The Life of Christmas Present: Look Upon Me

In the beginning of A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge blamed the poor for being poor. “If they would rather die, they should do so and decrease the surplus population.” And though not in Dickens’s original, in The Muppet Christmas Carol Scrooge tells Kermit Cratchit “Christmas is a very busy time for us…. People preparing feasts, giving parties, spending the mortgage money on frivolities. One might say that December is the foreclosure season, harvest time for the moneylenders.”

Some of us couldn’t imagine having this world view. But there are those who believe that the poor have only themselves to blame. I ran across a Facebook video, or reel, yesterday, that spoke to the realities. Professor Chesko, also known as SpeechProf, shared his own story: he grew up in poverty and was the first of his family to go to college. When he graduated, he had a massive amount of debt and no idea how to get rid of it. So, he did what he could. He cut out all of the little things: got the cheapest internet and cheapest phone service, thrifted and used everything until it was falling apart. He had holes in his shoes, cut his own hair, ate primarily ramen. And every month, he paid what was due, never missing a payment on his loans. He did this for a long time, and then went to see how he was doing, and he owed even more. But now, ten years later, he has almost paid off those student loans and so forth. But the way he was able to do that? Making a lot more money. As he says, “That’s it. That’s the solution. …we’re talking massive debt. The way you get out of that is by earning more money.” Chesko makes a point that this isn’t easy- there are a lot of barriers that make getting out of poverty difficult. And one of his main points is that we can’t pretend that the poor are poor because they have Netflix. We have to stop blaming others for their financial situation and saying “If only they did x, y, z, they wouldn’t be in debt.” Chances are, it’s a lot more complicated than that.

And then there’s what our scriptures this morning say. In Deuteronomy, God tells the Israelites to give generously to those in need. It is true that the poor will always be with us, but that is why we give. We see that those experiencing poverty are special to God.

In Stave three of A Christmas Carol, Dickens introduces the Spirit of Christmas Present. As Scrooge is invited to enter, he hangs his head, unwilling to look the Spirit in the eyes. So the Ghost of Christmas Present issues another invitation: “Look upon me.” Scrooge looks, and as the chapter unfolds, he continues to look and to notice a world he never saw before. Where he previously saw the poor as creators of their own misfortune, he now sees their actual circumstances, as well as how he has contributed to them with the Cratchit family.

In Matthew, we see how the powerful can cause the suffering of others. King Herod is paranoid- the king that those magi spoke of could take away his power. So, when the Magi go home without telling him where Jesus is, Herod acts as only a man in his position can: someone with power who is afraid of losing it. Jesus lives, and was never going to take away his earthly power. But many children die, and mothers weep. There is great suffering, and Herod never has come face to face with it. 

Scrooge has caused suffering. And unlike Herod, he has to face it. He sees what his meager salary for Bob Cratchet has led to- a family that hates him; a Christmas pudding that is too small; a child who needs medical care but whose family can’t afford it. 

This season, we are invited to look as well. For a few years, we’ve been trying to pay attention to our neighborhood. In ‘22, we picked up garbage along 13th street and some side streets, and we noticed that Friendship Park needed some extra love. So we adopted it. We mulched, and pruned, and painted the signs and decorations around the park. We continue to hold our Easter Egg hunt there every year. Last month, we invited the community to come in and join us for our annual Sunday Thanksgiving dinner. A group called the Women’s Rights Alliance meets here each month, and they noticed that period products can be hard to obtain for some. They’ve been building and installing pink period pantries to provide products, and our Session volunteered to have one here. We’re hoping to have it soon where people can easily access it as they walk around the grounds, or come for a meeting.

This week is also the Sunday that we are focused on love. Herod’s heart was too full of fear to allow love or compassion. Scrooge’s heart had been the same, but it started to thaw. As Scrooge looks upon all that Christmas Present shows him, he sees not only the Cratchits and the poor, but also what he is missing by denying a relationship with his nephew. He gets caught up in games and fun. As the ghost of Christmas Present sings in The Muppet Christmas Carol: “Wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas. …It is the season of the heart/A special time of caring/The ways of love made clear/And it is the season of the spirit/The message if we hear it/Is make it last all year.”

We are made for love, not fear. So look upon the world over the next week. Be open to the compassion and empathy that comes from knowing another’s story.“The miracle has just begun in YOU for the sake of the world… God Bless us Every One!”