SUMMARY KEYWORDS

scrooge, love, god, life, heart, ghost, isaiah, israel, christmas, chains, hope, people, story, ebenezer scrooge, movie, grew, money, today, word, kindness.

SPEAKER

Scott Palmbush

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I love seeing that bumper; it brings such nostalgic feelings of those great movies, and I'm always in awe of our creative team who does such great work. But Good Morning, good to see everybody. Glad you're here and want to welcome you and those of you at San Mateo - my kind of new home for right now while we look for a new campus, pastor there - and Mountain View, and Saratoga, of course. And if you're watching online, we're glad you're with us. And I really hope that you feel the blessing of Christmas at this time as well. But however you are joining us, if you're in this room or the rooms, we're glad you're here, and we're hoping we hope that you're experiencing the peace of the season, as we move toward Christmas, which is just a week away. Can you believe it?

Yeah, I know it's coming. It's time for me to start shopping. Just before we get into the sermon want to say a word. I know we've talked a little bit about offering, but this is the time of year when we think about end-of-year giving, and we are so grateful for our congregation, you guys are so generous all the time. But as we approach the end of the year, end of year giving is a big part of how we think about our budget, and like a lot of organizations, it helps us to do the kind of great work that we're able to do; the kind of lives that we're able to impact, the ministries that, like the one we just heard about. Those are possible because of your giving, and I just want to invite you to pray and think about how you might be able to bless our church in this season at the end of the year. We'll trust that God will help us in the new year do what he's called us to do. Let me pray for us.

Jesus, thanks for your generosity to us. You taught us what it means to be generous, and so we ask that you would lead us and guide us in that way, Lord. And God, we pray now that you would open our hearts to what you want to say to us through this sermon, through these words, through your scriptures. Our hearts are open, our ears are eager. May my words and our hearts be acceptable to you today and always. Amen.

Okay, well, we're in this profound season that we call Advent; we talked about that. And it's this time when we anticipate the birth of Jesus Christ, and we anticipate it because it reminds us that God hears the prayers and longings of His people. And He responds to those longings and cries by offering us hope and salvation, and the greatest gift of all, his one and only son. And today we lit the Advent candle that reminds us about God's love. And that's the most basic theme of the Christmas story, and ultimately, the story of God with His people: love.

1 John 4:16 says this, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them." Now, there are different words for the word love in Greek, which is the language of the New Testament. But when the Bible mentions God's love, it's the word agape, which is an unconditional, sacrificial kind of love.

God's love for His people: He loves them completely, and not because of their actions. And sometimes in spite of their actions, God loves them. God loves us.

Now, humanity has struggled to be faithful to that love. We take it for granted. We forget. Our love gets disordered. We give our allegiance to lesser things. And we're going to look at that today. We're in this fun series, looking at Christmas movies and finding places where these familiar stories intersect with God's story. And today's movie is A Christmas Carol, and it follows Ebenezer Scrooge as he confronts his disordered love and how it has shaped him.

Our scripture for this series comes from the book of Isaiah; we've been looking at that the last few weeks. And as we mentioned over the past couple of weeks, Isaiah was a prophet who spoke God's words to Israel. He warned them about their rebellion against God. They just continued to love lesser things, and so judgment would come through Assyria and Babylon. Israel was going to be conquered and taken into captivity and forced to leave the promised land, the land that God had given to them. And this was a bitter pill. But Isaiah also shared the message that God had a restoration plan in mind. And it's in Chapter 40 of Isaiah that this message takes a turn. The earlier prophecy has come true. It's true, Israel is now in exile, and it's been a while since they have heard from God. And that leads to some questions. Have we been abandoned? Will God ever bring us back home? Does he even want to bring us back home? And it's into these questions that we get this powerful word of hope in chapter 43 of Isaiah; listen to God's word for you. "But now, this is what the Lord says - he Who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you: I have summoned you by name: you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you: and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior: I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you.” Let that soak in for a minute.

The word precious here is the Hebrew word Yakar. And it means something like we were nothing before he found us, but now he has made us something; he has given us honor; we have worth; we matter. Not only does God still care about His people, He claims them again and promises protection and declares His love. God's sacrificial agape love is taking center stage again. And He's even willing to give a ransom for Israel's sake. And later, He would give a much bigger ransom, one that He would pay Himself. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son." But let's see how this theme plays out in our movie today, A Christmas Carol. The journey of Ebenezer Scrooge from awful to awesome, is one of the most familiar stories in our Christmas culture. It's both a cautionary tale of a disordered love and also a story of hope and transformation of the heart. Now, in some ways, A Christmas Carol is a modernday parable, and like all parables, we're meant to see ourselves in the story.

