Showing Signs of Hope for ‘Hollywood’?

Based on what we typically see in the movies and on TV during the holiday season, we know what Christmas is about: giving, love, and magic. And if you believe Hallmark-type films, it’s about all three. Rarely, however, do we see presentations about what Christmas is truly about: the birth of Jesus Christ.

 

It used to be that the Hollywood realm produced films with a significant faith message, ones like “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “King of Kings,” “The Ten Commandments,” “Ben-Hur,” and Christmas favorites like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Carol.” But in recent decades there’s not been much of that. “Elf,” “The Santa Clause” (and its sequels), and “Home Alone” might have become holiday favorites, but Jesus for the most part has been conspicuously omitted.

 

There seems to be a shift underway, if only to a small degree. Whether out of sincere conviction by actors, writers and directors, or recognition of the reality there’s a market out there for entertainment that affirms belief in God and Jesus, we’re starting to see more faith-affirming productions.

 

Mel Gibson’s 2004 film, “The Passion of the Christ,” might have helped to pave the way. Then the Kendrick brothers – not members of the Hollywood aristocracy – set out to produce Christian films that deserved better exposure than church basements. 

 

Perhaps “The Chosen,” the expansive theatrical and TV exploration of Jesus Christ and His followers, has proved once and for all that faith-based films and shows appeal to a sizable portion of American society. Having released its first five seasons, culminating in Jesus’ betrayal by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane, and season 6 now in the editing stages, Dallas Jenkins’ brainchild has struck a spiritual nerve not only across the United States but also in other parts of the world.

 

Most recently, Kevin Costner produced and narrated “The First Christmas,” a biblically faithful, made-for-TV look at the times and events surrounding Christ’s birth in ways some people have never considered. For instance, Nativity scenes commonly depict shepherds and wise men alike gathering to worship the Christ Child in a serene stable. According to Costner, the ‘stable’ was probably a cave, the setting was far from sanitized, and the Magi – the Bible doesn’t specifically state there were just three – probably arrived a year or two later, by which time Jesus would have been a toddler.

 

The point is, in the midst of our increasingly polarized society, Hollywood-style faith portrayals are no longer taboo. In fact, a number of others are currently “in the can,” as they say in filmmakers’ jargon and scheduled for release in the near future.

 

For too long the entertainment industry has pretty much fit the stereotype of being anti-Christian and anti-traditional values, so it’s heartening to find there are those in the Hollywood realm who are gathering the courage to stand up for Christ and proclaim Him, not only via TV and cinema, but also through music and literature.

 

Just as I don’t believe our Founding Fathers ever prescribed a severe separation of church and state as it’s been interpreted over the past six decades, I know there’s never been anything requiring a separation of church (or faith) and entertainment. 

 

A follower of Christ’s foremost responsibility is to worship and serve the Lord, regardless of whatever arena he or she happens to be in. As Colossians 3:23 admonishes, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” That includes those – evidently a small minority – who ply their trades and utilize their talents in the entertainment industry. 

 

When the throng welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem in the days leading up to the Passover, shouting, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:37-38), the religious leaders insisted that Jesus rebuke them, claiming His followers were committing blasphemy. Jesus’ response was simple: “I tell you, if these keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40). 

 

Another time, in a passage describing an encounter Jesus had with His closest disciples following His resurrection, He instructed them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15). The truth of Christ shouldn’t be a best-kept secret. He needs to be proclaimed from hilltops, city streets and everywhere we go. This can be done in many ways, including one-to-one, in small groups, in religious settings, and mass crusades. But with media so pervasive in our society, one of the most powerful ways for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ is through the use of broadcast media and various forms of entertainment.

 

I don’t know that we’re in a time of revival, but there does seem to be an emergence of energy and enthusiasm for standing up for Christ in many public settings these days. I’m excited about that and hope you are too. There’s much darkness in our world today and it seems to be on the increase. The good news is, as darkness deepens even the smallest light can make a great difference, even an eternal one.

 

Yes, Christmas is about giving and love and a sense of magic. That’s true even from a Christian perspective. But as another Christmas celebration approaches, hopefully “the Reason for the season” won’t be forgotten. Biblically sound, faith-based TV and film productions can help in making sure of that.

The Day That Changed Everything

Was the first Christmas really on Dec. 25? No one knows for certain. Some experts on biblical history (old authorities?) claim the Christ Child was actually born in the spring. Others think that even if the amazing Bethlehem event did occur in the winter, it might have been on a different date. No matter. What does matter is what happened after that.

For most of the world, the modern calendar traces back to the estimated birth of Christ, which is why we have B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini, or Year of our Lord). Every time we make a financial transaction using coins, currency or a check, they bear dates that hearken to Christ’s birth. The cliché, “no room at the inn,” is taken directly from the Christmas story.

 

Many other common references and terms we use today, such as the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, walking on water, turning water into wine, the Lord’s Prayer, faith the size of a mustard seed, the widow’s mite, salt of the earth, and the Cross, are drawn directly from Jesus’ life and teachings. 

 

In addition, He gave us familiar saying such as “judge not lest you be judged” (Matthew 7:1-2), “do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31), “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31), and “it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24).

 

In these and many other ways, our lives would be very different if it were not for that unique, divine day in an obscure Middle Eastern town. However, that’s not the greatest difference.

 

Over the years I have met countless men, women and young people whose lives have been changed for all eternity by Jesus Christ. I am among them, as are many members of our family. Because faith in Jesus is far more than a matter of personal opinion or individual ideology. It means experiencing a literal, life-changing event that alters the course of one’s life for both now and once we step onto the other side of eternity.

 

Speaking to the Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council called the Pharisees, Jesus made the astounding statement, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). Being born again, I have learned, means much more than a changed attitude or a new way of thinking. As Jesus elaborated, “…no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit…. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:5-7).

 

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, the apostle Paul stated this in a different way: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!... God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

 

Then, in another of his letters, Paul looked back not to Jesus’ birth but to His crucifixion and resurrection, without which that first Christmas day would have been just another ordinary day: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

 

So as we celebrate Christmas, commemorating the birth of Jesus, “Immanuel – which means ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23), we mark the singular, watershed moment for mankind. Jesus declared, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). It’s available to every one of us – the greatest Christmas gift of all – just for the asking.