Drop The Blanket, Linus! A Charlie Brown Christmas
This month, at Hope Church, we have played the classic clip of Linus proclaiming the Biblical Christmas narrative from A Charlie Brown Christmas at the opening of our The Purpose of Christmas sermon series. This classic cartoon first aired on national prime time television in 1965.
Over the next two days, I want to share some special insight into this classic cartoon as you enter into Christmas eve and the hope and dreams of a New Year.
The following is from a fellow pastor, Jason Soroski:
“…there is one important thing I didn’t notice then, and didn’t notice until now.
Right in the middle of speaking, Linus drops the blanket.
Charlie Brown is best known for his uniquely striped shirt, and Linus 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. When he simply drops it.
In that climactic scene when Linus shares “what Christmas is all about,” he drops his security blanket, and I am now convinced that this is intentional. Most telling is the specific moment he drops it: when he utters the words, “fear not” (at :39 seconds).
Looking at it now, it is 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.”
Merry Christmas Eve Eve to you and yours! May we celebrate Jesus this Season! – Pastor Nathan