Christmas: The Nativity of the Divine Light
Intent: Incarnation of the Redeemer
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Following the solstice, from December 21 to 25, the sun appears as if standing still on the southern horizon. After December 25 the sun begins traveling north, and the light begins to increase. The light has triumphed. Sol Invictus! At Christmas we celebrate the return of light and the Divine Son born to redeem mankind.
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Today an ancient promise is fulfilled:
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us. And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (The Book of Isaiah) And Jesus as the Christ is unequivocal about what the import of that prophecy actually is: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) As Gnostics, Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation of the Divine Light of God in this world. But it is also symbolically the birth of that Light within us. We are called on this day, perhaps more than any other, to recognize the Christ living within our perishable frames. We are called to walk in that Inner Light and to conquer all the darkness within us, as Jesus did. The Aeon Christ may have chosen to incarnate in the bodily form of Jesus, but he did so to teach us all that we could do the same. That if we become conscious of the presence of that Divine Light, we also can live in harmony with It in our own incarnations. Because we are indeed incarnated Divine Sparks trapped in the realm of matter and we also must let the Aeon Christ transform our bodies and minds into things of Light and Love. Yes Christmas is truly a miracle! The miracle of the Divine Presence in our midst! Therefore, let us rejoice in the full presence of that Light all around us today; and let us pray as One Gnostic Community and One Universal Gnostic Church that we may in our own ways incarnate that Divine Light to the fullest that we can, because surely: The Christ is above us, The Christ is below us, The Christ is to our right, The Christ is to our left, The Christ is all around us, And the Christ is within us! Amen |
The Adoration of the Shepherds by El Greco
"Many are the marvels of Thy nativity, O Jesus; yet when we say “Thy nativity,” who could have created Thee, O Lord Jesus, Thou who art eternally life from life? The Son of God cast into a humble womb; he who is the all, in whom the all exists. He came down to the flesh, he put on the vesture of humanity. God became man; he went about in the land, he took a man’s likeness, the raiment of a slave. He came for all the sheep of his flock, because he knew there was no other to rescue them. He had come without a body, yet his apostles declared of him that he took the form of a boy, an appearance like that of us, men; he came down and manifested in the world among the people of the Jews." (From the words of the Holy Prophet Mani)
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