Showing us truth
November 20, 2009 (Friday)
Last night I saw a televised presentation entitled, “A Carol Christmas.” It was a retelling of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” The story became a play, and the play became a movie, and the movie has been made and remade time after time. There is a new 3D version in movie theaters. The one on TV last night turned old Scrooge into young Carol, and bore a resemblance to “Scrooged.”
I played Scrooge in a church presentation at the Liberty Road Baptist Church in 1948. The story has been around a long time and folks like to see it again no matter how many times they have read it or seen it. I’m sure it will always be a part of Christmas.
It’s a popular story because it portrays the transformation of a character from bad to good. He hates Christmas; then he loves Christmas. He has no pity for the poor; then he becomes a large donor to them. He neglects members of his family; then he dotes on them. He seems to hate his employee; then he loves him and his family. And so on. A man changes for good and we like that. Hopefully, his experience will set an example for us all and we will participate in the spirit of Christmas at its best.
Gradually becoming less a part of Christmas is the birth of the baby Jesus, as “Happy Holidays” becomes our logo for the season, embracing all beliefs and behaviors. For many of us, however, Christmas is still about God’s great love for this world and how it compelled him to give us his only son as our Savior. We love him because he first loved us.