The evil villains who sought to destroy Christmas weren't just defeated, they were redeemed. One by one, their hearts which looked the same on the outside as the hearts of our heroes were emptied of the dirt that was inside. The contents of first Cindy Lou Who's heart and then Buddy's was shared with them. Then the real root of the problem was exposed. We returned to the t-shirt metaphor that we began the week with in Skid's sermon. Because all good stories come full circle.
Adora and several other villains revealed t-shirts that showed the reason for their heart's condition, but they are healed when they received t-shirts that covered their failings and announced to the world they were "chosen," "holy" and "dear loved" children of the living God. This was all brought about through Buddy but by Santa who was in control of the situation on his return.
Then, finally, all the children in the audience were given a gift from Santa that they opened at once -- a red t-shirt that made them look like Santa with Buddy urging that they try to be like Him. Santa, of course, was merely a stand-in for the true hero of the Christmas story -- Christ.
Of course, all in all, as earlier state was the amazing surprise arrival of Joe Mayes as Santa Claus. Christmas truly came early when Santa showed up. During the evening's devotional, Skid revealed that the secret surprise of Joe's arrival had been in the works since March and had the code name of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.
Perhaps the most amazing surprise of this amazing surprise is that no one uncovered the surprise. That alone was incredibly surprising.
And so, we close. Knowing full well even this description doesn't do justice to the show or the reveal of Joe, we invite you to ask your teen what they were thinking as Joe arrived. Let them tell the story to you -- that conversation is the best gift we could ever give you for Christmas in July.
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