Every part of the Christmas story has an element of LOVE in it. From the donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem, to the Innkeeper and Shepherds. And every part of that story is also about YOU. Every part of that story IS you. How can this be so?
Well, part of the beauty of Unity and our founders, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, is that they always looked deeper. They knew that there was a deeper spiritual meaning in the stories in all of the world’s religions and spiritual paths. They were always looking deeper. Now, sometimes this may seem really hard to do. It’s like, ah, do I really want to think that deeply? Because, what IF using that much of my brain and intuition gives me a headache?
But the good news is that DEEP doesn’t mean DIFFICULT. Taking a deeper look can actually make your life easier! Because when you take a deeper look, things shift easier! You will find the things that align with your heart and your intuition. That’s a peaceful, easy feeling.
So, Father Fillmore and Mother Myrtle, were so brilliant, because they also were able to take that deep metaphysical understanding and bring it back into simpler accessible thought. And that’s what we are going to do today. Because every part of the CHRISTMAS story is about LOVE. And every part of this metaphysical CHRISTMAS story is about YOU. Let’s take a deep breath and delve deeply into the metaphysical meanings in the Christmas story.
Okay, so we are looking at 7 main characters today. There is Mary, of course, and Joseph. There is the Innkeeper who gave Mary and Joseph space in the stable. There are shepherds tending their flocks of sheep in the fields. There are some seriously glorious angels. There are the Wise Men who have seen signs in the night sky. And of course, there is JESUS. The baby. The newborn spirit, the newborn Christ.
That’s 7 characters in this story, and all of them are characteristics of you. We are taking a look at love in action and how you are showing forth love today.
There are 2 ways of looking at each of these elements in the story. We can look at each aspect as YOU. And then we can look at each aspect as another person or situation in your life. The character internalized (AS YOU) and externalized (AS THE OTHER.)
Okay. Yall ready? Let’s start with the donkey! Okay, so now, how are YOU like a donkey? This is not a trick question. Although it is kind of a funny one. And really, I didn’t have the donkey on that list. And I don’t actually know that Mary and Joseph had a donkey. Maybe they walked all the way to Bethlehem. No where in the Bible story does it tell us that there was or wasn’t a donkey involved. So, I’m gonna say YES.
But we do know that Joseph was a kind man, he had this little wife who was pregnant and it wasn’t his. Although, an angel told him it was okay. It was God’s son. The angel told Joseph to raise the child, love the child. Joseph agreed. So we already know that he had a kind heart. My guess is that maybe he borrowed a donkey so that a very pregnant Mary could ride part of the way.
WHAT does that donkey signify for you? Now pack animals of all sorts are known for being stubborn. So, in that regard, we are all probably like a donkey at some time. But, pack animals also carry the load.
So, remember that we have 2 ways to look at each element of the story, internal and external. How do you carry the load for someone? And how does someone carry the load for you?
Take a moment and think about how love is expressed when you help a friend with a problem, and how it is expressed when they help you. That is love in action. That little donkey, who might have carried Mary to Bethlehem, kept faithfully putting one foot in front of another. Stubborn? Or determined?
Carry the load for someone else. And someone else carries the load for you, too. Breathe in, breathe out, and know that little donkey energy is a part of you today.
Let’s look at MARY, and how we are all like her. Now, as Mary and Joseph were travelling, she might have been thinking about her cousin Elizabeth who had just had a little baby boy, named John. It was Elizabeth’s first baby, and here was Mary, about to have her first child, too. She probably heard stories or maybe even helped Elizabeth through the childbirth. Do you think she was worried or anxious? I bet she was just tired. And she had to travel.
It takes 9 months for a child to grow inside the mother. It takes time for new beginnings and new projects. And often, we get weary. How can we find that patient energy of Mary in us. It is an act of love for ourselves to have patience with ourselves, with our projects, with new beginnings.
Let’s take a moment and focus on new beginnings in your life right now. Is there a project that you have just started, or maybe one you want to start? How can you see patience as an act of love for yourself? And can you see someone else having that same patience for you? That is also love in action.
Breathe in. Breathe Out. And know that Mary’s energy of patience with this new phase of her life, with this new project called motherhood is you’re your energy. What are you birthing today?
