A Christmas Meditation on New Life

Opening thoughts

The Christmas Story has charmed and challenged people throughout the millennia of Christian history. Like all religious literature worthy of the genre, it is a story with a large mythical element. That is to say it has many layers of meaning and insight and was originally written to convey timeless truths via a temporal account. So the events covered by the Christmas Story are not history as we know it but rather creations of insightful imaginations seeking to reflect on and understand the impact of Jesus on those he encountered in his dramatic public life. In this context we read the two different gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus.

Readings

Matthew 1: 18 – 21 (from the New International Version)

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Luke 2: 1 – 7 (from the New International Version)

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Meditation on New Life

Christmas is the celebration of many things. It is both a celebration of love, and a time to reflect with deep gratitude everything that we have been blessed with in our lives.

This year, the theme for our meditation is New Life. The Jesus story is all about a new life coming into the world, and the opportunity we all have to create a new beginning. Let’s think of the many possibilities facing each of us; the new beginnings that are undoubtedly there for you and for me. New life is available to us no matter what our age and stage in life. 

Think of the many new things, the new life initiatives you can start in the year ahead:

New projects to achieve some valuable goal; a personal goal, like health or exercise; a work goal to attain something that’s important to you; maybe a project to change what you are doing or where you are living. Life is really a series of new projects – which new ventures will be grabbing your attention in the New Year?

New relationships and friendships in which you can invest your energy; new social activities like inviting friends to dinner; strengthening or renewing existing friendships by planning to inject new life into them; new life could even mean dropping relationships that are like black holes sucking you under!

So, what new life will you create in you relationships and friendships?

New artistic endeavours like photography, painting, writing; what new creativity can you bring into your life? Can you put new energy into exploring theatre or music?

New adventures to explore new places, to do new things, to have more fun and to learn something from all new experiences. What new adventures can you plan for the coming year?

Sharing a planned new beginning.

I invite each person in our group to reflect on the one or more new beginnings they have planned for the year ahead, and invite them to share these with the rest of us.

May all our new beginnings enrich our lives and offer us new learning and meaning during the year ahead.

Remembering Family and Friends.

A Closing Meditation

For centuries Christmas has been a time of giving and receiving gifts. In this spirit it is appropriate that we pause to consider our lives and to express our gratitude for the abundance with which we are blessed. Please respond after each meditation with the words: WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL!

For our families and friends

Who succour and support us

Who stand by us through all

Our trials and triumphs

Our starts and stumbles

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

For food and shelter

For health and energy

For the beauty and resilience

Of our planet Earth

With her incredible complexity

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

For fun and laughter

For challenges and risks

For the skill of sport

And the flair of art

For the promise of new technology

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

For the learning that comes

With good times and bad times

For the deep principles of life

That lie hidden just below

The surface of every experience

                       

WE ARE REALLLY GRATEFUL

For the lessons of history

For the inspiring life of Jesus

And the world’s spiritual giants

Whose lives lighten up our paths

And expand our horizons

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

For the unique calling

That comes to each of us

The destiny that only we

Can follow and fulfill

For our unlimited potential

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

We are indeed so blessed

With abundance that we

Must not forget those who

Lack our good fortune

So, let us ensure that we reach out

To those without family or friends

Those who are struggling to survive

Materially, intellectually or emotionally

May our plenty spill over

Into other lives and enrich

Their bodies, minds and spirits

May the universal energy of Life

The unfailing power of Love

Give us grace to become mirrors

Of the compassion shown by Jesus

That we may be angels of mercy

In a world often out of kilter

We dedicate this meditation

As admirers and students of Jesus

Whose birthday we celebrate this morning

And also of all other prophets and philosophers

Whose lives and love and logic

Have pointed us to the truth

And for which

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

A Christmas Meditation on Gratitude

The following meditation was used by Randall on Christmas morning. As a family, and with our special friends, we would walk to a special place in nature (often a hill overlooking the area) and share this mediation together (Randall would lead us through this, reading from this hand-out). I publish this in the hope that it may offer those who wish to celebrate this day, a way of doing so with their loved ones. I have also published a second Christmas meditation (as an alternative), focusing on New Life. I hope it proves useful to you.

