Dear Spiritual Companions,
In just a few days Christians worldwide will be celebrating the gift of God coming in our form. Although this is unique to me and the rest of my Christian brothers and sisters, I think it also offers a gift to others of different religious understandings of God. I believe this to be true because it captures some basic truths for everyone. I see three distinct revelations coming through the act of a Wee Babe being born in a forgotten part of the world. It reveals vulnerability, than surprise and finally God being in our human form.
To live in this human form is to be vulnerable. At any moment this physical existence can end or be changed in radical ways. We often run around spending our days trying to disprove this by trying to be in control of our lives. The sad awakening eventually comes one day when we are found in circumstances which reveal our powerlessness. No matter how hard we work to stay young we grow old. We may forestall the inevitable, but the day of reckoning does come. Making peace with our vulnerable nature is an ongoing spiritual theme in any religion. When we are able to see God coming as a small helpless infant we see God revealing how to be vulnerable. God does not run away from weakness or try to control it. No God simply lets it be what it is. For God to grow in our world or within us we need to take care of the symbolic infant in our lives. If we do not care for the vulnerable in the world they die. If we do not reach out to the vulnerable parts of ourselves we die. So what can we do? Do what God does – enter the most forgotten parts of life and reach out in love. In this season of giving our gift becomes our courageous acts of being with the least fo these in the world and inside of us. The paradox of doing this is by becoming vulnerable we are suddenly strong.
Are we ever surprised by life? I hope so because life is meant to be a surprise! How else can one explain the wonder of a paradox of weakness being strength, a little infant leading them, death being the prelude to life everlasting? Want some more? There is no such thing as death. Yes our physical body expires, but our spirit simply moves onto the next surprising step in our spiritual evolution. God surprises us by enabling us to let go of anything which causes us fear or any other attachment to this life. There is a funny statement that goes like this, “Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die.” Sure we like this life, but I think behind that statement is the fear of what will happen after we die. No need to fear because God has so much more in store for us, and I am not talking about some kind of hellish end. That is another big fallacy that drives us to fearfulness. Here is another surprise for us – Whatever we expect to occur when we die will occur. We create our own ending story. The other big surprise is if we are one of those persons who see Hell in our future that expectation will not change God’s true nature of Love. Our personal concept of hell will be overcome by God’s Unconditional Love for all of creation. God wants to surprise us whether in a Christmas Story or in the few truths I have shared with you. Think of the other fearful things of life you have always thought were true. Take them to God and wait for another surprise that will allow you to live in a peace that passes all of our human answers!
If you are still with me let’s talk about the last gift - God is coming in our form. In Christianity we have taken a small step – we see Jesus as God’s Son. God came in His form. If we want to take the ultimate leap of faith we can claim that God is here in our form too. All great spiritual masters have told their followers this because they have experienced this in themselves. Religious leaders, on the other hand, don’t want to take that big of a leap because they don’t believe in themselves let alone anyone else. Jesus was perfect so therefore He could be God in human form, but we are far from perfect. That is true to a certain extent. We get stuck on the idea of making mistakes or not getting life right. Perfection though means to be all that we are, which entails our best and worst moments. Only those who dare to accept the totality of themselves will see God. The worst moments have been created as opportunities by God to reach out to us in love. Our world says I will love you if you do this or that. God says I love you no matter what you do or don’t do. Life is an adventure to develop one’s understanding of who we are in God. All that happens in this life will fade when we die. It cannot compare to what continues on in us as we journey with God in all the lives to come or whatever is going to happen after we leave this human form. We take ourselves much too seriously. It is time to lighten up by letting go of our fears and attachments to the truths that don’t exist. God will be with us through all things as God has always been with us for we are created in God’s Image. How could God be anywhere but inside us?
As a Christian I celebrate the gift of this Season. As a fellow traveler with anyone on any other religious path I celebrate that your understanding of God simply adds to mine. I hope the same is true for you. May we all embrace the God coming in our form on December 25 as well as every other moment of life.
Gary