On Sunday evening, my wife and I had the joy of surprising my mother with tickets for the three of us (along with my father) to see the Broadway musical "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" at Richmond's Landmark Theater to celebrate her birthday. After a delicious meal, we drove across town to take in the show, and though the seats were squished and in the balcony, over the next 90 minutes we were delighted, amused, and touched. It was a great show, and was a special celebration of my mother's life.
Within the retold Seuss classic, we heard the travails of the Grinch's faithful dog, Max; we experienced the happy-go-lucky life of the Whos down in Whoville; and we marveled at the forgiving nature of children in the person of Cindy-Lou Who. Yet as we trekked back to the parking garage after the show, the lesson of the Grinch was the lesson I needed to hear: that Christmas doesn't come from a store, or come with packages, boxes, and bows; Christmas is a little bit more.
Of course, this shouldn't be a new lesson for me, or for most of us. We do, after all, celebrate "the reason for the season," and sing carols of the birth of the Savior. Even the name of the holiday itself, Christmas, declares that it is a holiday about more than just presents and gift-giving (and receiving!), or even just time spent with family and friends. It is a holiday for remembering the story of how, one night in the Judean countryside, God himself took on flesh and blood and announced to the world that everything was going to change through the cry of the newborn Jesus.
This isn't something we should have to be reminded of - and yet, all too often we who bear the name of Christ are the ones most likely to fall into the consumerism of the season and the gift-giving extravaganza. We're the ones standing in line on Black Friday or trolling the internet stores (like I did) for deals on Thanksgiving Day. We're the ones who schedule 15 different holiday parties, usually with presents and refreshments to go with them. We're the ones who pay big money for decorations and Christmas movies and, yes, holiday shows like the Grinch. And we're the ones who get so stressed out by the Christmas season and whose tempers get so short that our family gatherings are not as joyous as they can or should be. We need to be reminded of what the Grinch learned there on the side of Mt. Crumpet: Christmas is about so much more than the trappings that we've given it.
I wonder what would happen if a Grinch visited us? What if, like the Whos, we awoke on Christmas morning to discover our presents, our trees, our decorations, and our feasts were gone? Would we rant and rave, cry and complain? Or would we do what they did: join hands to sing aloud about the true joy of Christmas?
Maybe this year, we need to make room in our family traditions for more focus on the "little bit more" of Christmas. We see lots of news reports about a "war on Christmas," and hear preachers implore big businesses and government to "keep Christ in Christmas." Well, what if we commit to do that ourselves? What if WE keep Christ in Christmas? Maybe that means giving up one gift a year to provide a donation to a charity or church ministry. Maybe that means "ringing the bell" for the Salvation Army. Maybe that means reading the Christmas story at our family meal, or praying for the less fortunate on Christmas morning before we open our presents. Or, just maybe, it means doing all of that...or even more. Will we keep Christ in Christmas this year?
Merry Christmas,
Adam
Within the retold Seuss classic, we heard the travails of the Grinch's faithful dog, Max; we experienced the happy-go-lucky life of the Whos down in Whoville; and we marveled at the forgiving nature of children in the person of Cindy-Lou Who. Yet as we trekked back to the parking garage after the show, the lesson of the Grinch was the lesson I needed to hear: that Christmas doesn't come from a store, or come with packages, boxes, and bows; Christmas is a little bit more.
Of course, this shouldn't be a new lesson for me, or for most of us. We do, after all, celebrate "the reason for the season," and sing carols of the birth of the Savior. Even the name of the holiday itself, Christmas, declares that it is a holiday about more than just presents and gift-giving (and receiving!), or even just time spent with family and friends. It is a holiday for remembering the story of how, one night in the Judean countryside, God himself took on flesh and blood and announced to the world that everything was going to change through the cry of the newborn Jesus.
This isn't something we should have to be reminded of - and yet, all too often we who bear the name of Christ are the ones most likely to fall into the consumerism of the season and the gift-giving extravaganza. We're the ones standing in line on Black Friday or trolling the internet stores (like I did) for deals on Thanksgiving Day. We're the ones who schedule 15 different holiday parties, usually with presents and refreshments to go with them. We're the ones who pay big money for decorations and Christmas movies and, yes, holiday shows like the Grinch. And we're the ones who get so stressed out by the Christmas season and whose tempers get so short that our family gatherings are not as joyous as they can or should be. We need to be reminded of what the Grinch learned there on the side of Mt. Crumpet: Christmas is about so much more than the trappings that we've given it.
I wonder what would happen if a Grinch visited us? What if, like the Whos, we awoke on Christmas morning to discover our presents, our trees, our decorations, and our feasts were gone? Would we rant and rave, cry and complain? Or would we do what they did: join hands to sing aloud about the true joy of Christmas?
Maybe this year, we need to make room in our family traditions for more focus on the "little bit more" of Christmas. We see lots of news reports about a "war on Christmas," and hear preachers implore big businesses and government to "keep Christ in Christmas." Well, what if we commit to do that ourselves? What if WE keep Christ in Christmas? Maybe that means giving up one gift a year to provide a donation to a charity or church ministry. Maybe that means "ringing the bell" for the Salvation Army. Maybe that means reading the Christmas story at our family meal, or praying for the less fortunate on Christmas morning before we open our presents. Or, just maybe, it means doing all of that...or even more. Will we keep Christ in Christmas this year?
Merry Christmas,
Adam
Glad to see you back on your blog. The story of the Grinch Stealing Christmas is very real and if you don't believe me just ask all those Happy Go Lucky folks over in HOO-VILLE. For the past several years and just a few weeks before Christmas (Early November) The HOOS have everything they have worked for ALL year taken from them. The HOOS refer to this as "The HOKIE That Stole Christmas". So To The Both of You ---- From The Both of Us - Merry Christmas! Steve & Peggy
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