Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Mark D. Roberts

Home
Evangelical
Keeping Christmas Well: Like Ebenezer Scrooge

Keeping Christmas Well: Like Ebenezer Scrooge

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:34 pm by Mark D. Roberts

Keeping Christmas Well: Like Ebenezer Scrooge 2015-03-13T15:34:45-05:00 Mark D. Roberts

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Keeping Christmas Well…Like Ebenezer Scrooge

Luke 2:1-16

She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Luke 2:7

Illustration from the first edition of A Christmas Carol. The transformed Scrooge enjoying some Smoking Bishop with Bob Cratchit.

In the first stave of Charles Dickens’ classic story, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge didn’t have much enthusiasm for Christmas. “If I could work my will,” said Scrooge indignantly, “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.” But, after being visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, and the three spirits of Christmas, Scrooge is a changed man. To the Ghost of Christmas Future, he promises, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” Indeed, he did. The final paragraphs of A Christmas Carol report that Scrooge “knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.” To this Dickens adds, “May that be truly said of us, and all of us!”

What would it be like to keep Christmas well? For Ebenezer Scrooge, this was primarily a matter of generosity, joyfulness, fairness in the workplace, and care for people in need. Scrooge “became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough in the good old world.” But, as praiseworthy as these behaviors and characteristics might be, I wonder: Is that all there is to keeping Christmas well? Or might there be more? And if there is more, how would we know what keeping Christmas well really means?

If we’re going to answer these questions, we must remember the essential event of Christmas: the birth of Jesus, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, because there was no room for him and his parents at the inn. Yet, this seemingly insignificant event was, in fact, the watershed event of history, the entrance of the Word of God into human life as human flesh. Keeping Christmas well means paying close attention, not only to what happened at Christmas, but especially to its meaning. In truth, Christmas changes everything, including how you and I might live each day.

In the eleven days to come, I will be reflecting on what it means to keep Christmas well by focusing on the implications of the birth of Jesus for our lives. Thus, the whole season of Christmas, all twelve days, including today, will be a time for us to consider how we might honor Christmas each day, not only in our hearts, but also in daily activities: in our work, in our relationships, in our service to others, in our finances. I invite you to join me in the adventure of discovering how we might keep Christmas well.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: When you hear the phrase “keeping Christmas well,” what comes to mind? How might you keep Christmas well even today, Christmas day?

PRAYER:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Amen.

“Joy to the World” was written as a Christian reflection on Psalm 98 by Isaac Watts. First published in 1719.

Christmas: Keeping Christmas Well

Keeping Christmas Well

Luke 2

Previous Post

December 24, 2011

Online Advent Calendar for Saturday, December 24

Next Post

December 25, 2011 A Doodle for Christmas Day

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Advent Calendar Alissa Wilkinson Archeology Art and Faith Ash Wednesday Bible Books Business Business and Faith Christian Year (Liturgical or Church Year) Christmas Christmas according to Dickens Christmas, Culture, and Christ Christmas: Keeping Christmas Well Church and Culture Church and Ministry Church and Technology Church Life Church: What is a Church? Cities Code of Ethics for Pastors Contentment Creativity Cultural Commentary Culture Daily Reflections Dallas Willard Deliberating on Digital Dignity Easter Education Ephesus and the New Testament Ethics Eugene Peterson Evangelical Existential Questions Faith Faith and Work Family Food Friendship Fun Good Reads Gospel Centered Christianity Grace Handel's Messiah Harvard University Health High Calling History Holidays Holy Spirit Holy Week Hospitality How Does God Guide Us? Hunger Games Insights for Leaders - De Pree Center Inspiration from the High Calling Jesus Jesus: Following Him as a Disciple Jesus: Seven Last Words Jesus: Was Jesus Married? Jesus: What Was His Message? Jesus: Why Did He Have to Die? Laity Lodge Leadership Leadership Conversation Lent Les Miserables Life for Leaders Linda's Advent Doodles Linda's Lenten Doodles Living Well Loving Neighbors Max De Pree Center for Leadership Mental Health Mission of God and Missional Church Money Moral Dilemmas Mormonism Movies Nature New York City Pastors and Churches Pentecost Photos to Share Poetry Police Blotter Politics Prayer Preachers Portal Preaching Presbyterian Church Quotations Reading the Times Recommendations Reflecting on Technology Religion and Culture Ruminations Sabbath Science Seven Last Words Sexual Harassment Social Media Something to Think About Spiritual Warfare Sports Stations of the Cross Stephen Hawking: Heaven and Faith Stories Technology and Culture Technology and Education Technology and Mental Health Technology Bits Texas Thanksgiving The High Calling Thin Places Uncategorized Vocation Women Words Work Worship

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 April 2015 March 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 November 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

"My Father's _ has many ; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go there to prepare a place for you?"

Select your answer to see how you score.

House/Rooms Table/Dishes Church/Pews Field/Crops

Keeping Christmas Well: Like Ebenezer Scrooge

Keeping Christmas Well…Like Ebenezer Scrooge

"My Father's _____ has many ____; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go there to prepare a place for you?"

"My Father's _ has many ; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go there to prepare a place for you?"