25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 17th

Happy Christmas Dear Reader

“'Come in!' exclaimed the Ghost.’Come in! And know me better, man.'

Scrooge entered timidly, and hung his head before this Spirit. He was not the dogged Scrooge he had been; and though the Spirit's eyes were clear and kind, he did not like to meet them.

'I am the Ghost of Christmas Present,' said the Spirit. 'Look upon me!'”

What a magnificent sight Mister Dickens paints for us here. The room is filled with every manner of plenty and celebration. Do we take time during the Christmas season to ponder on just how blessed we are? We have so much and God had provided much beyond our basic needs.

Think for a moment how rich Scrooge must have been. His business garnered him much profit and he spent very little. He had plenty of wealth but little poorness of spirit. It is no small thing that this man is chosen for reclamation. He is the image of plenty and substance that can with the right heart reach out to his fellow man a hand of generosity that makes a difference.

We are all wealthy by world standards. Beyond that there is a limitless supply of spiritual wealth to be had in the effort to show love and kindness to others. Being present in the spirit of Christmas cost us nothing or very little. We have the opportunity every day to walk with the Spirit of Christmas Present in harmony. We can share his jovial nature and aid in spreading the cheer he brings.

It is no small thing to spread joy to others. Today is the anniversary of Mister Dickens’s first publication of this tale. He gave all mankind a lovely gift with this story. Someone recently made an acerbic remark to me about the value being less because he was paid by the letter. I submit that he could have written about most anything and been popular. I think that this particular tale was his way of giving us a way to be reminded of the spirit that is intended for Christmas past, present, and future. We can honor Christ and Mister Dickens by living that spirit and letting them strive within us.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 16th

Happy Christmas Dear Reader

“'What Idol has displaced you?' he rejoined.
'A golden one.'
'This is the even-handed dealing of the world.' he said. 'There is nothing on which it is so hard as poverty; and there is nothing it professes to condemn with such severity as the pursuit of wealth!'
'You fear the world too much,' she answered, gently. 'All your other hopes have merged into the hope of being beyond the chance of its sordid reproach. I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one by one, until the master-passion, Gain, engrosses you. Have I not?'”

Oh that we could catch Scrooge at this moment and arrest his progress toward greed and a miserly nature. What if we could stop his march here and now? He could Bell’s forgiveness and become the man he is destined to become anyway. Alas we cannot.

We can, however, learn from Ebenezer’s failure. We can realize that we all have idols that prevent us from being all that we can be to each other. We replace compassion and generosity with greed. We forbear showing love to worship bitterness. We think of what we do not have instead of counting our current blessings. We fear not having so we hold on to wealth instead of releasing it to bless the lives of others.

What has bitterness and greed cost me over my lifetime? The love of others whom I love is absent. The peaceful companionship of some family is elusive because I lived by my fears instead of my faith. Like Scrooge I have feared the world too much and allowed my choices to cause harm as a result. Too high is the price of not walking daily in the spirit of Christ that should haunt us Christmas day and every day. It should not merely haunt but should posses us so fully that others think us drunk or mad.

Tomorrow we begin our walk with the Ghost of Christmas present. But for today, a tear fall as I take a final look at Christmas past and know that I did good but could have done better.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 15th

Happy Christmas Dear Reader

“'Why! Is it not? He has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money: three or four perhaps. Is that so much that he deserves this praise?'
'It isn't that,' said Scrooge, heated by the remark, and speaking unconsciously like his former, not his latter, self. 'It isn't that, Spirit. He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count them up: what then? The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.'”

We immediately see here that Scrooge has understanding. He comprehends that those with means have power over others. Notice that Scrooge, who makes Bob Cratchet’s work not only burdensome but painful and uncomfortable, remembers who kindly he was treated by the man who had this same power over him.

Notice that Scrooge also understands how little it takes to give good will and happiness to others. It is so easy to be kind when we get outside or our own world and look at the world from a new perspective. We focus so closely on our own wants and needs that we do not see how rich we can make others by simply being kind to them. We can share a kindness small and warm and kindle a great bonfire of good in another. We can lift a finger to ease another’s burden and to them it is as if we have moved a great boulder.

