Charlie Brown's Christmas

Last night the western world celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Charlie Brown’s Christmas with Lucy, Sally, Pigpen and Linus. Charlie asked, “Doesn’t anybody know the meaning of Christmas?” Linus answered with the following: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. And the angel said unto them, 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. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” – Luke 2:8-14 KJV

This is the Good News of the Bible.

On Sunday this week, Pastor Robert Engelhardt of Catskill Mountain Christian Center once again put scripture in its context for today’s people. He pointed out that the majority of Americans have never seen the Grand Canyon, yet they believe it exists. They have great faith in the reports of others, pictures of its grandeur, and the testimonies of friends or relatives that have seen it.

Many of those same people will not believe in the Christ Child. Surely it does not take greater faith to believe in a hole in the ground than it does to believe in the testimony of those who saw the birth scene, those who reported it through word pictures, or those whose relatives have seen the glory of a Risen King.

In the biblical account of doubting Thomas (John 20:29), the disciple wouldn’t believe the appearance of Christ after the resurrection until he could touch the wounds. Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Christmas story is ageless because it represents the start of eternity for our world. Without faith in Jesus, our lives struggle with the meaning and purpose of life. Perhaps today, through the words Linus spoke fifty years ago and Pastor Bob spoke this past weekend, you may find an objective truth in a document almost 2,000 years old and have faith that Jesus was born for you.