Presence | The Ghosts of Christmas | Trinity Sermons

Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons.

This week we are continuing our sermon series, The Ghosts of Christmas, where we look at

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and the ghostly visitors that come to Ebenezer Scrooge.

Today we are looking at Scrooge's visit from the Ghost of Christmas Present.

No, not Christmas Present, like the gifts that are under the tree.

It's present, as in the here and the now.

And sometimes we get stuck on worrying about the past or worrying about the future, but

the present is where life actually happens.

And so the ghost takes Scrooge through what is happening in Christmas in that moment and

shares with him stories of joy and generosity and hope.

And so join us as we learn from those stories as well and dive into our own acts of generosity

and hope in this season.

Today's first reading is from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25, verses 31 through 46.

Matthew 25:31–46

When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his

glorious throne.

All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people one from another

as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my father, take

your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.

I was a stranger and you invited me in.

I needed clothes and you clothed me.

I was sick and you look after me.

I was in prison and you came to visit me.

Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or

thirsty and give you something to drink?

When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you?

When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?

The king will reply, truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers

and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Then he will say to those on his left, depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal

fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat.

I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink.

I was a stranger and you did not invite me in.

I needed clothes and you did not clothe me.

I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.

They will also answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger and needing

clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you?

He will reply, truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these,

you did not do for me.

They will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Our second reading is from the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, verses 8 through 10.

Luke 2:8–10

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks

at night.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and

they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, do not be afraid.

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

The word of the Lord.

So a man goes up to God and he says, God, is it true that with you a million dollars

is like a penny?

And God says, yes, that's true.

And then he goes and he says, and God, is it true that with you like a million years

is like a second?

God says, yes, that's true.

And so the man thinks for a while and then he says, God, could I have a penny?

And to which God replies, sure, wait a second.

What is God's relationship with time?

This is a question that theologians and philosophers have, you know, wondered about for years and

years and years.

Do we have that first slide in there, Liz?

Can we put that up?

Yeah.

And so for many, they have said that God's relationship is what we might call atemporal.

This is a classic thought that God, of course, stands outside of time or beyond time, right?

We have a past and a present and a future, but God has no past, present and future.

He doesn't experience past, present and future because time is actually one of the things

that God created.

And so he is atemporal.

He is outside of time.

He is beyond time.

That's one thought.

Another thought out there is that God is omni-temporal, which actually means that God exists in every

moment of time, all the time, right?

And for God, the only thing God experiences is a right now.

Right now is always how God feels.

So right now, God is present at the moment of creation.

And right now, God is also present at the crucifixion.

And right now, God is present with us here at Trinity Streetsville.

And in the same sense, God feels that right now he is present at distant events in the

future that have yet to occur, right?

He's omni-temporal.

He's in every single time as a now.

Now there's another kind of theory out there that actually God is temporal, which means

this.

It means that at one point, yes, it's true.

God was kind of separated atemporal from time.

But then at the moment of creation, when God called the world into existence, something

changed, and now all of a sudden, God became caught up in the passage of time.

And so now God works in time and works with time just like we do.

But there's one more out there.

And this, I mean, these could all be true at the same time, I suppose.

But, but, and that is that God is intratemporal.

Now this is the important one for Christmas because this says that not only does God work

with time, but at a point in time, God entered into the human timeline.

That's right.

God the Son stepped into human time and began to experience all the constraints of time,

just like you and I do.

Birth and growth and, and death and resurrection, all of that stuff God has experienced.

So it's quite a mystery to understand how it is that God experiences time.

But what about humans?

How do we experience time?

Well, you have probably heard the saying that there is no time like the present.

And that is absolutely a hundred percent true for human beings.

I mean, you think about it for us, the present is all that we have.

The present is that moment where everything happens for us.

It's the only part of time that actually feels real to us.

The past is just a memory.

The future is some kind of dream, but all the action happens in the present.

Every word of love that you have ever spoken happened in a present moment.

Every song you ever enjoyed listening to happened in a present moment.

Every meal that you shared, it was in a present moment.

The present moment is, is all that we have.

The now is all we have.

In fact, the past and the future are all just nows that have happened and that will happen.

All we have is the present and the present is so fleeting that as soon as you start to

talk about it, it's past.

It's it's over before it has begun.

Well, presently here at Trinity Streetsville, we are doing this teaching series called the

Ghosts of Christmas where we're using Charles Dickens, a Christmas Carol to help us in our

Advent and Christmas journey.

