Are You Team Scrooge or Team Potter? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection for the Christmas season)

The FBI did not like It’s A Wonderful Life. 

Perhaps you are not so much shocked that someone didn’t like the film—after all, opinions differ—but that the FBI had any kind of opinion about the film. I think many of us, especially George Bailey fans, are scratching our heads. How could they not like It’s A Wonderful Life? 

The answer: The FBI felt Mr. Potter was not portrayed realistically in the film. After all, they reasoned, he was just a local banker doing what he thought best under the laws and regulations of the State of New York. Face facts, they argued: He had bank examiners to consider, and he knew they would criticize his loans should he not require adequate collateral. Heaven forbid he should make a loan to a person who was a credit risk! They went to bat, big time, for Mr. P.  In fact, they liked almost everything about Henry Potter and almost nothing about George Bailey. They viewed George, in his leadership of the ol’ Bailey Building & Loan, as the very opposite of a cautious banker.

Still, whether you agree with the FBI or not, there is something on which I hope we can all agree: Though just as mean and hard-hearted as Henry Potter, and even more of a skinflint, Ebenezer Scrooge got a better deal. 

From almost the very beginning of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, people are reaching out to Mr. Scrooge, pleading, cajoling, inviting him to join them in all that is Christmas. Some cared enough about his immortal soul to go out of their way to try to bring him into the fold. Why, the very first words spoken to him are: “A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!”

No one said “God save you!” to Mr. Potter. 

We cheer for George Bailey because we like him, and with good reason. George personifies all that we cherish as good and all we aspire to be. Almost nobody cheers for the villains. 

But could we at least pray for them?

No one in It’s A Wonderful Life ever showed any interest in Henry Potter’s soul. They, and we, were too caught up in saving George. The vast spiritual need of the other man just never registered with us. Yes, Mr. Potter was the villain, but so was Mr. Scrooge. The most significant difference between the two men? Others cared enough about Mr. Scrooge to reach out to him. Some cared enough to go to extraordinary lengths. 

So, in this season that celebrates a love so great it left heaven for our benefit, let’s pause to pray for the Potters in our lives. Wouldn’t it be great if, someday, we could greet them with the same joy as Mr. Scrooge’s nephew? 

“A merry Christmas, Mr. Potter! God save you!”

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PHOTO-Mr. Potter sitting at his desk in It’s A Wonderful Life: 

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/?ref_=tt_mv_close

PHOTO-Mr. Scrooge sitting at his desk in A Christmas Carol (1951 version): 

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0044008/?ref_=fn_al_tt_6

BONUS MATERIAL 

Read all about the FBI reaction to It’s A Wonderful Life, here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/weird-story-fbi-and-its-wonderful-life-180967587/

The ending of It’s A Wonderful Life. You'll need to supply your own Kleenex. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uDQVRxRlGdQ&pp=ygUVV29uZGVyZnVsIGxpZmUgZmluYWxl

In A Wonderful Life, a Bevin Bell rang when Clarence got his wings. Find out how these bells are made at the Bevin Bells website (scroll down):

https://bevinbells.com/?tw_source=google&tw_adid=558419806990&tw_campaign=15145410621&tw_kwdid=kwd-1620821399514&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=15145410621&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgP_JBhD-ARIsANpEMxzINH4nzdHCn7gwnua8kXqm_L56vurCyHkRDxclMW2RGJXr9Dk1FB8aAtVNEALw_wcB

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We’re taking a break for the holidays. Come and meet with us again on January 9th for DaySpring’s next Lectionary Breakfast.

Blessings,

Steve

READINGS FOR CHRISTMAS EVE, CHRISTMAS DAY, THE SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, AND NEW YEARS

There are multiple options for these readings. I am using “Proper I” for the Christmas reading, but you should read whichever of the groups you wish. See the table of readings and links for December 24th through Sunday January 4th: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/calendar/2025-26/?season=christmas

Another Unfinished Christmas (a Steve Orr Bible reflection for Advent)

It was a Christmas we would never forget.

I was no older than the first grade. The most enduring memory of that Christmas season is a night of downtown shopping. My hometown is located at the confluence of two rivers: the Ohio and the Tennessee. They make the downtown crosswinds positively icy in winter. The coldest corner was Fourth and Broadway, the location of Paducah Dry Goods (a twin of the Higbee’s department store in A Christmas Story).

 

As Dad dropped the three of us off at the store, cold air funneled up from those rivers to chill us. After parking the car a few blocks away, he rejoined us inside. The fourth floor, home of toys, was also the home of Santa’s red velvet throne. The highlight of this Christmastime memory is sitting on Santa’s lap, telling him my toy needs, and realizing that his beard was real. That beard convinced me he was the real thing.

 

Eventually, my parents bundled us up and moved us down four floors and to the front of the store. Things get a little hazy after that. I do have a vibrant memory of my mother holding my hand as the three of us stood at the curb waiting for Dad to return with the car and drive us home. We waited, and waited.

 

And waited.

 

Dad never returned that night. 

 

That is the end of that memory: the three of us standing there, getting colder: watching, waiting, wondering.

 

An unfinished Christmas.

 

_________________________

 

There is, of course, more to this memoir.*

 

But what if there weren’t? What if that was all we could ever know? How strange to feel there must be more, but be unable to know how things turned out.

