The meaning of Christmas survives because of Bethlehem. If it had been set in
Jerusalem, or had a larger press budget, it would have long been gone, Christmas
is an annual people's revolt, showing how small things matter in a world where
big is King.
When third and fourth world people read the gospel, they often hear personal affirmation. The story sounds like it was written just for them. When first world people read the gospel, we often hear a judgement. Those who bet on Bethlehem are not one bit surprised at the victory of light things over heavy things, little things over big things, little people over big people. We know the power, even the sovereignty, of the small. We actually believe little countries, like east Timor or Puerto Rico, have as much right to dream to vote as bigger countries. Because of Bethlehem, we actually hope for the sovereignty of the small.
We expect the simple to triumph over the complex. We expect the small to be standing when the large trips. We're betting on Bethlehem over Jerusalem. Christmas exposes the irony of scale. Valleys are exalted and mountains are brought low.
Enter the great artistry of a Luke or a Matthew. "And there were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night..." Watching. By Night. Then the Star comes. Christmas pleases us so, not just because of the words but because it chooses the best story of all time and tells it well. How? By telling it small. Yes, the best Christmas pageants have the most mistakes.
Consider Charles Dickens who let Scrooge describe his transformation this way...
He woke from his nightmare, realized he wasn't dead, "No fog, no mist, clear, bright, jovial, stirring cold; cold, piping hot the blood to dance to, golden sunlight, heavenly sky sweet fresh air, merry bells. Oh, Glorious, glorious.
Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey is transformed by realizing that there is more to life than success at banks. He returns from the large to the small -- and it saves him and his whole town.
This story has two odd relationships to the money it despises. One is that it was written by one Philip Van Doren Stern who couldn't find a publisher for his short story and so he circulated it as his Christmas card that year. He printed 200 cards and then circulated it to his friends Finally RKO bought the rights for $10,000, hoping to put Cary Grant in the lead. It didn't work out and so it finally was sold to Frank Capra in 1945. It never was a commercial success. We probably wouldn't know it at all if Capra's production company hadn't forgotten to renew the copyright in 1974. That meant TV stations could get it for free and thus its current wide circulation. People fell in love with it despite any concentrated effort to preserve it. The same thing happened to Mark and Luke: they never got around to getting an agent.
When we bet on Bethlehem, we bet with these stories. The small triumphs over the large.
Donna Schaper is the Senior Pastor of the Coral Gables Congregational
Church and the author of Labrinths from The Inside Out, Skylights
Press. Two other books of Donna's are carried by Faith@Work, Sabbath Sense
& Sabbath Keeping.
Read each of Donna's writings: