Why We Can Have Faith in a Dark Time

Have you seen the wonderful 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street?*  It's one of my all-time favorites, and I try to watch it at least once every year.  Of course, it's perfectly cast (especially Edmund Gwenn and the young Natalie Wood), and full of delightful moments.  (The scene at the beginning about the correct order of the reindeer comes to mind, along with the bubble gum incident, the judge getting buried in letters to Santa, and so many more.)

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Not only does Miracle have its laugh-out-loud moments, but there's a love story, along with a mystery and some suspense.  Of course, it's mostly a movie about Santa Claus... or is it?

Nobody's perfect.

One thing that Miracle on 34th Street is not is syrupy, unlike so many Christmas movies.  In fact, the miracle of Christmas happens despite the fact that almost every character (with the exception of Kris, and possibly the young janitor) is flawed.  Everyone, even the hero and heroine, acts from cynical self-interest.  Even the little girl, Susan, can show a lack of empathy and imagination, and is disgusted by the idea of believing in anything without absolute proof.  (Natalie Wood's skeptical expression when she's told to have faith in spite of setbacks is acting genius.)

Although there are only faint glimmers of kindness or unselfishness from any of the characters, the miracle occurs, right on schedule.

Consider the heroine, Doris Walker.  She's an intelligent, successful, no-nonsense career woman with a rigidly suppressed heart.  As a young girl, she loved fairy tales and believed in the existence of her very own Prince Charming.  Disappointed with the failure of her first marriage, she has written off all men, and has taught her seven-year-old daughter Susan to be a cynical unbeliever.

Enter a handsome and persistent lawyer named Fred Gailey and a charming old man who calls himself Kris Kringle – and claims to be the real, the one-and-only Santa Claus – and you have the makings of a life-changing scenario for Doris.

Doris is attracted to Fred, but remains distrustful.  She and Susan are fond of Kris, but fear he may be mentally unbalanced, even though he's witty and kind.

Doris is stubborn.  Even when Mr. Macy and Mr. Gimbel, two powerful business competitors influenced by Kris, recommend each other's stores and give generously to charity, Doris still doesn't believe in the magic of goodwill.  (Of course, Macy and Gimbel are really doing it to attract more customers.)

After all, Doris is just being practical.  "Those lovely intangibles" that Kris, and eventually Fred, defend – optimism, compassion, imagination, and love – "aren't worth much.  You don't get ahead that way," insists Doris.  But life without those intangibles is pretty bleak.

Doris has a choice between trust and fear, idealism and hard facts, generosity and materialism.  It's not just Santa Claus who's on trial; it's everything he stands for.  It's a tough choice for someone who's been burned.

But aren't we all like that?  Faith is hard.  The Bible says it's "confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)  As Miracle on 34th Street describes it, "faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to."  That doesn't come naturally to any of us.

God comes anyway.

The (real) story of Christmas is about the way God enters at the darkest, most difficult time, when things are bleak.  When faith and hope are hardest to come by, God sends love and peace.

Jesus came as a flesh and blood infant, not as a superhero or all-conquering ruler.  He left the glory of heaven to be born in less-than-glorious surroundings.  God-fearing but otherwise ordinary humans were part of the plan.

The Christmas season is about fun and family.  It's about feasting and merriment.  And there's no reason it shouldn't include the giving and receiving of presents.

But at its heart, it's the truth of God coming to be with us here, in the middle of our mess.  God comes here because even though we're all filled with self-interest, there's a small, tender, needy part of us that can respond to a story about love, trust, and sacrifice.

The history of the world is always dark, with many reasons to doubt the value of the human race.  Christmas reminds us that, in spite of what common sense might dictate, God thinks we're worth redeeming.

That's more than enough reason to celebrate!