What Child is This? CB Part Four

My fourth (out of six, for those counting) reason that I think A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS is the best holiday special ever:

I love the non-answer answer.

When Chuck hits the end of his rope, and demands if anyone knows what Christmas is all about, Linus steps forward and gives his famous little speech.

“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 shown around about them. And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”

And that is what it is about. Tidings of hope. Glory. And, in a word: Jesus.

There is no pablum here about we all need to feel good, or Christmas is about giving, or Christmas is about all humanity learning to get along.

It’s about divine hope in the mystery of a divine child.

“One of the great ‘theologians’ of our time, Sean Penn, put it this way: “When everything gets answered, it’s fake. The mystery is the truth.” -Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis

Linus’ words are not a logical argument.

They are not a direct answer.

Linus doesn’t say, “Charlie Brown, you are struggling in this area because G-d is building such and such a character trait in you.”

Really, it just points in the direction of an answer.

But it is an answer that works – not just for Charlie, but for the audience. We are satisfied that the question has been answered.

It is just a little bit of light, but: “It is as if the smallest amount of light is infinitely more powerful than massive amounts of dark.” -Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis

Linus gives just a little bit of light.

And it is enough.

Just my thoughts,

Sean