It’s A Wonderful Life – Believe In It!

Third Sunday in Advent

Luke 1:46-55  And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

As beloved as the film is now, It’s A Wonderful Life was not all that well received at the time it was released.  It was a bomb, in fact.  Frank Capra lost more than $500,000 on it.  That doesn’t mean that people hated it – just that they were uninterested in it, I guess. But you know who really did hate it?  The FBI.  They issued a memo after it was released calling it “Communist infiltration of the motion picture industry.”  They claimed it was an obvious attempt to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore, who played Mr. Potter, as a ‘Scrooge-type’ so that he would be the most hated man in the film. This, they said, is a common trick used by Communists.[1]

Looking back and considering the climate of the times, not to mention that the FBI director was J. Edgar Hoover, it isn’t surprising that they found it to be suspiciously anti-American.  In that climate of fear that was beginning to take hold in the United States, people were prone to see things a bit too narrowly, a bit too black and white, and make overly broad generalizations.  Fear will do that to people.

But the character of Mr. Potter is not really intended to represent any individual – banker or otherwise.  He symbolizes certain weaknesses, certain flaws of humankind and society.  As I have said, the character of Potter represents evil, something that is present to some degree in every human heart. 

A lot has happened in the story of George Bailey since last week.  After he confronted Mr. Potter so boldly, the board of the Building and Loan insisted that George take over its management.  So, once again, his dream of leaving Bedford Falls was deferred.  He married, started a family, and settled into the rhythms of life in this small town he both loved and hated. 

His management of the Building and Loan was true to the little speech he gave that day in the meeting with the board of directors.  He worked with the poor folks in Bedford Falls, giving them a hand when he could, a chance to lift themselves out of poverty – a chance to do something other than crawl to Potter.  Of course, this meant that the Building and Loan was never as prosperous as the big bank, run by Mr. Potter.

One day something happened that changed everything.  Uncle Billy misplaced the day’s deposits.  It was about $8000.  He was at the bank and began talking to Mr. Potter, got distracted, and forgot to pick up his envelope.  Guess who walked away with it and never said a word.

This was a crisis of the highest order for George and the Building and Loan.  This was when George went crawling to Mr. Potter in desperation and this is where Mr. Potter truly exemplified evil.  For all intents and purposes, he had stolen the money.  He listened to George beg for his help. And he laughed in his face, telling George he would be worth more dead than alive.  Do you see what I mean about evil?

As low as he was already, it was enough to tip him over the edge. George went to the bridge intending to jump. But this was where the angel of the Lord came in.  He was a scruffy little angel named Clarence, sent to redeem George.  The way he did it was to show George what things would be like if he had never been born.  Over the course of the evening, George could see that all the small faithful steps he had taken in his life had made a significant impact on the lives of others and the quality of his community.  And in this scene, we will see how that affected him.

***

Isn’t it funny to hear George gush with love for this town, the town he couldn’t wait to get away from?  He can see everything with new eyes now, because he has been given the chance to see everything from above.  It’s a rare and unique gift he has been given.  Most of us will never have this. 

George was able to see what it would be like to lose everything – without actually losing it.  I guess that’s why some people find this movie too saccharine.  Because most of us only learn what it would be like to lose something by actually losing it.  Such is the case in the reading we heard from Isaiah today.

The people of Israel had experienced a great loss.  Their land had been taken from them by those who hated them, and they were sent into exile far from home.  In their eyes they had lost everything.  But then a prophet, who was probably even scruffier than the angel Clarence – because prophets tend to be the scruffy type – came to them with a message of hope: 

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.”

And thus promises were made to the people of Israel from the God they thought had been lost to them.  In their darkest moment, I wonder how well they could believe it.

Belief does not always come easily.  When everything around us seems dark, it can be hard to believe in the light that will overcome darkness.  I don’t know if there is an increase in violence during the holiday season, but it seems to me that most years our observance of Advent is affected by stunningly awful events.  Three years ago at this time we were reeling from the tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school.  Last year we were watching riots in Ferguson, the shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland, and rising tensions over the deaths of too many young back men.  This year is no better.  When all we see is violence, answered by more violence, it can be hard to imagine peace.  When we are overwhelmed by the suffering us, it can be hard to believe that the Lord will lift up the lowly and fill the hungry with good things, as the young girl Mary sings.

