Charlie Brown Christmas

One of my favorite Christmas programs is the OLD Charlie Brown Christmas Show. Everyone's seen it, I'm sure. Lots of great scenes...Snoopy kissing Lucy, Peanuts characters dancing, etc. But, my favorite part is the restoration of the "blockhead's" spirit after he had been so ostracized by the other kids for his ridiculous tree. His desperation to understand Christmas drives him to ask the question, "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" Linus steps up, blanket in tow, removes thumb from his mouth, gives the directive,"Lights please" then quotes the Christmas story from Luke 2:8-14, King James Version! At the risk of losing my man card, I must confess I tear up every time and my wife usually laughs at me. You owe it to yourself and your family to watch it this Christmas season!

I thought about Charlie's "Christmas moment" this week as I was asked to share a devotion at our Church staff Christmas luncheon. I talked about the disillusionment that often accompanies the Christmas season. I shared about my first experience of the Charlie Brown Christmas syndrome when I learned "the truth" about Santa Claus in my late elementary years. Seems like that was just the beginning, though. Throughout my youth/adult years, there have been Christmas seasons of great joy, but also some years of extremely painful family issues, loved ones passing/being missed during the holidays, financial issues, and even a kidney stone a few years ago! 

A passage Linus didn't quote from Luke 2 is vss. 25-26 concerning an elderly man named Simeon who had been notified by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Consolation of Israel. I love that terminology used to identify Jesus, the Messiah. The word "consolation" carries with it the idea of an event or individual who takes away disappointment, sadness...disillusionment. Simeon, along with other citizens of Jerusalem, had known disappointment, sadness, disillusionment living under Roman oppression for a good part of his life. Who knows whether Simeon envisioned all that the Christ-child meant for creation, but his heart was restored by the coming of the "Consolation of Israel.

Wow, I think the restoration of Charlie Brown's tree moves me like it does because I get it, I've lived it, I've been consoled by the CONSOLER! The Christ-child grew to manhood, took on the sin weight of all who were ever born in his sacrificial death on the cross AND communicated to all who follow him that he came to "bring good news to the poor...bind up the brokenhearted!" Although everything in the world, my country and my personal "world" is not all that I long for it to be, I recognize the Consolation of MY LIFE being very active and alive. The issues plaguing our country... hopelessness, brokenness, division, recklessly sinful behavior, etc. require those of whose lives of disillusionment and disenfranchisement have been regenerated by the Savior Linus talked about and we Christ followers know!

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