New Year!

In our busy lives, we have forgotten many traditions honoured by our distant ancestors but the ‘New Age’ seeks to bring the past to light so it can be examined and updated and made current, applicable and useful for today’s world. The New Age also honours all religions and none, taking the bare-bones of spirituality in order to campaign for more compassion, integrity and justice in our communities. Learning to value our personal experience and the development of our own understanding of people and situations is more important than doing what we are told by others. Growing in maturity and independence and the gaining of skills and abilities is what matters as we try to rediscover the wisdom of ancient times.

As we celebrated the ending of the old, and the beginning of the New Year, we probably sang a traditional song called ‘Auld Lang Syne’ (roughly this translates as ‘old long since’ or ‘long time ago’). In this song the question is posed whether we should forget old acquaintances and never bring them to mind at times of special celebration. However, by posing the question, we naturally remember and give thanks for beloved friends and mourn those who are unable to join in what has become a ritual way to start a new year. 

Christmas Postbag

Dear Wendy, can you provide a Christmas meal prayer please, Jenny S.

Dear Jenny, this is my suggestion, change it as you would like to!

I call upon the Godhead of all names and none, as I give thanks to those who grew, transported, prepared, packaged and sold the food and prepared and cooked it for today. Especially I give thanks for any animals that were involved in food production. I ask that the food is blessed so I can eat with love and honour, and can enjoy every mouthful and pray that it will renew and revive my health with good quality nourishment. I give thanks for my life and remember those who have not survived to celebrate this day. I remember those without food, comfort and kindness as we celebrate Christ’s birthday, as he was the one who said ‘Do unto others as you would be done by’. Amen. 

Dear Wendy, can you explain the first verse of the carol of ‘Once in David’s Royal City’? Myra 

Xmas Poem

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign. In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed for the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day, Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay; Enough for Him, whom angels fall before, The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;

But His mother only, in her maiden bliss, Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him? Give only my heart.

The Story of Jesus

From the earliest written gospels, we have the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. “Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven, give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us, our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. 

The name Jesus is a corruption of Yeshuah; in the Old Testament name, it is Joshua. 

Jesus spoke the language of the people, Aramaic, he also read in the synagogue, so he knew Hebrew, and when interrogated by Pilate, the Roman governor, he may have spoken to him in the Latin language. 

Herod Antipas thought that Jesus was John the Baptist who he had imprisoned on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea in the Machaerus fortress and his death was by beheading. Jesus was also, like John, a revolutionary spiritual teacher whom Herod also feared. It is likely that John and Jesus were of the true royal line, unlike the King (tetrach) Herod. We know a little about John, an ascetic who proclaimed the end of the world and who baptised all people without exception in the Jordan river in the name of forgiveness of sins. He also, like Jesus, had a miraculous birth and was a messiah in his own right. During his imprisonment, he asked if Jesus would step up to take his place, and Jesus accepted the role. We know far more about the life of Jesus, his birth, miracles, teaching, his disciples, his torture and death and resurrection. We know also that he fulfilled the Old Testament scriptures where the life of the messiah was foretold of a glorious king, a conqueror who would give sovereignty to the nation,  a suffering messiah, humble victim, whose destiny was sacrifice. 

Star of the Messiah

The Gospel of Matthew describes how astrologers travelled to Jerusalem where King Herod met them. They told Herod that they had followed a star that prophesied the birth of the rightful King of the Jews, and they came to worship this baby. Herod was concerned about his own position as he was just a puppet ruler, and he asked the wise men to return to him when they had found the child. He called his scribes to him for information. In the Book of Micah, it states the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, birthplace of King David. The wise men continued to follow the star which led them to Bethlehem. We are unsure of the exact date of the birth of Jesus but a bright conjunction, supernova or comet could have been ‘the Star of Bethlehem’.  

It might have been a conjunction (coming together) of two planets, one being Jupiter which is known to represent Kingship. (Jupiter is known as Sedeq to the Jews, a word which means righteousness - a title for the Messiah). Regulus might have been the other star - this name means, in Latin  'prince’, and in Arabic, it means 'the heart of the lion' because it appears in the constellation of Leo and also represents Kingship. These two stars appearing together would have been a meaningful sign to the star gazers of the Middle East (possibly Mesopotamia where astrologers were recognised since very ancient times). 

Symbols of Christmas

Each Christmas, we remember a story that began 2000 years ago and involves a very poor young woman, perhaps only fourteen years of age. Her name is Miriam, and she is engaged to Joseph, of royal blood and descendant of the line of King David. But she is met by a man, as angels in the Bible are ordinary men! She becomes pregnant and could be stoned to death for fornicating outside marriage, but Joseph marries her and her life is saved. When she is in the final stages of this first pregnancy, and suffers the discomfort of a long donkey ride with her husband, to pay their taxes in the homeland of their ancestor, King David. But her story begins far earlier, as a descendant of the royal line, Miriam is a princess - but in a land oppressed by a foreign army and with a puppet king on the Jewish throne. The two together could create a power base to jeopardise the puppet king and raise an army against the Roman oppressors. It’s a dangerous and very specific situation as Judah was desperate for a messiah. 

