Ministers’ Message
One of the truths at the heart of Scrooge’s journey is that each of us is shaped by the life we have lived so far. We carry the imprint of our joys and our sorrows. We carry the tenderness that was offered to us, and the hurts that were never fully mended. We carry the love that shaped us and the losses that changed us. The Ghost of Christmas Past invites Scrooge to look at his story, and as he does, he begins to see how every experience left its mark, and the parallels with his present life. The same is true for us.
The journey into Scrooge’s past begins with a simple but heartbreaking contrast. He watches the children he once knew racing home to their families, full of warmth and excitement. Their joy shines brightly, which makes the next image more painful. He then sees himself as a child, alone in the quiet schoolroom, books and imagination as poor substitutes for the presence of loving friends and family. It still gets me every time he whispers, “Poor boy,” and experiences that full-circle moment of recalling the compassion he once needed, feeling compassion for his younger self in the moment, and the quiet regret that he had turned the caroller away the night before. He recognizes himself in the longing of that child at his door. There is something profound about seeing yourself in someone else. It expands our hearts in a way that few other things do in life.
The memories continue, each carrying both gratitude and ache. He remembers his sister, Fan, whose devotion wrapped him in a love he still feels years later. He remembers Fezziwig, whose generosity created a sense of belonging that once shaped him in ways he had forgotten. These memories warm him and wound him in equal measure. And then he sees Belle. He remembers the ease and affection that once shaped their lives together. He also sees how fear slowly shifted his priorities until love slipped quietly out of reach. Their parting carries both beauty and sorrow, and Scrooge feels the weight of what was lost.
Each memory reveals how his life was shaped by love as much as by loss. As with so many of us, and the people we encounter, it can be easy to forget that his heart once held tenderness, hope, and joy. The person he has become emerged through the slow interplay of fear, longing, insecurity, and grief.
When we move through Scrooge’s memories in this way, we begin to see something of our own lives reflected in his. Each of us carries a story woven from joy and sorrow. Moments of love that made us who we are. Moments of loss that reshaped us in ways we are still trying to understand. Times when our hearts felt wide open. Times when fear or grief caused us to close ourselves without noticing it happening. Our past holds laughter and loneliness, belonging and disappointment, promises kept and promises broken. Faith creates room for us to see our whole selves with compassion.
This is the gift of the Ghost of Christmas Past. It calls Scrooge to remember who he has been. In doing so, he discovers that tenderness still lives within him. Advent offers a similar invitation. It encourages us to make room for memory, to remember our own stories with gentle grace, and to trust that God is present in every chapter; even the ones that felt lonely, even the ones that still sting, even the ones we wish had unfolded differently.
If you would like to revisit Scrooge’s memories in preparation for Sunday, you will find them in A Christmas Carol, Stave Two.
As we enter this second week of Advent, I encourage you to spend time with your own past in the same spirit. Allow gratitude and lament to rise and speak where each needs to speak. Advent honours the whole of who we are, reminding us that God’s hope grows through the fullness of our stories. Let the story meet you where you are, and trust that grace is still at work in all the layers of your becoming.