“He said, ‘Seriously, I’m telling you that unless you turn and become a child, you will not come into the Realm of Heaven'” (Matthew 18.3).
“Where a kid could be a kid,” was the slogan, once upon a time, of ShowBiz Pizza Place (Chuck E. Cheese also used it at some point). I remembered that after a conversation Leanne and I had the other night. On special occasions, my parents would take my sister and I (and maybe our cousins) there to eat and, more importantly, to play video games.
ShowBiz Pizza Place, according to Wikipedia, was founded in 1980, which is a shame; because, if they’d been around sixteen years earlier, there’d have been no need for the kidnapping that occurred in this week’s movie. They could have simply brought their kids here to Earth for an evening.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is a 1964 Christmas movie directed by Nicholas Webster, who, before and after this worked mostly in television. And, despite its name, there’s very little conquering in this film.
The Martian leader Kimar and his wife Momar are concerned about their kids (Gimar and Bomar). They seem so unhappy, and all they do is watch TV broadcast from Earth. Upon consulting the old Martian sage in his cave, Kimar learns that the kids need to be kids. They need playtime, and imagination, and not the sterile Martian life that has been in existence for, presumably, centuries.
So, after seeing the Jolly Old Elf on the TV, Kimar decides to kidnap Santa Claus. In this movie Santa, apparently, regularly has KidTV news up to the pole with cameras to see the workshop. The kidnapping is done with all the skill you’d expect from an advanced civilization. Not really, it’s a farce, but thankfully, Santa’s a good sport.
That’s basically the whole plot. Santa goes to Mars along with two kids who had snuck all the way up to the North Pole (please don’t try this at home kids), and begins to make toys for Martian Christmas. It doesn’t specify if Christmas there goes by Western or Eastern Christian traditions or if their reckoning in our calendar or the Martian one.
There’s a whole subplot that involves Voldar, who is some sort of rival of Kimar who tries to sabotage the toy factory. And when that doesn’t work, he decides to kidnap Santa, but ends up capturing Dropo, a comic relief character who is so enamored with St. Nick, that he dresses up like him.
In the end, Santa declares Dropo the Santa Claus of Mars. The kids have learned to be kids. And everyone’s home in time for Christmas Eve. “Hooray for Santy Claus.”
Childhood in first century Palestine isn’t a subject I’ve spent time studying. There’s some archeological evidence that children of that time had toys, which meant some time to play. But I doubt they enjoyed the wild and free days of summer vacation or those quiet days of Christmas break I did. So, I doubt my mind goes to the place Jesus’ did when thinking about being like a kid again.
But, it’s possible Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is there to meet us halfway. When Kimar and the others go to the cave to ask the counsel of the old sage, he tells them it’s not just that the children of Mars have never learned to have fun. They’ve never experienced the world for themselves. From the moment they’re born, information is fed directly into their brains.
To be children, the old sage appears to tell them, is to experience the world around them. That’s what play is after all, isn’t it: a giving in to the moment, to be not in the future or past, but right where one is.
Does that seem too simplistic for Jesus? Perhaps. But it’s also in line with what brought this child into their midst. The disciples had been wondering (probably discussing it for most of the way) who’s the greatest in the Realm of Heaven. A concern about as detached from the present moment as you can think of. So, Jesus waves over one of the nearby kids and tells them you should be focused on now. Like this child, who is too busy taking in the world around them, experiencing the afternoon sun, the honeysuckle on the wind, and the grass underfoot. All of which brought him right to where Jesus is.
Turns out that what the children on Mars, the disciples, and probably plenty of us are missing is what the children around Jesus knew instinctively. That here, in the everyday moment is where joy, love, and peace are found. There’s no need to go searching for it on another world; because those things are found right where we are. The place where we always find the Risen One.
You know, that place where any kid, even older ones, can be a kid.
Jesus, you told the people to let the children come to you. Today, let us do the same in the wonder of the present moment. To be kids with you.