Christmas

Review: Birth of the Chosen One

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Cover image of "Birth of the Chosen One" by terry Wildman, illustrated by Hannah and Holly Buchanan

Birth of the Chosen One, Terry Wildman, illustrated by Hannah and Holly Buchanan. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514007020) 2024.

Summary: An account of the birth of Jesus based on the First Nations Version reflecting Native oral storytelling.

Many of us who have read and heard the narratives of the New Testament have appreciated hearing the story afresh through the First Nations Version of the New Testament. This is a true translation by a team of First Nations translators led by Terry Wildman. They sought to translate the New Testament into English in a way that captured the idioms of indigenous storytellers. One distinctive is the translation of names, which carry great meaning among indigenous peoples. Instead of translating the Aramaic pronunciation of the name, they translate its meaning. For example, in this story “:Mary” is translated “Bitter Tears” and “Jesus” is translated “Creator Sets Free.”

The Christmas story is one of those familiar stories. However, this book, using the First Nations Version and illustrations by Native artists reflecting Native settings, dress, and imagery, offers a fresh rendering of the familiar story. For instance, consider these words from the Annunciation that sent chills through me:

“Do not fear! The Great Spirit has chosen to honor you and give you a son. You will name him Creator Sets Free, for he will set people free from their bad hearts and broken ways. He will be chief over all the tribes and his chiefly guidance will never end.”

Bitter Tears asked, “How will this be?”

Creator’s Mighty One answered, “The Holy Spirit will spread his wings over you, and his great power from above will overshadow you. This holy child born to you will be the Son of the One Above Us All.”

Then, on the opposite page from these last words we see Bitter Tears overshadowed by wings and light. This is challenging to render and done beautifully.

The desert journey and search for a place to give birth captures the precarity of this journey and search. We witness the awe and joy of the shepherd, the adoring visit of the Seekers of Wisdom. Meanwhile, the angelic host are rendered as a spirit messenger surrounded by great soaring eagles representing spirit warriors.

The Native artists, twin sisters, sumptuously illustrate the book with a vivid color palette including deep shades of violet skies filled with stars, colorful Native clothing, desert landscapes and a young mother filled with ponderings of what this all means.

While designed for First Nations readers, the translation and renderings helps all of us see and hear an old story with fresh eyes and ears. Pick this up now to have it on hand for your Christmas celebrations later this year.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Christmas, The Season of Life and Light

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Christmas, The Season of Life and Light (Fullness of Time series), Emily Hunter McGowin. Downers Grove: IVP Formatio, 2023.

Summary: Spiritual and theological reflections to aid readers in their celebration and spiritual formation around the season of Christmas.

Through all my years as a Christ-follower I have sensed that something very singular occurred with the birth of Jesus, at once Lord of the universe and helpless babe, born in borrowed quarters, hunted by a ruthless king, and with his parents, a fugitive and refugee. At least, I try to ponder these things when not pre-occupied by shopping, decorating, and all the gatherings that surround this season.

One of the ways I carve out space to remember what we are celebrating is reading literature that reminds me of the wonder behind what can become familiar. For this year Emily Hunter McGowin’s little book, Christmas, has offered rich reflections on Christmas and the One we celebrate during this season. The book is one of the Fullness of Time series published by IVP Formatio, edited by New Testament theologian Esau McCaulley. The website for the series states: “The Fullness of Time series invites readers to explore the riches of the church year, guided by some of our finest church theologians. Each volume introduces the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of a season of the church—not as an academic exercise, but as an reflections on the theological and spiritual treasures of the church calendar.”

This volume certainly accomplishes that purpose. McGowin begins by discussing the origins of Christmas. While McGowin admits that we do not know the date of Jesus’ birth, she also refutes the myth that Christmas originated as a pagan celebration. She contends that it arises from the church’s belief that the annunciation to Mary and crucifixion of Jesus, both occurred on 14 Nisan, or March 25. December 25 is nine months later! There is evidence for this date going back to the fourth and fifth centuries, unconnected with any pagan celebration. McGowin contends that Christmas, like other dates and seasons in the liturgical year can be times of attending to the Triune God.

