What Christmas is All About: Charlie Brown Style
“…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.” Luke 2: 10-11
The first winter snow falls like grace, silently blanketing the world in pure white. I watch from inside where the fire warms and Christmas lights burn bright, chasing darkness from every corner.
It’s been another year of extreme emotions – great sorrow and great joy – and my heart just needs a few moments to experience the Light. Memories of loved ones passed hang on my Christmas tree and overwhelm me. I shed a tear or two, until my attention turns to the crèche. I touch each piece: the shepherds, the Wise Men, the angels, the rudimentary stable, Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus – they all tell the story – the simple story that redeems life and chases darkness away.
That’s what Christmas is all about.
It almost seems too simple, too easy, but Truth is simple as Linus shows us in A Charlie Brown Christmas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQeKdvXliIU
God came, never to forsake us, but to redeem all of our losses – past, present, and future – through His son, Jesus. It’s through his birth, his life, his death and resurrection that God offers us a way to redeem our loss and offer us peace, good will and eternal life. Christmas points us to the birth of hope and light and life through Jesus, Emmanuel, that we might know him better and be so filled with His light that darkness runs. Jesus replaces our sorrow until his joy falls like grace upon our hearts and spills to everyone around us so that they too, might know him better.