Just
Drop the Blanket: The Moment You Never Noticed in A Charlie Brown
Christmas
This week A
Charlie Brown Christmas aired on national prime time television for
the 50th time. In a world where the latest greatest technology is outdated in a
matter of months, and social media trends come and go in a matter of days, 50
years of anything becomes quite meaningful.
I am a fan of all
things nostalgic and all things Christmas, and so when the two are combined I
am hooked, and the Charlie Brown Christmas special falls squarely into that
category.
I was in the first
grade back when they still performed Christmas pageants in schools (less than
50 years, but still a very long time ago), and our class performed a version of
the Charlie Brown Christmas. Since I was kind of a bookworm and already had a
blue blanket, I was chosen to play the part of Linus. As Linus, I
memorized Luke 2:8-14,
and that Scripture has been hidden in my heart ever since.
8 And in
the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their
flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord x appeared
to them, and y the glory of the Lord shone around
them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the
angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great
joy that will be for all z the people. 11 For a unto
you is born this day in b the city of David c a
Savior, who is d Christ e the
Lord. 12 And f this will be a sign for you: you
will find a baby g wrapped in swaddling cloths and
lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the
angel h a multitude of the heavenly host praising
God and saying,
14 i "Glory to God j in
the highest,
j and on earth k peace l among those with whom he is pleased!" 1
j and on earth k peace l among those with whom he is pleased!" 1
The Meaning of Christmas
But while working so
diligently to learn those lines, 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.
The world can be a
scary place, and most of us find ourselves grasping to something temporal for
security, whatever that thing may be. Essentially, 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.
Many of you have
pointed out that at the end of the scene, Linus picks the
blanket back up, and have openly wondered why.
After
the epic, blanket-dropping recitation of Scripture given by Linus in response
to Charlie Brown's quest for meaning, he picks the blanket back up.
Isn't
that anti-climactic?
Why would Linus pick that old security back up after so boldly
proclaiming an end to fear? Why does he leave the stage with that security
blanket still in his hand?
We
first must realize that we all carry that same blanket.
Just
like Linus, we may stand tall in a moment of faith and conviction, a moment when Scripture
hidden in our heart comes to life, and all else is flung aside as we experience
and proclaim the true freedom and security that only Jesus can give.
But
at some point, out of habit, we reach down and pick that thing right back up.
Faith, while powerful, is also delicate.
Linus clearly knows the truth, and clearly proclaims the truth. The knowledge
is there and the wisdom is there and the passion is there. So why does he pick
it back up?
I think the answer is strikingly clear. It is because we all do
the same thing.
We
know. We feel. We proclaim.
Yet
we gaze in the mirror one morning to find that tattered old blanket draped over
our shoulder yet again. And we realize that we have become so used to it being
there that we hardly even noticed it.
But that is not where this blanket story ends.
The
show ends with the Peanuts gang not just singing, but clearly and
unquestionably singing in worship. Even the musical style at this point is
different from anything else heard previously.
The
obvious song choice here could have been "O
Christmas Tree," the notes of which have already been playing gently in
the background.
But
the focus is no longer the tree. The focus has become bigger than the tree. The
focus is Jesus.
With
this new focus, the kids instead slide effortlessly into "Hark the Herald
Angels Sing, Glory to the Newborn King," and what we are now witnessing is
essentially an impromptu worship service.
But
before any of this happens, Linus parts with that blanket yet again, and lays
it down for good at the base of that beautiful Christmas tree, just as we
should strive to not just lay our blanket down just anywhere, but leave it
forever behind us at the foot of that cross, for our own good and the good of
others.
Linus
and friends have moved from speaking truth
and hearing truth
into a deeper place of worship, where they finally respond to that
truth, much like those shepherds who were instructed to "fear not" so
very long ago.
It
is here at the end of the show that Linus lays that blanket down yet again, and
this time? He doesn't look back.
Jason Soroski
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