And speaking of present, this story, Dickens, a Christmas Carol is a present.

It is a gift to all of us because like any Christmas Carol, what it's helping us do is

celebrate the birth of Christ.

And so far, Ebenezer Scrooge has been visited by two ghosts, two ghosts, right?

On Christmas Eve, the first ghost, what was the first ghost's name?

Jacob Marley, the first ghost was Jacob Marley.

He's Scrooge's old business associate.

He shows up to tell Scrooge he's got to change his ways or else he's going to suffer eternal

torment.

OK.

And then the second ghost that Scrooge encounters is the Ghosts of Christmas Past.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past comes along and he starts to show Scrooge some painful memories

and some joyful memories from his past.

And now the transformation starts happening in Scrooge's life.

But this week, Scrooge is going to meet the Ghost of Christmas Present and Ghosts of Christmas

Present is going to help him and he's going to help us learn the importance of living

in the now and living in the moment.

Here is the moment where Scrooge meets the Ghosts of Christmas Present.

Come in, come in, and you'll be better man.

I am the spirit of Christmas present.

Look upon me.

You never seen the light of me before, have you?

Never.

I wish the pleasure had been indefinitely postponed.

Now Dickens describes the Ghosts of Christmas Present as this guy who's this big dude who's

wearing this green furry robe with this white furry trim all around it and of course his

breast is laid bare.

In other words, he's describing the very first ugly Christmas sweater.

And this is I think Charles Dickens would be very pleased to know that people are still

wearing ugly sweaters to this day.

But why?

Why did he send the Ghosts of Christmas Present?

Why has he come for?

He's only come for one purpose and this is it.

To help Scrooge see what is right in front of him.

To help him notice what is going on around him, to pay attention to the present moment.

That's why throughout the story we keep hearing language where the Ghosts of Christmas Present

is saying look at me Scrooge, look, pay attention.

Do you see this?

Are you observing this?

Have you seen the likes of me before?

Have you seen a situation like this before?

He's constantly trying to point out to Scrooge that his eyes are not seeing what's happening

in the present.

Right?

Look backwards Scrooge, look here.

Don't look forward Scrooge, look here.

And it is so true that people who get stuck in the past or people who are so worried about

the future, they're too distracted to be fully present in the moment.

And the Bible implores us my friends to be present in the moment.

Jesus says don't worry about tomorrow for tomorrow is going to worry about itself.

Today's where the problems are.

Today's where the opportunities are.

Today's where all the action happens.

And Paul writes he says now is the time of God's favor.

No not tomorrow, not yesterday.

Now is the day of salvation.

So I want to start just by asking you are you one of those people who is constantly

living in the past or are you one of those people who is constantly thinking about or

dreaming about or worrying about the future?

I know this sounds a little bit extreme for me to say but if you are then literally quite

literally you are wasting your life because the present is where you actually live.

It's where everything important actually happens.

And we may all need a wake up call to realize deeply that the present moment is all you

ever have.

And to make the now the primary focus of your life.

Scrooge's salvation and our salvation depend on us both seeing and seizing the present

moments of life.

And so the ghost of Christ was present.

What's he going to do?

He's going to try to save Scrooge and the way he's going to do this is going to fly

him all over England and he's going to make sure he understands the power of the present.

And he begins this journey by showing Scrooge the present blessings that are all around

him.

Now you know this that it is so easy to overlook all the good things in our life and focus

only on the bad.

This is sometimes called the negativity bias and it happens whenever we focus all of our

attention it's proven we focus more energy on the negative things than on the positive

things just watch the evening news and you will see.

So how could this be Scrooge doesn't understand how people who are suffering or people who

are poor or or people who don't have everything that he has could possibly be joyful could

possibly be happy could possibly be content.

How can this be Scrooge says and and the answer is because they are aware that in every present

moment there are blessings for us.

There are blessings in the present.

So for example here Scrooge starts by flying flying to a scene in London.

It's a snowy scene.

The city looks so bleak.

It looks so dark.

The people look so poor.

They should be unhappy but they're not unhappy.

The ghost shows them look see that grocer.

He's very happy and jolly and see this family they're very happy and jolly.

How can it be?

It's because they still feel blessed in the present moment right and then they fly all

the way out to the coast to this lighthouse that's out by the coast and out there there's

these two men sitting in that lighthouse on Christmas Eve.

They're not with their families where they want to be.

They're isolated together and yet they're celebrating Christmas.

Scrooge doesn't understand how can this be?

They should be unhappy but they're not.

