We live in a country of many different faiths intermingled with people who do not have spiritual beliefs. For most faiths every day is sacred but all faiths have times of special celebrations. For Christians December 25th is one of those times. It is the day that the birth of Jesus the Christ is honored and celebrated.
The crypt (1078 A.D.) beneath the church in Lastingham, England.
Raised as a Christian I read as a child about the coming of the wise men and it seemed like a lovely exotic fairy tale. It was many years later that I read the poem "Journey of the Magi" by T.S. Eliot and was astonished by the opening lines, "A hard time we had of it, just the worst time of the year for a journey and such a long journey". The fairy tale image flew out of my brain in a big hurry and I began to try to get my mind around a very different way of looking at the whole thing. The journey towards the new birth as a Christian is a very difficult one, full of hardships, challenging lessons to learn and many failures along the way. Wisdom is hard earned and not easily put into practice. But, as the wise men experienced, when we commit to the journey and keep going, in spite of all the set backs, we know that new birth is possible because we have seen it. With faith and joy they offered precious gifts to honor the birth.
Our Christmas freezing rain.
In America, Christmas is often experienced as just one big commercial enterprise and time with family can be challenging and not always the joyful experience that we would like. Making internal and external space to remember and honor the sacredness of this special time takes a thoughtful plan and can be as simple as lighting a candle or saying grace before the meal. For some the spiritual preparation for Christmas is much more extensive and culminates in the joy of being with a community of faith for the midnight service on Christmas Eve. Whatever you choose allow yourself to consider that the external New Birth can reflect and assist in the internal New Birth. So open your heart and mind to embrace the new life that this special sacred time invites us to welcome.
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