Nicole’s e-Pistle “Mr. Holland’s Opus”

December 17, 2025

Greetings, Friends, and Joy to the World!

If you are following along in your “Draw Near” Advent devotional, you’ll remember this week is all about joy! While I love love, and I hope for hope, and I pray for peace, I think JOY is my favorite week in Advent (apart from Christmas Eve itself, of course). This week is not the quiet, peaceful Silent Night, but the no-holds-barred, shout-it-to-the-world kind of exuberant expectation that Christmas is almost here!

Yesterday, Teri McDowell Ott told us that her father always sang Joy to the World like he was trying to wake the dead… and was always a little off-key. It reminded me of the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus, which Bjorn and I just finished watching again recently. In one of the scenes, Mr. Holland has just found out that John Lennon had died. He was visibly upset and tried to explain to his son Cole what was wrong. Then, in the middle of his feeble attempt to sign his explanation to Cole, who had been deaf since birth, he gave up, assuming Cole could never understand the impact that the musician had had on his life. A fight ensued, with Cole’s mom translating aloud the rapid fire of Cole’s response in sign language. How could his father think that Cole couldn’t understand or didn’t care about what mattered most to his dad? He said his dad cared more about the students he taught than he did about his own son. (Then he made a sign that I will not translate here.)

In the following scene, Mr. Holland put on a concert with huge speakers set atop a raised platform, where Cole and his classmates, all part of a school for the hearing impaired, could feel the vibrations in the floor and enjoy flashing lights that grew brighter as the volume of the music increased. Then, Mr. Holland told Cole and his classmates that tonight, they would be grateful for their hearing difficulties, then he apologized to all who had no difficulties hearing… because he was going to sing! He sang a heart-felt, tear-jerking rendition of John Lennon’s song, “Beautiful Boy,” and yes, at times he was off-key. Ultimately, though, it didn’t matter. There was not a dry eye in the school auditorium… or in my living room.

This is the season to sing out loud, whether on- or off-key. While I mean literally sing, as I cannot help doing along with my radio, I also mean metaphorically. By “sing out loud,” I invite you to live life to its fullest. Embody the joy of this season and continue to carry it with you into the new year. We have reason to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child. Sometimes that celebration is in quiet reflection, but sometimes it is in living life out loud, boldly claiming the gift that God has given to us… yes, in salvation… but also in the incarnate, real-life, flesh-and-blood presence of God among us. We have plenty of time to look ahead to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but for now, we get to hold a newborn babe, with all the promises He brings. We get to stare at the face of our Creator, feel his little fingers wrap around our own. We get to feel him squirm as he shifts position in his sleep. We get to hear him giggle when he gets the hiccups after a good feeding. And best of all, we get to gaze into the depths of his eyes, feeling as though, even as a babe, he truly sees us for who we are and loves us beyond measure.

So, sing out loud, my friends. Let every heart prepare him room and may heaven and nature sing!

Blessings and Peace,