Merry Christmas!

Christmas Blessings

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”

                                              Norman Vincent Peale

Good Christmas Morning to you! The sun is up, the house is quiet, last nights dishes are stacked at the sink, the ashes of a fire still warm in the hearth, and Christmas paper strewn round the living room...yep, it's Christmas. Here at last.

In thinking about the blog this morning, I tried to decide what Christmas means to me. Sometimes, in all the hullabaloo, it's difficult to sort out exactly what's being celebrated. For me, it is the birthday of Jesus, a Nazarene man, who walked the Earth and taught the people of his day all the ways that God's love is different from our own. He was a wisdom teacher, who knew God not by reading about God, but by having direct experience of the ineffible divine. He embodied divine love in all his encounters with people. His ability to teach in a language even humble people and children could understand made him a magnet for the masses of his day, and his compassion for each person was both healing and affirming. He took their burdens, and relieved their suffering simply by saying to them, “You are forgiven. Go in peace.” The divine love that Jesus exuded changed lives, and changed the face of humankind on the Earth. He taught a religion of compassion, not of laws. Of acceptance, not rejection. Of equality, not elitism. His powerful message of love has reverberated throughout the world for more than two thousand years and changed us in ways both good and worthy. I don't know about you, but that's enough for me. Happy birthday, Jesus.

And, Merry Christmas to all of you. I send you both love and good wishes, and most of all gratitude for being on the journey with me this year. I hope to hear from more of you—not only those of you in the US, but in Russia, China, Malaysia, India, Europe, Australia and Africa—in the New Year. I extend blessings to you, as well as the hand of friendship. I am glad for your company on this spiritual pilgrimage.

                                                     In the Spirit,

                                                          Jane