Article December 23, 2013 Issue

The 'miracle of Christmas' continues

Curtis J. Wahlberg

The wonderful message of Christmas is that God, divine Love, is here, now, present for every one of us to experience. And the greatest illustration of this Love is the life of Christ Jesus.

Jesus embodied the divine, devoting himself to sharing with humanity the deepest love possible. We could say it’s a miracle that this happened—it’s as if a bird came underwater to teach fish to fly. Like the lives of birds and fish, spiritual life and material life do not particularly relate. The Gospel of John describes this incompatibility as light relating to darkness: “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5). Spiritual life relates to divine Spirit; to the expression of spiritual qualities of God such as wisdom, purpose, and love. Material life is about the notion that all is matter. Christmas commemorates the fact that into this apparently material experience came the message and proof, and impetus for us all to prove, that life is really Spirit.

Jesus came into the world without material conception, but as a result of Mary’s communion with God. Later, Jesus would overcome death and then ascend, or spiritually rise above earthly life. He beheld spiritual life where humanity saw material existence. Right where there appeared to be limited lives, Jesus saw expressions of God’s love and goodness—and the effect was to revolutionize the human story.