Matthew 3
Bah Humbug, Who needs
Peace?
Bah humbug, who needs peace?
Scrooge doesn’t need peace, he
has created his own. He has insulated
himself in a fortified bubble of his own financial security that guarantees him
peace. How many times do we wish we
could do the same? Insulate ourselves
into our own bubble of peace, keeping the worries and concerns of the world
away? Every time I go on vacation, I
joke about how great it would be to sell the house and just move to
tropics. To just ignore all the pain of
the world and just be, just soak in the sun, eat yummy food, swim, read books,
that would be the life.
The
bell tolls
Bah
humbug, who needs peace? Pop, the
insulated bubble around Ebenezer Scrooge pops, as the bells toll and the Ghost
of Christmas Present beckons him to come and hear what is happening in the world
that very night. Earlier in the night,
Scrooge has turned away from his office men seeking donations for the poor, he
had said: —the poor have only themselves to blame and would be better off dead.
So when
he is visited by the spirit of the present, he is admonished to “look!” He must
really see the truth of the suffering world and his own hand in it. One of the places he is taken is to the home
of his worker: Bob Cratchit. There, Scrooge gets a glimpse into the life
of this family. Poverty suddenly has a
face, a connection, to Ebenezer, this is a direct connection to someone he
knows.
‘Spirit,’ said
Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before, ‘tell me if Tiny Tim will
live.’
Ghost: ‘I see
a vacant seat,’ replied the Ghost, ‘in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch
without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the
Future, the child will die.’
‘No, no,’ said Scrooge. ‘Oh, no, kind Spirit.
say he will be spared.’
Ghost:
‘If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other will find him
here. What then. “If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the
surplus population.’”
Scrooge
hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with
penitence and grief.
Pop, the bubble of peace Scrooge had fortified
around himself no longer exists and he is overcome with penitence and
grief. Amazing what happens when we see
how our life, how our choices, can directly impact the future of someone
else.
In
those days, John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness proclaiming; Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come
near. Repent, come and confess your
sins. I love the song from
Godspell: Prepare ye the way of the
Lord. What must we do to be
prepared? John calls us to repent and
confess our sins. The Kingdom of God is
drawing near, the Prince of Peace has arrived, we desire to welcome him into
our hearts, into our homes, into our lives and so we must prepare.
Whether Scrooge knows this or not,
his heart changes, he makes the connection that his actions have consequences
and he does not like what he sees. And
so he is overcome with penitence and grief.
Peace begins with us, it begins with how we view ourselves in the
greater web of life. Our choices, our
actions have a ripple effect out throughout the world. Whether it is the food we buy, the clothes we
wear, the things we throw away. It all
ripples out and impacts others. Just
this morning on the news, there was a spot on truckers and the person
interviewed stated: we put profits over
lives as he spoke about how tired so many drivers are working the long hours
that they work. Profits over lives. That is the message of the life of Ebenezer
Scrooge and if we are willing to see it in the world today, it still rings
true.
We don’t
have to live that way, the Prince of Peace calls us not to live this way. Just as Scrooge began to have a change of
heart, we, as the people of God can model a way of living where we seek to do
the least amount of harm. It is not
easy, but we can begin to be a part of a change to be more responsible
consumers where we put the lives of others first.
Open
us to your miracle just begun
and
in this season transform us into those whose giving
brings
peace in a turbulent world.
Blessings
sent us from above guide us on our way.
We
raise our voice as we rejoice, bow our head and pray.
A
miracle has just begun. God bless us everyone!
Two]
candle’s light dispels the night; now our eyes can see.
Burning
brighter than the sun, God bless us everyone!
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