Images of Advent from the Silver Screen: December 4

December 4

The Preacher’s Wife

 

The Preacher’s Wife is part romance, part comedy, part musical and all miracle, as Dudley, an angelic presence (Denzel Washington) appears in response to the desperate plea of Reverend Jeremiah Biggs (Courtney Vance). It’s a remake of The Bishop’s Wife(1948), and offers its viewers a glimpse of the challenges and rewards of ministry.

Larry and I were ordained in 1978, and like Reverend Biggs, we’ve experienced days filled with desperate pleas for divine intervention. Like Biggs, we weren’t always quick to recognize it when that intervention came. While that help may not have been named Dudley, it was present in the faces and hands of people who loved us and loved God. Reverend Biggs understood: “When we love someone we are really loving God.” 

The film also renews faith. As Reverend Biggs testifies, “Just because you can’t see the air doesn’t keep you from breathing. And just because you can’t see God doesn’t keep you from believing.” Amen.

What sets this film apart from its earlier version is the glory of the music. With Whitney Houston as the preacher’s wife, the gospel music of the Georgia Mass Choir, and support from Lionel Ritchie and Kirk Franklin, no wonder the gospel soundtrack has sold six million copies. 

The Preacher’s Wifeshows us the keys to joyful living: the support of loving people, a sense of renewed faith, and heart-stirring music. Joy to the world!

 

Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 40:5

Images of Advent from the Silver Screen: December 3

December 3

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

 

Created in 1964, the animated film Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is a favoritefrom my childhood. It suggested a new twist on the Santa legend, leading a generation of children to stare out their bedroom window on Christmas eve, sure they’d located Rudolph’s red nose in the empty sky. The kindly voice of Burl Ives narrated the story and gave us “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Silver and Gold,” and Ives’ famous ballad that tells of a glowing nose (like a lightbulb), reindeer games (like Monopoly), and a saving presence on Christmas Eve. 

In its simplicity of plot, it is a powerfully redemptive message for those who struggle to belong – and to believe. Consider this dialogue between the head elf and Herney, who has befriended Rudolph. Herney was making toys in Santa’s workshop but really wanted to be a dentist. In trouble with the head elf, Herney tried to explain, saying,  “I just thought I’d find a way to fit in.” In response, the Head Elf told him: “You’ll never fit in. Now you come to elf practice, learn how to wiggle your ears, and chuckle warmly and go hee hee and ho ho and important stuff like that. A dentist. Good grief.”

Like Rudolph and Herney, we’ve probably experienced a time or two when our ears won’t wiggle, and we feel like misfits. Yet the gospel speaks of a different truth: All can belong. All can believe. There is room for elf-dentists and red-nosed sleigh navigators – and there is room in the Kingdom for you and me.

 

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. 

And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; 

by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

John 3: 16, The Message

Images for Advent from the Silver Screen - December 2

December 2

The Fourth Magi

 

“We three kings of Orient are bearing gifts . . .” While the biblical narrative mentions three gifts being taken to the young Jesus, it does not say how many magi were in the pilgrimage in search of the newborn king. With three gifts, it makes sense to assume three magi, and tradition provides them with names: Gaspar from India, Melchior from Persia, and Balthaazar from Arabia. Yet given the struggles of travel and communication in the 1^stcentury A.D., could there have been another traveler who “missed the boat?” 

Henry Van Dyke followed that thread, introducing the world of literature to Artaban in 1895. Van Dyke said, “I do not know where this little story came from – out of the air, perhaps. One thing is certain, it is not written in any other book, nor is it to be found among the ancient lore of the East. . . it was a gift, and it seemed to me as if I knew the Giver.”

Artaban comes to us in a number of versions, perhaps best known in the film, The Fourth Magi. The film chronicles the journeys of Artaban (Martin Sheen) and his rather reluctant servant Orontes (Alan Arkin). For many years, Artaban seeks after the promised child, but each time he is within reach, he is sidetracked by human need, and he responds in what we understand to be the spirit of Christ. 

The book’s author considers Artaban’s dilemma: “Should he risk the great reward of his divine faith for the sake of a single deed of human love?” Indeed, that is the sacred question that comes to us in these days of Advent. As Artaban discovered, and we experience as well, it is in the interruptions, the unplanned diversions that God is present in ways we least expect.

