Christmas of the Soul

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Christmas of the Soul
Today’s programme features two articles by the late Reverend Howard Ray Carey. Benjamin Creme said of him that he is, quote, that unusual combination: a Methodist minister who is also a student of the esoteric teachings, and so can shine the revealing light of the esoteric tradition on the symbolic stories and events of the Christian Bible. His is thus a most valuable service”, end quote. The following article first appeared in Share International December 1982. It’s titled “Christmas of the Soul” and begins…

That which we celebrate at Christmas, if we have insight, is not so much an event which took place in Palestine in an ancient time, but rather an event, which in both ancient and present times transpires within the human heart – when the individual is spiritually prepared for it. It is an inner drama – you could call it a Soul drama. Paradoxically, it is an event rooted in the infinite, but finding expression in the finite. It has its source in the timeless, yet it transpires at a given moment in time. It is a universal reality, yet it happens within the human heart. It is called the first initiation.

There are five major initiations leading from the human kingdom, or human level of life, to the spiritual level, the Kingdom of God. And Christmas celebrates the first of these five. (The second is called the Baptism – into greater responsibility; the third, the Transfiguration; the fourth, the complete Renunciation or Crucifixion; and the fifth, the Resurrection into full citizenship in the spiritual kingdom, or Mastership.)

Christmas, as celebrated in most churches, is clothed in the garments of Christian theology and the trappings of Christian creed. As celebrated commercially, it is wrapped in tinsel and toys – toys like scotch whiskey and fur pieces and stuffed stomachs.

There is a truer way of understanding it, and a better way of celebrating it. On this level we know that this truth which Christmas means is not the exclusive property of any one religion. Parenthetically, it is interesting to note that the events of that first Christmas did not take place among Christians at all, because Christianity had not yet been established. All the members of the ‘holy family’ were, of course, Jews. But they do not have a corner on Christmas either, for, if we just knew it, all families are holy. So, that which we celebrate at this season really belongs to all.

Reverend Howard Ray Carey (book information)
The Joy of Christ’s Coming

Book information:
Maitreya’s Teachings – The Laws of Life

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