1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,400 Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. 2 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:14,640 This week marks the first Sunday in Advent, the season leading up to Christmas. 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:18,240 And over the course of Advent at Trinity, we're going to be looking at the ghosts of 4 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:23,180 Christmas, inspired by Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. 5 00:00:23,180 --> 00:00:29,920 Join us as we explore today how even the grumpiest of hearts can be transformed by God's grace. 6 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:37,400 We dive into the great reversal of God's kingdom and discover why hope, not humbug, is the 7 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,880 true message of Christmas. 8 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:45,840 So join us as we laugh, reflect, and think about how God is calling us to live in this 9 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:46,840 season. 10 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:52,200 Let's check it out. 11 00:00:52,200 --> 00:01:00,440 Our first reading is from Gospel of Luke, chapter 16, verses 19 to 31. 12 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:08,040 There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 13 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:14,720 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what 14 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,660 fell from the rich man's table. 15 00:01:17,660 --> 00:01:21,240 Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 16 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:27,440 The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. 17 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,440 The rich man also died and was buried. 18 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:38,600 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by 19 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,320 his side. 20 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:46,800 So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip 21 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:54,800 of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire. 22 00:01:54,800 --> 00:02:01,880 But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things 23 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,880 while Lazarus received bad things. 24 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:10,620 But now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 25 00:02:10,620 --> 00:02:18,320 And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been set in place so that 26 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:26,000 those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. 27 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:33,960 He answered, then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my family for I have five brothers. 28 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:39,120 Let them want them so that they will not also come to this place of torment. 29 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:44,040 Abraham replied, they have Moses and prophets. 30 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:46,200 Let them listen to them. 31 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,480 No, Father Abraham, he said. 32 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:53,600 But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. 33 00:02:53,600 --> 00:03:00,200 He said to him, if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced. 34 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:05,120 Even if someone arises from the dead. 35 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:14,000 Our second reading is from Luke chapter one, verses 46, 47, 52 and 53. 36 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:22,320 And Mary said, My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior. 37 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:28,080 He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. 38 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:34,220 He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. 39 00:03:34,220 --> 00:03:36,200 The word of the Lord. 40 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:41,440 Who doesn't love a good ghost story at Christmas? 41 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:45,220 And who doesn't know the name of Charles Dickens? 42 00:03:45,220 --> 00:03:52,320 And who hasn't heard of a Christmas Carol, that story where old Ebenezer Scrooge gets 43 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:57,320 visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve? 44 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:58,320 That's right. 45 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:07,520 Here at Trinity, we are going to be journeying through Advent by using this story, a Christmas 46 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:11,240 Carol to augment our Sunday teaching. 47 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,400 Now, I think it's perfect. 48 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:17,200 There are four ghosts and there are four Sundays in Advent. 49 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,960 It seems like it's perfectly set up for preaching. 