The line was long. We got in place about 2 hours and 5 minutes before the show was set to begin, notably longer than our usual behavior. Can\u2019t say I\u2019m a particular fan of long lines. This one I really didn\u2019t mind, however. We\u2019ll get to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the things that I think is very important is to unequivocally honor all people where they are in respect to religion and faith. As said often here, we are no one\u2019s Holy Spirit. Not only are we not in that role, we are also completely incapable of such. It\u2019s foolish to think we are somehow able to serve as someone else\u2019s convicter of truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That said, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago. It\u2019s telling that his birth is not debated in Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, the Bah\u00e1\u02bc\u00ed Faith and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But because we individually debate Christ\u2019s prominence in our own lives, discerning what a personal relationship with the proclaimed Son of God might actually look like, sometimes we struggle with how to handle Christmas collectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do we water it down? \u2026 can we still celebrate? \u2026 can we still say the name of Jesus?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Such is the basis for the \u201chappy holidays\/merry Christmas\u201d quandary. There is zero wrong with wishing another\u2019s holidays to be happy. The problem arises when it\u2019s mandated that \u201cmerry Christmas\u201d is not to be said\u2026 or in the town square, the nativity scene cannot exist in a public place\u2026 or at school, where Christmas cookies are an explicit no-no\u2026 All this even though Jesus is named in the holiday, thus the clear reason for the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think that\u2019s one of our current societal challenges. Sometimes we think that in order to honor another, a differing opinion cannot be expressed in their presence. Friends, I\u2019m not so sure that\u2019s honoring; that\u2019s simply pretending that other opinions don\u2019t exist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Saying \u201cmerry Christmas,\u201d displaying a nativity scene, therefore \u2014 those are no attempts to dishonor or disrespect. Those are celebrations consistent with what the holiday is actually about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it\u2019s caused question in me in recent years, when persons are ok with Rudolph and Frosty and Santa and all the elves, but not with Jesus\u2026 even though Rudolph and Frosty and Santa and all the elves don\u2019t find any of their names listed on the calendar for December 25th. Sometimes it\u2019s as if we refuse to say the name of Christ, the first whole syllable of the holiday. In some places, with absolutely all due respect, it seems harder to say than in others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, the other night, it was time for one of our favorite December activities, the annual Candlelight Processional at Disneyworld. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Every year a mass choir, 50+ piece orchestra, fanfare trumpets and more gather at EPCOT\u2019s America Gardens Theatre to share tidings of comfort and great joy with the public. The beloved show features various celebrity narrators, some who come most every year \u2014 i.e. Neil Patrick Harris, Gloria Estefan, Whoopi Goldberg, and Gary Sinise. What does each read boldly, publicly? This diverse celebrity group?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The story of the birth of Jesus Christ.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We got in line at 4:40pm for the 6:45pm show; there was another show before then. But the amphitheater holds a little less than 2,000 people, and there were far more than that in line. There was such a joy, such an enthusiasm, regardless of the wait. People were so excited to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we were finally seated \u2014 awaiting Ralph Macchio, the original \u201cKarate Kid\u201d \u2014 his first time here \u2014 the orchestra soon began by playing \u201cO Come, All Ye Faithful\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem\u2026 O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll admit, a few tears rolled down my face. Still absolutely respecting of all people, it\u2019s simply meaningful to see things not watered down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The line was long. We got in place about 2 hours and 5 minutes before the show was set to begin, notably longer than our usual behavior. Can\u2019t say I\u2019m a particular fan of long lines. This one I really didn\u2019t mind, however. We\u2019ll get to that. One of the things that I think is … <\/p>\n