I had some real fun with the sermon. But more importantly, it resulted in something I’m convinced was faithful—and more than a few told me that it was formative.
I didn’t choose this homiletical example on a whim. I have to think most every preacher who’s reading this has done a little creative imagining when telling the story of the shepherds. The creators of “The Chosen” have, too, in a Christmas-centric episode simply titled “The Shepherd.” If you’ve seen it, you know the writers did their homework before they had their fun. And as a result, they were as faithful and as formative in their telling as us.
The first two frames of the entire “Chosen” series feature a disclaimer, a word of clarification that contextualizes every episode that follows. In it, the creators explicitly state that their work is second—and always in service to—the Scriptures and they go on to encourage viewers to read the gospels.
As someone else engaged in the work of creatively re-telling God’s stories, I hear what they’re saying: “As we tell these stories, if it doesn’t violate what we’ve found in our exegetical examination, but in fact provides historical education and paves the way for meaningful application, we’re going to employ a bit of imagination—but in ways that are always subservient to the actual revelation.”
And so I, for one, say: “Keep hold of the caution and press on.” To say anything other than that would be a bit hypocritical of me.
