Thursday, December 11, 2008

'Tis The Season

Once again Christians turn their thoughts to the joys of the Christmas Season. No time of the year offers quite as much of an opportunity for experiencing joy, excitement and sharing glad tidings.

The rosy cheeks of little children making snow angels in the freshly fallen snow coupled with their eager smiles will melt the most Scrooge-like person’s heart.

The blue star-filled skies lighted by the moon are searched by all for that great sleigh filled with toys and led, maybe, by that fabled red-nosed reindeer, Rudolph himself!

I hope we are never too old for fables and rich legends about the Holidays. I feel that if we have lost that magical feeling, we may also miss the spirit of Christmas. Certainly Christmas is more than Santa and toys and reindeer rushing across the sky. It is also about the continual rebirth of the Christ within each of us.

That rebirth is not simply a symbolic notion. Jesus, speaking to his disciples, as reported in John 14:20 said: At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. Jesus always referred to himself as one with the Father and claimed the same for everyone. He also claimed that he did nothing of himself, but what the Father did through him. Whatever he did was possible for us as well if only we would believe in the possibility. The rebirth of Christ in us, then, occurs as we claim the possibility of demonstrating in our lives the essence of life, health, and abundance.

All religions celebrate similar potentials, so for non-Christians who may be reading these words, I celebrate with you the Spirit of God—by whatever name—blessing your life with all that is good.

2 comments:

Inspector Clouseau said...

Nice piece. This will be a particularly interesting Christmas for much of the world, in light of all of the economic uncertainty. Let's hope that something positive will develop during this season in that more of us will recognize that it is about the companionship and commonality of spirit, and not about the "things."

Dan said...

Exactly! This year we may be forced to think of our companionship with family and friends rather than the trinkets so often the focus of the Holidays.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.