Sunday Double Feature (Vol. 3:Christmas Edition)

Confessions: 39 & 40/100

“A Star In Bethlehem” & “The Birth of Hope”

A Star In Bethlehem

It’s Christmas Eve, and I’m thinking about stars…

I’m sure most of you know the story. Christ was born in a manger in Bethlehem, signaled by a great light in the skies, and the wise men from the east used this light as their guide to find the boy and give him gifts and praise. I can talk about a lot of different elements and metaphors this elicits, but in this segment I just want to talk about that light.

I think in our modern consciousness - embedded with reason and dualistic, yes/no polarity - we see light and darkness as enemies, as pitted against one another. Across the centuries, the concept of light “abolishing” the darkness has found its way into religious and spiritual framework of countless faiths and belief systems. What if, if I may be so bold, we’ve been looking at it the wrong way.

Eastern traditions have always seen unity through the veil of duality, and to them light and darkness are two sides of the same coin. They coexist - there could be no light without darkness and vice versa. With that in mind, I want to take it one step further.

Light is the teacher of darkness, and darkness is the teacher of light.

What do I mean by teacher? No only do light and dark coexist, but they are, in fact, informed by the very existence of each other. Light teaches darkness about the various degrees of its nature. Without light, darkness would know nothing else but complete darkness. With varying degrees of light, however, darkness starts to have different shades. This is a massive shift - what could only be known as one now becomes an infinite plurality. The same goes for the reverse, with darkness teaching light the same lesson.

Now, let’s take these philosophical musings and apply it to the child born underneath the star. It is often said that Jesus is the “Light of the World” or “The Teacher of Men”. I think those titles are quite fitting. Of course we’d like to say that Jesus came to abolish evil, but if you take a look around you’ll notice that evil hasn’t gone anywhere. Like darkness and light, evil and good are two sides to the same coin, teaching and informing one another. Perhaps the end goal of all of this is the final resolution into pure light, but for now, our Teacher teaches us about our darkness through its different shades. Every selfish aspect of our soul is illuminated one day at a time. The Light of Christ is the teacher of the Darkness of Man, and there is no “end” in sight. It’s an ongoing process, ever-reaching, ever-growing, ever-changing.

In New Age and transcendental circles I’ve heard it said that we live this life simply to learn and to experience - there’s no need to worry, do whatever you want, it’s just a game and all we be okay in the end. I think I’d agree with the first part, but not so much the second. Everywhere I look, I see that the greatest souls that have ever walked this Earth had one thing in common - complete charity. They had grown so much in the ways of the spirit that all selfish motives melted away. For me, this is the purpose of everything (or at least something like it):

To understand that we all come from the same source, that we’re not in conflict or competition with one another.

To understand that we aren’t meant to live our lives for ourselves and ourselves alone.

The Light of Christ is there for us if we choose to all upon it. It shows us just how deep the rabbit hole of selfishness is dug within our hearts. It teaches us about our nature - about our darkness - through the various shades and seasons of our lives, and through this ever-growing awareness it teaches us to continually strive towards its perfection.

On this Christmas Eve, let us celebrate the birth of this light.

The Birth of Hope

With the birth of the light also comes the birth of hope.

A year ago I was in one of the darkest places in my life. I couldn’t shake the rational/materialistic view of the world. I couldn’t shake nihilism and pessimism. I had encountered situations that I was unable to comprehend, and my final judgment was that this must be a cruel, ruthless world without any rhyme or reason.

Today, my outlook is drastically different. This journey in Christ has led me to strange and beautiful corners of human thought - many completed unrelated to Christ Himself. My old conceptions have been shattered, my icy intellect melted away. What I used to see as sad truths are now only misinterpretations. I locked myself into a very specific box - one that I believe many of us fall victim to - and now I can gratefully say I’ve made it out. There is so much possibility that I was completely unaware of.

When I first started this journey, I thought at the very least I might feel a little better. I had no idea it would lead me to a complete psychic shattering, and one of such a joyous and hopeful nature. I always wanted to believe in a reality that was animated and living - a reality that didn’t necessarily end with my final breath. It’s difficult to explain, but I’ve already received that and so much more.

I knocked, and the door - the door of hope - was opened . On this Christmas Eve, let us celebrate the birth of this hope.