Cornerstone Community Church, San Jose Ca

It’s an odd time of year to be thinking about the classic Charles Dickens’ story “A Christmas Carol,” but there’s a scene from that story that comes to mind whenever I think about the topic of hope. You remember the story, I imagine. Ebenezer Scrooge, a surly old miser, is visited one Christmas Eve by three ghosts – the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. First Scrooge goes back in time to revisit his life as a youth; some of his past Christmas Eves were quite happy, and others were quite sad. Then the ghost of Christmas Present takes him to see how the family of his employee, Bob Cratchett, is celebrating Christmas that year, and Scrooge is moved to see how the family experiences so much joy despite their challenging circumstances. Finally the ghost of Christmas Future pulls back the curtain to show Scrooge his future, and what Scrooge sees is horribly upsetting. Not only is Scrooge dead, but rather than mourn his death, the people of his community ce