The Life Of Christmas Present Transcript

This Sunday, as we continue looking at the scripture and the gospel message of a Savior who willingly gave up the thrones of heaven to be born in a lowly estate such as a stable, as a servant, as a slave for the sake of humanity, who did not see equality or the power of God as something to be exploited. We celebrate that Christmas day, we remember Christ's first coming, we lift it and hold it in our hearts each, every day, and lift it every year, not only as a celebration of what God has done, but what God is doing and what God will do, because the reality of God's kingdom is that it is past, present and future. And so we've been looking at this in terms of The Christmas Carol, the redemption of Scrooge, his arc from going from this miserly man that did not want to be around anyone else and had no one that wanted to be around him to a man who kept Christmas every day in his heart. Last week, we talked about the past and how we have to make peace with it, make amends with it, and find those moments of joy within it to help us carry forward into the present to find that redemption. For Scrooge, it was that linchpin memory where he remembered that there used to be, amid the loneliness that he felt as a child, on Christmas, there were those moments of joy that broke through when his sister came home to tell him it was time to go home and the joy that brought, and when he went to his old employer, periwigs. He danced, laughed, and celebrated Christmas and all of the joy that he brought with it. By wrestling with his past and confronting its damage and pain, he was reminded that the past had some joy in it. But more often than not, at least in the adaptations of the story, the ghost of Christmas presents. His purview is joy. His purview is the laughter of cheer. In these moments, Scrooge finally sees what he has been missing all alone in here and now. Suppose his past locked him up. He wrestled with it in the previous chapter, and we discussed it last week. He's finally making amends with it and is finally willing to step out from the past that controlled him to see the world with new eyes, and this is what Jesus invites us to do in the Gospel message today. 

It's a parable that many of you, I'm sure, are familiar with, a parable of the lost sheep where Jesus is criticized for spending time with those undesirables, those people that you respectable people don't hang out with, right? Jesus is hanging out with people who will ruin his reputation, at least in the eyes of those who think they matter more than others. And Jesus hears them murmuring, hears them saying this, hears them saying look at this man, what is he doing? Eating with these tax collectors and these sinners? Why would he do that? Here's them, and he tells them that parable of the lost sheep where he says how many of you who had a hundred sheep and noticed one was missing would leave the 99 behind and search for the one? It doesn't make sense at face value, so only a few would do it. This parable turns things on its head as all the parables do. But the shepherd in the parable does just that: he leaves the 99, who are okay and safe and secure and not lost, to go looking for the one that is lost. And he hunts, and he looks, and he searches, and he finally finds it, and with joy, he lifts the sheep upon his shoulders and carries it back to the flock and then calls all of his neighbors and friends and everyone around them to come and celebrate, for the sheep that was lost is now found. And then he says there will be more joy in heaven over the repentance and saving of one lost sinner than over 99 righteous people. Our God is at work in our world, seeking out the lost, the broken, the lonely, those who would shut themselves off from the world, and those who find no value in meaning in the company of others. And he does so because he notices who is missing. This is the basis of the Christmas story as it is. God looked at humanity, looked at all that was and all that could be, and saw what was missing and wanted to do something about it. He sent the shepherd, the great shepherd, into our midst to find us, to hunt us out, and to bring us back to him so that all may celebrate. 

In our story of Scrooge, what the ghost of Christmas Present does is show Scrooge who is missing and what is missing as he goes about his life with his eyes downcast, not making eye contact with anyone, not joining anyone in any of their festivities on Christmas or any of the niceties. Every day, he shows them who is missing, and the first person he shows is himself, Scrooge, by taking him to his nephew's home when they have parties, laughter, joy, and play games. Sometimes, it's Scrooge's expense if you know the story, but he sees that he is missing from their table. But it's not just about him. One of the things that I'm sad about is that when The Christmas Carol was told and all the adaptations, I watched it again; I've watched many, and some are better than others. There's a scene and a sequence of stories that's often omitted. They take Scrooge to his nephew's house, and they take him to Bob's, Cratchit's house, whereas this, even Scrooge, is recognized and blessed, though sometimes begrudgingly, by Cratchit's wife. But again, Scrooge is missing out on the family and the togetherness, love, and joy in those moments. And that's usually covered. 

