{"id":2172,"date":"2022-11-28T09:12:38","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T14:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=2172"},"modified":"2022-11-28T09:12:38","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T14:12:38","slug":"lights-camera-gods-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/28\/lights-camera-gods-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Lights, Camera, (God’s) Action!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to this reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>.

Throughout the season of Advent \u2013 which this year encompasses the four weeks leading up to December 25 \u2013 we\u2019re looking at classic Christmas movies and how they might connect us to the miracle of God choosing to become a human being.<\/em>

Quick.\u00a0 Name your five favorite Christmas movies.\u00a0

For many of us, that\u2019s a tough task.\u00a0 Since a film version of A Christmas Carol<\/em> first hit the screens in 1898, there have been literally thousands of Christmas-themed feature films and made-for-TV productions.\u00a0 The Hallmark Channel alone is rolling out 40 new holiday movies this year.\u00a0

Cinematic classics like It\u2019s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas<\/em>, and The Polar Express<\/em> have achieved, for many families, the status of \u201cit\u2019s-not-Christmas-until-we-see-it-this-year.\u201d\u00a0 Then there\u2019s the Turner Networks’ recent practice of running A Christmas Story<\/em> on a 24-hour continuous loop on December 24-25.

What makes people love these movies?

Film critic Jeremy Arnold observes that most of them accomplish two things.\u00a0 They take us back<\/em> via nostalgia, yearning, and the power of memory.\u00a0 They also lift us up<\/em>, sparking surges of hope that the world and we ourselves might have a better tomorrow.\u00a0 And of course (spoiler alert) they inevitably have happy endings.\u00a0 And who doesn\u2019t ache for more happy endings in the midst of our crazy world?

Those are good things.\u00a0 But followers of Jesus would say they hardly qualify as the best things<\/em> associated with Christmas.

Here is where we must acknowledge that two different versions of Christmas seek our attention every year.\u00a0 There\u2019s the secular festival of colored lights, parties, gift-giving, jaw-dropping VISA bills, and \u201cJingle Bells.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s also the holy, contemplative, joyful journey of Advent which calls us to experience the far deeper spiritual realities of \u201cO Come, O Come Emmanuel\u201d and dozens of other carols.

What do both have in common?

At their best, both are enriched by our connection to other people, especially our families. \u00a0And both invite us to embrace a better way to live \u2013 one that is kinder, gentler, and more outward-focused.

Those virtues are unfailingly on display in the best Christmas movies.

Each weekday between now and December 25 we\u2019ll explore the backstory and themes of a popular Christmas feature film. \u00a0We\u2019ll go chronologically, beginning with movies from the Hollywood heyday of the 1940s.\u00a0 Because there are so many to choose from along the way, we\u2019ll no doubt have to overlook some of your favorites.

Every cinematic category has received \u201cthe Christmas treatment.\u201d\u00a0 There are Christmas dramas, comedies, romances, children\u2019s stories, musicals, war stories, and action films (yes, most would say that Diehard<\/em> qualifies as a Christmas movie, but we\u2019ll pass on it this year).\u00a0 There are also plenty of Christmas horror films \u2013 but we\u2019ll likewise save Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman<\/em> for another day. \u00a0Hollywood has churned out hundreds of animated holiday movies and scores of films that center on animals.\u00a0 Grumpy Cat\u2019s Worst Christmas Ever <\/em>comes to mind.\u00a0

The Hallmark Channel seems to have settled on the notion that the meaning of Christmas is finding your One True Love, and it just may turn out that he or she comes from the royal family of a small European nation that no one knew existed.\u00a0

The call to a new and different kind of life, however, is what unites them all.

Arnold writes, \u201cTransformations of characters from bitterness to compassion are perhaps the purest Christmas stories.\u00a0 Often they happen without anything changing in the characters\u2019 outward circumstances.\u00a0 Instead, it is Christmas that somehow makes them see their lives in a new context and reawaken to the point of change.\u201d

Transformation is likewise a central theme of the Bible.\u00a0 And here is where it helps to know a bit of insider language, especially the meaning of two Greek words: schema<\/em> and morphe<\/em>.\u00a0

Schema,<\/em> from which we get the word \u201cschematic,\u201d represents the outer appearance.\u00a0 Your schema<\/em> changes every day.\u00a0 Your fingernails and your hair are just a little bit longer than this time yesterday, and it\u2019s likely that you\u2019re not wearing yesterday\u2019s wardrobe, either.\u00a0 \u00a0

The secular celebration of the Christmas season is chiefly about schematic impression management.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t like your body shape, buy a Peloton.\u00a0 If you\u2019re uneasy about your smile at the office holiday party, try whitening strips.\u00a0 If you want to dazzle the neighbors, park a shiny new car with a big red bow in your driveway.\u00a0 \u00a0

Most of us experienced middle school and high school as an ongoing schematic trial by fire.\u00a0 Should we look cool, dress cool, and hang out with others who are cool, or refuse to play the game?

If the secular approach to Christmas primarily concerns one\u2019s outward form, the spiritual journey is all about morphe<\/em>.\u00a0 \u00a0Your morphe<\/em> represents your true identity, your inner self.\u00a0 Your schema<\/em> may be in continual flux, but there\u2019s something about you that is unmistakably the Real You \u2013 something that an old acquaintance will recognize when you bump into each other on the street, even after not seeing each other for decades.\u00a0

Schematic change is inevitable and often superficial.\u00a0 But the transformation of one\u2019s morphe<\/em> \u2013 \u201cmetamorphosis\u201d \u2013 is a monumentally big deal.\u00a0 It is God\u2019s own work within our hearts.\u00a0

Change from the inside-out represents our hope of rebirth, of becoming new people, of growing deeper in the character of Christ.\u00a0

Schema<\/em> and morphe<\/em> come face to face in a famous Bible verse.\u00a0 \u201cDo not conform [syschematizethe<\/em>] to the pattern of this world, but be transformed [metamorphousthe<\/em>] by the renewing of your mind.\u201d (Romans 12:2)\u00a0 J.P. Phillips provided this memorable translation: \u201cDon\u2019t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within.\u201d\u00a0

You can spend this Christmas season trying to look better, conforming to the crowd, aiming to please the people you presume are always watching and judging.

Or you can opt for metamorphosis and let God have at you \u2013 allowing the Spirit to renew your mind through ongoing engagement with the Bible\u2019s unique accounts of the birth of Jesus.\u00a0

Transformation matters.\u00a0 How <\/em>it happens matters even more.\u00a0

Now, with that background, let\u2019s go to the movies.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to this reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here. Throughout the season of Advent \u2013 which this year encompasses the four weeks leading up to December 25 \u2013 we\u2019re looking at classic Christmas movies and how they might connect us to the miracle of God choosing to become a human being. Quick.\u00a0 Name your five favorite Christmas movies.\u00a0 For many… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[539],"class_list":["post-2172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-christmas-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2174,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172\/revisions\/2174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}