By Rev. Aidan Moon

True Myth and God’s Storytelling

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.

Some natural phenomena are simply mysterious and strange. They invite wonder, and they invite storytelling.

The Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland is one of these things – strange, hexagonal-shaped rock formations stick out of the ground, across the channel from similar formations in Scotland. Regardless of our natural explanations, the name of this formation stems from a legend about a pair of giants, one Irish, one Scottish, whose battling and feuding destroyed this great bridge between the two countries. This left the remains of this causeway lingering on either side, a remnant and reminder of their battle.

The ancient world is full of such legends and tales. We could easily dismiss them, but I think a wiser view takes it all in and recognizes that the world is far more wonderful and mysterious than we know. We, too, have our own tales of giants, serpents, battles, and cosmic struggle. These are what J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would call “the true myth” – the story of God and His Creation. That is, that myth and legend resonate with us because they are reflections of what is real.

Read and reflect on our foundational stories again, so that you might wonder and marvel at God’s storytelling. Especially in this season, marvel at the reality that God has crossed the boundary between heaven and earth, entering our world in human flesh, to do battle with the forces of evil. The causeway to God is no longer broken. The giants of this world have no power to defeat His chosen ones, as he enters the story, redeems the story, and makes war on the darkness in a manger, a cross, and an empty tomb.

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.“

– Colossians 1:13-14, English Standard Version

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