The Advent Calendar - Pt. 9

 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7 ESV).

 

Next week, from December 11-13, A Charlie Brown Christmas will air on national prime time television for the 55th time. In a world where the latest greatest technology is outdated in a matter of months, and social media trends come and go in a matter of days, 55 years of anything becomes quite meaningful. I must admit that I am a fan of all things Christmas. Yes, I watch the Christmas movies, especially on Hallmark Channel. After all, isn’t a happy ending the best ever! And, the Charlie Brown Christmas special falls squarely into that category.

 

I was still in high school when this special aired; and, I remember a decade later when it became a staple of the elementary school Christmas pageants in schools. One of the great moments in the movie is the line delivered by Linus as he quotes the Christmas story from Luke. Then, right in the middle of speaking, Linus drops the blanket. The characters of Charles Shultz are all represented. We see Charlie Brown, who is best known for his uniquely striped shirt; and, Linus who is most associated with his ever-present security blanket. Throughout the story of Peanuts, Lucy, Snoopy, Sally and others all work to no avail to separate Linus from his blanket. And even though his security blanket remains a major source of ridicule for the otherwise mature and thoughtful Linus, he simply refuses to give it up. Until this moment in the story, when he simply drops it.

 

In that climactic scene when Linus shares "what Christmas is all about," he drops his security blanket. He speaks the words “fear not” from Luke’s Gospel account and drop his blanket. It’s pretty clear what Charles Schultz was saying, and it's so simple it's brilliant. The birth of Jesus separates us from our fears. The birth of Jesus frees us from the habits we are unable (or unwilling) to break ourselves. The birth of Jesus allows us to simply drop the false security we have been grasping so tightly, and learn to trust and cling to Him instead. This world can be a scary place, and most of us find ourselves grasping to something temporal for security, whatever that thing may be. Essentially, ours is a world in which it is very difficult for us to "fear not." But in the midst of fear and insecurity, this simple cartoon image from 1965 continues to live on as an inspiration for us to seek true peace and true security in the one place it has always been and can always still be found… Jesus!