Now, how are we like JOSEPH? We already have decided that he was a kind man. He took this woman to be his wife while she was pregnant already. He chose to believe the angel of God. I can just imagine Joseph walking along to Bethlehem with Mary. They needed a donkey if they didn’t have one. It probably took a long time for them to get there, because Mary needed extra rest, and extra stops along the way.
They were not traveling for fun. The Roman Emperor Augustus had demanded that there be a census. He wanted to know how many people to tax or who he could conscript into the Roman army.
Even a person with the sweetest temperament will complain if they are hurting. Can you hear Mary saying, JoJo, my back hurts. Will you rub it? And I can imagine that he said yes, and they took a break so he could rub her back. After they get back on the trail, I can imagine her saying, JoJo, I’m so tired, can we rest a bit more? And I can imagine that he said, YES, we sure can. Let’s rest.
He said yes. To the angels, to the pregnant wife, to being a father to the son of God. He said yes. Do you say yes to the needs in your own heart. Do you say yes when your intuition guides you? Do you say yes when someone calls and says I need you?
Let’s take a moment and remember a time in your life when you said yes. Maybe it was to your own heart. Maybe it was to another person. What is the internal love energy of yes inside you? Who represents the love energy of yes in your life? Maybe it is the memory of your grandparents or another family member.
Breathe in. Breathe Out. And know that Joseph’s energy of yes is also your energy. It is an energy of LOVE, that says yes to new beginnings, to new projects, to helping someone else.
The third element we are looking at today is the INNKEEPER. So a very pregnant Mary and Joseph, and the donkey, finally get to Bethlehem. The town is crowded. So many people, and nowhere to stay. Joseph goes to the local hotel and asks for a room. There aren’t any. So many people have traveled to Bethlehem for the census, that there is no space.
Joseph is about to leave, when the Innkeeper makes an offer. It’s an offer of COMPASSION. The innkeeper probably has a wife and children. He sees the need, he can see that Mary is nearly ready to give birth. He can see that Joseph is weary and anxious, too. So he offers up the only space he has left. It’s simple. It’s quiet. No one will bother you. It’s warm and safe. And Joseph probably said, It’s PERFECT. We’ll take it! What is it?
It’s the stable with the animals. There is plenty of hay and here’s a blanket you can use to lie on. There’s a manager where you can nestle the baby after he is born. It was perfect. Simple. Quiet. Warm and safe. No crowds. What does the Innkeeper represent for you?
Could it represent a need that isn’t fulfilled? When you have a need and it seems like there is no way for it to happen. There was no room in the hotel for Mary and Joseph. And then the Innkeeper offered up the stable. Maybe you feel that there is just no room in the universe for your need to be met. Who represents the Innkeeper in your life?
Can you remember a time when someone made room for you? Maybe you were all alone and just needed a friend or a chat? Who made room? Can you find the space in your own heart to make room? Is there someone who is needy in your life, who needs you to be there for them, and you just don’t have the time. Can you find the compassion and a little bit of room in the inn?
When people need me, most of the time, they just need to be heard. They need to be affirmed. They need to know that they are seen. It’s just a little bit of room that we make in our hearts for each other.
Breathe in, Breathe out, and know that you can shift the spaces in your heart to show forth love. You can make space to give and to receive.
The Fourth and Fifth Elements today in the story are the Shepherds and the Angels. This has always been my favorite part of the Christmas story. I love how the workers are just out in the fields doing their jobs. They spent the day taking care of the sheep, leading them to tender green grass and calm waters. Might even be a boring job until a sheep falls into a ravine.
Here’s what the passage in the book of Luke in the Bible, chapter 2 says,
“There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”
Of course they were scared. Yeah. Have you ever been doing what you need to do and then BOOM – something totally unexpected happens?
Here’s how that passage continues:
The angel said to them, Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”
And then….there was a whole host of angels in the field all singing together,
“Glory to GOD in the highest, on earth peace, good will towards men.”
The shepherds probably went from terrified to absolute amazement.
The Fillmore Metaphysical interpretation of the shepherds and angel passage is really interesting to me. They say that we are the shepherds, watching our flock. Our flock is our thoughts. Vigilance in watching and tending our flocks, our thoughts, makes us receptive to the spiritual side of life! When we manage our thoughts by tending and watching them, then it “clears up and harmonizes the soul so that it is receptive to Divine ideas.”
