weekend, I heard one of the most remarkable radio presentations I have heard in my life.

At the radio station I work at, we carry the Glenn Beck Weekend talk program. Beck is a fast-rising talk star who is not only featured on radio, he has been on TV quite a bit in the past year. It would seem that Beck is also a Christian. I don't know that for a fact, but based on the segment I'm about to discuss on his show which was aired this weekend, I'd be willing to wager as such.

The segment is a retelling of the Christmas story, produced and narrated by Beck. A segment like this is quite remarkable in light of the fact that Beck is syndicated by a most secular company, Premiere Radio Networks(syndicator of such talent as Rush Limbaugh, Laura Schlesinger, Coast-to-Coast, and Jim Rome)...especially when one considers the widespread resentment of parts of today's society toward endorsing the Christian message.

Beck's rendering of the Christmas story focuses on the two regular people(as opposed to saints or celebrities)directly involved in the birth of Jesus...Joseph and Mary. Beck's narrative illustrates their(more than likely)real and striking fears involved in the issues of the story(unmarried pregnant young woman, loving man terrified at the news of her pregnancy and the circumstances surrounding it), and in a way that simply isn't captured in the Biblical narrative(how can it be?), pictures them as humans just like us, with identical reactions as we would have were we in their situation.

But the profound truth and beauty of this story is that despite their plight, the young couple understands that their circumstances are engineered and chosen by their God, and despite their fear, confusion, and humanity, trust this God in their circumstances and proceed in obedience to Him.

Beck's narration(and song selection to accompany it)draws this out. This is significant, in that regardless of the almost idyllic way the story is told in the Bible(with manger, cradle, wise men, etc.), most modern Biblical scholars agree that this story is a powerful polemic to illustrate not only the significance of the birth of Jesus(and who He grows up to be), but the necessity of faith in the one true God, just as the Old Testament stories are.

Beck masterfully refuses to paint this time honored story with a broad brush, as most societies have for centuries, but with a deft human touch, relating it to us as struggling human beings, searching for answers to our dilemmas in a hostile, hectic world.

My jury is still out on Beck the talk show host(although he seems to be a quite good one to me thus far), but my personal kudos go out to Beck for this remarkable radio segment, in which he does the Kingdom of God on earth a great service, IMO, by telling one of the world's most famous stories in a dynamic and compelling way, and making it touch where we live and breathe.

If you're able to hear Glenn Beck, and hear this segment, I predict it will touch and bless you, too.

UPDATE: Well, I learned a little more about Glenn Beck tonight. And if you read closely what I typed above, you might think me an ideal person to strike up a wager with.

I opined that based on Beck's presentation of the Christmas story, he must be a Christian. Well, not quite.

Turns out some seven years ago, Beck turned from a life of alcoholism to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints(aka the Mormon Church). I am very glad for Beck that his demons of alcohol have left him, though I wish he would join an authentic Christian fellowship and embrace what I believe to be the true faith of the Bible.

To those of you who might suppose me a bit intolerant, not at all. I defend the right of anyone to be whatever they choose to be. This does NOT mean that I have to embrace or otherwise endorse or accept a creed that is different from mine. You see, that is my right, too.

Having said the above, I am glad to concede that Beck appears to be a conscientious, dedicated man who is friendly on the air(for the most part)and says many things that I personally agree with. Obviously, based on that last comment, I have yet to hear him discuss his faith or church affiliation on his show. Hey, we've only carried his show for four weekends!:-)

But I stand by my thoughts in the above post. I heard nothing heterodox in Beck's analysis of the birth of Jesus...rather, I found it to gibe with everything I learned about it through my own study, and my brief time as a student auditing classes at Fuller Theological Seminary in California.

And as such, I maintain that his powerful exposition on the story of the birth of Jesus remains a service to the Kingdom of God on earth, based on its content, if not on its messenger(and CERTAINLY not his church affiliation). So I still recommend it for anyone who cares to sample it.

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