50 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,280 But some of you might say, I don't get it. 51 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:24,280 Why? 52 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:27,040 Why on earth are we going to be looking at this story in Advent? 53 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:29,120 And some of you might be actually a little worried. 54 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,880 You say, oh geez, Trinity is going soft. 55 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:33,880 Trinity is going soft this Advent. 56 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:37,640 You know, I bet we're going to spend more time talking about Jacob Marley than Jesus 57 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:38,640 Christ. 58 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,640 Or I think we're going to talk more about the Christmas ghosts than the Holy Ghost. 59 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:44,440 But I want to say, just calm down. 60 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,040 Don't clutch your pearls just yet. 61 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:51,280 There are some really good reasons why we've made this choice. 62 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:52,280 And here they are. 63 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:56,960 The reason we chose this verse is because it's Advent and Advent and a Christmas Carol 64 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:00,640 are all about hope, as we just learned. 65 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:04,500 You know, Charles Dickens, he knew all about hope. 66 00:05:04,500 --> 00:05:08,760 When he wrote this book, he was at the lowest point in his life. 67 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:10,200 It was a dark time for him. 68 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:11,480 He was depressed. 69 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:13,120 He was deep in debt. 70 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,000 He thought his career was going to be over. 71 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,560 But he had hope. 72 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,600 And he wrote this story about hope. 73 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:24,600 And of course, the rest is history. 74 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:31,640 The story of a Christmas Carol and the story in a Christmas Carol are deep reminders that 75 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:34,680 there is hope in Jesus Christ. 76 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:35,680 So it's Advent. 77 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:36,960 And that's why we're looking at this. 78 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:37,960 It's all about hope. 79 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,200 Secondly, though, it is relevant. 80 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:48,920 Unfortunately, there are lots of similarities between 19th century London and many places 81 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,120 in our world today. 82 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:57,880 The book describes a world of intolerance, a world of exclusion and social division. 83 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:03,600 Charles Dickens goes on about the inequality faced by women and children, especially the 84 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:04,600 poor. 85 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:09,700 When Dickens was 12 years old, his own family was arrested and sent to prison because they 86 00:06:09,700 --> 00:06:11,020 couldn't pay a debt. 87 00:06:11,020 --> 00:06:17,880 And he had to work in a sweat shop pouring shoe polish into bottles for months and months 88 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:19,520 to help pay off the debt. 89 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:24,800 So it is sad to say, but our world still struggles with many of these issues. 90 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,240 And so this is a relevant book to bring into our conversation. 91 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:32,880 Thirdly, though, the reason we're looking at this is because it's deeply challenging. 92 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:36,920 Dickens wrote this book partly as a challenge to the church. 93 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:41,720 Because in his day, almost half of the population went to church every Sunday and just about 94 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,360 everybody would have called themselves a Christian. 95 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:48,480 And yet despite the fact that all these Christians were walking around, there was still all these 96 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:50,140 social problems. 97 00:06:50,140 --> 00:06:56,120 Why couldn't the church do something about the poverty and the injustice and the exploitation? 98 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:01,820 Dickens was fed up with a church that was so focused on dogma and so focused on the 99 00:07:01,820 --> 00:07:05,940 institution that they ignored the poor in the process. 100 00:07:05,940 --> 00:07:11,360 And so he wrote this book partly in a way to spark a revival in the church, to remind 101 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:15,920 the church of its original mission, to remind us that Jesus came to change our hearts and 102 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:20,280 soften our hearts and to open our hearts, especially to those in need. 103 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:24,240 This was meant to be a challenge and we need that challenge again today. 