December

Echo

Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt

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In my present limited  state of activity, I’ve had lots of time to satiate myself with Chrismas movies. There is, of course, a common thread in all of them.  They are formula stories:  One or both of the romantic leads finds Christmas to be a bore, even dreads the approaching season, gritting their teeth to get through it.  There is always a very smart preteen child involved,  and there is some kind of conflict that eventually brings the two romantic leads together, with the grinchy one realizing that Christmas is the best time of the year.

Because music is so important to me, I am intrigued by the limited number of Christmas songs used in these movies.  You hear Deck the Halls, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Rudolph,  and a couple of other completely non-sacred songs.  Rarely, Silent Night is included. There is usually a choir, but rarely in a church. Often there is a wedding, again rarely in a church. Every now and then, you may get a glimpse of a nativity scene, again rare, and usually the focus is on the camel or a donkey.

Christmas, then, is simply a time of good cheer, love for mankind, and lots of decorating and shopping.  Family is emphasized. Tradition is emphasized.

 I think I would be safe to say that I have never heard the Name of Jesus Christ mentioned in a single one of the movies I’ve watched, and I’ve been paying attention. There is “Christmas magic,” and there are “Christmas miracles.” Now and then we get a humanized angel who  orchestrates a happy outcome. Even when heaven is included in the script, we never hear the Name of God; we never hear of Jesus Christ.  The heavenly part is typically comical, with a sometimes sweet, sometimes distracted, sometimes snarky angel in charge of the gate.

So why is all this the case?  Well, you knew I was going to tell you 🙂

The whole season, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, echoes down through the halls of history with the amazing miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ; born to a little Jewish girl in a little Jewish town, insignificant to most yet acknowledged even at the time as something to think about. King Herod, after all, was so upset by this One that the Wise Men referred to as the King of the Jews that he had all Jewish baby boys age two and under massacred in an effort to destroy Jesus. The shepherds in the fields that night were told by the angels where to find Him.  Mary and Joseph understood, in greater or lesser degree, that this baby was the fulfillment of prophecy.

What was the miracle?  Little Jewish babies are born every day. Yes, but only one of them was conceived  by the Holy Spirit of God. Mary was a virgin, and she remained so until after the birth of Jesus.  Joseph was not His father; only in the legal sense could Joseph claim that position.

Jesus was the Son of God, born to die for the sin of all mankind.

But people are offended by the Name of Jesus.  People don’t want to hear about the sacred impact of Christmas. Silent Night gets are hearing now and then because of its universal familiarity.  Most children, I would venture to say, have no real idea what happened in O Little Town of Bethlehem.   It’s not politically correct, and we don’t want to offend anyone who may not believe in the Christian reason for celebrating Christmas.

I am here today to salute you all with  Merry Christmas, and may you search under all the tinsel and glitter to find the meaning and the importance of a baby born in a small country, a small town, a small stable because there was no room for the little family in the inn.

God bless you during this Christmas season.

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