There is a “Peanuts” cartoon in which Lucy greets Charlie Brown by saying, “Merry Christmas!” Charlie Brown replies, “Why does it only have to be this time of year? Why can’t people be nice to one another all year around?” Lucy retorts, “What are you? Some kind of fanatic or something?”Of course, like Charlie Brown we would want it to be this way the whole year round, but Lucy unfortunately has it right – such generosity and love and attention to need is not the rule.
It was way back in September when I first started seeing Christmas displays in stores and we were already hearing Christmas music. Not carols so much, not religious music, but Christmas songs. Songs involving jingle bells and drummer boys and chipmunks and barking dogs and grandma getting run over by a reindeer. There are a lot of happy, bouncy holiday classics, and one of those that have been stuck in my head is called “We Need A Little Christmas.”
It turns out that this song is from the 1966 musical “Mame,” with Angela Lansbury. The happiness and cheeriness may seem overdone, but when you know something about the musical, it makes more sense. “Mame” is set between the Great Depression and World War II – not exactly the sunniest of times. People really did need some cheering up. And when you listen to the words more carefully, tucked into the cheery, happy tune is this verse:
For I've grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older,
And I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder,
Need a little Christmas now.
I think a lot of us can relate to these words. It’s not just that folks in that grim stretch of the 30’s needed cheering up, lots of folks in the grim stretch we are in today need some cheering up. Many of us have grown a little leaner, a little colder, a little sadder, certainly a little older. And we do need the angels – we do need the arrival of God with us.
There in much in my ministry that just feels heavy and needs some cheering up:
More war.
More hunger.
More terrorism.
More stories of children neglected and abused.
More factories closing.
More folks out of work.
More homes in foreclosure.
More people struggling to get by.
More people who are homeless.
More people without adequate medical care.
More loved ones facing serious illness.
More of us who have lost loved ones this year.
More students struggling with what to do with their lives.
More people looking for direction.
What we need most in the midst of hard times is to know that things will be OK, to know that we are not alone, to know that someone cares. We need to know that God is there. As Mame sings, we need that angel sitting on our shoulder. Maybe that is what we need most: to know that God is with us.
We seem to go from one obstacle or crisis or setback to another, and humanity seems to stumble along from one conflict and collapse to another. And we can so resonate, again, with this cheery song:
We need a little music,
Need a little laughter,
Need a little singing
Ringing through the rafter,
And we need a little snappy
”Happy ever after,”
Need a little Christmas now.
Into a world that desperately needed it, Jesus was born. It didn’t seem like an earth-shattering event. In fact, it seemed like yet another example of the pain and harshness of the world. A not-yet-married couple are on a journey when the time to deliver comes, and there is no place to stay, no room at the inn, and a baby is born in a stable – in a shelter for animals. Not an auspicious beginning. Nothing about the story is expected, but every step of the story gives us hope. If God can turn the world upside down through a baby born in such humble surroundings to poor parents in an unimportant country, then maybe there is hope for us.
The birth of Jesus was like that – it changed things. It changed things and continues to change things for us. In the darkest night, we know that God has come to us. Yes, we need a little Christmas. Christ comes into our hearts bringing hope and peace and joy and love.
God lives with us as we hear the angels speak: “ Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim good news of great joy… For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who need to know that God cares for us, that God has offered us a wonderful gift. We need a little Christmas, need it every day. And the Good News is that we have it. We have the gift of Christ, God with us, now and always.
