One of the most popular and heart-warming stories ever told is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This story describes the lonely and mis-lived life of Ebenezer Scrooge. (1)
The story opens on a bleak, cold Christmas Eve in London, seven years after the death of Scrooge‘s business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge, an ageing miser, dislikes Christmas and refuses a dinner invitation from his nephew Fred. He also turns away two men who seek a donation from him to provide food and heating for the poor . . . and only grudgingly allows his overworked, underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, Christmas Day off with pay.
That night Scrooge is visited at home by Marley’s ghost, who wanders the Earth weighted down by heavy chains and money boxes forged during a lifetime of greed and selfishness. Marley tells Scrooge that he has a single chance to avoid the same fate he is experiencing: he will be visited by three spirits and he must listen to them or be cursed to carry much heavier chains of his own.
The first spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to Christmas scenes of Scrooge’s boyhood. The scenes reveal Scrooge’s lonely childhood at boarding school, his relationship with his beloved sister Fan, and a Christmas party hosted by his first employer, Mr. Fezziwig, who treated him like a son. Scrooge’s neglected fiancée Belle is shown ending their relationship, as she realizes that he will never love her as much as he loves money. Finally, they visit a now-married Belle with her large, happy family on the Christmas Eve that Marley died. Scrooge, upset by hearing Belle’s description of the man that he has become, demands that the ghost remove him from the house.
The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to Fred’s Christmas party. A major part of this chapter is taken up with Bob Cratchit’s family feast and introduces his youngest son, Tiny Tim, a happy boy who is seriously ill. The spirit informs Scrooge that Tiny Tim will die unless the course of events changes.
The third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shows Scrooge a Christmas Day in the future. Bob Cratchit and his family are mourning the death of Tiny Tim. The ghost then allows Scrooge to see a neglected grave, with a tombstone bearing Scrooge’s own name on it. Sobbing, Scrooge pledges to change his ways. And he does.
Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning a changed man. He makes a large donation to the charity he rejected the previous day, anonymously he sends a large turkey to the Cratchit home for Christmas dinner and spends the afternoon with Fred’s family. The following day he gives Cratchit an increase in pay, and begins to become a father figure to Tiny Tim. After that unforgettable night Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man who becomes a model of generosity. He becomes a changed man.
In the wonderful Christmas Show presented each year at Rockefeller Center there is a scene acted from A Christmas Carol. It seems that when the Cratchit family received the wonderful gift of a prized turkey that Christmas, only Tiny Tim offered an explanation as to who could have possibly sent the turkey. When he says the name, Mr. Scrooge, his mother says, “Why would Mr. Scrooge lose his sense and do something like this?”
Tiny Tim replies with one word, “Christmas.” (2)
That one word says it all. Christmas. John the Baptist knew the truth of that word even if never in his whole life did he utter it once. Christmas explains how stingy people can become generous, tired people can become energized, lonely people can feel loved. That is why we look forward to this beautiful time of the year with such anticipation. Christmas. It is a word that carries with it hope, peace, joy and above all, love.
No wonder that we greet Christmas Eve with such anticipation. In our minds and hearts we are transported to visions of the kind of world this can yet be, and we are transported in our minds to the kind of people we can yet be.
Do you doubt that people can experience the kind of change in their lives the vision of Christmas evokes? Baptist Pastor Waylon Bailey tells about a real man who experienced the same kind of transformation as the fictional Ebenezer Scrooge.
His name was John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Do you recognize his name? His name is synonymous with the thought of great wealth. Rockefeller was born in 1839 and became a millionaire at age 33. This was in the day when one million was an astounding amount of money. Rockefeller had a deeply religious upbringing, but as a young man he seemed to have only one obsession—the accumulation of great wealth. By age 43 he owned and ran the largest company in the world, the Standard Oil Company. He controlled 90% of the oil in the United States. By age 53, John D. Rockefeller was a billionaire, the only one in the world.
Someone computed what one billion in the 1890s would be worth in today’s dollars. They came up with the astronomical sum of $336 billion, making John D. Rockefeller the richest man (in financial terms) that has ever lived.
