This Day in History: December 9, 1965...
Christ is King and the Moment Fear Fell Silent / On this day in 1965, a simple animated special aired on national television and did something American media had never dared to do: it preached the Gospel to a nation in prime time.
A Charlie Brown Christmas arrived without fanfare or polish, and yet it has outlived entire networks, cultural trends, and nearly six decades of changing tastes. It endures because it tells the truth.
Everyone remembers the music, the sad little tree, and Charlie Brown’s disappointment. But the heart of the special is a quiet boy named Linus...and his blanket. If you know Peanuts, you know the blanket. It is always there. It is his shield, his comfort, his coping mechanism, his answer to every fear. He drags it from scene to scene, comic strip to comic strip, like a lifeline. He needs it twenty-four hours a day, everywhere he goes. He does not know how to live without it. Until one moment.
Linus steps into the spotlight, and for the first time in the entire show, everything falls silent. No jokes. No music. No commentary. Just Scripture... straight from the King James Bible, almost word for word, spoken by a child with a blanket in his hand:
“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; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in waddling 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."
And at the exact words “Fear not,” Linus does something no one expects; he drops the blanket..It falls from his hand to the floor. The thing he always needed... the thing he clung to... becomes unnecessary in the presence of Christ.
That is not nostalgia. That is theology. Fear loses its authority when Christ is revealed. Comfort objects lose their power when the Savior arrives. The child lets go because Christ is King.
Millions of children have watched that scene, year after year, without realizing a sermon was preached to them. Every December, across generations, Linus lays down fear and lifts up Scripture. He shows us what it means to trust a promise older than sorrow: “Fear not.”
Two weeks from Christmas, let this be your reminder:
Traditions matter. Scripture matters. Christ matters more than anything we use to numb our fear.
Show it to your children. Show it to your grandchildren. Make it a family tradition. Let the Word speak. Let Christ be King. Christ is King. ✝️ ~ Clint Grantham, Enterprise, Alabama
Everyone remembers the music, the sad little tree, and Charlie Brown’s disappointment. But the heart of the special is a quiet boy named Linus...and his blanket. If you know Peanuts, you know the blanket. It is always there. It is his shield, his comfort, his coping mechanism, his answer to every fear. He drags it from scene to scene, comic strip to comic strip, like a lifeline. He needs it twenty-four hours a day, everywhere he goes. He does not know how to live without it. Until one moment.
Linus steps into the spotlight, and for the first time in the entire show, everything falls silent. No jokes. No music. No commentary. Just Scripture... straight from the King James Bible, almost word for word, spoken by a child with a blanket in his hand:
“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; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in waddling 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."
And at the exact words “Fear not,” Linus does something no one expects; he drops the blanket..It falls from his hand to the floor. The thing he always needed... the thing he clung to... becomes unnecessary in the presence of Christ.
That is not nostalgia. That is theology. Fear loses its authority when Christ is revealed. Comfort objects lose their power when the Savior arrives. The child lets go because Christ is King.
Millions of children have watched that scene, year after year, without realizing a sermon was preached to them. Every December, across generations, Linus lays down fear and lifts up Scripture. He shows us what it means to trust a promise older than sorrow: “Fear not.”
Two weeks from Christmas, let this be your reminder:
Traditions matter. Scripture matters. Christ matters more than anything we use to numb our fear.
Show it to your children. Show it to your grandchildren. Make it a family tradition. Let the Word speak. Let Christ be King. Christ is King. ✝️ ~ Clint Grantham, Enterprise, Alabama
No comments:
Post a Comment