This now-famous two-minute clip comes at a point in the A Charlie Brown Christmas special when Charlie Brown is completely frustrated in his search for the meaning of Christmas. After throwing his hands in the air, Linus calmly explains the meaning of Christmas by quoting Luke 2:8 - 14 (KJV).
A Charlie Brown Christmas is now the longest-running cartoon in history. After debuting in 1965 it has been enjoyed by countless millions every year since then. It is encouraging and heartening to know that God is "breaking through".....inside and outside of the Church.
In fact, that's what this week's sermon was all about.....God breaking through. And the ultimate way He became part of humanity's condition was through the birth of His Son....100% God and at the same time....100% human....a mystery I can't begin to fully understand or explain. He came to be with us....in all our spiritual poverty....in all our weakness....in all our hopelessness. It is much like the king who when warned by his closest advisers that it was not safe to walk among his subjects replied: "I cannot rule my people unless I know how they live".
God broke through.
Here are the notes for this week's sermon:
Sermon notes from December 23, 2012
After showing the Charlie Brown "trailer", I walked through the scripture passage (Luke 2:8 - 14) and its key messages. The universal nature of Christ's birth. The irony that such strength came from infantile weakness and vulnerability. The official announcement of the Savior, Lord and Christ. In Luke 2:8 - 14 God bursts into human history in an amazing, miraculous, almost incomprehensible way. God "breaking through" is what Christmas is all about.
In pursuit of my master's degree in theology at Spring Hill College, I took a class called Christianity and the Arts. The purpose of the class was to help students perceive the Christian message in what we usually call the "secular" arts. What an encouraging eye-opener to see that God is breaking through in all sorts of ways. Take Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol for example. Dickens wrote his timeless novel in 1843....during a dawning industrial revolution in England.....a time that was accompanied by crushing poverty, worker exploitation, disease and runaway infant/childhood mortality. Urbanization, anonymity and a decisive break with rural family traditions was turning London into a soul-less society. No surprise that the celebration of Christmas had almost disappeared. For many, it wasn't even considered a day off from work.
Many historians look back and credit the resurgence of Christmas "spirit" almost entirely to Dickens' Christmas Carol. Although he was only nominally religious and often rebelled against the Church establishment of the day, Dickens wrote a novel rich with Christian symbolism and reflection. To this day, Dickens' faith is debated. Some have even called his Christianity into question. I can't personally know his heart.....but I believe God can (and does) "break through" even the most arduous, hopeless circumstances and touch people in ways the rest of us can't fully grasp....so I like to think that God broke through Mr. Dickens.
Dickens would go on to be called the "greatest English novelist" and...over the last 170 years....the message of Christmas Carol has touched millions upon millions of people around the globe through books, television, movies and stage production. Its message of redemption, salvation and concern for those less fortunate jump off the pages...and remind us that Charles Dickens' heart was surely broken by the things that break the heart of God.
God broke through.....again.
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