A talk given by Rev. David T. Bell at the Interfaith Center 12/25/2022
The topic is “Christmas is Not Just for Christians.” Let’s see if I can demonstrate that there is every reason to celebrate the birth of Jesus, just for the great gift that he gave to all of the world.
I consider myself as “spiritual but not religious.” In fact there is a whole segment of the population that shares that self description. The latest Pew Research poll shows 27% of US adults describe themselves as SBNR. So how does that relate to today’s topic? Well, Christmas is usually thought of as the celebration of Jesus’ birth. I suggest that as spiritual practitioners with no specific religious orientation, it is entirely appropriate to celebrate the birth of Jesus. In order to have that make any sense, I need to differentiate myself from orthodox Christianity. I believe quite strongly that Jesus was born some 2000 years ago. He was born into a community of Essenes, a branch of Judaism that was exposed to other spiritual teachings through visits by wise ones from the Order of Magi from around the world. One could say that the Essenes were cross pollinated by the many wisdom teachings that were disseminated by the many wise ones that visited their community. The Essenes were as knowledgeable about Gautama Buddha and Zarathrustra in recent times as they were about Akhenaten and Moses in olden times and Krishna, Isis and Osiris in Ancient times. Members of the Essene community traveled to other lands to share wisdom teachings and to take initiations in other traditions.
This was truly an interfaith community. The community had been aware for over a hundred years that they would be instrumental in supporting the long foretold coming of the Teacher of Righteousness. Anna, grandmother of Jesus, was one of the primary overseers of the Essene community and mystery school. The Mt. Carmel Essene community willingly took on the role of birthing and training children who had agreed to incarnate and serve as members of a support team for the ministry of Jesus. Anna gave birth to 14 children, all of whom were part of the support team. Her oldest child was Joseph, who later became Joseph of Arimathea. Her youngest child was Mary Anna,
who was destined to give birth to Jesus. Joseph, who was later to become uncle to Jesus, was well traveled and influenced by initiations and particularly so by the Druids of England. He began transporting tin and lead ore from England to Palestine. In time he amassed a fleet of twelve large freight boats and great wealth. It was his wealth and generosity that supported the many sojourns of Jesus and the support team from Mt. Carmel to mystery schools around the known world. The Essene community was well aware of the crucial role they would play in the coming unfolding of the drama around the coming Teacher of Righteousness.
You might ask why none of this is mentioned in the New Testament. I can only surmise that it was not safe for the survivors to speak of their roles, or that the information did not comport with the unfolding story being told by those in charge. It has not been that long since so called heretics were burned at the stake for their unorthodox beliefs. When the world is ready, the information will be shared.
So Jesus was born into this community who had long awaited his arrival. There was great joy at his birth. However, that joy was tempered by concern for his safety. The angel Gabriel had appeared to Joseph in a lucid dream and told him leave and go directly to Egypt. So the family departed for Egypt where they remained until the passing of king Herod. After spending the first years of his life in Egypt, where he began his study and initiations, then returning to and growing up in the Essene community at Mt. Carmel, it is no surprise that Jesus began his own journeys to partake of other wisdom traditions at the age of 13. He spent three years in England studying with Druids. At the age of 17 he left for a seven year sojourn to India and Tibet where he studied with Buddhists and Hindus, met with and was influenced by Babaji, the founder of Kriya Yoga. A return visit to Egypt and Mt. Sinai included more advanced initiations. His last journey was a return to the East where he visited India, Tibet, Nepal and China. On his return he brought with him a well worn copy of Lao Tsu’s “Tao Te Ching,” which was placed in the Essene library at Mt. Carmel.
The message that Jesus brought to the world was one of peace and loving kindness. He taught the Divinity of all beings. His message was clearly influenced by his
exposure to other wisdom traditions. He will tell you that you have the same potential as he does. He will say that you are every bit the Christ that he became. He will say that the only difference between you and him is that he has relized his potential and you don’t even believe it is possible. Unfortunately the simplicity and beauty of the message has been distorted into a fear based exclusivity club. The biggest distortion, in my opinion, is the belief that his crucifixion was to save us from our sins. The only way this could be so is to make God into a blood thirsty ogre who demanded a blood sacrifice. I spent twenty five years as an atheist because of that incredible notion. The real reason for the crucifixion/resurrection was to demonstrate the unreality of death. It was to demonstrate as well, that life is eternal. Just a few days ago, I heard Jesus, through a channel, say that he came as a bodhisattva, not as a savior. A bodhisattva is an advanced soul who is ready for nirvana, and decides to delay that advance for the purpose of assisting all beings to relieve their suffering. This supports the notion that Jesus did not save us from our sins.
You might ask, well how do we know what the real message was? We have many contemporary sources that speak to the message that Jesus, “The Teacher of Righteousness” (the right use of energy) as he was called by the Essene community that nurtured and supported his ministry. We have A Course in Miracles, A Course of Love, The Way of Mastery, and hundreds of other channeled sources that speak to the loving kindness and simple beauty of his message. These sources all say that “there is no sin,” that “there is no judgement,” and that “we are all loved unconditionally.”
Does this mean that we make others wrong. Not at all. We are called to love everyone, forgive everyone for everything, and be the Divine Beings that we already are. This means, quite simply, that there is every reason to celebrate the birth of Jesus, just for the great gift that he gave to all of the world. His message is a call for us to awaken to our true nature, which is that we are light and we are love. It is also a call for us to see ourselves as the Christ that we already are. We are only asked to acknowledge that we are love, light and the expression of Divinity in the world
So my invitation to each of you is to truly celebrate the incarnation of Jesus, master teacher and bringer of infinite light, love and blessings to everyone. Be the love that you are. Merry Christmas!
