Never an Original Thought

As we reach the last month of the calendar, now is the time to make those Christmas wish lists. In all honesty, it’s been decades since I sat down with the Sears Wishbook catalog and wrote my own list. Nonetheless, I can guarantee that presents still dance in children's heads. Unfortunately, this December, a song keeps dancing in my head that I can’t get out. It’s about a most unusual present. In 1953, the 10-year-old native of Oklahoma City, Gayla Peevey, sang “I Want a

‘Tis the season, and the music of the season is already in the air. You certainly hear it in worship, but you might also hear it on the radio and in the mall. The Christian carols compete these days with Frosty and Rudolf, but if you listen carefully, you still can hear what happened in Bethlehem so long ago. Interestingly, those carols shape how we hear the story even more than the Scriptures do. According to the Gospel of Luke, the angels responded to Jesus’ birth by p

Henry Van Dyke was a Presbyterian pastor, an author, an English professor, and even a diplomat. In 1895, he was the pastor of the Brick Church in New York City. There, he wrote The Story of the Other Wise Man , which is a favorite of many at Christmastime. In Matthew's gospel, we learn how Magi from the East follow a star to discover the new King of Israel born in Bethlehem. Van Dyke imagines another wise man named Artaban, who follows the same star. However, this wise m

Charles Dickens, the English author, has a thing about names. He was meticulous about the names of the characters in his stories. Often the name gives the reader insight into the character and the story. Probably one of the most well-known Dickens stories is A Christmas Carol . In it, Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes a transformation from a selfish miser to a man who knows how to “keep Christmas well.” The name Scrooge probably comes from the word “screw.” Dickens describes t

I have noticed the transformation. In the midst of winter gray, homes are now graced with colors and lights. Evergreen trees with tinsel and ornaments take the prominent place in our living rooms. Familiar carols play on the radio and in the shops. There is an ironic juxtaposition of winter melancholy with the cheerful celebration of the Christmas season. Frankly, I think the irony is actually part of the point. On that first Christmas, we encounter the difficulty and

When I was young, one of my favorite books was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. At the time, I had no idea that the author was using the story as a Christian allegory. Only later did I realize that Lewis was using the tropes of fairy tales and fantasy to give insight into Christ’s redemption of the world. On the surface, the story is about four children from our world entering the magical world of Narnia. The problem is that Narnia is being held hostag

Several years ago, my son and I caught the end of a Christmas animation special on television. This was nothing like the shows that I watched growing up. When I think of animation and Christmas, I usually think of Charlie Brown and islands of misfit toys. However, this cartoon was different. Santa Claus rode a rocket sleigh propelled at dizzying speed by eight robot reindeer. Although there was no discernible plot, there were plenty of explosions and battle scenes. It’s as i

‘Tis the season, and the music of the season is already in the air. You certainly hear it in worship, but you might also hear it on the radio and in the mall. The Christian carols compete these days with Frosty and Rudolf, but if you listen carefully, you still can hear what happened in Bethlehem so long ago. Interestingly, those carols shape how we hear the story even more than the Scriptures do. According to the gospel of Luke, the angels responded to Jesus’ birth by pr