We often say that Christmas commemorates the birth of Christ. That needs some clarification. Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus. Is there a the difference?
Genesis 1 tells us that when God created the universe it was a wasteland. Immediately a mighty wind blew over it. That wind signifies that the Spirit of God was in the wasteland from the very beginning. In the Hebrew mindset we could say that God "anointed" the newborn universe with the Spirit's presence. From the beginning the universe was God's "Anointed One."
Hebrew has a word for the Anointed One." It is Messiah. The English translation of Messiah is "The Christ Reality." The Christ Reality, or Christ, for short, is the universe wondrously "anointed" with the presence of God.
There is nowhere in the universe where God is not present as the Christ Reality. Nowhere! Since we tend to imagine God as a particular person, e.g., an old man flying in the sky, a shepherd, etc., it might be better instead of saying "God" I say, "Divinity." Divinity is present in the all the galaxies, in all the galaxies and our sun and moon, in earth's soil, trees, rocks, plants, animals and of course in us. Divinity is also present in the things we have made, e.g., tables and chairs, houses, schools, bridges, etc., etc. Divinity is even present in the keyboard and monitor of your computer. If Divinity was absent from someone or something, they would not exist. All is Christ!
Take a moment to imagine he whole universe, world and everything and everyone in it aglow with the inner presence of Omnipresent Divinity. This is the universal Christ Reality.
An important note: All this does not mean that the universe and we are God. That is pantheism, which means God is all that exists. No. I'm saying that God is in all that exists. That is called pan-en-theism. Another way to see this is to say that all that exists is immersed in Divinity. Theologian Teilhard de Chardin said we live in a "Divine Milieu," a divine atmosphere or ambiance.
Jesus is Eternal-Infinite God, Who is present throughout the universe as the Christ Reality, born on earth in the form of a 1st century mid-eastern Jewish male. No wonder the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest!" They were singing of the most wonderful event in the history of the world!
From the first moment of his conception in Mary's womb, Jesus was aglow with Divine presence. He is the Light of the World having come to live with us with the gift of God's eternal, overflowing Love. He is the One who came to show us the Way, the Truth and the Life. With him and in him, we walk the way of our life on earth toward eternal life. We live in him and his teachings as the life-giving Truth; and we live in his life because he is the fullness of life.
Jesus is all humanity's personal link to God. Everyone comes to God through Jesus. People of faith and also those who have not ever heard of Jesus can be saved. Salvation is open to those who live a life of consistent good will and conscience in love. (1) Jesus is truly God's greatest gift to the world.
So on Christmas Day we celebrate the most glorious event in the world's history, the birth of the man who brought God's Infinite, Eternal, Overflowing Love to us as a special gift for our lives here on earth and into eternity.
And we sing with the angels, "Joy to the world, the Lord has come!"
(1) Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, No. 15
Genesis 1 tells us that when God created the universe it was a wasteland. Immediately a mighty wind blew over it. That wind signifies that the Spirit of God was in the wasteland from the very beginning. In the Hebrew mindset we could say that God "anointed" the newborn universe with the Spirit's presence. From the beginning the universe was God's "Anointed One."
Hebrew has a word for the Anointed One." It is Messiah. The English translation of Messiah is "The Christ Reality." The Christ Reality, or Christ, for short, is the universe wondrously "anointed" with the presence of God.
There is nowhere in the universe where God is not present as the Christ Reality. Nowhere! Since we tend to imagine God as a particular person, e.g., an old man flying in the sky, a shepherd, etc., it might be better instead of saying "God" I say, "Divinity." Divinity is present in the all the galaxies, in all the galaxies and our sun and moon, in earth's soil, trees, rocks, plants, animals and of course in us. Divinity is also present in the things we have made, e.g., tables and chairs, houses, schools, bridges, etc., etc. Divinity is even present in the keyboard and monitor of your computer. If Divinity was absent from someone or something, they would not exist. All is Christ!
Take a moment to imagine he whole universe, world and everything and everyone in it aglow with the inner presence of Omnipresent Divinity. This is the universal Christ Reality.
An important note: All this does not mean that the universe and we are God. That is pantheism, which means God is all that exists. No. I'm saying that God is in all that exists. That is called pan-en-theism. Another way to see this is to say that all that exists is immersed in Divinity. Theologian Teilhard de Chardin said we live in a "Divine Milieu," a divine atmosphere or ambiance.
The Second Person of the Holy Trinity is Infinite and Eternal.
The Universal Christ Reality, Divinity in the Universe, was born 13.8 billion years ago.
Jesus was born 2000 years ago.
Jesus is Eternal-Infinite God, Who is present throughout the universe as the Christ Reality, born on earth in the form of a 1st century mid-eastern Jewish male. No wonder the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest!" They were singing of the most wonderful event in the history of the world!
From the first moment of his conception in Mary's womb, Jesus was aglow with Divine presence. He is the Light of the World having come to live with us with the gift of God's eternal, overflowing Love. He is the One who came to show us the Way, the Truth and the Life. With him and in him, we walk the way of our life on earth toward eternal life. We live in him and his teachings as the life-giving Truth; and we live in his life because he is the fullness of life.
Jesus is all humanity's personal link to God. Everyone comes to God through Jesus. People of faith and also those who have not ever heard of Jesus can be saved. Salvation is open to those who live a life of consistent good will and conscience in love. (1) Jesus is truly God's greatest gift to the world.
So on Christmas Day we celebrate the most glorious event in the world's history, the birth of the man who brought God's Infinite, Eternal, Overflowing Love to us as a special gift for our lives here on earth and into eternity.
And we sing with the angels, "Joy to the world, the Lord has come!"
(1) Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, No. 15
