Nostalgia, Wishful Thinking and the Nativity

The Sears Wish Book peaked imaginations
for more than 60 years.

Do you remember the annual Sears Wish Book? The seasonal catalog sent sugarplums dancing around youngsters’ heads for decades. We complain when stores unveil Christmas decorations in early fall, but the Wish Book appeared in late summer, giving kids months to fantasize over what they would discover under the tree on Christmas day.

A recent newspaper article reminded me of this iconic publication that spanned 1933-1993, featuring everything from tools to telescopes, and most important…toys. It was a winter wonderland for a young person’s imagination months before the first snowflakes would appear.

The Wish Book’s now a remnant of days gone by, but thinking about it flooded me with nostalgia. It’s like watching “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the original “Miracle on 34^th Street” with little Natalie Wood, “White Christmas” with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, and even Laurel and Hardy’s “March of the Wooden Soldiers.” They transport us to places and times far, far away, when we weren’t held captive to technology or rumors of impending social upheaval. That was too long ago!

Alas, who needs a Wish Book today when we have Amazon and the Internet? And in our skeptical age, sentiments and values portrayed in movie classics seem sentimental and sappy, hardly a match for the harsh and unsettling realities bombarding us today.

Nostalgia’s a thing of the past – literally. Some people think it’s old hat. And it’s that, too. But I say, bring it on. The more nostalgia, the merrier. Especially during the Christmas season.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" has captivated
viewers since 1965.

Despite new recordings released every year, we smile when we hear traditional holiday tunes like “The Christmas Song,” “Jingle Bells” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The fragrance of a fresh-cut Christmas tree evokes memories from years past, and for decades we’ve thrilled to hear hapless “Chuck” proclaim the Good News of the first Christmas to the shepherds in the fields in “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Traditional carols remind of us what Christmas is truly about: “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “The First Noel,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “Joy to the World.” The favorite of many, “Silent Night,” always draws me back to my boyhood days, attending Christmas Eve services in the Hungarian-American church in New Brunswick, N.J., where the simple tune written by Franz Gruber was simultaneously sung in both Hungarian and English.

Nothing is more nostalgic, in my view, than various depictions of the very first Christmas – Mary, Joseph and the Christ child huddled in a humble stable with cows, sheep, angels and shepherds peering over their shoulders. Ranging from simple creations that fit in the palm of a hand to cute Precious Moments renditions to elaborate Nativity scenes that are true works of art, they remind of the amazing time when “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).

With our annual commemoration of that day nearing, let’s hope and pray that despite the turmoil and discord that seem to reign in society, we will experience the reality of this declaration: “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests'” (Luke 2:13-14). 

Carols That Communicate

With this post being scheduled to appear on Christmas Day, I’m wanting to say, “If you’re reading this on Christmas, don’t you have something better to do?” But perhaps you’ve unwrapped the gifts, had a nice meal, enjoyed visiting with family and friends, and are choosing to unwind in front of your computer, tablet or smartphone. (Wow, how things have changed since I was a boy!)

Anyway, in the event someone has a few spare minutes to visit websites and blogs and such, and this is one of your brief stops, I wanted to ask a question: What’s your favorite Christmas carol?

One of mine has always been “Silent Night,” written in 1818 by Franz Gruber. Literally an oldie but a goodie. I especially remember hearing it in the Hungarian Reformed Church I attended as a boy, sung simultaneously in English and Hungarian. What a great memory.

On their Christmas album, the vocal group
Pentatonix sings "Mary Did You Know."

You might also be partial to songs like “The First Noel,” “Away in a Manger,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” or “Deck the Halls,” all Christmas classics. Or you might prefer the more generic tunes like “The Christmas Song” (who doesn’t like chestnuts roasting on an open fire?), “Jingle Bells,” “White Christmas” (especially the Bing Crosby rendition), “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” or even “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Or the unforgettable, “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” written by Randy Brooks and performed by Elmo and Patsy.

