Scrooge.

A Christmas carol, a podcast presentation by Hope Media Group and Compassion International, releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name.

Memories can be ignored, Ebenezer, but not forgotten.

Indeed, I was bred in this place.

I was a boy here. I'm afraid he'll be.

Disappointed in me. So why have you.

Come if you have nothing to say? A celebration of the birth of Christ.

Mary.

Christmas to all.

Mary.

Christmas. Ebenees, are you going.

To join us? Men like us understand. I have honored my sister's wish.

These are merely shadows of things that have been.

Spirit, do not leave me. Scrooge, a Christmas cattle.

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There is a realm of spirits among the living, wandering hither and thither. Though they seek to interfere with human matters, that power is rarely granted, and so they moan in restless haste, their echoes, only heard on the edge of our consciousness.

Ebenezer.

But on occasion, some spirits are allowed to cross out of their realm and into ours.. No, it was just a dream. Impossible. Evan. No. It was just a dream. It's impossible.

Ebeneza Scrooge. I am the spirit whose coming was foretold.

You are not. And I cannot see you, Spirit. So it is.

Not so. It is your wordly eyes that are unable to see the light I give. Reach out. Put a touch of my hand, Ebon, and your eyes will open.

Oh, good heavens. It can't be. Where are you taking me, Spirit?

Men like.

Us understand.

But the.

Day is over.

It's Christmas Eve.

Oh.

My.

Ebenezer.

Where are we, Spirit?

Where do you think we are, Ebenezer?

Well, it looks like the place where I was bred, but who are you, Spirit?

I am the ghost of Christmas past.

Long past?

Your past.

But there is nothing here.

Oh, but there is. Memories can be ignored, Ebenezer, but not forgotten.

(drawer closing)Good heavens. Indeed, I was bred in this place. I was a boy here. I know all these children. That's Robert and James and the portly one is Andrew.

And where are you, Evan?

I don't know. The school has just been deserted for Christmas holiday. I suppose I'm getting along with other schoolmates.

The school is not quite deserted. You're looking well, Father. You would be pleased with my progress in school.

Thank you, sir.

A solitary child with no schoolmates.

Well, of course, my studies always came first.

Yet you were found not in the classroom or library, but in the vestibule. Thank you, sir. Where are you going, Ebenezer?

It was a field trip, I believe.

Field trip indeed. Ebenezer, why.

Haven't you come out? The carriage.

Is waiting. It is my sister, Fann.

Do you feel all right, dear brother?

I don't want to go, Fan. Well, of.

Course you do. I would give anything to see him, and you must give this note I made for the occasion.

I'm afraid, Van.

Afraid of what, Eben?

I'm afraid he'll be disappointed in me.

He could never be disappointed in you, Ebenezer. Come.

Where was your father, Ebenezer?

He was being held at the corner of New Gate in Bailey Street, just inside London. Under Her Majesty's guard, the old Bailey.

New Gate Penitentiary.

Can't move me. Get back to work.

Why are you showing this to me, Spirit?

Because you lost something here.

He was never my father long enough to lose. And this memory has never been ignored, but.

Rather dismissed. I didn't say it was someone. I said it was something. Head down.

War.

You.

Have.

Two minutes. You heard him, boy. Two minutes. Speak. You have nothing to say? Very well, then I'll say it for you. How about thank you for bringing you into this world and sacrificing my own life so that you can live yours? You don't think I'd be here if it wasn't for you, your mother, God rest her soul, and your sister. Do you have any comprehension the burdensome cost of fatherhood? Of course you don't. But look at me for the results. Rats and roaches of all kinds are my bedmates. Under constant guard of a watchmen stick or a prisoner's violent whim. So why have you come if you have nothing to say?

To wish you a merry.

Christmas, I suppose, Father.

Yes. And you think that just appearing to the nines in your Sunday best makes it so. Do you even know what Christmas is?

A.

Celebration.

Of the birth of Christ?

It's not a celebration. It's an abomination and a tortuous reminder of the irresponsible habits that contributed to my position. But at least I know that. Sometimes I think it's those on the outside looking in who are in the real prison.

