"The Archetype of Advent: The Story of Compassion"
By: KC Knippa
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." [2nd Corinthians 1:3-4]
Life is nothing more than a collection of stories. This year for our advent worship series we will be taking a look at some classic literary works that present themselves as the archetype of the advent message. Join us each week as we dive into the often overlooked fantastical and majestic world that the advent story paints and be welcomed into a reality that we rarely slow down long enough to see in the world around us.
First let me explain this idea of types or typology. Types are nothing more than people, things, or concepts within a story that point to an idea or theme that cannot otherwise be found on its own. We see this happen all the time. An archetype then, is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated… In most stories the archetype foreshadows or points that something greater than itself. In Scriptures, the archetype is always that of Christ, and this where we find ourselves when we look at the advent narrative.
For the next four weeks we will take a look at one story each week that many of us are familiar with as a classic Christmas tale and find that these stories can help us understand the message of advent more clearly.
This week we will take a look at our first work which is The Elves and the Shoemaker by the Brothers Grimm. At first, this may not seem like a Christmas story, but many of our traditions about that big guy in a red suit and his workshop full of elves are derived from this story. Just a little background, the Grimms were a pair of German brothers who wrote a vast collection of folklore, legends, and stories. Many of these tales were of a cautionary nature, pointing to a theme that is greater than the story its self. This story, is one surrounding the message of generosity and compassion.
The story itself goes something like this;
“Once, here was an honest man who was a shoemaker. He was a poor man who had given his life to his craft, but had in recent years found himself in hard times. It came to be that all he had left in his name was enough leather to make one last pair of shoes. The leather was nothing more than a few scraps of discarded waste. He was convinced that he could do nothing with them.He laid out the material, went to bed and the next morning he awoke to find the most wonderful shoes he had ever seen. He and his wife had no clue as to how they were made, or who had made them. Later on that same day, a customer came in and after seeing how marvelous the shoes were insisted on buying the shoes for more than the listed price. Delighted, the shoemaker was able to take the money from the sale and buy some more leather, enough for two pairs shoes. He laid the material on his workbench once again and went to bed.The next day he woke up and found two finished pairs of shoes.This pattern of leaving material and awakening to find shoes continued for days and weeks. Through this miraculous event, the shoemaker became prosperous once again.One evening around Christmas time, he and his wife decide to stay up and see who has been giving these amazing gifts. Hiding in the corner of the room, they laid in wait to see who the mysterious workers would be. At the stroke of twelve, two tiny elves in torn rags walked in the front door, hopped on the workbench and went to work. Stitching the finest stitches, working faster they had ever seen. The elves finished the shoes and left in much the same way as they came.Grateful for all the elves had done, the shoemaker and his wife decided to show them their thanks by making for them a fine set of clothing. The next night, instead of leaving leather for shoes, they instead left only the new clothes. That evening when the elves came into the workshop, they saw the clothes and put them on. Their tiny faces lit up and they were delighted. The elves then left and would never return.Although the elves would never be seen again, the shoemaker and his wife lived for many years and were never in need again.”
Through this story, many themes emerge. The ideas of giving generously, repaying kindness, and even helping others who are in need can be seen. But, the most important message for this tale that points to the archetype of advent is that of compassion.
The elves in this story point to Jesus. Just as the elves saw a need and gave selflessly, Christ shows the same kind of compassion on us. Through His incarnation, He came to us and became like us. Not because He had to or because we deserved it, or even that we earned in some weird way… but because he saw price of our need and knew the worth of His compassion to be far greater. He gave of Himself and through it saved all of creation. Period. The end.
Or is it? This is where we tend to stop the story of advent… Christ came, He saved. But there is much more to see, much more to discover… a glimpse into a fantastical world that we rarely take time to see.
It is easy to see the types and parallels between this story and the story of advent. Many of us (myself included) see ourselves as the shoemaker, the elves point to Christ, but, I believe there is one element from this story that we are over looking… the leather.
What is the leather? In the story the leather that was first used to make the shoes were pieces of scrap… waste. They were viewed as worthless and unimportant. Yet the elves came and saw the beauty in the mundane, found purpose in the leather, and taught the shoemaker how to do the same. For us and our story, the leather is the world in which we live.
Christ is doing the same for us through the advent story. He has shown us the leather scraps of our lives and He gives us a new vision for them. He shows us how to take these scraps and find the beauty in the brokenness, the use in the useless, and how to find purpose in the mist of confusion.
Where is the leather for us? Can you see it? Can you see its beauty? Through the lens of advent we can see this new world around us, one where we can share His compassion and help show the beauty in this broken world. Just like in the story, Christ provides for our needs and now that we are no longer in want, we can see this fantastical world and our renewed purpose in it.
But often it is hard for many of us to move between the two worlds of the fantastical and the real. But for those of us in Christ… these two worlds are really one in the same.
One of the legends about Martin Luther… who was another great German storyteller, speaks of a cobbler, or in other words, a shoemaker, who was converted to Christianity. He came to Martin Luther and full of zeal for the faith asked him, “What should I do now that I’m Christian instead of being just a cobbler?” Luther asked him, “Are you a good cobbler?” The man reportedly replied, “oh yes, people say I’m one of the best!” To which Martin Luther replied “Then go a make great shoes.”
To further drive this point home, Luther said in his Address to the Nobility of the German Nation in 1520… which by the way after it was written would set the culture that the Brothers Grimm would grow up in and would influence many of their stories. The address said this;
“A cobbler, a smith, a farmer, each has the work and office of his trade, and yet they are all alike consecrated priests and bishops, and every one by means of his own work or office must benefit and serve every other, that in this way many kinds of work may be done for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the community, even as all the members of the body serve one another…”
This is our purpose that we find for ourselves as the story points to that of advent. Because of Christ and His vocation, we are called through whatever our vocation may be; to bring compassion, beauty, and purpose to the world around us. Christ has shown, even as a baby in a manger, that we are called to do more for the community… more for our leather. And above all else, in all that we do, we too are reminded to go and make great shoes.
As we began to awaken ourselves tonight, seeing the compassion, beauty, and purpose of our roles in the advent story… we now begin to see that the fantastical and the real are one in the same.
- KC