Why?

Because there's always blessings to be celebrated in the present moment and then he flies them

over out to out to the ocean where he comes across like this the shipping vessel and there's

a bunch of crew on board and the waves are rocking and it's cold and it's dangerous and

yet even in inside the boat the crew is sitting there sharing a Christmas Eve dinner and they're

rejoicing and they're happy.

How can this be?

It's because they're aware that even in their danger and even in their isolation there are

blessings in the present moment and then and then he takes them to this mining town and

what mining town think about this.

This is the darkest, indigest, most dangerous place on earth and even as they're flying

guess what?

They hear music on the air.

What place is this?

A place where miners live who labor in the bowels of the earth but they know me.

Come.

So what is the lesson that Scrooge is supposed to learn from this and what is the lesson

that we are supposed to be learning from this?

The lesson is there's always blessings.

There's always blessings to celebrate even in tough times, even in hard times, even in

bad times but perhaps the most important place that the ghost takes Scrooge on this night

was the home of Bob Cratchit.

Now Bob Cratchit is Scrooge's long-suffering employee.

He's a poor fellow.

He is a poor family.

In fact Scrooge at one point says that Bob has no right and no reason to be happy at

Christmas.

But when Scrooge gets a peek of what's actually going on in Bob's house it tells a very different

story.

There's such a goose Martha.

I'm sure of it.

And pudding.

Oh the pudding.

It shan't be easy till it's eaten.

I confess I have my doubts about the quantity of flour.

It'll be a perfect pudding my love.

A perfect pudding.

Won't it Martha my dear?

Ain't it?

It'll be the finest pudding in the whole of London this Christmas and the goose will be

the finest goose and ours will be the finest Christmas.

You gotta love Tiny Tim.

He's so cute right?

But listen despite their small home and despite their meager feast you heard what he said.

It's going to be the finest goose.

It's going to be the finest pudding.

It's going to be the finest Christmas in all of London.

And Dickens tells us listen they were not a handsome family but they were happy and

they were grateful.

Grateful to who?

Grateful to God.

They were pleased with one another and they were contented with the time.

And now Scrooge is starting to see.

He's starting to see how they could be happy.

How could they be happy?

It's because like the apostle Paul wrote we can give thanks in all circumstances.

Really all circumstances.

Do you know my circumstances Rob?

Yes all circumstances there are blessings to be thankful for in the present.

And Paul goes on he says listen I know what you're thinking.

I know what it's like to have a little and I know what it's like to have a lot.

But I can do all things through him.

Who's the him?

Jesus Christ who strengthens me.

You see Christmas tells us one, two, three, a million things.

It tells us that God loves us.

That is a blessing.

It tells us that Jesus came for us.

That is a blessing.

It tells us that there is hope for us.

That is a blessing and another blessing and another blessing.

So you know that means you're blessed.

Christmas by its very nature means no matter what is going on in your life you are

blessed.

Now I don't know how you're feeling about this coming Christmas.

How it's shaping up for you.

Maybe it's shaping up to be a great Christmas.

Maybe there's things that you think you know I kind of feel like I'm in a lonely

lighthouse right now.

I'm not going to get to be with the people that I love this Christmas.

Or maybe you feel like you're in a dangerous or tumultuous situation in your life right

now.

Like you're on one of those boats in the middle of the ocean.

Or maybe you feel like those miners that you're in a dark place that you're going

through something very, very difficult.

And there's some real challenges there.

Or maybe or maybe or maybe these aren't easy situations.

There are all sorts of tough situations.

But like the apostle Paul and like Bob Cratchit don't overlook your blessings and

Christmas is full of them.

Right.

Right here in the present moment right now God is heaping blessings upon you.

But are you keeping your eyes open to see them.

OK.

So the ghost is just getting just getting started.

He shows Scrooge you got to pay attention to all the present blessings around you.

But then he goes on to say Scrooge if you don't live in the now you don't live in

the now you're not just going to miss out on your present blessings but you're also

going to miss out on the world's present needs.

You see the ghost reminds Scrooge and he reminds us that it is not enough for you to

have your own little world and your own little bubble distracted by your own

concerns.

But you also have to have your eyes open to the pain of the world around you.

So for example for example Scrooge had seen Bob Cratchit at work every day for

years and years and years and yet he still didn't really see and still didn't

really understand the needs that were going on in his home and in his family and

especially with little tiny Tim.

Right.

It wasn't until the ghost takes him and shows him that he begins to understand

some of the needs that have been right under his nose the whole time.

He's growing strong and hearty though Martha my dear isn't he my love.

You see Tim is in real trouble.

I know we call him cute little tiny Tim right.

He's got his cute little crutch sitting over there but Dickens I mean listen kids

in the Victorian era many of them did not make it out of childhood and what

Charles Dickens is probably trying to say here is tiny Tim's got something like

tuberculosis or something like that which is fatal especially in poor families

malnourished families families that don't have health care right.

But in all his years you know Scrooge never actually saw the seriousness of the

need before him and if we don't open our eyes and live in the present moment then

we too are going to overlook the needs in our world.

In fact in one of the most haunting moments of the whole story and the whole

movie it happens when the ghost shows Scrooge these two emaciated children.

It's too hard a lesson for you to learn.

Then learn this lesson.

Spirit are these yours?

They are man's.

They cling to me for protection from their fetters.

This boy is ignorance.

This girl is want.

Beware them both but most of all beware this boy.

But have they no refuge?

No results?

Are there no prisons?

Are there no work houses?

Now that is a really important line.

This boy is ignorance.

This girl is want.

Beware them both but most of all beware this boy and the book goes on to say for on his

brow I see written doom.

Guys the message is clear.

While both of these are tragic ignorance is the greater danger.

Why?

Because ignorant people are blind.

They don't see what's going on in front of them.

Ignorance keeps us from seeing, from noticing, from understanding the suffering of others.

And the Bible warns us what will happen if we are ignorant about the needs of the world.

In Proverbs 21 we read whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor.

I would add whoever closes their eyes to the poor will also cry out and not be answered.

It's just like Jesus taught.

Why don't we give the hungry something to eat?

It's because we don't really see them.

Why don't we give the thirsty something to drink?

It's because we don't actually see them.

We don't notice them.

Why don't we help the stranger?

Why don't we help the sick?

Why don't we help those in prison?

It's because we're not paying attention.

We're thinking about the past.

We're thinking about the future.

We're not paying attention to the present.

But God always pays attention to the present.

God has always had his eyes on the poor and the needy.

In fact I think that is why God chose to announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.

The shepherds were the Bob Cratchits.

The shepherds were the tiny Tims of their day.

They were poor.

They were uneducated.

They were unhealthy.

They were unseen.

And yet it was these invisible ones that God stares at and looks at and sends the angels to

and brings good news of great joy for all the people.

The point being this.

If God sees and values those who are overlooked,

shouldn't we open our eyes to see them as well?

Because, and this is the third point,

when we open our eyes to the needs around us,

then God will show us present opportunities to meet those needs.

You know in the Christmas carol, right,

the Spirit shows Scrooge that actually tiny Tim's future is not set in stone.

Check this out.

Spirit, tell me where will tiny Tim live?

I see a vacant seat in a poor chimney corner

and a crutch without an owner carefully preserved.

If these shadows remain unaltered by the future,

none other of my race shall find him now.

Oh no, no.

The tiny Spirit say that he will be spared.

Why?

Did you hear that? He says if these shadows remain unaltered.

That's a big if.

And that means they could still be altered.

Tiny Tim's fate can be changed.

He can be saved.

There's an opportunity here for Scrooge.

And there is an opportunity for us too.

If we open our eyes to the present suffering of the world,

we will also see present opportunities to alleviate that suffering

because God has placed each of us in a certain place

and in a certain time in this moment to meet the needs that we see.

It's like what Paul writes to the Galatians.

He says, so then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone.

The question is, will we take the opportunity?

You know, some of you know this,

but there's about a hundred families here at Trinity Streetsville

who have sponsored children and families in our partner community

down in the Wever Frontera in Honduras.

And that means that every month they send financial resources.

They send their prayers.

They send gifts or notes down to these children and their families.

It's actually a huge outpouring of generosity

and one that we don't talk about nearly enough.

But why do they do it?

I'll tell you why they did it.

It's because on the one hand, they saw the needs of the world,

but on the other hand, they also saw their opportunity to meet those needs.

And you know, this Christmas, we want to give all of you

an opportunity to meet real needs in our community.

We're inviting you to give generously to the open door

and their work with the poor of our own city.

We want you to give generously to the dam and their work with at-risk youth.

We want you to bring your donations of toiletries

so that we can give those to the Peel family shelter.

We want you to give generously to Trinity's care fund

so we can make sure we meet the needs of those in our own community

and to give, of course, to Trinity itself

so that we continue meeting the gospel needs of our community and our city.

