“This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want.”
Zephaniah 3:14-20
3:14
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!
3:15
The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.
3:16
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.
3:17
The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing
3:18
as on a day of festival." I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it.
3:19
I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.
3:20
At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.
Isaiah 12:2-6
12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and will not be afraid, for the LORD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation."
12:3
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
12:4
And you will say on that day: "Give thanks to the LORD; call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.
12:5
Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth.
12:6
Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."
At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.
Philippians 4:4-7
4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
4:5
Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Luke 3:7-18
3:7
John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
3:8
Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
3:9
Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
3:10
And the crowds asked him, "What, then, should we do?"
3:11
In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise."
3:12
Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?"
3:13
He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you."
3:14
Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."
3:15
As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,
3:16
John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
3:17
His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
3:18
So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people.
The single most significant feature of Christmas Day in Dickens is that the celebration centers on family. Fezziwig’s family is Scrooge’s family for Christmas in his past. Bob Cratchit’s family remembers Scrooge at their Christmas celebration. Scrooge’s nephew celebrates with friends who might as well be children, and clearly substitute as family for the as yet childless couple. Scrooge’s former fiancé is surrounded by her family in the future Christmas Day when Scrooge dies. It’s not too far to say Scrooge’s redemption occurs because he is brought home. Certainly the truth of his life and his life-choices are brought home to him by the visits of the Spirits. And a large part of that lesson is the home celebrations in past and present, and the lack of celebration in the future. The lesson for Scrooge is that he’s involved in those celebrations, or lack of them.
It’s as good a connection to others as anything else.
The past lives in the present for the people Scrooge and the Spirit meet on Christmas Day. The past is context, sets the anticipation, whether it is the Cratchit pudding or the games at Fred’s house. Everyone knows what to expect and, expecting it, receives it. “Seek, and you will find. Ask, and it will be given to you.” The Ghost doesn’t create the joy; he only adds a simple seasonal blessing that enhances the happiness. It’s up to the people to receive it; and there is none like Scrooge on their journey of a day, so wrapped up in themselves they cannot accept it.
If you look at the scriptures for this day, you will see they are full of joyful anticipation. The promised redemption of Israel: the closeness of the presence of God. The call to rejoice . Even John tells the crowd the Lord is near and they should prepare. But when they ask in fear “What can we do?,” the answer is simple: take care of each other.
In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise." Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."It isn’t radical. It isn’t revolutionary. It isn’t out of reach. Be good to each other. Take care of each other. Be fair and kind to each other. Humankind is your business. If that isn’t the message of Christmas Day with the Spirit, indeed of Dickens’ entire Carol, what is? “By their fruits, you will know them.”
The Christmas ideal is that it brings us home. That may not always turn out to be what we wanted, but it’s what he hope for. But home is not really a place, it is people. For the Cratchits, for Scrooge’s nephew, it is people, friends and family, who restore their fortunes. It is finally those same people who restore Scrooge, too. They don’t see the concrete part they play, because their future (Christmas Day) is Scrooge’s present and past. He wakes up on the Day itself, but remembers what has happened before it happens, and with that knowledge changes it. He sends the prize turkey to the Cratchits, and joins the games he’s already once enjoyed, at his nephew’s. Recalled to life, he shares that life with others. But for now, that is in the future, too. And the spirit of the Future is a frightening, silent, almost deathly, spirit. Dickens hints at this with the children of human society, Ignorance and Want.
They are another reminder that humankind is our business; that we are our brother’s keeper. If society at large and individuals in particular are not concerned with education and compassion, with meeting the basic needs of others, and not just at Christmas, then, like ancient Israel, we bring our doom on ourselves:
“They are Man’s,” said the Spirit, looking down upon them. “And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!” cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. “Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And bide the end!”
“Have they no refuge or resource?” cried Scrooge.
“Are there no prisons?” said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. “Are there no workhouses?”
The bell struck twelve.
The future is part of Christmas, too; as much as it is a part of Advent. What is coming is still, and entirely, up to us. We are the refuge; we are the resource.
No comments:
Post a Comment