Christmas Midnight 2007, Threads of Destinies

Christmas I, Midnight

Matthew 1: 1-25

[Now is proclaimed the beginning of the whole Gospel, according to Matthew in the first chapter.]

This is the book of the new creation, which has happened through Jesus Christ [or, the generation of Jesus Christ], a son of David, who is a son of Abraham.

 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

   Isaac the father of Jacob,

   Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

   Perez the father of Hezron,

   Hezron the father of Ram,

  Ram the father of Amminadab,

   Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

   Nahshon the father of Salmon,

  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Ruth and Boaz, Koch

   Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

   Obed the father of Jesse,

  and Jesse the father of King David.

   David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

  Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

   Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

   Abijah the father of Asa,

  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

   Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

   Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

  Uzziah the father of Jotham,

   Jotham the father of Ahaz,

   Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

  Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

   Manasseh the father of Amon,

   Amon the father of Josiah,

  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

  After the exile to Babylon:

   Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

   Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

   Abihud the father of Eliakim,

   Eliakim the father of Azor,

  Azor the father of Zadok,

   Zadok the father of Akim,

   Akim the father of Elihud,

  Elihud the father of Eleazar,

   Eleazar the father of Matthan,

   Matthan the father of Jacob,

  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

From Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the exile in Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: Mary, his mother, was betrothed to Joseph. But before they were aware of having come together, she conceived a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph however, her husband, who was an upright man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, was considering whether he should quietly set her free [or, decided to consider all this a mystery.] As he was pondering this, behold the angel of the Lord appeared before him in a dream and said to him:

 “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because that which is to be born of her is conceived out of the power of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus, that is, the Bringer of Healing, for he it will be who will heal his own of their error and guilt. “

All this took place so that the word of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of the prophet, might be fulfilled:

“A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, that is, God in our midst.”

           

Now when Joseph rose from his sleep he did as the angel of the Lord directed him, and he took Mary to himself as his wife, and he knew her not until she bore her son, and he gave him the name Jesus.  

Christmas I, Midnight

December 24-5, 2007

Matthew 1:1-25 [the beginning of all the Gospels]

The beauty of a Persian carpet is created by many hundreds of threads of different colors. At the beginning, these different threads appear to be separate; but eventually they will be woven together according to the plan of the weaver.

We hear tonight of a new creation. After forty-two generations, all is

Tree of Jesse

ready—the new divine human being is being conceived. The threads of all destinies are coming together. And this surpasseth human understanding. It is as though Joseph sees all the threads, but cannot see the pattern or purpose. Or perhaps knows God’s purpose, but cannot see how the threads are supposed to weave together.  And so Joseph offers his human thinking to the divine realm. And he aligns his will with the angel’s words: “Carry on together,” says the angel. “Do not separate. The Spirit of God is at work in this. Join us in this tremendous work of beauty. Your cooperation is vital to the plan.”

Every year Christ draws near to humanity. He seeks to renew His conception again in humankind. Within each of us there is a virginal element, a Mary-soul, able to conceive the Son of God in the depth of the heart. And in each of us there is also a rational element, a Joseph-soul who wonders what to do with all this. “Let her be fruitful,” the angel says to all of us. “Don’t pull away. Let the Holy Spirit enter you, so that you may conceive and know the Bringer of Healing in our midst, the Light of the World.”

Here, at midnight, our own complex souls can know and conceive the Light of the World; we too can speak the poetic words:

Late in winter

My heart is still a rose in bloom.
At night I need no candle or lamp,

For my soul has forever awakened

To there being just the reality

Of Light

And the wonderful Lawlessness of God.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] Hafiz, The Wonderful Lawlessness, in Tonight the Subject is Love, Daniel Ladinsky, p. 41.

Christmas Midnight 2008, Light Seed

Christmas I, Midnight

Matthew 1: 1-25

[Now is proclaimed the beginning of the whole Gospel, according to Matthew in the first chapter.]

This is the book of the new creation, which has happened through Jesus Christ [or, the generation of Jesus Christ], a son of David, who is a son of Abraham.

 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

   Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob's Ladder, Blake

   Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

   Perez the father of Hezron,

   Hezron the father of Ram,

  Ram the father of Amminadab,

   Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

   Nahshon the father of Salmon,

  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

   Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

   Obed the father of Jesse,

  and Jesse the father of King David.