Nobody speaks the truth. Wedded to ideals and superstitions that do nothing. If you learn one thing from me, boy, it is to live for yourself. Do you hear me?

Yes, sir.

He wasn't entirely wrong. And what.

Was he right about?

He was right about man, avoiding the truth, governed by tired traditions and a manufactured holiday to foster unproductive behaviors.

And that's what you think of Christmas?

I don't think much of Christmas at all, Spirit, and I never did after that.

You didn't lose Christmas or your father on that day, Ebenezer. You lost your innocence, your sense of boyhood wonder, your hope.

And gained knowledge, experience, fortitude.

-then why didn't you share with your sister?

Tell me, Eben. Tell me everything. Did he look fit, of good health? Oh, I can't share the horrific rumors of that place.

He looked as right as a fiddle fan and getting along as best as can be.

And the conditions?

Surprisingly well, once inside.

Orderly.

Clean.

And you gave him my letter?

It was the best Christmas gift he's ever received, he said.

Oh, Ebun, and you were scared. And what a Christmas gift to me, knowing that Father's spirits were so lifted by your visit and my letter.

Why didn't you share with her, Ebenezer, so that she too could have gained the knowledge, experience and fortitude you speak of. Yet you didn't. You protected her, preserving in her what had been taken from you.

Well, perhaps I should have shared with her spirit, but-[Lady Capulet].

You didn't want to see her hurt as you had been.

She was so happy.

You believed in ideals as a boy.

I believed in many a thing that wasn't so spirit, which the past is a graveyard of abandoned ideals and religion lost..

Our ideals may be buried, but we never lose our religion, Ebenezer. Instead, we replace it. As you replaced yours. Come.

And where are you to take me now?

Your reclamation. Take heed. You remember this place. Why, it's.

All right. It's all right. Why? It's all. I apprentice here.

Yo-ho! My friends and associates. There will be no talk of work tonight. It is Christmas Eve. So leave shutters up and fill your glasses. On this Eve, before we spill out onto the streets towards our homes and families, we give thanks, remembering what the great poet, King David, who wrote the psalm, May the favor of our Lord rest upon us. Establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Merry Christmas to all.

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Oh, Fezawik. Always a flare for the theater, but he did manage to throw a grand affair.

Look, you are not here. Though someone dear to you awaits. Do you see her?

She was impossible not to, and could be seen with every fiber of my being.

Then why are you not with her?

I make no apologies for working as a man ought.

But you chose to work when it wasn't required of you.

I seized it as an opportunity to advance my standing.

And what of your standing with her?

It's Ebenezer! Oh! Ebenezer, are you going to join us? I'm in desperate need of a dance partner.

Terribly sorry, Elizabeth, but hastening to finish the day.

But the day is over. It's Christmas Eve. Come on.

Productivity knows no holiday nor cares for one. And you? Such is the even-handed dealing of the world, Elizabeth. This holiday is only a reminder that there is nothing on the world which is so hard as poverty.

You fear the world too much.

I don't fear it. I embrace it.

Yes, at the cost of all your other endeavors. I have seen your noble intentions fall off one by one until your master passions, gain and success have engrossed you.

I have not changed towards you? I bet you have, Ebenezer. I am the same man that I was when we met.

You are not. You are not what you were. And I know your own feeling tells you so. Your promise to me has wrought misery, and how often and keenly I have felt that I've become but a task for you.

Have I ever sought release?

In words? No. But in spirit and nature? Oh, yes. Tell me, Ebenezer. Would you seek me out and try and win my heart now? You think not. Your question is my answer. I don't know that your repentance or regret will follow, but I will release you, Ebenezer, with a full heart and love for the man you once were. You may have pain in this for a very, very brief time, but you will dismiss the recollection of it as an an profitable dream. Still, I pray you are happy in the life you have chosen. Goodbye, Ebenezer.

Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Elizabeth.

Why didn't you follow her?

Because she was right. It was the life I chose.

But not yet. There was still time. She is but one flight of steps below, waiting at dance.

There was a fleeting moment when I saw it. I saw her hand in mine, both old and weary and still in love. But I thought-.

