HOW REAL IS THE CHRISTMAS STORY?
For some Christmas means the tinsel and the tree, the shopping and the presents, the turkey and the treats; in short an opportunity for self indulgence and partying while others honour the sacred cycles. For millions t is a time of deep significance, of reflection and spiritual renewal; the remembrance of a promise, angelic visitation and guidance, a merging of the celestial and the terrestrial. The rational mind rushes to dismiss what in the 21st century seems fanciful and deluded. The story however does not rest on superstitious belief but on the science of metaphysics and is worthy of investigation from that position. If we take a few brief moments to consider the event we are commemorating, the birth of Jesus Christ, we are faced at once with the challenge of faith, for who now believes in miracles, angelic intercession, prophetic guidance or a pre-ordained, divinely inspired Incarnation? The answer of course is that the vast majority of the human race holds to these beliefs in one form or another. Figures for 2017 show Christianity has 2.1 billion followers while Islam (which shares a belief in Jesus and his divinely inspired origins) has 1.5 billion. These two groups alone represent half of the 7 billion people alive today. In addition there are 900 million Hindu’s and 394 million Chinese who practice their respective religious traditions. Buddhism has 376 million adherents while Sikhism and Judaism each have 23 million. These represent only the major world religions, there are numerous others with a further 376 million practising indigenous primal faiths. Only 16% state no religious affiliation.
From this perspective we might conclude that most of us have a belief in something beyond the physical realm, suggesting that conscious communication exists between the physical and the non physical worlds. Religions simply regulate a specific belief system into an ordered pattern which we can choose to follow for as long as they serve our spiritual growth. All religions are born out of an awareness of divinely inspired events whether personal or impersonal. Initially these are recorded and crystallised as revealed wisdom, eventually to become fossilised as dogma at which point followers begin to seek elsewhere.
WHO WAS JESUS?
The question has been posed for 2,000 years, it is for each of us to find our own answer, for those who accept the life and teaching of Jesus he is the supreme pattern of spirituality. Spiritual teachers magnetise followers through the positive vibration of the electromagnetic field or aura, creating a resonance which is felt as a magnetic attraction. The greater the attainment the greater the acceleration of that field and the greater the momentum. An Avatar or world teacher carries a momentum of light within the auric field which has been accumulated through countless lives of service. The consciousness radiates light which is not only felt but seen, this is the origin of halo’s depicted by artists around the head of saints and mystics. .
THE BIRTH OF AN AVATAR IS PREDESTINED AND ALWAYS A HERALDED EVENT, PRECEDED BY PROPHECY, ACKNOWLEDGED BY ASTROLOGICAL CONFIGURATION AND CONFIRMED THROUGH CELESTIAL INTERCESSION.
According to ancient wisdom cosmic time is measured in Cycles or Ages. Avatars incarnate in every Age at significant points on the cosmic calendar, referred to as ‘Transition Cusps’ their sole purpose is the advancement of humanity by reminding of our spiritual origins. At the culmination of a Cycle of Ages (known as The Grand Cycle) we approach the threshold of a New Age and the supreme guide appears, to shepherd us through the doorway. The penultimate Cusp of the Piscean Age heralded the birth of Jesus Christ. (Christ meaning ‘anointed of God’).
The wheel symbol, carved into marble in the early Christian community of Ephesus, this represents the Cycles and Ages, the foundation of the teaching given by Jesus and subsequently lost.
The word “ixoye” is an acronym comprised of the first letter of five Greek words: Iesous Xristos Theou Yios Sotare which means Jesus, Christ, Son of, God, Savior.
Each of us is free to view Jesus in accordance with our own beliefs or prejudices. For some he is simply a great spiritual teacher, for others he is the pre-ordained Avatar guiding humanity through the closing of an Age. Christianity accords him the unique role of Saviour and Son of God. Whatever our belief his spiritual attainment is acknowledged and it is his message which is important.
As we celebrate his birth at Christmas it is an opportune moment for reflection and to question. Is the story true? Did the Angel Gabriel announce his birth to Mary? Was Jesus born in Bethlehem and if so why? What of the star and the three kings who are said to have brought their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Excerpt from: Jesus Chronicles Author: Carol Lamb
The name Jesus is the English translation from the Greek Yesous translated from the Hebrew Aramaic the native tongue of Joseph and Mary. Yeshua is the abbreviated version of Joshua a name which predates the Christian era by several centuries and means deliverer or saviour. Among the many titles accorded to Jesus is ‘Emman-u-el’. The Jewish scripture foretold of a conception through divine agency. ‘Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emman-u-el’ which means ‘God is with us’.
Prophecies of past centuries had stated that the Messiah or Saviour was to be born in Bethlehem, a small town in Judaea. Since Mary lived in Nazareth some miles away her child could have been expected to have been born there. However, in the time preceding the birth, the emperor decreed a census in order to register those eligible for taxation: ‘In the days of Caesar Augustus a decree went out that all the world should be taxed’. In a very real sense all the world was Roman and despite Mary’s advanced state of pregnancy there was no choice but to obey the decree that the head of each household was to report to his home town to be registered.
Today if we require a copy of a birth or marriage certificate we are still required to apply to the Registrar in the town of our birth. Of course we have the luxury of filling in a form and applying by post. We can only sympathise with the plight of Mary on such a journey as she travelled by donkey to reach Joseph’s home town of Bethlehem. Once more the prophecy was fulfilled and the birth occurs where scripture had stated that it would. ‘And thou Bethlehem in the land of Judaea art not least among the princes of Judah, out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel.’ The name Bethlehem means ‘place of bread’.
The story of the nativity is known to us all, Mary and Joseph are forced to rest in a place described as a stable, the only place available because the town is teeming with visitors. The birth is marked by an angel who appears before shepherds in the fields to proclaim: ‘Be not afraid, for behold I bring you tidings of great joy which will come to all the people, for to you is born this day in the city of David a saviour who is Christ the Lord, and this will be a sign for you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger’, and the angel was joined by a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men, with whom he is pleased.’
At Christmas we sing to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the words of the carol ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ a reminder that Bethlehem was also known as ‘the city of David’ a reference to the birth of another king in another time. King David born in the little town of Bethlehem a thousand years before Jesus, united the Jewish tribal peoples to become the nation of Israel and laid the foundations for the temple in Jerusalem in which Jesus himself would one day teach.