Most of you know about our tradition here at the Frog & PenguINN of watching a Christmas movie almost every night from Thanksgiving till Christmas. And if you check out the side bar you'll see some of our favorites. Of course not every holiday movie is a favorite, and thats where "The Bishops Wife" fell for me over the years. But this year it seemed to hit me a little differently. Over the past few years i've added a line to our Christmas dinner blessing by closing with "Happy Birthday Jesus". Sometimes i would get funny looks but it just felt right.
Alabama has a wonderful song on their first Christmas album called "Joseph and Mary's Boy". The chorus goes:
Who's the one we need to thanks
Who's the party for
Who's the one responsible for all this peace and joy
Who deserves the credit for the blessings we enjoy
Preacher said last Sunday it was Joseph and Mary's boy.
So what does this have to do with the movie???? Maybe as we get older ( better i hope) we take the time to look a little deeper at things. Thats what happened this year watching "The Bishop's Wife". I won't give away the whole plot but in the end the bishop remembers what Christmas really means. He sums it all up in his Christmas Eve Sermon given at his first small church.
Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking. Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child's cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven't forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with gifts. But especially with gifts. You give me a book, I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry can do with a new pipe.
For we forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. Its his birthday we're celebrating. Don't let us ever forget that. Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let each put in his share, loving kindness, warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shinning gifts that make peace on earth.
Happy Birthday Jesus, AND Merry Christmas to all from Grenville & Beatrice.
6 comments:
this is a beautiful Christmas post, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I have not heard the song Joseph and Mary's Boy but am listening to it now and i love it... Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas! :-)
Have a Good Yule!
Christer.
As usual, we watched both the Sims and Scott versions of Scrooge. Sue watched White Christmas, which I did my best to avoid. Tonight, we watched some old made for tv movie about an ex-cowboy being a Christmas angel etc. It was okay for something to do. I think I have also had enough of Wonderful Life, but I imagine that I will happily watch Scrooge until I pass away.
I watched The Bishops Wife for the first time this year. (I wanted something I hadn't seen before)I liked it. I enjoyed the nostalgic scenes of shop windows decorated for Christmas. It had a "feel good" quality about it for me. And the sermon you quoted was a highlight too!
Happy New Year!
Very precious Christmas post. I don't know how long it's been since I saw The Bishop's Wife...too long. I have a favorite Alabama song, actually many by them, "Angel's Among Us"
Merry rest of 2012 to both of you from both of us
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