Linus makes a ‘blanket’ statement

There’s a song that played quite frequently during the Christmas holiday. At least the stations I listen to. “Oh what a glorious night” by the Sidewalk Prophets. If you’ve heard it, you know it starts with a prologue of Linus’s famous telling of the Christmas story.

An exasperated and despairing Charlie Brown: “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”  

Linus: “Sure Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” Then he does.

I must have watched that movie every year as a child growing up. I watched it faithfully with my children as they were growing up. (Well, I might have fallen asleep a time or two.) I typically didn’t scroll until the clip was done when a few appeared on my social media apps this year. Why not. It still brings a smile to most of us.

Then this week I came across a post that kind of blew me away. Enough to scramble to YouTube to confirm what I had read. Sure enough. There it was. Mind blown. 

“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, Fear not …”

You know about Linus and his blanket. Inseparable was an understatement. There’s a scene in 1969’s “A boy named Charlie Brown” in which Linus has lost his blanket. He is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “Where is it?” he says, as he looks out into a world that has gone vastly dark, little white stars and crackles and pops circling his head. 

He’s a dizzy mess. “I don’t see it. It isn’t here. Gone. My poor blanket is gone. Woe is me.” He later retrieves it from Charlie Brown who is using it to shine his shoes. (Dude, really?)

Snoopy momentarily stole his blanket one day. He chased him down and snatched it back, his teeth bared, his face in full-blown rage.

Lucy took it once. For his own good, she said. She put it in the “hall closet”. 

Later on in the episode, Charlie Brown said, “I think your keeping the blanket away from Linus has gone far enough Lucy. You better unlock the closet and give it back.” 

Lucy: “What makes you say that?” The scene pans to the closet where Linus is sprawled out, face down, with both his hands dug into the bottom part of the door. Above his hands are about three feet of claw marks.

You do not separate Linus from his blanket! Only … the moment Linus utters the words “fear not”, Linus, holding his blanket high up into the air, does the unthinkable. He drops his blanket. Mic drop. Or Charles Schulz drop, rather. 

Did you bring any fear into the new year? Apprehensions? Worries? 

Be reminded: “Fear 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.”

Take it from Linus. (A lesson I need just as bad as anyone.) You don’t need a blanket for your security and safety. You don’t need a new house. (Something that kept me exhausted mentally and physically this past month.) You don’t need a huge bank account or worldly possessions or anything man can offer. 

For your hope your present and your future. 

You just need Him.