Question 150: What is the significance of Christmas in the Gospel of Oneness?
Question 150: What is the significance of Christmas in the gospel of oneness?
We were all created from the mind and imagination of our Creator God and have taken embodiment on our planet Earth located in a spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Although the universe is immense, our souls are part of the consciousness that sustains the universe, and so we are connected to the whole universe.
After taking birth in our physical bodies we lost the outer knowledge of our oneness with our Creator, and we have thought of ourselves as separate beings—separate from each other, separate from Nature, and separate from God.
Jesus came to Earth at a time when the illusion of separation was very strong, and the collective consciousness of humans was at a relatively low state. He came to teach us that we all have an inner connection to God, a connection that allows us to enter into the kingdom of oneness with God.
His life and teachings were so powerful that Western civilization and subsequently the whole world began measuring time by the date of his approximate birth. His birth became the Christmas Day that is celebrated around the world.
The Christian religion that developed from his life and teachings has not been perfect at all, yet it has kept his name and the biblical scriptures that testify of his life and teachings in the forefront of society. Almost every town in America has a Christian church. Towns as small as 2,000 people may have ten or more churches. After 2,000 years we are still studying the teachings of Jesus and getting fresh insights and inspirations on how to live.
The Gospel of Oneness says that Jesus came to help raise our individual and collective consciousness to higher levels—to levels where we can understand and realize that we are one with God even as Jesus realized it.
Christmas time is celebrated to remember the life and teachings of Jesus. Perhaps some of his teachings are controversial and not easily understood, yet the core concepts of love of God and everyone else (neighbors all), non-violence, respect for free-will, inner peace, forgiveness, mercy, helping and serving others, and overcoming our egos (taking the beams out of our own eyes) have helped the world in countless ways.
Christmas time has become commercialized because of the tradition of gift giving. This springs from the spirit of generosity and merriment and has actually kept many small businesses from closing down. It has certainly delighted children for generations. Many people have cherished memories of their families at Christmas time.
Everyone has the choice of how much they want to participate in the outer celebrations of Christmas. The Gospel of Oneness encourages everyone to make time to go within their own temple of consciousness and meditate on (concentrate on) Jesus and his Spirit of Christ Consciousness that fills the universe. In the quietness of our inner peace we may have profound realizations.
To summarize, Jesus came as a representative of our Creator-God, and we are all on the way to realizing our oneness with God even as Jesus realized it and is still expanding his realizations. When we celebrate Christmas, we are rejoicing in the truth that we are all one in the Eternal Spirit.
To accept Christ into your life is to accept that oneness is real and that separation is unreal, and it is to know that whatever we do to others we do to ourselves. This is the universal message of the Gospel of Oneness. Jesus is not for Christians only. He was and is the representative of the consciousness of the universal Spirit of God in creation. So, Christmas is a universal celebration, meant for everyone because everyone is on the way to realizing oneness with our Creator, even if it takes millions of lifetimes. Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Taoists, and all other believers in the Eternal Spirit can celebrate their own connection to the personal Spirit of Christ. Even non-believers and skeptics appreciate love, kindness, and other heartwarming attributes of the personal Spirit of Christ.
For me, Christmas is externally very simple, while within a great festivity of blissful communion is taking place. As Christmas approaches, my soul sings with joy. I can only describe this experience as a continuous divine romance. –Daya Mata
It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you… yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand. – Mother Teresa
While we are remembering the physical birth of the baby Christ Jesus, let us realize his eternal loving presence in omnipresent Christ Consciousness, which is always with us no matter where we are or what we are doing. – Paramahansa Yogananda
Realize spiritually, that one Life pervades everything. – Paramahansa Yogananda