Opening thoughts

Welcome to our meditation on this beautiful Christmas morning. Irrespective of one’s spiritual beliefs, for most of us here today, Christmas is a time when we reflect on all that we are grateful for in our lives. It is a time when we feel the need to make a real effort to be with our loved ones, and to offer gifts to each other, as a sign of love and appreciation for them being in our lives. It is a special time of the year that prompts us to be mindful of the many blessings that we experience and enjoy, and to acknowledge how grateful we are for them. So in many ways, Christmas is a time for reflection, and a time for deep gratitude for family, and for all the blessings of life we received over the course of this year. And so it is in this spirit of gratitude that I welcome you to our morning mediation. 

Reflection.

What Christmas means to me, and what I feel particularly grateful for (allow everyone to share their thoughts).

Meditation on Gratitude

Please join me in this meditation on gratitude.

For our families and friends

Who strengthen and support us

For moms and dads

For uncles and aunts

And cousins & grandparents

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

For homes and health

For food and energy

For the beauty and diversity

Of all life on Planet Earth

For her wonderful animals & plants

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

For fun and playtime

For laughter and learning

For the magic of language

And the skill of writing

For the promise of ongoing development

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

For medical researchers

For doctors and specialists

For science and technology

And the many procedures

That save and extend our lives

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

For the learning that comes

With good times and bad times

For the deep principles of life

That lie hidden just below

The surface of every experience

                       

WE ARE REALLLY GRATEFUL

For the unique calling

That comes to each of us

The destiny that only we

Can follow and fulfill

For our unlimited potential

                       

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

Personal wishes.  

In preparation for today, each person was asked to pick the name of another person in our group (out of the magic hat), and to write them a personal wish for their year ahead. It is now time for each of us to take turns reading our special wish to our selected person (get up and sit in front of them while you read them your wish). Allow each person to receive their wish (i.e. do this one wish at a time).

Remembering Family and Friends.

While we have all had the chance to give each other a wish for their year ahead, we are acutely aware of family members and friends who are not with us today. And so we also take time to acknowledge them, and to offer them a special wish for their year ahead.

Closing thoughts

We are indeed so blessed

With abundance that we

Dare not forget those who

Lack our good fortune

So, let us ensure that we reach out

To those without family or friends

Those who are struggling to survive

Materially, intellectually or emotionally

May we consciously enable
Our plenty to spill over

Into others lives and enrich

Their bodies, minds and spirits

May the universal energy of Life

The unfailing power of Love

Give us grace to become mirrors

Of the compassion shown by Jesus

That we may be angels of mercy

In a world often out of kilter

We dedicate this meditation

To him whose birthday we celebrate this morning

But also to those prophets and philosophers

Scientists and writers and artists

Whose lives and love and logic

Have pointed us to the truth.

In fact, for all of them

WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL

A Naming Ceremony for a Newborn Child

Randall's grandchildren are extremely blessed to have had their grandfather name them (a non-religeous alternative to having them baptised in church). For those who would prefer to welcome their children into their community and family (and not necessary a church), here is a naming ceremony they can use as a starting point (please adapt it to your needs). Randall would be delighted.

Why a naming ceremony?

It is always good to place things in context. None of us here would be where we are today without the history that formed us. And part of that history is the Jewish/Christian religion. It provides the backdrop to whatever form of spirituality we currently espouse. And in Judaism and in Christianity the act of naming a child is deeply significant.

In Genesis, the first book of the Jewish Torah, God creates by naming things. “Let there be light, and there was light”. And similarly in a very real sense, when parents name a baby they participate even further in the act of creation. For when we name a baby we give it independent existence, we give it a means of acknowledging its unique existence. There is no other <Baby’s Name> on this planet. S/he already has a physical, biological existence. His/her name gives him/her a unique cultural, psychological, spiritual existence.