   David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

  Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

   Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

   Abijah the father of Asa,

  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

   Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

   Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

  Uzziah the father of Jotham,

   Jotham the father of Ahaz,

   Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

  Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

   Manasseh the father of Amon,

   Amon the father of Josiah,

  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

  After the exile to Babylon:

   Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

   Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

   Abihud the father of Eliakim,

   Eliakim the father of Azor,

  Azor the father of Zadok,

   Zadok the father of Akim,

   Akim the father of Elihud,

  Elihud the father of Eleazar,

   Eleazar the father of Matthan,

   Matthan the father of Jacob,

  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

From Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the exile in Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: Mary, his mother, was betrothed to Joseph. But before they were aware of having come together, she conceived a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph however, her husband, who was an upright man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, was considering whether he should quietly set her free [or, decided to consider all this a mystery.] As he was pondering this, behold the angel of the Lord appeared before him in a dream and said to him:

 “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because that which is to be born of her is conceived out of the power of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus, that is, the Bringer of Healing, for he it will be who will heal his own of their error and guilt. “

All this took place so that the word of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of the prophet, might be fulfilled:

“A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, that is, God in our midst.”

           

Now when Joseph rose from his sleep he did as the angel of the Lord directed him, and he took Mary to himself as his wife, and he knew her not until she bore her son, and he gave him the name Jesus.

Christmas I, Midnight

Matthew 1:1, and 17-25

December 25, 2008

Last summer, the plants began flowering in the long days of summer. The seeds, warmed in the chalice of the blossom, were raised to the light of the sun. And now those seeds dwell in the darkness of earth. Meanwhile the longest night has arrived. And yet, nevertheless, the sunlight is victorious over the dark. The sun is already sending its living light to quicken the seeds. Had we the proper eyes, we would see the first glimmerings of the spark of life around them.

Our souls too had their origins in sun-bright realms. We too have descended into the chaos of dark earth night.

Tonight, in the darkness of longest night, our souls awaken to the victory of light over the darkness. In deep earth night we feel the quickening. New life is streaming into the earth, and into our souls; for the Sun-God is descending from heights of heaven to depths of earth, bringing us the light of hope.

Tonight the Christ-Light is once again born in the realm of earth.

J. Schmid

He is…

the fountain of all lights, and sends

them flowing without fail, especially

the Light we cannot name, nor grasp,

forever racing far beyond our wits,

so that, with strong desire, we

might struggle all the more to touch

what extends so far beyond us.[1]

He brings the promise that our darkness will be overcome; he brings to light a new life.

It is by sharing the Life that Is

that every soul is quickened.[2]

He brings us His Light, so that human souls will fill themselves with the radiance of His good will; that human souls will radiate the light and warmth of His peace into the dark turbulence of our time. 

www.thechristiancommunity.org 

---

[1] St. Gregory of Nazianzos, “Spiritual Being”, in Love’s Immensity, Mystics on the Endless Life, by Scott Cairns, p. 38.

[2] St. Irenaeus, (125 – 210), “The Human Person”, in Love’s Immensity, Mystics on the Endless Life, by Scott Cairns, p. 6.

  

Christmas Midnight 2009, Spirit Light

Christmas I, Midnight

Matthew 1: 1-25

[Now is proclaimed the beginning of the whole Gospel, according to Matthew in the first chapter.]

This is the book of the new creation, which has happened through Jesus Christ [or, the generation of Jesus Christ], a son of David, who is a son of Abraham.

 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

   Isaac the father of Jacob,

   Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

   Perez the father of Hezron,

   Hezron the father of Ram,

  Ram the father of Amminadab,

   Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

   Nahshon the father of Salmon,

  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

   Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

   Obed the father of Jesse,

  and Jesse the father of King David.

   David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

  Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

   Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

   Abijah the father of Asa,

  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

   Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

   Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

  Uzziah the father of Jotham,

   Jotham the father of Ahaz,

   Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

  Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

   Manasseh the father of Amon,

   Amon the father of Josiah,

  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

  After the exile to Babylon:

   Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Meta Schiller, via Arie Boogert

   Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

   Abihud the father of Eliakim,

   Eliakim the father of Azor,

  Azor the father of Zadok,

   Zadok the father of Akim,

   Akim the father of Elihud,

  Elihud the father of Eleazar,

   Eleazar the father of Matthan,

   Matthan the father of Jacob,

  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

From Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the exile in Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: Mary, his mother, was betrothed to Joseph. But before they were aware of having come together, she conceived a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph however, her husband, who was an upright man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, was considering whether he should quietly set her free [or, decided to consider all this a mystery.] As he was pondering this, behold the angel of

the Lord appeared before him in a dream and said to him:

 “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because that which is to be born of her is conceived out of the power of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus, that is, the Bringer of Healing, for he it will be who will heal his own of their error and guilt. “

All this took place so that the word of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of the prophet, might be fulfilled:

“A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, that is, God in our midst.”