 

That’s what’s happening with King Ahaz in this week’s Isaiah passage. It must have seemed odd to hear Isaiah tell about a virgin conceiving a son whose name would mean "God with us" and then—nothing. Ahaz lived and died without ever experiencing the fulfillment of that prophecy.

 

It was like that for all the people of Israel year in and year out, century after century, as they waited for the Messiah, waited to learn the rest of the story. All they had heard was the beginning. Prophet after prophet delivered a cliff-hanger but never finished the story.

 

We, too, have been waiting on God all these centuries, ever since Jesus came to us in human form. And … God has been waiting on us. While we’ve been patiently waiting on God to return, God has been patiently waiting until more of us are ready for that return.

 

It’s the story of a Christmas that had its beginning more than 2,000 years ago and has remained open all this time—waiting on us.

 

An unfinished Christmas, indeed. 

 

 

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* For the rest of the story about my dad, the fuller version of that Christmas memory can be read on this blog. Look for “An Unfinished Christmas” in the memoir section. It’s near the top of the Table of Contents on the right of the screen.

PHOTO and Info about my hometown of Paducah, Kentucky: 

https://www.paducah.travel/

  

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We’re deep into the Advent season and Christmas Day is almost here. Friday morning at 8:00 is our last opportunity in 2025 to join together at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. As always, we will gather on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place for tasty food, filling scriptures, and nourishing discussions. 

And the best laughter, anywhere. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

**Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

READINGS FOR 

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (DECEMBER 21, 2025) AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=a&d=4

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_FourthSundayofAdvent.pdf

 

 

Isaiah 7:10-16

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

Romans 1:1-7

Matthew 1:18-25

Laughing … All the Way! (a Steve Orr Bible reflection for Advent)

The full moon was the brightest light in a cloudless sky. Countless stars glittered around it, gilding the winter night all the way down to the mountaintops. We could hear the swish of the sleigh’s runners through the powdery snow and the faint rhythmic jingle of bells on the horse’s collar. 

 

We were actually “dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh.” It’s one of the main reasons we chose Franconia, New Hampshire, for our winter weekend getaway. Cushioned in the back of that sleigh, snuggled under a heavy blanket against the biting cold, we just couldn’t help ourselves. We started singing:

  

Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh.

O’er the fields we go

Laughing all the way!

 

We were living the lyrics of “Jingle Bells.” We have a lot of good memories from our years of living in New England, mostly of times spent with friends. But this memory incorporates the entire New England winter experience: freezing cold, snow, brilliant night sky, and trying to be warm. There was lots of laughter on that ride, too. How could we sing “Jingle Bells” and not end with laughter?

 

That’s how I’ve always felt about that song, especially at Christmastime. As soon as the Christmas season begins, my thoughts dash to “Jingle Bells.” And if ever there was a season for laughter, it’s Christmas.  

 

There are those, however, who disagree. 

 

No doubt, you’ve met them: They don’t dislike celebration, per se. It’s just that they don’t like having all that Fa La La La La associated with Jesus. These humbugs don’t seem to understand why in A Christmas Carol Ebenezer Scrooge had to change or what any of it has to do with the true meaning of Christmas. They are like the dwarfs in C. S. Lewis’ The Last Battle: too grumpy to see that joy is the perfect response to “the reason for the season.”

 

In Robert Darden’s wonderful book Jesus Laughed: The Redemptive Power of Humor, he notes: “There are people who claim that laughter, or humor of any kind, isn’t Christian.” He then leads on into an exploration of all the joy, mirth, humor, and laughter in the Bible. It’s a great read. If you know Bob, then you know just how serious he is about humor, that it is one of the keys to a joyful spiritual journey.   

 

Not every part of the Bible is joyful, of course. But there are four in this week’s scripture selections that are: Isaiah, Psalms, Luke, and Matthew. Some people call this season Advent. It’s about anticipating the coming of Jesus. Having a “countdown” to Christmas Day provides a joyful way to do that. 

 

If you are not engaging in the fun parts of this season, let me encourage you to jump in. It’s the perfect time to recognize the joy and happiness we should have in knowing that God chose to come into our world and reconcile with us. Now is the perfect time to celebrate with joy, humor, mirth, and yes, laughing all the way. 

 

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Interview with Bob Darden about humor, satire, and The Wittenburg Door: 

https://www.christianitytoday.com/podcasts/quick-to-listen/babylon-bee-wittenburg-door-christian-satire/

And, just for the fun of it—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating from me!—here’s the Goodreads link to The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, Aged 37 3/4: 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1031240.The_Sacred_Diary_of_Adrian_Plass_Aged_37_3_4?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=DxI2zujAra&rank=1

PHOTO (and a nifty exposé about the true origins of Jingle Bells!): 

https://horsenetwork.com/2021/12/the-hidden-history-of-jingle-bells/

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Friday mornings during this Advent season are a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the companionship of like-minded folk at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We gather at 8:00 on Zoom* and in person at Our Breakfast Place. We eat, read, discuss, and laugh. We laugh a lot. You should join us. 

 

Snow is not in the forecast. Please sleigh responsibly.

Blessings,

Steve

 

*Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

READINGS FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT (DECEMBER 14, 2025) AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=a&d=3

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_ThirdSundayofAdvent.pdf

Isaiah 35:1-10

Psalm 146:5-10

Luke 1:46b-55

James 5:7-10

Matthew 11:2-11