You are the miracle

A formula for the birth of Christ

Photo by David Vilches on Unsplash

I have a friend, a deeply contemplative and aware woman, whose second grandchild was recently born. My friend observed, with more than a little awe, how this birth focused the attention of her family. All other concerns and preoccupations were overshadowed by the imperative to welcome and nurture this new life. The tensions, distractions, and aggravations that normally mark family interactions receded, lost in the wonder of the newborn. All else is secondary to the miracle: a child is born!

A child is born and the whole earth grows still.

The whole earth grew still when I was born. The whole earth grew still when you were born. Our lives are a miracle, and the world holds its breath in anticipation of who we will become. We are the ones for whom the world has been waiting. It is waiting for us to claim our true identity as Christ.^[1]

The season of Advent, the time of preparation for the birth of the Christ child, reminds us that we are the miracle. It is not only the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus to Mary, the coming of the Light into the world; it is the celebration of the birth of Christ in us, the Light that shines in us. In Spanish and Portuguese, the translation of “giving birth” is literally “giving light.” We are the light of the world.^[2]

Eckhart von Hochheim, OP, the great 14^th Century German mystic and preacher better known as Meister Eckhart, boldly proclaimed this message in one of his Advent sermons, commenting on Luke 1:28: “And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’” According to Eckhart, what is true of Mary, is true of us as well:

It is more worthy of God that He be born spiritually of every pure and virgin soul, than that He be born of Mary. Hereby we should understand that humanity is, so to speak, the Son of God born from all eternity. The Father produced all creatures, and me among them, and I issued forth from Him with all creatures, and yet I abide in the Father. Just as the word which I now speak is conceived and spoken forth by me, and you all receive it, yet none the less it abides in me. Thus I and all creatures abide in the Father . . .

We are a word spoken by the Father, much as Jesus is the Word spoken eternally. We abide in the Father – God is the source and substance of our being. God brings forth Christ in us.

God brings forth His Son in thee, whether thou likest it or not, whether thou sleepest or wakest; God worketh His own will. That man is unaware of it, is man’s fault, for his taste is so spoilt by feeding on earthly things that he cannot relish God’s love. If we had love to God, we should relish God, and all His works; we should receive all things from God, and work the same works as He worketh.^[3]

Eckhart declares that the issue is not whether or not Christ is born in us, but whether or not we are aware of it. Are you aware of your true nature? When you see the child lying in the manger, do you see the reflection of your own image? We see the miracle in others – like my dear friend holding her new grandchild – but do we see it in ourselves? Can we see it in our enemies?

Father Thomas Keating once said that sin is the illusion that we are separate from God.^[4] This illusion is fostered by those around us when they fail to see the miracle, and we then internalize their perception of us. We feed on “earthly things” as Eckhart puts it, and no longer relish God’s love as the source and substance of our being. We come to relish a false identity. Advent comes around each year to wake us up to our true nature. The first step is awareness.

It is not enough, however, to be aware of the miracle. I must accept the miracle. I must “receive all things from God,” relishing God and “all His works.” My awareness of Christ’s birth in me must come to shape my life, my perception of reality, and my choices. Being aware of my divine nature and accepting God’s will as my will are both required. This is the element of judgment that runs through the Advent season, the decision that we must face: Will we accept our true identity? Will we relish God and all that God has made, allowing our love of them to shape our life? Once you recognize your divine nature, will you choose to respond to love’s invitation again and again and again? Now? Now? Now?

And, having received such love, will you give it away? This is the final step in the movement of divine birth: action. Having “received all things from God,” will you “work the same works as He worketh?” Will you give away this divine love as freely as you have received it? Contemplation of our sharing in the divine nature must be manifest as love in action. Jesus wants us to do even greater things than he did!^[5]

Our divine nature is not something to be possessed, but rather to be continually poured out in the service of life. It is a dynamic participation in the reciprocity of love. It is not the achievement of a spiritual elite, but rather the true nature of reality – whether we like it or not!

May this Advent be a time to reawaken awareness of your true nature. May you come to accept the truth about yourself – and about all of creation – no matter how wonderful it may be. May you act in accordance with this truth.

Advent = Awareness + Acceptance + Action.

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^[1] Romans 8:19.

^[2] Matthew 5:14.

^[3] Meister Eckhart, German Sermons, no. 3, “The Angel’s Greeting.”

^[4] Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart (London: Bloomsbury, 2006), p. 33.

^[5] John 14:12.