written 18 December 2022
published 27 December 2022
This article was to run on Christmas, the day Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus. This date was selected several centuries after Christ's birth, when the Roman emperor Constantine first converted to Christianity in 312AD, and had the Bible as we know it edited in 325AD. Most of his army worshiped Sol Invictus, which celebrated the winter Solstice, so this time was selected for the Christian holiday as well. It wasn't known as "Christmas" until 8 centuries later.
I consider myself a mystical seeker, open to inspiration from all spiritual traditions. As such, I don't identify as a religious Christian, but admire, and aspire to, the core teachings of Christ as expressed in Matthew 22:37-40, where Jesus said, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
As a left brained rational man, swimming in the world of conceptual words, this speaks to me of the unity of reality. I am also inspired by quantum mechanics, which describes the world as resonant waves, whole, non-local and profoundly interconnected. The largest expression of "Loving God" is to love the whole world, without distinction or separation. All apparent form is the consequence of limited perception, as no part is inherently distinct. Albert Einstein said, "Either everything is sacred or nothing is." To love anything requires we love everything. What a challenge!
From the largest perspective of stars and galaxies, down to the smallest expressions of matter, it is all one. Can you imagine opening your heart to mountains, dirt, plants, insects, animals, water and air? What would that feel like? How would it change our daily life? How would we have to shift the way we do business? Nothing is "trash". Nothing is "disposable". Everything has inherent value, as everything arises from the same sacred whole. Considering this, I see the disparity between my current "reality" and the spiritual goal, and am inspired to grow.
Christ's second commandment, that we "Love our Neighbor", is a repeated emphasis of the wholeness of interconnected reality as applied specifically to people. The history of the world is riddled with the oppression of "others". What would it feel like to live this second commandment completely? Who can we kill? Who can we hate? Who can we oppress? Who can we discriminate against? The simple answer is "nobody", as we are all one. What a radical idea! Can you even imagine living in that state of grace? How would our national efforts be rearranged? How would our corporate agenda be modified? How would we justify impoverishing many for the benefit of a few if we felt the pain and suffering created?
This is the spirit of Christ, a possibility open to us all, something worthy of celebration and a life goal to aspire toward. This is the ideal of Christmas: Peace on Earth, and Goodwill Toward All. These goals are really universal, not limited to Christians, but found in every spiritual tradition on Earth.
Sadly, humanity is still a far cry from this exalted state. The spirit of Christ has often been distorted by the business goals of corporate religion, with their power politics of domination: expression of lesser human values, wrapped in spiritual trappings. In the name of Christ, "non-Christians" have been exterminated, and war between Christian sects have endured for centuries, even into "modern" times. Such political oppression in the name of religion is completely antithetical to the spirit of Christ.
The true "war on Christmas" is evident in the rampant commercialization of the season, with Christmas products now on sale beginning in September, and Black Friday sales the life blood of many businesses. The widespread anxiety from endless marketing to "buy" can easily overwhelm the more subtle internal spiritual values.
However, we all have choice in this frenzy. Turning within, quietly contemplating the spirit of this time, we can add our personal effort toward manifesting this unity into the world, bit by bit. Events on the planet are coming to a crescendo, and we are all alive at this time to open our hearts and participate.
I wish for everyone, Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Peace on Earth, and Goodwill Toward All Beings.
