I don’t watch television preachers. I have nothing against them. I just don’t watch them. If you’re a fan of televangelism, don’t be offended. With 150+ channels, there’s plenty I don’t watch. However, it was television that was responsible for the first Bible verse I ever memorized. I recall seeing a young child center stage basking in the glow of a single spotlight while reciting the Christmas story from Luke. It not only stuck. It resonated.
It wasn’t that I had never heard the story. Regardless of what some may think, we Presbyterians do read the Bible. But hearing it as a child being proclaimed by a child really brought the message home.
It was Linus van Pelt who took that television stage in 1965 in a Christmas special that its creators’ thought would run just once and likely be forgotten. Indeed, CBS, the network that aired the show, didn’t like the inclusion of the scripture. They thought it might be perceived sacrilegious coming from a cartoon character. Peanuts creator Charles Shultz stood firm and insisted that the scripture be left in or there wouldn’t be a special. If the network only had the faith of Linus. On that day, 49 percent of the homes that had televisions watched the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. The next day four more specials were ordered.
I’ve been a Peanuts fan since the days my dad would put me on his lap and read the Sunday funnies. (That’s what we called the comic page in the days before cell phones). Once I learned to read, I read the funnies every day, not just on Sunday. I loved the imagination of Snoopy, and I was even a WW1 flying ace one Halloween. As a young musician myself, Schroder’s love for Beethoven pushed me to discover the composer and thereby discover some of the most beautiful music written. Linus was the one I always wanted to be and to an extent still do. Smart. Funny. Never afraid to be who he was, insecurities and all.
In the end, it’s Charlie Brown I feel most like. In fact, my wife would argue with Lucy when she says, “of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you’re the Charlie Browniest.” She thinks I outdo him at times in my ability to see the downside more often than the up. I’m not sure that’s all bad. I admire and aspire to Charlie’s ability to get up and try to kick that football again … and again … and again! No matter what seems to go wrong, he just doesn’t let the world stop him. “I’ll show them. I’ll take this little tree home and decorate it. I’ll show them it really will work in our play.” And then “Oh no. I killed it! Why does everything I touch turn into a disaster?”
I sometimes feel that way. Despite my best effort, things don’t seem to go just the way I planned. Of course, things work out for Charlie Brown because he’s surrounded by friends. People who actually care about him despite what they might otherwise express. Even Lucy comes around. “Charlie Brown may be a blockhead, but he did get a nice tree.” That’s another thing Charlie and I have in common. I am surrounded by family and friends who care about me. It’s why I am able to get back up and try again when life pulls the football away just before I try to put it through the uprights. It’s nice to have my own “Peanuts” to bring out that aspect of my inner Charlie Brown.
By the way, Charles Shultz once drew some cartoons for his high school yearbook that were turned down. A shy, introverted young man, he could have quit. Thankfully for us, he didn’t. Rather, Shultz went on to draw some 19,000 Peanuts comic strips that were loved by 355 million readers around the world.
See what getting up and trying again gets you?
Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!
**Note** It was December 14th, 1999 when Charles Shultz announced he was retiring the strip after 50 years. His final strip was published on February 13th, 2000 one day after he lost his battle with colon cancer.