Something in the power to care for others becomes so redeeming to us. When we show kindness to another it increases our own sense of worth and value to the universe in general. When we do it out of love and a humility born of our own sense of understanding our need for grace the effect increases dramatically.

We are almost done with Christmas past. And we are over half way through our current day journey. So I ask what you are gaining from out travel together. Do you know yourself and Scrooge any better? Ponder these things as we move toward Christmas present.


Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 14th

Happy Christmas Dear Reader

“ 'Always a delicate creature, whom a breath might have withered,' said the Ghost. 'But she had a large heart.'
'So she had,' cried Scrooge. 'You're right. I will not gainsay it, Spirit. God forbid!'
'She died a woman,' said the Ghost, 'and had, as I think, children.'
'One child,' Scrooge returned.
'True,' said the Ghost. 'Your nephew.'”

How often the division and solitude in life begins with family. A schism develops. An argument ensues. Bitterness gets root over a loss of some kind. In short we make a choice to shut off a part of ourselves to someone who is honestly family. We turn our hearts away in a small or large way from a person we are commanded to love.

That choice can lead to such solitude of spirit that we reject completely those we are supposed to love and honor. The first hardening of a heart is always a choice. Some hurt or loss causes us to refuse to be tender to someone else. Even if they are in the wrong; do they not then need tenderness? Is it not an act of Christian charity to forgive them in the measure that we need forgiveness from our own transgressions?

Failure to forgive and love always leads to a portion of us becoming stony towards those around us. I have done this with others and it is so difficult to melt the ice we place in our hearts so willingly. Once the smallest bitterness has root then it is painful to uproot it and face that our attitude and actions have neither been gracious or charitable.

We develop a natural tendency toward shunning or being intentionally mean with regards to someone. We demonstrate our ill temper by being perfunctory or simply withholding genuine kindness toward the offending party and translating it to others that matter to them. Fred had done nothing to Scrooge but Ebenezer chose to withhold any feelings of family over the death of Fred’s mother, his sister.

Is not Christmas about peace on earth? Is it not God showing his good will toward men? What better then to uproot our own bitterness and show good will toward our family? This is our chance to treat our family with loving-kindness and begin a habit of kindness we can translate into a lifestyle.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 13th

Happy Christmas Dear Reader

‘ 'I wish,' Scrooge muttered, putting his hand in his pocket, and looking about him, after drying his eyes with his cuff: 'but it's too late now.'

'What is the matter?' asked the Spirit.

'Nothing,' said Scrooge. 'Nothing. There was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something: that's all.'’

So often we see the pain of regret in moments lost when we could have been kind or generous but were not. It is important that we differentiate between guilt and regret. What is in our hands is ours to do with as we wish but then again it is not. Everything under our care is given to us to use for the greater good. To hoard or hold that which we are given, when giving it again would support that good is what causes regret in us.

How often have we passed a stranded motorist and wished we had stopped? How many times do we wait a moment too long in showing a simple kindness and the moment escapes us? We are the keepers of the kingdom, but the kingdom is not ours to keep. It is, rather, ours to give away. We hold onto things because we fear some kind of want or loss or because we are just greedy. Holding onto that which is not ours means that we have lost the opportunity to be proper stewards of what we are given.

With every encounter that we enter expecting the opportunity to give, there is no missed opportunity to give. If, however, we go about closed and solitary as our Mister Scrooge then we will seek or see little chance to give anything. So we find ourselves looking backward at the time past and wishing that we had done something, anything to impose generosity upon another.

Changing a hungry world into a satisfied one begins with looking for a single mouth to feed. Education of the world begins with grasping simple opportunities to teach an individual. We simply need to embrace the needs set before us. We only need to address the kindnesses we have opportunity to give. The boy singing at the keyhole is a chance to change the world. Seize it with such ferocity that it begins a quake of change.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 12th

Happy Christmas Dear Readers,

“'Oh! captive, bound, and double-ironed,' cried the phantom, 'not to know, that ages of incessant labour by immortal creatures, for this earth must pass into eternity before the good of which it is susceptible is all developed! Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness! Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused! Yet such was I! Oh! such was I!'

