Merry Christmas! God is ever near! That is the message we all need to hear this Christmas, especially if we feel that life has been messy and disheartening during the past year.
That is certainly how George Bailey felt. Who is he, you might be wondering? Seventy-five years ago, Frank Capra released his epic film, It’s a Wonderful Life, with Jimmy Stewart, which became a traditional classic for many people to watch and reflect on at Christmas. The movie is endearing to many because they could relate to George Bailey, the lead character played by Jimmy Stewart.
They were moved by the scene where George feels there is nowhere else to turn. His life is a mess and he ready to give up. The story takes place during the depression so you can imagine his despair. Yet deep inside there is a spark of hope. George pleads, “God, dear Father in heaven, I’m at the end of my ropes. Show me the way.”
As he said that line, Jimmy Stewart felt the loneliness of people who had nowhere to turn. His eyes filled with tears, which wasn’t planned in the script but the power of that prayer, the awareness that our Father in heaven is there to help the hopeless had reduced him to tears.
“God, dear Father in heaven, I’m at the end of my ropes. Show me the way.” Have you found yourself thinking that during the past year? Certainly life has been challenging as we cope with the pandemic and its ever-evolving viruses that still hinders us still in numerous ways from enjoying the life we knew before the coronavirus hit the scene.
The prayers of the folks in Bedford Falls that Christmas Eve were indeed answered. George gets the rare gift of seeing that his supposedly routine life has in fact been a wonderful life; a life that has helped make the lives of others shine as being wonderful as well. As his brother, Henry, said, “George Bailey is the richest man in town.”
When he turned 75 and reflected on this movie, Jimmy Stewart observed, “This is where I made up my mind about certain things…about the importance of hard work and community spirit, the value of family, church and God.” He realized that living life simply in the love of God and neighbor is truly a wonderful life.
George Bailey is a heroic figure who didn’t realize that until Clarence Oddbody, one of God’s angels, convinced him that his simple ordinary life is in fact extraordinary. Clarence urges George to think of all the people in Bedford Falls who came to him for help like Ernie the cabdriver, Bart the cop and other needy families, misguided people like Violet and Uncle Billy whom he treated patiently. Without much thought, George was living out that line buried in Matthew’s gospel, “You did it for me.”
Clarence showed George what the town would be like and how others would have suffered had he never been born. Imagine how different our world would have been had Jesus not be born, then stop and consider how different our world would have been if you hadn’t been born. Consider how you have made a difference. The point is we are all fortunate if, wherever we live, we realize that our actions do affect the larger community. God enables us to make a difference in the lives of those around us. God sent his son to show us how, first by lifting our spirits then by granting us the wisdom to make a difference.
In one scene when everyone is trying to withdraw their funds from his bank, George Bailey points out that the money isn’t there; it’s invested in their neighbors’ homes. He points out that their survival depends on individuals making sacrifices for the betterment of the group. “We’ve got to stick together. We’ve got to have faith in each other.” In other words, learn to get along with one another so that we might all flourish.
This classic provides many other lessons to ponder. Another one is that the good we bring to the world, the community, to our families and friends doesn’t have to be big and glitzy. It can be small and quiet, which doesn’t negate its value.
Frank Capra, the director, wanted such values that George demonstrated to shine through his film. He said, “I will show the courageous renewal of faith and I will remind the little man that his mission on earth is to advance spiritually… every man, woman and child must know that God loves them and that peace and salvation become a reality only when they all learn to love each other.” Capra said the major goal of It’s a Wonderful Life was to show that each person’s life touches so many other lives. That’s the point that the angel Clarence makes in this film. That’s the point God has always been trying to get across to us as well.
A year ago, I closed my homily with a reflection entitled The Work of Christmas, by Howard Thurman. “When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild nations, to bring peace among brothers, to make music with the heart.” Hopefully your life will touch many others when you strive to carry on the works of Christmas in the coming year, knowing that yours is a wonderful life destined make a difference in someone’s life.