…do not be afraid to take Bitter Tears (Mary) to be your wife, because the Great Spirit has given her this child. She will give birth to a son. You will name him Creator Sets Free (Jesus), because he will set his people free from their bad hearts and broken ways. Emmanuel means Creator is with us. Matthew 1: 20-23 (First Nations New Testament)
Appearing in a dream, an angel told Joseph not to worry about marrying his pregnant fiancée, Mary. She and the infant Jesus would need protection and support in the days and months ahead. The “Creator Sets Free” had a job to do by freeing the Creator’s people from “bad hearts and broken ways.” God’s plan was not going to be stopped.
Using images from other cultures can expand and enhance our experience of the traditional stories that we have repeatedly heard and learned over the years. The above image pulls together the Incarnation from a First People’s perspective. God as the Creator stands over the entire Incarnation process. Mary, as his created being, is held compassionately between his hands as she births the Christ child.
The real birth of Jesus is more descriptive, and possibly more graphic, than most of us wish to conceptualize. It involves a birth complete with an umbilical cord that ties us, not only to humanity, but also to the Creator of the Universe. The First People’s account of the Incarnation is more than just the birth of a child. It is the rebirth of all Creation, inexplicably tied together for all eternity through the Creator.
The words from the passage of Scripture written on the image are taken from the First Nations New Testament. The translation may seem strange. Scripture words originally written in Greek cannot easily be translated from one language (or culture) to another. There is always some small piece of an interpretation that does not fit the words exactly. Words are only an approximation of meaning. However, the actual stories in Scripture do ring true between cultures. When stories are true, truth is transmitted intact between cultures, no matter what the culture. What is true must be true always and everywhere.
Listening to a story from a cultural perspective other than our own has the potential to deepen our own understanding of God. We gather new meanings that we might have missed when listening to a story only from our own culture and point of view.
This passage from the First Nations New Testament deepens our understanding of the Incarnation. It is a paraphrase of the angel’s words spoken to Joseph. Instead of seeing Mary as a person who was mild and meek, the translation captures the mature Mary who would shed bitter tears later in her life (which parallels the shedding of tears by Native American people).
Mary was given her child not only by the [Holy] Spirit, but also by the Great Spirit who creates all of life. This creation image is reflected in the name of Jesus which is interpreted as “Creator Sets Free.”
Not only was Jesus fully human and fully God, but he was also part of God the Father, who fashioned the entire world. Jesus arrives as the new Creator who sets his people free from their “bad hearts and broken ways.” In this translation, sin can now be seen as an action stemming from a bad heart.
During this Season of Advent, may Christ continue to set us all free from our “bad hearts and broken ways.”
Prayers and Blessings,
Fr. John
