Isaiah
Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of God also? Therefore God himself will give you a sign: The young woman is pregnant, and will give birth to a son, who will be called Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject wrong and choose right, because even before he knows enough to reject wrong and choose right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before their marriage, she became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph was faithful to the law, and did not want to disgrace her in public; he thought he would divorce her quietly. An angel appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. Her child is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, to be named Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this was to fulfill the words of the prophet: “The young woman will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel “God with us”. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel had said and took Mary home as his wife. ***********************************************************************
Poor Scrooge. He was exhausted after trying to shut out the light of the Spirit which shone on his past. Finally, aware of being back in his own bedroom, he fell into a deep sleep. For some reason he wakened early and pulled back all the bed curtains to have a good view of the whole room. - and waited...the bell tolled one. Time passed, fifteen minutes in fact, before he realized the light across his bed was coming from under the sitting room door.
Dickens describes the scene as Scrooge entered his sitting room:
“It was his own room. There was no doubt about that. But it had undergone a surprising transformation. The walls and ceiling were so hung with living green that it looked a perfect grove, from every part of which bright, gleaming berries glistened. The crisp leaves of holly, mistletoe and ivy reflected back the light, as if so many little mirrors had been scattered there. Such a mighty blaze went roaring up the chimney as that dull hearth had never known, either in Scrooge’s time or Marley’s, if at all. Heaped upon the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, great joints of meat, suckling pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince pies, plum puddings, barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam.”
Seated on this throne sat a Giant, who Dickens described as “free in its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its joyful attitude.” Scrooge was timid, hung his head, not wanting to meet the clear kind eye of the Spirit.
“The Spirit was dressed in a deep green robe, bordered with white fur. The robe hung loosely, the large chest was bare. Its feet were also bare, and on its head it wore a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles.” He carried a kind of torch which looks like a horn of plenty - and as Scrooge and the Spirit travel the city, Scrooge=s eyes are opened to the world around him, to the things he doesn't know about that world.
"Is there a particular flavour in what you sprinkle from your torch?" asked Scrooge.
"There is. My own."
"Could it apply to any kind of dinner on this day?" asked Scrooge.
"To any kindly given. To a poor one most."
“Why to a poor one most?” asked Scrooge.
"Because it needs it the most."
In this visitation, Scrooge is stunned that the ghost blesses the home of his clerk, Bob Cratchit a tiny place of four rooms. He didn't know Bob had children - he didn't know one of them was ill. When he begs to know that Tim will live, he hears back his own words "If he's going to die, he should do it, and decrease the surplus population."
And - says the Spirit. "Will you decide which men shall live and which shall die? It may be that in the sight of heaven you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man's child. O God! To hear the insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his brothers in the dust!"
It's not hard to relate this to the present. We all know people like Scrooge, hurt by life and by their own actions, who also believe that by not doing anything, no one is hurt. Yet even doing nothing is tantamount to doing something. And don’t we all know people who are critical of the poor, who get blamed for their poverty, without ever knowing their circumstances. Scrooge blamed the poor for their own circumstances instead of looking closely at the conditions around himself and them, even instead of finding out from them *why* or how they got into such a position.
The Spirit takes Scrooge to see Bob Cratchit’s home - where the feast is meagre, yet Bob Cratchit’s family are full of gratitude for that which they do have. It’s a sharp comparison - the great bounty around the Spirit, and the meagre Christmas meal of the Cratchits. There are a couple of things to draw from this today - just as Dickens did then.
First, that the Spirit, - and the huge feast laid out around him, the green-ness of the room and the warmth of the fire - are representative of the realm of God - the vision God has for people on earth, living in creation without any fear or want. The Spirit represents Immanuel, God-with-Us.
Second, it reinforces a very real truth. That there is actually more than enough food in the world already to feed everyone. The problem is not with the amount of food available, it is the distribution. The so-called First World countries take more than their fair share of what’s needed, often wasting it - and the poor of the rest of the world go without. In some parts of our country we live with a sense of entitlement - that we somehow deserve everything we have, even if it is over-the-top.
At the end of this part of the story there is a particularly telling scene. The Spirit and Scrooge are standing out in the cold, and the Spirit pulls back the front the of the robe. Huddled there are two children: hungry, shriveled, destitute, prematurely aged.
“Are they yours?” asks Scrooge?
“They are Man’s.” replies the Spirit. “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, but most of all beware this boy.” “Have they no refuge or resource?” asks Scrooge, and again hears his own words flung back at him “Are there no prisons? Are there no poorhouses?” Today, I guess we would say are there no jobless programs, are there no shelters? Today we still live side by side with Ignorance and Want, and think it doesn’t affect our lives.
In the scriptures, angels were messengers from God. Joseph has a visit from an angel, telling him that Mary’s child will be “God-with-Us”. Scrooge encounters angels, who shine the light of God into his heart; who proclaim the good news. In this open and joyful Spirit we hear other words from Isaiah: “The Spirit of God is upon me. I am sent to bring good news to the oppressed, to comfort the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and release to prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
The picture of this messenger - God’s green creation full of everything human beings could ever need, also proclaims the year of God’s favour. Christmas Present - every year should be the year of God’s favour.
Marley came to Scrooge in the darkness of his rooms and his soul, to speak of repentance, of changing his ways. Two Spirits come in the bright light of vision, into the recesses of hard hearts, and then the bright light of vision on the world around. Yet neither Spirit *was* the light. Dickens’ Spirits are those who testify to the light, to bring messages from God. They point to the one who is coming - the centre of Christmas. The Spirit of Christmas Present comes to testify to good news for all people. As Scrooge took another step along the road to his repentance and reclamation, so we also take a step on the road to repentance, a commitment to living the Gospel to its fullest.
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