In Christianity the naming of newly born children came to be linked with baptism, which was the ceremony to celebrate the acceptance of an infant into membership of the church. Naming in baptism was the gateway into the community. Baptism also served as the ritual through which the parents and the community solemnly promised three things:

1. To provide a supportive spiritual home for the new child
2. To ensure that no stumbling block be put in the way of the child
3. To nurture the child in the spiritual tradition of the church

Many of us no longer find the Jewish-Christian myths as compelling as they once were, we have moved beyond them. However, the essence, the deep spiritual truth underlying these myths, remains rock solid. Our impulse is to welcome our newly born into our core community via a naming ceremony, a ritual celebration of the miracle of new life. And that is what we are doing here today. 

A Reading for The Parents

This reading is taken from a poet and philosopher who grew up and worked in the Arabic-speaking world of Lebanon. The work of Kahlil Gibran has been translated into more than twenty languages. The fragment I shall read is meant for young parents, particularly for Name and Name.

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.

And the Prophet said:

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you.

And though they were with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows

are sent forth.

The Archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He

bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness,

for even as He loves the arrow that flies,

so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Grandmother’s Reading: A blessing for our grandchild

May your tree of life have

LOVE at its centre

May the soft glow of the moon,

the guidance of the stars,

and the warmth of the sun

surround you

May the owl of WISDOM

And the dove of PEACE

Nestle in your branches.

May you be a shining candle

that brings light in the darkness.

May the busy bee of INDUSTRY

enjoy the company of the butterfly

of JOY and HAPPINESS

throughout your days.

May the acorn seed of your new life

be balanced by the scales of JUSTICE

And at your feet,

may the tortoise of TENACITY

steady your journey

as you go forth and face

the challenges of life.

A Shining Candle

<Baby’s Name>’s cousins/family hand out candles to all present. <Baby’s Name>’s parents light <Baby’s Name>’s candle and each person will light their own candle from <Baby’s Name>’s and place it on the table around his/hers.

Our prayer is that each of us may in time be enlightened by this new life that has appeared to us. And equally, that we may all surround him/her with the warmth and light essential for his/her wholesome growth.

The Core Community

All of us here, family and friends, as well as a few who couldn’t be here today, are <Baby’s Name>’s core community. We make up the social and spiritual environment in which s/he will blossom. That’s an awesome responsibility. But it is also a wonderful opportunity to participate in encouraging her to reach for her full potential. Our spiritual ancestors, the Jews, have always seen the family and the immediate core community as being jointly responsibility for bringing up children. And the Christian tradition has equally seen the incorporation of children into the core community of the church as a communal joy and duty.

As <Baby’s Name>’s core community I ask you to make your commitment to him/her by saying, with me, the following words:

“We gladly accept the responsibility of being role models of truth, love, justice, joyfulness and compassion for <Baby’s Name>. Where necessary, we shall protect him/her from physical, emotional or spiritual harm and ensure that s/he is able to grow strong surrounded by the power of goodness”.

Parent’s Commitment To Their Child (for them to write and read)

Grandfather's Blessing: The Water of Life

Water has been used as a symbol in the rituals of the Jews from Old Testament times. John the Baptist was using a well-known Jewish ritual when he offered baptism as an entry into the coming kingdom of God. The Christian tradition used water as a symbol of the Spirit of God cleansing and entering your life. And many other traditions have also used this powerful symbol in the ritual of welcoming babies into their community. For <Baby’s Name> I am going to use part of a prayer from the ceremony of the ritual bath of the newborn used by Mexican grandfathers.

“My little dove, my sparkling jewel, my grandchild!

Receive and take the water of the Spirit of Life, the water which is our life, which makes the body grow and invigorates it and which serves to wash and purify us.

I pray that this celestial water of life will be the sign of Spirit living in you and inspiring you in everything you are called to do in the years ahead.”

The Naming

Dear Child

On behalf of your parents and of this core community I confirm that you will ever be known and loved as <Baby’s Name>”

God be in your head

And in your understanding

God be in your eyes

And in your looking

God be in your mouth

And in your speaking

God be in your heart

And in your thinking

God be at your start

And at your ending

God be with us all

And in our living

Amen