The Remembrance of Christmas Past: Hope from Heartbreak

Hope. The Israelites needed it in Isaiah’s day. In verse one, there is a reference to the humbling of Zebulun and Naphtali. As Gennifer Benjamin Brooks noted in her Working Preacher commentary one year, these territories “had experienced the devastation of the advancing Assyrian army, the direct result of their decision to trust human allies rather than divine promises.” Their king had worshiped idols, “which put them directly in the path of God’s anger, and divine retribution came at the hands of the Assyrian war machine.” The people were suffering- indeed walking in darkness in so many ways. 

Isaiah gives them the hope they need. As Matt Rawle notes in his book The Redemption of Scrooge, Isaiah “offers prophetic words of a time when God will rescue God’s people.” We hear these words of hope, and just as the Israelites needed them then, we continue to need them now. To remember the light that has come, and that the darkness we experience does not have the final say. 

Scrooge is having some difficulty with hope in the beginning of A Christmas Carol. We hear him become this way when he mentions to Belle, “There is nothing on which [the world] is so hard as poverty; and there is nothing it professes to condemn with such severity as the pursuit of wealth!” 

Belle has seen Scrooge change over the years, and answers: “You fear the world too much… 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.”

This is how Scrooge had slowly changed. But Scrooge has just relived so many moments from his past: seeing the heartbreaking boy Ebenezer who was alone, and then thrust into the world; a scene which made him wish he had given something to the young caroler instead of yelling at him to go away. He has seen how much benevolence came from his employer Mr. Fezziwig, exponentially more than the amount the party cost. And he is reminded of his clerk Bob Cratchet. Seeing this scene, where Belle leaves him, causes Scrooge so much pain that he begs of the Spirit “No more!” As Rawle notes, “reliving the memory eventually moved him to compassion toward those who know the pain of brokenness.”

We all experience difficult times. Some of you have lost loved ones or dear friends recently. Or maybe you have family you’re estranged from, whether your decision or theirs. Maybe you made a mistake in the past that continues to haunt you, or something happened you can’t forgive. Heartache comes in many forms. Indeed, brokenness is part of us. As Leonard Cohen says in his Anthem, “There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” 

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. 

In his book, Rawle recalls his words during a communion at a Christmas-season healing service. He writes, “When I broke the bread around the Communion table, I mentioned how our salvation is brought about not through wholeness, but through a broken body. Christ died and was raised, not to prevent us from grieving, but so that our brokenness would be redeemed, our faults would not define us, and our sadness would not be the end of the story.” And then, Matt Rawle connected all of this to Scrooge, postulating “that Scrooge’s inability to be merry was a way of honoring his heartbreak, ensuring that the pain he remembered was not dismissed or understood as unimportant[.] It seems that the gospel teaches us that we honor our pain, not by holding on to it, but by sharing it and carrying it with each other. In other words, Christ died and rose again. Christ was laid in the tomb, but that is not where he stayed. Suffering is certainly part of the story, but it is neither where the story lingers nor ends.”

How has a time of suffering or heartache impacted your life?

I’ve preached a few times on my own experience of divorce. Having someone say that they don’t love you anymore is heartbreaking, especially when planning a life together. But I also know it allowed me to leave Long Island. It allowed me to find myself, and to eventually come here. It means that I have a stronger marriage now, to a man I never would have met otherwise. And that story has allowed me to connect with others going through their own divorce. It means that I can speak from experience if someone asks me about divorce. It means I know a little bit about what they’re going through. 

We have all experienced some degree of heartbreak or painful memories. So as Rawle asks: “How might God be calling you to use those past snapshots in the future? How can God transform those memories into future blessings for you and for others?”

Maybe it’s reaching out to someone who’s going through a difficult time that’s similar to your own. Or someone who’s experiencing loss. Scrooge wishes he had given something to a child who reminded him of his childhood self. If you’re in a place where helping others isn’t in your wheelhouse right now, that’s ok. If this is a hard Christmas season for you, consider joining me on December 20 at 4pm at St Paul’s United Methodist for an Ecumenical Longest Night, or Blue Christmas, service. 

If those heartbreaking wounds have healed over a little bit, consider sharing your story and listening to another person’s story. We all have past faults and failures. Not one of us is perfect. But God came and chose to be with us in Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem. And we have the chance to offer hope to the world out of our own heartbreak.

“The miracle has just begun in YOU for the sake of the world… God Bless us Every One!” 

Let us pray: "Gracious God, you know our past faults and failures because you are always with us. By the power of your Spirit, transform our heartache into acts of mercy and justice for your children today and every tomorrow. Sustain us with your presence, and remind us of your salvation offered through Christ. Amen.”

*Resources for this sermon include:

Gennifer Benjamin Brooks, Working Preacher “Commentary on Isaiah 9:2-7” for December 24, 2015. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christmas-eve-nativity-of-our-lord/commentary-on-isaiah-92-7-10 

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.

Marcia McFee, God Bless Us Every One: The Redemption of Scrooge, “The Remembrance of Christmas Past: Hope from Heartbreak” from the Worship Design Studio with Dr. Marcia McFee. 2016.

Matt Rawle, The Redemption of Scrooge, (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2016), Chapter 2: The Remembrance of Christmas Past.