In our final
Sunday Sermon before Christmas, we are going to look at a beloved animated
Christmas special, A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Most of you
I am sure have seen this special on television or on video. A stressed,
depressed and over-burdened Charlie Brown, after seeing everyone around him
obsessed with the commercial aspect of Christmas, (even his own dog Snoopy),
and even after trying to get more involved in Christmas and being made fun of
for buying a small but real Christmas tree instead of the “shiny aluminum one”
that they told him to, finally asks in
frustration, “Isn’t there anyone who
knows what Christmas is all about?”
Linus tells
Charlie Brown that he knows what Christmas is all about and responds by reading
him the following verses:
Luke 2:8-14
8 And there were in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 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.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear
not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people.
11 For unto you is born this day in
the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will toward men.
Sometimes
today, it is easy to feel like Charlie Brown….. We are now only 2 days away
from Christmas, and yet some stores have had Christmas decorations and
merchandise on their shelves since mid-October. We have been bombarded by
department store sales ads in our mailboxes, newspapers, TV screens and online
since about that same time. Stores now are in the final push with some of them
reducing the Christmas aisles to only a couple and already starting to put
Valentines day merchandise out. For
those of us who celebrate Christmas for what it is, the birth of our Lord and
our Savior Jesus Christ, it can get depressing to see Christmas ushered in and
out so fast….
Maybe we
NEED a Charlie Brown Christmas…. A Christmas where even though there may be
gifts, that is not our primary focus.
Our primary focus being instead the gift that was given by God Almighty
to all of mankind, that gift that was no adorned with ribbons or bow, but
instead was wrapped in swaddling clothes, and was born in a manger.
If we look
at the rest of our verses for today, we will find out who the first people
other than Joseph & Mary, were to receive this gift, and why we can learn a
lot from them……
Luke 2:15-17
15 And it came to pass, as the angels
were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us
now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the
Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and
found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they
made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
Now why is
it significant that the angels appeared to these shepherds? Because it set the
tone for the life and the Ministry of Jesus. These men were the lowest people
on the social ladder. They would not have been educated, most likely they could
not read or write. They worked weeks at a time camping out in the fields while
tending the sheep existing on what they could gather or possibly hunt from the
land. They were expected to lay down their lives if it came to that to protect
the flocks that they were charged with guarding, and yet they were paid next to
nothing. And yet it was to these men who lived on the fringe of society that
God in His wisdom announced the birth of the Savior to. And what did they do
upon hearing the news? They went straight to Bethlehem and found Jesus and when
they had seen Him, they told anyone and everyone who would listen what the
angels had told them and that the Messiah was now born. These unlearned, rough
men became the first evangelists of Jesus Christ!!
It has
always been that way…. Even in the Old Testament, when God chose another
shepherd who was just a boy to be King, it is those of low estate who will
listen and be more receptive to the word of God. Kind of like Charlie Brown in
the film, a person who is imperfect, who is not confident in himself
understands and accepts the message of God. The message that Unto Us A Child Is Born…. And because of that willing acceptance and belief, people like that are
often called to carry the message of Christ.
In Closing
today, I just want to share a couple of things. When this TV special was
released on December 9th, 1965, it was released right in the middle
of the “God is dead” phase. When academics and “enlightened” people said that
they needed no God. Even the TV network execs did not want Peanuts creator
Charles Shultz to include the Christmas Story from Luke in the special. They
assumed that the audience would not want to sit through a reading from the
Bible. Mr. Shultz, a devout Christian steadfastly refused and the scene from
Luke was left in. Much to the surprise of the TV execs, 50% of TV sets in the United States tuned in to
watch that special, it won an Emmy and a Peabody award, and even the critics in
“enlightened” New York wrote that Linus telling the Christmas Story from Luke
was the highlight of the season.
So my
friends, I ask you today, on this last Sunday before Christmas, as we know that
the wait for our Savior and Lord is almost over, to take a break from the hustle
and bustle. Put down the shopping bags, the TV remotes, whatever it is that is
occupying your life at this time and pick up your Bible. Read the 2nd
Chapter of Luke and really let its meaning get into your heart.
Maybe a
Charlie Brown Christmas isn’t such a bad thing after all………..
God Bless
you all & Merry Christmas!!
Pastor Brian
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