The other day I got a call from an old friend. Maybe you’ve heard of him? His name is Larry—Larry the Cucumber.
I know Larry from my days at Veggie Tales. I used to work there, until I got busy with “Socrates in the City,” biographies, and of course BreakPoint.
Anyway, Larry and I had kind of drifted apart, but when I answered the phone and heard that squeaky, cuddly voice, I knew it was him. He was a little shy. Maybe he thought that after Bonhoeffer’s success I wouldn’t take his calls. Of course that's crazy.
Anyway, Larry said that the whole Veggie gang were doing well. And he hemmed and hawed a bit. He seemed uncomfortable. "What is it, Larry, old pal?" I asked. "Are you okay? Do you need to borrow money or something?"
Well, Larry said he was absolutely fine. It was nothing like that. He said he had something to tell me. Actually, you know, I taped the call, so why don't I just play it for you. Hang on. [CLICK]
ERIC: Okay, so what is it, Larry?
LARRY: Hi, Eric. You know what word I love to hear around this time of year?
ERIC: No, I don't. What?
LARRY: Christmas! I mean, just the other day I actually heard a Santa on TV wish someone ‘happy holidays,’ as if Saint Nicholas didn’t know what holiday we were celebrating!”
ERIC: That's pretty nutty. Is that what you wanted to tell me?
LARRY: Not exactly.
ERIC: What is it then, my wonderful green brother in Christ?
LARRY: Well, it’s just sometimes certain, um... radio commentators tell us bad things we should avoid, but they forget to tell us the good things to enjoy.
ERIC: Umm, any particular radio commentators, Larry?
LARRY: What I'm getting at buddy is that maybe we should light a candle rather than just, you know, cursing the darkness.
ERIC: Okay…
LARRY: You see, last month a certain radio pundit—who’s otherwise a nice guy—tarred and de-feathered a movie with turkeys in it—in fact, I believe he called it a ‘Thanksgiving turkey.’ He was absolutely right! But then I thought, Hey! Why not focus on something good for Christmas? After all, how will the studio execs know what we Christians like, if we don’t tell them?
ERIC: I see. So do you have any suggestions… for this radio pundit?
LARRY: I sure do! He should tell his friends about the new Veggie Tales DVD: "Merry Larry & the True Light of Christmas."
ERIC: What's it about?
LARRY: I'm glad you asked! I play a Christmas elf at the Spring Valley Mall…
ERIC: You play an elf??
LARRY: Yep! This elf helps a little girl who wants to assist a friend in need. We go on a mind-blowing adventure that will show Spring Valley what Christmas is really about.
ERIC: Would that be Jesus?
LARRY: Bingo! Christmas is about Jesus!
ERIC: That’s cool, Larry! Anything else?
LARRY: Yes. We have a new character, Silas the Okra, played by Si Robertson of Duck Commander!
ERIC: The dude with the beard?
LARRY: They all have beards, but yes. So, anyway, Eric, will you help me spread the word about "Merry Larry & the True Light of Christmas”?
ERIC: I'd love to. It's so great to catch up with you, Larry! Merry Christmas!
LARRY: Merry Christmas!
Well, that was it, folks. I love Larry! For more on the new Veggie Tales DVD, “Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas,” come to BreakPoint.org and click on this commentary. And we’ll also point you to a fun app for pre-schoolers and up called “Veggie Tales: It’s a Very Merry Larry Christmas.” It's got a bunch of fun Veggie Tale Christmas-themed activities including holiday silly songs, decorating a Christmas tree—your kids will even be able to send Christmas greetings to friends and loved ones.
BreakPoint is a Christian worldview ministry that seeks to build and resource a movement of Christians committed to living and defending Christian worldview in all areas of life. Begun by Chuck Colson in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today’s news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print. Today BreakPoint commentaries, co-hosted by Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet, air daily on more than 1,200 outlets with an estimated weekly listening audience of eight million people. Feel free to contact us at BreakPoint.org where you can read and search answers to common questions.
Eric Metaxas is a co-host of BreakPoint Radio and a best-selling author whose biographies, children's books, and popular apologetics have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Publication date: December 18, 2013