HEAD OVERSEER’S WEEKLY MESSAGE
December 24, 2018
Christmas Eve
Tomorrow is Christmas Day, the first day of Christmas of the Christmas-Epiphany Season, and we will be celebrating the birthday and the life of Jesus Christ. For twelve days, we of the Second Advent Church Community observe the Christmas season, which culminates on the thirteenth day, the Day of Epiphany, on January 6. We know that Jesus was not born on the 25th of December, but that is not important. What is important is what we celebrate this Season.
We know the word epiphany comes from the Greek, meaning manifestation or appearance. In the early Church, January 6 was the day that commemorated Jesus’s baptism at the Jordan by Saint John. The day celebrated the “shining forth” or the revelation of God in human form in the person of Jesus Christ – his manifestation as the Son of God to the world. That means that the Word of God incarnated in Jesus. The date of Epiphany was very early fixed in the ancient church, and the old liturgies speak of “illumination,” “manifestation,” and “declaration.”
The Gospel of Matthew says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John would have prevented him and said, I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me? But Jesus answered, saying, Let it be so, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill righteousness. And then John consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, as he came up from the water, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove upon him. And a voice from heaven said, This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” The Gospel of Luke also says, “Now, when all the people were baptized, and Jesus also had been baptized, the heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, and a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, and with you I am well pleased.”
Other biblical scriptures also help to shed light on this statement. For instance, in the book of Acts, it says, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” And in the Letter to the Hebrews, similarly, “For to which of the angels did God ever say, you are my Son; today I have begotten you.” So if we insert these lines from Acts and Hebrews, which have their roots in the ancient hymnal of Israel’s Psalms, we discern the statement “You are my Son, with whom I am well pleased – today I have begotten you.” The event occurred on the day of January 6.
Now, in the ancient Christian Church, this divine event – this appearance or epiphany – was a manifestation of Jesus’s immortal spiritual nature. The day commemorated the manifestation of Jesus as the Christ, the moment when God appeared in His divine Light and ordained Jesus His Son. Thus, Jesus was given a new birth. So we know that Jesus was not born the Son of God but indeed became and was declared the Son of God when the divine Logos, the Word, incarnated within him, giving him a new life of spirit. And this was a fundamental concept in the Messianic Church: that Jesus had become the Christ. And this is why Epiphany, and the Christmas-Epiphany Season, is so important to us in the Second Advent Community: It represents and symbolizes the birth of spirit – the birth of our spirits, which is the epiphany and the illumination of the reborn, conscious Soul.
Here there is a similarity to Buddhism, where the birthday of Siddhartha is celebrated on April 8, but the day of his enlightenment is recognized on December 8 – the day when he became the Enlightened One, the Awakened One, at sunrise.
So we honor the birth of the man Jesus on December 25, a date which was adopted by the Roman Church in 336 CE – the same time of the year when several Roman festivals were observed: the Winter solstice; Saturnalia, a time of merrymaking and the exchange of gifts; as well as the birth of Mithra. But it was also the festival of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun, the Natalis Sol Invictus. Linking Jesus to the Sun was supported in early times by various Biblical passages, including Malachi’s reference to the “Sun of Righteousness.” And, of course, John in his gospel describes Jesus as “the light of the world.”
Such solar symbolism indeed supports more than one possible date of birth. In the year 243, a work known as De Pascha Computus linked the notion that God’s Creation began at the Spring equinox, on March 25, with the conception or birth of the cosmic Sun according to the Genesis account. In early times, it was debated if Jesus was born at this time,on March 28. One writer says, “O the splendid and divine providence of the Lord that on that day, the very day on which the sun was made, March 28, a Wednesday, that Christ should be born.” It continues to say, “For this reason, Malachi, the prophet, speaking [about him] to the people, fittingly said ‘Unto you that revere my name shall the sun of Righteousness arise with healing in its wings.’” In 200 CE, Clement of Alexandria even hypothesized the birth dates as being March 21 or sometime between April 15 – 21.
Importantly, the date we celebrate is the day of spiritual birth, the day when the Word of God entered into Jesus and he assumed the Office of Christ. And this we do on January 6 as a promise of the spiritual birth – the rebirth that we are all heir to in the Second Advent of God’s Appearance.
Many celebrations are held at this time of the year. Northern Europeans celebrate Yule late in December and also in early January. There is a festival from November 28 to January 6 that is observed as the festivals of lights, the birth of the Cosmic Christ. We know that the Japanese honor the sun god on December 22. And in ancient Egypt, from December 21 to December 25 was celebrated the festival commemorating the birth of the god Horus. Native Americans celebrate December as a time of purification and renewal, as do Hindus, who celebrate their festival of lights in the early part of December. From this we can see that this is a time that is universally recognized, when we come out of darkness and into light.
The message of this season is life of spirit; and this is the essence of Christ’s teaching. And this is what this period of time represents: life, birth and rebirth, which is the cycle of spiritual renewal. This time of year also represents goodwill, friendship, generosity, joy and happiness. Let us not forget these valuable attributes.
This is a time to spend with family and friends. So I encourage you all to bear that in mind and not be consumed by the commercialism that comes with the season. Our Community is what is most important – our true Family. Along with the Sun of Righteousness, these are the greatest gifts we have!
And at this time of year, we enjoy quoting the Odes of Solomon. These particular lines talk about the feeding or the nourishment of our spiritual bodies. This is Ode 36:
“I rested in the Spirit of the Lord and the Spirit raised me on high and made me stand on my feet in the height of the Lord before His perfection and His glory while I was praising him by the composition of his songs. The Spirit brought me forth before the Face of the Lord, and although I was a son of man, I was named the Illuminate, a son of God. For according to the greatness of the Most High, so He made me. And like His own newness, He renewed me, and he anointed me with His perfection. And I became one of His neighbors, and my mouth was opened like a cloud of dew, and my heart poured out, as it were, a gushing stream of righteousness, and my access to Him was in peace, and I was established by the spirit of His Kingdom. And I went up to the Light of Truth, which preserved me, and He became to me a haven of salvation and set me in the arms of immortal life.”
I believe that this scripture conveys the message of the Christmas Season. So let us renew our commitment to each other, which is to love one another, to forgive the transgressions of those we love, and to make whatever amends may be needed. And this, once again, is the Teaching of Christ. If each of us can accomplish this, then we can truly exemplify Christ in our daily lives. As it has been recorded in the Gospels, “Love one another as I have loved you.” And this is our mission. This is also the Teaching of the Holy Child Jamil. Thus, with understanding, we exemplify the Light and we are on the path of Christ. And this is the message of our Community: It matters not who you are or where you came from, but if you are of the Light, then you will be one with the Light. And this is the promise of the Second Advent.
So with that in mind, I wish you a very merry Christmas and wish you all the best for the new year, which I hope will be filled with God’s many bountiful and beautiful blessings.
In conclusion, please remember that these days are days of special blessing. As we here in Reno gather each morning at the Sanctuary through the morning of Epiphany, I encourage you also to reflect and join with is in our communion with the Sun of Righteousness. God bless you.
Very truly yours in Light+,
Gene