You thought what?

I didn't see marriage as profitable.

Love cannot be measured in a ledger, Ebenezer.

Oh, take me from here, Spirit.

But this is your moment of triumph, Ebenezer. Is it not?

I do not wish to see it. Take me downstairs, Spirit. Let me see her once more.

But you could have seen her then. Why wish to see her now?

I didn't wish.

To hurt her. It wasn't her that was hurt, Ebenezer. It was you.

Let her go. I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know anyone was in the office. Men's greatest act of mercy is letting go of women whose goal is to impede our progress under the auspice.

Of love.

Come in. Yes, I know it hurts for the moment, but pain of its kind will callous, freeing you up to accomplish what we're really intended for. Success. Can a man not have both? Do you know of any? Of course not. Men like us understand. Men like us, sir? Yes, I've had my eye on you for some time. I admire your work ethic, your focus, and drive. Thank you, sir. In fact, I've been meaning to seek you out. It seems Mr. Fezzy-wig and I have a fundamental difference in business philosophy and have agreed to part ways in the new year. I am sorry to hear that, sir. Don't be. I'll be starting my own firm and I'm looking for like-minded associates whose interest is in growing business, not holiday parties. And you are in need of an apprentice, sir? I'm looking for someone. Whose ambition is much greater than apprenticeship. Would you be interested? Indeed, I would, sir, and would be grateful for the opportunity. Ebenezer Scrooge, sir. I know who you are.

Molly.

Jacob Molly. Well, he certainly looks better than last I saw him.

And how do you look, Ebenezer?

Oh, ambitious. Enterprising. I'm confident?

Confident? And do you think at a look that was projected to others?

Well, I should hope so.

Come.

Scrooge, a Christmas Carol, will continue in a moment.

I need not be haunted by the past.

Like Scrooge, you may have some troubling memories of your past. However, you can be free from those and find joy in Christmas again.

Be gone, Spirit.

Not on your wishes will I go, Ebenezer.

Just visit scroogeChristmas. Com if you would like to ask for prayer, connect with a local church for this Christmas season, or even download a shareable companion guide to this podcast that will help you find hope and encouragement. Once again, that's scroogeChristmas.

Com.

Coming this holiday season to a city near you, Trans-Cyberian Orchestra, live in concert, a rock holiday tradition returns as TSO brings back the Ghost of Christmas Eve. The best of TSO and more. Winter tour 2023. A blend of rock, classical and holiday music for the entire family, trans-Cyberian Orchestra, live in concert. More information is available at tsotickets. Com. We hope you're enjoying Scrooge, a Christmas carol. You can read more about forgiveness, faith, and hope in our five-day reading plan based on the Charles Dickens Classic. Click the link in the show notes or visit scroogepodcast. Com.

Spirit, why must you bring me here?

Because this is a place where worldly virtues like ambition, enterprise, and confidence mean very little, Ebenezer. This is the doorstep of death. I.

Know what this place is, and if all my memories, none have caused so much pain. This is where my sister, Fann, passed.

I. Purpural fever due to childbirth. Yet even in her darkest hour, she is radiant.

Ebenezer, my brother, always there for me.

It is you who've always been there for me, sister..

And I always will be. But I worry about you.

My situation couldn't be any better, fan. I am ascending at the firm and I'm one of the rising stars of London's business district.

But your heart is lonely and I don't know that life has given you joy.

Joy is expensive these days, Van, but I aim to afford every last one of its comforts.

Oh, Ebun. The joy you should.

Seek.

Cost nothing at all. It comes through compassion and grace and sharing your life. Have you seen your new nephew?

I have not.

The midwives say he has the grandest head of hair an infant ever could. Like yours when you were a boy. I'm going to give him your middle name, Evan. Frederick.

I am moved, sister. I'm sure he'll honor it in a way I never did.

Ebon, come closer. Promise me you'll look after him if it comes to it.

You will look after him yourself, Van.

No. Please. Please help him grow into a good man. Promise me.

I will. But what else can I do for you? Evan. Sister? Sister? Sister? Van.