How do our hearts grow cold? How does love, and all that comes from love; compassion, kindness, and generosity, slowly leak from us until we grow hard and cynical? Dickens's tale gives us a glimpse into how this happens and how through hope, it can be turned around. We watched Scrooge grapple with his past, his present, and his future, where it all will lead. And while it can be easy to distance ourselves from someone as overtly loveless as Scrooge, we miss the challenge of the parable if we don't recognize in some way that we all have a little bit of Scrooge in us. "Bah-humbug." Now, the story is set in Victorian England, and it's been told and retold in so many different ways. But my personal favorite is the movie Scrooge with Bill Murray. But instead for the sake of this sermon today, I chose the 1984 classic version with George C. Scott as Scrooge, and I hope you can see that at some point. It's very well done.

But Ebenezer Scrooge is not a nice person. His one focus is making money, and he squeezes everyone in his path to get every single penny. He has no time for anything else. Dickens describes him like this: "Oh, but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire: secret and self-contained, as solitary as an oyster." For Scrooge, joy and merriment, or anything fun, really, were a waste of his time. Why would you play games when you could be making money? And he held particular contempt for Christmas. After his well-meaning nephew greets him with a hearty "Merry Christmas, uncle" and invites him to come over for dinner, Scrooge scoffs: "Every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stick of holly through his heart." So he has some feelings about it. Yikes. But this is how dark and unloving his heart has become. And this is why intervention is required, and that intervention comes to him through some ghostly visitations. The first is from his former partner, Jacob Marley, who had died seven years prior. Now Marley's ghost is suffering and dragging heavy chains and money boxes. And he warns Scrooge that if he keeps going this way, he will receive the same fate or worse.

The ghost warns the skeptical Scrooge: "I wear the chain that I forged in life, I built it link by link and yard by yard." The chains that haunted him were not built overnight: it was one little decision after another, every act of unkindness, every word of discouragement, every mean and nasty interaction, every ungenerous response to the pain of the world - link by link, the chain was forged. And yet, Marley, in a strange act of grace, offers Scrooge a chance to rediscover love before it's too late. He'll get a glimpse of his past and present and future, and maybe, maybe, that will awaken his heart toward the greatest love of all.

You know, the Bible teaches us that how we live our lives today matters into eternity. We are spiritual beings with a soul that will live on. And our choices follow us into the afterlife. And these little actions, these little everyday actions, add up. Writer Annie Dillard reminds us that “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” And so let's take a look into Scrooge's life and see how he spent his days - maybe that will illuminate some things.

So the ghost of Christmas past comes and takes Scrooge back into his early life, and we see that he is unloved by his father; his mother had died in childbirth, having Scrooge, and his father never forgave him for it. And that shapes him deeply. And at the same time, this is softened by his sister, who shows him kindness and love and looks out for him. But those events stuck with him. The ghost takes him to another vision where he is taken back to the moment where he discovers love and falls in love with Belle. With Belle, he's happy and filled with joy, and he hopes to get married. But he trades it for the lure of financial security and wealth. And his boss at the time, Fezziwig, was full of joy, teaches him how to play and have fun. But Scrooge fails to see how it will help him toward his goal to be rich. Now, these are defining moments, but you can bet there were little ones along the way, little links in the chain, little calluses that began to develop on his heart. And soon, soon, nothing got in; hardened as cement.

Think about your past. Maybe you've got a long history, or maybe you've got a shorter one. I grew up in a little town in Montana, and during my grade school years we lived three miles outside of town. And it was isolated, and we had to take a bus. And because I was on the beginning of the route, we didn't go straight to school; it was a 45-minute bus ride to go three miles because we went all around and picked everybody up. And there was one stop on that bus route that I would always dread because that was the stop where Joe would get on, and if Joe was in a bad mood (which he was most of the time), he would come over by me, and he would just start picking on me relentlessly. I was smaller then, just so you know; people have asked about that. But I learned that if I kept my head down and sat in the back and didn't talk to anyone, I could avoid Joe's gaze, I could avoid Joe, and I could avoid the pain. And I learned that the world wasn't as safe as I thought it was, and I needed to find ways to protect myself. My heart grew a little harder.

I don't know what it might be for you, but there are things that have impacted your heart. What pains and hardships have you suffered, and how did they shape you? What narrative did that give you about the world, about relationships, about what's important to you?

