Linus' Good News

Luke 2:8-14

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:  to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

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Some among us tonight watched (and some participated in) the youth Christmas program, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” a week ago Sunday. It is a beautiful Christmas story with a message I’ve never thought needed an explanation. That being said, someone recently clued me into a fascinating detail in the story that I had missed even after having watched the show dozens of times. This subtle detail transforms the show from a heartwarming entertaining story into something even more theologically and practically powerful.

Recall the scene where Charlie Brown returns to the rehearsal after picking a sickly-looking Christmas tree. He’s laughed at, and out of desperation he cries out for someone to teach him the true meaning of Christmas–something more than decoration contests or lists of desired presents. That’s when Linus, the sweet boy who always has his blue blanket clutched tightly to comfort him, tells the story of the angels appearing to the shepherds from the second chapter of Luke. It’s beautiful how Linus is able to pull attention back to scripture; but even more remarkable is what he does while he tells the story -- something that shows how scripture can transform us. Watch him closely and see if you catch what happens.

Did you catch it? What did Linus do? He dropped the blanket as he said “fear not.”

Legend has it that Charles Schultz, the creator and artist of the Peanuts comics and TV shows, demanded this scene be included in the final production or he would not authorize its release. Curiously, he didn’t have Linus recite parts of the Christmas story one would expect. Such as those verses about Mary being a virgin, there being “no room in the inn,” nor the part where the baby Jesus is born and placed in a manger. For Schultz, Christmas is all about the shepherds receiving the angels’ good news of the Savior’s birth and having their fear replaced with joy and peace.

So let’s take the opportunity this Christmas Eve to think about how Jesus’ birth is an invitation to “fear not” and to drop our own security blankets. 

Fear is a constant companion in life. For some of us, fear lurks in the shadows so we can never quite make it out or describe it–it’s like a low-grade fever that keeps us from operating at 100%. In other cases, fear is clearly defined. We know exactly what we’re afraid of; however, just being able to name and describe it does not relinquish its power over us. Some of our fears are perfectly reasonable; others are irrational. As for me, I have an irrational fear of sharks and alligators, which is why I live in Indiana.

To be clear, fear serves an important function in our lives. Fear keeps us safe and helps us avoid making decisions that would have negative consequences; however, the perspective our fear brings should always be held in check or else it can paralyze us and keep us from chasing our dreams and experiencing joy. Author Elizabeth Gilbert writes beautifully about the proper role for fear in our lives. In her book about creativity titled Big Magic she writes a letter to fear, which I will share with you.

“Fear: I recognize and respect that you are a part of this family, and so I will never exclude you from our activities, but still–your suggestions will NEVER be followed. You’re allowed to have a voice, but you are not allowed to have a vote. You’re not allowed to touch the road maps; you’re not allowed to suggest detours; you’re not allowed to fiddle with the temperature. Dude, you’re not even allowed to touch the radio. But, above all else, my dear old familiar friend. You are absolutely FORBIDDEN to drive.”

The angelic announcement, “Do not be afraid” is an invitation to kick fear out of the driver’s seat, to reassert control of our lives, and to allow peace and joy to fill in the space that fear previously occupied. However, just telling someone to not be afraid does not do anything to make fear go away. I have been informed, and I intellectually understand, that I will not be attacked by a shark or alligator. Knowing something intellectually is not the same as knowing it in one’s heart or gut. The angels do not communicate merely an intellectual truth, rather they communicate something that is fundamentally true–a truth that changes everything. 

Confronting fear means making tough decisions to be brave and vulnerable, to take risks, and to believe in something that stretches the limits of our intellect and emotions. As God’s angelic messengers remind us, our efforts to confront fear can result in good news, glory to God, great joy for all people, and peace on earth. 

One of the beautiful parts of tonight’s service is after we light our candles and sing “Silent Night,” we will hear the gospel story of what happens after the shepherds are instructed not to fear. 

I’ll go ahead and spoil the rest of the story for you. Those emboldened shepherds go and see the truth for themselves. And once they see Jesus they glorify and praise God, which is exactly how the angels were described in the earlier verses. The shepherds have been entrusted to go and share the good news of great joy; and as they go and share the good news of great joy to the world they become God’s angelic messengers.  

Removing fear from the driver’s seat, dropping our security blankets, being filled with peace and joy, praising God, embodying the good news for the sake of the world, letting heaven and nature sing …that’s what Christmas is all about. 

So may you have an encounter with God’s word that gives you to courage to put your fear in its proper place. May you be led into peace and joy as you live into God’s good news and share that news with others. And may you become one of the multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, peace for all people.”

Merry Christmas.

The Average Jesus

It never hurts to start with a laugh. So I thought I’d share with you something I came across recently by way of Facebook – the source of all the best sermon fodder. 

