‘Tis the Season of the True Hero

Hamlet had Horatio. 

While Hamlet – the Drama Queen / Danish Prince - hogs the spotlight, Horatio stands by his nutty friend.  In fact, Horatio was all set to polish off the poison intended for Hamlet.  Horatio - true, honest, rational, loyal and, according to legend, just two merit badges shy of achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.

So Horatio was a Life Scout. Bottom line: You cannot do better than Horatio when it comes to picking a friend. Go make it right, Horatio.

Frodo Baggins had Samwise Gamgee. 

Like Horatio, Samwise - the son of a gardener Hamfast Gamgee -  is the unsung hero.  Frodo, always weepy and weak, had to carry what?  About an ounce of Ring?  Samwise carried the luggage, did the cooking, put up with Gollum and bravely took on all Mordor could throw at the Hobbit Duo. 

If you find yourself needing a travelling companion on your trek through Middle Earth, skip that headliner Frodo.  Latch on to Sam. The Son of a Poor Man will bring you home.  Always.

Christmas also has its true heroes. Two Christmas ‘characters’ – firmly on the B List - spring to mind.  Like Sam and Horatio, they do not get the ink of your Major Xmas Rock Stars, but, none-the-less, they deserve our attention.

Of course, I am referring to Clarice the Doe and Joseph the Carpenter.

Long time readers of Inside the Bubble may recall my past petitioning to raise the profile of Clarice.  Elevating a clay-mation / stop-motion action figure to icon status is proving to be a challenge.  But it is a fight worth fighting. I am here for you, Clarice.  There is a reason you sit atop this boy's Christmas Tree.

Clarice the Doe, she of fair fur and enormous eye lashes, is the voice of sanity and encouragement in the otherwise barren, soulless North Pole.  Okay, Rudolph has a red nose. Get over it, Coach Comet. And really Cranky Santa, grab a cookie – your blood sugar must be awfully low.

Rudolph is different, so let’s exclude him from the Reindeer Games? On what Ice Cap is that acceptable behavior? 

Rudolph’s own dad forces his boy to wear a mud mitten over his glowing nose.  Come on, Donner – be better than that. 

Well before Santa the User offers employment to Rudolph – solely based on his fog-cutting ability - Clarice offered something much greater.  Unconditional love. 

How did Rudolph discover his gift of flight?  Through the faith of Clarice. And that, Linus, is also what Christmas is all about.

The Undisputed Champion of Unconditional Love?  Joseph the Carpenter, hands down.  This guy, to be sure, had the patience of Job.

Living today, Joseph would have a popular HGTV Renovation show. His carpentry skills were that good.

However, fame was not in the cards for Joseph.  There were bigger fish to fry.

You have to marvel at this everyday Joe.  How does the guy simply not lose it?  Mary is big time pregnant.  Caesar Augustus is making enrollment decrees with extremely tight deadlines.  Shepherds and Wise Men are closing in.  Joseph clearly needed less Myrrh and more Mirth.

You can almost see Joseph, biting his lip, staring at the hotel clerk, can’t you? 

Yes, of course, there is no room at the Inn.  Why would I – with no Hilton Honors Points - even think to ask for a room at the Inn? No, no…that manger will be fine, thank you very much.  The animals talk?  Of course they do…

All this while on the verge of becoming a Foster Father – the foster father of God’s son.  How can you compete with God?  Of course, while there will be visitation issues to be ironed out, Joseph knows he will come out on the short end of any custody battle.

And what kind of gifts do you get your foster son who also just happens to be our Savior, the Son of God?  I mean, a Tim Tebow jersey would be nice, but this is Year 0 – no Bethlehem merchant has a NFL licensing agreement.

So what is a man to do? 

Joseph simply becomes the Gold Standard of Unconditional Love.  He does what every man should do every day of his life:  He faithfully does all that he possibly can.  Joseph is good; he has excellent depth perception. Joseph does the right thing simply because it is that – the right thing.  He fights the good fight every moment.

Wednesday is the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  That is Big Time, no question.  Christmas deserves its Top Holiday rating.

However, if you get a moment, give at least a passing thought to Horatio, Samwise, Clarice...  and especially to Joseph.

Christmas can be whatever you want to make it, but if you make it about unconditional love, you have earned a real reason to celebrate.  Break out the good stuff.  Yes, we are talking a party worthy of Bailey’s Irish Cream.

To all Inside the Bubble, Merry Christmas!