Once, conversation in the streets and workplaces commonly included discussion about what people had all seen on TV the previous evening, but this happens less now. The invention of the video recorder stopped that kind of conversation because people who had recorded their shows didn’t want to discuss them, and now, the huge number of television channels and online streaming services means that everyone is watching something different, so they have no common experience to share. Where individual choice is king, community life inevitably declines. I mention this because the different viewing habits of the readers of this blog will have a direct bearing on their understanding of what follows in this letter. Those who only watch the BBC will wonder what on earth I am talking about, but hopefully there are enough of you who watch the commercial channels, or who have seen the subject matter online. Yes, it’s time to reflect on the Christmas commercials… (Do look them up! The links below open in new tabs.)
The Marks and Spencer advert was the first one I saw this year, with its depictions of various Christmas traditions. The strap line at the end is “Do only what you love this Christmas.” If I were feeling generous, I suppose there is something helpful about encouraging us to be authentic in our celebrations, but there’s a dark side to the advert I really don’t like. Its “You Do You” encouragement is really strong – violent even, with a toy elf hit with a baseball bat, Christmas cards set on fire and party hats put through a garden shredder! It reveals the ugly truth that if we are genuinely true to ourselves, we will care little for other people or what they value. (See the facial expressions of those playing boardgames when their board is overturned for evidence of this.) “Do THISmas, not THATmas!” say Marks and Spencer, obscuring the name of Christ who came to earth precisely to come alongside us where we are, however abhorrent. While M&S suggest we should suit ourselves, the Christ of Christmas spent himself for others. I think I have never seen a Christmas advert that misses the mark by so much.
By contrast, the second Christmas commercial I saw was from Aldi, with the now-famous “Kevin the Carrot.” With more than a little owed to Roald Dahl and the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the advert highlights the inappropriateness of greed and gluttony and self-indulgence (the sort of life encouraged by M&S). Indeed, the narrator even says, “Christmas isn’t selfish, it’s not all ‘me, me, me.’” There are a couple of unnecessary innuendos and a mis-step in which we are told of “the importance of being good” (which is more to do with Santa Claus than Jesus), but at the end, Kevin the Carrot shows us something of what lies at the heart of the true Christmas – grace. Rather like Jesus, who never put a foot wrong, Kevin is fabulously rewarded, but he doesn’t keep his prize for himself – rather he shares it with those who have proven themselves completely unworthy: the gluttonous grape, the rude rhubarb, the spoilt sprout and the mischievous kiwi, despite their poor behaviour and attitude, all get to share in the prize which Kevin won.
Christmas is about the God whose love is so deep that it extends to the unlovely; a love so powerful it can transform even the most selfish of hearts to act with similar love for others. It’s not about us being like Kevin Jesus (we can’t be that good), but about acknowledging – and responding to – his extraordinary love for us. Come to church if you want to know more!
May you know and share the love of God this Christmas.