And this is how she left you. The two of you, brother and sister, hand in hand. No. No. No. This was the last time you wept.

This was the only time, Spirit.

And what was going on in your mind at that time? Was it the love or compassion she had showed you?

No, Spirit. It was something else. It was hatred. I condemned the hospital for allowing her to become sick. I condemned her husband for abandoning her. I even condemned her.

For leaving me. But that's not all you condemned.

There was nothing left to condemn.

You condemned the boy too, Ebenezer.

He is not.

My boy. He is of the same blood.

But not of my choosing.

She asked you to look after him.

And I paid at great expense to board and educate him. It is because of me that he lives when he was destined to the work-houses. I have honored my sister's wish.

Yet you still condemn him. I do, Spirit.

His life is but a reminder of her death.

And what burden is his for such blame?

The very same burden given me to take his care, Spirit.

It wasn't a burden she gave you, Ebenezer. It was a gift to remind you through him, not of her death, but of her life. (drawer closing) (drawer closing) (drawer closing) (drawer closing) You know this place.

Of course I do. I paid for.

Her burial. Indeed, with a most impressive headstone.

So that she could rest.

In peace. And she does. And every year on the anniversary of her death, she receives a visitor with flowers for her grave. Does he look familiar?

His resemblance is of mine in earlier years.

But you have never been to her grave?

No, I haven't, Spirit.

It is your nephew.

Hello, Mother.

He did grow into a good man.

Despite you, not because of you.

I miss you very much. And while I will always carry a sorrow having not known you, I'm grateful for the life you've given me, and I will try to live it the best I can. Lord willing, I find a suitable apprenticeship and perhaps someday a woman I can love and cherish. I still check in on your brother, Ebenezer. I think he's achieved the success he's always worked for. You'd be proud of him. And while he's earned quite the stubborn and cross-reputation, I do relish his company, if he allows, because I know deep inside of him are parts of you, dear mother. And even though they are probably buried too deep and he has no interest in sharing, I will always seek him out and make him feel welcome. For I'm sure you would have me abide by the word for whatever you've done for the least of my brothers and sisters and uncles. That which I do for he above and for you, Mother. Bless you, your son, Frederick.

Now.

Who's the burden?

Show me no more, Spirit. Why do you delight to torture me?

These are merely shadows of things that have been. Why do they bring you such torment?

They are what they are and cannot be undone. And if.

They.

Could-[michaels] I'd change nothing.

Which is why they torment you so.

And why I don't live in the past, Spirit.

But the past lives in us, Ebenezer, and it leaves the wounds we carry throughout our life. Ignore those wounds and we transmit our pain to others. Only by dressing them can they heal and they will transform us for the good.

I need not be haunted by the past, nor do I wish to be haunted by you any longer. Be gone, Spirit.

Not on your wishes will I go, Ebenezer. But my time with you has passed.

No, take me back, Spirit. Take me back to the present.

I cannot, for those who deny the past are condemned to live in it.

Goodbye, Ebenezer-Scrooge. -i'm afraid of the past. Spirit, do not leave me.

For those who deny the past are condemned to live in it. You can hear me.

If you're afraid of.

The past. You have.

Nothing to say. Remove me from.

This place.

We fear the world. We fear it. I embrace it. But I.

Will release you, a bleaser, who is a full heart and love for the men in this world.

Jacob, joy is expensive these days, Van, but I aim to afford every last one. Spirit.

The drawing of the.

Lord, the.

See, the.

Christ, nothing but the truth. But the past lives in us, Feathony.

And Sir. Spirit, do not leave me.

Scrooge, A Christmas Carol starring Sean Asten, narrated by John Rees Davies, featuring Ben Barnes, Maxwell Caulfield, Bethany Joylands, Juliet Mills, Brian O'Quinn, Lucy Punch, and Clive Standon. Adapted from the Charles Dickens novel by PG Kasheri, directed and produced by Mark Ramsey, produced by Jim Young, sound design by Jordan Fair, executive produced by Paul Anderson for Workhouse Media, a presentation of Hope Media Group. Scrooge at Christmas Carol is a Mark Ramsey media production.