'But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,' faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.

'Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. 'Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!'”

As we end our interview with Jacob Marley there are two points he makes that are eternal. The first is that life is too short for the “vast measure of usefulness” of a working Christian spirit. The time will most assuredly fly by if we are engaged in the work of caring for the things for which Christ cares. When we focus on following Christ and that alone the time does indeed seem short. It is when we labor at things for our own want and greed that time seems to stretch into and eternal endless treadmill.

Scrooge attempts to placate his dead friend by suggesting that he was a “good man of business.” Marley’s reply points to the misconception that lives within our culture today. We have lost the core notion that in all our business, mankind is our business. The common welfare, charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence are all the core of our business. Christ speaks that two commands are the greatest. The first is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. The second is to love our neighbor as our self. I would posit that if we are doing the former, we cannot help but do the latter.

It is our obligation to see the needs of others as what we must do for Christ. Marley in this last line points out the dealings of his trade were just a means to conduct his real business. How much wealth lies in the hands of Christ followers while people go hungry? How much of the common welfare could be supplied if Christ followers refused to hoard their wealth? We must be about the business of caring for those in need or our wealth does fetter us to a sluggish tread through time that leaves us without an true assurance that we are doing all we can for Christ. This burden then makes the mountains we must climb steeper and the valleys we go through deeper. It extends and stretches the time between our glimpses of that other world whose bourning we so desire. It makes the journey so very long.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 11th

Happy Christmas Dear Readers,

” 'Jacob,' he said, imploringly. ‘Old Jacob Marley, tell me more. Speak comfort to me, Jacob.'

'I have none to give,' the Ghost replied. 'It comes from other regions, Ebenezer Scrooge, and is conveyed by other ministers, to other kinds of men. Nor can I tell you what I would. A very little more is all permitted to me. I cannot rest, I cannot stay, I cannot linger anywhere. My spirit never walked beyond out counting-house-mark me!- in life my spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing hole; and weary journeys lie before me.'”

Scrooge who denies comfort to others by his greed and avarice begs it from his doomed friend. He shows not compassion for Jacob and his estate but in the rut of his own self containment begs his friend for comfort. There seems so little hope for our anti-hero in this moment. As his friend stands fettered, doomed, and in anguish, Scrooge can only consider his own future and still seeks only to serve his own interests.

In the midst of this self serving moment, however, lies the barest glimpse of hope. Mister Dickens gives it to us in a device that seems to be one of his favorites. For the first time in our story we are given a bit of information about Scrooge that we did not previously posses. In fact, if one is keen on the way in which Mister Dickens uses this device we could close the story here in certainty that all is well that ends well.

We of course will follow Scrooge’s journey to the end. We cannot leave him here in his nightshirt faced with only a weary ghost and not knowing how he turns out. So I will share the insight of hope Mister Dickens gives us and you may address it as you wish. In the midst of Scrooge’s self serving plea for comfort, Jacob responds by using for the first time in the tale, Scrooge’s given name; Ebenezer. Ebenezer means Stone of Help or Stone of Comfort. It is intriguing that the first time Mister Dickens gives us Scrooge’s first name is when he asks Marley for comfort.

Later in the tale the fact that this name refers to a stone is very important. But here, in the moment with Misters Marley and Scrooge we learn that at least the name of the man implies that he is a steady and strong source of help, encouragement, and comfort. Marley is saying to Ebenezer, “I have not comfort to give, Stone of Comfort.” We are left in the moment wondering if the miserly Mister Scrooge may truly be transformed into an Ebenezer.

As to Marley’s opinion on the matter, it is clear that comfort is conveyed to “other kinds of men.” Perhaps we must be vigilant that we are the kind of men that other ministers deliver comfort to because we have delivered it to others. For now though, hold only a name in hope for our wanting miser. Then again, we also only have a name in which to hope.
Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 10th

Happy Christmas Dear Readers,

“'You are fettered,' said Scrooge, trembling. ‘Tell me why?'

'I wear the chain I forged in life,' replied the Ghost. 'I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is irs pattern strange to you?'

