Every year, on Thanksgiving Day, it starts. You would think that by now it’s causes are
so repetitious we would not be affected, but we are. Even when we steel ourselves against it and
determine we will not respond the same way, we still do. What is it?
Tears fill our eyes and we get lumps in our throats.
Be truthful with yourself! Can you tell me that watching the Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade does not move you?
If you are old enough, you remember the Rocky and Bullwinkle
balloons. Younger adults smile when they
see the Ronald McDonald balloon. To
thrill the very young of age is Sponge Bob Square Pants. Yet at the end of the Parade, every year
comes Santa Clause and his sleigh. If
the balloons do not stir our hearts, Santa must.
As I experience the traditions of the season I find
a comfort in the repetitions. New
traditions are great, but the old faithful ones make me feel secure in this
ever-changing terrorist gripped world.
We start hearing and singing songs like “Sleigh Ride”, “Frosty The Snow
Man” and “White Christmas”. As we enter
and exit stores shopping for Christmas presents we hear bell ringers and
greetings of Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays.
We have such movie classics to watch such as: “It’s
A Wonderful Life” where we relate to Jimmy Stewart’s character in finding out
that the joy of life comes from our relationships with the people around
us. How many times do we remember our
own childhood watching the boy who wanted a BB gun in “A Christmas Story”? With the ‘all American’ sense of rooting for
the underdog we cheer as Rudolph gains acceptance by saving the day (or should
I say Christmas night?) in “Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer”. I look forward to watching and hearing Danny
Kaye and Bing Crosby recharge an old inn and an old man’s sense of value to the
tune of ‘White Christmas’ in the colorized version of “Holiday Inn”.
These are the things that stir our emotions.
There are two things that not only stir my emotions
but also bring those tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat: when I sing “O Holy Night” and watching “A
Charlie Brown Christmas”.
God has blessed me with a soprano voice. The most challenging song I have ever sung is
“O Holy Night”. It starts out slow and melodious
with words that establish the reason for the season, but build to a crescendo while
the chorus comes commanding us to fall on our knees as we celebrate the night
of the birth of our Savior. Even with a
lot of practice, I struggle singing the whole song through without those tears
and that lump.
The thing that stirs my heart the most, though, is
watching something as simple as another poor ’underdog’ struggle to be accepted
only to feel like a failure. In “A
Charlie Brown Christmas” Charlie was tasked with finding a Christmas tree for
the kid’s Christmas play. The one he
chose just did not cut the muster and the kids ridiculed him for it. In his frustration, Charlie Brown cries out,
“Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about!?” Then, right on national TV during prime-time
Linus replies, “I can tell you what Christmas is all about…lights, please (and
as a spot light is shined on Linus and it is absolutely quiet he calmly recites
Luke 2:8-14)…
”And there
were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night. And, Lo, the angel
of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them: and they were sore afraid. And the Angel said unto them, fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day to the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord. And this shall be a sign unto
you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising
God, and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men.”
Then Linus simply states, “That is what Christmas
is all about.” When I hear Linus start
the recitation, I find those tears in my eyes and the lump in my throat and my
mouth saying the words with him as my spirit soars to great heights in worship
and adoration to my God and King for all He has done for me.
The business of the holiday season tends to rob us
of the opportunities of sharing and worship.
Let the traditions of the season stir, lift and send you into flights of
worship and adoration of the One the season is about. Take the opportunities to share the gift of
eternal life with those around you who do not know our Lord. Would these not be the grandest of birthday
gifts to give Jesus this year?
