A Non-Traditional Christmas Story
Christmas is one of my favorite times of year, is it yours? I went to a lovely Singing Christmas Tree program at a large Baptist Church in my town - yes I was in the front row of a Baptist Church! It was extremely well done, the music was delightful, the story very traditional and the short message, couched in a "thank you for being here", was appropriate and very upbeat. Kudos to First Sarasota, as our downtown Baptist Church is now called.
Both my wife, Susan, and our friends who accompanied us, had a wonderful evening and left the large sanctuary renewed and full of love for all humankind. That is the entire point of Christmas as I see it. Oh, we gave each other knowing smiles at the simple, allegorical Christmas story that portrayed events that either never happened or happened very differently than the standard "Greatest Story Ever Told", but those are the facts and the facts are not what Christmas is all about.
Many New Thought people, including those of us in Religious Science, get caught up in disputing the "fairy tale" presentation of the Christmas story and in so doing, may miss the entire experience of the season. You see, dear ones, it doesn't matter if Mary was or wasn't a virgin (probably wasn't), it doesn't matter if Jesus was born in Bethlehem or Nazareth (pretty sure it was Nazareth), and it sure doesn't matter that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th ( he almost certainly wasn't). It doesn't even matter that the baby's name wasn't Jesus (ever hear of a Jew named Jesus, before or since? - It was Joshua or Yeshua in Hebrew). Doubtful that there was a manger and we are sure that Augustus did not decree a census and ask every person in the Empire to go to his home town (can you imagine millions of people on the roads all at the same time all over the Mediterranean world - wow, what a mess!). Stars do not hang in the sky then or now and the Three Kings were actually Persian Priests called Magi but, what the heck, its the joy the love and the beauty of life that we are really celebrating; not the birth of a baby boy! We are celebrating the birth of the Christ - that Mind that was in Jesus, not the birth of the man Jesus.
Oh, the baby boy is very important because He grew up to become the Christ - the Wayshower - the one who opened the eyes of humanity to its higher potential, to the reality that love really does conquer might every time- if we have the raw guts to employ it! Takes more courage to show love in the face of adversity than to attack or defend; how many of us could march into the dogs and fire hoses dressed in our Sunday Best as Martin Luther King and his thousands of marchers did? Dr. King changed America that day; just as the young Jesus changed the Roman Empire and the world beyond it in His day.
The celebration of Christmas is not just for Christians - it goes far beyond the parochial celebration of "The Son of God". It is a celebration of Light, Love, Goodwill toward all humans, kindness and yes, of a young Jewish man named Yeshua Ben Joseph who had the Christ mindedness to transcend his humanness and show us the Way out of the darkness and into the Light. That is why many Jewish friends of mine celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah with their children because a few weeks of focus on love and goodwill are good for every human on this planet.
The message and majesty of Jesus is that even a simple Jewish cabinetmaker's son, born into the poorest town in Galilee, can by realizing who He really was, transcend his carnal self ;free himself from the world of facts and logic and ascend to true Christhood - that state where we operate in the certain knowledge of our Divinity and become master operators of God's Spiritual Laws. Let me illustrate my point a bit by an examination of the "miracle stories" of the New Testament.
Many do not believe that these events ever took place. I do believe that they happened because I have experienced this kind of healing three times in my life and I know that it exists and I know how and why it happens. It did not happen because the Father reached down from Heaven above and touched these people. It did not happen because Jesus was God and had Godly powers that we mere mortals do not possess. It did not happen because these people would have been healed anyway in the natural course of events. There was no magical suspension of the physical laws of the world. It happened as a result of faith. Faith is God's magic elixir which heals, creates and renews.
When this miraculous healing took place, there was a Master at work using the same Spiritual Laws of the Universe that God used to create this world. That Master was Jesus. As He taught us over and over the Law does the work using our faith and creates what we call miracles almost every day somewhere on this planet. No magic, just brilliant use of the Law. Here is how it worked for Jesus and how it will work for you in your life.
