It's Time To Let Christmas Save us

​The boys and I watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer last night. It was the 60th anniversary of the television special, but the story itself was actually written back in 1939 by Robert L May.

May wrote it as an assignment for Montgomery Ward to give away to shoppers at Christmas time. He said he wrote the book because he was treated like Rudolph as a child.

Over 2 million copies were given away that first year.

Watching Rudolph last night, I found myself reflecting on the meaning of the story more than I ever had. (It had actually been years since I'd sat down and watched this classic Christmas special).

For years I think I lazily accepted this story as a tale about a bullied reindeer finding redemption by saving Christmas. Which is certainly part of the tale. But last night I found myself seeing this as a story of Christmas coming along to deliver redemption to us ALL.

Like it delivered Rudolph, born with that bright red nose. Like it delivered Hermey the Elf, who dreamed of being a dentist and not a toymaker. Like it delivered Yukon Cornelius, whose eccentricities made him feel like an outsider. Like it delivered the misfit toys, abandoned and forgotten. Like it delivered the Abominable snowman, a monster to everyone who encountered him. Like it delivered Santa, who couldn't see the value in everyone around him. Like it even delivered the other reindeers and elves, prone to judge and exclude others.

If you really look at this Christmas classic, the story isn't about Rudolph saving Christmas, it's about Christmas saving EVERYONE. For in the end, it was everyone seeing the value in themselves and each other that allowed them to see the true magic of Christmas.

Maybe that is what Christmas is still trying to do? Help us discover the true value in ourselves and each other.

It isn't lost on me that before that baby in a manger, the bible is full of misfit stories. In fact, that should be the title of the whole stinking collection of the pre-Jesus old testament.

Misfits.

But then that baby in a manger came to Bethlehem and announced, there is no longer such a thing as misfits. And as if that announcement wasn't enough, he climbed higher, up on a cross, and he screamed it with a nail pierced bloody shrill:

"THERE IS NO LONGER SUCH A THING AS MISFITS!!"

But did we hear him?

Did Christmas save us like it saved Rudolph?

The new testament suggests the message wasn't well heard after the cross; we still seem to live too frequently as such.

It begs the question, have we ever fully seen the real magic of Christmas as we continue to look for the misfitness in one another, as we continue to feel the guilt and shame of the misfitness we find in ourselves.

I found myself thinking after watching Rudolph last night, I think it's time for us all to write a new Rudolph story. Because like Robert L May, we have all been Rudolph. Or Hermey. Or the Abominable Snowman.

We have all felt a little misfit in ourselves; we have all seen and judged way too much misfit in one another.

But this new story isn't about us saving Christmas, it's about us letting Christmas save us. We have a classic Christmas story from nearly 100 years ago trying to lead the way. We have a God in heaven who came down to a manger in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago to lead the way.

Maybe it's time to write a story that doesn't barrel our bright red noses through the clouds to save Christmas, but one that sees the light that's already come through the clouds to save us?

The light called Christmas.

It's definitely something to ponder on my way to Bethlehem.