This article by one of our local pastors' came out in the Port Aransas South Jetty newspaper today. Thought I would pass it on, hope you enjoy it!

Rudolph's story

You've probably heard "Rudolph, The Red- Nosed Reindeer" quite more than enough already, especially since some stores are so concerned about offending non-Christians that they are only playing "Santa" songs, and frankly there aren't so many of them that I'm not ready to run screaming out of the store before I've had enough time to do all my shopping.

The thing about the song that strikes me as most strange is that Rudolph never gets an apology from the other reindeer who refused to play reindeer games with him. When he is useful to them they proclaim him a hero, but seem to be completely oblivious to their previously hurtful behavior. You almost want Rudolph to hold out for at least an admission of wrongdoing, and maybe a future assurance of belonging, since as soon as Christmas Eve is over they are still going to have to deal that blinking nose.

We learn a little about Rudolph when we know the man who wrote it. Robert May was an advertising copywriter for Montgomery Ward. His boss gave him the job of writing a story for the catalogue. It was a strange request and a hard one for Robert; his wife was suffering from a terminal illness and their young child was scared and confused.

After worrying over the story all day, Robert had a dream that night of writing about a reindeer. The next morning he went to the zoo for inspiration, took a couple of unsuccessful runs at it, and then began to pour his own sense of inferiority and failure into the character. He read it to his child and dying wife, and their eyes lit up with joy.

The story was so well received that a music company wanted to publish it as a song. The company initially refused him permission, claiming ownership, but the chairman of Montgomery Ward declared that "the song is the property of the man who wrote it." And gave him the rights to his story.

So, now, when you hear "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer," think of a young, introverted man whose wife was dying, who was forced to write with an empty heart, and poured his suffering into a lasting children's Christmas story, with no thought of vindication or revenge, only of putting that sparkle into a child's eyes.

The message of Christmas is that Christ was born a baby to put the sparkle into the world's eyes, to share our very human nature with all of its suffering, rejection and sin. He came to accept us and love us with all of our blinking noses, whether or not we're very good at reindeer games, even if we never manage to guide the Santa's sleigh.

Richard Safford

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Wind me up, turn me loose & watch me run,
I ain't NEVER had too much fun!!!!