It was Christmas. Friends and family were coming soon. I needed time to clean the house and to plan and prepare meals for our company. But I also needed time to pray. Others with busy schedules told me they were facing the same challenge. Daily tasks, holiday preparations, and prayer for universal salvation—could they possibly go together?

I found the answer tucked in the Christmas story itself. In loving detail the Bible describes the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ. In Luke we read, "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." To them the angel announced, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." ^{Luke 2:8, 11.} The humble shepherds, who were obediently doing their job, were the first to hear and then carry to others the glorious news of the birth of the Saviour. To me this was an indication that as we fulfill the demands of daily living from a spiritual basis, we too can participate in God's plan of salvation for all mankind.

The shepherds were "abiding" in the field, "keeping watch" over their flock. Such simple words, yet to me they convey not so much a place as an attitude, a state of consciousness. They suggest a peacefulness, receptiveness, gentle caring, and alertness, all characteristics of a prayerful consciousness. As I quietly pondered this story, I realized that prayer is not so much an activity taking place in some room apart as it is a spiritual state of thought. So we can pray as effectively in the kitchen or office as we do in the study. Effective prayer and the legitimate demands of daily living are not exclusive of each other. Instead, when we embrace these demands in prayer, we experience more of the joy of salvation.

The activities of the holiday season are uplifted as we realize that salvation, including Christian healing, is the central message of Christmas. Through God's great love for mankind, Jesus came to save mortals from sin, disease, and death. The Bible tells of the depth of God's love for us when it says: "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." ^{John 3:16, 17.}

Thus, one of the deepest joys of Christmas is our gratitude for Jesus, because he illustrated how we can demonstrate the saving power of God in our lives. In healing disease and sin, he not only showed us the love of God; he brought to light the purity and wholeness of God's creation.

When he called Lazarus from the grave and the young man of Nain from his funeral bier, Jesus proved the spiritual identity of man to be deathless. And by his own resurrection he proved that sin, hate, jealousy, or betrayal cannot triumph over divine Love. Writing of what lay behind Jesus' healing work, Mrs. Eddy comments in her book Science and Health: "Explaining and demonstrating the way of divine Science, he became the way of salvation to all who accepted his word. From him mortals may learn how to escape from evil. The real man being linked by Science to his Maker, mortals need only turn from sin and lose sight of mortal selfhood to find Christ, the real man and his relation to God, and to recognize the divine sonship." ^{Science and Health, pp. 315-316.}

As we understand the purpose of the example Jesus gave us, we gain a new, more spiritual view of man. We begin to realize that man is more than what appears to the physical senses. Judging identity from the evidence of these senses, mankind has concluded that man is mortal, subject to sin, limitations, illness, unhappiness, and lack. When we turn away from this material viewpoint and accept what Christ Jesus showed us of man's spiritual, Godlike nature, we see that our relationship to God is that of a cherished creation to its creator, never lost or rejected but embraced in divine Love. We realize that it was the Christ, revealing man's oneness with God, that empowered Jesus' healing works. It is the Christ that gives us dominion over sin, sickness, and even death.

I found this wonderful message of salvation so alive as I prayed during my work in the kitchen that Christmas. But as the first of our houseguests arrived, I became concerned when I realized that a close relative had quietly gone off to lie down. She was feeling quite ill. My inclination was also to slip away to the study to pray for the harmony of the gathering. Then I suddenly realized that I could pray right where I was and actively prove the healing power of Christ, Truth.

I saw that I needed to exercise the qualities represented by the shepherds. Perhaps the most important quality is humility. The shepherds' receptivity enabled them to hear the angel's joyous message of the Saviour's birth. But this was not enough.

They were then willing to go where the angel told them the child was.

We too must be humble enough to follow the path pointed out by God's angels. It takes great humility to leave the familiar concept of a mortal man living within the confining limitations of a material universe. As we accept Christ as presenting the spiritual individuality of man, we are progressively able to prove our freedom from the limitations of age, illness, lack, and unhappiness. We begin to see and express our true nature as the spiritual idea of God, embodying wholeness, health, and harmony.

We must be willing to share and live more of this healing Truth. Christian Science recognizes the great possibility open to all mankind: that they can learn to heal as Jesus did. Mrs. Eddy writes, "The teachings and demonstration of Jesus were for all peoples and for all time; not for a privileged class or a restricted period, but for as many as should believe in him." ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 244.}

The shepherds were also "abiding in the field" and "watching"—activities both pointing to important qualities of thought. We must "abide in the field" too—stay with our work for God. The Bible declares that God is Love; man, as His image, is secure in that great and all-encompassing Love. This quiet sense of letting consciousness abide in God's love blesses others. Mrs. Eddy explains, "When thought dwells in God,—and it should not, to our consciousness, dwell elsewhere,—one must benefit those who hold a place in one's memory, whether it be friend or foe, and each share the benefit of that radiation." ^{Ibid., p. 290.} In my prayer I turned wholeheartedly to God, letting my thought dwell in the perfection of God, and of man as His spiritual reflection, expressing the health, happiness, and harmony originating in God. Humbly I yielded fear and concern to trust in God's great love and care. My relative must have been praying, too, for within a short time she joined us in the kitchen. Later she said with much joy and radiance, "I've had the most wonderful healing."

Needless to say, it was a joyous Christmas. The house was clean, the dinners were prepared, and more company came. But the most wonderful thing was that we had made practical in our home the central message of Christmas, the salvation available to all mankind, shown in Christian healing.