Usually, I like to add an extra element to the full-length dramas I produce at my church. For Bridge of Blood: Jim Elliot Takes Christ to the Aucas, I added black-and-white digital backgrounds, produced a time-accurate soundtrack, and volunteers created a great museum display in the back of the sanctuary. For The Case of Humanity vs. Pontius Pilate, the script already had audience members in the jury, but I added an opening credits video and volunteers added live video feed on the projection screens. For The Gifts of Goody Grisom, a Christmas play that takes place in the ol' South and teaches about giving, we're having a charity drive. Three different charities are benefitting from the items and financial support we're hoping to gather at this event. If you're in the Sheboygan area, I'd encourage you to come! You can learn more here.
Below are the "producer's notes" for the program:
My kids enjoy VeggieTales, a Christian CGI show that’s fairly popular. Three years ago, a Christmas episode started off with a financially-strapped father struggling to make his shift’s deliveries on Christmas Eve, only to have his truck break down and confiscated by a stingy mechanic, therefore facing imminent carless-ness and unemployment. It wasn’t time to think about “being good” and asking Santa for a new truck. It seemed like a good time to tell the story of St. Nicholas.
The historical St. Nicholas, I imagine, understood (better than Santa Claus does) that, for some people, it’s not always easy to happily celebrate Christmas. Having helped hold a Christmas Eve service in a homeless shelter, I can attest to that. Poverty, disease, violence, untruth, and other circumstances continue to plague us.
That’s why God gave us the greatest Christmas gift of all: the incarnate Jesus Christ. He lived on little and traveled light, speaking truth and love, helping the poor and sick and encouraging a flourishing type of peace. And he encouraged his followers to do the same. Why do we love and give to those in need? It’s not to achieve any favor with God, any institution or fellow man. It’s because God eternally loves and gives to us in our need.
And the message worked. It fascinated people how the early Christians in Rome could be so “poor, yet make many rich.” And St. Nicholas was one of the many followers of Christ that took His call to help the poor to heart.
And so did Goody Grisom.
It’s not so much Santa Claus and his elf-staffed toy factory that’s accurately emulating the biblical work of St. Nicholas (and Goody Grisom), but organizations like the Salvation Army, BabyCare and Love In Action, right here in Sheboygan. Those are the three gracious and loving organizations that we want to support tonight. They don’t just hand out food, money and supplies, but also truth, sincere love and friendship, being a more holistic and effective charity.
It’s my hope that you would understand God’s love and gifts to you, and that it would bring you to a flourishing peace. We can give because God gave. Let’s give our financial support and fill a pantry.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” -1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)
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