Isn’t Mary magnificent?  Barely more than a child herself, she has just been visited by an angel and told the most outlandish thing: that she will bear a child, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and he will be called the Son of God.  “Do not be afraid,” the angel says.  And Mary replies, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord.  Let it be with me according to your word.”

Somehow, Mary believed.  I don’t know if anyone else believed it, but somehow Mary did.

Belief is a peculiar thing, because it asks us to look beyond what our eyes can see.  We see the corruption of power, and Mary sings the proud will be scattered and the lowly shall be blessed.  We see poverty, loneliness, and desperation, and Isaiah proclaims the Lord has remembered his people and there will be joy – everlasting joy. 

The vision of Isaiah, and the vision of Mary, is a vision of how things are intended to be.  It is a glorious vision, some would say unrealistic, because it is a vision of the ultimate reign of God. 

Can you believe in it?

It does require some divine intervention – but make no mistake; divine intervention is always available.  It’s why we come here and gather together – for our prayers to be heard and to hear God’s claim on us, to gather around a little light in this darkest time of the year.  To carry that light back out into the world.

With a little divine intervention, George could see that his life, which had never seemed like enough, was actually rich with blessing.  George could see that his life was worth living.  It really was a wonderful life.  There were debts to pay and battles to fight, difficult people and hard losses.  But even so, it was a wonderful life.

It really is a wonderful life

Believe it.

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[1] http://mentalfloss.com/article/60792/25-wonderful-facts-about-its-wonderful-life

It's A Wonderful Life - Hope In It!

Second Sunday in Advent

Matthew 3:1-12         In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

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Frank Capra was a filmmaker who seemed to identify with the little guy – the ordinary men and women – the John Does and Mr. Smiths.  And George Baileys.  My daughter Kira loved George Bailey when she was a little girl.  Many days I can remember Kira coming home from school, hanging up her backpack, and saying, “I think I’ll watch a little George Bailey.”  That’s what she called the film.  She would start the tape wherever it happened to be and watch until it was time to do something else.  This was her way of unwinding after a hard day in the second grade.  As a little person, she appreciated George Bailey.

All the little people in Bedford Falls appreciated George Bailey too – with good reason.  He had compassion for them – unlike the infamous Mr. Potter, whom we will meet this week.

Last week we watched the scene in which George has his last conversation with his father, Peter Bailey.  They talked about Peter’s hopes for George and George’s dreams for his future.  Later that evening Peter Bailey died.  The scene we will watch today takes place a few months later when George is meeting with the board of directors for the Building and Loan as they prepare to make decisions about its future.  Mr. Potter is there, as a member of the board, and he has a few opinions about this institution that has been a thorn in his side.

***

Mr. Potter is the opposite of the kind of man Frank Capra admires.  He despises the little people, the poor and middle class folks in Bedford Falls.  He believes that giving people a hand only spoils them.  He exhibits the worst kind of greed.  He is concerned not only with increasing his wealth but also with decreasing others’ wealth.  For some reason, he thinks he deserves it all.

That is some kind of badness.                                                                                      

George wants nothing to do with his badness; he wants to walk away from this town and Mr. Potter, and begin to live the life he’s dreamed about.  Duty has kept him here this long, but now that he’s signed all the papers he is gone.  He has his coat, he’s headed for the door, he is almost out of the room, and then Mr. Potter opens his mouth and George gets hooked and reeled right back in.

He begins to speak of decency and human dignity, the right to have a roof over one’s head and become a contributing member of society.  He speaks of justice – biblical justice.

***

John the Baptist comes to us today and preaches his message of justice by way of repentance.  He offers a baptism that is unlike anything ever seen before.  And the people seem to be hungry for it.

Even the Pharisees and the Sadducees come forward.  But then John turns on them. “You brood of vipers!  Who told you to flee from the wrath to come?”

It isn’t self-evident – what exactly the problem is here.  If you walk into this as a newcomer to the conversation, you wouldn’t necessarily understand why John is angry.  But it helps to understand a little bit about the history of the relationship between the prophets and the religious authorities of Israel.

