Christmas

MARY SEDGWICK BLAKEMORE

In her article "What Christmas Means to Me" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 262), Mrs. Eddy speaks of Christmas as "the dawn of divine Love breaking upon the gloom of matter and evil with the glory of infinite being."

Dawn means a beginning—the first appearance of light in the morning. A faint glow gradually grows brighter until the eastern sky is painted in resplendent colors. With the coming of dawn, objects before indistinguishable assume shape and form, growing clearer as the light grows stronger, until they are distinct and defined. After the darkness, how glorious is the first faint light! So, to one distressed, in a night of chaos or fear, even a faint concept of the power of God and of His love comes as a harbinger of "on earth peace, good will toward men." With the dawn of spiritual light, the night of error disappears.

What causes the night? Absence of light. In order to dispel the night of fear or doubt, certain qualities are necessary, such as trust, faith, confidence. Even though the way may not yet be clear to us, we can trust God, knowing that He dispels the shades of night, the gloom and fear of lack. The night may seem long, the dawn slow in coming, but our continued trust in God's love and care will scatter the gloom until it disappears into utter nothingness.

Faith rests in the certainty of a complete demonstration, even though the outward results may not as yet be manifested to human view. Absolute faith in God's perfect government of all His creation brings peace to the tormented consciousness. Supply of whatever is needful exists in Mind, under the protection of Love; and no error, no human condition, can obstruct, divert, repel, or limit it. As little children, then, we should let go of fear and know that God cares for us. He is infinitely wise, loving, kind, and cares for all tenderly and compassionately. The material senses contain no solution of the problem. We of ourselves can do nothing, but we can do that which God, good, directs us to do. With growing trust in His love and care for all, and with faith that these will be humanly manifested, our awakening comes. This is the dawn of the Christ, Truth, in our consciousness, the true Christmas.

We must have confidence, confidence that God gives us the illumination whereby to adjust any situation that needs adjusting, to heal disease, to supply our need; confidence in the fact that our true selfhood now and always reflects the divine Mind. Love's reflection is never dull, fearful, passive, inert. Our ability to reflect or glorify God comes from God. It is something with which He endows all. Through the light of spiritual understanding we reflect God and His qualities.

If we have a sincere desire to express the healing truth, we must lift our faces to the light, and strive for the spiritual understanding which heals. As we turn thought from self to God and endeavor to understand God and man's relationship to Him, the mist of mental darkness and confusion disappears, and we become conscious of the clear light of Love and of God's tender love and care for all.

Then let us love as God loves us, in humility exercising our God-given ability to reflect infinite, enfolding Love, and to master situations instead of being mastered by them. As we learn to love as God loves, we see Love reflected all around us, in our work and in our play. And as we see Love manifested, it brings us the assurance that in reality all is well. A reflection is complete, whole, entire. "Love is reflected in love" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 17). The trust which has been born in our consciousness must be developed into full confidence in God, and in His ability to guide and heal.

How do we develop this confidence? By listening for angel thoughts. An angel announced to the shepherds of old the birth of the infant Jesus. Angels are whispering comfort and harmony now to our awakened consciousness. They are telling us that "the night is far spent;" and as we entertain these true thoughts they bring to our consciousness the glory of demonstration. We must follow when the way is revealed to us. The divine guidance never fails to come to him who is truly listening, and it brings with it the blessing of peace and accomplishment. "The basis of Christmas is the rock, Christ Jesus," writes our Leader (Miscellany, p. 260), And she adds, "Its fruits are inspiration and spiritual understanding of joy and rejoicing." With the inspiration to know what to do, and with the joy and confidence that we can do it, we move onward toward the complete demonstration of Godlikeness.

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