           

Now when Joseph rose from his sleep he did as the angel of the Lord directed him, and he took Mary to himself as his wife, and he knew her not until she bore her son, and he gave him the name Jesus.

Christmas I, Midnight

December 25, 2009

Matthew 1: 1 and 17 -25

Blake

In the beginning, before the earth had form, God said, ‘Let there be light.’ Genesis 1:3. Light was God’s first creation. On the fourth day, He creates the lights in the firmament of the heavens, the greater light, the sun to rule the day, the lesser light for the night, and the stars. 1 Genesis 18  Gazing at sun, moon and stars with openness of soul, we can sense the immensity of God, see the radiance of His glory in their shining faces. On the 6^th day. God calls to His angels, calls to the light beings of sun, moon and stars, and says, ‘Let us make the human being in our image, after our likeness.’  Genesis 1: 26. The cosmic Human Being, a great, radiant, living being formed of rainbow starlight, emerges from the bosom of God. He is a being woven of light.

This great cosmic image is then given earthly form in Adam and Eve. But gradually, the cosmic radiance in human beings begins to dim. The earth and all upon it falls into increasing chaos and destruction. God beholds how tarnished and tattered, how nearly unrecognizable the image of the Human Being has become in the hands of earthly human beings. And He knows that humankind needs a new, a fresh copy of His divine blueprint.

So over long generations He prepares another couple, for a new creation. And out of His bosom He sends them a pure spirit. And with him He sends a never-before-used version of the great cosmic Human Being. He imprints this image into the spirit’s heart. And He sends it to be born to the couple as a tiny child. The child is born in the darkness of midnight, in a cave. But nothing can disguise the gentle intensity of the gathered sunlight, the moonlight, the starlight that shines from His eyes.

The cosmic light of the origins of the human being shines from his eyes in promise. The Glory of God in the heights has come down to earth. It has entered into a human being. Through Christ, all of mankind has received a light-seed, a seed to plant and grow in our hearts. We have been given a promise, which is ours to fulfill. For:

When nights are darkest

The earth enshrines

The seeds of summer’s birth

The spirit of man

Is a light that shines

Deep in the darkness of earth.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] P. S. Moffat

  

Christmas Midnight 2010, Love Incarnate

Christmas I, Midnight

Matthew 1: 1-25

This is the book of the new creation, which has happened through Jesus Christ [or, the generation of Jesus Christ], a son of David, who is a son of Abraham.

 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

   Isaac the father of Jacob,

   Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

   Perez the father of Hezron,

   Hezron the father of Ram,

  Ram the father of Amminadab,

   Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

   Nahshon the father of Salmon,

  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

   Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

   Obed the father of Jesse,

  and Jesse the father of King David.

  

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

  Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

   Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

   Abijah the father of Asa,

  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

   Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

   Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

  Uzziah the father of Jotham,

   Jotham the father of Ahaz,

   Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

  Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

   Manasseh the father of Amon,

   Amon the father of Josiah,

  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

  After the exile to Babylon:

   Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

   Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

   Abihud the father of Eliakim,

   Eliakim the father of Azor,

  Azor the father of Zadok,

   Zadok the father of Akim,

   Akim the father of Elihud,

  Elihud the father of Eleazar,

   Eleazar the father of Matthan,

   Matthan the father of Jacob,

  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

From Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the exile in Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: Mary, his mother, was

Rembrandt

betrothed to Joseph. But before they were aware of having come together, she conceived a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph however, her husband, who was an upright man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, was considering whether he should quietly set her free [or, decided to consider all this a mystery.] As he was pondering this, behold the angel of the Lord appeared before him in a dream and said to him:

 “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because that which is to be born of her is conceived out of the power of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus, that is, the Bringer of Healing, for he it will be who will heal his own of their error and guilt. “

All this took place so that the word of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of the prophet, might be fulfilled:

“A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, that is, God in our midst.”

           

Now when Joseph rose from his sleep he did as the angel of the Lord directed him, and he took Mary to himself as his wife, and he knew her not until she bore her son, and he gave him the name Jesus.  

Christmas I, Midnight

Dec 25, 2010

Matthew 1:1 and 17-25

A cup can be empty; it can be filled to the brim; and when it can contain no more, it can overflow.

