The Long-Forgotten True Meaning of Christmas

“I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Religious scholars have asked for centuries: What does Jesus mean by "will have the light of life?" What does he mean by "who follows me?"

These phrases have been debated endlessly in historical Christianity, but always from the perspective of human ego. The ego is one's self-identification as a separate being. The ego sees in this manner: "I am here. You are there." "I am here. Jesus is there." "I am here. God is there." "We are separate."

A recent ego attempt to interpret the above Bible quote goes something like this: Jesus uses "light" metaphorically, referring to himself as being able to help his disciples see the way, similar to a guide with a flashlight in dark woods. To "follow" him is to accompany him, or engage in his way of life, or accept his authority.

It took 20 centuries of human progress, a few concepts constructed in the mind of Sigmund Freud, and a recent new revelation from Jesus Christ ... but now we can finally laugh at all the ego misinterpretations of the past. We now understand Jesus was not speaking as ego, not speaking as a being separate from his listeners or separate from you or me. His was the voice of who we are beyond ego, of who we are in reality; the voice of our higher Christ nature.

In saying "I am the light," Jesus was speaking in the name of our own true nature beyond our mistaken notion of being separate. In saying "follow me," he was not speaking of one ego following another. He was saying "be light, as I am."

Now the fun. In "following" our non-ego Jesus, our Christ (in other words, in experiencing our Christ light), we truly experience Christmas.

"The sign of Christmas is a star, a light in darkness. See it not OUTSIDE of yourself, but shining in the Heaven within, and accept it as the sign the time of Christ has come.

"You have never understood what 'The Kingdom of Heaven is within you' means. The word 'within' does not belong. The Kingdom of Heaven IS you. Christmas is not a time; it is a state of mind. The Christ Mind wills from the Soul, not from the Ego, and the Christ Mind IS yours."  --Jesus Christ, in his revelation for the 21st Century, A COURSE IN MIRACLES.

Experiencing the kingdom of heaven here, now, as who we are? The Apostles could not have spent time with Jesus without having opened to this beyond-human experience. They may not have had a name for this opening, but they did know Jesus referred to it as being "born again."

So another name naturally arises. If Jesus is inviting us to experience our true nature of total heaven, then each moment we become newly joined in awareness of heaven, newly joined in oneness as the Christ, newly born into the Christ, can be called in spiritual symbolic language ... a "Christmas" moment.

In early Roman Christianity the word "mass" (from Latin "missa," meaning dismissal) was a fine word for the celebration which occurs in our being as we dismiss all ego consciousness. Christ's mass (Christmas) is actually experienced in our being as the exultant celebration of our Christ nature, the irrepressible exhilarated joy and radiant love which we experience in whatever moment our Christ nature is born in our awareness. Early Christians did not celebrate the nativity, the birth of the human child Jesus. The ego-focus on the birth of the baby Jesus only became prevalent about three centuries later.

Jesus teaches that every experience which is not sparkling joy or glowing love or out-of-this-world peace is of the ego. Every vested interest of the ego is hurtful and painful, a tragic sacrifice of who we really are. Our true nature is unimaginable love, inconceivable joy, and peace beyond any possible ego-understanding. The spontaneous rejoicing of our Christmas happens in those moments when we relinquish all ego beliefs, give up all ego desires, surrender all ego responses, release all ego sense of separate being, and do nothing but let go ... let go and let be. In those glorious moments all sacrifice disappears, replaced by wondrous healing.

Even though the first disciples didn't have the word "Christmas," they knew the true meaning, they knew the experience for which the word arises. But with the exception of a few mystics through the centuries who also knew the experience, the true meaning has been long forgotten. Now in modern times, just as he did 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ extends an invitation to us with his new revelation: A COURSE IN MIRACLES.

"This Christmas, give the Holy Spirit EVERYTHING that would hurt you. LET yourself be healed completely, that you may JOIN with Him in healing. The lesson I was born to teach, and still would teach to all my brothers, is that sacrifice is nowhere and love is everywhere. Let no despair darken the joy of Christmas, for the time of Christ is meaningless APART from joy. Let us join in celebrating peace by demanding no sacrifice of anyone, for so will you offer me the love I offer you."

Here in the 21st Century we now understand what only a few original disciples and occasional mystics have previously understood. Now we too grasp the long-forgotten true meaning of Christmas. Now it will not be ego, but our true reality speaking as we exuberantly utter the words Jesus once spoke as us and for us:

“I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.”

Each month our Holy Spirit gives a message which helps individuals open spiritually and understand Jesus' teaching.

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"...nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21)

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