The Miracle of Christmas

     During the Christmas season we are asked to believe in miracles. Believe that a virgin conceived a child by the Holy Spirit. Believe that an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him that Mary would give birth to the Son of God. Believe that angels came to the shepherds in a field outside of Bethlehem and told them where to find the baby Jesus! And yet, if anyone claims to have seen an angel in today's world, they are scoffed at and called delusional. 

    We are told that Jesus grew up to be a great teacher and perform many miracles. He said: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12) And yet, many churches condemn those who perform spiritual healings because, you never know, the healing might come from the devil rather than God.

    Jesus demonstrated that life is eternal, and yet, we are told not to try to contact our loved ones in spirit. Catholics and other Christians may pray for their departed loved ones, but in Protestant churches we are told that we should not pray for the dead, and we should not pray TO anyone other than God and Jesus. Life is eternal, and yet many Christians believe that this one brief physical life is our only opportunity for salvation. They don't seem to believe in the miracle of a loving God who desires the best for his and her children. 

    I often feel that Christians have put themselves in a little box with God and their definition of God.  If church members stray from the perimeters of that box with questions, explorations, or imagination, they risk the wrath of God. If we tear down the walls of that box, we find that God expands to fill the outer reaches of the universe and beyond. In Matthew 19:26 we read that "with God all things are possible." So yes, it is possible - and most likely - that God has created intelligent beings on trillions of planets throughout the universe. It is possible and likely that many of these beings are more  highly evolved than we are, and that they are already among us, waiting for the day when we are spiritually mature enough to meet them peacefully. 

    With God all things are possible - and yet, many who pray for God's kingdom to come to earth do not believe it will happen. Some Christians have told me that we will never know peace in this world, even though we read in Isaiah 2:4: "They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." In Luke 2:14 we learn that a heavenly host of angels said to the shepherds on that first Christmas night: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

    We sing and pray about world peace every year at Christmastime, but how many believe it can become reality? Is it an impossible pipe dream, or do we believe that with God all things are possible? Perhaps if we truly believe the miracle of Christmas - that Jesus was born to save the world - and work toward that end, we will find favor with God and the world will be saved from the violence and mayhem we have allowed to exist for far too long. 

    I believe that if we open our hearts and minds to the possibility of miracles this Christmas, and every day, we will discover there is so much more to God's universe than we ever dreamed possible. Why not try it and see what happens?

 

    

Tis the Season

 

In recent years a lot of people have been making a fuss about the type of greeting we should offer each other during the month of December. Some Christians insist that “Merry Christmas” is the only acceptable greeting, while others prefer “Happy Holidays” so as to include everyone, whether or not they celebrate Christmas. (And isn’t it interesting that nobody says “Happy Christmas” considering that “merry” is an old-fashioned term that we don’t use in modern conversation other than at Christmastime?)

            I grew up in a home where Christmas was celebrated every year, and that continues to be my favorite holiday. I still say “Merry Christmas” when sending cards or greeting those who celebrate the same holiday. I also recognize that some people in this country and around the world do not celebrate Christmas, and I think the way to build bridges with them is the more inclusive “Seasons Greetings.”

            When it comes right down to it, December marks the season of Love and Light, however we choose to celebrate it, and no matter what name we give the holiday of choice. December must be more like June for those who live in the Southern hemisphere, but up here in the North we experience the shortest days and longest nights this month, and so most holiday celebrations include lights and candles to brighten the darkness.

            Those who believe that “Merry Christmas” is the only acceptable greeting at this time of year may not realize that some of the other holidays celebrated in December originated long before Jesus was born. The celebration of his birth didn’t become a holiday until the year 336 when December 25^th was finally decided on as Christ’s birthday. The Germanic peoples had celebrated Yule on December 25^th, considered by ancients to be the winter solstice, for longer than historians can calculate. Hanukkah was first celebrated in the year 138 BCE. How can anyone claim that Christmas is the only December holiday worth recognizing when others pre-date it by centuries?

            People have celebrated with fire and feasts in December for ages because the short days evoke the human need for fun and frivolity. It is also the time of year when many believe the veil between heaven and the world is thin, and “angels bend near the earth.” Each year, when the sun is close to the earth and the days are dark, there is an opportunity to connect with our inner light and wisdom. It is an ancient belief that the sun, being the symbol of our consciousness, is reborn on the 25^th. It is a holy time for spiritual people, no matter what religion they do or don’t adhere to.

