THE SETUP
“People in a community stick together, even if one of them has been behaving for most of the holiday season like a spoiled, selfish, little baby.” – Vic Frohmeyer in Christmas with the Kranks
As their first empty nester Christmas approaches, Luther Krank comes up with a brilliant idea. He and his wife, Nora, will skip Christmas and take a cruise instead. He convinces Nora to skip all their holiday traditions, from decorating to hosting their famous Christmas Eve party. But as their plan unfolds, they keep hitting roadblock after roadblock and those roadblocks are people.
After weathering the storm of peer pressure to buy a tree from the Boy Scouts, put Frosty — a giant plastic snowman — on their roof, and everything else Christmas-y, there is an unexpected twist. Their daughter, Blair, decides to come home for Christmas after all (with a new fiancé in tow), and all their plans go out the window. The Kranks’ friends and neighbors rally around them and help them pull off a full-blown Christmas party, decorations and all.
Toward the end of the movie, Luther stands in front of his house looking in through the window at all the people celebrating in his living room and realizes where his Christmas joy comes from. People. The same people who he thought were ruining his plans were now the source of his joy.
Advent is a reminder that joy is difficult to experience alone. It is the people in our lives that bring us the most joy and who rejoice with us. That’s why Jesus stepped into our world, to experience life with us. One of his titles is Immanuel, which means, “God WITH us.” Jesus came to be with us and taught his followers that joy and relationship were intertwined.
PASSAGE TO READ
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
When is a time in your life that you experienced true joy? Was that a solo moment for you, or were there others to rejoice with you?
Jesus taught his followers that following his commandments and loving others would bring them joy that will fill their lives. What do you think he meant by that. Have you ever connected loving others and experiencing joy?
Someone once said the key to joy is found when you put Jesus first, others second, and yourself last (J-O-Y). What do you think of that statement? Do you agree? Why or why not?
PRAYER IDEA:
“Jesus – thank you for creating me for relationships. Even though there are times when relationships can be difficult, I pray that you would help me to show love by putting others first. I want to experience overflowing joy in my life, and I need others in my life to share that. This Christmas I want to put you first in my life, others second, and myself last. In your name, amen.”