Muppet Christmas Carol, Week 4: “When Love Is Found”
Read Matthew 1:18-25:
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
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
There's a part of me, a place inside
That now belongs to you
The love we found, the love we found
We carry with us so we're never quite alone
The love we found, the love we found
The sweetest dream that we have ever known
The love we found, the love we found
We carry with us so we're never quite alone
This Week from the Film:
After his night of visions, Scrooge wakes transformed. He scrambles to his feet laughing and crying, overjoyed that he has been given another chance. He throws open his window, greets his neighbors, buys a feast for the Cratchits, and steps into the day with an open heart. By the time he reaches Bob Cratchit’s home, his entire posture toward the world has changed.
The final scene is a celebration. The Cratchit family gathers, surprised and overjoyed. Scrooge apologizes, makes amends, and participates in the feast with genuine affection. The whole ensemble joins in singing “When Love Is Found.” The moment mirrors Belle’s earlier song, but now instead of loss, the story lands on restoration. Love, once lost, is rediscovered. Community is rebuilt. Scrooge steps into a future he never imagined was possible.
The joy is communal. It’s not just Scrooge who is changed. His transformation ripples outward—into his neighborhood, his workplace, and especially into the Cratchit family. It is the clearest picture of redemption the film offers.
“When Love Is Found” is a musical benediction. It celebrates restoration, forgiveness, and the renewal of relationships. The song is not naïve; it doesn’t pretend the past didn’t happen. Instead, it acknowledges that love’s return is always a miracle made possible by grace and courage.
The song pairs beautifully with Matthew’s story of Joseph. Joseph chooses a path of love when fear would have been easier. Scrooge does the same. The lyrics speak to a truth at the heart of Advent: love takes root when people choose trust over suspicion, generosity over guarding, reconciliation over withdrawal.
This song embodies the good news of Advent: God makes a home with us. Hope becomes flesh. Broken stories are rewritten. Futures once feared become full of possibility. It is the sound of joy breaking loose in the world.
This Week from the Bible:
Matthew’s Christmas story focuses on Joseph, a man caught in what feels like an impossible situation. He discovers that Mary is pregnant, and he knows the child is not his. Matthew describes Joseph as “righteous,” but what Joseph does next shows what righteousness means in God’s eyes. Instead of demanding justice or exposing Mary to shame, he resolves to divorce her quietly. His instinct is compassion.
This is where God intervenes. An angel appears in a dream, telling Joseph not to be afraid. The message reframes everything: the child is conceived by the Holy Spirit; his name will be Jesus, meaning “the Lord saves”; and this child will fulfill God’s promises. Joseph wakes up with a new understanding of his role. His obedience is quiet but courageous. He chooses love over self-protection. He steps into a story he never would have written for himself.
Joseph’s choice shows that faith often looks like moving forward with limited information. He doesn’t get answers to all his questions. He simply gets enough light to take the next step. That is the heart of Advent faith.
This passage lands beautifully alongside “When Love Is Found.” Joseph and Scrooge both embody the miracle of transformed futures. Where Week One shows love lost, Week Four shows love restored. Joseph accepts a calling shaped by grace. Scrooge steps into a life shaped by generosity. Both show that
God delights in rewriting stories—not by erasing the past, but by opening a new future rooted in love.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Where do you see echoes between Scrooge’s transformation and Joseph’s obedience?
What does restored love look like in practice?
Where do you sense God inviting you into a future you didn’t plan?
How does grace change someone’s story?
Closing advice from the wisdom of John Wesley:
“Love is the fulfilling of the law, the end of the commandment, the essence of perfection.”
The whole Advent story, as well as the story of Scrooge’s transformation, ends up here. Love is the fulfilling of the law, particularly the perfect love of God made known to us in Jesus Christ. This love includes the grace we see in forgiveness as well as the conviction and expectations placed on us by the law of love. We are free from sin and death, but we are not free to do whatever we please. That freedom is a freedom to serve within the wide bounds of the law of love.