104 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:29,260 But fourthly, we've got to read this book because it is so absolutely influential. 105 00:07:29,260 --> 00:07:35,740 This story in this book shaped Christmas, your Christmas traditions more than you know. 106 00:07:35,740 --> 00:07:41,680 For the first 400 years of the church's history, Christmas was not celebrated. 107 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:43,280 Get your head around that. 108 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:47,480 And even in Dickens' day, Christmas was not a big deal. 109 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:51,500 There were no Santas, there were no elves, no Christmas trees. 110 00:07:51,500 --> 00:07:53,460 People did not send Christmas cards. 111 00:07:53,460 --> 00:07:55,840 People did not bake turkeys in the oven. 112 00:07:55,840 --> 00:08:00,020 People did not pack churches on Christmas Eve in Charles Dickens' day. 113 00:08:00,020 --> 00:08:02,640 It was a minor affair, Christmas. 114 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:04,680 It was like celebrating St. George's Day. 115 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,720 Do you guys know when St. George's Day is? 116 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:08,980 Exactly. 117 00:08:08,980 --> 00:08:10,900 It was not a big deal. 118 00:08:10,900 --> 00:08:17,080 But then along came Charles Dickens and he wrote this story and it breathed new life 119 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:18,780 into this holiday. 120 00:08:18,780 --> 00:08:23,700 It was Charles Dickens who gave you many of the traditions that you love about this time 121 00:08:23,700 --> 00:08:24,700 of year. 122 00:08:24,700 --> 00:08:30,140 This book, you know, turned Christmas into a time of family, into a time of joy, into 123 00:08:30,140 --> 00:08:33,780 a time of giving and caring for the poor. 124 00:08:33,780 --> 00:08:35,460 Really influential work. 125 00:08:35,460 --> 00:08:40,780 And finally, we got to read this book because it is deeply Christian. 126 00:08:40,780 --> 00:08:46,760 Dickens was baptized and raised in an Anglican church, in the Church of England, right? 127 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,500 And he attended services regularly throughout his life. 128 00:08:50,500 --> 00:08:57,540 Now he criticized the church, yes, and he said the church was hypocritical and was compromised 129 00:08:57,540 --> 00:09:04,540 sometimes and prioritized doctrine over compassion, but he had a strong belief in Jesus Christ 130 00:09:04,540 --> 00:09:10,100 and a deep love for Jesus' care for the poor especially. 131 00:09:10,100 --> 00:09:12,780 In fact, in a letter to a friend, Dickens once wrote this. 132 00:09:12,780 --> 00:09:18,780 He said, I have always striven in my writings to express veneration for the life and lessons 133 00:09:18,780 --> 00:09:25,900 of our Lord, of our Savior, because I feel it is the best and surest way to work out 134 00:09:25,900 --> 00:09:28,380 the teachings of Christianity. 135 00:09:28,380 --> 00:09:33,980 In fact, Dickens wrote this little book for his own children called The Life of Our Lord. 136 00:09:33,980 --> 00:09:39,300 And in that book, he in a simple way paints the picture of Jesus in a way that children 137 00:09:39,300 --> 00:09:40,300 can understand. 138 00:09:40,300 --> 00:09:44,440 You can even get that book now, but it was published after his death on Amazon. 139 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,140 So the point is the Christmas carol. 140 00:09:47,140 --> 00:09:48,980 Christmas carol is a deeply Christian work. 141 00:09:48,980 --> 00:09:50,420 It's a carol, after all. 142 00:09:50,420 --> 00:09:51,820 A carol is a hymn. 143 00:09:51,820 --> 00:09:54,780 It's a song of praise to God. 144 00:09:54,780 --> 00:10:00,580 So for all those reasons, that's why we're entering into this Advent with a Christmas 145 00:10:00,580 --> 00:10:02,700 carol in one hand. 146 00:10:02,700 --> 00:10:07,500 But if you want to see Dickens' Christian convictions kind of right away, all you got 147 00:10:07,500 --> 00:10:11,300 to do is look at the name of the main character. 148 00:10:11,300 --> 00:10:14,340 The main character, Ebenezer Scrooge. 149 00:10:14,340 --> 00:10:15,980 Now what does that even mean? 150 00:10:15,980 --> 00:10:21,740 Scrooge, people think it comes from an old English word, scrouge, which means to squeeze, 151 00:10:21,740 --> 00:10:25,220 or scrudge, which means to complain. 152 00:10:25,220 --> 00:10:29,220 Don't be a Scroogey Scrooge, you guys. 153 00:10:29,220 --> 00:10:34,980 But the word Ebenezer, that name actually is full of meaning, and we need to understand 154 00:10:34,980 --> 00:10:36,380 where that comes from. 155 00:10:36,380 --> 00:10:37,380 It's essential. 156 00:10:37,380 --> 00:10:42,180 You got to turn to the book of 1 Samuel in your Bibles. 157 00:10:42,180 --> 00:10:47,420 In 1 Samuel, what we find is Israel is in a state of emergency. 158 00:10:47,420 --> 00:10:49,620 The country is in complete disarray. 159 00:10:49,620 --> 00:10:54,640 They have just been defeated by the Philistines, and in the process, the Ark of the Covenant 160 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:58,100 of God was stolen and taken away from them. 161 00:10:58,100 --> 00:11:03,660 And the reason why, the reason given for why this horrible tragedy has happened is because 162 00:11:03,660 --> 00:11:10,220 they had turned away from God, and they had begun to follow false gods and false idols. 