December 15, 2019
Good morning,
Christmas is almost here, and this gives us an opportunity to consider our lives in relation to its meaning. This time of year has different meanings for millions of different people, so let me focus on three that seem most relevant to transformation and to the inner journey.
First, Christmas is a symbol of rebirth. In the Julian calendar (the dominant calendar in the Roman Empire beginning in 45 BC and used almost exclusively in Europe and the Middle East until 1582 AD), December 25 was the day of the winter solstice, the day the long winter season turned and began its slow march toward spring, renewal, and rebirth.
Second, Western Christianity adopted that date as the day of the birth of Jesus (in spite of facts in the New Testament that suggest a different date and contrary to the Eastern Orthodox church, which to this day uses a different date) because that date was already associated with a Roman holiday, but especially because it symbolized rebirth and renewal. Placing the birth of Jesus on December 25 captured those themes and expanded them into an image of the breaking into the ordinary world, the world of time, a direct human manifestation of the timeless—of divine energy, the unseen order, the good.
Third, following the message of Jesus, that date has come to stand for the possibility of metanoia, sometimes translated as repentance but actually a call for us to change our minds, change our consciousness—change the way we see things. The word metanoia is used frequently in the original Greek of the New Testament both by Jesus and Paul, and it indicates the necessity for each of us to change our understanding, to undergo a transformation and give birth to something new in ourselves.
The something new they are suggesting is to follow the example of Jesus and let Christ be born in us, or as Paul said, “let the mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The goal Paul put forward was to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” and join him in the attempt to let “Christ liveth in me.” Over and over Paul points to this ultimate goal in life: to expand into the state of consciousness that Jesus occupied, to shift your identity to something larger than the small self, to give birth in yourself to what Jesus gave birth to in himself. Can you and I do this. Paul said we could. Perhaps we can do even more: Jesus said those who follow his path will be able to do “the works that I do,” “and greater works than these shall he do.”
How do we do this? In Jesus’ teachings we must take on a new identity, one that is in harmony with a larger picture of existence. We must step out of our small, individual identities and be transformed, expand into an identity that is at one with him and with the Father. “As you, Father, are in me, and I in you, they may also be one in us: I in them, and you in me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” His message is that each of us has the capacity to do this, because “The Kingdom of God is within you.” (Of course, you might not have recognized this fact quite yet—which is the challenge).
Christmas, then, is a time for us to deeply consider our own rebirth. The great Christian mystic Meister Eckhart said:
“What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly, but does not take place within myself? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture?”
The ultimate opportunity of Christmas, then, is to give birth in ourselves to what Jesus spent his life teaching and exemplifying: 1) learning to love with a whole heart and mind, 2) helping and healing the sick and oppressed and downtrodden, 3) learning to practice radical forgiveness, as when Jesus said on the cross of his attackers, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” and when he taught that we should forgive over and over, “seventy times seven times.”
Note, however, that he also made clear that people had to own their errors and change their ways before they would be free of the consequences of their actions—just read his condemnations of the Pharisees, the people of his time who professed to be especially righteous and holy, but who he saw as unloving, unforgiving, and self-righteous. His message, then, is that it is crucial for us to forgive, but that does not mean we have to associate with or act in co-dependent ways with those who have harmed us or refuse to acknowledge what they have done. We forgive because it heals our own hearts.
After that, those who have done wrong are responsible for what happens to them. As Jesus said, “Unless you are born again, you will not see the Kingdom,” which I take to mean you must have a metanoia, a transformation, a change of consciousness to be able to live in peace, love, and joy. The path is laid out succinctly in AA: to be healed we must make “a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves,” admit the “nature of our wrongs,” and make “a list of all persons we had harmed, and become willing to make amends to them all.” We forgive others because it heals us and brings greater peace and love into our lives and into the world. What happens to those who have done bad things, however, is not up to us—they have to deal with that themselves.
