"The Archetype of Advent: The Story of Redemption."

"The Archetype of Advent:  The Story of Redemption."

By: KC Knippa

"Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved.  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."   [Romans 8:23-24, 26]

            By now, I hope that we are beginning to see that the worlds of the fantastical and the real are actually one in the same.  Last week we saw that advent is centered on this often overlooked epic battle, which awakens our imagination and to see Christ’s real kingdom that is already here.  Tonight we continue our voyage into a look at classic Christmas literary works that present themselves as the archetype of advent.  And even though we have been awakened to the truth that the two worlds of fantastical and the real are the same, God now reveals that His reality is much greater than our own fantasies.

          To clarify, we need to first understand that our fantasies are far different than God’s fantastical reality.  What I mean by ‘our own fantasies’ is this; we tend to create for ourselves our own worlds of fiction…  Stories where, in a way, we become our own archetypes; we make ourselves the central focus.  This is much different from God’s Fantastical reality for us as he reveals through the Advent narrative.

          Once again, we look at one piece that helps us understand the message of Advent.  The story that we are welcomed into tonight is a familiar tale… It is billed as a ‘Ghost story of Christmas’, better known as A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens in 1843.  Dickens wrote this Victorian story based on his own past experiences and his sympathy for the poor.  He also wrote it in a very interesting way; in carol form.  Much as the title implies, the story is divided into 5 separate stanzas or verses.  And in an almost rhythmic way, the story unfolds as we see an old man living in his own fantasies… full of regret;

          The old man who is self-centered, mean-spirited, miserable, and surrounded by broken relationships is named Ebenezer Scrooge.  He sits in his counting-house on a frigid Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the anteroom because Scrooge refuses to spend money on heating coals for a fire. As the day goes on, Scrooge's nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Later, Two portly gentlemen also drop by and ask Scrooge for a contribution to their charity. Scrooge reacts to the holiday visitors with bitterness and venom, spitting out an angry "Bah! Humbug!", and with it… 3 relationships denied.

          Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold apartment, Scrooge receives a chilling visitation from the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, looking haggard and pallid, relates his unfortunate story. As punishment for his greedy and self-serving life his spirit has been condemned to wander the Earth weighted down with heavy chains. Marley hopes to save Scrooge from sharing the same fate. Marley informs Scrooge that three spirits will visit him this very night. After Marley disappears, Scrooge collapses into a deep sleep.

          Suddenly, He awakes to the sound of the clock bells chiming loudly, moments before the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past; a strange childlike phantom with a brightly glowing head. The spirit escorts Scrooge on a journey into the past to previous Christmases from his earlier years. Invisible to those he watches, Scrooge revisits his childhood school days, his apprenticeship with a jolly merchant, and his engagement to Belle, a woman who leaves Scrooge because his lust for money eclipses his ability to love anyone else. Scrooge, deeply moved, sheds tears of regret before the phantom returns him to his bed.

          Drifting back to sleep, he is again awakened by the sound of the clock as he sees the Ghost of Christmas Present; a majestic giant clad in a green fur robe.  He takes Scrooge through London to unveil Christmas as it will happen this year. Scrooge watches the large, bustling Cratchit family prepare a miniature feast in its meager home. He discovers Bob Cratchit's crippled son, Tiny Tim, a courageous boy whose kindness and humility warms Scrooge's heart. The specter then takes Scrooge to his nephew's to witness the Christmas party. Scrooge finds the jovial gathering delightful and pleads with the spirit to stay until the very end of the festivities. As the journey progresses, the spirit ages, becoming noticeably older. Toward the end of the day, he shows Scrooge two starved children who lived under his coat, named Ignorance and Want. He vanishes instantly as Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming toward him.

          The Clock chimes once more as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come leads Scrooge through a sequence of mysterious scenes relating to an unnamed man's recent death. Scrooge sees businessmen discussing the dead man's riches, some vagabonds trading his personal effects for cash, and a poor couple expressing relief at the death of their unforgiving creditor. Scrooge, anxious to learn the lesson of his latest visitor, begs to know the name of the dead man. After pleading with the ghost, Scrooge finds himself in a churchyard, the spirit pointing to a grave. Scrooge looks at the headstone and is shocked to read his own name. He desperately implores the spirit to alter his fate, promising to renounce his insensitive, materialistic ways and to honor Christmas with all his heart.  Suddenly, in a burst of light, he finds himself safely tucked in his bed.