            The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a Mexican holiday that is growing in popularity in the United States, celebrates the belief that a man encountered the Virgin Mary, Mexico's patron saint, in Mexico City on December 9 and 12, 1531. Some people hold the belief that the Virgin Mary appears to people in order to bring the energies of the Divine Feminine into the world. According to a message given by Patricia Cota-Robles for December 12, 2018: “The transfiguring divine love of our Mother God is the mightiest force in the Universe. It is the vibration from which we were born from the heart of God, and it is the vibration through which we must now evolve and ascend back into the heart of God.” She also said: “When we experience the love of our Mother God, we know that we are all one.”

            So – this season is a time to experience and share divine love with all the world. It is a time to seek the light within, symbolized by the candles and festive lights we decorate our homes with, and a time to recognize the oneness of humanity in all of its diversity, celebrating the season in whatever way we choose.

            I think I’m going to coin a new greeting for this time of year: “Season’s blessings to all!”

Waiting for the Door to Open

                Today, November 30, 2014, is the first Sunday in Advent, the season of waiting. For most, it simply means time to start getting ready for Christmas:shopping, baking, writing cards, decorating, and attending holiday parties and events. 

               This morning in church the pastor reminded us that Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. We listened to the Scripture passages, Mark 13: 24-37, where Jesus tells his followers to be alert for his second coming because “about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  So Advent also reminds us that we are waiting for the end of Earth’s tribulations and the beginning of the new era of peace. How much longer will we have to wait?

                In Mark 13:7-8 Jesus says: “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places, there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.” (NRSV)

                I have often wondered about this passage because there have always been wars and famines in the world. Or maybe it just seems that way because our history books skip over the peaceful eras when nothing “exciting” was happening. (Were there any such times?) As our pastor pointed out this morning, the world seems to be in an awful state these days with horrendous violent events occurring, especially in the Middle East and Africa. And then there’s the Ebola epidemic, widespread earthquakes and tornadoes, as well as famines. It’s not very comforting to read the Bible and learn that things could get a lot worse before they get better.

                According to the Bible, when things have gotten so bad that the sun and moon have given up their light, and the stars have fallen from the sky, we will see “’the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.” I wonder how many Christians believe that Jesus will literally return to earth in the clouds? (What if Jesus returns on a clear day? Or, if there is no sun or moon, will we be able to tell if there are clouds or not?)

The metaphysical interpretation of clouds is: “The presence of the mind of God in spiritual visibility, which comes to us when we have dropped all formal religious exercises and are resting in the very consciousness of Deity.” So metaphysically speaking, the second coming might be the day when all of humanity attains divine consciousness and we all recognize our Oneness.  

Over the past few years, the piece I wrote about Ruby Nelson’s book, The Door of Everything has remained the most popular post on my blog. The ongoing interest in this book has inspired me to pick it up again. Re-reading the first chapter today, I find the reminder that God is always within our consciousness: “Like an iceberg on the sea, nine-tenths of which is out of sight, I live within you in the form of mind with nine-tenths of me being submerged beneath your awareness.”

To continue: “This submerged mind is your center of divine wisdom, an area of mind that does not think in the normal sense of the word--it knows.  The nature of it is pure and holy, it has never been touched by limited or negative belief; it is a living part of me. When you have learned to elevate this submerged mind and integrate it with your surface consciousness, your entire being will take on its holy nature and you will come to find that, as Jesus taught, it is indeed not robbery to be equal with God.” (pp. 17-18)

It makes sense to me that we can only be saved from the ugliness of this world when we recognize our own divinity and act like the divine beings we are. Most of us have heard, probably many times, that we can’t change someone else unless he or she wants to change. Jesus was not able to change the world when he came two thousand years ago. How would it be different if he was to return today? All he can do is demonstrate that the way to salvation is to recognize the hidden treasures within our consciousness– and he has already done that. 

Ruby Nelson’s book shows us the way through “the door of everything.” Jesus said “I stand at the door and knock.” He, the embodiment of Love and Light is waiting for us to open the door. In Mark 13 Jesus says that the second coming is like a man going on a journey and commanding the doorkeeper to be on watch.  Jesus went on a journey when he left this world. He left a doorkeeper at the door to divine consciousness that lies within each one of us. The doorkeeper will unlock the door and open it when we are ready to “rest in the very consciousness of Deity.”