Christmas has come to an end though it so happens that today, the 7thJanuary is the date that some 250 million orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas. This is not because the churches they belong to think 7th January is the correct date of the birth of Jesus and the 25thDecember is wrong but because they follow the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian one which the western churches follow. This calendar was an innovation brought about by Pope Gregory XIII in the 16th cy as it was regarded as a more accurate approximation of the solar year. Neither date of course is the actual date of the birthday of Jesus, but a date chosen by the Church to celebrate it, perhaps as a way of christianising pagan mid-winter festivals.
We know little about the birth of Jesus despite the stories in the New Testament that are told and sung about at this time of year. I once suggested to a class of student that they should not be telling pupils in school that Christmas was the day that Jesus was born, much to their consternation. They thought that this was an article of faith. Rather Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus and while remembering his birth it is his significance for believers and the world that is important. Like many founders of religions the birth of Jesus is told in stories that are not meant to be taken literally. In reading them or listening to them the question to ask is not what they say but what do they mean, what message does a particular story hold for us.
Traditionally for those of us following the Gregorian calendar the Christmas season ends on the feast of the Epiphany i.e. 6th January though for some churches the season can be extended to the Sunday after the Epiphany which celebrates the baptism of Jesus or even to February 2nd which is Candlemas day and remembers Jesus being taken to the temple when he was 40 days old. The story associated with the Epiphany is that of the wise men who followed a star in their search for a messiah foretold by their scriptures. There has been much debate about these magi, where they came from, what kind of star it was, and many biblical scholars believe the story could come from a Jewish source and is midrash which is a retelling or elaboration of an Old Testament prophecy or passage of Scripture to give it new significance and meaning, something we find quite a lot of in the gospels. But the important thing is not what happened but what meaning might it have for us.
One of the symbols in the story of the magi is the star and following our own star has captured the imagination of poets. It suggests that there is a destination, future possibilities laid down for us all that will bring us fulfilment. There is I think within human nature a desire for more, an inquisitiveness to know what lies beyond ourselves and our own little world. whether that be in a cosmic, experiential or geographical sense. This inquisitiveness does not necessarily lead to a good place as in experimenting with drugs or engaging in dangerous and harmful experiences or relationships. But it suggests there is a truth in the saying of St Augustine that our hearts are restless though for St Augustine the destination that brings fulfilment is resting in God. We human beings are adventurers, participating in the great adventure of the cosmos of which we are but a small part and seeking the more in life. It is this sense of adventure that led our race to leave the plains of Africa and travel to the ends of the earth, to conquer lands not our own and establish empires. It is this desire for more that led us to put our trust in the acquisition of money and possessions, to pillage natural resources and steal from other nations. But all this does not necessarily bring happiness or fulfilment. Rather it can awaken within us a greed that is never satisfied, that sets us up in competition with one another and leads to violence and conflict.
But I believe there is also within us a desire to be better and a belief that we can be better, if we but try. Many people begin each new year with resolutions to do better in some aspect of their lives, even though many don’t sustain them. For religions this desire can be described as a call, a call to a deeper and fuller life which has to be worked out within the ordinary and mundane events of daily life. Religions speak of this fuller life in different ways. For some it is called salvation, for others enlightenment. It is not something offered on a plate but it comes with a promise of future possibilities as a result of life choices and practices that take individuals beyond the self to encompass what the poet Mary Oliver would call ever widening circles that recognise our interconnectedness with others and our responsibility for the world in which we live. Buddhists talk of the Kingdom of Shambhala, established through the virtues of wisdom and compassion, which grows silently and even secretly; Christians talk of the Kingdom of God which too comes about quietly through individuals working for peace, love, justice and mercy. These are kingdoms that are all around us if we have the eyes to see them. And they are not restricted to people of faith. This attraction, this call to a fuller life is something deep within our humanity and to be found outside of religion as much as within it. Good religion gives us a language for expressing it, bad religion is in danger of obscuring it. But above all, whether we are religious or not, we are offered future possibilities which depend on us for their fulfilment. Perhaps all will be well in the end – but perhaps not. It’s up to us.
We know little about the birth of Jesus despite the stories in the New Testament that are told and sung about at this time of year. I once suggested to a class of student that they should not be telling pupils in school that Christmas was the day that Jesus was born, much to their consternation. They thought that this was an article of faith. Rather Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus and while remembering his birth it is his significance for believers and the world that is important. Like many founders of religions the birth of Jesus is told in stories that are not meant to be taken literally. In reading them or listening to them the question to ask is not what they say but what do they mean, what message does a particular story hold for us.
Traditionally for those of us following the Gregorian calendar the Christmas season ends on the feast of the Epiphany i.e. 6th January though for some churches the season can be extended to the Sunday after the Epiphany which celebrates the baptism of Jesus or even to February 2nd which is Candlemas day and remembers Jesus being taken to the temple when he was 40 days old. The story associated with the Epiphany is that of the wise men who followed a star in their search for a messiah foretold by their scriptures. There has been much debate about these magi, where they came from, what kind of star it was, and many biblical scholars believe the story could come from a Jewish source and is midrash which is a retelling or elaboration of an Old Testament prophecy or passage of Scripture to give it new significance and meaning, something we find quite a lot of in the gospels. But the important thing is not what happened but what meaning might it have for us.
One of the symbols in the story of the magi is the star and following our own star has captured the imagination of poets. It suggests that there is a destination, future possibilities laid down for us all that will bring us fulfilment. There is I think within human nature a desire for more, an inquisitiveness to know what lies beyond ourselves and our own little world. whether that be in a cosmic, experiential or geographical sense. This inquisitiveness does not necessarily lead to a good place as in experimenting with drugs or engaging in dangerous and harmful experiences or relationships. But it suggests there is a truth in the saying of St Augustine that our hearts are restless though for St Augustine the destination that brings fulfilment is resting in God. We human beings are adventurers, participating in the great adventure of the cosmos of which we are but a small part and seeking the more in life. It is this sense of adventure that led our race to leave the plains of Africa and travel to the ends of the earth, to conquer lands not our own and establish empires. It is this desire for more that led us to put our trust in the acquisition of money and possessions, to pillage natural resources and steal from other nations. But all this does not necessarily bring happiness or fulfilment. Rather it can awaken within us a greed that is never satisfied, that sets us up in competition with one another and leads to violence and conflict.
But I believe there is also within us a desire to be better and a belief that we can be better, if we but try. Many people begin each new year with resolutions to do better in some aspect of their lives, even though many don’t sustain them. For religions this desire can be described as a call, a call to a deeper and fuller life which has to be worked out within the ordinary and mundane events of daily life. Religions speak of this fuller life in different ways. For some it is called salvation, for others enlightenment. It is not something offered on a plate but it comes with a promise of future possibilities as a result of life choices and practices that take individuals beyond the self to encompass what the poet Mary Oliver would call ever widening circles that recognise our interconnectedness with others and our responsibility for the world in which we live. Buddhists talk of the Kingdom of Shambhala, established through the virtues of wisdom and compassion, which grows silently and even secretly; Christians talk of the Kingdom of God which too comes about quietly through individuals working for peace, love, justice and mercy. These are kingdoms that are all around us if we have the eyes to see them. And they are not restricted to people of faith. This attraction, this call to a fuller life is something deep within our humanity and to be found outside of religion as much as within it. Good religion gives us a language for expressing it, bad religion is in danger of obscuring it. But above all, whether we are religious or not, we are offered future possibilities which depend on us for their fulfilment. Perhaps all will be well in the end – but perhaps not. It’s up to us.
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