163 00:11:10,220 --> 00:11:15,540 And it was then that we're told in 1 Samuel that the people said, enough of this. 164 00:11:15,540 --> 00:11:18,740 Let's turn our hearts back to God, back to the Lord. 165 00:11:18,740 --> 00:11:23,140 And they repented of their sins, and they offered sacrifices to God, and they made a 166 00:11:23,140 --> 00:11:27,260 renewed commitment to serve the Lord only. 167 00:11:27,260 --> 00:11:29,060 We're going to serve the Lord only. 168 00:11:29,060 --> 00:11:32,060 And then the next time the Philistines attacked, guess what? 169 00:11:32,060 --> 00:11:34,060 Israel had an amazing victory over them. 170 00:11:34,060 --> 00:11:35,620 They got the Ark back. 171 00:11:35,620 --> 00:11:37,180 Everything was perfect. 172 00:11:37,180 --> 00:11:44,100 And so, to commemorate both the great victory and Israel's change of heart, their conversion, 173 00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:51,820 if you will, Samuel took a stone, and he set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and he named 174 00:11:51,820 --> 00:11:58,240 it Ebenezer, saying, thus far the Lord has helped us. 175 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:02,660 The stone, this Ebenezer, would stand there for generations and generations, and people 176 00:12:02,660 --> 00:12:07,260 would pass by, and they would look at it, and they would remember the power of repentance, 177 00:12:07,260 --> 00:12:11,980 and they would remember the possibility of transformation, and they'd remember the faithfulness 178 00:12:11,980 --> 00:12:13,360 of God. 179 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:19,620 So why did Charles Dickens name his original, or his main character, Ebenezer? 180 00:12:19,620 --> 00:12:23,380 It's because he, too, is supposed to be a marker for us. 181 00:12:23,380 --> 00:12:28,340 Scrooge reminds us that repentance is powerful. 182 00:12:28,340 --> 00:12:30,520 Transformation is possible. 183 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:37,100 And when we turn our lives around, God is faithful to forgive us of our sins. 184 00:12:37,100 --> 00:12:41,520 Now, all that I just shared there seems really hard for some people to believe, because there's 185 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:44,820 lots of people who believe that such change is impossible. 186 00:12:44,820 --> 00:12:47,500 It's not possible to change a person, we say, right? 187 00:12:47,500 --> 00:12:51,840 Now, some of you might hold out hope, but most of us say, no, people don't change. 188 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:53,300 The world can't change. 189 00:12:53,300 --> 00:12:54,300 Nothing ever changes. 190 00:12:54,300 --> 00:12:55,460 Even I can't change. 191 00:12:55,460 --> 00:12:59,300 I've been working to change these things in my life for years and years, and they're still 192 00:12:59,300 --> 00:13:00,300 the same. 193 00:13:00,300 --> 00:13:04,600 My sins always seem to get the better of me. 194 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,780 So if you're here today, and you think that change is impossible, and transformation is 195 00:13:08,780 --> 00:13:14,420 a joke, and that the hope of Christmas is maybe a bit too sentimental, then you're actually 196 00:13:14,420 --> 00:13:15,780 in good company. 197 00:13:15,780 --> 00:13:22,180 Because Scrooge also believed that hope for a better world, hope for a better me, hope 198 00:13:22,180 --> 00:13:25,880 for a better you was impossible. 199 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:31,780 Only the word that he used to describe impossible was a word, humbug. 200 00:13:31,780 --> 00:13:32,780 Humbug. 201 00:13:32,780 --> 00:13:39,100 You're a servant, sir. 202 00:13:39,100 --> 00:13:42,540 Are you off home to keep Christmas? 203 00:13:42,540 --> 00:13:45,540 I am not in the habit of keeping Christmas, sir. 204 00:13:45,540 --> 00:13:46,540 Then why are you leaving so early? 205 00:13:46,540 --> 00:13:47,540 Because, sir, Christmas is a habit of keeping men from doing business. 206 00:13:47,540 --> 00:13:48,540 Come into nature and think that ants, toil, and grasshoppers sing and play, Mr. Scrooge. 207 00:13:48,540 --> 00:13:53,540 An ant is what it is, and a grasshopper is what it is, and Christmas, sir, is a humbug. 208 00:13:53,540 --> 00:13:54,540 Good day. 209 00:13:54,540 --> 00:14:03,780 So humbug is the H word in Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. 210 00:14:03,780 --> 00:14:04,780 What does it mean, though? 211 00:14:04,780 --> 00:14:05,780 It means this. 212 00:14:05,780 --> 00:14:12,700 Humbug means a lie, a deception, a trick, or a fraud. 213 00:14:12,700 --> 00:14:20,580 So for Scrooge, Christmas was a lie, hope was a fraud, transformation was a trick, conversion 214 00:14:20,580 --> 00:14:25,180 that you could be converted and changed was an absolute deception because things never 215 00:14:25,180 --> 00:14:28,460 change and people never change and the world can't change and hope is a joke. 216 00:14:28,460 --> 00:14:33,240 And every time Scrooge came across somebody who had hope or who believed that change was 217 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:37,620 possible or Christmas was real, that he just laughed them off and gave them a good old 218 00:14:37,620 --> 00:14:38,620 humbug. 219 00:14:38,620 --> 00:14:39,620 So for example, his nephew. 220 00:14:39,620 --> 00:14:42,620 I came here in the spirit of right goodwill and I won't let you down with it. 221 00:14:42,620 --> 00:14:43,620 So Merry Christmas to you anyway, uncle. 