Merry Christmas and welcome friends to Preach It Girl Podcast, where we aren't just sitting around waiting for Jesus' second coming and skinny pop. To make us skinny, I mean those things are bound to happen, but while we wait, join me, Auntie Lala, for a jaunt through the scriptures so lively you'll think they were written just yesterday, not 2000 years ago. Now put on your listening ears for a somewhat sassy retelling of stories from the Bible. I recently watched a Christmas Carol, the 1984 version, starring George C. Scott. It's a heart-stirring tale of a man who has lost his compassion for mankind, and if I'm honest, my own heart was pricked a few times while watching it. Now that story is in the public domain, and we've seen many beloved versions over the years, from Scrooged with Bill Murray to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and even several new female Scrooge adaptions, including one from Hallmark this year. And yet, for me, that 1984 version still holds up as top notch. As I watched, I found myself wondering what inspired Charles Dickens to pin this story. And immediately my mind went to a parable Jesus tells us in the book of Luke. Chapter 16 The Story of Lazarus and the Rich Man. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire. But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. He answered, Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment. Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them. No, Father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. He said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead. Wow, Jesus knows how to put a fine point on something. You know, as writers, we usually write with a premise in mind, a question that we're trying to answer. And I couldn't help but wonder if Dickens was wrestling with this same question, what would it take to change a man's heart? And what if someone could come back from the dead to try? Which is exactly what happened in a Christmas carol, right? Scrooge's business partner comes and visits him and tells him that three spirits are going to come to him in the middle of the night, but his business partner's covered in heavy chains and he's stuck roaming the earth and he tells Scrooge, Oh, I've seen your chains and it's much longer than mine. But in Jesus' parable, wow, the answer is sobering. Even if someone rises from the dead, hardened hearts may still refuse to listen. While a Christmas carol isn't canonized scripture, it has softened hearts for generations, inviting people to believe that change is possible if we're willing to see and respond, if our hearts aren't hardened to the point of no return. That to me is the beauty and the power of storytelling. So of course Jesus was ultimately referring to himself. And he did come back from the dead. He knew when he was telling this parable that one day it would be true. And he did come back from the dead, appearing to his apostles and sending them out to tell the world about the new life available to all of us. So today I encourage you to do two things on this very merry Christmas. Read this parable. Imagine it as if it were a movie playing. And then watch the 1984 version of a Christmas carol and see if your heart isn't pricked by a line or two. Can you see yourself in old Scrooge? I'll tell you what, when he was saying the lines about the poor, the homeless, aren't there already places that feed and house the homeless? You know, if you're thinking about those people that solicit on the street with signs, maybe you said that yourself when you're driving by in your comfortable air conditioned or heated car. Or can you see yourself in Bob Cratchit, who had such joy, even with the small things that they had and even with a child with special needs, who if things didn't change, would die. And what about Tiny Tim, his little heart? Oh my goodness, he was so sweet to old Scrooge. Bless us everyone. Okay, don't look away from the poor, y'all. Don't assume laziness or criminality. Instead, ask God to fill your heart with the love of Jesus. It's easy to expect institutions or governments to do the heavy lifting, but much harder to open our own hands, our own schedules, and our own doors. Let us not be afraid to reach across the great divide between housed and unhoused, fed and unfed while we still can. Are you giving? And if you are giving, are you giving begrudgingly or with a cheerful heart? Lord, help me give with a cheerful heart because the Lord loves a cheerful giver. Hey, I'd love to hear what you think about this podcast. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or wherever you listen. 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