Who Needs a Redeemer?

At church we recently considered the book of Ruth; Boaz was Ruth's redeemer. Redemption is certainly a fitting theme for this time of year. But many moderns don't like redemption stories, at least those that show the male figure as the redeemer.

In fact I know colleagues at work who don't like certain movies precisely because those movies depict a woman as the one in need of being saved. I thought of this a few days ago when my father-in-law was reading the story of St. George and the Dragon to one of the kids. George saved the princess from the dragon by slaying the dragon before she could be offered to it as a sacrifice. As a kid, it seemed quite normal for a prince to save a princess - that's the way it was in the movies.

If this were a modern story however, the princess probably would have saved herself, and maybe even George while she was at it. The movies Flushed Away or Mr. and Mrs. Smith come to mind, but the list is long. I think I'm actually getting too used to the modern view, because I find myself noticing when the story is of the man saving the woman. Men aren't supposed to do that anymore are they?

On the surface this might seem like a simple issue about the equal value of men and women. But it seems that our modern story lines are saying something much deeper. They say that as moderns, we don't need Him to redeem us. 'Thank you very much, but we are capable of saving ourselves,' we say. In fact, we (she) might even teach you (Him) a thing or two about saving. This is a modern theological statement about our view of God.

Christmas is a time to remember that Christ has come to redeem us. Throughout scripture, Christ is pictured as a husband, and the church (men and women) as a woman. A woman who will be glorious because he has saved her. To some that story is offensive, so it is more palatable to celebrate holidays, snowmen, winter, and family than it is to celebrate a story of redemption. However to those who are willing to recognize themselves as the princess in this story, the tiding that "Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day to save us all from [the dragon's] power when we were gone astray," truly is a tiding of comfort and joy.