When it was released in 1990, John Hughes’ original Home Alone film set a new box office standard for what a family Christmas movie could achieve. Which is interesting, because on the surface, the plotline couldn’t be less relatable.
When Kevin, a highly intelligent and wealthy elementary schooler, is accidentally left at home by himself over the holidays, it is up to him to beat back a duo of dim-witted would-be bandits. Meanwhile, his guilt-stricken mother must beat the bandit of bureaucracy as she fights through holiday travel chaos to make her way back to her little boy.
Forget for one second that the sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is a far superior film. Forget, too, that overlooking the absence of your baby-faced second-grader while you board a plane for a European holiday would be pretty unhinged, even for the most pro-mom apologists among us. Regardless of these flaws, this movie has something big to teach us about love.
In one of the final scenes of the original Home Alone, Kevin finds himself taking refuge in a church, listening to a choir’s final Christmas dress rehearsal. Kevin’s neighbor, the ominous Old Man Marley, takes a seat in the pew beside Kevin and asks if he’s been a good boy this year. Kevin first replies, “I think so,” before admitting he isn’t so sure. “Well, this is the place to be if you’re feeling bad about yourself,” Marley says, looking around.
Kevin confesses his guilt over some things he’s said about his family, admitting, “I’m kind of upset about it, because I really like my family, even though sometimes I say I don’t. Sometimes I even think I don’t.” Marley responds, “The way you feel about your family is a complicated thing. Deep down, you know you love them. But you can forget that you love them. You can hurt them, and they can hurt you.”
Children of every age have their challenges. But for parents raising teens, this feeling of hurt and rejection can feel all too familiar, especially around Christmas. The season brings so many opportunities to spend time together—but with those opportunities come moments that feel raw and uncomfortable. Kevin’s conversation with Marley continues as they touch on topics from ugly sweaters to the funny way basements smell. But then Kevin flips the script and gives the older man some advice, urging him not to give up on his estranged adult son.
Sometimes spending time with our teens feels hopeful, like a Christmas card come to life. Sometimes it feels dark, hard, and ugly. Sometimes, the people we love cause us pain. Sometimes it hurts so badly that we wonder if love is worth it. But that’s where we are called to something more. Part of what we celebrate at Christmas is the love that inspired God to send his only son, to become a helpless infant in that manger, to eventually be rejected and killed by the very people he loved so dearly. This is the main thrust of maybe the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, but it’s also something Jesus encouraged his followers to do: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
Conversation starter: Does Christmas make you feel excited to spend time with your family? Why or why not?