“Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us… I, too, decided… to write a well-ordered account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may have a firm grasp of the words in which you have been instructed.”
-Luke 1:1,3-4, NRSVue

Dear friends,

Elyse Meyers had a very weird first date. It was such a weird date that when she told the story on TikTok years later (and happily married), she was flung to social media stardom.

Her date asked her to meet him at his house. When she arrived, he said he had lost his keys, so he asked her to drive. He directed her to a Taco Bell, where he ordered one hundred (that’s not a typo) hard shell tacos at the drive-through. Then he said he had forgotten his wallet in his car and asked her to pay for the tacos. And she did.

Her date told her to go back to his house and they went inside, where Elyse met her date’s father. Her date emptied the boxes tacos on the table and announced, “LET’S. FEAST!” Things somehow managed to get even worse from there, until Elyse decided if she didn’t leave immediately, she was probably going to die. She took the tacos and left.

When Elyse shared that story on TikTok, millions of people watched it and loved it. Taco Bell paid her to promote them. And everyone was very interested in hearing the man’s side of the story. The top thing people search for after watching that video is “Elyse Myers Taco Guy Responds.” In the two years since she published this video, he hasn’t responded.

But we like that, don’t we? Not just in this case, but in general: When a story seems beyond belief, we want to hear it from someone else’s perspective. Not necessarily because we don’t believe the first storyteller, but because now we have questions, and we’re hoping another storyteller might fill in some of those blanks.

When God became human (the incarnation is another story beyond belief), we might’ve wanted to hear that story from more than one angle. And we have that opportunity.

This Advent, we’re going to look at the incarnation from four different angles – the perspectives of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – and notice how they’re different and who says what and what that says about them and the people they’re telling their stories to, and what those differences (and similarities) say for us today. I’m excited to start looking at those stories with you.

Blessings,

Rev. David Schell