For 50 years Charles M. Schulz sat at his drawing table, and from his imagination to his pen, flowed a world the comic reader stepped into every day. The time it took to write and draw by hand the panel for publication must have been measured in hours. The time it took to read a four panel strip was moments. The impact from reading one of his strips was unmeasurable.
Who didn’t identify with Charlie Brown, his yellow shirt with the black zigzag stripe, and his seemingly failure at life? He was always likable, but never liked. Who didn’t have their own Lucy, who held all the answers (even if they were wrong), but lacked some compassion? She was always bossy, and sometimes even a bully. Who didn’t want their own security blanket like Linus? Yes, he’s smart and very philosophical about life, but something in him needed reassurance. Who doesn’t know someone with an obsessive passion like Schroeder has with the piano? Who didn’t want a dog like Snoopy? I could go on for hours about these beloved characters, who were written two-dimensionally, but whose personalities were clearly deeper and stronger than just comics.
One of Schulz’s strengths – and he had many strengths – was his ability to incorporate such a wide variety of characters into his strip, and each character had a specific purpose, role, and quirk that moved his story forward. Lucy is bossy. Linus is the sole relentless believer in the Great Pumpkin. Sally resents her big brother and is love-struck by Linus. Schroeder is a child prodigy musician who plays Beethoven on a toy piano (the black keys were painted onto the white ones). Peppermint Patty is an athletic tomboy, being raised by a single dad. Pig Pen needs a bath. Marcy is book smart, but lacks many social skills. Snoopy is a dog, well sort of. Somehow, despite their differences, failures and egocentric personalities, they managed to stay friends, deal with issues, and entertain us every day for 50 years.
The diversity Schulz locked into helped drive his comic strip (he even introduced the person of color, Franklin, to the gang at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in 1968). Diversity in a comic strip makes sense. The more characters, the more varied the characters, the more fodder present to draw humor. Even more so, the more diverse the characters are, the more room is made for tension and conflict. All of which is made for a great daily comic strip.
Sometimes the church wants a two dimensional faith when our calling is to hold onto a three dimensional faith. The differences between two dimensional faith and three dimensional faith are significant. Two dimensional faith demands uniformity, while three dimensional faith seeks unity. Two dimensional tends to be cliquish and refuses new people into their circles, while three dimensional keeps expanding their circle of friends. The first one only seeks people who looks, acts, and talks like them, while the latter one enjoys the perspective brought by others of diverse backgrounds and culture. The first ones usually demands a restricted and regimented worship service, while the other realizes that others have tastes and needs different from themselves. The first one is simply a caricature of the church’s reality, while the other strives to become the church of God’s intent.
The easiest way for a church to grow and to maintain unity is for the number of similarities to overshadow the differences. Everyone has the same background, from the same region, is the same color, uses the same translation, has the same educational experiences, the same political platform, and generally from the same gene pool. The hardest way for a church to grow and to maintain unity is for the church to accept and embrace the varied differences that exist among people. Ultimately, the only unifying factor that really matters is Jesus.
While Paul often speaks of the need for church unity within his writings, the passage in Ephesians is poignant,
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (4:4-6).
Paul recognized the difficulty the church has in insuring its unity is secure. Corinth and Galatia were hotbeds of division, and are we certain Philippi was a haven of unity? While we don’t know the specifics of Paul’s letter to Ephesus, we do know that in order for unity to solidify within diversity, it’s going to take work and effort on our part. Lots of forgiveness. Lots of understanding. Lots of grace.
So Christ distributes the different graces to each member, as he determines it (v. 7). Thus, not all graces will look alike, but all the graces serve the same purpose. They encourage one another in the hopes that the church may experience unity (v. 12-13), and those in leadership take the lead in insuring the steps for unity are made. Celebrate differences. Celebrate each other’s individual grace. Celebrate the uniqueness of the individual as he/she comes to the body.
Schulz was able to maintain the diversity and tension in his strip because he was behind the characters’ thoughts and actions; they said and did nothing without him drawing them first. We don’t have that luxury. We do have one luxury though. We have a God, and he’s not just pulling our strings, he’s pulling at our heart strings for unity.
bonum dolor!
(e.g., Good Grief!)