In my Christmas reflection/greeting yesterday I chose a slightly different but, to my understanding of the Greek text, reasonable reading of the passage.  Specifically, in John 1:14 where we usually say that the Word “dwelt” among us, an alternate translation is that it “tabernacled” or literally “pitched its tent” among us.

If you want an even more counter-cultural example, I recommend an article from the Christianity Today web site titled “ No room at the what?”  This is a great, and challenging, discussion of how we view the “no room at the inn” phrase and what the Greek text and the cultural setting may actually be.

Is this applicable to how we view Presbyterian polity?  Absolutely.  If you have every worked with a congregation of a different cultural background, you know they will read, interpret and apply polity with certain cultural understandings and expectations which could differ and conflict with your established understandings.  Presbyteries have sometimes needed extensive discussions to come to a mutual understanding about the views of polity and each others cultural understandings.  The need for flexibility to accommodate different cultural approaches, for better or for worse, is one element in the rewrite of the PC(USA) Form of Government.

The question in any of our polity becomes “What is fundamental to our theology and what can be flexible to accommodate cultural traditions and backgrounds?”

A good Feast of Saint Stephen to you and a happy Boxing Day.