As Scrooge learned that his father didn't love him and only cared about productivity, money, and hard work were the answer, and that's where he would fill the void in his heart. In a later vision, Bell, the love of his life confronts Scrooge. She says, "Another idol has displaced me, a golden one. All your hopes have merged into a master passion; the thought of money engrosses you." And Scrooge, rather than declaring his love for her, doesn't say much. So she just says, "I release you with a full heart. May you be happy in the life you have chosen." And then she walks away. And he lets her go because he chose his idol. And his heart grew a little colder.

Idolatry is a problem. But at its core is a disordered love. We love the wrong things. "When I just get a little bit more, when I just have a little bit more, I'll have enough. I just need a little more security, a little more safety."

The second ghost takes Scrooge to the present, and he sees a different story from his past experiences and challenges his picture of the world. His desperately poor employee, sweet Bob Cratchit, with his wonderful family, including little Tiny Tim, who walks with a crutch. Yep, they're the most loving, optimistic, and grateful people you've ever met. Tim's ailment and Bob's poverty do not dampen their spirits. They are grateful and full of love; they tell a different story.

And then the ghost takes him to Scrooge's nephew's house, the son of his beloved sister, the only person who really loves Scrooge. And he sees joy and fun and the grace of his nephew. Despite the others cheering and making fun of Scrooge, Fred still has compassion. He notes that Scrooge's offenses carry their own punishment. "My uncle is rich, but he cannot even enjoy it." And earlier, he says to Scrooge directly, "There are great many things in which I might have derived good even if I have not profited from it in any way. While it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I do believe kindness and love have done me good." This is a different sense of profit, a different picture of success, and what it means to live a life of love. What does success look like to you? What gives you life and joy but costs nothing?

The final ghost invites Scrooge to consider where all of this leads, to face his own death. Interestingly, the first thing he is appalled at is that no one seems to care that he has died. He demands that the ghost show him someone who feels emotion at this man's death. So the ghost takes him to the only people that seem to care: a bunch of people who have stolen all his things and are profiting from the wealth that is left behind. They're the only ones that are happy.

In contrast, the ghost takes and shows Scrooge the Cratchit family, who are now mourning the death of Tiny Tim. They're wracked with grief, clinging to each other. They loved him so much. And together, the Cratchits are celebrating the love that they all share. They remember him fondly, share stories, and hold on to the hope they have and despite it all, Bob says, "I am a happy man. I am a truly happy man." Ebenezer looks on, "How can this be?" He has this Grinch moment; "It came without ribbons, came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags and he puzzles and puzzles until his puzzler is sore.” And he ends up in a graveyard, clutching and hugging his own gravestone, completely undone.

I've presided over many memorials, and no one talks much about money, about all the money someone made or how successful they were in business. They talk about friendship, they talk about kindness. They talk about the things they did together, and they talk about love. How can that be? All that time earning money? When your time on Earth ends, what will your legacy be? How will you be remembered?

There are a lot of generous people who are part of our church, and for a very special season, I got to experience the kindness of one very special person in our congregation. They would come to me and ask for my help to give away cash to people in need. And there were no questions were asked; it was all anonymous, no ego, nothing to prove - just this pure desire to love others and be a source of hope, to share the love and blessing they had received. How can this be?

In utter desperation, Scrooge cries out to the ghost, "Say that I may change these things by an altered life. I will not shut out the lessons they teach." Fortunately for Scrooge, he still had time to turn it around. He came to understand that it was all about love, and he became a changed man. His heart filled with gratitude, and he wakes up on Christmas Day. He's just... he's gone. He's so happy. He says, "I'm as light as a feather, merry as a schoolboy, as giddy as a drunken man." Some may say his heart grew three sizes that day.

I think this incredible sense of relief and hope is the same thing that Israel felt when they heard these words from Isaiah: "I love you, I claim you, you're mine." We are never beyond hope. God claims us. We are loved, and we can live in that love. If we do, if we live in that love, amazing things will happen for us. And I just want to highlight a few as we wrap up today.

The first is, God's love will transform you. An experience of God's love will change you forever. It will change you from the inside out, and it's the only thing that can free you from the chains that hold you down. So much of our lives we spend trying to find love, to be loved, or to know love, we just look in the wrong places.

I grew up in church, our little church in Cut Bank, Montana. But I remember when I gave my life over to Jesus, and those moments of recommitment since that time. I remember these were the times when I came to experience the truth of God's amazing love in my life and realize the depths of that love. and it could only come from Jesus. Something had opened my eyes to it, and I wanted it in my life. I had reached the end of myself and my own strength, and I found a love I didn't want to be without. And it changed the way I saw everything.

