{"id":2104,"date":"2020-12-15T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2104"},"modified":"2020-12-09T19:12:30","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T19:12:30","slug":"fear-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2104","title":{"rendered":"Fear Not!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your favourite Christmas movie?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love to watch The Polar Express<\/em>, and I\u2019ve just finished binge-watching the new Netflix series Dash & Lily<\/em>, but truth be told, my absolute favourite Christmas movie is A Charlie Brown Christmas<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was already a committed Peanuts fan when the movie came out in 1965. I would grab the newspaper each day and delight in the wisdom of Charles M. Schultz shared through his Peanuts characters. It was no surprise that A Charlie Brown Christmas<\/em> leapt to the top of my list when I saw it for the very first time. It has consistently remained there ever since I lay down on the living room floor in my pyjamas that first time and became mesmerized by the story shared so many years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Won\u2019t you watch it with me again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Our movie opens with the Peanuts characters skating on the pond in a winter wonderland of snow and scarfs. Vince Guaraldi\u2019s amazing jazz soundtrack accompanies the cast as they sing, \u201cChristmas time is here. Happiness and cheer. Fun for all that children call their favourite time of year.\u201d It\u2019s perfect! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, it is not perfect for Charlie Brown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and Linus enter the scene with Charlie Brown pondering, \u201cThere must be something wrong with me Linus. Christmas is coming, but I\u2019m not happy. I don\u2019t feel the way I\u2019m supposed to feel. I just don\u2019t understand Christmas I guess.\u201d And with these words we know what this story is going to be about.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if we\u2019re not happy at Christmas? Is there something wrong with us? What is it we\u2019re just no getting? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think Charlie Brown\u2019s feelings about Christmas resonate with us all at some time in our lives, and perhaps this year more than any other. This year we are grieving; we grieve the loss of loved ones to this pandemic, the inability to gather in our churches and worship the way we have in the past, and the loss of family celebrations and friendship circles. How do we understand Christmas this year? Where do we find hope and joy this year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linus responds to Charlie Brown\u2019s musings from his persistent place of positivity, \u201cCharlie Brown, you\u2019re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.\u201d I don\u2019t think Linus really helped in this situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucy offers up an alternative solution to Charlie Brown\u2019s lack of understanding.\u00a0\u201cYou need involvement!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so Charlie Brown is made the director of the annual Christmas play. He takes on this task with the goal of success, but soon discovers he can\u2019t control the cast who prefer dancing over rehearsing. Lucy takes over and assigns out the parts. Pigpen is assigned the role of the innkeeper and Linus lands the part of a shepherd. As Lucy hands her little brother his script she demands that for once he get rid of his security blanket. Linus declines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With nothing to do on set, Charlie Brown and Linus head out to find a suitable Christmas tree for their festivities. The two eventually return with a sad little tree instead of the bright shiny number the cast requested. Mocked for his choice, Charlie Brown once again finds himself feeling like a failure. And with this, he shouts out in despair,\u00a0\u201cIsn\u2019t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linus responds with the answer he\u2019s known all along.\u00a0\u201cSure Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with that Linus walks to centre stage and a solitary spotlight comes on to illuminate his words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, \u201cFear not\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s stop there for just a moment. With the words \u201cFear not\u201d Linus does something he\u2019s never,\u00a0ever done before. He drops his security blanket to the floor beside him. His face begins to beam with joy as he continues with his passage from Luke, his blanket not too far away, but is clearly not needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.\u201d And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Luke 2:8-14, KJV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFear not\u201d are the two words Charlie Brown most needs to hear in that moment. \u201cFear not\u201d is what we all need to hear this Christmas. While we live in a place of worry, stress, loneliness and exhaustion this year, these words delivered by the angel of the Lord provide for us an alternative to despair. \u201cFear not: for I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be for all people.\u201d This is where our hope is to be found. This is where the joy breaks in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find it fascinating that Charles Shultz chose this passage and not the more expected Luke 2:1-7. Luke 1:1-7 is a statement of what happened; \u201cand she gave birth to her firstborn son and laid him a manger.\u201d Luke 2:8-14, the passage Shultz chooses, moves us to understand why it is happening; to bring joy and dispel fear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early in the show, Charlie Brown visits Lucy\u2019s psychiatrist booth where the doctor is most definitely in. She takes Charlie Brown through a list of potential phobias, culminating in pantophobia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you think you have pantophobia,\u201d she asks? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlie Brown replies, \u201cWhat\u2019s pantophobia?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fear of everything!\u201d she responds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it!\u201d he yells! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this season of Advent Linus reveals to us that Christ\u2019s coming dispels fear, even the fear of everything. And in this we give glory to God. Thanks be to God!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s your favourite Christmas movie? I love to watch The Polar Express, and I\u2019ve just finished binge-watching the new Netflix series Dash & Lily, but truth be told, my absolute favourite Christmas movie is A Charlie Brown Christmas. I was already a committed Peanuts fan when the movie came out in 1965. I would grab […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,3,6],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-2104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-christian-education-archive","category-congregational-development","category-w-m-s","tag-advent"],"yoast_head":"\nFear Not! - CNOB<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2104\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fear Not! - CNOB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What\u2019s your favourite Christmas movie? 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