The Hope of Christmas Future (Ashtabula)

I. THE GATHERING

Welcome & Announcements

Good morning, and welcome to Ashtabula First United Methodist Church.

We have traveled a long road this Advent season. We've rattled chains with Marley, walked through memories with the Ghost of Christmas Past, and feasted on the abundance of the present moment. Today, we face the final spirit: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

It sounds scary, doesn't it? The future often is. But the message of our faith is that we do not have to be afraid of what is to come, because we know Who holds the future. Today, we light the candle of Joy.

Join us this Tuesday at 5:00 PM for the final session of our Bible Study on "The Redemption of Scrooge."

Now, I invite you to stand as you are able as Jeff, our Acolyte, brings forth the symbolic Light of Christ to our Altar.

Prelude

Call to Worship

Leader: The days are short, and the nights are long.

People: But the Light of the World is coming.

Leader: We look to the future and wonder what it holds.

People: But we know who holds the future.

Leader: The shadows may be dark, but the Morning Star is rising.

All: We come to worship with Joy, for the Lord is near!

Opening Hymn "Hail to the Lord's Anointed" (UMH 203)

Opening Prayer

Gracious God, Author of our days: You were with us in our past, You are with us in our present, and You are already waiting for us in our future. Calm our fears of the unknown. Replace our anxiety with the deep, abiding Joy that comes from knowing we are Yours. Prepare our hearts to receive the King. Amen.

Lighting of the Advent Candle ADVENT WEEK 4: JOY

Today we light the fourth candle of Advent, the candle of Joy. As Christmas draws near, the world rushes in a frenzy of preparation. We are often tempted to worry about the future, fearing the "shadows of things that may be," just as Scrooge feared the unknown.

But the angel said, "Do not be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy." True joy is not found in a perfect celebration or a predictable future. Joy is the deep assurance that no matter what tomorrow brings, Christ is already there. We light this candle to declare that the sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

(Light the three purple candles and the pink candle)

Prayer: Gracious God, fill us with your joy. Help us to trust that our future is held in your hands. As the light of this wreath grows brighter, may our hearts grow lighter, knowing that the King is coming to make all things new. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

II. THE WORD

Scripture Reading 1: Revelation 21:1-5

Revelation 21:1–5 NIV

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Hymn of Response "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (UMH 230)

Scripture Reading 2: Luke 24:1-5

Luke 24:1–5 NIV

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?

Prayer for Illumination

Lord of the Past, the Present, and the Future, open your Word to us this morning. As we stand on the edge of Christmas, cast out our fear of the unknown. Show us that the grave is empty, the stone is rolled away, and the future is held securely in your hands. Amen.

Sermon: "The Shadows That May Be"

Friends, we have traveled a long and winding road with Ebenezer Scrooge this Advent season. It has been a journey of the soul, mirroring our own walk toward the manger.

We sat with Jacob Marley, rattling his heavy cashboxes, and we learned that we need the peace of Christ to break the transactional trap of counting our worth by what we earn. We realized that we cannot buy our way into heaven, nor can we buy our way out of our need for one another.

We flew with the Ghost of Christmas Past, walking through the bittersweet memories of youth. We learned that our past, with all its mistakes and heartaches, does not have the final word. We found that hope allows us to redeem our history, to look back without getting stuck, and to see God’s hand guiding us even when we felt most alone.

We feasted with the Ghost of Christmas Present last week, seeing the abundance of God’s love and the "eternal now" where God lives. We were challenged to open our eyes to the neighbors right in front of us, to see the "Tiny Tims" in our community, and to realize that mankind is, indeed, our business.

But today, the atmosphere changes. The laughter of the Ghost of Christmas Present dies out. The warm glow of the torch fades. The room goes cold. And approaching us, draped in a deep black garment, concealing its head, its face, its form, leaving nothing visible save one outstretched hand, comes the final spirit: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

This spirit does not speak. It does not laugh. It does not argue. It only points.

In our study, this figure is described as a "Grim Reaper," and that feels entirely appropriate. This spirit represents the thing we fear most: the unknown future. For many of us, especially as we get older, the future is not a playground of possibility; it is a source of deep anxiety. We lie awake at night asking the hard questions: Will I have enough money to retire? Will the test results say "benign" or something else? Will I end up lonely? What will happen to my children?

The future is the place where our control finally runs out. We can reframe the past, we can manage the present, but the future is a mist we cannot grasp. And ultimately, the future holds the one appointment none of us can cancel: our own mortality. Scrooge is terrified by this silence, by this pointing finger. And perhaps, if we are honest with ourselves this morning, so are we.

The Darkness of the Tomb

The Spirit leads Scrooge on a dark journey through the city. He hears businessmen casually discussing a death on the exchange, wondering where the money will go, joking that they will only go to the funeral if lunch is provided. He sees people selling off the curtains and clothes of the dead man, stripping the very bed he died in while his body still lay there. It is a gruesome picture of a life that left no trace of love behind.

