Mary wrapped the first Christmas gift.
That sounds like a very commercial statement to some, but if
you think about it, she wrapped the first Christmas present for the rest of us.
When she took baby Jesus from whoever helped her deliver her baby and wrapped baby
Jesus in swaddling, she was wrapping the first Christmas present to the world.
Only the commercialization and the slow generational change
in perception of the value of the lessons Jesus of Nazareth, who became the
Christ, have eroded the importance of this present Mary wrapped up for us all.
We have forgotten the value of that gift that Mary gave the world. When you
consider that he was a Jewish man who set out to change the inequities not only
in his religion but in the world's relationships with each other, then you
realize the value of Mary's gift to us. Jesus was not trying to find or start a
new religion. He was trying to fix the one that he grew up in. Jesus was
preaching love, peace, and harmony with all humankind, regardless of who or
what they believed in. He understood that humanity needed to accept each other
for who we are and what we believe in as long as it did not cause harm to
others. He was not concerned that the Romans worshipped a pantheon of other
gods or that the Samaritans or others had other gods that they held higher than
the one he followed and the one he became.
So when Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling, she was wrapping a
gift for all of man and womankind to pursue peace with each other, love towards
each other, and harmony with all those we interact with, whether we agree with
their views or not. These lessons that were repeatedly taught and repeated over
and over by his apostles after his crucifixion have been lost to the ravages of
time. Saint Peter and Saint Paul passed his teachings along, leading to the
formation of a church. It is known as
the Catholic Church or universal church. The message of love, harmony with each
other, and peace towards the world was the cornerstone of the teachings of
Saint Peter and Saint Paul. You would be hard-pressed to find that in the
teachings of most of the present-day churches. You will find that there is
hate, exclusion, and dogma that is meant to bind you to a very narrow defined
selection of scriptures in the Bible. The selected scriptures are used to
further their agenda, not the Christ's teachings.
This is why the younger generation stepped away from
organized religion like Christianity and chose to take a spiritual route. So,
let's take a moment during this holiday season and realize that we need to
embrace the first Christmas gifts given to us by Mary all those many thousands
of years ago. We need to reembrace understanding of each other, love towards
each other, and peace with all those around us. It should not matter if they
have the same belief in the same denomination that we do. It should only matter
if they are spiritually aware of the gift and the teachings that came from that
gift.
I leave you with this thought. We need to follow Christ's
Teachings, not worship Christ. Mary wrapped us up the perfect gift: A gift for
all humankind. It is there for any one of us to unwrapped and embrace. It is
the teaching of the baby she swaddled that day.
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Col. 3:14-15 (ESV)
I wish you a
joyful Christmas with many blessings for the New Year.
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