In the beloved Christmas TV special, when a despairing Charlie Brown wonders, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus famously comes to the rescue. Under a spotlight on the stage, he recites from the Gospel of Luke. It concludes: “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.”
“That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” Linus says.
It’s the simplicity, and sincerity, of the telling that touches hearts; the innocence of a real child’s voice delivering the Good News that is the basis of Christianity.
According to the Gospels, after Jesus began his ministry, he more than once reminded his disciples that the hearts of children represent real faith.
In our daily life, the children do not let us down. We need only to seek out their examples.
•In November, Herald readers were introduced to four second-grade girls who started a project called Kids for Kindness.
The 7-year-old girls, Jamai Moore, Alessandra Valmonte, Natalie Santiago and Jacqueline Martinez, were worried about a student from another class who seemed lonely, and was always wearing the same clothes. They were concerned she was homeless.
When their teacher, Nancy Fee, inquired what the girls were talking about in class, one of them replied, “Ms. Fee, my heart is hurting.” And they told her what was troubling them.
“It really opened my eyes to what compassion and caring 7-year-olds are capable of,” Fee said.
•In July, the world learned of 9-year-old Rachel Beckwith, of Bellevue, who died after being taken off life support days after a 13-vehicle crash on I-90. We learned that in June, she sought donations for a charity rather than receive presents on her birthday.
She had set a goal of raising $300 for mycharity:water. By her birthday she raised $220 and her web page seeking donations was closed. After the accident, a pastor from her church, Ryan Meeks, revived the web page. The donations poured in all year, as Rachel’s story was told over and over, netting a total of $1,265,824. Now others raise money in her name.
•This month, Jeremy Oshie, a director at the Everett Boys &Girls Club, wrote a letter to the editor describing how a group of children were making cards to send to Santa. Four of the children, all of whom live in low-income housing, pooled all the money in their pockets and asked Santa to give it to charity. They donated all they had: $1.48.
That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
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