The “Other” Message in Christmas Movies

“Look for Christ and you will find Him. 

And with Him everything else.”

C. S. Lewis

  So, what’s your favorite Christmas movie? There are some wonderful ones. There are also some horrible ones but no one will deny that there are lots of them. Essentially, all of December is filled with Christmas movies but then it comes to a screeching halt on December 26^th.

  Though I don’t want to read something in to Christmas movies that are not there, as I was mulling this over, I do think that there’s more of a redemptive element in many of these classics than perhaps we’ve noticed, elements of the real Christmas story are there even by those who may have never intended to put them there. For example…

  We’re all sinners and really messed up. I love Home Alone, but is there any character that you’d want to be “home alone” with in that movie? They have a huge, beautiful house but they’re mean, cruel and vicious to each other. They’d be dubbed dysfunctional. That seems too kind. They illustrate that bucko bucks and a fabulous vacation to Europe won’t transform sinful people into good ones. Miracle on 34^th Street also shows the emptiness of what most consider to be success.

  The difference one person can make. It will be forever debated whether Die Hard is truly a Christmas movie. While John McClain is heroic, he has lots of serious issues and is certainly not an example of how to live. Yet, in spite of that, he’s willing to sacrifice his life and everything else for others. Wonderfully, our Savior who came and entered space and time is truly a hero, a White Knight with no chinks in His armor. Jesus is the perfect, sinless lamb of God who sacrificed Himself for us.

  All of us must be prepared for death. He’s only a snowman but every child is saddened that Frosty’s clock is ticking and he’s headed to his soon demise. Frosty shows us that the seasons of life can’t be stopped. As much as we seek to freeze ourselves in youth, death is imminent for all of us and we need to prepare for our all too soon coming end.

  Unrealistic expectations always leave us empty. Both Christmas Story and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation are about expectations and the frustration of unrealized ones. Clark Griswold wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife and children, as he tries to make sure everything is perfect. But it will never happen and things quickly go awry. His redneck cousin, Eddie and family show up…unplanned and start living in their camper on the Griswold property. Worse, Clark’s employers renege on the holiday bonus he’s planning on and desperately needs.

  You can’t judge the overall plan on your little piece of information. One of my favorites is White Christmas. Yet, what a comedy of errors and anger that’s a result of misinformation and not having the “big picture.” If we only look at today and this world, we too will become quickly disillusioned and angry. What a wonderful encouragement those words from Isaiah are, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord” (55:8). It also shows how we muck things up when we manipulate and try to force things. Often we attempt to “help” God out only to discover that we’ve created a bigger mess.

  What a dark and different world this would be if Jesus had not come. Christmas doesn’t seem like Christmas unless I’ve watched It’s a Wonderful Life and I spring a leak every time. It’s considered, not just one of the greatest Christmas movies, but one of the greatest films ever made. Frank Capra, the director, confessed that it was his personal favorite among the films he directed. He screened it for his family every Christmas season.

  George Bailey is the classic antihero. After setback after setback, he repeatedly gives up on his dreams to help others. His attempted suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence who shows George all of the lives he’s touched, and how different life in his community would be if he’d never been born.

  Think about that. Our world is so dark and evil now, but what would it be like if Jesus had never come. No churches, orphanages, hospitals. Think of how many organizations, including most Ivy League colleges, were birthed by Christians seeking to serve the Savior. What if Jesus had never come? It’s a very dark concept.  

  Hope and redemption for the seemingly unredeemable. Another longtime favorite is the original Grinch. The theme song nearly makes the movie. He’s a surly character with a heart “two sizes too small” who especially hated Christmas and determines to stop it from ever coming to Whoville. He steals Christmas from the Whos and returns to his mountain,  waiting to hear their sad cry. Instead, the Whos joyously begin to sing Christmas carols, proving that the spirit of Christmas doesn’t depend on material things. The Grinch begins to understand the true meaning of Christmas and his heart grows three sizes. He brings everything back to the Whos and even participates in their holiday feast.

  Christmas movie after Christmas movie repeats the same theme of hope and redemption from A Christmas Carol to Christmas with the Cranks and even Elf. Yet, the fictional tales are nothing compared to the real one. The real Christmas story, the one found in Scripture, is about hope, forgiveness and redemption. As the angel told Joseph, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

  How about you? Has He saved you from your sins? Is your life story His redemption story and the great plan of salvation? Because He came for you, your life can be one of the greatest Christmas stories of all time, too. 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Sappy Christmas Movies...much more than just sappy

“Ho, ho, but no matter. Christmas was on its way. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved.”  A Christmas Story

  Please don’t tell my daughter, but I’m thankful for sappy Christmas movies. Charity has our DVR programmed to record zillions of them during the holidays (Okay, it’s not zillions but it’s a lot). I Googled how many sappy Christmas movies there actually are…I think I may have broken Google. For the most part, I don’t actually watch them. Yet, as I’m working on something in the room when they’re on, I’ll sometimes catch a few moments. Apparently, I’m allergic to them because my eyes often water. Yes, they’re very formulaic. I just appreciate that they always have happy endings. We need a few more happy endings in this world.