A Christmas Carol and Ebenezer Scrooge
So, Christmas is a time that symbolizes the birth, or rebirth, of love, goodness, forgiveness, and compassion in our hearts and in the way we live. The reason Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the most popular Christmas story since its publication in 1843 is that it demonstrates a dramatic transformation in the selfish and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. Through a dream or vision of the existence of a perspective much broader than that of his narrow self-centered world, he is reborn and changes overnight from a person who is completely selfish and greedy to someone who is generous, loving, and focused on helping others.
To understand the story, however, it is important to note that, like the Pharisees, Scrooge is not dishonest or breaking any legal rules. His wrongness is of a different nature: he is breaking a higher moral law, a law of the heart, one that we all sense if we will let ourselves be open to it, but which we can ignore if we go strictly by societal rules and reason. This higher perspective is what Scrooge discovers and that Christmas symbolizes—the existence of a realm of “the good,” of love and compassion, of forgiveness of oneself and others.
There are, of course, many movies of Scrooge and A Christmas Carol. You probably saw one or more growing up. You might or might not have seen the version with George C. Scott as Scrooge, which for me makes the character easier for a person in the modern world to understand and identify with. So, for this Christmas, treat yourself to that marvelous actor George C. Scott as Scrooge, and feast in his vivid portrayal of a complete transformation from miserable self-centeredness to joyous happiness brought forth by an explosion of compassion, care, and concern for others. To whet your appetite, here are some scenes that capture key parts of the story:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP0B8hrOo0Y (3 minutes)
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMf8WHMeg1g (3 minutes)
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO17UOjcovg (2 minutes)
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Um603B2lI (9 minutes)
I couldn’t find a clip of the last 3 or 4 minutes of the Scott movie. But here is another version of the ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWdJ1EXf5zo
For a free version of the full George C. Scoot 1984 movie, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI5UWo7NCdY (fast forward through the first 3 1/2 minutes of the talking heads)
And of course you can watch it all on DVD, Amazon, Netflix, etc.)
Music
Here are a few of my favorite Christmas music videos on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_MGWio-vc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooc5eJc5SHA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE&feature=fvst
And to end with one more song: Perhaps Meister Eckhart’s most powerful point was that the greatest barrier to the fulfillment of our lives concerns our concepts about God. Whatever ideas you hold about God, or Jesus, or Christ—those ideas are not the truth, they are human ideas in your own mind, ideas that you formulated out of the mishmash of opinions and stories you were given when you were growing up and others you have heard and read since then. Your ideas and opinions about the ultimate, whether the words you use for it are God, there is no God, Jesus was Divine, Jesus was just a human being, we all have Buddha-nature, there is nothing but material stuff, the Great Spirit pervades everything, all truth is relative, and on and on—whether your concepts about the ultimate nature of reality involve negating or affirming one or more of the world’s religious systems, each and every idea you have is a concept you have put together in your very human mind. Whatever your concepts, they are not Reality or Truth. The concepts in any human mind are much too limited for that.
To find the truth, to find fulfilment, the only path is to get beyond your concepts, get beyond your previous thoughts and be open to experiencing that which is real—which is beyond words. To let that be born in you right now. So, when you listen to Johnny Mathis sing the song below, remember Meister Eckhart and his teaching—that for the birth of Jesus to be ultimately meaningful for you, it has to be about your life and the birth of something in you, a transformation in your life in the present. As you listen to “O Holy Night,” try to find within yourself an opening to a moment when “your soul will feel its worth,” when deep within you will feel “a thrill of hope” as “a new and glorious morn” breaks out all around you. Then you will know the urge to “fall on your knees,” perhaps you will even hear the murmur of “angels’ voices” on that “night divine,” the night when something holy dawns in you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHAFT2i5h5w
May you have a wonderful Christmas season,
David
P. S. As a bonus, here is a 30 minute movie on Amazon that captures the spirit of Christian compassion and lovingkindness at Christmas in response to another who is in despair.
The Ride directed by Dallas Jenkins
https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Kirk-B-R-Woller/dp/B00RI8TF62/