It’s Not About Christmas…Or is it? (a Steve Orr Lectionary Reflection)

The coolest song of the season has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas. 

 

Do you know “White Winter Hymnal?” It’s a catchy little tune sung in a round. It’s been out in the world, so to speak, since Fleet Foxes released it in 2008. It’s the creation of Robin Pecknold, that band’s songwriter and vocalist. But, it really took off when Pentatonix added it to its 2014 album, That’s Christmas to Me. Now, it saturates the airways at Christmastime. It’s likely you’ve seen a YouTube video of it. Starting in autumn and peaking on Christmas Eve, it gets 96 million plays on Spotify alone. 

 

There’s something weird, though: “White Winter Hymnal” isn't about Christmas, or even about winter per se. And that’s just one weird thing about the song—there’s also the lyrics: 

“I was following the pack, 

all swallowed in their coats 

with scarves of red tied round their throats

to keep their little heads from falling in the snow,

and I turned round and there you go,

and Michael you would fall

and turn the white snow red as strawberries in summertime.”

What in the world does “turn the white snow red as strawberries” mean? And with lyrics like that, why is this song so popular at Christmastime? Before I share the answer with you, let me pose a different question to you: Why do we sing “The Twelve Days of Christmas?” I ask because the answer is the same for both songs. Yes, the latter song does reference Christmas, and it is also sung in a nontraditional way. But what does it actually have to do with Christmas? Here are those lyrics, in case your memory needs refreshing:

 

“On the twelfth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

12 Drummers Drumming

11 Pipers Piping

10 Lords a Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Gold Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.”

 

Sure, those lyrics are not as strange as the ending lyrics to “White Winter Hymnal,” but what do they mean? Well, the Internet is full of what people think they mean. In fact, so full of potential meanings, I feel comfortable saying no one really knows. 

 

And that brings us back to “White Winter Hymnal.” Lots of people have weighed in on what the lyrics mean. But none of them actually know. In fact, the song’s creator says it doesn’t really have a meaning, that it never had a meaning. He says he wrote it in about 20 minutes with the goal of having something that would be fun to sing in a round while doing dishes.

 

So why do we sing these two songs? We sing them because the singing of them brings us joy. And nothing could be more appropriate for the season. Speaking of the season, I am writing this on December 27th, the third day of Christmas. We celebrate the 12 days of Christmas not because Christmas is coming, but because Christmas has arrived. We sing and laugh, party and feast from December 25th through January 5th (Twelfth Night) because we are filled with joy. 

 

And the songs we sing, just for the joy of it, are the perfect songs for the season. Whether they mean anything or not. 

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PHOTO (from an excellent video by VOGELCHAN made for the Fleet Foxes version of White Winter Hymnal): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGYd4-fxgNY

BONUS CONTENT

Watch the Pentatonix video of White Winter Hymnal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o10drRI3VQ0

More about Robin Pecknold and the creation of White Winter Hymnal:

https://www.news-herald.com/2021/12/23/red-snow-a-most-unexpected-modern-standard-for-the-holidays/amp/

An early video made to Fleet Foxes singing their song (and an interesting live-action take on the “red snow”):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPY32znj9U4

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Join us January 6, 2023 for DaySpring’s next Lectionary Breakfast. We will resume meeting in person at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom, then.

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

See the reading links at: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/lections.php?year=A&season=Christmas

 

New Year's Day (January 1, 2023)

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

Psalm 8

Revelation 21:1-6a

Matthew 25:31-46

 

First Sunday After Christmas (January 1, 2023)

Isaiah 63:7-9

Psalm 148

Hebrews 2:10-18

Matthew 2:13-23

 

Holy Name of Jesus (January 1, 2023) 

Numbers 6:22-27

Psalm 8

Galatians 4:4-7 or Philippians 2:5-11

Luke 2:15-21

Scrooge v Potter (a Steve Orr Christmas reflection)

The FBI didn’t like It’s A Wonderful Life. 

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

It turns out the FBI felt Mr. Potter should have been portrayed more realistically. They went to bat, big time, for Mr. P. After all, the thinking went, 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 his loans would be criticized by those worthies should he not require adequate collateral. Heaven forbid he should make a loan to a person who was a credit risk! In fact, the FBI liked almost everything about Mr. Potter and almost nothing about George Bailey. They viewed George, in his leadership of the old 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 Mr. Potter, and even more of a skinflint, Mr. 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. There were those who cared enough about his immortal soul to go out of their way to try to bring Mr. Scrooge into the fold. Why, the very first words spoken to him are: “A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!”

No one said anything even close to that to Mr. Potter. 

We cheered for George Bailey because we liked him, and with good reason. George Bailey personified all that we cherish as good and all we aspire to be. Almost nobody cheers for the villains—also with good reason. 

But could we at least pray for them?

No one in It’s A Wonderful Life ever showed any interest in Mr. 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 even cared enough to go to extraordinary lengths to bring him into the fold. 

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

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

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

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

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/

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We’re taking a break for the holidays. Join us January 6, 2023 for DaySpring’s next Lectionary Breakfast. Then, we will resume meeting in person at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom.

Blessings,

Steve

READINGS FOR CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY

See the reading links at: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/lections.php?year=A&season=Christmas

Nativity of the Lord - Proper I 

Isaiah 9:2-7

Psalm 96

Titus 2:11-14

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Nativity of the Lord - Proper II 

Isaiah 62:6-12

Psalm 97

Titus 3:4-7

Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20

Nativity of the Lord - Proper III 

Isaiah 52:7-10

Psalm 98

Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12)

John 1:1-14

An Unfinished Christmas (a Steve Orr Advent reflection)

It was a Christmas we would never forget.

 

I was no older than the first grade. The most enduring memory of that Christmas season? Our downtown shopping night. My hometown is located at the confluence of two rivers: the Ohio and the Tennessee. That makes the downtown crosswinds positively icy in winter. Undoubtedly, the coldest corner was Fourth and Broadway, the location of the Paducah Dry Goods store (a twin of the 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. My parents forced us to endure shopping on each floor in turn, making our way with agonizing slowness toward all that really mattered: the fourth floor, home of toys and of Santa’s red velvet throne.

 

The highlight of this Christmastime memory is sitting on Santa’s lap and 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. My memory gets 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, pick us up, and drive us home. We waited, and waited...and waited.

 

Dad never returned that night. 

 

In my memory, that is the end: 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.

 

It was my daughter who first suggested that this memoir, with all the waiting and watching, would make a great Advent reflection. It fits well with this week’s scriptures considering its emphasis on waiting, patience, and the timeless aspect of our relationship with God.  

 

For example, it must have seemed odd for Ahaz 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.

 

This is what it was like 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. At the same time, God has been waiting on us. Yes, that’s right: 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 over 2,000 years ago and has remained open all this time...waiting on us.

 

An unfinished Christmas, indeed. 

 

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PHOTO: https://www.paducah.travel/

For the rest of the story, the fuller version of my Christmas memories can be read at: 

https://steveorr.blogspot.com/search/label/02Memoir-An%20Unfinished%20Christmas?m=0

If you are on my blog, see the list on the right side of the screen. Click on: 02Memoir-An Unfinished Christmas)

_________________________

We’re deep into Advent, Christmas Day is almost here. So, join us at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast when we return the first Friday in January. We will gather at 8:00 that morning at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom.** Our discussions, as always, are thought-provoking and our conversations are laced with laughter. 

 

Join us in January for an hour like no other. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

**CONTACT ME FOR THE ZOOM LINK

 NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

 

READINGS FOR 

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (DECEMBER 18, 2022) AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=4

 

Print them here:

HTTPS://LECTIONARY.LIBRARY.VANDERBILT.EDU/PDF//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 Advent reflection)

We were living the lyrics of “Jingle Bells.”

 The full moon was the brightest light in the cloudless sky. But it wasn’t alone. Countless stars glittered around it, gilding the winter night almost down to the mountaintops. For a while, all we could hear were the swish of the sleighs runners through the powdery snow and the faint rhythmic jingle of the bells on the horse’s collar. 

 

Yes, 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 have a lot of good memories from our years of living and working 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. Plus (it probably should come as no surprise) there was lots of laughter on that ride, too. How could we sing “Jingle Bells” and not end with laughter?

 

That’s how I have always thought of that song, especially at Christmastime. Long before I ever left my Old (West) Kentucky home, long before I had ever laid eyes on a one-horse open sleigh, my thoughts would dash to “Jingle Bells” as soon as the Christmas season began. And if ever there was a season for laughter, it’s Christmas.  