But what isn't is when the ghost of Christmas present starts to take him out around the world. First, they go to a mining town where people are coughing because of the dust that they breathe in in their hard work underground; single candles light them, and yet they are singing hymns of Christmas and Christmas carols, and Scrooge is amazed at what's going on here? They even celebrate Christmas here, wisping away as if on the wind. They go to a lighthouse where two men are shining the light, keeping it lit in a storm, for they know that for some people, that lighthouse will be their North Star to get them home safely. And even there, they toast one another, drink to each other's health, and sing a Christmas carol. 

What Scrooge starts seeing is that Christmas is celebrated in so many places because it is that reminder that gathering around a table and seeing who is present and who is not, and the joy that comes in the gathering, all of this laughter, all of the games, all of the earnest praising of Christmas, of what Christ has done, stirs up in Scrooge something that he wants for himself. He begins to take part in the games that are happening around him. He begins to sing some of the Christmas songs, too. He begins to see what he didn't see before, and that is a life of joy that comes with being with others, being in someone else's company, being fully included, and being fully invited. He sees that in the Cratchit family, as they have very little, yet they have smiles. They feel blessed even by what they have. They don't begrudge anyone, they don't hold it, they're not. Well, they're not like Scrooge. 

We see in Scrooge the one that was lost, the one that needed to be found, the one that needed to be brought in. We see this redemption, this story expressed in the gospels, of someone going out noticing that someone is missing, noticing that the one of the sheep 1%, one of the 100, is missing, and then going out to find it. Our world today has people who are lost in sin, darkness, pain, and suffering, who withhold themselves, keep themselves away from the table, keep themselves away from joy, or have been excluded by others. And too often we go about our daily lives, too often we go about our weekly worship, too often we go about our usual way of being and don't pay any attention to who is missing. We celebrate who is here, we look with joy and laughter with the people we are surrounded by, but we don't go that extra step, say who is missing, who are the hurting in our community that desperately need to know the redemption and the joy and peace and hope that comes with following Christ. And they're not here. Who do we know in our lives? Who are our neighbors, coworkers, and friends, who we think are okay or don't even bother to ask? In doing so, we don't realize they're not at the table. We're content to be of the 99 when Jesus calls us to be the shepherd, to go out into the world to find those that are lost, to bring hope to those who are hopeless, to bring healing to those who are sick, to bring comfort to those who are hurting, to proclaim release to those who are held captive, to proclaim the day and the year of Lord's favor. One of Jesus' first teaching moments in the gospels is quoting that message from Isaiah. He is about that, and then he sends us out to continue his work at the end of the gospels. 

The question is, as we go about our daily celebrations, as we go about our Christmas celebrations, as we prepare for Christmas Eve and all of the joy that it brings, is there anyone that we know that is left out, or do we assume that they're already in? Do we assume that they have someplace to go? Do we assume that they have family to spend time with? Do we assume that they're already present? Or do we look? Do we notice? 

If, last week, that first chapter, the second chapter, the Christmas Carol, if that first chapter in Scrooge's journey into the past shakes us into a reality that we need to wrestle with, where we are and how we got here today reminds us that while we are in the present, there is joy and hope all around us in the darkest places, in the darkness of the mind and the wind and peril of the storm, because they immediately go from the lighthouse to one of the ships that are guided by the lighthouse. They, too, are singing Christmas songs and celebrating Christmas that this joy and this hope can be found in the darkest places. 

And you don't need the generosity of a grand lifestyle, you don't need wealth and possessions, you don't need all of that. It would help if you simply were open to the joy and open to one another. My hope and prayer for us this day is that, as we prepare for Christmas this next week, as we go from this place into our Christmas lunch that has been lovingly prepared for us to celebrate, we would ask God to open our eyes of who is missing from our tables, who is missing from the Lord's table? Who is not experiencing the hope, the peace, and the joy that comes with knowing Christ? And how might we play a role in seeking and finding them to live as Christ directs and, in doing so, find the joy ourselves?