A Christmas Carol and the Shadow of Gospel Transformation

"Marley was dead." These words make up the opening of Charles Dicken's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. He was as dead as a doornail and more. So was Scrooge. So was another rich man.  

Jesus told a parable of a nameless rich man (maybe so we might fill our name in the void?) and a poor beggar named Lazarus. Both died. Lazarus went to Abraham's Side (or paradise) and the rich man to hell. In this story, the rich man begged that a person brought back from the dead be dispatched to warn his brothers. Abraham told the rich person that his brothers have all the warnings they need in the Bible. If they ignore the Word of God, they will also ignore any further notification. (See Luke 16:19-31.) In Dicken's story, Marley warned his partner, Scrooge.  

Few are aware that Dickens novelized the story of Jesus for his children. Published 64 years after his death, The Life of Our Lord suggests that Dickens was a Christian. The book is not a systematic theology. It sometimes misses some more prominent theological points; however, it does have an aspect of gospel transmission and discipleship aimed toward the Dickens family.   

The Christmas Carol is not the gospel. There is no mention of Christ's death, burial, or resurrection. However, reading the book hints at a gospel warning and a gospel transformation. There is a great deal about death and life, even if only shown in the temporal. In Stave 3, Scrooge discussed the acts and deeds of the Church with the Spirit of Christmas Present, and the spirit speaks as if Christmas and Christ are one. The Church and "his kind," meaning Christians but symbolized by the giant and his previous 1800 Christmas brothers, are tied together. It is as if you could read the book with Christ in place of Christmas.  

As is often the case in the Church, Dickens over-elevated justice, love, and charity above Christ and the gospel. Yet the point remains: the unexplainable and radical transformation of Scrooge led to the outpouring of Christmas fruit, not just on Christmas day but all the year long and for the remainder of his earthly life. Scrooge was committed to treasuring Christmas and the lessons of the three spirits in his heart forever. And as the book so clearly shows, Scrooge was saved! He received Marley's warning from the dead.  

The shadow of the gospel is present throughout the story, especially if you spend the two and a half hours reading it rather than watching one of the many movie renditions. (Note: possibly one of the closest movies to the unabridged story is Disney's 2009 "A Christmas Carol" featuring the voice of Jim Carey.)  

To start, Scrooge was as dead as Marley.  

It's not that Scrooge will die a lonely, horrible man with no good to show for it; it's that he's already dead. Only, he didn't know it, not at first anyway. The story brought many people proclaiming the wonder of Christmas into Scrooge's life, and he scoffed. "Humbug!" He told his nephew, Fred, that he should keep Christmas in his way, and Scrooge likewise will keep it in his. Is this not how so many speak of Christianity as they reject it and cry, "Humbug!"? Fred pointed out to Scrooge that he doesn't keep Christmas at all. Others came to Scrooge to speak of Christmas, including his clerk, Bob Cratchet. Scrooge rebuffed them all.    

But finally, Marley, a ghost from hell's suffering, came to warn Scrooge. In the book (and some movies), Scrooge was led to a window where he saw many more spirits in the bondage of chains, unable to do any good or make any decision to repent. It is this reality that caused these spirits so much agony. It was too late for them, and they will forever suffer. But it was not too late for Scrooge.    

Scrooge was brought face to face with testimonies, Christmas proclamations, and truths that he failed to see in the past and present. His eyes were opened to his sin. And by the way, Dickens introduced Scrooge as a "squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner." The first two Christmas spirits showed Scrooge his sin over and over again. Indeed, he was a sinner! They also offered Scrooge a testimony of Christmas. The Spirit of Christmas Past led Scrooge to a great party where he once tasted the wonder and merriment of Christmas. The Spirit of Christmas Present took Scrooge all over the world. He saw sailors in ships, men in a lighthouse, and miners celebrating Christmas and showing love to one another. They visited hospitals and orphanages. The contrast of Scrooge's stone-cold, lifeless heart against great joy despite challenging circumstances is shocking to both Scrooge and the reader.  

The third spirit was the Grim Reaper for a reason. Dickens built every scene in Stave 4 on the foundation of Scrooge's death. Here, the book offers something our modern culture forces out of the movies and out of our minds. There were two dead bodies in scenes the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come showed Scrooge. One was of Tiny Tim, lying in his bed, dead. He was uncovered and cherished. Pleasant, even in death. When Bob visited the body in viewing, it was clear that others had been there to call. There was a sign of a kiss left on the boy's forehead. The other body was that of Scrooge. After the reader sees that the people around Scrooge robbed the dead body, even taking the shirt off his back, Dickens takes the reader to visit the corps. It was covered. Nobody was there, and the only people who attended to him stole his possessions.

Scrooge begged the spirit to show him one person who this man in some way blessed. They went to a scene where a man was behind on his mortgage. He went to visit Scrooge but came up empty. He returned home pleased and blessed to report that Scrooge was dead. While the debt would be transferred to another lender, the death brought the family grace to get caught up--something Scrooge would never have given them.   

Two important graves were in the story. One was that of Tiny Tim's. It's green and lovely, and Bob promised to visit it often. The other is that of Scrooge. It's a terrible picture, run down and wretched. Scrooge might think it was Marley's grave if he hadn't known better. The reader laments the tomb of the boy and cries, "No! It can't be!" But regarding the second grave, the reader knows it belongs to Scrooge pages and pages before Scrooge comes to the same realization.  

Many readers (and viewers) might be tempted to think that Scrooge prevented his death by a moral change of life. Not so! He was dead already and striving to live for himself. He was full of greed and hated Christmas. The ghosts simply brought him to the reality of his own situation. Stave 4 is the funeral of Scrooge. From that point, he would no longer strive to live for his greedy desires but instead live for Christmas. Scrooge belonged to Christmas now! He embodied it all year long and forever because Christmas was the life that lived in him. Stave 4 is calling the reader to view his or her own funeral.      

The result of Stave 5 brings us great joy. Scrooge awoke as if alive for the first time. He laughed and was so out of practice it was awkward. He was giddy. He was "as light as feather." Scrooge was a new man altogether. He sent a giant turkey to Bob Cratchet anonymously. Scrooge raised Bob's salary the next day and committed to caring for Tiny Tim. Not only did he go to see his nephew, but he also went to church. He greeted the people in the streets. He was now a part of the Christmas community.  

In the opening, everything was dark. There was a great fog over London, so thick it oozed in through the keyholes. In Stave 5, the fog has lifted. Everything is bright—joy and love abound.  A Christmas Carol is much like the hymns sung in church (if the leader doesn't skip verses.) It's a story with a dark beginning, a salvation account brought to bear, and a celebration of a glorious, supernatural transformation from death to life. 

The man who Dickens' described as a "covetous, old sinner" was, after he visited with death, now said to be "as good of friend, a good old master, and a good old man as the city ever knew." Dickens went on to write, " It always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge." And finally, Charles Dickens called his readers to do the same, charging, "May that be truly said of us, and all of us!"  

Even more than A Christmas Carol was written to warn the reader so one doesn't have to encounter a ghost from the dead, the Bible is the story of life for us. God tells us how we can move from death to life and keep the reconciliation of God in our hearts on Christmas and all the year long, forever. Let us heed the warning. And as Tiny Tim observed, "God Bless Us, Every One!"