God loves you. God loves you. And He claims you, beyond anything you can imagine and it will change you if you let it. I think of Zacchaeus, the tax collector that we hear about in the New Testament, and he experienced God's love through Jesus, and the grace that Jesus brought to him. And he stood up and said, "Look, Lord, here and now I give half my possessions to the poor. And if I cheated anyone out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." This is how a heart is changed by just having dinner with Jesus. How might God want to transform you?

The second thing, God's love will humble you. It will humble you. Scrooge was a smart man, but he missed the logic of love. He had power and money. But he kept it to himself. He was good with words. But he used them to cut people down. His gifts and strengths didn't lead him to a generous heart. And it's very hopeful to me that someone like Scrooge is offered grace. He didn't deserve a second chance; it was a gift. And the reality is we cannot buy God's love through our actions and our deeds. This is where the storyline of our movie departs from the truth of the gospel. Because in the story of Scrooge, he undoes his heavy afterlife chain through kindness and generosity. These are great things, very good things. But we can never do enough good things to make our lives right. Only God can break the chains that weigh us down. Only the ultimate act of love could take away our sin.

Later in Isaiah, in chapter 52, it says, "Free yourself from the chains around your neck, Daughter, Zion, now a captive. For this is what the Lord says: “You are sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.'" Without money, you will be redeemed. God loved Scrooge before he changed, and he wants Scrooge to know a life of love. And no amount of money is going to redeem his life. Only God can save him. And it's out of gratitude for that gift of love, that response to grace, that good work and good deeds flow.

Do you ever wonder if Scrooge backslid? I wonder about this sometimes, you know, I've watched a lot of movies for this sermon. And I wonder, you know, maybe he saw a penny on the ground, and a vein popped out in his neck, and bahh he went for it and trampled some kids to get it. You know? Maybe he was changed forever, but I know the truth is: I struggle. We all struggle with giving ourselves over to God's love every day. And we can't do it on our own. So we need to be reminded, just like Israel, that we are dependent and that God doesn't give up on us. It's important.

The third thing: God's love will open your eyes. Every day we have the opportunity to sow love, but we need to have our eyes open and really see people. The Ghost of Christmas Present says to Scrooge, "You've gone through a lot of life not noticing a lot." Can anyone else relate? There's so many things I miss because I don't want to see them. And I only want to see what I want to see.

Dallas Willard says this, "The first act of love is always the giving of attention.” The first act of love is always the giving of attention. Where's your attention? Theologian Frederick Buechner speaks to us about noticing; he says, "God comes to us in the hungry people we do not have to feed, he comes to us in the lonely people we do not have to comfort, comes to us in all the desperate human need of people everywhere that we always are free to turn our backs upon."

Scrooge was an expert at turning his back on the need around him. He went through life not noticing a lot. He probably thought that each need he saw represented a risk for him to lose something. He saw Bob Cratchit as a charity case, his nephew as an interruption. But here's the beauty of the Christmas story and the subversive way that God works in our lives. We think God calls us to the muck and mire of the stables of today's world because we have power and influence to bring resources to those poor souls around us. But what if we're called there not to bring God's presence but to find God's presence? What if Christ is born this year in a homeless shelter? Or a halfway house or under a bridge? Will we have the courage to go there to witness the gift of Christ in those faces? Or have our hearts grown cold and cynical? What does God want you to see and notice that you don't want to see and notice? No ghosts required. Maybe the Holy Ghost.

Last one. God's love will surprise you. You know this word came to Israel in a very tough time. They had lost the land that God had promised to them. They were suffering; they felt abandoned. And Isaiah tells them that God still loves them and He will be with them despite their circumstances.

I'm not sure what you're sitting with as you listen to this word today, what you walked in the door with, but you need to know that we experience God's love through our circumstances. Walking through the rivers and the fires of our lives. Maybe it's mourning the death of loved ones or sacrificing to care for those in need or struggling to pay your bills or getting bad news from the doctor. In the middle of all of it, God shows up - just like he showed up in the middle of the night in that village in Bethlehem; a baby who would grow up and walk through lots of fires and cross lots of rivers to be our Emmanuel, God with us, to show us what love really looks like.

So I pray, I pray that this Christmas, we would all experience God's love and grace in unexpected and powerful ways; that He would break in and get our attention. And He would speak those words to our hearts that we need to hear and fill us with gratitude. And give us the courage to face our fears for the future. Can we do that? Are you expecting for that? I am. And God bless us, everyone. Let's pray together.

God, we ask that you would transform and humble us in a way that only your Spirit can. That your message of love, God, would be so powerful that your love would be so tangible that we would let go of those other lesser loves that we grab a hold of so easily. God we need you to transform us, to open our eyes. God, to open our hearts to you, to be the people that you've called us to be. So we ask that from you. We pray that in Jesus' name, Amen.