Maybe you have seen this online recently… but if you haven’t I wanted to share this with you. What I am also saying is this was not an original thought! Honestly I am not that sharp to catch subtleties like this. Maybe that is why I like magic shows, I can never figure out how they ‘do it.’
This is the 50th anniversary of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” A lot of us remember anxiously waiting for CBS to air this show every December since its debut. Many of us also waited expectantly for “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Frosty the Snowman” long before “A Christmas Story” came out in 1983.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” was different than the rest of those shows. This is the only Christmas special that told the Christmas story from gospel of Luke in the New Testament.
About 2/3s into the show Charlie Brown laments that he can’t do anything right and that he really doesn’t know what Christmas is all about. At this instant Linus seizes the moment to explain the meaning of Christmas by telling the Christmas story from the Authorized King James Version of the Bible (AV).
If you are not familiar with Linus, he is the boy who always carried a blue security blanket with him wherever he went. He always had his blanket.
When Linus gets to the part of the gospel story when the angels visit the shepherds in the fields surrounding Bethlehem, Linus drops his security blanket when the angel says, “fear not.”
Like I said earlier, I never noticed this in all the years I watched the show. It took someone else to point this out to me. However, this is a poignant moment. The boy who always carries his security blanket drops it when the angels say to the shepherds, “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.”
Why is this so important in 2015? Fear-mongering is at an all time high. There are many dispensers of fear that are telling us to be afraid of this that and the other thing with a caveat… vote for “me” and I’ll keep you safe and don’t vote for them, they will not keep you safe. Many candidates in this election cycle are using fear to scare you into voting for them. (As a side note: I am not talking about political platforms or agendas, I am talking about METHODS. Please don’t read into my comments!)
One of the things I discovered after moving to California was that many things are labeled with signs that tell you that something might be “cancer causing.” When I went to park at Disneyland in October there was a warning sign in the parking garage that essentially told me “Disneyland causes cancer.” (I wish I would have had the forethought to take a picture of the sign.)
Where are my going with this? I believe we need to choose how we approach life in this big, bad world of ours. One tactic is to be fearful: Circle the wagons, play it safe, be suspicious of everyone and avoid cancer-causing Disneyland. In other words, let fear rule over us. Just so you know, fear when directed at others eventually morphs into hate. (Please don’t hate Mickey Mouse.)
OR…
We can listen to the words of the angel and “Fear not.” Both the Authorized Version (AV) and the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible tells us that the phrase “Fear not” and “Do not be afraid” shows up 70 times throughout scripture. The angel’s declaration was not a new one for God’s people. Over and over again God reminds us to “fear not.”
One of the starkest reminders of this phrase happens in Deuteronomy 1. Moses sends spies into the ‘promised land’ to scout out the land God had promised them hundreds of years before this moment. God told Moses that the people of Israel should “fear not” because God is in control. Long story short, the people chose fear over faith and God sent them back to do laps in the desert for 38 more years.
Fear will only hold us back from living into the love and the promises of God. Fear will keep you far away from Bethlehem this Christmas and fear is what caused a modern day wall to be built around Bethlehem to keep people some people in and some people out.
Don’t allow a wall of fear to be built around your heart this Christmas.
Yes, love is risky. It cost the baby of Bethlehem his life. But he would tell you that it was worth it.
God bless you and Merry Christmas,
Pr. Ben
Hello Pastor Ben,
After reading your article, it struck me that the Bible wants us to fear God and love God too. I suppose this works because our fear keeps us on the narrow path to success until we learn how to let love guide us through life. Once that happens, our fear of God will melt away and we will qualify for consideration as a partner with Jesus/God. And since God is in even the least of all of our brothers and sisters, anytime we are driven by love to make a personal sacrifice to help them, our love will grow and our fear will diminish.
Well Said John. There is a big difference between the Biblical command to ‘fear God’ and those who tell us we need to be afraid of this, that and the other thing. The command to ‘fear God’ also contains the connotation of respect and awe. Then God sends himself in the person of Jesus and we see that God ultimately wants us to respond to His love- in love- rather than fear Him. You are correct in saying that the ultimate aim and goal is for us love God in and through the way we love others. Thank you!