Finally, the Spirit brings him to a neglected churchyard. It is choked with weeds, walled in by houses, overrun by grass and death. The Spirit points down to a stone. Scrooge, trembling, creeps toward it and reads the name upon the stone: EBENEZER SCROOGE.

It is a bleak moment. It is the darkness of the tomb.

We don’t often like to talk about darkness at Christmas. We prefer the twinkling lights, the shiny wrapping paper, and the Hallmark movies where everything works out in ninety minutes. But if we look closely at the biblical story of Jesus, we see that darkness is actually a major character in the drama.

Jesus was born at night.

The shepherds were watching their flocks in the dark.

The Magi followed a star through the night sky.

The Holy Family had to flee to Egypt under the cover of darkness to escape the slaughter of King Herod.

And eventually, on Good Friday, the sky turned black at noon as the Son of God hung on the cross.

Darkness follows Jesus because Jesus goes where the darkness is. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come forces Scrooge to look at the ultimate darkness: a life lived for self, ending in a death that no one mourns. It forces him to confront the emptiness of his own worldview. He spent his life accumulating wealth, protecting his heart, and keeping people at a distance. And now, the Spirit shows him the sum total of that investment: a lonely grave and a stolen shirt.

Why must we look at this? Why does the story take us to a graveyard right before Christmas? It seems so out of place with our "Merry Christmas" cheer.

We go there because we must see the darkness of the tomb to know that nothing is there. We must face the reality of death to understand the power of Life. In our Gospel reading from Luke, on Easter morning, the angels ask the women at the tomb a profound question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Scrooge’s problem—and often ours—is that he has spent his whole life looking for life in dead things. He looked for life in money, but money is cold and dead. He looked for life in control, but control is an illusion. He looked for life in isolation, thinking it would keep him safe, but it only kept him dead inside. The Spirit shows him the end result of that search: a lonely grave. The tomb is the final destination of a life lived inward.

Will Be, or May Be?

But then, standing over that grave, clutching the Spirit’s robe in agony, Scrooge asks the most important question of his life. It is the question that turns the entire story from a tragedy into a gospel. He cries out: "Answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of the things that May be, only?"

This is the theological turning point. Everything hinges on this. Is the future fixed? Is our fate sealed? Do we simply "reap what we sow" until we die?

If the answer is "Yes," then there is no Gospel. There is only Karma. There is only cause and effect. If the answer is "Yes," then we are nothing more than the sum of our past mistakes, and once the concrete sets, we are stuck forever. If the answer is "Yes," there is no hope for Scrooge, and frankly, there is no hope for us.

But the answer of Advent, the answer of Christ, is NO. These are only shadows of what May be!

Because of Jesus Christ, the trajectory of our lives can be changed. Because of the Cross, the debt of sin is paid. Because of the Resurrection, the grave is not the final word.

Scrooge shouts, "I am not the man I was!" That is the cry of repentance. That is the moment the chains fall off. He realizes that the future is not a closed door; it is an open possibility because God is a God of second chances. God is not bound by our past momentum. God can intervene.

Scripture tells us in Revelation: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come." Think about that for a moment.

We serve a God who Was. That means God is the Lord of our past. He was there when we made our mistakes, and He was there to offer forgiveness. Our past is not a permanent record that condemns us; it is a history that God has redeemed.

We serve a God who Is. That means God is the Lord of our present. He is Emmanuel, God with us, right now in this sanctuary, right now in your joy or your grief. We are not abandoned.

And crucially, we serve a God who Is To Come. That means God is the Lord of our Future. Our future is not determined by our bank accounts, our health reports, or our past failures. Our future is determined by the character of God, who loves us and calls us toward His kingdom. The future is in His hands, not in the hands of fate.

The Explosion of Joy

And then... the bedpost.

Scrooge wakes up. He is clutching the bedpost—his own bedpost. The room is his own. The darkness is gone. The sun is shining. The bells are ringing out over London. He checks the date and realizes it is Christmas Morning.

"I haven't missed it!" he shouts. "The Spirits have done it all in one night!"

This, friends, is where we light the candle of JOY.

Joy is not just a mild feeling of happiness. It isn't just a smile because the coffee is hot or the presents are wrapped. Joy is the explosive realization that we have been saved. Joy is the feeling of a prisoner whose cell door has just swung open.

Scrooge is described as being "as light as a feather, as happy as an angel, as merry as a schoolboy, as giddy as a drunken man." Why? Because he is Unbound. Just as Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb and said, "Unbind him and let him go," Scrooge has been unbound from his greed, unbound from his fear, and unbound from his lonely future. He has been given the gift of a new life, and he didn't earn it. He didn't pay for it. He woke up and found it waiting for him.