Having established the roots of this tradition within Christian liturgical practice, she turns in the remaining four chapters to consider the theological significance of Christmastide. She explores the idea of the Great Exchange, that in the Incarnation, The Son of God partakes in our humanity that we might partake in his divinity, that we might be restored and united with God. Our gift-giving can be a celebration of this great gift.

She explores how the birth of this man born to be king occurs under such poor circumstances. He is God who identifies with the poor. And in this, his birth challenges us to choose, not wealth, but to use our resources in service of the poor.

McGowin considers the mission to redeem creation. This is evident even in his circumcision on the eighth day, faithful in all things to reconcile all through his blood, inaugurating the new creation, one day to be brought to fulfillment. Hence we set up trees and decorate, celebrating both creation and re-creation.

Christmas is a season of light…and life. But many suffer under oppression or bear griefs. The light shines amid darkness. McGowin explores how the Nine Lessons and Carols inb the Anglican tradition, how the remembrance of the holy innocents and the martyrdom of St. Stephen in this season hold “space for grief and lament while looking forward with hope.” And so we light candles and strings of lights. We believe Christ’s coming “brings light and life–even if we can’t see it yet.”

McGowin concludes the book with a reflection on Orthodox nativity icons and the intersection of creche and cross. We’re reminded to see Christmas in context with the whole church year and to set the birth in context with Christ’s Passion. In this conclusion, as throughout the book, ths story of Christmas also serves as a lens through which we see the stories in our news–the conflicts, the tragedies, the existential challenges that resist human solutions.

As you may discern, this isn’t a book of precious thoughts and saccharine sentimentality. These are reflections of theological substance and spiritual depth in language expressive of the lived experience of contemporary Western Christians within a larger global community. And they are reflections that bring deeper significance to our giving of gifts, charitable efforts, and all the decorating and lighting of the season. She shows how these all point to the One who is life and light for the world.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

Review: The King of Christmas

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The King of Christmas (A FatCat Book), Art by Natasha Kennedy, Text by Todd R. Hains. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2022.

Summary: The search for the King of Christmas by the Magi, and where the King was found…and where he was not.

I told you I had a second FatCat Book to tell you about, one that is Christmas themed. The King of Christmas draws on the story of the Magi and their search for the King of Christmas after sighting his star. The didn’t find him with the stars of heaven or the birds of the air, the fish of the sea or among the beasts of the field. He wasn’t at the tables of the rich, the courts of kings, the forts of soldiers, the markets, or with the scribes in the temple. Each page asks, “is the King of Christmas there?” with the answer of “No!” until at last they find him in a converted feed trough where animals were stabled.

But the story doesn’t end there. He’s found between criminals and wherever his word and name are. And that name is Jesus, the King of Christmas! But he is not found in a tomb. And as in the other stories, FatCat may be found on every page.

Once again, Natasha Kennedy accompanies Todd R. Hains text with vibrant illustrations that will be a delight to the child’s eye. Here’s just one example (from the publisher’s website):

Consistent with the series, a great diversity of people exist, including gathered at the table of a dark-skinned Jesus, with us as God’s Word is read and taught, in Baptism and at the Lord’s Supper celebrations.

As with other books in this series, the story is meant to be read and shared in families, and the author includes a Christmas prayer that may be read responsively. The book renders afresh the story of the humble beginnings of the King, his victory over death, and his presence with all who seek him and how he may be found. The text is simple and budding readers will want to learn the words, even as they enjoy the illustrations. So you will want to read this more than once–perhaps many times–and not only at Christmas.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — The Music of Christmas

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Some of the Christmas albums from my youth

As I write, I’m listening to the “Instrumental Christmas” station on Amazon. Christmas music is one of my favorite aspects of the season–listening to it, singing it, you name it. I remember our house being filled with Christmas music, mostly from the radio. When I was young and my parents controlled the radio, this would likely be on WFMJ or WKBN. We not only heard Christmas music from Thanksgiving until Christmas, but on the twelve days of Christmas to Epiphany (there are some church traditions that think Christmas Day is when you start singing Christmas carols.)

