The Synonymous Theme of Spirituality

The Synonymous Theme of Spirituality;  Found in the Crib at Christmas 

From a class I gave in Guin, Alabama in 1988

It is through Faith that the element of the Spirit is found; as Mary followed the words of the Angel Gabriel; “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father, and he shall rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of  his kingdom there will be no end.”  (Lk 1: 31 - 33).

As we gaze upon this miracle of a child who is God and man in the same body, we are looking at the answer to justification for God’s plan to redeem every sinner who accepts his mercy and soon into the future, which is our forgiveness.  The answer of Mary to the angel makes sense and presents the very Holiness of this Mother of God; “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”  (Lk 1: 38).

The quest to find spirituality, through this Miracle birth, we as the children of Christ need to find that Spirituality through a sequence of three steps; (1) “growth through healing.”  “Listen to this dream I had. “There we were, binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf rose to an upright position, and your sheaves formed a ring around my sheaf and bowed down to it.”  It was through the sequence of events with Joseph that God healed the drought and poverty in Shechem, and the poverty in our own hearts without this Child who is Christ.  (2)  “viewing the impossible? From a positive stance, the Transfiguration; when we become so close to reality our lives find meaning; sense can be made out of confusion through the Son of God on the Cross.  (3) “Gaining freedom” finding ourselves through discovering God; in the person of Jesus Christ  as master of our lives, our faith, and our spirituality.  The Resurrection of Christ which is what his birth will lead us to believe, is a victory of persistence to a faith that is found in this crib at Christmas. 

One week until the Light of heaven shines upon the Son of God, giving us the hope that the prophets announced and the Angel Gabriel revealed to Mary, and the Grace of God that beats within the hearts of all who believe in this Miracle Birth; ours to welcome and hold close to our hearts.

Ralph B. Hathaway