{"id":2200,"date":"2022-12-08T07:27:59","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T12:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=2200"},"modified":"2022-12-08T07:27:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T12:27:59","slug":"rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/08\/rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer\/","title":{"rendered":"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>.
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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>
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When Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer<\/em> first aired on NBC on December 6, 1964, it seemed to check all the right boxes.
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The hour-long show featured Arthur Rankin, Jr.\u2019s \u201cAnimagic\u201d process \u2013 stop motion animation that produces the jerky, seemingly three-dimensional movements of the cartoon characters. \u00a0It would become the trademark \u201clook\u201d of all the Rankin\/Bass productions, including other Christmas specials such as The Little Drummer Boy<\/em>.\u00a0
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It was based on a wildly popular song.\u00a0 Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy, had debuted \u201cRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer\u201d back in 1949.\u00a0 The movie provided a back story to Rudolph\u2019s life, addressing such burning questions as, \u201cHow did Rudolph get his shining red nose?\u201d and \u201cWhy did all the other reindeer use to laugh and call him names?\u201d
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The storyline introduced fun new characters, including Rudolph\u2019s love interest, Clarice; Hermey, the elf who wants to be a dentist instead of a toymaker; Yukon Cornelius, the tireless gold prospector; and the terrifying Abominable Snow Monster.\u00a0
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The movie had a compelling message: \u00a0Even if you\u2019re different, you still have a place.\u00a0 Rudolph and Hermey, who are social outcasts, flee the North Pole in search of a friendlier place to live.\u00a0 Their travels take them to the Island of Misfit Toys, where a winged lion named King Moonracer gathers unwanted, not-quite-right toys who dream of belonging one day to a child who will love them.\u00a0

The misfits include a train whose caboose has square wheels, a water pistol that shoots jelly, and an elephant with spots.\u00a0 Here’s a closer look:\u00a0\u00a0Rudolph The Rednosed Reindeer – The Island of Misfit Toys – YouTube<\/a>.\u00a0 Rudolph promises he will tell Santa about their plight so they can be delivered to deserving homes on Christmas.
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And of course there\u2019s the feel-good ending.\u00a0 Rudolph, Hermey, and Yukon Cornelius rescue Clarice and her family from the Abominable, then defeat the Snow Monster (who\u2019s not nearly so imposing after the elf pulls his teeth) and return home as heroes.\u00a0 Everyone apologizes.\u00a0 When fog threatens to scrub Santa\u2019s annual global flight, Rudolph with his nose so bright saves Christmas.\u00a0
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The movie was a smash hit.\u00a0 It did indeed check all the boxes.\u00a0
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Except for one.
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In the final scene, Santa shouts, \u201cHo, ho, ho, merry Christmas!\u201d and the sleigh flies off into the night.\u00a0 The credits roll.\u00a0 But wait: \u00a0Did Santa somehow forget to visit the Island of Misfit Toys? \u00a0Isn\u2019t there any hope for the beleaguered characters the audience met just 30 minutes earlier?\u00a0
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NBC was inundated with thousands of letters, many from children. \u00a0Couldn\u2019t the ending be changed?\u00a0
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Rankin and his team did just that.\u00a0 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer<\/em> now closes with Santa stopping at the island and welcoming the misfits onto his sleigh.
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A major mystery was finally resolved in 2007 when Rankin addressed the status of Dolly for Sue, a rag doll who lives on the island but appears to be entirely normal.\u00a0 Why does she qualify as a misfit?\u00a0 Rankin told an NPR interviewer that Dolly for Sue was \u201cclinically depressed\u201d after being rejected by the little girl who had owned her.\u00a0 This will no doubt prompt some of us to re-evaluate our childhood toy relationships.\u00a0
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What about the not-quite-right people<\/em> in our own families that we\u2019ll encounter once again during the holidays?\u00a0 If they ever establish an Island of Misfit Relatives, most of us would need only a few minutes to nominate some candidates for residency.\u00a0
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But let\u2019s face it.\u00a0 That\u2019s where all of us live.
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For years I tended to label some of the high-maintenance people in my life as EGRs.\u00a0 They are Extra Grace Required people. \u00a0But then it began to dawn on me that those very same people were labeling me<\/em> as Extra Grace Required.\u00a0
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And so I am.\u00a0 As one of Jesus\u2019 misfit disciples, I need all the grace he can possibly provide.
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How can we genuinely love the EGRs with whom we will be spending time in the days ahead?\u00a0 \u00a0
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If such love has to originate in our own hearts, we\u2019re all sunk.\u00a0 But God generously supplies love to those who ask him for a fresh supply.\u00a0 \u201cGod, I need your help to love, really love, those whom I find difficult to be around.\u201d\u00a0 God answers that prayer by putting his own love into our hearts.
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And as a special bonus he will remind us of this truth:

We\u2019re all<\/u><\/em> EGRs.\u00a0 But we\u2019re God\u2019s<\/u><\/em> EGRs.
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And he will never leave us stranded on an island without a chance to experience firsthand the wonders of his own grace and love.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s 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.\u00a0When Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first aired on NBC on December… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[539,541],"class_list":["post-2200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-christmas-movies","tag-egrs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200","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=2200"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2202,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200\/revisions\/2202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}