Advent Day 11 - Charlie Brown

Until today I hadn’t heard the story that Sherri offered in her devotion this morning about Charles Shultz and the creators of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special...

During the making of the animated Christmas classic A Charlie Brown Christmas, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz had a meeting with Lee Mendelson, the show’s producer, and Bill Melendez, its lead animator. The discussion concerned Schulz’s insistence about including a New Testament scripture reading of the Christmas story from the Bible. The scripture reading was to be spoken by Peanuts character Linus Van Pelt in response to Charlie Brown’s lament, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Mendelson and Melendez both voiced their concern about the reading, with Melendez telling Schulz, “It’s very dangerous for us to start talking about religion now.” Schulz answered him by saying, “Bill, if we don’t, who will?”

But if we don’t, who will? So absolutely true. This is that time of year that hearts are softer for the story of Jesus and we need to be willing to be like Linus and be willing to set down our security blankets (so to speak) and share the story.