  There’s only one true Christmas story. It’s the historical account we find in Scripture, God sending Jesus to be our Savior. It probably didn’t happen in December. That’s just tradition. December 25^th was chosen by church leaders in the early 300’s. From what we can ascertain from the historical background, it’s more likely that Jesus was born in late September.

  Yet, in the many stories and movies that have risen around Christmas, there are often redemptive elements we wouldn’t have without the Incarnation. Apart from Jesus coming, this world would be a horrible, perpetual “Bad Santa” place (And no, I haven’t seen it nor do I desire to).

  My favorite Christmas movie when I was a child, was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. With great anticipation, I looked forward to seeing it each year. It’s a story about misfits. Rudolph is a misfit. Hermey the elf is a misfit. Ultimately, Rudolph and Hermey team up and their journey leads them to an island of misfit toys. Apart from God’s grace, we’re all just a bunch of misfits because of sin. No one measures up. Wonderfully, in Rudolph all of the misfits are rescued. That’s why Jesus came – to rescue misfits like us – “to save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

  Though released in 1946, It’s a Wonderful Life, is still a classic. It asks a powerful question: What if someone had never been born? What if Jesus had never been born? The film shows the horror of what would have happened if George Bailey hadn’t been born. Multiply that horror a million times a million if Jesus had never been born. It was because of Jesus that slavery was abolished. Both women and children were given value and status as God intended, instead of being property or vassals. Nearly every college first began as a Christian one. Hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens, ministries for addicts and the poor and countless others were started by Christians seeking to demonstrate God’s love that He first demonstrated to us by the gift of His Son.

  A Charlie Brown Christmas almost never happened, at least not the one that was the final product. Charlie Brown is seeking the true meaning of Christmas. The author, Charles Schulz, battled with Network executives because he insisted on including part of Luke 2. The network executives were death on having Linus reciting the story of the birth of Christ from the Bible. Network orthodoxy assumed that viewers wouldn’t want to sit through passages of Scripture. There was a major standoff, but Schulz wouldn’t back down. Because of tight production schedule and CBS’s prior promotion of it, network executives aired it as Schulz intended it. But they were certain they had a flop on their hands. Charles Schulz knew the biblical account from Luke 2 was the soul of the story. So as Charlie Brown sinks into a state of deep despair, trying to find the true meaning of Christmas, Linus quietly saves the day. Walking to the center of the stage where the Peanuts characters have gathered, under a narrow spotlight, he quotes Luke 2:8-14. It’s the power of God’s Word!

  Even Christmas with the Kranks has redemptive elements. It confronts the narcissism, hedonism and self-absorption of the contemporary Christmas. Luther Krank is determined to take care of himself. It’s only when he’s forced to “repent” because his daughter, Blair, is coming home for Christmas that he finally capitulates. So he’s desperate. And his community, even though Luther has been a brat, is a model of grace as they kindly rally to rescue him. That’s what the local church is to be – a community that forgives, helps and seeks to be a blessing…even for the undeserving…because each of us is so undeserving. Even then, Luther doesn’t get it until he gives away his prized possession of a Carribbean cruise to an elderly couple where the wife is dying of cancer. It’s only when he sacrifices for someone else that the light begins to dawn.

  We, too, though lose by hoarding and only gain by giving. Like Luther, we’ve been given so much, yet we still miss it and too frequently selfishly focus only on ourselves. It’s only when we’re generous as God has been generous with us in the gift of His Son that the light begins to dawn in our hearts and we truly find “peace on earth.”

  There are many others. Probably my favorite is a 1986 made for TV movie, Christmas Eve. It’s the story of a wealthy elderly lady, who gives to the homeless and volunteers her time with children. When she learns she has an incurable illness, she wants desperately to reunite her three now grown grandchildren who’ve scattered across the country, with their estranged father, her son. She hires a private detective to search for them and attempt to get everyone together on Christmas Eve. It seems impossible and hopeless, but in the end it all comes together. There is re-uniting and restoration. It’s a message of hope, forgiveness and restoration. 

  Isn’t that one of the powerful messages of Christmas? Hope. God through His Son restored us to Himself. We’re forgiven! Because of His grace, we can be restored to each other. What often seems so hopeless – broken lives, marriages, families and a broken world can be restored because of the Cross, His first coming. As dark as it all may seem, there is still hope! 

  So enjoy some sappy Christmas movies. Remember though that the true story isn’t sappy, it’s true and it’s life changing: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.