 

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

Images for Advent from the Silver Screen - December 1

December 1

A Charlie Brown Christmas

 

Not only has 2020 given us wild fires, a pandemic, and a contentious presidential election, but word has also spread that A Charlie Brown Christmaswill no longer flood the airwaves this year, as access will be limited to Apple TV+ subscribers. One more symbol of the growing gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” although the back lash has allowed for some free viewing opportunities, if only through a small window of time - thank you PBS.  

This 1965 animated film was predicted to be a disaster, lacking a sound track and using the music of jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. – jazz! It also used children’s voices to speak for the characters, and recorded the entire script in one day – what an undertaking. Now, fifty-five years later, it’s one of our most beloved symbols of Christmas.

Featuring Lucy as a Christmas queen and the pathetic Charlie Brown Christmas tree, the cartoon pushes against the commercialization of Christmas impacting even the Peanuts gang. When Charlie Brown pleads with the children to find someone who knows what Christmas is all about, Linus recites from the book of Luke, “And there were, in that same country . . .”

Linus Van Pelt, the proclaimer of the gospel and the teller of truth, said: “I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.” Charlie Brown’s tree, you, me, the world. Linus was not alone, for in that very same year, Hal David and Burt Bacharach shared a similar thought as sung by Jackie DeShannon: “What the world needs now is love, sweet love, No not just for some but for everyone.” Can I get an “amen!” for 2020?

 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, 

that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

I John 3:1 (NIV)

Images for Advent from the Silver Screen - November 30

November 30

Hallmark Christmas Movies

 

Unlike the classic movies of Christmas, such as Meet Me in St. Louisand White Christmas, and the beloved cartoons starring Rudolph and Frosty, the Countdown to Christmas that began on October 23 on the Hallmark Channel is relatively new, having just completed its first decade, but what a decade it’s been. There are three categories of people in this regard: those who have never watched a Hallmark Christmas movie, those who’ve watched one or two and feel as though they’ve seen them all, and those who can’t wait for the channel to kick off the films that bring Christmas to life for them each year.

Those in the first two categories often take on a superior air when the subject comes up, proud to cling to their purity when a Facebook question asks if they’ve ever watched a Hallmark movie. A friend of a friend told of her experience: “Never, NEVER thought I would say this . . . It all started two years ago. I have an elderly client (88) who got me hooked. When I go over for a visit and she has it on, I’m sucked in and can’t leave till it’s over.” Sappy? Yes. Corny? Yes. Obvious, predictable, mindless? Yes, yes, and absolutely. “And yet I love it.” She notes her exhaustion with life’s challenges, and admits: “Watching the Hallmark Christmas movies with precious older people is a nice escape. Wow, admitting that felt good!”

Unlike real life, Hallmark Christmas movies nearly always have a happy ending. Christmas Under Wrapsreminds us, “You can listen to your mind, but you have to follow your heart,” for there is goodness in this world. Perhaps Hallmark Christmas movies do have a purpose, helping us to think on what is lovely, if just for ninety minutes.

 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. 

Philippians 4:8 (NLT).

Images for Advent from the Silver Screen: November 29

I’ve written a number of advent devotionals over the years as a pastor and author, focusing on prayers (We Hear the Angels), faces (Faces of Advent for Christ-seekers), Christmas carols (Advent Notes for Christ-seekers), and questions (Advent Questions for Christ-seekers), as well as a collection of stories I titled Christmas Memories: Reflections of a Smitten Believer.  This year I'm offering a series of thoughts for Advent that can be read within a few minutes each day. These short essays will draw from images found in a variety of Christmas movies to help us focus on what it means to open our hearts to the celebration of the coming of the Christ child to the world. 

Here is day 1, the first Sunday in Advent.

                                                November 29

Home Alone 2

 

When shopping recently for face masks with a message, one of the few joys of a long-lasting pandemic, I discovered one that said, “Wear your mask, ya filthy animal.” Immediately I thought of the Home Alone movies, as Kevin (Macauley Culkin) watches gangster movies while waiting for his family to come home. In Home Alone 2, the iconic phrase is “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal.” Whenever our kids gather together, their conversation is peppered with quotations from movies, including this one, and so of course I had to purchase the masks inspired by that oft-quoted line. 