In recent years I’ve adopted a new favorite: “Mary Did You Know,” written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene. It’s really a artfully conceived tune, using an economy of words to tell the story of Christ from the crèche (the familiar Nativity scene) to the Cross. Most recently a singing group called Pentatonix has made a wonderful recording of it, one I’ve been enjoying throughout this Christmas season.

Throughout the song, Mary – the human mother of the Christ Child – is asked a series of questions, ones like “Mary did you know that your baby boy will some day walk on water?...that your baby boy has come to make you new?”

In an amazing note of irony, “Mary Did You Know” makes the statement, “This child that you’ve delivered will soon deliver you.” Then it adds, “And when you kiss your little baby, you’ve kissed the face of God.” Wondrous, almost imponderable truths for those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus, God incarnate.

I especially like the final verse:

“Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?

This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am.”

Each of these concepts is worth far more than a fleeting thought. Because as I wrote in my earlier post, without the Cross and what it represents in terms of God’s love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and final verdict on sin, we’d have no reason to celebrate Christmas or join in singing cherished Christmas carols.

But because of these events – true, historically documented events – we can trust in the declaration from the Scriptures that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:1,14).

So once again may I wish you, not “happy holidays” (although I wish you that, too), but Merry Christmas!

Messages of Music

Music has the capacity
to communicate on many levels.

If I have one regret in life it’s never having made the effort to become proficient with a musical instrument. I played drums in the high school marching and concert bands, and was in a little rock  band for awhile, but never devoted the time to advance beyond basic rudiments. As a consequence, the only drumming I do these days is on my car's steering wheel.

Nonetheless, music has always been important to me. I find it impossible to imagine a world without it. A couple of years ago our city gained a new radio station that calls itself “hippie radio,” and it constantly carries me down memory lane. I was never a true hippie, apart from the longish hair, paisley shirts and bellbottoms of the ‘60s, but loved the music. So every time I hear a tune by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, the Beatles or Cream (most of whom, sadly, are no longer with us) I’m transported to another time.

When I hear “Good Vibrations,” I think of a Beach Boys concert I attended in Houston where I concluded, “Wow, their harmony isn’t as good live.” Blood Sweat & Tears’ “You Made Me So Very Happy” reminds me of dancing with a lovely young lady in college and thinking, “Maybe this is what love is like.”

“Wipeout” reminds me of days I still envisioned myself becoming an accomplished drummer. It, along with “Surf City,” also conjures images of surfboards, baggy swimsuits, dark tans and sun-bleached hair. (I only tried to surf once, and wasn’t good at it, but the idea was fun.)

But it’s not just the “golden oldies” of the ‘60s and early ‘70s. I enjoy music of favorite TV shows. “Hawaii 5-0” has been recreated, keeping its original theme song, and the M*A*S*H theme song always reminds me of Hawkeye, Col. Potter, Corporal Klinger and “Hot Lips” Hoolihan. Movie soundtracks of classic films like “The Sound of Music,” “Gone With the Wind,” “Chariots of Fire,” “West Side Story,” “Rocky” and “Saturday Night Fever” also stir old emotions.

Music has spiritual connotations for me as well. During the holiday season, I can’t hear “Silent Night” without recalling Christmas Eve worship services as a boy, when it was sung bilingually in the Hungarian-American church we attended. Michael W. Smith’s “Friends” reminds me of attending the singer’s concert just days after a good friend had passed away after suffering from a rare disease.

“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” never ceases to reassure me even though I’m often not faithful, God always is. And I’ll never stop marveling at the inner strength of Horatio G. Spafford, who wrote “It Is Well with My Soul” in 1873, just days after losing his four daughters when the French steamer they and their mother were traveling on from America to Europe collided with a British vessel and sank.

Colossians 3:16 affirms the importance of music for growing in faith: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

The Psalms, in fact, are a collection of songs from ancient Israel, heartfelt and honest in their lyrics. I’ve always been thankful for Psalm 100:1, which in one translation tells us to “Make a joyful noise….” That’s about the best I can do. God apparently not only decided I shouldn’t be a musician, but also not a singer.

But I am a good listener!