Sarx

Post #7 in the 2007 Advent series on the O Antiphons. The master-post for this series is here and the text of all the Great O Antiphons is here.

 Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, expectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.

 Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the one awaited by the gentiles, and their Saviour: come to save us, Lord our God.

What is the difference between legend and myth?

Myth is “A traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or ideals of society: the myth of Eros and Psyche; a creation myth.” Mythology is really an Academic term. It comes from the Greek, Mythos, meaning “story” but its general application to religion is a recent (Victorian?) development. The Wiki says, In the academic fields of mythology, mythography, or folkloristics, a myth (mythos) is a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to be in their present form. The active beings in myths are generally gods and heroes. Myths often are said to take place before recorded history begins. In saying that a myth is a sacred narrative, what is meant is that a myth is believed to be true by people who attach religious or spiritual significance to it. Use of the term by scholars does not imply that the narrative is either true or false.

Legend is “An unverified story handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical.” The Wiki goes a little further, saying that a Legend (from the Latin meaning “things to be read”) is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. Legend, for its active and passive participants, includes no happenings that are outside the realm of “possibility”, defined by a highly flexible set of parameters, which may include miracles that are perceived as actually having happened, within the specific tradition of indoctrination where the legend arises, and within which it may be transformed over time, in order to keep it fresh and vital, and realistic.

Please note that neither need be 100% true or untrue; but neither is quite historical in the same way that a security camera film is. This paragraph is added as a Public Service Announcement for folks whose alarms go off when the word “myth” is applied to their religion.

Both are stories. But myths are spiritual. Paul Bunyan in a Legend. Washington chopping down the cherry tree is a legend. Stories of Zeus, Yahweh, Gaia and Kali are Myths. Primarily a myth is a religious legend. A myth is a special kind of story invested with spiritual and religious import. A legend can develop from a myth, as we are reminded, “Disconnected from its religious system, a myth may lose its immediate relevance to the community and evolve—away from sacred importance—into a legend or folktale.” At this time of year we see a Legend roaming our shopping malls devoid of religious significance:

The mythological figure of St Nicholas of Myra in Lycea (cue: swelling organ music), rescuer of children, decker of Arius, restored to his Episcopal power by Jesus and Mary themselves (cue: tympani!)… has become the merely legendary Santa Claus (cue: digital jingle bells).

The reverse is also true: and Legend can be come Myth. Something unimportant, a toss-off, can develop into a central point.

What’s all this doing under “O Emmanuel”?

The word “Emmanuel” on the Antiphon references a story in the Gospel, (Matthew 1:18-25) where an angel quotes a passage from the Prophet Isaiah, All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” (Vs 22, 23)

But the quote is not directly from the Hebrew Bible. Rather it is from a Greek Translation of the Hebrew Bible, called the Septuagint (or LXX).

The LXX, as quoted directly in Matthew, says “behold a virgin…” using the Greek word Parthenos, and although the mystical meaning in Greek culture is up for grabs, the general use is “Virgo Intacta” ie, a female with an unbroken hymen.

The only problem is that’s not what the Hebrew says. The Hebrew says “Almah” which means young girl and can mean virgin. But needn’t. For those who argue from silence (there is no place in the Bible where it has to mean something else) I only reply that it can mean. It doesn’t need to mean either.

But the way we get from Almah to Parthenos is interesting. Quothe the OrthodoxWiki

The Righteous Simeon was one of the seventy scholars who came to Alexandria to translate the Holy Scriptures into Greek. The completed work was called “The Septuagint,” and is the version of the Old Testament used by the Orthodox Church.

St Simeon was translating a book of the Prophet Isaiah, and read the words: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a Son” (Is 7:14). He thought that “virgin” was inaccurate, and he wanted to correct the text to read “woman.” At that moment an angel appeared to him and held back his hand saying, “You shall see these words fulfilled. You shall not die until you behold Christ the Lord born of a pure and spotless Virgin.” Tradition says he died at the great age of 360.

This is legend (there are many legends around the translation of the LXX) elevated to mythology: for it is important to Christian doctrine that the Miriam of Nazareth be not a young woman (Almah) but rather a virgo intacta (Parthenos).

And the Virgin must conceive and have a son that is Emmanuel.

The only problem is that damned passage in Isaiah has nothing to say about the Messianic Age.

Take a look at the whole thing:

The southern Kingdom of Judah is being attacked by the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Isaiah says, Look, you don’t believe me (about my prophecy) and you don’t believe God when he speaks to you, so here’s a sign: this almah (leave the meaning aside) shall have a child and you’ll call him Immanuael and before he’s old enough to tell right from wrong or even eat baby-mush rather than mother’s milk, Israel will be totally gefotzed. It’ll be so broken that you won’t know which way is up.

That’s all in Chapter 7, then in Chapter 8 he says the same things going to happen to Judah as well. Isaiah is all like, Fasten your seat belt, schmuck: it’s going to be a bumpy night.

And out of all of that the community that produced the Gospel of Matthew latched on to one possible translation of one phrase in one verse and decided it was a sign of the Messianic Age.

The irony is that the O Antiphon puts the words “come, Emmanuel” into the mouth of the Jews under Roman persecution. For anyone reading the full passage in Isaiah wouldn’t want this prophecy fulfilled.

Call me currently sceptical.

In context, the name Immanuel has nothing to do with the Christian doctrine of the incarnation. It is, however, a sign that God is acting: and not in the way we might want. In the context Immanuel is a toss-off. God’s promising a sign that everything is about to go upside down and oh, call him Manny because when it’s over you’ll know “God is with us” but you won’t be too happy about it.

Christians took this toss off of Immanuel and elevated it into a primary point, a cornerstone of primary importance: Emmanuel. The Legend of Immanuel – a girl having a kid that you won’t be too happy about – becomes the Myth of Emmanuel – a virgin shall conceive and everyone will be saved.

Or the whole thing can be recomposed like this:

Reality: God is acting, but not in the way that we want.
Myth (religious story conveying the reality): The child born of a virgin in Bethlehem is God Incarnate.
Legend (within the realm of possibility but unimportant): God fixed the scriptures, eliminating vagaries.

It is hard for me right now to reconcile the snippets of Jewish Bible used to support Christian teaching with the context from which they are snipped. This is a stumbling block for me right now.

It is not, however, hard to believe that God acts differently from what we want to be.

Come, Emmanuel.