And you can make a donation to these causes by using the website

or by using the envelopes that are in your pews.

My hope is that we'll be like, not Scrooge,

but we'll be like Scrooge's old fiancé, Alice,

who saw the needs in her community and made the most of her opportunity.

Do you feel more rested now, my dear?

I do, bless your dear gentle heart.

Alice, do you know me, darling?

Never thought there was anyone like you left in the whole wide world.

Cut me through, rip me liver from Delmeli.

This is the happiest Christmas I ever had.

We have an opportunity to make this a happy Christmas for others as well.

But remember what I said at the beginning.

Remember what I said.

The present moment is fleeting,

and our opportunities to do good are short.

In fact, Scrooge notices something about the Ghost of Christmas present

as they go through the evening.

He's aging drastically, right?

In just a few hours, he's gotten super, super old.

Why? Because his time on the globe is very brief.

In fact, it ends tonight.

The ghost's short life, I want to say,

is a reminder of the shortness of Scrooge's life,

and it's a reminder of the shortness of your life too,

and the importance of seizing the opportunities

to help others while we can.

So pay attention to the present moment.

Why? Because in the present moment,

that's where all the blessings are.

In the present moment, that's where all the needs are.

And in the present moment, that's where all the opportunities are.

But finally, the present moment is also where Jesus himself is found.

You see, Jesus never comes to us in the past.

He never comes to us in the future.

Jesus always comes to us in a present moment,

in the present moment.

And if we aren't living in the present,

we might miss Jesus.

When we focus too much on what has been,

or we worry too much about what is to come,

then we fail to see Christ here and now.

Jesus says he is present in the faces of the hungry.

He is present in the thirsty.

He is present in the stranger.

He is present in the prisoner.

To not see the present needs is to not see the present Christ.

Tiny Tim even goes so far as to say it,

that he, in his need, is the presence of Christ to others.

Listen to this.

How did little Tim behave in church?

As good as gold and better.

Somehow he gets thoughtful sitting by himself so much

and thinks the strangest things you ever heard.

He told me he wasn't going to feel shy

if people looked at him because he was a cripple,

as it might be pleasant to them being in church

to remember upon Christmas Day

who made lame beggars walk and blind men see.

Tiny Tim becomes a symbol of Jesus Christ for others to see.

But actually, this whole family becomes a symbol of Jesus Christ

for Scrooge.

In fact, consider this.

Do you know that the word cratchet comes from an old English word

cratch, which comes from an old French word crèche,

which of course is the manger where the Christ child was laid.

So do you want to see Jesus this Christmas?

Do you want to visit the manger?

Don't look over there in that manger.

That's not where he'll really be.

Look to the needs of the world, right?

Because that is the crèche where Jesus still lays,

waiting for us to find him.

And just like Scrooge wasn't left alone to learn these things

or to do this work, we too are not alone.

God has sent us a ghost, the Holy Ghost.

He sent us a spirit, the Holy Spirit,

to show us the needs of the world and to help us to respond.

In fact, I actually believe that the ghost of Christmas present

is supposed to symbolize in some way the Holy Spirit

because at one point when he's flying around with Scrooge,

showing him the joy that people have

and the generosity people have, the Spirit explains,

they all know me.

People who know joy, people who know generosity,

know the Spirit because God's love has been poured

into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Or like Dickens puts it,

So is it true the child born in Bethlehem?

He does not live in men's hearts only one day of the year,

but in all the days of the year.

All the days of the year, the Spirit of Jesus Christ

dwells in the hearts of his people.

There's no time like the present.

Now listen, God, atemporal, omni-temporal,

intra-temporal, whatever,

God's relationship with time is a mystery.

Ours is not.

We live in the present.

The present is where all the action happens.

It's where all the blessings happen.

It's where all the needs happen.

It's where all the opportunities happen.

It's where we meet with God.

But let me leave you with this thought.

The present is not just a gift to you.

It's also your gift to give.

Every present moment is an opportunity

to share God's love, to offer grace,

to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to someone else.

The present is fleeting, yes,

but that's what makes it so precious.

So this Christmas, listen,

don't just look in the manger.

Look to the people God has put in front of you and around you.

And don't just celebrate the past,

and don't just hope for the future,

but step into the present,

because it's in the present

that God's love becomes real to you and through you.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.

Thank you for joining us for this week's episode of Trinity Sermons.

This sermon was recorded at Trinity Church, Streetville,

Mississauga, Ontario on December 15, 2024.