Thursday, December 24, 2009

If We Don't Tell Them the True Meaning of Christmas, Who Will? - Apples of Gold - December 24, 2009 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 24, 2009

“If We Don’t Tell Them the True Meaning of Christmas, Who Will?”

 

Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.

Who hasn’t heard Linus deliver those powerful lines on the Charlie Brown Christmas special?

You know, Charlie Brown is thrashing about for most of the program, trying to get in the spirit of Christmas.  His sister is asking Santa to just send cash, “tens and twenties,” and Lucy wants real estate.  Charlie decides that maybe a Christmas tree will help, but we all know what a Charlie Brown Christmas tree looks like.

Well anyway, Charlie finally exclaims, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

And his little buddy Linus steps in and says, “Sure, Charlie Brown.  I can tell you what Christmas is all about.”

Then with a dramatic flair he says, “Lights please.”

And then he delivers, with no background music and no distractions, straight from Luke chapter two in the King James Bible, the story of the birth of Christ.

“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: for, behold, I bring you 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; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

And then Linus concludes his soliloquy with, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Now think about this.  There are a lot of people in America who never go to church.  There are kids who have never heard a preacher or a Sunday School teacher tell the real Christmas story.  There are crusty old parents and grandparents who wouldn’t go to church on Christmas if you offered them a bag full of lottery tickets. 

And yet every year millions of people, young and old, sit there and listen to Linus deliver the glorious good news, that unto us is born this day in the city of David . . . a Saviour! . . . who is Christ the Lord.

But you know what?  It almost didn’t happen. 

Let’s go back to 1965.  That summer Coca-Cola officials decided to sponsor a new Christmas special, and executives ended up approaching Charles Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip.  Could he come up with something for Christmas?

Of course he could, and he did, but there wasn’t much time.  They only had a few months to write a story from scratch, animate it, record the voices and music and get it on the air.

When network executives saw what they were working on, they didn’t like it.  For one thing, there was no laugh track.  You had to have a laugh track, they said, but Schulz didn’t want one. 

And instead of having adults do the kids voices, which was the usual thing, they used real kids. 

And instead of using little kid music, they hired jazz musician Vince Guaraldi to write some new music for it.

And then there was that long passage, read verbatim from the Bible.  That had to go.  This was a non-religious kids cartoon on a national television network.  Executives thought viewers would head for the hills rather than sit there through a dusty old reading of some ancient scripture.

On this point Charles Schulz took a strong stand.  He refused to budge.  That scene would stay.  Period. 

And listen to what he said.  He said, “If we don’t tell them the true meaning of Christmas, who will?”

Oh well.  It was a hastily put together, low budget production anyway.  The network’s expectations were very low.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” was broadcast for the first time on CBS on Thursday night, December 9, 1965.

And it was a huge success.  Get this – half of the TV sets in America were tuned in.

The show went on to win Emmy and Peabody awards.

And it has aired every year since then, and has been watched by millions and millions of people.

Like I said, who hasn’t seen the Charlie Brown Christmas special?  Who isn’t familiar with all the great, original Charlie Brown music?

And best of all, who hasn’t heard Linus deliver those powerful lines from the book of Luke?

Here’s an interesting thought.  The person who has delivered the Christmas story to the most people ever in history is probably Linus.

And it all hinged on that powerful declaration by Charles Schulz.  And it’s a declaration we should apply to our own lives as we celebrate Christmas this year.

And that declaration is this.

If we don’t tell them the true meaning of Christmas, who will?


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.


Story from USA Today:  http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-12-05-charlie-brown-christmas_x.htm
Story on Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Charlie_Brown_Christmas#cite_note-1


© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip 
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for
Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000

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