If you are a student of the Bible, you will remember that on several occasions he stated plainly that anyone of us could do what He was doing- if we believed! He was stating that if you use the Law, which requires that you see it done before it appears in form and that you have a total belief that it is done without any evidence to prove it - then it will be done unto you.
In every single instance of healing He asked the afflicted if they were ready to be healed or if they believed that He could heal them. In the case of Lazarus, he was not in this world and could not get in the way of his own healing. That is the point, our doubt and need for proof keeps our healing efforts from bearing fruit. If you do not have total trust in God and the Law that God has instituted, then you cannot heal yourself or anyone else. Take up your bed and arise! That is what each of us must do, if we are to heal our lives and live the Divine Life we were meant to live. Let go of the "facts" of this moment and soar!
Faith is the key to creating what you want; the key to healing your body, your mind and your life. What you have faith in is not as important as the faith itself. Faith moves mountains - doubt builds them. Fear makes them into Everest's. Faith is not a sometime thing. Faith is a state of being, a constant attitude, an expectation of good or bad. That's right, you use faith when you prepare "for the worst" - you expect it, you have faith that it will surely happen and then you are surprised when it does. Faith, like God's Law works in forward and reverse! You will always get what you expect and believe in!
Jesus the Wayshower was teaching us to live in this world but be not of this world. What He meant is that we must remember that we are spiritual beings having a temporary physical experience and to put our faith in our Divine selves (our true selves) and not in the temporary physical Ego self here on Earth. The Divine in us never dies - the body and Ego pass totally away; they are but shells and suits for us to use while here. Keep your focus and your Mind on who you really are - put your faith in the words of the Master Teacher - Jesus, and in God's Law that allows you to create whatever reality you can absolutely believe in and accept.
For the first time humankind became free of the tyranny of facts; of struggle and lack - if they would learn to use the tools God has bequeathed to us. That is the real message of Christmas - we are free! That is the ministry of Jesus The Wayshower. You are so much more than you think you are!
Have the best Christmas ever - tell someone you love them and be joyous! May the New Year be the finest in your life to date!
Your Faith will set you free!
Both my wife, Susan, and our friends who accompanied us, had a wonderful evening and left the large sanctuary renewed and full of love for all humankind. That is the entire point of Christmas as I see it. Oh, we gave each other knowing smiles at the simple, allegorical Christmas story that portrayed events that either never happened or happened very differently than the standard "Greatest Story Ever Told", but those are the facts and the facts are not what Christmas is all about.
Many New Thought people, including those of us in Religious Science, get caught up in disputing the "fairy tale" presentation of the Christmas story and in so doing, may miss the entire experience of the season. You see, dear ones, it doesn't matter if Mary was or wasn't a virgin (probably wasn't), it doesn't matter if Jesus was born in Bethlehem or Nazareth (pretty sure it was Nazareth), and it sure doesn't matter that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th ( he almost certainly wasn't). It doesn't even matter that the baby's name wasn't Jesus (ever hear of a Jew named Jesus, before or since? - It was Joshua or Yeshua in Hebrew). Doubtful that there was a manger and we are sure that Augustus did not decree a census and ask every person in the Empire to go to his home town (can you imagine millions of people on the roads all at the same time all over the Mediterranean world - wow, what a mess!). Stars do not hang in the sky then or now and the Three Kings were actually Persian Priests called Magi but, what the heck, its the joy the love and the beauty of life that we are really celebrating; not the birth of a baby boy! We are celebrating the birth of the Christ - that Mind that was in Jesus, not the birth of the man Jesus.
Oh, the baby boy is very important because He grew up to become the Christ - the Wayshower - the one who opened the eyes of humanity to its higher potential, to the reality that love really does conquer might every time- if we have the raw guts to employ it! Takes more courage to show love in the face of adversity than to attack or defend; how many of us could march into the dogs and fire hoses dressed in our Sunday Best as Martin Luther King and his thousands of marchers did? Dr. King changed America that day; just as the young Jesus changed the Roman Empire and the world beyond it in His day.
