Christmas Specials

I recently watched two very different Christmas specials. The first one, I am not even sure of the title. It is something like "A Shrek Christmas". I caught it about half way through, but I don't think that will make much difference to the ending.

Shrek (a large green ogre with a big green ogre family) has apparently never celebrated Christmas before. So he buys a book, something like "Christmas for Dummies". He creates a feast, gets a tree and decorates it, buys tons of gifts. But his Christmas if far from perfect. There is too much chaos and commotion. Finally Shrek has to learn the real meaning of Christmas: family and chaos.

What?! That's right, the point of Christmas, according to Shrek, is to have lots of family and lots of chaos.

Let us compare this to another Christmas program from another era.

Charlie Brown wanted to know what Christmas was all about. Was it about pageants and plays? Was it about cards and presents, Santa Claus and big, shinny, aluminum Christmas trees? Thank God Charlie Brown had a friend like Linus.

Linus plays the part of John the Baptist, and points Charlie Brown to the real focus of every holy-day. He quotes, from memory, the story of Christ’s birth from Luke 2. In probably the most beautiful moment in television history Charlie Brown learns that the meaning of Christmas is simply, plainly, wonderfully, Jesus.

May the Holy Spirit, by the power of God’s Word, keep our attention drawn to Jesus, now and always.

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