With Christmas upon us, I don’t want to drag you away from your hectic shopping forays, your mad round of parties or your parcel wrapping frenzy.
Nor do I want to simply repeat words I have spoken over many years to remind you there’s no virgins, camels, kings – or three anythings really mentioned in the New Testament; no Roman census ever requiring anyone to go back to their birthplace; nor any snow to annoy shepherds as average temperatures in Israel this month are 20 degrees celsius daytimes dropping to 10 celsius overnight. Not cold enough for snow.
Instead I simply want to thank-you for putting up with my (at times) poor humour, poor taste, cynicism, larrikinism, lack of finesse and polish, seemingly crazy ideas and enthusiasm for seeking beyond the illusions to the deeper meanings and answers of Life for the last thirty years (for some of you!).
Jesus, that good Jewish lad (and my very dear friend) was most probably born around April 6BC in the very poor, very little run-down village of Nazareth to a loving Mum and a hassled blue-collar working builder-Dad.
He and his family suffered all the hardships of living good Jewish lives under foreign and local religious oppressive rule.
In spite of his abject poverty, almost complete lack of education and non existent professional religious career path, Jesus – the boy from the bush – shone like few others ever have because he realised life was a duality.
Yet this duality wasn’t about good/bad, light/dark, solid/liquid, now/then, here/there, right/wrong……it was about Man as an animal/Man as a God.
It was a duality we could each adjust: did we want to continue living like animals…..or instead live like gods?
It was our choice: it still is.
Most of us, regrettably continue to opt for the first choice: bad habits die hard!
But that is what he tried so hard to teach.
“Have I not told you…..you are gods?” he asks in the gospel.
“I and my Father (God) are ONE” he exclaims, urging us to realize his meaning. “Everything I do you will do, too…..and more!”.
So this Christmas I wish to simply THANKYOU for putting up with me by allowing me sometimes into your heads – and urge you to put up with Jesus by putting his message of the divine nature of our true Self firmly into your hearts.
May you opt for the second choice in 2014!
Blessings and festive hugs to you,
Les