This Joy is the gift of Christmas. It is the realization that no matter how old we are, no matter how many mistakes we've made, no matter how "Scrooge-like" we have been—God offers us a new day. We don't have to earn it. We don't have to pay it back. We just have to wake up and receive it.

Keeping Christmas Well

So, what does Scrooge do with this Joy? Does he just sit in his room and feel happy? Does he write in his journal about how grateful he is and then go back to counting money?

No. The story tells us: "He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew." It says: "He knew how to keep Christmas well."

How do we "keep Christmas well"? It’s not about packing the ornaments away carefully in the attic. It is about Social Holiness. It is about taking the internal change and making it external action. You cannot have the joy of Christ inside you without it spilling out onto the people around you.

Scrooge does three specific things immediately, and they are the fruits of a changed life.

First, he becomes generous. He leans out the window, calls a boy, and buys the giant prize turkey for the Cratchits. He sends it anonymously. He doesn't just wish them well; he feeds them. He uses his resources to bless those who cannot pay him back. This is the joy of giving.

Second, he seeks reconciliation. He puts on his best coat and walks the streets, patting children on the head and smiling at beggars. And then he goes to his nephew Fred’s house—the house he had rejected over and over again. He stands at the door, humble and nervous, and asks, "Will you let me in?" And Fred, full of grace, welcomes him with open arms. He restores the relationship. This is the joy of community.

Third, he becomes a father. He becomes a "second father" to Tiny Tim. He invests in the next generation. He ensures that the future he saw—the future where Tim dies and is forgotten—does not come to pass. He uses his power to protect the vulnerable. This is the joy of service.

This is the fruit of Sanctification. In the Methodist church, we talk about "going on to perfection." That doesn't mean we never make a mistake; it means we are constantly growing in our love for God and neighbor. Scrooge didn't just stop being bad; he started being good. His repentance wasn't just tears; it was turkey. It was presence. It was love in action.

To keep Christmas well is to keep the Peace of Christ in our hearts, refusing to let fear rule us. To keep Christmas well is to keep the Hope of the Gospel in our minds, remembering that no one is beyond redemption. To keep Christmas well is to keep the Love of God in our actions, serving the poor and the lonely. And to keep Christmas well is to live in the Joy of the Resurrection, knowing that death does not win.

Conclusion: A New Heaven and A New Earth

In the book of Revelation, John sees a vision of the ultimate future. He writes: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth... and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'See, the home of God is among mortals.'"

That is what happened to Scrooge. His world was made new. His old heaven and old earth passed away, and he stepped into a new reality. And that is what happens to us at Christmas. God makes his home among mortals. He pitches his tent in our messy lives.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come showed Scrooge a future without God—a cold, lonely grave. But the Christ of Christmas Yet to Come shows us a future with God—a Kingdom where every tear is wiped away, and death will be no more.

So, do not be afraid of the future. Do not be alarmed by the shadows. The stone has been rolled away. The sun has risen. You haven't missed it.

May we, like Scrooge, be light as feathers and happy as angels. May we go out from this place and keep Christmas well, not just on December 25th, but every single day of the year.

God bless us, every one!

Amen.

Anthem "The Shepherds' Lamb"

III. RESPONSE AND INTERCESSION

Transition to Prayer

The anthem reminds us of the tender love of the Shepherd. Let that love calm our hearts as we prepare to pray. We bring our own unknown futures, our own fears, and our own joys to the God who holds it all.

Silent Intercession

Pastoral Prayer

God of the Future, we thank you that our lives are not defined by our past mistakes or our present fears. We thank you for the promise of the Resurrection and the hope of a New Heaven and a New Earth.

We pray for those who are afraid of what tomorrow brings—those facing health diagnoses, financial uncertainty, or family changes. Remind them that you are the God who Is To Come.

We pray for our world, often caught in the shadows of conflict and pain. Bring your light, O Lord.

And we pray for ourselves, that we might keep Christmas well—not just for a day, but for a lifetime.

We ask this in the name of the One who makes all things new, Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray:

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Invitation to the Offering

Scrooge's first act of a redeemed life was to give. He realized that money was not for hoarding, but for sharing. In that same spirit of joy, let us offer our gifts to God.

Offering & Hymn of Thanksgiving "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (UMH 211 Verse 4)

Prayer of Dedication

God of Joy, we offer these gifts with happy hearts. We thank you that you have given us a future and a hope. Use these resources to bring light to dark places, to feed the hungry, and to share the message of redemption with our community. Amen.

IV. SENDING FORTH

Transition to Closing Hymn

We have seen the future, and it is full of God's light! Let us go out singing of the reconciliation of God and sinners.

Closing Hymn "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (UMH 240)

Benediction

Go now in Joy. Be light as a feather, happy as an angel, and merry as a schoolboy. The future is open, the grave is empty, and God is with you. Go and keep Christmas well! Amen.

Postlude