Originally broadcast on December 23, 1960, the Twilight Zone episode Night of the Meek features Art Carney as a drunken Department Store Santa with a big heart who substitutes for Santa on Christmas. Rod Serling sums up the message:
A word to the wise to all the children of the twentieth century, whether their concern be pediatrics or geriatrics, whether they crawl on hands and knees and wear diapers or walk with a cane and comb their beards. There’s a wondrous magic to Christmas and there’s a special power reserved for little people. In short, there’s nothing mightier than the meek.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
A neat thing about the word translated as meek– it kind of goes into why we have such problems with the middle east; it looks at what you do— and praises the alien-to-natural-human-thought of being strong enough to respond to offense or wrong– and not. Literally means something like “bridled.”
For once, whole-heartedly agree with the Twilight Zone’s moral.
[…] for Granted – Cthlc Hrld Persevering This Christmas – James Hooper, Catholic Stand Night of the Meek – Donald R. McClarey J.D., The American Catholic Early Church Grappled with ‘Temptation’ […]
Nice. Thank you.
SFDebris had a good review of the episode:
https://sfdebris.com/videos/twilightzone/tzs2e11.php
I hadn’t realized Sterling was born on Christmas. And I like the note that the “bad guys” in the episode aren’t given a comeuppance, but won over with charity. A stark contrast with many modern stories concerned more with revenge than redemption. But this is the season to remind us all, that first God loved us, enough to bother joining us down here on Earth.
Merry Christmas to all, during this season of miracles.