Christmas Gift To The World

As a child, my favorite Christmas TV special was always a Charlie Brown Christmas. The good music, Lucy’s snappy attitude, and the poor little Christmas tree that Charlie Brown chooses always sparked my imagination.  As a child, I didn’t think much about the larger message that comes when Linus recites the story of Jesus’ birth from the gospel of Luke in answer to Charlie Brown’s question, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

Linus’s answer, given through the recitation of Scripture, is that Jesus is really what Christmas is all about.  Of course! Here at church we know how true that is.  There is another truth that emerges from the Christmas story, that is highlighted in the Peanuts’ classic Christmas special.

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, but it’s also about all of people who said “yes” to God and helped bring Jesus into the world. The shepherds receive the good news and come to share the joy of the Christ’s identity with the new mother and father. Mary is first to receive an invitation to join with God in being born into the world when the angel Gabriel invites her to bear the God-child and she answers saying, “Let it be with me according to your word.” Joseph, loyal and faithful throughout the entire story, weds Mary, shelters and protects the holy family, and acts upon the visions he receives from the angels. The Wise Ones follow a star and appear to honor the Christ-child and present gifts to the family. The innkeeper offers what space he has as hospitality to the weary travelers. Even the donkey has a role to play, bearing Mary on his back so she does not have to walk while about to give birth.

The Christmas story is about Jesus AND all of the people who offer God a faithful yes! Part of the crisis that leads to Charlie Brown’s question in a Charlie Brown Christmas is that he looks around and he doesn’t find people participating in the Christmas story. Snoopy decking out his dog house to enter a decorating contest in order to win money. A Christmas tree lot filled with pink, aluminum Christmas trees. Lucy mocking his choice of trees and calling him dumb while his own dog laughs.

The characters in the Peanuts special are exactly the opposite of what we find in the story of Jesus’ birth. Instead of actively bringing Christ into the world through their actions, each of the characters (save for Linus and Charlie Brown) are focusing on the consumer activities of the holiday. The real story of Christmas asks that we remember Jesus coming into the world. But it also invites us to recognize that like the shepherds, or Mary, or Joseph, we all have a role in bringing Christ to people.  

A year-end gift to the Ministry Funding Plan at First United Methodist Church of Olympia is one way to do that. We bring Christ to people by feeding our neighbors through the Little Free Pantry. We do it through our World Service Fund that helps educate children around the world and provide assistance to those most in need. We do it through our support of UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief) that helps whenever and wherever there is a natural disaster around the world. We do it by hosting an AA group, Depression Support Group and other support groups so people know they are not alone. We do this through our support of JoJo’s Sanctuary in Thailand and the Jamaa Letu Orphanage in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Your gift, together with the collective gifts of the FUMCO congregation, make Christ real to people who are our next door neighbors and our neighbors around the world. Lives are changed through your giving and people receive the tangible, transformative gift of Christ’s love.  

Please, prayerfully consider how you might give this Christmas season. Your gift will continue to bring Christmas to those most in need. Thank you!