          Overwhelmed with joy by the chance to redeem himself and grateful that he has been returned to Christmas Day, Scrooge rushes out onto the street hoping to share his newfound Christmas spirit. His once dead heart has been transformed;  He saw that life was not just about himself, he learned to let go of regret, and relationships that were once broken had been restored.  With his renewed joy, he sends a giant Christmas turkey to the Cratchit house and attends Fred's party, to the stifled surprise of the other guests. As the years go by, he holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart: he treats Tiny Tim as if he were his own child, provides lavish gifts for the poor, and treats his fellow human beings with compassion, generosity, and warmth.

          The types and parallels are ever present in this story.  We can see ourselves in many of the characters; Bob Crachit and his family, Fred the nephew, other townsfolk… or maybe even scrooge?  As much as we would like to not believe it, I feel we have way more in common with Ebenezer Scrooge than we would like to admit.  Far too often we live in our own worlds of regrets and fears.  In the story, Scrooge had forgotten how to love anything other than himself and had isolated himself from his fellow man.  His life had become nothing more than a series of past mistakes, regrets and failure; so much so that he created his own fantasy world to live in, one where he was at the center.  In fact, he had become so entrenched in his own fantasies that it took a dead friend and three spirits to finally show him the chains that he has shackled himself with, along with his own grave in which he dug.  The great scene of Scrooge ending at his own grave showed him the legacy of his story… and in a way, our own. 

          What shackles have we placed of ourselves?  What graves have we dug?  Like scrooge, we see that when we live in our own worlds of fantasy, we too are spiritually dead.  We are also a collection of past mistakes, regrets, and failures.    But – that is only one side of our story.  While we are still spiritually dead, we see that we are also made alive through the narrative of Advent – the story of redemption.

          We see that by the end of this Carol, Scrooge has found his redemption.  Not that he was able to redeem himself, but that he was led by the spirits to see how to live as one who has been redeemed.  When the Spirit awakens us to the truth that redemption does not depend on ourselves, we awaken our lives to live as the redeemed people of Christ.  This is the message of Advent.  Christ has come once and for all to redeem his lost people.  And now that He has redeemed this world, he has freed us to be transformed.

          The story of Advent is one of Justification, but many of us forget that it is also about Sanctification.  In the Christmas Carol, the three spirits not only point to Christ as the archetype, but also to our sanctifier – the Holy Spirit (it is not just a coincidence that Dickens uses the word spirit).  Just as the spirits help Scrooge see truth in his own world of lies, the Holy Spirit reveals to us the ultimate truth.  Now that Christ has redeemed us, the Holy Spirit works in and through us to be transformed, changed, and restored… to live redeemed.  It is not enough to just live in this truth, but we are moved, much like Scrooge, to now share this story of redemption with everyone we meet, awakening them from the sleep of our own fantasies to God’s great fantastical reality.

Through this story we see the types that reveal who we are and the archetype that points to God, but there is one more element of this story that helps us understand the narrative of Advent – the clock.

In the story, the sound of the clock marked the arrival of one of the spirits who then would take Scrooge on a journey through time – past, present, and future.  This helps us see how the Spirit works outside of time to show us God’s fantastical reality in our lives.  He points us to our past, spiritually dead selves and shows us our salvation in Christ.  He shows us our present, redeemed lives in which we serve those around us.  And he points to our future, eternal life and of the world to come.  We now live in a world where past and future collide with the present.  It is in this moment we live, we move, and we find our roles in the advent narrative as the redeemed people of God.

The name of Ebenezer Scrooge has and will continue to live on in infamy.  But, I would like to point out one thing.  What does  Ebenezer even mean?  The name Ebenezer is an old Hebrew name meaning, “stone of help” – it is anything that serves as a reminder of God’s real presence in our lives.  As we see the Ebenezer in this story reminds us of God’s true presence in our lives.  The question that we are now left with is this; how will we be an Ebenezer to those we meet?

We have been transformed.  Our very lives are to be a stone of help to those around us, a testimony to God’s work in this world. 

We no longer live in our own worlds of fantasy and regrets.  We see that God’s reality is far greater.  We have been awakened and restored to live as the redeemed people of God and now share this overarching message of Advent to the world around us.

 

- KC