One of my earliest Christmas memories is of watching the film It’s a Wonderful Life directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. It was in black and white, and we would sometimes have to adjust the rabbit ears on our television to watch it with less static. It was the early 1970s, after all. And reliable streaming and 75-inch high definition flat-screen TVs were still decades in the future. This was back when you would have to look up the program in the TV Guide and mark it on the calendar. At the appointed time, our family would all gather around the TV in our pajamas with bowls of popcorn and have a wonderful time watching It’s a Wonderful Life.
My mom was divorced when my brother and I were young. So it was just mom, me, and my brother at first. Later, when I was in elementary school, my mom remarried, and then my step-dad, Richard, a sincere and well-intentioned albeit conservative Adventist, would entertain us with a running commentary on how Catholic Frank Capra got the theology of angels, heaven, and salvation all wrong and backwards! The only thing more thought-provoking might be Martin Luther commenting on Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments.
To those who know and love the film, many of the lines sing sweetly to our ears, with a familiar and comforting holiday warmth:
“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”
“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. And when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”
“Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.”
We loved the humor, the mystery, and the core message – that somehow God’s providence was greater than our problems, that Divinity was working in and through, and often despite, the hardships and trials. God could use us even in dark circumstances to be a light for others.
Years later, after marrying my girlfriend from La Sierra University, and after we had children of our very own, we continued the Christmas tradition of watching It’s a Wonderful Life. Though filmed in 1946, and with a somewhat dated script and old-fashioned special effects, it still resonated with me as true.
Spoiler alert: if you haven’t seen the film and intend to, you might want to skip the next couple of paragraphs.
We’d laugh together at the funny scenes and cry together when George Bailey broke down and begged for his old life back. George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, had big dreams. He wanted to go away to college, to travel the world, and to build things – bridges and skyscrapers. “I know what I’m gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and next year, and the year after that,” declares George.
But life has a way of presenting a detour, an occasional diversion, or sometimes a cul-de-sac rather than a straight, unimpeded highway to our dreams. Life’s unexpected challenges interfered with his best-laid plans. Unscheduled happenings thwarted his world travel, prevented his attending college, and even postponed his honeymoon! Then a confluence of events swirled about him, and his adversity so oppressed him, that for a moment in that bleak midwinter he contemplated ending it all.
Finding himself at his lowest point, Geoge in desperation turned to prayer: “Dear Father in Heaven, I’m not a praying man, but if you’re up there and you can hear me, show me the way.”
Heaven was thus given permission to intervene in George’s life. Down from heaven, angels descended to aid George by showing that he really did have a wonderful life and that it would be a terrible waste to throw it all away. Much like the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, spirits revealed to flesh and blood heavenly truths that put George’s life into a new light. It was as if scales fell from his eyes, and all could be seen in the light of heaven.
I am reminded of the hopeful future God has planned: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
And I am comforted by the promise of inward, eternal renewal, despite outward appearances: “Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
You might say that It’s a Wonderful Life preaches the same message that Pastors Iki, Devo, Raewyn, and others, have been preaching regardless of the particular sermon series. And you are right. For this is the Gospel – the good news. It’s not just for fictional characters like George Bailey or Ebenezer Scrooge or Tiny Tim. It’s for all of us. And it’s not just for Christmas but for every day of the year.
“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
Merry Christmas. God bless us every one!
David A. Pendleton is a La Sierra University alumnus and a retired Hawaii workers’ compensation judge now practicing law in California sometimes remotely from Boston, Massachusetts.