222 00:14:43,620 --> 00:14:44,620 Good evening. 223 00:14:44,620 --> 00:14:45,620 And a Happy New Year. 224 00:14:45,620 --> 00:14:46,620 Good evening. 225 00:14:46,620 --> 00:14:47,620 Humbug. 226 00:14:47,620 --> 00:14:55,740 But I would say that it wasn't just that Scrooge thought that hope wasn't real. 227 00:14:55,740 --> 00:14:59,780 I think Scrooge actually probably also thought that God wasn't real. 228 00:14:59,780 --> 00:15:03,400 For Scrooge, the supernatural was humbug, right? 229 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,300 There was nothing more to this world than what you could see with your eyes and touch 230 00:15:06,300 --> 00:15:11,620 with your hands or count with your calculator, which is why, why, when the supernatural world 231 00:15:11,620 --> 00:15:32,500 actually comes impinging onto Scrooge's life, again, his answer is humbug. 232 00:15:32,500 --> 00:15:37,780 When he hears that voice, he refuses to believe because again, according to Scrooge, there's 233 00:15:37,780 --> 00:15:39,860 nothing beyond this world, right? 234 00:15:39,860 --> 00:15:40,860 It's all a joke. 235 00:15:40,860 --> 00:15:41,860 It's a trick. 236 00:15:41,860 --> 00:15:43,180 It's indigestion. 237 00:15:43,180 --> 00:15:46,240 The supernatural is humbug. 238 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:50,340 And so right at the very beginning of this, we have a question to ask ourselves. 239 00:15:50,340 --> 00:15:53,700 Do we believe in hope or is it all humbug? 240 00:15:53,700 --> 00:15:59,900 The reason we just lit a candle of hope is that we are people who believe that it is 241 00:15:59,900 --> 00:16:05,100 possible to change, that there's hope for us all, that there's hope for the most evil 242 00:16:05,100 --> 00:16:09,100 tyrant and there's hope for the most hopeless situation. 243 00:16:09,100 --> 00:16:14,220 So what I want to do in the time we got left is I just want to look at how hope came into 244 00:16:14,220 --> 00:16:16,220 Ebenezer Scrooge's life. 245 00:16:16,220 --> 00:16:17,220 We're going to look at three things. 246 00:16:17,220 --> 00:16:18,220 We're going to look at his condition. 247 00:16:18,220 --> 00:16:24,180 We're going to look at his confrontation and then thirdly, his invitation. 248 00:16:24,180 --> 00:16:29,740 So first, Dickens spends a lot of time setting us up and describing Scrooge's condition. 249 00:16:29,740 --> 00:16:31,900 And he describes it with these words. 250 00:16:31,900 --> 00:16:38,460 He says, oh, but he was a tight fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge, a squeezing, wrenching, 251 00:16:38,460 --> 00:16:45,060 grasping, scraping, clutching covetous old sinner, secret and self-contained and solitary 252 00:16:45,060 --> 00:16:46,780 as an oyster. 253 00:16:46,780 --> 00:16:48,060 The book is wonderful. 254 00:16:48,060 --> 00:16:49,060 You really should get it. 255 00:16:49,060 --> 00:16:50,580 It sums it up nicely. 256 00:16:50,580 --> 00:16:54,260 But here is a scene in the movie that helps us see it. 257 00:16:54,260 --> 00:16:58,820 In this scene, you see some people coming to Scrooge's office and they're hoping to 258 00:16:58,820 --> 00:17:01,340 get a Christmas donation from him. 259 00:17:01,340 --> 00:17:03,380 But it does not go well. 260 00:17:03,380 --> 00:17:05,500 I don't think you quite understand us, sir. 261 00:17:05,500 --> 00:17:10,780 A few of us are endeavoring to raise a fund to buy the poor some meat and drink and means 262 00:17:10,780 --> 00:17:11,780 of warmth. 263 00:17:11,780 --> 00:17:12,780 Why? 264 00:17:12,780 --> 00:17:18,820 Because it is at Christmas time that warmth is most keenly felt and abundance rejoices. 265 00:17:18,820 --> 00:17:21,820 What can I put you down for? 266 00:17:21,820 --> 00:17:23,520 Nothing. 267 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:24,860 You wish to be an honor? 268 00:17:24,860 --> 00:17:27,420 I wish to be left alone. 269 00:17:27,420 --> 00:17:29,980 Since you asked me what I wish, sir, that is my answer. 270 00:17:29,980 --> 00:17:32,620 I hope to support the establishments I have mentioned. 271 00:17:32,620 --> 00:17:34,780 Those who are badly off must go there. 272 00:17:34,780 --> 00:17:35,780 It's very comfortable there. 273 00:17:35,780 --> 00:17:36,780 And some would rather die. 274 00:17:36,780 --> 00:17:41,780 If they would rather die, they'd better do it and decrease the selfless population. 275 00:17:41,780 --> 00:17:44,780 Besides, it's not my business. 276 00:17:44,780 --> 00:17:46,780 Isn't it, sir? 277 00:17:46,780 --> 00:17:47,780 No. 278 00:17:47,780 --> 00:17:52,300 It is enough for a man to understand his own business without interfering with other people's. 279 00:17:52,300 --> 00:17:54,420 Mine occupies me constantly. 280 00:17:54,420 --> 00:17:59,660 Good afternoon, gentlemen. 281 00:17:59,660 --> 00:18:07,300 Well the first thing we learn about Scrooge's condition is that he is financially consumed. 282 00:18:07,300 --> 00:18:09,620 His life revolves around money. 283 00:18:09,620 --> 00:18:14,380 Money is the lens through which he views the world and measures all success. 284 00:18:14,380 --> 00:18:18,900 People are either obstacles or tools in pursuit of profit. 285 00:18:18,900 --> 00:18:20,380 He's financially consumed. 286 00:18:20,380 --> 00:18:23,460 Secondly, he's emotionally cold. 287 00:18:23,460 --> 00:18:27,460 He says, oh, if they want to die, they'd better do it and decrease the surplus population. 288 00:18:27,460 --> 00:18:28,840 He's talking about the poor. 289 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:32,340 He's got no empathy for the poor or for the suffering. 