Skip to main content

Christmas Carol - Day 19

The Forgotten Carols - as I've mentioned before - are some of my favorite Christmas songs.

Michael McLean has had a long tradition in LDS circles with regard to Christmas. He directed the classic - Mr. Kruger's Christmas, starring James Stewart. Stewart plays Mr. Kruger, who is a lonely, elderly building custodian who dreams of the grandeur of Christmas he will unfortunately not be able to experience alone. But in a special vision, he is able to visit the manger where Christ was born and realize that he is never really alone. Christ is his best and finest Friend, and that he can hold his head high everywhere he goes because of that.

Watching Ben Hur, and thinking on that scene from Mr. Kruger's Christmas, I have often considered what it must have been like that sacred night. Brother McLean obviously has, also. One of the minor characters is the innkeeper, who is faithfully represented in almost every nativity scene as being a kind of villain. But I like this rendering because it makes him seem more real, more complex...

And the message is wonderful - Let Him in... Let Him in...

Lyrics

I am the man forgotten,
No one recalls my name,
Thousands of years will fade too,
Fully erase my shame,

But I turned a profit nicely that day,
But I turned a couple away,
I turned them away,

I didn't sleep that evening,
Though I'd sold out my place,
Somehow I've felt uneasy,
Something about her face,
Why did I wish that I'd let them stay,
I don't think they could have paid,
Or could they have paid,

Restless I left my bedroom,
I walked the streets all night,
Lost in the world I lived in,
Found by a Heavenly Light,
Staring of ones bright star in the sky
I heard a baby cry,

And I knew where that cry had come from,
Cause I told them where they could go,
But I didn't think I could face them,

So I walked slowly home,
Missing my chance to share in their joy,
I never saw the boy

He never would condemn me,
I did that all on my own,
He offered His forgiveness,
And ever since then I've known,
He let's us choose each hour of each day,

If we'll let Him in to stay,
Let Him in, Let Him in,
Let the joy and the hope begin,
Let Him in, Let Him in,

Let the peace on earth begin,
And whether be in your world today,
Or a crowded Bethlehem Inn,
Find a way, make Him room,

Let Him in, Let Him in,
Let the peace on earth begin,
Let Him in, Let Him in,
Let the joy and hope begin,

Let Him in, Let Him in,
Let Him in, Let Him in.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord!

The purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Christ and bring souls to Him. Who can deny this who have read the book and pondered it's sacred import? My life has been blessed and I have come to know Christ through reading this holy book. I know that Christ lives and loves us. I know He is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that through His merits alone we are saved from an eternity of misery and woe. I know that He died for us. I know He lives for us, advocating our cause before the throne of the Almighty. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the Master, the Son of God, the great Jehovah. Blessed and praised be His Holy Name forever and ever! To Him be all glory, honor, and majesty to an eternal day! It is the atonement of Christ - His suffering and subsequent victory - that makes all of this possible. His grace is sufficient for all after all we can do. And make no mistake - we must do all in our power. But through Him and by Him we can and will overcome. I love H
2 comments
Read more

2020 - A retrospective

 There will no doubt be many retrospectives written about the year that was 2020. It was a tough year for most, a good year for many, and generally speaking a very interesting year. Which reminds me of the the old curse - may you live in interesting times. Because, you see - interesting does not always mean good. It does not mean better. It does not mean happy. It just means interesting. So to highlight just how interesting things were, I offer the following post about things that went on. Or didn’t went on. It’s not intended to be chronological, necessarily, or even accurate. It’s just some of my observations.... Let’s start with the pandemic. Pandemic is a word that was previously the realm of science fiction and/or horror writers (The Stand comes to mind). Late 2019 a disease was identified in Wuhan, China, which is a place I’d never heard of before. Apparently coming from some kind of exotic meat market, this strain of Coronavirus was something that the world hadn’t seen before. Ma
Post a Comment
Read more

Is this thing still on?

 Does anyone even blog anymore? I remember when it first got started and everyone was having a blog. I like writing, and I do a lot of it in my professional life, but not everything makes it onto this blog, which is where a lot of my personal thoughts come out. I put more into Facebook lately, too, because it's a little easier. But there's something to be said for this long-form writing exercise, and I think I will continue here periodically. You don't mind, do you? Well, in my last post I wrote about how difficult things were for me at the time. That changed in July when I finally got a job working for the State of Utah. I was the program manager for the moderate income housing database program, and that meant I worked from home a lot but also went in to Salt Lake when needed, mostly on the train. It was a good experience, for the most part, and I'm grateful for the things I learned even in the short time I was there.  In October I started working for Weber County in t
Post a Comment
Read more