Two clergy colleagues are posting quotes on Facebook this month from two favorite Christmas movies. Greg is posting quotes from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (which premiered 30 years ago this month) and Dawn is posting quotes from “Elf” (which came out 16 years ago). Both of these movies are fun, and funny, and yet it seems to me that only one of them resounds with “joy”—which is the theme for this Sunday.
In “Christmas Vacation” everyman Clark Griswold is doing his utmost to make Christmas wonderful for his family. Of course, as befits a Chevy Chase movie, nearly everything that can go wrong does, with relatives messing things up, with the anticipated Christmas bonus not coming, with the Christmas tree incinerated, the Christmas turkey ruined, the cat electrocuted, and the ridiculous overmuch light display on the house not lighting until everyone who saw it not light is no longer looking—one moment of possible “joy” for Clark not shared by anyone else, which diminishes it significantly. It all turns out fine in the end, with the inevitable unexpected plot twists, but it’s more about persevering doggedly in the face of everything going wrong—and Clark is more than aware of it all going wrong. We admire his perseverance, and we root for him, but we don’t share “joy” with him. It’s not really a joyful movie, although we do smile with Clark in spite of everything.
Buddy the Elf, however, is the complete embodiment of joy in the movie “Elf”. Will Farrell, in a bit of a departure from his usual comedic style, is completely guileless, and not the least bit satiric. Buddy, although growing up and working as one of Santa’s elves, is not an elf by birth—being at least twice as tall as the other elves. It turns out that he had been adopted after unknowingly stowing away in Santa’s sack (escaping the orphanage), and so once he finds this out he sets off to find his real father, taking with him his love of all things Christmas and his general appreciation of all of life’s simple things. He indeed gets genuine joy out of many things we take for granted: “Good news! I saw a dog today!” “I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite!” He says both to a raccoon and to a random man in an elevator (at different times) “somebody needs a hug!”. He is completely believable as “joy incarnate”. And that joy is contagious, when we suspect our disbelief and cynicism long enough to receive it and let it “catch us up”.
The Christ Child coming into the world does not exude joy like Buddy the Elf—at least not in the same way. But the baby in Elizabeth’s womb “leapt with joy’ when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, walks into her home. And the shepherds receive the “good news of great joy for all the people” as the angel proclaims it to them—the downtrodden and ignored of that society—as the FIRST representatives of “all the people” to get this good news. It’s not as obvious as with Buddy the Elf, but the joy of life with Jesus is that which gladdens our hearts, as we open ourselves to receive it. It is the kind of joy that sustains.
OLD TESTAMENT Isaiah 12:2-6
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 And you will say on that day:
Give thanks to the Lord,
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
GOSPEL Luke 1:39-55
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
46 And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.’
GOSPEL Luke 2:8-15
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
14 ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’