The celebration of Christmas is not just for Christians - it goes far beyond the parochial celebration of "The Son of God". It is a celebration of Light, Love, Goodwill toward all humans, kindness and yes, of a young Jewish man named Yeshua Ben Joseph who had the Christ mindedness to transcend his humanness and show us the Way out of the darkness and into the Light. That is why many Jewish friends of mine celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah with their children because a few weeks of focus on love and goodwill are good for every human on this planet.
The message and majesty of Jesus is that even a simple Jewish cabinetmaker's son, born into the poorest town in Galilee, can by realizing who He really was, transcend his carnal self ;free himself from the world of facts and logic and ascend to true Christhood - that state where we operate in the certain knowledge of our Divinity and become master operators of God's Spiritual Laws. Let me illustrate my point a bit by an examination of the "miracle stories" of the New Testament.
Many do not believe that these events ever took place. I do believe that they happened because I have experienced this kind of healing three times in my life and I know that it exists and I know how and why it happens. It did not happen because the Father reached down from Heaven above and touched these people. It did not happen because Jesus was God and had Godly powers that we mere mortals do not possess. It did not happen because these people would have been healed anyway in the natural course of events. There was no magical suspension of the physical laws of the world. It happened as a result of faith. Faith is God's magic elixir which heals, creates and renews.
When this miraculous healing took place, there was a Master at work using the same Spiritual Laws of the Universe that God used to create this world. That Master was Jesus. As He taught us over and over the Law does the work using our faith and creates what we call miracles almost every day somewhere on this planet. No magic, just brilliant use of the Law. Here is how it worked for Jesus and how it will work for you in your life.
If you are a student of the Bible, you will remember that on several occasions he stated plainly that anyone of us could do what He was doing- if we believed! He was stating that if you use the Law, which requires that you see it done before it appears in form and that you have a total belief that it is done without any evidence to prove it - then it will be done unto you.
In every single instance of healing He asked the afflicted if they were ready to be healed or if they believed that He could heal them. In the case of Lazarus, he was not in this world and could not get in the way of his own healing. That is the point, our doubt and need for proof keeps our healing efforts from bearing fruit. If you do not have total trust in God and the Law that God has instituted, then you cannot heal yourself or anyone else. Take up your bed and arise! That is what each of us must do, if we are to heal our lives and live the Divine Life we were meant to live. Let go of the "facts" of this moment and soar!
Faith is the key to creating what you want; the key to healing your body, your mind and your life. What you have faith in is not as important as the faith itself. Faith moves mountains - doubt builds them. Fear makes them into Everest's. Faith is not a sometime thing. Faith is a state of being, a constant attitude, an expectation of good or bad. That's right, you use faith when you prepare "for the worst" - you expect it, you have faith that it will surely happen and then you are surprised when it does. Faith, like God's Law works in forward and reverse! You will always get what you expect and believe in!
Jesus the Wayshower was teaching us to live in this world but be not of this world. What He meant is that we must remember that we are spiritual beings having a temporary physical experience and to put our faith in our Divine selves (our true selves) and not in the temporary physical Ego self here on Earth. The Divine in us never dies - the body and Ego pass totally away; they are but shells and suits for us to use while here. Keep your focus and your Mind on who you really are - put your faith in the words of the Master Teacher - Jesus, and in God's Law that allows you to create whatever reality you can absolutely believe in and accept.
For the first time humankind became free of the tyranny of facts; of struggle and lack - if they would learn to use the tools God has bequeathed to us. That is the real message of Christmas - we are free! That is the ministry of Jesus The Wayshower. You are so much more than you think you are!
Have the best Christmas ever - tell someone you love them and be joyous! May the New Year be the finest in your life to date!
Your Faith will set you free!
posted by Rev. Dore' Jacques Patlian at
9:24 AM
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