290 00:18:32,340 --> 00:18:36,620 Human life has no worth to him unless, again, it helps him make a profit. 291 00:18:36,620 --> 00:18:39,900 Thirdly, we see that he's relationally isolated. 292 00:18:39,900 --> 00:18:42,580 He wants to be left alone. 293 00:18:42,580 --> 00:18:47,860 Dickens describes him as secret and self-contained, as solitary, as an oyster. 294 00:18:47,860 --> 00:18:52,220 He's cut himself off from others, and this actually just feeds this cycle of isolation 295 00:18:52,220 --> 00:18:54,620 and selfishness in his life. 296 00:18:54,620 --> 00:18:57,580 And then fourthly, I would say he's spiritually blind. 297 00:18:57,580 --> 00:19:01,940 He says that every idiot who goes about with a Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled 298 00:19:01,940 --> 00:19:05,460 with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. 299 00:19:05,460 --> 00:19:06,460 Right? 300 00:19:06,460 --> 00:19:13,860 Like, he is, his dislike, his hatred of Christmas betrays a heart that is cut off from God, 301 00:19:13,860 --> 00:19:14,860 closed off from faith. 302 00:19:14,860 --> 00:19:17,460 He mocks people who believe in Christmas. 303 00:19:17,460 --> 00:19:19,940 Now, you look at this list, and here's my worry. 304 00:19:19,940 --> 00:19:23,920 My worry is some of you are going to say, oh, isn't it crazy? 305 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:24,920 Look at this guy. 306 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:25,920 What a joke. 307 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:27,300 Nobody's actually like that, right? 308 00:19:27,300 --> 00:19:29,140 This is just a caricature, right? 309 00:19:29,140 --> 00:19:30,480 No one is that bad. 310 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:31,940 But not so fast. 311 00:19:31,940 --> 00:19:36,780 We may have more in common with him than we'd like to admit. 312 00:19:36,780 --> 00:19:40,460 I mean, Scrooge's obsession with wealth is nothing new, right? 313 00:19:40,460 --> 00:19:41,740 It's a common struggle today. 314 00:19:41,740 --> 00:19:48,260 I mean, maybe we're not as extreme, but we tie our worth to money and success and possessions. 315 00:19:48,260 --> 00:19:55,500 We live in a consumer-driven world, so do we prioritize getting ahead, all the while 316 00:19:55,500 --> 00:19:59,540 overlooking the joy of the moment and the needs around us? 317 00:19:59,540 --> 00:20:01,220 That's a good question. 318 00:20:01,220 --> 00:20:06,620 Scrooge, yes, he's cold, and he's logical in his compassion for the poor, but we too 319 00:20:06,620 --> 00:20:09,340 can be pretty desensitized to the needs of the world. 320 00:20:09,340 --> 00:20:10,340 Wouldn't you agree? 321 00:20:10,340 --> 00:20:12,260 We watch enough news, pretty soon we stop caring. 322 00:20:12,260 --> 00:20:15,980 Oh, somebody else will look after that, or that's not my problem. 323 00:20:15,980 --> 00:20:21,940 So Scrooge forces us to ask, are we growing numb to human suffering ourselves? 324 00:20:21,940 --> 00:20:28,100 Scrooge, yes, he's financially, he's relationally isolated, but loneliness in our world is also 325 00:20:28,100 --> 00:20:29,740 rising. 326 00:20:29,740 --> 00:20:31,300 You've heard us talk about this before. 327 00:20:31,300 --> 00:20:36,940 We're connected through social media, and yet we still feel more and more alone. 328 00:20:36,940 --> 00:20:44,100 So hey, like Scrooge, do we hold others at arm's length out of fear, out of busyness? 329 00:20:44,100 --> 00:20:46,500 Do we feel disconnected? 330 00:20:46,500 --> 00:20:52,980 And of course, Scrooge rejects anything beyond the material world, much like our modern culture. 331 00:20:52,980 --> 00:20:55,060 We're skeptical of God too, if we're honest. 332 00:20:55,060 --> 00:20:56,700 Many people are. 333 00:20:56,700 --> 00:20:58,900 Life just becomes about work and survival. 334 00:20:58,900 --> 00:21:04,220 Who's got time to think about the deeper meaning of life and pay attention to spiritual realities? 335 00:21:04,220 --> 00:21:10,820 No, no, no, Scrooge's condition is a lot more like ours than you might think. 336 00:21:10,820 --> 00:21:15,340 In fact, keep your eyes on your inbox, because our church drama team has created kind of 337 00:21:15,340 --> 00:21:20,500 a modern retelling of Scrooge, and every week we're going to drop a video by email, and 338 00:21:20,500 --> 00:21:22,220 you can kind of follow along as we go. 339 00:21:22,220 --> 00:21:24,980 Kind of a modern telling of Scrooge for today. 340 00:21:24,980 --> 00:21:29,980 The point is, we too can focus on wealth, we too can guard our emotions, isolate ourselves, 341 00:21:29,980 --> 00:21:32,460 and live without a spiritual perspective. 342 00:21:32,460 --> 00:21:39,340 But Advent, Advent calls us to examine our hearts and to find those places where we have 343 00:21:39,340 --> 00:21:45,340 become like Scrooge, and see how God might be challenging us, and God confronting us 344 00:21:45,340 --> 00:21:47,660 to change. 345 00:21:47,660 --> 00:21:51,740 That brings us to Scrooge's confrontation. 346 00:21:51,740 --> 00:21:57,860 One Christmas Eve, all of Scrooge's assumptions and carefully constructed worldviews are going 347 00:21:57,860 --> 00:22:02,140 to come crashing down around him, because the spiritual world, which he was certain 348 00:22:02,140 --> 00:22:07,820 did not exist, and all nonsense and humbug breaks into his life in a way that he can't 349 00:22:07,820 --> 00:22:08,820 deny. 350 00:22:08,820 --> 00:22:13,020 And it all begins with a visit from his old business partner, who's been dead for seven 351 00:22:13,020 --> 00:22:15,620 years, a ghost of Jacob Marley. 