25 Thoughts on “A Christmas Carol” – December 1st

Happy Christmas Dear Readers,

“Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to.”

I have often noticed that the thing that gets the most attention from this opening paragraph is that Marley is dead. Dickens makes it quite clear that the importance of Marley being dead is that if he is not then “nothing wonderful can come from” this tale. So the belaboring of the point that Marley is dead makes great sense. I would like, if I may, to point out that there is another thought in this paragraph that is very important.

Reread the paragraph, but especially the last sentence. Almost as a throw away comment, Dickens points out that our “covetous old sinner” is also an honest man. We will later see how greedy, miserly, mean, and hard-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge was. For now though I wish to ponder his honesty. If he truly is a man of his word then Mister Dickens gives us hope in the very first paragraph. We begin the tale knowing that there is hope.

What is Advent if not the Father calling down to us that there is hope? There is a chance that our reclamation is possible. We the covetous sinners are given hope through the incarnation of God in Christ. It is our redemption that is the purpose of the divine taking on the mortal. God made us and journeyed to us when we ran from him. All of this; the birth, the magi, the ghosts, and the story are centered on a single issue. If we honestly look at the world around us we realize that from the womb, we are dead to begin with, and that God has gone and is going to great lengths to bring us back to life.

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."