Scrooge trembled more and more.

'Or would you know,' pursued the Ghost, 'the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. You have laboured on it, since. It is a ponderous chain!'”

Ultimately, the burdens we carry through life and retain in death are of our own choosing. We are bitter because we choose to be. We divorce our spouses because we are hard hearted and refuse to believe that God will honor us if we keep our vows. We lie because we fear the truth or seek gain through our deception. We are greedy because we do not believe that Christ will truly provide for us.

If we centered that which we forge in our lives upon Christ then our burdens would evaporate. What chains do we forge unseen upon our hearts and our spirits? What burdens do we carry that could be set aside were we to just lay them at Christ’s feet? I would know the “weight and length of the strong coil” I bear but I fear it would kill me. Instead I focus on forging a chain that is fettered to the gospel. I seek to make links of kindness, love, and grace to which I fastened myself when I accepted Christ and his cross.

I fail at this and sometimes forge chains that are ones I would rather not bear. Oh that it were so easy to see when we add to and take away from out burdens. Since it is not we can only assure that we lighten our load by fixing out hearts and hopes upon Christ and following him in every moment.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 9th

“’Man of the worldly mind, do you believe in me or not?’

'I do,' said Scrooge. 'I must. But why do spirits walk the earth, and why do they come to me?'

'It is required of every man,' the Ghost returned, 'that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world-oh, woe is me!-and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness.'”

Do we see truly others in the state in which they reside? Does our spirit walk about reaching out to the spirits of others? Do we instead carry our pains and hurts like Marley’s cash boxes fettering us to a solitariness that hinders our ability to share our richness in Christ. Do we ignore opportunities to turn pain to happiness?

While the theology here is flawed the point is spot on the mark. Our spirit is intended to go abroad and show to others the richness that can be realized in Christ while we walk the mortal world. We have a continuing opportunity to follow Christ alone in our generosity, kindness, love, and grace. We can choose to daily show these qualities to others and truly turn other lives to happiness. Our spirits, yielded to Christ in generosity and kindness can warm others to the truth we have to share.

Focusing on this adamant of heart and spirit also leaves us little time to complain and pity our own seeming lack of substance or stature. There is nothing we need that Christ will not provide for us if we follow him. We can leave behind the concern for our own needs and wants and invest ourselves in the nurture and care of others. Doing this guarantees that Christ is free to in turn nurture us. I can think of nothing better than our focus on those who need the affection of our generous spirit resulting in the sharpening of Christ’s focus on our own needs.

My spirit will go abroad to others no matter what state I am in personally. Come walk with me if you wish.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 8th

Happy Christmas Dear Readers,

“The owner of one scant young nose, gnawed and mumbled by the hungry cold as bones are gnawed by dogs, stooped down at Scrooge's keyhole to regale him with a Christmas carol: but at the first sound of 'God bless you, merry gentleman. May nothing you dismay!' Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost.”

I sing Christmas carols all the time as I shop, work, or putter around the house. I have often been joined in my humming a Christmas tune in the checkout line at the grocer’s. The music of the season, especially the song mentioned above floats through me like a steady stream of good humor and love for those around me.

I have, on a few occasions been scolded for singing Christmas hymns. I have heard accusations that I am “forcing my religion” on people. Mostly this comes from people who would demand that I be tolerant and accepting of views differing from mine while they condemn my views. What is it in us that causes us to resent the celebration of others? How is it that we are not satisfied with our own misery but must visit it loudly on others?

Earlier on Dickens tells us that Scrooge is “secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.” That would seem to be opposite to his insistence that those who celebrate and make merry should somehow be punished for their merriment. But do we not do the same. We hear the good feelings of others and their expressed joy and do our level best to dampen their good spirits if we do not share them. It is so easy to see our own miseries and use them to diminish the joy of others.

We could instead choose to share in the joy others feel and so for a space forget about our own troubles. I have often found that if I celebrate that which cheers another’s heart them my heart is also warm. Rejoicing in the happiness of friends helps my heart to strike a more generous fire. Perhaps that is the very thing that it is intended to do for me.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn