Muppet Christmas Carol, Week 3: “Marley and Marley” or “Change!”
Read Matthew 11:2-11:
When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Consider these questions:
What word or phrase stands out to me as I read this passage? Why?
If I closed my eyes, and entered into the passage in my mind, what would I feel? What situation in my life today would relate?
What is an invitation for me from God and from this passage of the Bible?
Offer this opening prayer:
O Lord, open my heart so that I may receive your teaching and encouragement, open my lips so that I might declare your praise, and open my mind to the deep possibilities of faith that you place before us in the Season of Advent. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Important Words from This Week’s Song
The news we shared has got you scared
We’re glad that we got through
So make amends, and make some friends
The future’s up to you!
As freedom comes from giving love
So prison comes with hate!
This Week from the Film:
When Jacob and Robert Marley enter, the tone swings sharply into comic spookiness. They appear bound in heavy chains, clanking dramatically as they approach Scrooge. Their faces are stern, jittery, and full of regret. They waste no time: they tell Scrooge that the chains they carry were forged in life by their choices. Every link on the chains was a moment of greed, cruelty, or neglect.
The scene is intentionally exaggerated, but beneath the humor lies a sobering truth. The Marleys don’t just warn Scrooge about punishment; they warn him about
becoming
someone whose life is reduced to fear and regret. Their haunting is not vengeful. It is merciful. They interrupt Scrooge’s pattern long enough to shake him awake.
They also make it clear: intervention is coming. Scrooge will be visited by three spirits. Their warning is a strange kind of grace—forcing him to confront the reality of his life before it is too late. The visual image of chains is powerful. It captures how our own habits can trap us long before we recognize it.
“Marley and Marley” is a comic lament, full of ghostly wails and warnings. But the heart of the song is about consequences and truth-telling. It declares that our lives are shaped by the choices we repeatedly make, and those choices leave marks on us. The Marleys are living metaphors for what happens when life is narrowed to self-interest.
Their refrain about being “doomed” has more spiritual depth than it first appears. It points to the truth that refusing compassion, generosity, or empathy doesn’t simply harm others—it impoverishes our own souls. The image of dragging heavy chains communicates the weight we carry when we live small, fearful lives.
Yet the song doesn’t end in despair. Its purpose is to jolt Scrooge into facing reality. The humor keeps the message from overwhelming him. Their final charge—that three spirits are coming—signals hope. Even the most tightly bound person can still be reached. Even the most tangled life can be undone and remade. The song bridges judgment and mercy.
This Week from the Bible:
This passage gives us a glimpse of John the Baptist at a vulnerable moment. He is in prison, cut off from the movement he helped ignite, and he begins to question whether Jesus is truly the Messiah.
This doubt does not make John weak. It makes him human. Even prophets struggle when their expectations collide with their realities.
Jesus’ response is remarkably gentle. He doesn’t rebuke John. He doesn’t send him a theological argument. He sends evidence. “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” The blind see. The lame walk. The lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear. The dead are raised. The poor receive good news. These are all signs drawn from Isaiah’s vision of God restoring creation. Jesus is saying, “John, the kingdom is arriving, just not in the way you imagined.”
Then Jesus turns to the crowd and affirms John’s ministry. “Among those born of women, no one has arisen greater.” Jesus honors John’s faithfulness even in his uncertainty. And yet he adds a surprising line: “The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” This signals a shift. God is doing something new through Jesus by opening access, widening mercy, and transforming what it means to be part of God’s family.
This passage pairs beautifully with “Marley and Marley.” Both deal with expectations, consequences, and the sober reality of spiritual life. John sits in a kind of chain, as he is bound by disappointment and confusion. Jesus breaks into that space with a word of healing and truth. The Marleys, too, speak a hard truth but offer grace by promising visitation and intervention. Both scenes teach that even when we feel trapped,
God can still break in.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
What chains (habits, fears, grudges) do you think people most commonly carry?
How does the Marley scene use humor to speak truth? (This may be harder to answer if you have not seen the movie. If in a group that has not, it can be skipped).
Where do you relate to John’s doubt or confusion?
How have you seen God’s healing work break into your life?
Closing advice from the wisdom of John Wesley:
“We are, every moment, pleasing or displeasing God; every hour, either increasing or decreasing the happiness of our future state.” This would be a great week to think about sanctifying grace, or perfecting grace. This kind of grace is how we use our attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors over the course of a lifetime after receiving Christ as our savior and putting our whole trust in him. In the saving love of Jesus and a lifetime committed to sanctification, we can celebrate that our theology does not leave rooms for these haunting chains to be forged but, rather, broken!