Can you see yourself as a shepherd today? We tend our flock of thoughts, we try to manage them, sometimes one or two of them just go off and fall over the edge. And it sometimes take a messenger, Divine Inspiration, to help us get back on track. As you tend your flock of thoughts, can you see how some of those thoughts keep you closed down to Divine Inspiration. But as you strengthen your weak points and transform your undesirable tendencies, then you are OPEN to the messages from the angels.
The angels represent our Higher Mind, our Divine Connection to the forces that will bring PEACE and GOOD WILL towards men. We tend our flock of thoughts. We open to the divine messages. We have more peace and good will.
Can you see how your life is like those shepherds? Being a good shepherd for yourself leads to more peace. In our study group on Wednesday evenings, after every class, someone will tell me how much it has helped them with their thoughts. It has helped them release thoughts from the past, and forgive long held grievances. And along the way, there is healing, there is more peace and good will.
Let’s breathe in, and breathe out. INTERNALLY, know that you are the good shepherd for yourself. EXTERNALLY, you can also help someone else create more good thoughts. Every good word you share with another person, every little kindness, helps them tend their flock, too.
Who represents the Divine Messages in your life today? Are you open to receive?
Our 6th element we are looking at today – The Wise Men. They weren’t simple shepherds tending flocks in the field. These were learned, educated people who were on a pilgrimage following the spiritual sig guidance from a star.
Stars always represent intuition, that little guiding light, that AHA moment that says follow this path. So the story in the Bible book of Matthew says that when the Wise Men saw the star, they “rejoiced with exceeding great joy.”
When our spiritual path opens up to us, when we have put in that work as Shepherds to manage those flocks, then we become wise men! We find that the spiritual path is full of joy. When you begin to have faith that you are destined to do good, to follow your Divine Inner guidance, all the riches of the wise men become yours.
Now, it’s not really money that we are after. Gold, Frankinsense, and Myrrh represent the real treasures – when you walk a spiritual path, you know that beyond the body, there is this beauty and eternity of the spirit. And that knowledge, born of experience, born from walking a spiritual path, THAT IS TRUE WEALTH.
What do you see with your inner wisdom today? Can you see the things in life that bring you real wealth? In our meditation earlier, we imagined that each person in our life is love. The color of their eyes, their skin, their hair, all the beauty in each person, that is the color of love.
When you begin seeing real wealth, you know that it looks like each person that you see. As you breathe in, and breathe out, who represents the wealth in your life? If you feel like your life is impoverished, can you instead remember the person that is sitting beside you.
So, can I ask you right now, to turn to someone beside you, or behind you and say to them, “ I LOVE YOU – you are a treasure to me.” Ooh, doesn’t that feel good?
And finally today, the last element in the Christmas story. We have the CHRIST CHILD, lying in a manger.
It’s a simple thing, the king of kings, quietly resting there.
It’s a blessed thing, the angels sing, let all hearts prepare.
It’s a newborn thing, the heart we bring, its love that we must share.
YOU ARE LOVE. If you choose to be. You are Christ. Born today. Born everyday. Born again. Born to save your own world. Born to share love. Born as a king in simple human form.
The birth of the Christ takes place in the individual soul when we awaken to the realization of the truth that life is spiritual, not material. The Christ is the divine idea made human. Can you see the Christ in you? Each morning when you look in the mirror. Your divinity, your higher self is born or manifested in consciousness.
Breathe in right now, and breathe out. And know that you are love. Not that you can feel love. But that you are love.
Our DAILY WORD today says,
“I AM a divine being, bringing the love of God into the world. Through my words and actions, I AM kind and patient, compassionate and empathetic, and encouraging and supportive. As I am blessed by love, I share love’s blessings with others. I center myself on the Christ within and go forth as the heart and hands of love in the world.”
Can you see that we travel together as Mary and Joseph. Two elements coming together with patience and kindness, saying yes to spirit. Can you see how we can carry each other’s burdens like that little donkey? How we can make space in our crowded hearts for compassion, and for love to blossom. How we can manage our thoughts and become open to the Divine messages that surround us and thereby find true wisdom and true wealth? When we do, then CHRIST is born again. Renewed in each of us. And that’s what a metaphysical Christmas is all about.
AND SO IT IS.
