Welcome to Tuesday!!! It's the first Tuesday of December and do we have a show for you!!! Welcome to the place where the tunes are tantalizing, the songs are scintillating, and conversation is stimulating! It's Tuesday's Musical Notes!!! And it's only 4 Tuesdays until Christmas!!! We better get started!
"Haul out the holly; put up the tree before my spirit falls again....", starts the familiar refrain of the 1966 song from the musical Mame. It was first sung by Angela Lansbury (TV's Murder She Wrote) in the title role and has since become a holiday tradition to cheer up those "Scrooge's" that sometime may be around us. "We Need A Little Christmas" joins the musical at the moment Mame had just lost her fortune in the stock market crash of 1929. She decides that she and all of those around her "Need A Little Christmas" as they start out to reset their lives in the depression era.
Artists from across the musical spectrum have recorded this classic. Everyone from Johnny Mathis to the Muppets have used it as a celebration of the holidays. However, only 3 recordings of the song have charted. Those covers include Percy Faith and his orchestra in 2005, American Idol contestant from 2003, Kimberly Locke in 2008, and in 2010 the cast of the television show Glee brought "We Need A Little Christmas" to the seasonal airwaves and Billboard rankings. Here's how the song sounded in the 1974 movie adaptation starring Lucille Ball as Auntie Mame:
You
need only to open up a newspaper (yes, they are still in circulation)
or website to see the bad news that is indicative of the times. We live
in a time of great fear and anxiety. People from every walk of life
are touched by happenings all around the globe. We see the affects of
terrorism, war, poverty, poor living conditions, and and despair as we
tune in, click on, or open up the pages of the day's news. It seems
that in fact our world WE NEEDS A LITTLE CHRISTMAS!
In the story of Job, we see a man who has everything including a close relationship with God. Some theologians place the story of Job occurring after the patriarch Joseph's death, but before the appearance of Moses. Chronologically, you could put the book of Job in between the books of Genesis and Exodus. There is some discussion regarding the timing, but that is less important than the steadfastness and patience that Job had as he endured tireless persecution from Satan. Do you remember Job's story? If you have an hour or so, you can read all of Job's story in the form of some of the most poetic literature ever written.
The Bible calls him God's servant. He was a righteous man. God allows Satan to do anything to him, except take his life. Just about the time Job could be as miserable as he could be, his wife offers her two cents worth. (As an aside.....I have wondered sometimes why Job's wife was spared when all the rest of their family was killed. Could the reason be that even Satan sees that marriage is the act of two becoming one and he was not allowed to mess with Job's wife?.....) In The Message paraphrase, Eugene Peterson put's Job's response to his wife like this,
" You're talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?" Job 2:10 The Message
Many times our focus is drawn to the fact that Job called his wife down. While this is important, it could cause us to miss the rest of his response. "We take the good days from God--why not also the bad days?". Job didn't need a little Christmas. He had Christmas every day as he celebrated the personal relationship that he had with God, regardless of his circumstances. Job had a hope that erupted from the joy of his salvation. Even though he questioned what God was doing, He never questioned God's authority to do it. That is a trust and hope that is challenging for me in my walk. How about you? Is the joy and excitement we have during this time of year momentary, or do we celebrate each day of our lives because we our children of the living God? Do we cultivate that relationship by spending time with God and by spending time with God's people? Do we revel in our salvation even when the times are tough?
In the joyous celebrations of Christ's birth, we get to show the world that we don't need a "little" Christmas. We already have a LOT of Christmas that we can experience each day if we take the opportunities that abound around us. Just like the light of the Christmas star led people to Christ, let us allow the light of God's eternal love shine through us. This light can permeate and draw those who have...
Grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older,
...... to the life changing Good News of Christmas!! So as we see, hear, and sometimes feel the desperation of our times, we must remember we have an incredible hope that springs from joy! We have A LOT of Christmas, His Name is Jesus! And everyone needs Him NOW!
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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