All of this happened before he was 53 years old. Then he developed a disease (alopecia) that caused all his hair to fall out, his eyelashes and his eyebrows disappeared and he became skin and bones. He could digest only milk and crackers because of a stomach ailment and couldn’t sleep at night. He had the best doctors in the world. They told him that he would not live one more year.
Then one sleepless night John D. Rockefeller came to his senses and realized that he could not take one dime with him into the next world. Since he knew he couldn’t take his money with him, he started giving it away. He did wonderful things with his wealth. He helped churches and needy people. He began the University of Chicago and Rockefeller University, as well as a university in the Philippines. He began the Rockefeller Foundation, dedicated to medical research. The Rockefeller Foundation was instrumental in the discovery of penicillin, the most significant medical discovery of all time, and the eradication of hookworm and yellow fever.
At that point in his life, Rockefeller began to change. He became able to eat normal food. He started sleeping. He also made a profession of faith and was baptized in a Northern Baptist Church. He attended church every Sunday, even teaching a Sunday school class until he died. After having been told he would never see his 54th birthday, John D. Rockefeller lived to be 97 years old. (3)
Such transformations are possible. Christmas. Such transformations are possible for individuals. Such transformations are also possible for a society.
H.G. Wells once wrote a story titled “In the Days of the Comet.” It is a science fiction fantasy in which a mysterious green vapor of unknown origin descends from the clouds and covers the earth. The vapor has the immediate effect of putting all the earth’s people into a deep sleep for three days. When they finally awake, their inner nature is radically transformed. Petty quarreling comes to an end. Instead of seeking fame, power and wealth the people of the world seek to serve one another. Love, kindness and generosity become more important than greed or success. In short, the perfect society emerges—a society of brotherhood in which the dignity of every human being is honored. (4)
The prophet Isaiah looked forward to that kind of day when, in his words, “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together and a little child shall lead them.” (11:6). Of course, Isaiah was not anticipating a green vapor that would come down out of the clouds. He was prophesying “a shoot from the stump of Jesse . . .” That is Isaiah’s way of saying that there was a Messiah coming who would establish a new world order, who would bring into being a new kingdom in which love is more important than power and service is more important than domination.
In our lesson for today from Isaiah, the prophet puts it this way “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders . . . And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Or as Luke put it in today’s Gospel: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’” Christmas. One magnificent word, but it contains all of humanity’s highest hopes and dreams.
There is a beautiful story told by Lee Barry that carries a message in it. A young couple began their marriage full of hope and anticipation. They were happy, with good jobs, a nice home, and a loving relationship. In time, they celebrated the birth of their first child. Life seemed rich and complete. They were a beautiful family.
Then the unthinkable happened. The beautiful baby who had filled their lives with so much joy died. Their lives, once so joyful and rich became empty and pain-filled.
It all seemed hopeless until a simple knock on their door changed their lives forever. There at the door stood a Native man holding a small baby. He reached forward, handing the child to the couple. “Here, this baby is for you,” he said and then he left. It was an unspeakable gift. A young Native mother had given her own baby to fill the lives of the grieving couple. Native people in that part of the world call it custom adoption. (5)
In the same way, one sacred night God walked down from His celestial throne into a dark and broken world with a baby in his hands. “Here, this baby is for you,” He said to all who would open their hearts to Him. Christmas. One magnificent word—but it will change your life if you will let that baby into your heart.
1. Synopsis of A Christmas Carol adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol.
2. From a sermon by Eric S. Ritz.
3. Adapted from a sermon by Waylon Bailey,
https://fbccov.org/the-remarkable-story-of-john-d-rockerfeller-sr/.
4. Eric Butterworth, Unity of All Life (New York: Harper and Row, Publisher, 1969).
5. “This Baby is For You,” in: “Come, Let Us Adore Him”: LAMP 1995 Advent Devotions, p. 30. Cited by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson, https://dimlamp.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/sermon-christmas-eve-day-yr-a/.