{"id":2178,"date":"2022-11-30T09:35:31","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T14:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=2178"},"modified":"2022-11-30T09:35:31","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T14:35:31","slug":"meet-me-in-st-louis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/30\/meet-me-in-st-louis\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Me in St. Louis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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@Warner Entertainment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to this reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>.
\u00a0
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>
\u00a0
Judy Garland, at age 22, had no interest in playing another teenager on the silver screen.
\u00a0
She had already been Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz<\/em> and Betsy Booth in the frantic Andy Hardy movies with Mickey Rooney.\u00a0 In 1944, eager to present herself as an adult, she balked at the invitation to play 17-year-old Esther Smith in a new movie called Meet Me in St. Louis<\/em>.\u00a0
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MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer, however, ultimately convinced her it would turn out to be a positive experience.\u00a0 He was right.\u00a0
\u00a0
Garland later acknowledged that Esther Smith was her all-time favorite role.\u00a0 She also enjoyed working with director Vincent Minelli.\u00a0 They married the following year.\u00a0 Best of all, at least for fans of Christmas, she was given the chance to introduce a song that has become a holiday classic: \u201cHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.\u201d
\u00a0
Despite extraordinary credentials, Meet Me in St. Louis<\/em> isn\u2019t widely known today.\u00a0 In 2005, Time<\/em> magazine identified it as one of the 100 greatest films of all time. \u00a0It\u2019s one of the few movies honored with a 100% \u201cfresh\u201d rating on Rotten Tomatoes.\u00a0 But one is more likely to see silly flicks like Fred Clause<\/em> and Jingle All the Way<\/em> in the December movie rotation than this classic that was nominated for four Academy Awards.\u00a0
\u00a0
Meet Me in St. Louis<\/em> is all about family \u2013 specifically, a certain Smith family living in St. Louis in 1903.\u00a0 The \u201cplot\u201d is a collection of small, real-life moments in the unfolding story of a mother and father, their children, and a grandfather.\u00a0 The crisis point, such as it is, comes when Mr. Smith receives the news that he is being transferred to New York City.\u00a0 The family will need to move there after Christmas.
\u00a0
Everyone is devasted, especially little Tootie, played by seven-year-old Margaret O\u2019Brien.\u00a0 She wonders if Santa will know how to find them in New York.\u00a0
\u00a0
Big sister Esther, played by Garland, comforts her with a song.\u00a0 Songwriter Hugh Martin, alert to the sadness of the family\u2019s impending move, created a song that was so sad<\/em> that Garland begged him to change the words.\u00a0 Here\u2019s his original lyric:
\u00a0
Have yourself a merry little Christmas<\/em>
It may be your last<\/em>
Next year we may all be living in the past<\/em>
Have yourself a merry little Christmas<\/em>
Pop that champagne cork<\/em>
Next year we may all be living in New York<\/em>
No good times like the olden days<\/em>
Happy golden days of yore<\/em>
Faithful friends who were dear to us<\/em>
Will be near to us no more<\/em>
But at least we all will be together<\/em>
If the Lord allows<\/em>
From now on we\u2019ll have to muddle through somehow<\/em>
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now<\/em>
\u00a0
It\u2019s hard to disagree with Judy Garland, who said, \u201cIf I sing that lyric to little Margaret O\u2019Brien, the audience will think I\u2019m a monster.\u201d\u00a0 Have a great Christmas kid, since this may be the last happy one you\u2019ll ever have.\u00a0 <\/em>Martin, fortunately, finally gave in and brightened the moment.\u00a0 Here are the words Garland actually sings:
\u00a0
Have yourself a merry little Christmas<\/em>
Let your heart be light<\/em>
Next year all our troubles will be out of sight<\/em>
Have yourself a merry little Christmas<\/em>
Make the yuletide gay<\/em>
Next year all our troubles will be miles away<\/em>
Once again as in olden days<\/em>
Happy golden days of yore<\/em>
Faithful friends who were dear to us<\/em>
Will be near to us once more<\/em>
Someday soon we all will be together<\/em>
If the fates allow<\/em>
Until then we\u2019ll have to muddle through somehow<\/em>
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now<\/em>
\u00a0
Here\u2019s the scene from the movie: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas | Meet Me In St. Louis | Warner Archive – YouTube<\/a>.\u00a0 The tears in young Margaret O\u2019Brien\u2019s eyes may bring tears to your eyes, too.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to see why the Academy honored her with a special Juvenile Oscar the following year.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
Many of us are tempted to candy-coat the \u201cfamily experience\u201d at Christmas.\u00a0 But anyone who has ever been part of a real family knows that pain, uncertainty, and disappointment are all part of the package.\u00a0
\u00a0
That was Jesus\u2019 experience, too. \u00a0Christmas cards and church plays faithfully depict the opening scenes of his birth as reported in Matthew and Luke.\u00a0 We relive the trip to Bethlehem, the child wrapped in rags and laid in a manger, shepherds, an angel choir, and that extraordinary star.\u00a0
\u00a0
But the second act is different.\u00a0 It\u2019s both desperate and dangerous.\u00a0 King Herod aims to murder this infant rival to his throne.\u00a0
\u00a0
Joseph and Mary, warned in a dream, leave everything within a matter of hours \u2013 maybe minutes \u2013 and flee the country.\u00a0 They head for Egypt, where they will live as exiles for two years.\u00a0 Verses like Hebrews 2:18, which remind us that Jesus entered into every detail of human life, aren\u2019t just throwaway theology.
\u00a0
Jesus knows what it\u2019s like to be in a family on the run.\u00a0 He has been a refugee without a secure home.\u00a0
\u00a0
He became one of us so he could know us, die for us, and ultimately set us free<\/em>.
\u00a0
In his song, Hugh Martin suggests that the best we can do is \u201cmuddle through somehow\u201d the messes we\u2019ve gotten ourselves into.
\u00a0
Jesus offers something better:\u00a0 Having been through such messes himself, he\u2019ll walk alongside us today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to this reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here.\u00a0Throughout 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.\u00a0Judy Garland, at age 22, had no interest in playing another… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2179,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[539],"class_list":["post-2178","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\/2178","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=2178"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2180,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178\/revisions\/2180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}