Beloved in Christ,

The other night I had a chance to watch again Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." I remember well as a child waiting with anticipation for the special to come on television. We similarly waited expectantly for "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

The story of the Grinch and his transformation speaks to the irrepressible nature of Christmas and its capacity to change the human heart. And Charlie Brown's tale elbows the story of the nativity into a primetime cartoon in a way that would likely not be done today.

Taken together, the two 1960s shows are a sort of twentieth-century dance of Advent into Christmas. We are trusting like Cindy Lou Who. We are expectant, even through the commercials, that Christmas will come. Charlie Brown's common and unlikely Christmas tree is the holy parents, those Galilean travelers, Mary and Joseph.

We are told by Jesus that we need to be like children to inherit the kingdom of God. Indeed. And so, let us be like children and go to the tree. And like the children of Narnia, let us push through those branches and see what lies beyond, a manger, a child, a journey, a cross, a tomb, and ...

Peace be with you and upon this earth,

The Rt. Rev. James R. Mathes
Bishop