It is a collection of celebrity portraits put together by an artist named Danny Evans. But these aren’t just any celebrity portraits. The premise of this collection, or of this project, or whatever you want to call it, is to have created images of what celebrities might look like if they weren’t celebrities… if they didn’t have stylists and personal shoppers; if they didn’t get paid to exercise; if they didn’t have access to wardrobe changes between breakfast, lunch, and dinner; or maybe, if they never got “discovered,” and made it to the big time, in the first place.

So, imagine an average Tom Cruise…

Or an everyday Rihanna…

What about a run-of-the-mill Miley Cyrus…

Or Jennifer Anniston, as a cat-lady…

And what about some Power Couples, without so much clout:

Like Jay-Z and Beyonce

Or, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie…

Now I would bet all of Jay-Z’s money that this photoshop artist didn’t set out with a theological agenda when he put these portraits together. I don’t even think he meant to make a social statement of any significance. I’m pretty sure he was just having a little fun. But I saw these pictures and thought about them as a twist on the message of Christmas and the Good News that brings us here tonight.

See, I believe what God did through the birth of Jesus – when God set the divine loose in the world, in and through the flesh and blood and bones of a person – it was something like what we see in those pictures: The high, brought low. The mighty, made plain. Power made perfect in weakness… meekness… humility… and grace. Beauty that is simple and pure and unadorned … messy and imperfect and ugly, even, by the world’s estimation.

Because all of that is who and how God is in Jesus – a baby in a manger – meek and humble; plain and unembellished; weak, not strong; messy, not fit for the red carpet; poor, not rich; more generous than greedy; more concerned about peace than power; more willing to suffer and to struggle and to sacrifice than to win, win, win, win, win at all costs.

See, too much of Christendom does with God, in Jesus, what our culture does so much of the time with celebrities. We make Jesus into something he’s not – Caucasian, just for starters. And other things he was never meant to be, too: always robed in white … shrouded in a halo of light … with soft hands made for “chalices, not callouses,” as a friend of mine likes to joke.

Like this:

Or this, on a night like tonight:

Or this:

When really, smarter people than me suggest Jesus was something a lot more like this:

Or this:

And this:

And that’s important to remember as we celebrate his coming among us, because it reminds us about how and for whom he came, in the first place: the poor, the lost, the lonely; the outcast, the refugee; the sick, the prisoner, the oppressed, and so on.

But that can be hard for a middle-class white guy in central Indiana. I’m very clear about the fact that I don’t have a lot in common with Jesus, when it comes to the demographics on my driver’s license. I, frankly, don’t have a lot in common with the likes of those for whom Jesus came in the first place, either, to be honest … the poor, the blind, the deaf, the sick, the forsaken, the outcast, the refugee, the widow.

But the good news of Christmas – as hard as it is holy to hear sometimes – the good news in all of this is that none of it has much to do with what we look like on the outside, really. All of it – where most of us here are concerned – has to do with what’s going on in our heart of hearts. It has to do with the state of our souls. It’s all about how we can receive the gift that comes in Jesus and let it change us, transform us, and move us in the direction of God’s will – for our own sake – and for the sake of the world.

Because, if I’m honest about it all, I have my own fish to fry, outside of all the poverty or sickness or safety that so many others have to worry about in this world. I have plenty of my own reasons to be grateful for all the ways Jesus shows up for my sake at Christmas.

See, my poverty might just look exactly like the money I pretend brings status and security in my life. (It does neither.) My blindness might be the privilege I take for granted or take advantage of without apology too much of the time. My deafness might be my refusal to hear and respond to the cries of those in need around me. I might very well be a refugee in God’s eyes, because of the barriers that keep such a distance between my life and the lives of so many of God’s people. I am certainly a prisoner, as far as God is concerned … bound by sin, as we all are; by so many things done and left undone in the world as we know it to be.

Bah humbug, right?!?! But bear with me… there is so much hope in the cosmic craftiness of God’s Christmas plan.

Because, the beauty of God’s work in Jesus – when we remember to see ourselves and each other and the world around us all wrapped up in the likes of that baby in the manger – is that when we do our faithful best to respond to the gift of his coming, we are changed for the better and the world around us is transformed, just the same.

I mean when we give generously… When we welcome strangers… When we sacrifice for others, comfort the sick, work for justice, pray for peace… the kingdom of God comes among us, the kingdom of God comes through us, the kingdom of God is born, in our midst, on the daily, for the sake of the world.

Christmas is about recognizing the God of all creation in the average, every day, sinner among us. Christmas is about recognizing the God of all creation in the average, every day, sinner in the mirror. Christmas is about seeing God in the needs that surround us in as many ways as there are people in this room – and then some.

And Christmas is about celebrating that God – through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – inspires and invites the likes of you and me to do something to meet all of those needs, until all are fed; until all are healed; until all are safe … along with the grace, mercy, forgiveness and hope we need, in the meantime.

Amen. Merry Christmas.