It is easy to dismiss the Christmas narrative because it seems to contradict our life experiences and what science tells us is possible. Indeed, the science of history tends to acknowledge as true only those events that fit its rules of the game. Yet, it is impossible to deny the impact of the Christmas narrative on the psyche of the Western mind and heart. The Christmas story is clearly a springboard into Beingness which takes us where materialistic science cannot go, into the mystery of humanity’s relationship with God.
The Christmas story is replete with angelic visitations. The angel Gabriel visited Mary, announcing the birth of Jesus the Christ. An angel spoke to Joseph in a dream, and the shepherds encountered a chorus of angels. It’s not the purpose of this particular reflection to argue for the existence of angels, though I once saw an angel with my own two eyes. The presence of the angels underscores a certain truth: there is a non-physical dimension to reality. Heaven is real and actually intervenes as an evolutionary force in our individual and collective histories. Don’t we all want this to be true? Don’t we need this to be true? Don’t most of us intuitively know that this is actually true? Imagine what life could be like if we embraced the truth of the heavenly dimension with sincerity, devotion, and love. The possibilities are endless. As Jesus said, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see: blessed are your ears, for they hear.”
Jesus, Divine Master,
The angels who
Heralded your birth
Remind us all
Of heaven’s loving reality.
