On December 9, 1965, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was broadcast for the first time on CBS. I remember watching this show with my family as a 12-year-old boy and loving it. This was the first of the animated Peanuts specials, featuring the beloved characters of Charles Schultz. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” became an instant classic, and has been aired on television every year for 54 years.
In the story, Charlie Brown is searching for the meaning of Christmas in a world that has become too commercialized. Charlie Brown decides to put on a Christmas pageant which turns into a fiasco when Lucy, Schroeder, Snoopy, and all the participants want to do their own thing and totally disregard Charlie Brown’s direction.
Charlie Brown despairs that he will never know the true meaning of Christmas. Then, in a breathtaking moment, Linus steps on stage into the spotlight, announcing that he knows the true meaning of Christmas. Linus goes on to proclaim the Nativity Story from Luke’s Gospel (Lk 2: 1-14.) It’s the same Gospel that churchgoers throughout the world hear proclaimed every year at Christmas Midnight Mass.
The executives at CBS were nervous about this scene, with its explicit Christian message, and wanted it cut out. However Charles Schultz insisted, and so the scene remained. Even now, when I watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas” I am overwhelmed at the simple beauty and power of Linus’ Christmas proclamation. It’s great preaching.
Today more than ever people seek the true meaning of Christmas. The commercialism that caused Charlie Brown to despair is worse than ever. We are surrounded by violence. Civil discourse has been replaced by mean-spirited rants. There is disrespect for life in all its forms, from the unborn to the immigrant to the prisoner on death row. In our crazy world, the true meaning of Christmas lives in the Gospel passage that Linus knew by heart: “For today in the city of David a Savior has been born for you who is Christ the Lord.” The divine became human and entered our world in the form of a helpless baby, to bring us back to God.
I hope this Good News touches your life this Christmas and brings peace and joy to you and yours every day of the year.