Wait… That’s a Classic?

‘Tis the season for Christmas movies—the classics. You know: It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street… and apparently now… Elf? I recently learned that children—actual human children—are now referring to the movies I grew up with as “the classics.” I don’t know when this happened. One minute I was quoting Buddy the Elf in real time (“Smiling’s my favorite!”), and the next minute I’m hearing kids say things like, “Oh yeah, my parents love the old Christmas movies… like Elf.” Old?! I had to sit down and take a moment.

It’s funny how life sneaks up on you. One day you’re the kid watching the shiny new Christmas movie; the next, you’re the adult realizing that the movie somehow turned 20 years old—and so did you, but twice. But here’s what struck me: Even though these movies are now considered “classics,” the reason we still watch them is because good stories don’t age out. They stick with us. They shape us. They make us laugh, remind us to hope, and help us remember what really matters.

And in a way, that’s the strength of the Christmas story itself. It’s been around a lot longer than Elf, but somehow it never stops speaking to us. Each year, we rediscover something new—a detail we overlooked, a line that hits differently, a message that meets us right where we are. Scripture has a wonderful way of doing that. Hebrews 4:12 describes God’s word as “living and active”—not a dusty classic on a shelf, but a story that keeps breathing new life into us, even after we’ve heard it a hundred times.

So if you catch yourself feeling a little older this season (perhaps when someone calls Kevin McCallister “retro”), take heart: Getting older just means you’ve had more opportunities for God’s story to shape you. And the good news? God’s not done yet. May our familiar stories—on the screen and in Scripture—remind us of God’s timeless love, and may we never stop discovering new joy in both.

May God hold you,

Rev Chris Hester