We still have some of those old LP’s of Christmas music, I think all of them are from the 1960’s. Listening to them take me back. Ray Conniff, Percy Faith, Perry Como (we used to call him Perry Coma because his voice was so smooth and soothing!). Then there were compilations like the one in the upper left of my photo. I read the names and I remember the voices–Ed Ames, Harry Belafonte, Lana Cantrell, Vic Damone. Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride from the Boston Pops is one you still here and we have several recordings of the Boston Pops around the house. The ultimate compilation was the Time-Life Treasury of Christmas. I think this one went with my sister–all 44 songs!

I always thought of O Holy Night as one of the most challenging of Christmas songs on the sing, particularly because of all those high notes. It is kind of the national anthem of Christmas songs. In our youth, Mario Lanza, the opera singer performed one of the most often played versions. All the tenors like Placido Domingo and Lucianno Pavarotti have taken it on as well as many male and female artists. But I think Lanza is still classic as I remember my dad playing this on our dining room hi-fi set or his old Bakelite radio. But it’s OK if someone else is your favorite!

Mario Lanza

Then there were the songs that became Christmas hits in our youth: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sung by Burl Ives a part of the Rankin-Bass TV special that debuted in 1964. A few years later came Frosty the Snow Man with the title song sung by Jimmy Durante. The one we still listen to came from A Charlie Brown Christmas, and the timeless jazz music of Vince Guaraldi. “Linus and Lucy,” “Skating,” and “Christmas Time is Here” are songs I still love, especially the latter with the children’s choir. The Little Drummer Boy was immortalized by the Harry Simeone Chorale. Here is a live performance on The Ed Sullivan Show from 1959. For all I know, I probably watched that when it was first aired.

There were live performances, from school Christmas programs to the Nutcracker performances at Powers Auditorium that I took my future wife to see. For several years in college, I sang in our church choir. A special thrill was singing Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus and watch the whole congregation, honoring an old tradition, stand as we sang. It was equally thrilling when we would go to sing to elderly shut-ins or those in nursing facilities and to see the smiles or even the tears as we sang enthusiastically, if not always well, the favorites of Christmas. But the high point, at least in my church tradition was singing Silent Night during Candlelight services on Christmas eve. With dimmed lights we began singing Silent Night as we passed the candle flame from one person to the next until the sanctuary was aglow with the pinpoints of candlelight throughout the congregation. When we finished singing, and extinguished the candles, we were ready for Christmas to come!

What was the music and musical traditions of Christmas that you remember from growing up in Youngstown? I’d love to hear your memories!

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Light in the Darkness

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Photo by icon0.com on Pexels.com

“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
    Galilee of the Gentiles—
 the people living in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
    a light has dawned.”
–Matthew 4:15-16

I’ve been meditating of late how Jesus of Nazareth is truly the Savior from the margins. He was from an oppressed nation under Roman domination. Nazareth was in the remote north, far from the religious center of Jerusalem. He was likely of darker complexion. From a human point of view, his conception seemed questionable. The circumstances of his birth were “lowly.” The first to pay him homage were shepherds, people who lived on society’s margins. His early years were as a refugee, his parents fleeing to Egypt to save his life. His was in the building trades, working as a carpenter. 

I’ve read a number of books by people on the margins this year–people of color, women who have been abused, even in the church, climate refugees, the poor. It strikes me Jesus would have much in common with these people, and it was for such as them, those living on the margins in the land of Galilee that he came, light into the darkness.