352 00:22:15,620 --> 00:22:39,340 Do you believe in me or not? 353 00:22:39,340 --> 00:22:54,300 Do you believe in that or if you're not? 354 00:22:54,300 --> 00:23:01,300 I wear the chain I forged in life I made it link by link and yard by yard I girded it 355 00:23:05,220 --> 00:23:12,220 on my own free will and my own free will. I wore it. 356 00:23:15,020 --> 00:23:17,820 By the way we're watching this movie today at five o'clock here at the church so you 357 00:23:17,820 --> 00:23:22,140 can join us and watch the whole thing. But in this scene Scrooge is not only startled 358 00:23:22,140 --> 00:23:27,100 by the supernatural but he genuinely does not understand why Jacob Marley is wearing 359 00:23:27,100 --> 00:23:33,060 change. Marley was everything Scrooge thought a person should be right? Hardworking, profit 360 00:23:33,060 --> 00:23:40,060 driven, focused on business and yet here he is in torment and why is that? This confrontation 361 00:23:40,780 --> 00:23:46,540 actually turns Scrooge's world upside down. In the world that Scrooge knows it's the rich 362 00:23:46,540 --> 00:23:52,420 who are celebrated, the powerful are rewarded and the poor, the poor are just a surplus 363 00:23:52,420 --> 00:23:58,180 population. But what he's discovering that in God's kingdom the scales are reversed and 364 00:23:58,180 --> 00:24:03,540 the script is flipped. It's like what Mary said as we read this morning when she discovered 365 00:24:03,540 --> 00:24:08,900 she was going to give birth to Jesus Christ she sang this song that shows a world turned 366 00:24:08,900 --> 00:24:13,620 upside down where God has brought down mighty kings from their thrones and lifted up the 367 00:24:13,620 --> 00:24:18,340 lowly where he fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away with empty 368 00:24:18,340 --> 00:24:24,860 hands. The fact that Jesus Christ was born in a lowly manger is not a mistake, it's no 369 00:24:24,860 --> 00:24:30,060 accident it's all part of the reversal right? The first becoming last, the last becoming 370 00:24:30,060 --> 00:24:35,140 first, the rich becoming poor, the poor becoming rich. It's all woven, the kingdom story is 371 00:24:35,140 --> 00:24:41,260 woven into the Christmas story itself. Scrooge's encounter with Marley is this moment of realization 372 00:24:41,260 --> 00:24:47,460 oh my gosh he's been living by the wrong story, he's been going about the wrong business. 373 00:24:47,460 --> 00:24:56,460 But it was only that you were a good man of business Jacob. Business! Mankind was my business, 374 00:24:56,460 --> 00:25:06,580 their commonwealth there was my business. In the kingdom of God mankind is the business, 375 00:25:06,580 --> 00:25:11,740 people matter more than profits. Scrooge always believed it was every man for himself but 376 00:25:11,740 --> 00:25:18,660 God's heart goes out to the poor and the rejected and the ignored. Now this confrontation with 377 00:25:18,660 --> 00:25:24,620 Marley it looks just like a story that Jesus tells in Luke chapter 16 about a wealthy man 378 00:25:24,620 --> 00:25:29,280 who lives in luxury oblivious to the needs around him especially to this poor man named 379 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:35,060 Lazarus who's begging at his gate every day just wanting a little bit of food. When both 380 00:25:35,060 --> 00:25:41,580 men die the roles are reversed. Lazarus is comforted while the rich man finds himself 381 00:25:41,580 --> 00:25:48,580 in torment. The rich man he begs for relief but he's told it's too late, it's too late. 382 00:25:48,580 --> 00:25:54,500 His disregard for others has sealed his fate. He pleads with Lazarus, Lazarus please go 383 00:25:54,500 --> 00:25:58,620 tell my brothers so that they don't end up making the same mistake. He says I beg you 384 00:25:58,620 --> 00:26:02,680 father send Lazarus to my family, let him warn them so they don't come to this place 385 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:08,260 of torment. If someone from the dead goes to them they will repent but the response 386 00:26:08,260 --> 00:26:14,440 is quite sobering. No, if they don't listen to Moses and the prophets they will not be 387 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:19,900 convinced even if someone rises from the dead. Isn't this sound familiar? I mean Charles 388 00:26:19,900 --> 00:26:25,200 Dickens knew his Bible, right? Mankind was my business. Marley could have said those 389 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:33,940 words just as easily as this parable could have said these words. Both the parable and 390 00:26:33,940 --> 00:26:39,780 Marley's vision are wake up calls for you and for me reminding us how we treat others, 391 00:26:39,780 --> 00:26:45,020 how we treat the vulnerable, it matters so much in God's kingdom. It's funny though 392 00:26:45,020 --> 00:26:50,500 that actually shortly after saying this parable Jesus himself would rise from the dead and 393 00:26:50,500 --> 00:26:56,940 would come to people not just with a warning but also with a hope that change is possible 394 00:26:56,940 --> 00:27:02,060 not just in eternity but we can change here and now change our lives all those parts of 395 00:27:02,060 --> 00:27:07,340 our life that are dead, our coldness, our greed, our intolerance, they don't have to 396 00:27:07,340 --> 00:27:14,060 stay that way. Christ can breed new life into us and that's actually the striking difference 397 00:27:14,060 --> 00:27:20,060 between these two stories. The rich man in Jesus' parable is unable to warn his brothers, 398 00:27:20,060 --> 00:27:27,140 it's too late but Marley tells Scrooge it's actually not too