The imagery from film can impact our understanding of social issues, familial relationships, and even religious thoughts. We do not practice our faith on a desert island, nor do we read the Bible in a vacuum. What we see, hear, and experience can mold our understanding of scripture, our faithful living as a seeker after Jesus. We are impacted by the culture we live within, and images from that environment can expand our faith. 

That’s my hope with these writing – as well as to bring a glimpse of joy as we enter the magic of film and Christmas. Catherine Booth taught us: “Here is the principle – adapt your measures to the necessity of the people to whom you minister. You are to take the Gospel to them in such modes and circumstances as will gain for it from them a hearing.” In the movies we can see and hear the good news of the gospel, even if we might have to look for it a bit.

In Home Alone 2, Kevin reveals his heart and ours as he talks with the desk clerk at the Plaza. “And ma’am, sometimes I do get into mischief. We all do!” Substitute ‘sin’ for ‘mischief,’ and we see ourselves. That’s why Jesus came. That’s the good news of the gospel. 

 

The angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. 

“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”

                                                                Luke 2:10

Jack of All Trades?

rom my column in today's Ashland Times-Gazette

When I was first dating Larry, I arrived at his family’s home to find his mother in tears. “What happened?” I asked. “Margaret died,” she replied. Not recognizing the name, I asked, “Who is that?” “She’s on my story” she answered. Myrtle was a soap opera fan, and she was broken-hearted because one of her characters had met her maker.

One of the more minor struggles of the pandemic is that I’ve been missing my stories. Since filming abruptly concluded in the spring of 2020, it’s taken many months for new episodes of weekly television shows to be produced. Finally, our friends are back. Larry and I are creatures of habit, so on Wednesday nights, we watch the Chicago shows, on Thursday the music of Law and Order SVU beckons us to the television, and on Tuesday nights at 9, we join millions in viewing “This Is Us.” Yes, we have become our parents, absent the nightly bowl of ice cream.

On “This is Us,” Jack Pearson told Rebecca that his dad used to call him “jack of all trades.” As a kid, Jack was pleased with the label, but he came to understood that his dad didn’t see that designation in a positive light, and the associated label, “master of none” became a burden Jack carried for years. I’ve been thinking about that in recent days. I follow a history professor on social media, and I am so in awe of her expertise. Heather Cox Richardson speaks about current events in thoughtful ways, weaving in the lessons of history with ease. Reconstruction, the New Deal, the Civil War, oh, and did I mention what Johnson did in 1965? How I wish I had her depth of knowledge and her expertise.

My high school friend Susan is a concert pianist in Sweden. I play hymns, and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” from “Frozen” for my grandkids. Robert, another high school friend, is an accomplished surgeon. The closest I come to medical skills is the placement of Band-aids on skinned knees – with plenty of Nana kisses.

Obviously, our individual abilities depend on a variety of circumstances. Born with a genetic predisposition toward music, music is in the air in the home of a budding musician, and instruments offer the opportunity to explore the magical notes. Throw in parental provisions for weekly lessons and supervision of daily practice sessions, a willingness to give up other interests, a strong work ethic, a good dose of talent and an even greater dose of fortune, and maybe Carnegie Hall becomes a reality. Remove even one of those factors, and we’re playing in a garage band at age forty.

This is not a “feel sorry for me or tell me how talented I am” plea for affirmation. Nor am I wallowing in envy, for I try daily to heed Thomas Browne’s counsel: “Let age, not envy, draw wrinkles on thy cheeks.” Instead, I sit in awe of how uniquely different we each are, “fearfully and wonderfully made” as the Psalmist suggests.

The apostle Paul recognized the importance of bringing together people with a variety of gifts under the umbrella of faith. In I Corinthians 12, he compares this concept to the body, reminding us of this: “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? It the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?” Yes, Paul says, we each bring value to the body.

This principle extends to groups of all kinds, in families, workplaces, social media platforms, and communities. Like the villagers in Stone Soup, we offer what we have to each other, the gift of music, the ability to heal, the skill to weave historical stories into the reality of today. And like Jack Pearson, jack of all trades, we love our family fiercely, draw out greatness in each other, and cast dreams far into the future.

Richard Rohr suggests we discover places of sharing where hearts and bread can be broken and passed around, places where Band-aids heal, stories connect, and music brings joy. Whether our skill set runs deep or wide, it is enough to give what is in our hands.