I've just started reading Pullman's new book and I'll let you know how I get on. What struck me about the cover was that on the back, in big letters, it says, 'THIS IS A STORY', which is an interesting contrast to Dan Brown's assertion at the beginning of 'Da Vinci Code' when he said that everything in the story is accurate.
Fair play to Pullman for stating it clearly but I was left concerned after the first few pages. He cleverly weaves elements of the Bible account of Jesus with fanciful story telling, the back cover implying that everything in the book is just a story with no basis of fact at all. My prayer is that the readers will see the truth amidst the fiction and it will cause them to explore the true storyteller that this modern day story writer seems to be fascinated by.
Having the privilege to be given time to read, study and prepare for a Sunday sermon brings new insights and understandings which I wish I'd known before. I'm able to engage in the story and meet the storyteller every day. The Bible always amazes me because there is always something new to learn and the familiar stories take on new twists and turns as God speaks today through the words written hundreds, thousands of years ago by people who had no idea of the culture I would be reading the text in. That's the genius of God for you! It is truly the Living Word of God.
I stumble across passages and connections between the Old and New Testament and wonder why I haven't seen them before or why I wasn't taught about them when I trained for church ministry. Have I just been lazy or does God open my eyes at just the time I need to understand something new? I had one of those moments recently as I was flicking through some passages. It was a serendipitous moment - I was looking for one thing and discovered something completely different that I wasn't looking for but was glad to discover. It had always been there, I just hadn't been looking for it. But it was an, 'A-ha' moment that helped me understand a bit better the story of the prodigal son that Jesus told and Luke recorded in chapter 15 of his good news story of Jesus Christ.
Alister McGrath recently said that people in our culture do not know the ending of the story anymore so it needs explaining. We also need to understand the shock of the ending to the first hearers. And it is that which I am slowly beginning to understand.
In Deuteronomy 21:18-21, the Law outlines what should happen to a 'stubborn and rebellious son.' His mother and father will take him to the elders at the gate of the town, shall tell the elders that their son is a 'profligate and drunkard', then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. Which is exactly what Jesus did not say. What a shock to all the listeners that day. For the religious it was not the ending they were expecting and for the 'sinners' it was not the ending they were expecting. One group hated Jesus even more, the other loved him even more. Great stories bring you to a point of decision.
This is radical storytelling by a radical storyteller who speaks words of hope to a desperate and marginalised community, who speaks words of God to people in need of love, acceptance, welcome and compassion.
Phillip Pullman has written a story, but it doesn't come close to the story of Jesus. Jesus put into action what he said and still today shocks and challenges the ending we want to hear. It's not as clear cut as we sometimes want it to be. Jesus did things differently and as I read the Word of God I hope that I will be willing to understand a different ending to the one I'm expecting.
By the way, have a read of Deuteronomy 21:22-23. What does that say about Jesus' death on a cross?
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