A Personal Reflection on Jesus Christ

and the Meaning of Christmas

I was raised as a Lutheran and had a deep relationship with Jesus as a child. I can still recall the songs I sang happily in Sunday school:

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, to shine for him each day.
Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, at work, at school, at play.
A sunbeam, a sunbeam, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam,
A sunbeam, a sunbeam, I’ll be a sunbeam today.

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world,
Black and yellow, red and white, they are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me.
Yes Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so.

The songs of Christmas told the story of His birth in sweet detail. The first carols I learned by heart were “Away in a Manger” and “Silent Night.” Having this musical connection with divinity as a small child now allows tears of bliss to stream down my cheeks each year as I sing “Silent Night” in the candlelight of a church on Christmas Eve. As a young teen, I played “Joy to the World” on my trumpet as the congregation sang. This provided experiences of transcendence before I had even heard of the word. I thank my parents for developing the foundation of my spiritual life in childhood. No better gift can be bestowed than the opportunity of cultivating a relationship with Divinity in childhood.

While still in high school, I began to reconsider what had in childhood been accepted without question. The idea that “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so” made me wonder if I had simply been indoctrinated into my Christian faith. I went through a period in my late teens and early twenties when the dogma and doctrine of the church presented serious difficulty for me. My experience of a personal relationship with Jesus began to erode as intellectual musing replaced childhood practices. I explored, but never experienced, the truth of different scriptures.

Many years passed before I encountered Krishna’s advice on the matter, “When thy mind, that may be wavering in the contradictions of many scriptures, shall rest unshaken in divine contemplation, then the goal of yoga is thine.” [Gita 2:53] Scriptures are a tool for spiritual advancement, not a philosophy to be studied and critiqued. A ladder is intended for climbing; scriptures are meant to be practiced.

Sai Baba’s Christmas discourses are rich sources to guide our spiritual practice. In 1987, I encountered the teachings of Sai Baba for the first time. The next year I was given An Eastern View of Jesus Christ, a translation of Sai’s Christmas discourses from 1976 through 1979. Reading such discourses each year during the holiday season provides a rich source for our meditative life. John Hislop often recommended writing a passage on a three-by-five index card to carry as a ready reference throughout the day. Engaging in this practice helps to develop our understanding of the divine truth and put it into practice in our daily life. The outer darkness of the winter season offers rich opportunities for developing the light of truth, love, peace, right action and non-violence within us.

I will end with a short passage from An Eastern View of Jesus Christ:

The act of reading is not enough to purify the heart. We must contemplate upon the scriptural passages until we know that we can practice them in our daily lives. If we truly love Jesus, we will devote the time necessary to understanding the full import of Biblical passages and discuss them with others who have had spiritual experiences.

You should radiate God’s sacred nature every second of the day.

Where is God? You need not wait thousands of years for Him to come. He is ever present in every human heart.

Evil will not prevail. Love must shine forth. Each individual must set himself free of the burden of selfish interest. Then at last human society will rise to its own natural level—the divine level.

Each one of us must develop a broad heart, a godly outlook and purity of thought.