There is one word I’ve never mentioned in this space. There’s one word I’ve danced around with remarkable care; one word I’ve described in a hundred other ways. The choice has been very intentional because this particular word is slam-packed with power. It’s a lot like dynamite. No matter how you use it, it kicks. 

Precisely because of this one word, when my faith in God occasionally starts to waver, I find Hollywood to be a tremendously helpful place to look for proof that the story of the Bible is true. Here’s why: when a scene in a movie gets extra violent or cruel, or when somebody needs to make sure their gravelly voice is loud-and-clear, the screenwriters throw this word in to serve as an unmistakable exclamation point. An emphatic underline.

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On the other hand, when I am at the beach or in the mountains or cheek-to-cheek with one of my children, this very same word is a whisper on my lips. It’s an acknowledgment of that thin veil that separates all I see from all I don’t, breathing life into the mundane with the power of a living exclamation point. An intentional boldface. 

And it seems there’s really no middle ground when it comes to these few letters laid all in a row. 

If the word only held intensity for those who used it the way I do — for good and for grace — that wouldn’t help my faith at all, really. We’d just be another one of the many echo-chambers out there today. For me, it is precisely because Hollywood openly acknowledges the potency of these two syllables that my doubts about my faith are laid to rest. Clearly, this word is dynamic in any human mouth and with any human motive; it’s even more powerful in God’s.

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The Word is Jesus. 

It’s a lightning bolt. See? There’s something raw about typing that name on this virgin page — this page that’s never borne it before.

Even though he is the original reason for Christmas, in our current cultural climate, it feels scandalous to include his name in this space just seven days before the holiday. Hollywood knows why. It’s the reason they use his name when they want to pack a punch. 

But this name is charged because this person is God-made-man, born to rescue us out of this present darkness — and that is the stunningly beautiful story. The story you can find in every other story. All of them. Every last one.

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His is the story of justice and mercy and good news for the poor, like in “Les Misérables.” 

It’s the story of release for the captives, like in “The Shawshank Redemption.”

His story is the story of freedom for the browbeaten — a story culminating in a loving and royal marriage, like in “Cinderella.”

It’s the story of making sense of a whole lifetime, like in “Forrest Gump.”

It’s the story of exposing societal wrongs, like in “The Help.”

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It’s the story of salvation and goodness, like in “Superman.” 

It’s the story of the differences between God and man, like in “The Count of Monte Cristo.”

It’s the story of exposing the authentic human heart, like in “10 Things I Hate About You.”

It’s the story of restoring broken families, like in “Frozen.”

It’s the story of cherishing truth and honor, like in “Sense and Sensibility.”

It’s the story of proclaiming that maybe this isn’t all there is, like in what I’m trying to do here. 

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For those who don’t agree with me, don’t worry. I won’t beat you over the head with it. I don’t respond well to being beaten over the head either — I doubt anybody does. But I want to be clear: if you ever see something that looks like light or life behind my words, please know that it’s not because I’m so smart or because I weave a good tale or because I’m just trying to balance out all the bad news. 

That ain’t it, folks. 

I’m here to tell the same story Hollywood is telling, but from a different perspective. You see, I’m the captive who has been set free, the one with a restored family. I’m the self-centered shrew who has had my heart laid bare, forgiven and remade into something remarkably fresh. All this brilliant beauty has met me in the person whose name is the lightning bolt and the exclamation point and even the swear word in the mouths of actors across Hollywood. 

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I believe this old Christmas story is true for lots of reasons. But when I’m in a pinch and can’t think of any of those, I look to Hollywood to remind me of the power in the name that’s behind everything good in my life.

I look to Hollywood for Jesus.

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She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:21

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