Telling the Christmas Story
Christmas time is here. You can almost hear those children’s voices singing that familiar song. But for the first time since 1965, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" will not air on broadcast TV this year. It will only be shown on Apple TV+, on demand, throughout the season. For those who don't have Apple TV+, the platform will make the program available to stream for free for non-subscribers, from Dec. 22 to Dec. 25..
What makes this simple 25-minute cartoon such a holiday classic? It has resonated with generations of families since it first aired as a network show 57 years ago. Most believe it's the combination of nostalgia, the power of simplicity, and the central message of the show, that have maintained its popularity over the years. And it's interesting that the scene that really stole the show almost didn’t happen.
I'm sure you will remember it. As the gang is preparing for their local Christmas play, everyone gets mad at Charlie Brown for buying a pitiful , almost hopeless, tree. Dejected, he says, “Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I don’t know what Christmas is all about.” And he cries out: “Is there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”
Linus says, “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He then steps center stage and recites the nativity story from Luke 2 —the story of the angels appearing before the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus.
When network executives previewed the program, they objected: “You can’t read long passages of the Bible on TV, especially from the King James Version. You'll lose your audience."
Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, who was a devout Christian, stuck to his guns and said that the scene had to stay, or the program couldn't run at all. That was half the point of the show to begin with, the over-commercialization of the Christmas season, even a half century ago. Schulz said, “If we don’t tell the Christmas story, who will?”
Facing a looming deadline, the producers and network executives went against their better judgment and allowed the scene stay in. And, as it turned out, they were wrong about the public's reaction to the scene. After the program aired, critics praised Linus’ reading, calling it the “dramatic highlight of the season.” And all these years later, for many of us, when we hear the Christmas story from Luke 2, we hear echoes of Linus reading it. That's what Christmas is about, Charlie Brown.
Schultz had a point — one which every church and every Christian would do well to consider. “If we don’t tell the Christmas story, who will?”
This is our time. Not just to repeat the sequence of events found in the gospels about angels and shepherds and mangers and no room in the inn. But proclaiming the message behind the season, the real meaning and significance of it all.
In a world that focuses on just about everything BUT the birth of Jesus, some may never know, if they don't hear it from you or me, that it's not about "the Christmas spirit," or the "magic" of Christmas, but the miracle of Emmanuel, God with us. Our loving Heavenly Father sent his Son to us, to make right that which had gone wrong, to save us from our sin and from ourselves.
I suspect that sometime this week, you will encounter a Charlie Brown, beaten down and discouraged, who wonders what this season--or life itself — is really about. It's a good opportunity to take the cue of those angels in the nativity account, who appeared to the shepherds, and pointed them to Jesus. He's the reason...for every season.
I am praying for you, as I hope you are for me, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday..
--Pastor Ken