Away in a Manger

Mary and her husband Joseph were descendants of David, the first King of Israel, and they were both true heirs of that royal line. At the time of the birth of Jesus, Herod, a puppet king was seated upon the Judaic throne by the Roman oppressors. 

David was born in Bethlehem many hundreds of years previously. He was a a young shepherd boy, guarding flocks of sheep on the cold hillside. These were unblemished lambs that were slaughtered by the High Priest in the Temple of Jerusalem for the remission of sins. Mary's cousin, Elizabeth's husband, Zachariah, was that High Priest. They were too old to have children, yet, when an angel appeared and Elizabeth became pregnant, Zachariah was struck dumb for his unbelief in this miracle. 

Mother Mary’s Story

All saviour gods have virgin mothers! 

Mary and Joseph made a powerful team. Both of the royal line of David, the shepherd king, their first born son would have been a contender for the role of King of Judah. Like many female visionaries, Mary was around the time of her menarche when she became pregnant by an Angel. Angels at this time were not winged. They were always men and their meeting often resulted in a pregnancy. But this illegitimacy of Jesus may have caused him embarrassment. Joseph was not mentioned in the gospels after the childhood of Jesus. And what caused Jesus to be scathing and rude to his mother? She was a young mother, and maybe she was seduced and deceived  by one who presented himself as an ‘Angel’. It dashed his chances of a bid for the legitimate throne. 

Her correct name was Miriam and in legend, she was the daughter of Joachim and Anne. From the canonical gospels, we are told that Mary’s story begins when she was described as a virgin - a young girl before marriage. She would have been betrothed around the age of puberty and would have been living in an extended family in Galilee, such as the tribe of Ephrahim. She would have sat by the river bank, watching the water ripple as the breeze created waves. This Galilee sea is shaped like a harp - it’s a beautiful and romantic setting. Whilst engaged to be married to Joseph, the Angel Gabriel is said to have visited her and told her she would bear a son who would become the long prophesied messiah. Both she and her fiancé Joseph were of the royal line of Judah, and therefore their son would be the rightful royal heir. At that time, a ruthless puppet king, Herod the Great, sat on the throne who would do all he could to destroy the lives of Mary and Joseph.

The Angel Gabriel addressed Mary as a ‘most highly favoured lady’ and prophesied the life of the child  she was to bear. We have one of the longest verbatim texts in the New Testament to describe this meeting. These are Mary’s extraordinary words and they show Mary’s early mature spiritual ministry: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour: He has looked with favour on his lowly handmaiden. From this day all generations will call me blessed: The Almighty has done great things for me and ‘holy’ is his name. He has mercy on those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm and has scattered the proud in their conceit, casting down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, to remember his promise of mercy, the promise made to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children for ever."

How to make mulled wine

To make mulled wine, firstly choose a good red wine.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add lemon/orange peel and a little fruit juice. Crush cloves and crush fresh root ginger, add them with bay leaves, some powdered all spice, cinnamon and nutmeg, and some star anise. Heat the mixture - not boil - but lightly bubble for 5 minutes. Put the liquid mixture through a fine gauze filter.
Add brandy and honey to taste.
Serve in a heated cup.

Confession: I pour my finished mulled wine into my favourite tea pot (used exclusively for mulled wine). It is ideal when entertaining to have a special pot and special cup for mulled wine.

Shortbread, oatcakes and Fingers of homemade bread with a wedge of cheese are ideal serving suggestions.

Christmas Past

The ancients observed the sun, moon and stars. They lived by nature and knew when to plant and when to harvest, when to feed the beasts and when to kill and salt. They would place a post in the ground to measure the length of the shadow cast each day. At midsummer and midwinter, the sun appears to stand still for three days, hence the name 'solstice' from the Latin 'stetit', when the sun appears to ‘stand still’.

Carvings on Long Meg in Cumbria are aligned with the sunset at midwinter. In 4AD the church changed the calendar so the equinox provided a consistent date. The date for Christmas was not changed. Many ancient stone circles are aligned with the sun festivals, such as Stonehenge, and Mays Howe.   

The sun was thought by the Greeks to be hauled across the sky each day by Apollo in his chariot. Christmas falls on 25th December rather than on the winter solstice because in the time of Julius Caesar, the calendar was obviously out. As it was based on the ancient Egyptian calendar that was 3000 years old in Julius' day, he introduced in 45BC the Julian Calendar.