Christmas beyond fiction

There is a contrast between the gospel accounts on Christmas and the corresponding text in A Course in Miracles. The contrast is one between fiction and non-fiction. In the gospels of Matthew and Luke the story of Jesus’ human birth is told with all the elements of fiction. Jesus in A Course in Miracles however uses the Christmas story to convey the truth thus leading you to a rebirth.

Just like Jesus’ birth your birth into this world is a story of fiction. Christmas releases you from the scenarios that make you suffer and is therefore beyond fiction. You are restored to innocence. You forgive all your stories of pain.  Rebirth or awakening is not simply another story.  Non-fiction means no story because truth has no specifics. But your story, once all elements of deprivation are removed, can be of use to awaken others.  You tell your story because the story is what people relate to.  

Here is a little piece of my story: “Interactions with friends and family indicated something had gone wrong in my life, and I needed help. In a journal, I started to write down all the complex and painful scenarios that were playing out in my life. The darkness of my destructive actions and reactions became evident on that bright white paper. I realized I had lost my sanity. I felt unmanageable and unable to guide my own life. Feeling depressed and isolated I got down on my knees and in big letters I scratched “Help” in my journal. Until then, writing had proved a valuable tool to depict my personal condition; now it marked this very moment of desperation that became my turning point.  

Taking a shower, I felt cleansed; a sense of purity came over me. As the water came out of the showerhead, a light shined into my mind. It was soothing and it put me at ease. I recognized the presence of this light as Jesus. No words were spoken; the communication was intimate, more intimate than a conversation would have been. The encounter reinstated a natural sense of wholeness and innocence within me. I gained a new self which came with a strong feeling of direction and purpose. All of a sudden everything was possible. ”

This was my initial rebirth, the definitive change of my mind and heart, the moment my drama turned into a story of healing.  

I wish you a merry Christmas. I hope you invite the great spirit of these days to turn all your hidden spots of darkness to light. Do not resent Christmas, but listen to the Christmas story. Let it bring you the innocence and beauty of who you really are. Let Christmas go beyond fiction.

“This Christmas give the Holy Spirit everything that would hurt you. Let yourself be healed completely that you may join with Him in healing, and let us celebrate our release together by releasing everyone with us. Leave nothing behind, for release is total, and when you have accepted it with me you will give it with me. All pain and sacrifice and littleness will disappear in our relationship, which is as innocent as our relationship with our Father, and as powerful. Pain will be brought to us and disappear in our presence, and without pain there can be no sacrifice. And without sacrifice there love must be.”

(A Course in Miracles, Textbook, Chapter 15 XI §3)