In the Old Testament books of the prophets the story is repeated many times.  The religious authorities, once they get in a position of power, seem to forget what they are there for.  They forget that they have been given power for the purpose of serving others.  Power granted by the Lord is not meant to be hoarded, but to be spread around; to lift up the lowly, to fill the hungry with good things.  This is what I mean by biblical justice.

When we forget these things, systems of evil are allowed to grow like weeds, killing everything good in their path.  People can get trapped in such systemic evil – if we don’t have some men and women who stand up and say there is another way.

George Bailey seems to be one of those guys.  This man, who desperately wants to wash his hands of it, to get out of Bedford Falls, can’t seem to help standing up and saying to Mr. Potter that there is another way – there must be another way. 

His confrontation that day in the boardroom with such cruelty awakens something in George. Before he knows what he is doing, he is making a case for the old Bailey Building and Loan.  He says he knows it’s not much, he knows it is small in comparison to the big bank in town; he knows it could easily go under, but he also knows this should not be allowed to happen.  As humble as it is, this town needs the Building and Loan, if only so that people will have some alternative than to crawl to Mr. Potter.

Did you hear him say that?  So that people will have some alternative than to crawl to Potter.

Do you remember?  One of the last things his father said to him was that Bedford Falls was no place for any man, unless he was willing to crawl to Potter.  Now George finds himself in a position to challenge the truth of that notion.  It turns out, in fact, that there is another way for George.  There is another way for us too.

As people of the Word, we don’t submit to evil.  We don’t look into the face of evil and shrug our shoulders.  We don’t turn our backs on the victims of greed or the victims of senseless, immoral violence and act as though there is nothing we can do about it.  We are people of the Word, and we can and must do something about it. 

It isn’t always easy.  John the Baptist didn’t advocate the easy path, and neither did Jesus.  George Bailey didn’t always find it easy to do the right thing – he had some low moments, for sure.

At his lowest moment, the moment when the Building and Loan was about to go under, carrying George down with it, do you know what he did?  He went crawling to Potter.  

He crawled before evil, and evil threw him down into the darkest depths.  But not beyond the reach of God, who was able to pluck him out of the depths, by the help of God’s angel – a scruffy little one called Clarence – and set him on a right path again, strengthening him with renewed hope.

And hope will always set us in the right direction.

This Advent journey asks us to walk through some dark places.  The world’s darkness intrudes on our holiday cheer – it certainly has this year, between Paris and Colorado Springs and San Bernardino.  But the light of Advent is not so much about cheer as it is hope.  Hope is the most powerful thing we have in the darkest time of the year, as we look to the light of the world, the prince of peace, the one who brings with him another way.  And we follow.

It’s a Wonderful Life – Endure It!

First Sunday in Advent.
This week begins a series using the film "It's a Wonderful Life."  Each week we are using a brief clip from the film as a part of the sermon.  If you are familiar with the film, you will follow along easily.  If you have never seen the film - Oh my goodness!  What have you been waiting for?  Go watch it!

Matthew 24:36-44     “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

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The old classic film, It’s A Wonderful Life, was not intended to be a classic Christmas film.  Frank Capra, the director, just liked the story and wanted to film it.  He wasn’t even thinking about Christmas.  And it wasn’t intended to be released during the Christmas season – it was supposed to come out in January, but they moved it up in hopes that it would get an Oscar nomination.  Things don’t always happen the way they are supposed to happen. 

That is, in fact, one of the central themes of the story – that things don’t always happen the way we intend, but in whatever way they do happen, they offer us opportunities to live a wonderful life. 

George Bailey, the main character in the film, has big plans for his life.  His father, Peter Bailey, runs a small town Building & Loan.  It’s never been a wildly successful operation, financially speaking, but it serves an important purpose.  The Building & Loan gives its customers a hope of getting out from under debt, getting out from under the weight of poverty.  It gives them hope of getting out from under the oppressive Mr. Potter, who owns half of Bedford Falls and is greedy enough to lust after the other half.

If Charles Dickens were telling this story, Mr. Potter would probably be the main character and there would be some hope for his redemption.  But that doesn’t happen in this story; what we have in this character is essentially the personification of evil.

In the scene we will see today, George is sitting at the dinner table with his father the evening before he is about to leave for college, and they begin by talking about his father’s day and his relationship with Mr. Potter, and then they talk about George’s future. 

***

I think Peter Bailey wants the best for his son, just as all parents do.  He wants George to be happy; he wants George to be successful; and he wants him to not only do well, but also to do good. 

