JR. Forasteros - June 1, 2014
YHWH Shalom - Peace
When we are confronted by either the needs in our world or God's call for us to address those needs, it's easy to become paralyzed. To think that we're not capable enough, that what's really needed is some sort of Christian superhero. But the story of Gideon reminds us that God doesn't require superhumans to accomplish wonders. Rather, God calls ordinary people and equips them. God requires of us the same thing he required of Gideon: that we respond to God's call with the strength we have. That we join Yahweh-Shalom, the God of Peace, in restoring all things.
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Last year, Amanda and I bought this Nightmare Before Christmas Advent Calendar. Every day, you get to open it to find a new little figurine from the Tim Burton movie.
That movie always sparks debate: is it a Christmas movie or a Halloween movie? (For the record, it’s a Halloween movie.) If you haven’t seen it, the plot revolves around Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. He accidentally discovers a portal to Christmas Town and decides to replace Santa. Things go wrong and eventually Jack has to rescue Santa so Santa can save Christmas and Jack returns to Halloween Town with a new lease on, uh, afterlife.
The movie’s weird, to say the least, particularly because it combines Christmas with horror – something we don’t typically associate with Christmas (unless you’re a weirdo like me).
In fact, even though it’s a Disney movie, Disney released it under another studio brand – Touchstone – because they thought it was too scary for kids. But the movie went on to be a huge success and today enjoys a massive cult following (massive enough to warrant, for instance, Advent calendars!).
Why? What is it about the joy of Christmas juxtaposed with the horror of Halloween that resonates so strongly with us?
I want to suggest today that the success of The Nightmare Before Christmas is no accident. There is, in fact, a space between Halloween Town and Christmas Town were most of us live.
