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あらすじ・解説
This episode is going to be a bit different. Rather than cover a heavy topic on this week of Christmas, we decided to talk about our favorite characters in the Biblical Christmas story, and some of our favorite movies/programs and other characters outside of the Biblical account. Luke 2:7: “And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the Inn.” Kathy My favorite Bible Christmas story person is Joseph, because he trusted the angel and went against what society would have expected him to do under those circumstances. He also had to help Mary deliver her baby in a filthy barn which I’m sure he had never done before. He had a huge amount of responsibility on his shoulders and he handled it well! My favorite non-Bible character is Imogene Herdman from “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”. I loved seeing the Christmas story through the eyes of someone who had never heard it before. It helped me realize what a truly amazing story it is! Mandy Cindy Lou Who. She sought to include the marginalized even when it wasn’t the popular thing to do, even when her own family didn’t understand, even when it made her own life more difficult. She brought the grinch into the community and showed him he belonged just as much as anyone else. She reminds us that Christmas is about kindness and love and that’s what matters most. Jason I love General Waverly from white Christmas as someone who was a respected leader of men and someone who aged gracefully retaining his charm and charisma. From the Bible, I like imagining the angels singing and the hope and peace they represent during times of struggle. The lyrics of it came upon a midnight clear hit home for me. Erin I’m a huge Mary fan myself. I can’t imagine being told I was carrying the Messiah and the social ramifications that she must have endured for that, not to mention the physical toll of being a nomad while returning for the census and a migrant in a foreign land while trying to stay alive. Her faith was incredibly strong not only to carry Christ but to be his mother until his death. DeanI would say Joseph. I couldn’t imagine his feelings, to me the protector of Mary due to pregnancy before marriage. Having the responsibility of raising the Messiah. Despite all of those challenges Joseph continued to bear true faith in God. 1964 Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. (The claymation movie) I love that he symbolizes acceptance, resilience, and individuality. I appreciate that he doesn’t let others negative opinions discourage him. I can relate to Rudolf. It’s tough to be the outsider and I love the story of his acceptance. David In our house we’ve always had an open door policy, but even more so at the holidays. That means if anyone needs a place to stay or something to eat, we’ll offer what we have, even when it isn’t a lot. In years past we’ve spent the holidays feeding Albanian refugees, housing recent divorcees, or young adults whose parents were too far to get to. And it was true this year, when our friends came to us well after our Thanksgiving was planned and said, “hey, these people have nowhere to go. Can they come to you? We didn’t account for them in food planning and we definitely don’t have room to set two more place settings, but the answer is always yes. We’ll figure it out. We always make it work and I know it will turn out fine this time too. For that reason, my favorite character in the Christmas story is the humble innkeeper, who isn’t even formally mentioned in Scripture. The original open door policy. The innkeeper had no place for Mary and Joseph. These strangers had come from far away and her being 9-months pregnant obviously had high potential for drama. He didn’t owe them anything. It would have been so easy to send them on their way, but that’s not what he did. (I’m making an assumption that this person was a “he” but I don’t even know if that was a certainty.) He offered what he had. He did what he could. When given the choice to make these strangers someone else’s problem, he chose instead to give what he could give.TomIt’s Jesus. And not for the reasons you might think. I try to imagine the conversation between the Father and Son as Jesus says, “See you later, I’m off to become an embryo.” What was Jesus aware of, and when? My favorite Christmas movie is Home Alone. Specifically because of Kevin, the underappreciated underdog who gets left at home, and protects his home from the two bungling burglars!ScottOk, so I’m going toward Tom’s “unconventional” side. With an honorable mention to the shepherds, I’m going with the animals in the stable watching their Creator being born. I sometimes wonder if animals have a better awareness of the spiritual than we do. Did the animals there that night, did the donkey Mary rode on, understand...