George has been dreaming about this day for years – he’s been working and saving and planning and compromising to get to this point.  He has always felt like life is out there, somewhere, waiting for him.  He just needs to endure whatever it takes to get there.  George believes his life has been on hold until he could get everything ready.  And now, at last, it seems like everything is ready.  He can’t wait to get out of Bedford Falls.  He can’t wait to get out of the Building and Loan.  He can’t wait to get out of his parents house.

It’s not that he hasn’t been gracious.  George is a wonderful son, honoring his parents, helping his dad at the Building & Loan for four years.  He is a wonderful older brother to Harry, too.  There was that one time, when they were young boys that he pulled Harry out of the freezing water when he fell through the ice – he saved his life!  George has been there for everyone – except maybe himself.   But now, George firmly believes, it is his turn.

And, you know, I like that George has big ideas.  I like that he has planned well.  I like that he has been committed to his family, that he has good, solid priorities.  We should all do as well.  What I don’t like is this:  when we are too busy making plans for a future we might have, we are failing to live the life we actually have. And I am afraid George is missing out on the life he actually has.

I think we all do it in one way or another. It may be a tendency to let work consume every free moment of the day, something that is especially easy to do now that we have phones that allow us to be at work anywhere, anytime – all the time, in fact.

It may be a tendency to have a to-do list longer than your arm – staying busy!  But as virtuous as busyness might be, it can also be a way to avoid life.

By the way, this is not something that only happens to the ultra-busy – this missing out on life can happen to anyone.  It is entirely possible to miss out on the life you have simply because you are pining for a life you don’t have.

I think of Renee, a student I knew at Bloomsburg University, who never missed an opportunity to tell people that she was SUPPOSED to go to the University of Alabama, but her parents ruined her plans.  Of course, her experience at Bloomsburg University could never, ever match up to the experience she was sure she would have had at Alabama.

There is always the possibility, the dream, of some other life we might have lived.  And yet, when we awake and open our eyes, here we are.

It sometimes takes a hard experience to learn the value of the life we have been given.  It can take a loss to really appreciate what we have, the people we share our life with, the place where we live.  And when we finally do, then we might have those things that Peter Bailey wanted for his son: to be happy, to be successful, and to do good. 

To do good. 

We can do more good in the world by simply being present in the moment we are in, being present to the people we are with, being ready to respond to the needs we see.  And the greatest of these needs, I would dare say, is love.

Of course, George had no idea at the time, but this turned out to be the last conversation he would have with his father.  He went out to the graduation party, danced the Charleston, fell in the pool, and laughed and sang his way home – and later he would find out his father had a stroke that evening that he would not recover from.  Fortunately, George could look back on his last conversation with his dad and recall that he said to him, “Pop, I think you’re a great guy.”

It’s moments like this that, in retrospect, teach us the meaning of being ready.  It means being ready, right where you are, to receive the blessings that are before you. 

Are you ready?

It’s a question we frequently ask one another during the holiday season, but usually in the wrong way: are you ready for Christmas?  And I know it is a question that usually means things like having all the gifts bought and wrapped, having all the cookies baked, having the tree decorated, the lights up, and the holiday DVDs queued up and ready to run.  I still wonder, what if we actually meant this: are you ready to see the Christ?

Are you ready to see the Christ?

It’s not something you can prepare for, because you don’t know when, where, or how it might happen.  So being ready simply means expecting to see him right where you are.

Expecting to see the Christ. Looking at the world in love.  Responding to the need you see.  Living the wonderful life you have been given – not simply enduring it – living it.  This is what it means to be ready.  I wonder if George Bailey ever looks at his life that way.

You know, there is one more thing I’m wondering about.  The last thing Peter Bailey said to his son was, “This town is no place for any man unless he is willing to crawl to Potter.”  It’s exactly the kind of thought that makes George shudder at the idea of staying in Bedford Falls.  Yet I wonder at the truth of that statement.  Is it really true that one has to crawl before Potter to do anything in that town; does anyone ever have to crawl before evil to do well?  To do good?  How is that going to play out?  We will see.

But for today, I ask you this: Are you simply enduring this life, or are you really living it – here and now?  Because when we talk about being ready, that is what we are talking about.