Lionsgate
The name Dallas Jenkins will be forever connected to the hit series, The Chosen, which has opened up conversations and enlivened imaginations about the Gospels. One of the most famous Gospel narratives is the account of Jesus’ birth recorded in Matthew and Luke. It was this Christmas Nativity story that first put Jenkins on his career trajectory, with a short film he directed and produced for his local church. Two Chosen Christmas specials later, Jenkins now adds another Christmas feather to his hat—The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
He announced the project in 2023 through a live video in which he detailed his love for the book by Barbara Robinson (first published in 1972), and his desire to make the film. He was only recently able to obtain the rights to do so. The movie is directed by Jenkins, and stars Lauren Graham (Narrator), Judy Greer (Grace), and Pete Holmes (Bob).
We are introduced to Grace and her family. A series of events in the local church lead Grace to volunteer to coordinate the annual Christmas pageant, which happens to be a special anniversary. Many doubt that Grace can put together a successful program and she faces challenges from her skeptics. What makes matters worse, misbehaving non-churchgoing kids—the Herdman siblings—show up for rehearsal, even though they’ve never really crossed the threshold of the church, nor know the story of Christmas. The tension of the film rises between the two camps, one that holds to “this is the way we have always done it,” and then Grace’s adventurous spirit and trust in God.
One of the moving motifs that struck a chord in my heart was the reality that the Herdmans were unfamiliar with the story of Jesus’ birth. It was moving to see their reactions play out as they learn about the Christmas story. The Nativity is so familiar to most of us. Yet, these children, never having encountered it before, had so many questions.
As a Roman Catholic, a priest, and a Marian theologian, I’ll tell you that the portrayal of Mary throughout was exquisite—for instance, when young Imogene Herdman wants to understand who Mary is, and feels unqualified to play her because she is not like her at all. The scenes of the young girl staring at a picture of Mary in the church were heartwarming and are etched forever in my memory. An Evangelical Protestant filmmaker captured the essence of Catholic Marian devotion, even if he did not intend to do so!
A scene from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Lionsgate)
When I walked away from the theater, one thing saddened me. Unless I’m mistaken, we never met Mr. or Mrs. Herdman. The viewer learned a little bit of their life story and the poverty that befell the family. I was disheartened that as the town gathered for the pageant, the children’s mom and dad were not in the audience, delighting in their children’s accomplishment. The omission of the Herdman parents serves as a stark reminder to us of children who are abandoned, forgotten, and neglected by their families. It is the Christian community then that rises up to support and come to their aid in more ways than one.
A central theme of Christmas is that of welcome, specifically the world welcoming the promised Savior and Redeemer. Unfortunately, at times, we as followers of Jesus might not do so well at welcoming Christ or others. This was felt in the movie storyline too, as some Christians did not wish to welcome the Herdman children into the pageant.
Chiara Lubich once wrote about such unwelcomeness in her poem, “But Who Is This?” published in Christmas Joy: “Once the people of your time gave you no welcome. We want, as far as possible, to remedy that. We live only to welcome you, to have you in our midst, to be not ourselves but you, and to help you build on earth the new city, the city of God.” As the unwelcome of the Herdman children plays out on the screen, let it serve as a reminder to be a different type of Christian, one who is willing to welcome the poor or sinner. By welcoming the one who is unwelcomed, we indeed welcome Christ, and the message he brings to us in his distressing disguise might be the same message that all the pageant goers received on that holy night.
I expected The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to be a lighthearted, quirky movie. Instead, it was one of the most profound meditations on the Nativity I’ve ever experienced. It left tears rolling down my cheeks. It’s a simple movie, with a message that you will continue to mull over long after the credits end. I imagine it will become for many of us a new annual Christmas tradition, to experience the story of Christ’s birth through the wonder of the eyes of the Herdman children.
