Drop the Blanket

Luke 2:9–11 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today, in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” CONSIDER THIS The year was 1965. Pull up the headlines of the day, and you would find that the country was still reeling from John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The Vietnam War was intensifying, and the march in Selma, Alabama, was making national and world news. To say that things were strained in our country would be an understatement. It was a difficult and dark time, and that’s exactly why a cartoonist named Charles Schultz thought the world needed a little hope. So on December 9, 1965, the world was introduced to the classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas. If you’ve seen it, you’ll remember that Charlie Brown was finding it difficult to find joy at Christmastime. When tasked with putting on the Christmas play, Charlie Brown made it his goal to find the perfect Christmas tree to showcase on stage. Of course, the tree he ended up with was not ideal. It was small, pretty thinned out, and didn’t look like the picture-perfect tree everyone had hoped for. But for Charlie, it was perfect. That was until everyone else gave their opinions. Where Charlie saw beauty in the little tree, everyone else saw imperfection, and the disdain they had for that little tree they put on the shoulders of Charlie Brown, leading him to shout out the following question: “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus had the answer. He quietly walked to center stage, his trademark blue security blanket in hand, and recited Luke’s Christmas story in the good old King James. If ever there’s a moment of childlike wonder, this was it. I’ve seen A Charlie Brown Christmas a hundred times, but there’s a little hidden gem found inside Linus’s reading of the Christmas story that I had not noticed until recently. Perhaps you’ve missed it as well. When Linus got to Luke 2:9 and read the angel’s proclamation, “Do not be afraid,” Linus dropped his blue security blanket. It is important to note that you will never see Linus let go of his blanket in any of the comic strips. Not intentionally, at least. But here he did. Why? It’s as if Linus was saying to us all that security and comfort aren’t always found in what we’re holding on to; it’s found in what’s holding us—the good news of this Christmas story, Immanuel, Christ with us. That’s the gospel message. But wait, Linus wasn’t quite finished yet. He then took the scrawny tree that held such ridicule and shame, and he placed his blue security blanket around the base of it, showing us all that comfort and joy wrap around the misshaped and overlooked, the unwanted and the undesirable. Linus was preaching the gospel message, my friends. Now, back to the shepherds. On a particularly dark and ordinary night, it was to a group of overlooked and undesirable shepherds working on a hillside that the good news of great joy for all people was given. That’s radical wonder. God could have given this news to royalty. He could have delivered it to a king or priest, but he started with shepherds. They were the first hearers, believers, and preachers of the Christmas gospel. What are you holding on to a little too tightly today? Drop the blanket and let this story wrap itself around you. Find comfort in this truth today! THE PRAYER  Eternal God, we thank you for the promise that is found for us all within the words, “Do not be afraid.” We ask today that whatever anxiety, worries, or fears we may be holding on to be released through your power, leaving our empty hands to take hold of the good news of great joy that is for all people. In Jesus’s name, amen. THE QUESTIONS What might you be holding on to today? Perhaps a better question is this: What might the Lord be encouraging you to let go of?