By Michael Ketterhagen
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
--Matthew’s Gospel 1:23
I always liked Christmas—the lights, the joy, the gifts. People were in happier moods. But as I grow older, I enjoy it even more! I now understand that God and human beings—us, every single one of us—are one with God because, as Christianity believes, God became a human in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
As a little boy, I was taught to worship this little child. Now as an adult, as Christianity says that Jesus of Nazareth was the “Son of God” right from his conception, I now realize that all humans are sons and daughters of God at the moment of their conception. God chose every human’s birth.
Yoga also says that every human being is “divine, infinite, and perfect.” Christianity and Judaism say that humans were made in the image of God. We are never separate from God, just like Jesus was and is never separate from God.
The problem is identification—do we as humans identify with our humble divine qualities or with our fearful animal qualities of selfishness, insecurity, egoism, or with our human thinking qualities of separation and distinctions? As I grow older and immerse myself in the meditative traditions, whether that’s the yogic, the Christian, the Buddhist, the Taoist, or the Jewish meditative practices, I am learning that the celebration of God becoming a human being is a wonderful example of what all of humanity can become—we can be “God with us”.
All we need to do is get in touch with the lifestyle of the Master, Lord Jesus, and all the other saints and sages of the Earth. We just need to become more in tune with the compassionate, loving, fearless, selfless, joyful, peaceful dimension of ourselves.
I love Christmas now more than ever and my practices of meditation–especially the yogic practices—have brought me closer to my own divinity.
Alleluia for Christmas and the birth of Jesus of Nazareth!
I bow to the Divinity within you!
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