The Christmas Story: ‘Dark, but With Sudden Bursts of Glory’

Scott Hahn Discusses Joy to the World

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Catholic author Scott Hahn’s new book, Joy to the World: How Christ’s Coming Changed Everything (and Still Does) (Image Books), takes the familiar Christmas story and dispels some of the mysterious details behind the “strange and exotic” cast of characters, while also highlighting the familial theme of the story of Christ’s entry into our world. Hahn offered the Register an inside look before the book’s release this fall.

        

Please introduce your new book, Joy to the World. What inspired you to write it, and how do you think it will motivate Catholics to view and celebrate Christmas in a deeper way?

I guess I’m just hitting my stride as a grandfather, and I’m rediscovering the power of the Christmas story to change hearts and fascinate our minds. We see it in their eyes and the expectations of small children. But we see it also in their parents and even their grandparents.

The story gets our attention, and it bears us along, and we all engage it at different levels.

We think of Christmas as a children’s holiday, but there’s nothing smarmy about it. In fact, I don’t think a true-to-life Christmas movie could get a G-rating today. The villains are real historical villains, and they don’t hesitate to use their weapons to slaughter toddlers and newborns. The family has to flee in fear to a country rife with idolatry.

The story is complex — dark, but with sudden bursts of glory. A child can grasp it. An adult could spend the whole winter season in contemplating it — and never tire of it.

 I wanted to catch all that in the book. I want to enrich the reading of the story for everyone who approaches, bringing small details into tight focus, immersing modern readers in the ancient history.

 

In the book, you dive into many of the “small details” of the Christmas narrative. Which of these small details struck you in a new way as you were writing the book?

The villainy of Herod — I don’t think the nastiest actors in Hollywood could do justice to his character — and the model manliness of St. Joseph. I can’t imagine an actor who could portray the patriarch of the Holy Family. Yet I can imagine him easily living next door to me and talking over the fence.

 

One of the main themes in your book is the idea that “the family is the key to Christmas.” How will this book help readers draw closer to the Holy Family? How are families today an integral part of the Christmas celebration?

Well, I look at the Holy Family as a unit, and I look at each member individually. Wherever you and I fall in our family lineup, we’ll find our best models in the home at Nazareth. You have stressors? They had stressors! They had to fly by night — run for their lives — to a faraway land, where they didn’t speak the language and didn’t have jobs or a home. No matter where we are in life, we can look to the Holy Family for encouragement and direction, and we can go to them for intercession. Unless we’re aiming our family life in the direction of that household, we’re very likely to go far off course.

 

What is your favorite part of the book?

The chapter on the Blessed Virgin, because it’s beautiful to spend time with her. I think many readers will encounter historical material in that chapter that’s surprising and new. The more we learn about the culture of ancient Israel, the more self-evident the Catholic faith appears.

 

Joy to the World truly conveys the joy of Christmas in a tangible way. You can’t help but get excited and feel a sense of immense gratitude about the gift of the Incarnation as you read it. How can having more Christmas joy help us become better Catholics and better evangelists?

Our neighbors want to be happy. Everybody wants to be happy. Everybody wants joy. When people see that we’re joyful — that we enjoy our Catholic faith — they’ll want what we have. That, in my opinion, is the soul of the New Evangelization.    

Katie Warner

writes from California.