The Christmas Candle Page #6

If I may but touch his

garment, I shall be whole.

If thou canst believe, all

things are possible to him...

The father of

the child cried out,

"Lord, I believe,

help my unbelief!"

And he said to her,

"Damsel, arise."

And they were astonished,

a great astonishment.

Speak the word,

and my servant shall be here.

And Jesus said unto them,

"Thy faith has made you whole."

David. David.

He's asleep.

[DAVID] My wife and daughter

died of consumption.

I prayed. I even

believed for a miracle.

[DAVID]

But God did nothing.

Oh, David.

[DAVID] One day my faith was so

certain, and then it was gone.

There was a time

when I could not...

...utter a prayer or step

foot in a church.

I believe I've made

my peace with God.

But still I was a

different man before.

The love I shared,

the hope I had...

Some things,

they cannot be restored.

I do hope you're wrong.

Such a hope is too great a risk.

But I wonder what you

risk living without it.

[DAVID] [weakly]

I should go.

[Emily sobs]

Bea.

He won't light it.

I'll light it for him.

It's of no use.

Anyway, we don't even

know if it's the right one.

Well then we'll find out.

We did everything we knew to do.

We gave away every last candle,

and this one came back.

Twice.

This could be

our miracle, Edward.

I hope I'm not overstepping

my boundaries,

but I know just the person to

give the candle to this year.

David Richmond.

Think of it, Edward.

Your father gave the candle

to Reverend Pillington.

And as we know, David is a far

greater wretch than he ever was.

[BEA] You make a compelling

argument, but I don't--

Don't tell me you've

given the candle away.

This is the candle,

isn't it'! Splendid.

Then we're in agreement?

[BEA] Lady Camdon,

I don't think--

[EDWARD]Yes, we'll give

the candle to David.

Good.

[LADY CAMDON] Lord knows,

he could use a little light.

But he doesn't

even believe in the candle.

Edward.

Edward, please!

Mr. Haddington.

May I have a word'!

The Christmas Candle.

You're giving the candle to me?

[EDWARD]Well, you

weren't the first choice.

What am I to do with it.

Just light it and...

just light it.

Just do something

good for Gladbury.

[DAVID]

Emily.

[DAVID]

In church.

And on your own accord.

It's true.

Am I to think that

you've come to believe?

I don't know.

I want to.

In times like this,

it would be comforting.

Don't think less of me.

I have a problem.

Cousin Charlie was given

this blasted Christmas Candle,

and the poor boy

has given it to me.

Who could refuse

a gift like that?

Now all I can do is pray.

I feel as though

I owe it to him.

That is a problem.

[banging on door]

[EDWARD]

Yes, yes, I'm coming.

Reverend Richmond, Miss Barstow.

[DAVID]

Mr. Haddington, a word.

Reverend!

Miss Barstow!

Is there a problem?

[DAVID] On the contrary.

A great and wondrous miracle

has taken place this

Christmas season.

It seems that the angel

has blessed not one,

but two Christmas

Candles this year.

And now that I think of it,

how small is my faith,

to think that this angel

might stop at two.

Why not three or four?

Or maybe there are no

limits to the blessings

the Good Lord might

bestow upon Gladbury.

[BEA]

Well, we can explain.

Edward tripped, and then--

you came around.

There was an accident.

Yes, we'd lost the candle.

So I said, "Why don't we

give all the candles?"

Bea.

And Edward said--

We meant no harm.

But you've given us false hope.

Surely you can see that.

How could you?

How could you question my

intentions for the people of

Gladbury when you, yourselves

so blatantly misled them?

I fear this Christmas will end

in nothing but disappointment,

And you and your fairy

tales are to blame.

[Bea gasps]

Perhaps it was providence

that kept me in Gladbury.

Well, here we are again.

[DAVID]

Thank you, Mrs. Hopewell.

I can never repay you.

I know what it is

to suffer a great loss.

Allow me, Reverend.

It's time.

On Christmas Eve, we light

the final candle of Advent,

the Christ Candle, for only

in Christ do we find the hope,

love, joy, and peace that we

have come to know this season.

Christmas Eve

holds a special place

in the heart of every believer,

and nowhere is this more true

than in the town of Gladbury.

Many of you have no

doubt come to rejoice

in the miracle of the

Christmas Candle.

But regretfully,

tonight you shall see this

long-standing tradition

come to an end.

[gasps]

Father?

I would now like to ask

the recipient of the

Christmas Candle

to please stand.

[murmurs]

[DAVID] Now more than

ever I see the urgent need

to speak on the virtue

of enduring faith,

a faith that endures

disappointment, and

unanswered prayer.

A faith that relies not on

the hollow promises of men,

but on the sovereignty

of Almighty God.

I...

I...

I've got something to say!

[gasps and chatter]

I can speak!

[joyful voices]

I prayed. Every day I prayed,

And then I woke up this

morning, and I could talk.

I don't understand it.

I even gave my candle away.

But my favorite scripture says,

"With God,

all things are possible."

Now I'm never going to stop

talking, especially about this!

[applause]

I don't know how this happened,

but my wife also received

the Christmas Candle.

For my husband.

As many of you know,

I was stuck on the bottle.

Like never before, I prayed.

And I found I was

drinking less and less.

Which really is a miracle.

[applause]

I was hopeless.

I'd lost everything.

And now, nothing': lost at all.

It's all been found.

[applause]

[MR. FINCH] I've been out

of a job for some time now,

and found myself

in debt up to my ears.

But then, our landlady--

[MRS. FINCH] She forgave

us our debts in full.

[MR. FINCH] And if

that wasn't enough,

well I found work

at the Leonard house.

It makes a man feel good to

provide for his family again.

And my wife, she's found

a good friend in Ms. Leonard.

[MRS. FINCH]

Yes, this dear woman,

she's taught our kids to knit.

[laughs and applause]

[JOE] [on verge of tears]

My name's Joe.

I'm not really a religious man.

I asked for the candle,

and it's saved my cat.

It may not seem much, but

she means a great deal to me.

I never thought I'd get

the Christmas Candle,

but thank God I did.

[applause]

[PHINEAS]The candle was

for me old man, Oliver Barber.

[DELILAH]

He was blind.

As you may have heard,

dad died this morning.

[DELILAH] And just before

he left us, he whispered,

"I can see."

"I can see." His prayer was

answered,just as he'd hoped.

He saw Jesus.

When I received the candle,

I thought my prayer'd

be answered one way,

so I took a step of faith.

Only it was in

the wrong direction.

But then I stumbled into

the arms of Hardy Collins,

the man of my dreams,

and just this morning,

he asked me to be his wife.

[excited gasps]

My answer's yes!

[EMILY]

I don't know what to say,

except I prayed for

my father, and here he is.

[WOMAN] I hadn't spoke

to my sister in ten years.

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