In one sense, I’m one of those, apart from our shared humanity, with whom Jesus had the least in common. The wonder of it all is that he came even for me. The truth is I am no more deserving and perhaps less than these. What has become increasingly clear is that I don’t get to remake him into a middle class, educated, American, white guy. This reminds me of a book of poems from my Jesus movement days, “Good Old Plastic Jesus” by Ernest Larsen, which is about all the ways we try to re-make Jesus. Instead, he came to those in darkness and dying to remake them, to bring light. So I find myself, especially in this tumultuous year of protests and pandemic, asking, “how would Jesus come and remake me?”

For much of my life I’ve been taught that those on the margins are “them,” the “other,” and to be feared and guarded against. I like to think of Jesus as with me. What a shattering thought that Jesus may likely be with “them,” that he is the “other.” One thing I’ve noticed about Jesus though. He doesn’t exclude. Sinners, tax collectors, women of questionable reputation are all at his table. Pharisees and religious leaders are as well, when they choose to be, and outside when they choose that. Usually they are outside to distance themselves from “them.” When I distance myself from others, I distance myself from Jesus. Then who is in the light of Jesus, and who in the darkness?

At the end of this year of protests, politics, and pandemics, I am weary of those who would separate us and them and make me choose. I want to choose to be where Jesus is, bringing light into darkness rather than cursing it. And I need Jesus to come and shine his light into all the hidden, dark places in me, the places where I still divide the world into us and them, the enlightened and the benighted.

Come, Lord Jesus and bring light into our darkness!

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — Sears Christmas Wish Book

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1965 Sears Christmas Wish Book front cover

Do you remember eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Sears Christmas catalog, also know as the “Wish Book”? I know I did. I would spend hours poring over the toy section of the catalog. There were hundreds of pages of toys for girls and boys as well as clothing items, electronics, appliances, tools, and guns, among other things. You can see the 1965 catalog and many others at https://christmas.musetechnical.com/.

Looking through that catalog was a walk down memory lane. I was surprised at how many things in that catalog are still around: Legos, Etch-a-Sketch, board games like Scrabble, Risk, Clue, and Monopoly–and Barbie!

Then there were the one-time favorites you no longer can find. Remember View-masters? Erector sets? Kenner building sets? I was struck by how many children’s sized musical instruments found their way onto the pages.

It seemed the big fad of the time was James Bond. There was a race car set with an Aston Martin, Bond and Odd Job dolls and a gun case, and a complete action set. GI Joe was big as well, even as real-life GI’s were headed to Vietnam.

I was a reader then and am now, but I don’t think I noticed all the children’s books including Caldecott and Newberry winners. Of course, there were the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.

You can see the influence of the space race with various rocketry sets and science and chemistry sets. There also were toys to prepare us for adult life, set apart by gender. In the boys section, there were tool boxes. The girls section had pages and pages of kitchens, dish services, and furniture. The catalogs are a window into those times.

1965 Sears Christmas Wishbook p. 445

I think the pages the received the most attention from me were the slot car sets. There was a period when slot cars eclipsed model railroading. I got caught up in it, debating with my friends about 1/32nd versus HO scale sets. On Christmas day in 1965 I found the set at the top of the page above under the Christmas tree. Within hours it took over our living room. Later it got relegated to our basement. Over time I bought more track and accessories and cars and invited my friends over to race with me. That set still exists packed up and stored somewhere in my utility room.

While the downtown department stores in Youngstown had fantastic toy displays, the prices were high for many of our parents. The discount stores were not yet abundant. Sears was the alternative for many of our parents. In the weeks before Christmas, many of them would line up at the Sears Catalog pick up at the old Sears store on Market Street in the Uptown area to pick up those toys that went from the Wish Book to our Christmas lists and eventually found their way under the tree.

The Sears Christmas Wish Book ceased publication in 2011, coming back for the year of 2017. I can’t think of anything like the Wish Book today. I suppose there is online browsing, but I can’t imagine the same sense of excitement and wonder from scrolling through pages and creating wish lists as when the Wish Book arrived at our door. Good memories.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!