God is an uncontained being, whose nature is overflowing, abundant love. In the beginning He created stars, sun, earth and all upon it. The human being was His centerpiece. He surrounded Adam and Eve with his love.  He poured a drop of His divine being, His love, into them, and into every human soul since.

His loving goodness flows through the universe, invisibly, like air. His love is the connecting force that holds the universe together.

With the conception of the Christ Child, God began a new human creation. God poured the full measure of His love, his Spirit, into conceiving this child. He created a human being out of whom would pour an overflow of love. This child was to be the first of such. In Christ Jesus, God created a divine human healer, one capable of pouring the full measure of God’s never-ending love out into all human souls who open to Him.

The Christ Child is love incarnate. It is God’s love that shines from the Child’s eyes. It is a love that corrects our errors; it is a love that extinguishes our guilt. A poet said:

Our eyes reach out for what is small, tender, 

 or shining, Something wants 

 to be born into this world, 

 and we grow inward and heavy with it.[1] 

It will be love, growing and overflowing in each human soul, shining from our human’s eyes, the Christ in us, that will heal the world.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] Nils Peterson, “December”.

Christmas Midnight 2011, Angels' Offering Song

Christmas I, Midnight

Matthew 1: 1, 17-25

[Now is proclaimed the beginning of the whole Gospel, according to Matthew in the first chapter.]

Abraham and Isaac, He Qi

This is the book of the new creation, which has happened through Jesus Christ [or, the generation of Jesus Christ], a son of David, who is a son of Abraham.

 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

   Isaac the father of Jacob,

   Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

   Perez the father of Hezron,

   Hezron the father of Ram,

  Ram the father of Amminadab,

   Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

   Nahshon the father of Salmon,

  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

   Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

   Obed the father of Jesse,

  and Jesse the father of King David.

   David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

  Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

   Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

   Abijah the father of Asa,

  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

   Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

   Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

  Uzziah the father of Jotham,

   Jotham the father of Ahaz,

   Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

  Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

   Manasseh the father of Amon,

   Amon the father of Josiah,

  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

  After the exile to Babylon:

   Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

   Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

   Abihud the father of Eliakim,

   Eliakim the father of Azor,

  Azor the father of Zadok,

   Zadok the father of Akim,

   Akim the father of Elihud,

  Elihud the father of Eleazar,

   Eleazar the father of Matthan,

   Matthan the father of Jacob,

  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Goya

From Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the exile in Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: Mary, his mother, was betrothed to Joseph. But before they were aware of having come together, she conceived a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph however, her husband, who was an upright man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, was considering whether he should quietly set her free [or, decided to consider all this a mystery.] As he was pondering this, behold the angel of the Lord appeared before him in a dream and said to him:

 “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because that which is to be born of her is conceived out of the power of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus, that is, the Bringer of Healing, for he it will be who will heal his own of their error and guilt. “

All this took place so that the word of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of the prophet, might be fulfilled:

“A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, that is, God in our midst.”

           

Now when Joseph rose from his sleep he did as the angel of the Lord directed him, and he took Mary to himself as his wife, and he knew her not until she bore her son, and he gave him the name Jesus.  

Christmas I, Midnight

Dore

December 25, 2011

Matthew 1:1, and 17-25

We all inhabit two worlds. The one is our ordinary everyday material world. And the other is a parallel world, a night realm we enter in sleep. This night realm is alive with a multitude of beings who would guide and advise us. This is how we sometimes wake up knowing exactly what we need to do.

In tonight’s reading, we hear of a moment in time, when the guidance of generations will bear its fruit. And one individual, Joseph, must decide how best to react to an extraordinary event. In the realm of night, an angel comes to him. The angel clarifies the situation and advises him. And Joseph knows what to do.

There are individuals today who have a special relationship to the angelic world.[1] They tell us that we are all constantly surrounded by a multitude of angels, even during the day. In addition to our own special angelic companion, our guardian angel, we are surrounded by the angels of others; angels attracted by groups of people coming together for the good; angels attracted by prayer. Had we but the sight, we could see that a room such as our chapel is filled with angels, rejoicing in the fragrance of the religious substance we are generating through our hearts’ power of prayer.

Tonight we are visiting the night realm—awake. Tonight we join in the offering song of the angels. We offer our thanks that once again the Christ appears in the earthly realm. Tonight the two parallel worlds come together in the infinity of God’s love.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Lorna Byrne, Angels in My Hair