A Christmas Carol
"Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail."
This is the beginning of the 2nd greatest Christmas story there is. The 1st obviously being that of the birth of Jesus. Jesus' message when He grew up was a call to repentance & change of lifestyle for sinners. That is the central theme of A Christmas Carol, repentance of the sins & a change of lifestyle. Scrooge starts out as "a tight-fisted hand at the grind- stone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!" After the visits of the various ghosts Scrooge saw the error of his ways. As Dickens puts it: "He 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."
I actually fell in love with this story as a child. Every Christmas KCRG-TV would air the 1951 film "Scrooge". Alistair Sim played Scrooge to perfection. He was able to show a person who truly was changed by the Spirit of Christmas. At the beginning you see the hardness in his looks, making the words proclaiming his feelings all the more believable. & the child-like joy when he wakes up to Christmas day is clearly seen in the change in his features. His reactions throughout are excellent. The look of horror on his face when he saw the ghosts bewailing their fate says it all. The rest of the cast is also more than up to the task also.
This is not ment to be a review of the movie, but I would suggest you watch it. Avoid the colorized version as that ruins the effects that the director/lighting director intended to achieve. Some of the other versions, including the newer ones, do get accross the message. But, none as good as the '51 version. What this is mainly intended to be is my reflection on the message of the book/movie.
I will admit that Dickens didn't make the story's message overtly Christian. It was done more implicitly. He does have Scrooge going to church after his reform. What he does say is that Scrooge learned the message of Christmas & lived it every day for the rest of his life. He knew how to live the message of Christmas. As a Catholic it challenges me to remember that I have a responsiblity to those less fortunate than I, both the born & the unborn.
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us, a savior's given." & what did this Savior call His followers to do. care for the poor, the needy etc. The very things that Scrooge does after his conversion. A Christmas Carol is a challenge to live the message of Christianity, not to earn your way into Heaven. But, to be a sign that you truly believe the Gospel message. Read the book again, but don't forget to read the Gospel story. Let its message touch you & draw you closer to Jesus. Let it be a challenge to you to live as a follower of Christ. Speak out, stand up for the least. Esp the preborn who are unable to speak for themselves. Defend life at all stages. Feed the hungry, clothe the poor, etc.
As Tiny Tim says: "God Bless Us, everyone."
This is the beginning of the 2nd greatest Christmas story there is. The 1st obviously being that of the birth of Jesus. Jesus' message when He grew up was a call to repentance & change of lifestyle for sinners. That is the central theme of A Christmas Carol, repentance of the sins & a change of lifestyle. Scrooge starts out as "a tight-fisted hand at the grind- stone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!" After the visits of the various ghosts Scrooge saw the error of his ways. As Dickens puts it: "He 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."
I actually fell in love with this story as a child. Every Christmas KCRG-TV would air the 1951 film "Scrooge". Alistair Sim played Scrooge to perfection. He was able to show a person who truly was changed by the Spirit of Christmas. At the beginning you see the hardness in his looks, making the words proclaiming his feelings all the more believable. & the child-like joy when he wakes up to Christmas day is clearly seen in the change in his features. His reactions throughout are excellent. The look of horror on his face when he saw the ghosts bewailing their fate says it all. The rest of the cast is also more than up to the task also.
This is not ment to be a review of the movie, but I would suggest you watch it. Avoid the colorized version as that ruins the effects that the director/lighting director intended to achieve. Some of the other versions, including the newer ones, do get accross the message. But, none as good as the '51 version. What this is mainly intended to be is my reflection on the message of the book/movie.
I will admit that Dickens didn't make the story's message overtly Christian. It was done more implicitly. He does have Scrooge going to church after his reform. What he does say is that Scrooge learned the message of Christmas & lived it every day for the rest of his life. He knew how to live the message of Christmas. As a Catholic it challenges me to remember that I have a responsiblity to those less fortunate than I, both the born & the unborn.
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us, a savior's given." & what did this Savior call His followers to do. care for the poor, the needy etc. The very things that Scrooge does after his conversion. A Christmas Carol is a challenge to live the message of Christianity, not to earn your way into Heaven. But, to be a sign that you truly believe the Gospel message. Read the book again, but don't forget to read the Gospel story. Let its message touch you & draw you closer to Jesus. Let it be a challenge to you to live as a follower of Christ. Speak out, stand up for the least. Esp the preborn who are unable to speak for themselves. Defend life at all stages. Feed the hungry, clothe the poor, etc.
As Tiny Tim says: "God Bless Us, everyone."
posted by Al @ 3:20 AM
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