In "the Revelation of Jesus Christ," John records that the angel "like unto the Son of man" bade him write to the church at Thyatira: "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. ... and I will give him the morning star." And in the last chapter of Revelation it is recorded, "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." As the emblem of spiritual truth piercing the darkness of mortal belief, the star is the sign that the understanding of the Christ is come within reach of humanity. Wise men followed it to Bethlehem, "where the young child was," but when they found him, they bowed before the infant Jesus and attempted to worship with costly material offerings the concept of Truth that he heralded. Down the ages the human so-called mind has confounded matter and Spirit. Religious reformers who have glimpsed in part the divine inspiration have missed scaling spiritual heights by turning aside to popularity, that winning of the people, that succumbing to the belief in minds many and their power, which denies the allness of God and the dominion of man in His likeness, and materializes worship.

In this connection, it is of at least passing interest to the student of Christian Science that in the early history of the Christian church the feast of Epiphany, celebrating the baptism of Jesus, was observed some two centuries before the feast of Christmas, the "mass of Christ" or the celebration of the nativity of Jesus. The word Epiphany comes from the Greek eirl (upon) and oavos (light) and was the regular Greek word for the appearing of a divine being. In Christian terminology it refers to the manifest descent of the Holy Ghost upon Jesus at his baptism by John, as recorded: "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Early students of Jesus' teaching clung fast to the spiritual significance of his mission and to the spiritual essence of worship. Later students set time limitations upon his mission, marking it into epochs and celebrating these by feasts, notably the feasts of the baptism and the resurrection. But even in these the spiritual significance was uppermost. At this time, the physical birth, or natalis in carne, as it was termed in sermons and homilies, was held to be of little importance. But between 350-440 A.D., and first in the west, where Roman influence was strong, materialization of thought culminated in the celebration of feast days,—an attempt to bound the Christ-thought not only by time but by bodily structure. Significantly, at about this period, so-called Christians ceased to heal the sick as Jesus had commanded, and Christendom lost the spirit of the teaching of Christ Jesus, immersed as they were in controversy over the letter.

Of the feasts of the early church, Christmas most thoroughly seized the hearts of mankind. It became popular, for it gave the human mind a reed to cling to,—the subtle supposition that Spirit is or can be in matter. The doctrine about it brought a spiritual heaven to a material earth, brought material angels with spiritual messages, made so-called science (the astrology of the wise men) the interpreter of the sign divine, and clothed man in mystery. What better vindication could there seem to be for the human mind of its claim to divine sanction? But while the human mind plays the lie to reality, the ever present divine Mind is; therefore down the ages gleams now and again more brightly for a brief space the "morning star," linking together the seemingly broken connection between man and God. Alone of all religious reformers since Jesus, Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, saw in its full light the spiritual significance of his mission, and she gave to mankind her discovery, so firmly grounded upon the rock, Christ,—the complete manifestation of divine Principle,—that neither popularity nor persecution can overthrow it. Writing of the meaning of Christmas, on page 260 of Miscellany, Mrs. Eddy says: "The basis of Christmas is the rock, Christ Jesus; its fruits are inspiration and spiritual understanding of joy and rejoicing,—not because of tradition, usage, or corporeal pleasures, but because of fundamental and demonstrable truth, because of the heaven within us. The basis of Christmas is love loving its enemies, returning good for evil, love that 'suffereth long, and is kind.'"