late, there is still a chance 399 00:27:27,140 --> 00:27:32,700 and that's why we have to end with this invitation. Scrooge didn't know it at the time but when 400 00:27:32,700 --> 00:27:39,460 Marley comes to him he's inviting him not just to see his sins but to repent and turn 401 00:27:39,460 --> 00:27:44,500 toward a new way of living. Marley says it's too late for me, it's too late for me for 402 00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:50,060 no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunities misused but, and this 403 00:27:50,060 --> 00:27:55,780 is a very big but, it's not too late for you. I'm here tonight to warn you that you have 404 00:27:55,780 --> 00:28:00,260 yet a chance and a hope of escaping my fate. 405 00:28:00,260 --> 00:28:07,260 Hear me, my time is nearly gone. I come tonight to warn you that you have yet a chance and 406 00:28:07,260 --> 00:28:13,020 hope of escaping my fate, a chance and hope of my procuring heaven. 407 00:28:13,020 --> 00:28:18,460 Thank you Jacob, you were always a good friend of mine. 408 00:28:18,460 --> 00:28:22,060 You will be visited by three spirits. 409 00:28:22,060 --> 00:28:28,260 What? Was that the chance of hope that you mentioned Jacob? 410 00:28:28,260 --> 00:28:29,260 Did one? 411 00:28:29,260 --> 00:28:35,060 Oh well, that is never mind, I think I'd rather not. 412 00:28:35,060 --> 00:28:49,460 You cannot hope to shun the power thy tread. Expect the first when the bell toms one. 413 00:28:49,460 --> 00:28:55,740 Scrooge doesn't like it but he's been given a chance. The three spirits that visit him 414 00:28:55,740 --> 00:29:00,740 are going to help lead him out of his old life, his old world view into a new life. 415 00:29:00,740 --> 00:29:05,620 Just like Isaiah wrote, the people walking in darkness have seen a great light and on 416 00:29:05,620 --> 00:29:11,780 those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 417 00:29:11,780 --> 00:29:16,780 And so once again, here we are with this choice, hope or humbug. 418 00:29:16,780 --> 00:29:22,300 The great hope of the gospel is that you can change, that the world can be changed, your 419 00:29:22,300 --> 00:29:25,700 situation can be changed. 420 00:29:25,700 --> 00:29:31,220 The Israelites put up their Ebenezer as a signpost of hope and this Advent we are putting 421 00:29:31,220 --> 00:29:35,100 up this Ebenezer as a signpost for us. 422 00:29:35,100 --> 00:29:37,740 Change is possible, God is faithful. 423 00:29:37,740 --> 00:29:44,140 So this Advent, please I want to encourage all of you, take this opportunity to step 424 00:29:44,140 --> 00:29:50,700 back and examine your own hearts and surrender those sinful parts, those selfish parts, those 425 00:29:50,700 --> 00:29:57,060 shameful parts of your own life that shackle you like Marley's chains. 426 00:29:57,060 --> 00:30:02,660 Because the light of Christ is breaking into the world, offering a fresh start, not just 427 00:30:02,660 --> 00:30:06,660 to prepare for Christmas but to prepare for God's kingdom. 428 00:30:06,660 --> 00:30:09,380 But please do not dawdle. 429 00:30:09,380 --> 00:30:14,620 In one of the freakier scenes of the book and where we're going to end today, we see 430 00:30:14,620 --> 00:30:18,020 all the spirits of the dead wailing in torment. 431 00:30:18,020 --> 00:30:19,500 Why are they wailing? 432 00:30:19,500 --> 00:30:20,500 Why? 433 00:30:20,500 --> 00:30:22,860 Because they can't do good anymore, it's too late. 434 00:30:22,860 --> 00:30:26,980 Marley explains the misery with them all is that they will never have the power to do 435 00:30:26,980 --> 00:30:28,180 good again. 436 00:30:28,180 --> 00:30:32,740 The spirits of the dead are wailing because they can no longer help the living. 437 00:30:32,740 --> 00:30:34,020 What a warning for us. 438 00:30:34,020 --> 00:30:38,460 One day it will be too late, too late to help, too late to change. 439 00:30:38,460 --> 00:30:42,820 We don't act quickly, we're going to find ourselves trapped by the decisions that we've 440 00:30:42,820 --> 00:30:45,020 made, decisions that might not be able to be undone. 441 00:30:45,020 --> 00:30:47,180 But it's not too late now. 442 00:30:47,180 --> 00:30:48,580 There's always a window of opportunity. 443 00:30:48,580 --> 00:30:50,540 The light of Christ is shining. 444 00:30:50,540 --> 00:30:56,540 So let me speak Marley's words to you today. 445 00:30:56,540 --> 00:31:03,140 I'm here today to warn you that you have yet a chance and hope. 446 00:31:03,140 --> 00:31:10,180 Whatever you're facing, whatever old wounds, whatever attitudes, regrets, whatever addictions, 447 00:31:10,180 --> 00:31:13,180 you have a chance and hope. 448 00:31:13,180 --> 00:31:16,060 It'll mean flipping your world upside down. 449 00:31:16,060 --> 00:31:20,580 It'll mean redefining what success looks like for you. 450 00:31:20,580 --> 00:31:21,820 But don't wait. 451 00:31:21,820 --> 00:31:23,380 Now is the moment. 452 00:31:23,380 --> 00:31:25,860 The light of Christ is shining. 453 00:31:25,860 --> 00:31:29,180 Like Scrooge, acknowledge your own condition. 454 00:31:29,180 --> 00:31:35,500 You know, confront your issues with God and then accept God's invitation to be transformed. 455 00:31:35,500 --> 00:31:42,060 And when you do, you'll learn that hope is in fact no humbug. 456 00:31:42,060 --> 00:31:43,060 Thanks be to God. 457 00:31:43,060 --> 00:31:44,060 Amen. 458 00:31:44,060 --> 00:31:49,140 Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. 459 00:31:49,140 --> 00:31:54,600 This sermon was recorded at Trinity Church, Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario on December 460 00:31:54,600 --> 00:32:14,620 1st, 2024.