I had forgotten this part of my childhood until I saw it posted on Facebook this week. It comes from the 1965 “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. Charlie Brown is best known for his uniquely striped shirt, and Linus is most associated with his ever-present security blanket. Throughout the story of Peanuts, Lucy, Snoopy, Sally and others all work to no avail to separate Linus from his blanket. And even though his security blanket remains a major source of ridicule for the otherwise mature and thoughtful Linus, he simply refuses to give it up. Until, while reciting the Christmas story from Luke 2, Linus says the words “fear not”, and he drops his security blanket! Watching it again I think what Linus did was on purpose!
It is pretty clear what Charles Schultz was saying, and it's so simple it's brilliant. The birth of Jesus separates us from our fears. The birth of Jesus frees us from the habits we are unable (or unwilling) to break ourselves. The birth of Jesus allows us to simply drop the false security we have been grasping so tightly, and learn to trust and cling to Him instead. The world of 2020 can be a scary place, and most of us find ourselves grasping to something temporal for security, whatever that thing may be. Essentially, 2020 is a world in which it is very difficult for us to "fear not." But in the midst of fear and insecurity, this simple cartoon image from 1965 continues to live on as an inspiration for us to seek true peace and true security in the one place it has always been and can always still be found. As the hymn for this week says, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight”. “Fear not, for we bring you good news of a great joy.”
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February 2021
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Starkville Presbyterian Church PC(USA) Starkville, MS | Ron's Reflections |