(by Dave, 5 min)
Scripture
Luke 2:8-14 (KJV)
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, good will toward men.
What’s Christmas all about?
In 1965, I was eight years old when I first saw A Charlie Brown Christmas. Like many kids that age, Christmas lacked any deep spiritual component. It was about excitement, snow, presents and no school. Toss in a family gathering, and that’s what Christmas was all about. It was wonderful, and I loved it.
A Charlie Brown Christmas captured it all. The kids were playing in the snow. School was virtually suspended while the kids put together a play, and everyone was talking about the presents they were going to get. Right up my alley, except… Charlie Brown was unhappy. He couldn’t understand the Christmas season. The commercialism he saw depressed him more. So why in the world would a story focused on a depressed little boy appeal to my happy, religiously oblivious, eight-year-old self?
It’s a question CBS had too. According to “The Conversation”, CBS was reluctant to put the show on the air. The animation was too simplistic. The jazz background music was unorthodox for children shows. There was no laugh track, which was a staple for children’s television. The network wondered about a show centered on a depressed kid whose only hope was found in a natural, worthless looking tree amidst the artificial glitz. A tree Charlie Brown discovered after Linus recited word for word the passage above. With all of CBS’s misgivings, my 1965-self loved it.
In the years that followed, we would track when it was going to air and made sure we parked in front of the TV (no recording devices then). I watched it every year even after I was grown. I made sure my daughter got to see it too, and it became part of our Christmas tradition. Competitors came along like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1972) and Frosty the Snowman (1969), but these were just okay. Now I’m 67, and I still enjoy A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Why did all of this work? The obvious reason is that God’s messages will always resonate in the human heart. But, I think it also appealed to my nonreligious, childhood heart because it was so authentic and sincere. It juxtaposed the truth of God’s message to a metaphor that could relate even to a child.
The bedraggled, little natural tree stood out to Charlie Brown’s aching heart in a landscape of many more perfect, but human generated trees. That God-made tree was made beautiful when the kids turned their attention to it. More importantly, those same kids turned from laughing tormentors into kind friends when they did.
So I say to you now on this beautiful Christmas morning, just like the kids said to Charlie Brown, Merry Christmas everyone! Hark the herald angels sing…… I hope the inauspicious, but most beautiful birth of our Savior, fills you with kindness and joy today. Peace to you all.
Dave
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