“The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight” is how the first verse of O Little Town of Bethlehem ends. It’s my favorite line from a Christmas hymn because, well, it’s true. Don’t let the tinsel fool you: Christmas is a holiday of hope and fear, of gift and obligation, of law and gospel. As the team at Mockingbird HQ steps away from the internet to celebrate the lil stranger in the manger, we are grateful for years of thoughtful Christmas reflections from our writers and contributors, a sampling of which we have compiled below.
Merry Christmas, dear reader! We’ll be back a bit next week with some end-of-year reflections and our end-of-year appeal. In the meantime, if you’d like to help us meet our end-of-year giving goal, here’s where you can help Mockingbird in 2022.
Holiday Theology
Stealing Joy from the Gospel of Luke — our resident New Testament PhD Todd Brewer clarifies that Mary and Joseph had a rough go of it, but probably not as rough as we’ve often been led to believe.
When A Dragon Tried to Eat Jesus — Chad Bird reminds us that the Book of Revelation contains its own apocalyptic version of The Christmas Story.
“This does not make sense.” — Martin Luther’s preaching and writing on Christmas are always evergreen.
The That Is Every bit as Miraculous as the What. — Jason Michelli, with help from Karl Barth, reflects on the miracle that God does anything at all for humanity, much less revealing himself in the Christmas story. Also: the Virgin Birth as divine judgment.
Christmas in Colombia — Bryan J. finds parallels in the disarmament of terrorist group FARC in Columbia and the Christmas story.
Christmas Pop:
Merry Christmas Charlie Brown: Everything you need to know about a Charlie Brown Christmas can be found in Matt Schneider’s “Law and Gospel According to Peanuts,” part 1 and part 2.
A Christmas Carol and Grace in Practice: Allison K catches herself Scrooging away in the airport while reading the Charles Dickens classic.
Mockingcast co-host RJ Heijman shares his top 10 Christmas movie picks.
Sam Bush offers up his thoughts on the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life with “The God Who Makes George Bailey’s Life so Wonderful.” See also this blast from the archives (2009!).
The Best Christmas Music You’ve (Probably Never) Heard
For those looking for some non-traditional holiday tunes, David Zahl’s Christmas playlist hits all the right holiday notes.
Nick Lowe was born in Bethlehem, as everyone knows.
David Zahl can’t say enough about the Christmas-themed music of The Band and Big Star.
Alan Jacobs’s favorite Christmas song is Charles Brown’s, “Please Come Home for Christmas.”
Stephanie Phillips has some choice words for whoever wrote “Away in a Manger”.
Law, Gospel, and Santa Clause
He Fills Your Stocking Anyway: Carrie Willard’s son knows his own heart and can’t figure out why the presents keep coming.
Santa Doesn’t Actually Give Gifts: A gift is never earned, which means Santa is in the business of reward and punishment. A reflection from our short read Law & Gospel: A Theology for Sinners & Saints.
Santa and Jesus: Charlotte Getz wonders if her childhood buy-in on Santa Clause made her develop adult trust issues.
Seasonal Surveillance: It’s been a decade since David Zahl first reviewed and skewered the Elf on the Shelf phenomenon. Not much has changed since 2011.
Family, Friends, and Yuletide Cheer
“Buy Hot Pockets. You are welcome.” — This and other advice from Sarah Condon for staying married this time of year. Also, what happens when your kid refuses to participate in the church Christmas pageant.
An Act of Teeth-Gritting Goodwill — Carrie Willard sends Christmas Cards to “at least two people who have unfriended me on Facebook, a sister who hasn’t spoken to me in nearly two decades, and a friend with whom I had a very painful falling-out four years ago.”
Grace with Every Christmas Card — Sam Bush doesn’t mind the posturing and posting of the Christmas Cards he receives — he’s just happy to be thought of.
Pregnant at Christmas — Charlotte Getz is waiting for Santa, waiting for Jesus to return, and waiting for a child to be born, all at the same time.
The Demand to Be Cheerful — Luke Roland opens up about the heartbreak of his first Christmas alone after divorce.
Christmas Poetry:
- “First Coming,” by Madeleine L’Engle
- “The Journey of the Magi,” by T. S. Eliot
- “The Nativity,” by Mary Karr
- “Remembering that It Happened Once …,” by Wendell Berry
- “Santa Claus Argues With Death,” by E. E. Cummings
- “The Burning Babe,” by Robert Southwell
- “Annunciation,” by Marie Howe
Let me ask you, I read here that Mary and Joseph didn’t have it as hard as everyone thought they did. I guess you were there, witnessed it and ask them.
Good for you!
Can you follow God blindly?