 

There are those, however, who disagree. 

 

You have, no doubt, met these folk: They don’t dislike celebrations, 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 Scrooge had to change in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, or what any of it has to do with the true meaning of Christmas, anyway. They are a lot 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 little book, Jesus Laughed: The Redemptive Power of Humor, he touches on this situation, noting that “There are people who claim that laughter, or humor of any kind, isn’t Christian.” He then leads the reader into an exploration of all the joy, mirth, humor, and laughter in the Bible (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 scripture is joyful, of course, and rightfully so. 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; and 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. 

 

_________________________

PHOTO: Steve Orr (laughing)

 

Link to interview with Bob Darden about humor, satire, and The Wittenburg Door: 

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/august-web-only/babylon-bee-wittenburg-door-christian-satire.html

 

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

 

Many Blessings,

Steve

 

**Contact me for the Zoom link

 NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

 

READINGS FOR 

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT (DECEMBER 11, 2022) AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=3

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_ThirdSundayofAdvent.pdf

 

Isaiah 35:1-10

Psalm 146:5-10

Luke 1:46b-55

James 5:7-10

Matthew 11:2-11

What’s A Third-Class Superhero To Do? (a Steve Orr Advent reflection)

Nathan is just not good enough. 

 In the Charles Yu short story collection, Third Class Superhero, Nathan is not good enough to be a superhero. Oh, he has a power...of sorts. But he works a thankless job to cover his room and board because his power is too meager to qualify him for full-time heroics (which pays a lot better). 

 

I’m not going to tell you much more about Nathan, because you need to pay Amazon so Mr. Yu can pay his bills. Believe me, the stories are worth the money—a bargain. 

 

What I am going to do is tell you that I know actual people like Nathan. They don’t have special powers, not even third-class powers, but they do suffer from a similar problem. Life has been signaling something to them—for a while. 

 

They’re just not good enough. 

 

It’s hard to accept that the thing you’ve invested yourself in—that goal you’ve had for your life, that career you’ve been working hard to build, that relationship you’ve been pursuing—is never going to be a reality; that the window of opportunity is not just closing, it’s nailed shut. And, as hard as that is, there’s worse. 

 

As difficult as it is to face our shortcomings, it is even worse to have to hear about them from someone else.

 

That’s what happens in this week’s selection from the Gospel of Matthew. John the Baptist looks out over the crowd and gives the most unusual “alter call” I have ever heard: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” 

 

As unwelcome as this sounds, I believe John was doing them a kindness. He was shocking them into a realization. Like Malachi before him, John saw them for what they were: 

 

Not good enough. 

 

John knew their need, even if they had not yet grasped the situation. They had to understand their need for Jesus, and why repentance was the beginning of fulfilling that need. God had not been “in their midst” for hundreds of years—and they were the reason why. 

The people in John’s audience were like those in Marshall Goldsmith’s book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There. Goldsmith tells middle managers the behaviors that helped them achieve current positions may actually prevent them from advancing further in the organization. To get that career-boosting promotion will require a different approach. Similarly, John’s audience needed to grasp that their behaviors would never bridge the gap between themselves and God, to realize they needed an entirely new approach.

When we read this same story in Luke, we learn that many responded to John by coming forward and asking: “What then should we do?” The shock treatment worked. They began to see their need. 

 

It’s a lesson for us, too, this Advent. As we look forward to the coming of the Lord—to that time of rejoicing, exulting, singing, shouting, thankfulness, and prayer—we must first recognize our need. We must recognize that part of preparing for the coming of the Lord is accepting that we need Him. 

 

We, too, must also be willing to ask: “What then should we do?”

 

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GRAPHIC: Adobe Express

We're back from our Thanksgiving hiatus and looking forward to hearing everyone's turkey day tales. Join us Friday morning if you can at Our Breakfast Place or on Zoom.** We meet at 8:00 and spend an hour-ish in great company. 

Many Blessings,

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

 

READINGS FOR 

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (DECEMBER 4, 2022) AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Isaiah 11:1-10

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

Romans 15:4-13

Matthew 3:1-12

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=2

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_SecondSundayofAdvent.pdf