The Christ-light! Merry Christmas!

Somewhere beneath the piles of discarded wrapping paper, ribbons and bows or perhaps lingering above and beyond the rafters of the churches or the steeples of cathedrals there is a 2000 year old story that tells of a blessed child being born, from a seemingly "average" or "common" woman, who would attempt to, and many would say did, change our perception of this world.

A child who would grow into a man who spoke of love and kindness.
A child who would grow into a man who had the audacity to say crazy things such as: "the Father and I are One'   and "the kingdom of God is within you."   

A man who had transcended the understanding of the time he came into and tried to bring hope into the lives of a people who had been beaten down into submission by a political power that held amazing military might.
He attempted to bring a light into the dark times they were in.

He spoke of peace, he spoke of the power of love.
He spoke of a time when swords would be beaten into plow-shares,
of a  time when the lion would lay down with the lamb.
He spoke of loving our enemies and of shining our own light.

He used ritual and meditation to enrich his connection with God whom he called Father.  He tried to show through parables a God who was a loving and compassionate father; not a crazed, ever demanding deity who could never be appeased.
He healed gently, and taught that we should be free from worry by considering the birds of air and the lilies of the field, and how they are provided for.

He honored and respected women, breaking the mores of the times, by allowing them to be his disciples and sit at his feet with the men, rather than in a segregated room.

He loved children, and spoke ominously about the fate of those who would harm them... "It would be better for a man to have a millstone wrapped around his neck and dropped into the depths of the sea, than for anyone to harm one hair of a child's head".... yeah, sometimes he was tough. Have you ever seen the size of a millstone?

Still, I find it interesting that many of us today, who don't consider ourselves Christian, are saying very similar things to what Jesus (Yesuah) said all those years ago.

The message of love is what Christmas is all about.  The message of the Christ-light being born in a human being and brought as a gift to the rest of the world.

Yes, his followers may have made a mess of things...but then again...haven't we all.  
When it all boils down, we are all saying and wanting the same thing.  A world where love reigns  A world of tolerance and peace.  

I believe this "Christ-light" has been born into all of us. In this sense, we are all Christ-ians and we should honor and celebrate the growing light of love within each of us.
May the gift of your Christ-light glow for all to see!  Merry Christmas!

Miriam Danielle
​Dec 2017