Christmas portrays an innocence—a freedom from sin and guilt—that wise men and women, shepherds, and other toilers have yearned for through the ages. Finding such innocence involves a spiritual journey that includes lessons ranging from those derived from the infant son of a virgin to the scientific understanding of infinite goodness. This journey leads to a pure knowledge of God that precludes belief in evil as actual power or reality.
The Biblical chronicle of man's God-derived innocence, foreshadowing Christ Jesus' life and example, begins with the first chapter of the first book of the Holy Bible. There it is revealed that man, male and female, not only is created by God but is perceived as being very good—that is, without sin or the capability of sinning. Subsequent allegorical and historical accounts of sinful behavior dimmed the vision of this ideal man. Christmas offers an opportunity to clear the vision and rediscover the genuine, incorruptible, sinless nature of us all.
Why do we celebrate each year, on a date historically inauthentic, the birth of a babe? Might it not be that, whether we realize it or not, Jesus' birth and saving ministry show us who we actually are as God's children? They illustrate that despite human appearances, God is the Father of us all; therefore the true genesis of our being is immaculate, our real substance is always new, a fresh flowering of eternal Life. Viewing our origin from this perspective, we see that redemption is not really a patchwork reconstruction of a mortal. It is the reappearing of a perfection that is inherent in man and inviolate.
Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' lifework, which reveals amazing possibilities of what can be accomplished by people when they're unshackled by sin. His life attested to the fact that innocence is more than an absence of evil but is a confirmation of the activity of good on earth. It tells us that matter, the soil of mortality and sin, submits to the pure demonstration of divine Love.
Jesus' very conception was innocent of the material beliefs of procreation, and his humble birth was entirely separate from the trappings of worldly power. That his birth was revealed to a few wise men and shepherds may indicate that a dedication to understanding God and following His direction, and a simple faith in His presence, are requisite to an understanding of true being as represented by Christ Jesus.
Jesus' public ministry was filled with countless incidents of protection, from storms at sea to the machinations of evildoers. Commenting on Revelation 12:10-12 in her exegesis of the Apocalypse in the Christian Science textbook, Mary Baker Eddy writes, "Here the Scriptures declare that evil is temporal, not eternal." Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 569. And earlier in the same chapter of Science and Health, when noting the destruction of lust and hypocrisy, she states, "Innocence and Truth overcome guilt and error." Ibid., p. 568.
The Hebrew prophet Habakkuk wrote of God, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." Hab. 1:13. Jesus knew this God —the only God—to be his Father, and he likewise eschewed the knowledge of evil in any form, be it of sin, sickness, or death.
"Thy sins be forgiven thee," Mark 2:5. Jesus said to a man whom he cured of paralysis. Such an association of forgiveness with physical healing promises that religion's traditional goal of reclaiming the sinner must naturally broaden to healing the sick. Both the sinful and the sick can be healed by worshiping the one God on a scientific basis—on the basis that the sole creation of God is spiritual and good, where evil cannot exist.
It is the activity of Christ—the divine message conveying God's truth to human consciousness— that dispels beliefs in evil. We can honor the saving Christ in the yearly celebration of Jesus' birth. It gives much food for thought to do so, especially in the light of the metaphysical interpretation of year found in Science and Health. It reads, in part, "space for repentance." Science and Health, p. 598. Most people when considering their daily activities find attitudes and actions that could be improved upon. The yearly observance of the life of the immaculate Christ Jesus speaks of repentance and of the ever-present healing influence of the Christ, which Jesus fully demonstrated. Jesus' example and teachings inspire a genuine repentance, often with a sorrow for a wrongdoing so deep that we will never repeat the offense.
"Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder." Isa. 9:6. We may consider these words of Isaiah not only as a prophecy of the birth of Jesus but also as a renewable prophecy in our lives. As we forsake the sophistry of systems that allow for self-justification, and turn wholeheartedly to God as a little child, we find purification. Our lives increasingly reflect this Christly government. Childlike innocence enables us to demonstrate the kingdom of heaven.
The recovery of innocence—or, we might say, the uncovering of the innocence that's inherent in us —acts as a restorer of "the years that the locust hath eaten." Joel 2:25. This is a promise of God as represented by the prophet Joel. Because good is the reality of existence, that which is unlike good has no foundation either for continuance or for remembrance. This is a lesson many have learned through Christian Science, and they have found the good of earlier years, which they thought lost, restored. Through study of this Science, the joy of Christmas itself has been restored for many, and I am one of these.
I was not aware of the great vacuum created in my life when psychological beliefs and humanistic theories crowded out my early religious training and my love for Christ Jesus. Soon after I began the study of Christian Science I was instantaneously, permanently, and rather dramatically healed of a chronic sinus difficulty. "There are no vacuums," the Christian Science practitioner said simply when she agreed to give me treatment through prayer for this condition. I did not know what she meant; I only knew that I was healed. Some time later I suddenly realized that my childhood love of Jesus had returned. Christian Science had logically explained the virgin birth, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension of the Saviour. My spiritual conviction was restored, the apparent vacuum filled, and the years of doubt eclipsed. I'll never forget the joy of that gift of Christmas. Its continuing carol sings in my heart even now as I am writing this.
Celebrating Christmas can be a celebration of our own rebirth. In an article entitled "The New Birth," Mrs. Eddy writes, "What a faith-lighted thought is this! that mortals can lay off the 'old man,' until man is found to be the image of the infinite good that we name God, and the fulness of the stature of man in Christ appears." Miscellaneous Writings, p. 15. The appearing of the babe in Bethlehem brought to the world a new birth. For the first time the ideal man was seen on earth. For many, a new era began with his appearing.
Whether we observe these days in quiet solitude, or by participating in family festivities, or at present in circumstances of deprivation, we can expect to feel a childlike joy, for this is the hope of Christmas.
From an absolute standpoint, all of God's creation is created immaculately, spiritually. Accepting our spiritual conception, and striving daily to demonstrate it through purification of thought and life, we progressively rid ourselves of any knowledge of evil or matter as reality. In an article called "The Significance of Christmas," Mrs. Eddy writes, "It represents the eternal informing Soul recognized only in harmony, in the beauty and bounty of Life everlasting,—in the truth that is Life, the Life that heals and saves mankind."The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, pp. 259-260. When we let "the eternal informing Soul" (Soul here is a name for God) be our only informer, the holidays become indeed holy days. To open our hearts for this information, we might consider reading the second chapter of Matthew, the second chapter of Luke, and the small book What Christmas Means to Me, a collection of Mrs. Eddy's statements on the subject. It is in one of these articles, written at the beginning of this century, that we read, "Again loved Christmas is here . . . ."" Christmas, 1900," What Christmas Means to Me, p. 27. See also Miscellany,p. 256.
Each Christmas celebrated since then, nearly a century of them, may be seen as a cycle of light, informing mankind of God's goodness in sending His Son to be the Saviour of the world—each Christmas reminding us of that Son's excellence, and each one bringing us nearer to the time when "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."Hab. 2:14.
As we allow Christ Jesus' life to deepen our understanding of God, of his Father and our Father, we find our native innocence restored. Unhappy memories lose their torment and happy ones are refurbished. The joy of Christmas includes the promise that our understanding of Christ will so mature that we will be able to emulate ever more closely the works of our Master.
