And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

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 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, a 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.

The scripture (Luke 2:8-14) above is known well to most Christians. We all recognize it as the story of the birth of Jesus, the real Christmas story.

This Christmas season, millions upon millions of people will hear these exact words. In churches, it'll be told in Christmas plays, Christmas sermons and in Sunday School lessons. And that's great - but churches are full of saved people who know about Jesus.

But what about the unsaved? Who will tell them the Christmas story?

While you're pondering that, let me tell you a little story. In 1965, two men met at a table to discuss an idea. A program for television was being planned and that program would include a Christmas pageant, Christmas decorations, seasonal music and maybe even some ice skating.

But one of the men felt that the program needed more. Not just theatrical more, but something of extra substance. The other readily agreed. And thus, the program grew to include the message that Christmas is really about the joyous miracle of the birth of Jesus.

Television executives hated it. Criticized it. Tried to prevent it from making it to the screen. But the men stood their ground.

On December 9, 1965, viewers in over 15 million homes heard Luke 2:8-14 - those very words above - quoted word-for-word directly from the Bible. Many of those same viewers heard the true Christmas story for the first time.

Linus.

It was Linus, a character in the cartoon "A Charlie Brown Christmas," who introduced the Christmas story to millions of Americans that December day. The men who stood firm with their beliefs were animator Lee Mendelson and Charlie Brown creator Charles Schulz.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" is the longest-running cartoon special in history and though various edits have been made throughout the years for a variety of reasons, Linus' Scripture reading has never been touched. For nearly 40 years, Linus has shared the greatest story of them all with people everywhere.

We can't pray in schools. We can't display the Ten Commandments. The words "In God We Trust" send shivers of fear in some people's souls. A nativity scene risks a call from City Hall.

Thank God for a cartoon.

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As you may remember, this posting appeared in 2004 and in the December 2004 issue of Singing News. As I was watching a newscast this week, I learned that the re-airing of the program this month was viewed in over 15,000,000 homes again. For whatever reason, God has protected this Scripture reading from an army of anti-Christian organizations and attorneys and more.

Hopefully, it'll air again next year.