A Charlie Brown Christmas
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!’”—Luke 2:8-14.
In 1965, CBS aired the Christmas special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” based upon the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz and it is seen each year in millions of homes. The story of the continuously dejected Charlie Brown, treated so poorly by his friends and family, captures the commercialization that has slowly begun to replace the true meaning of Christmas. The show begins with Charlie talking with his close friend, Linus. He says,
“I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming and I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way that I am supposed to feel. I just don’t understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents, and sending Christmas cards, and decorating trees and all that. But I’m still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed.”
Charlie is depressed at the commercialization of Christmas that is clearly demonstrated by his friends and family. His sister asks for nothing but presents and money and even his dog, Snoopy, bows to the idol of commercialism as he decorates his doghouse with Christmas lights in order to win a contest. In his depression, Charlie visits Lucy in her psychiatric booth. She ends up inviting him to direct the school play on the Nativity, while offering her own request for what she wants for Christmas: “Real Estate!”
Charlie takes up the task of directing the play only to be confronted by the devastating reality that his classmates couldn't care less for his direction. Undeterred, he decides to get a traditional Christmas tree in order to set the mood for the Christmas play. Accompanied by his companion Linus, Charlie makes his way to a Christmas lot where there are only aluminum Christmas trees, except one small pitiful looking “wooden tree.” Charlie buys it and takes it to the play where his friends respond by chastising him for his stupidity in selecting such a pitiful tree.
Exasperated, Charlie finally cries out, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” His friend Linus responds, “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He makes his way to center stage and does something utterly remarkable. He recites our passage for today from the King James Version from memory. And, once finished, he makes his way back to Charlie Brown and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
That is what Christmas is all about. That’s the true meaning behind all of the presents and parties. It’s about a small baby born in a feed trough to a teenage mother and her betrothed husband. It’s about a great big God who loved us so much that He came to the lowliest of the low in order to demonstrate His great love for you and me. He came to be born, to live, to take our sins upon Himself, and to die in our place, paying the price for our sins and bearing the penalty for what we deserve. And then He did the impossible—He rose again, thus making salvation available to anyone who believes. We simply need to believe and place our trust in Him.
When “A Charlie Brown Christmas” first aired, the thought among studio executives was that the show would fail, due to its religious message. But it didn’t fail; instead, it became an overwhelming success and is still played over prime time networks each Christmas. The executives didn’t want Linus reciting the story of the birth of Christ from the Gospel of Luke, because it was assumed that the audience wouldn’t want to sit through a reading from the King James Bible! But God’s message is always an attention getter. It doesn’t matter what’s popular or what the world thinks, because the message of Christ’s coming is relevant to all people for all time. It is the single greatest message known to man, that God took on our flesh in order to give us salvation from our sins. Wow.
In December of 2001, Whoopi Goldberg hosted a special on the making of the program. When confronted with a proposal to eliminate Linus' scripture-reading part, Schulz was adamant about keeping the scene in. Schulz is reported to have said, "If we don't tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will?"
If we don’t tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will? A Charlie Brown Christmas dynamically illustrates that people will hear and receive the message about Jesus. Christmas is not about presents, parties, Santa and his reindeer; it’s about—and will always be about—Jesus. So today, let’s take some encouragement from little Linus, knowing that we can share the story boldly and simply just like he did. We need only to believe it and tell it. Amen.
‘Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!’”—Luke 2:8-14.
In 1965, CBS aired the Christmas special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” based upon the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz and it is seen each year in millions of homes. The story of the continuously dejected Charlie Brown, treated so poorly by his friends and family, captures the commercialization that has slowly begun to replace the true meaning of Christmas. The show begins with Charlie talking with his close friend, Linus. He says,
“I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming and I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way that I am supposed to feel. I just don’t understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents, and sending Christmas cards, and decorating trees and all that. But I’m still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed.”
Charlie is depressed at the commercialization of Christmas that is clearly demonstrated by his friends and family. His sister asks for nothing but presents and money and even his dog, Snoopy, bows to the idol of commercialism as he decorates his doghouse with Christmas lights in order to win a contest. In his depression, Charlie visits Lucy in her psychiatric booth. She ends up inviting him to direct the school play on the Nativity, while offering her own request for what she wants for Christmas: “Real Estate!”
Charlie takes up the task of directing the play only to be confronted by the devastating reality that his classmates couldn't care less for his direction. Undeterred, he decides to get a traditional Christmas tree in order to set the mood for the Christmas play. Accompanied by his companion Linus, Charlie makes his way to a Christmas lot where there are only aluminum Christmas trees, except one small pitiful looking “wooden tree.” Charlie buys it and takes it to the play where his friends respond by chastising him for his stupidity in selecting such a pitiful tree.
Exasperated, Charlie finally cries out, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” His friend Linus responds, “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He makes his way to center stage and does something utterly remarkable. He recites our passage for today from the King James Version from memory. And, once finished, he makes his way back to Charlie Brown and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
That is what Christmas is all about. That’s the true meaning behind all of the presents and parties. It’s about a small baby born in a feed trough to a teenage mother and her betrothed husband. It’s about a great big God who loved us so much that He came to the lowliest of the low in order to demonstrate His great love for you and me. He came to be born, to live, to take our sins upon Himself, and to die in our place, paying the price for our sins and bearing the penalty for what we deserve. And then He did the impossible—He rose again, thus making salvation available to anyone who believes. We simply need to believe and place our trust in Him.
When “A Charlie Brown Christmas” first aired, the thought among studio executives was that the show would fail, due to its religious message. But it didn’t fail; instead, it became an overwhelming success and is still played over prime time networks each Christmas. The executives didn’t want Linus reciting the story of the birth of Christ from the Gospel of Luke, because it was assumed that the audience wouldn’t want to sit through a reading from the King James Bible! But God’s message is always an attention getter. It doesn’t matter what’s popular or what the world thinks, because the message of Christ’s coming is relevant to all people for all time. It is the single greatest message known to man, that God took on our flesh in order to give us salvation from our sins. Wow.
In December of 2001, Whoopi Goldberg hosted a special on the making of the program. When confronted with a proposal to eliminate Linus' scripture-reading part, Schulz was adamant about keeping the scene in. Schulz is reported to have said, "If we don't tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will?"
If we don’t tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will? A Charlie Brown Christmas dynamically illustrates that people will hear and receive the message about Jesus. Christmas is not about presents, parties, Santa and his reindeer; it’s about—and will always be about—Jesus. So today, let’s take some encouragement from little Linus, knowing that we can share the story boldly and simply just like he did. We need only to believe it and tell it. Amen.
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