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 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, their first born son would have been a contender for the role of king. 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. Any 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’. 

Her correct name was Miriam and she was the daughter of Joachim and Anne in legend, and, from the canonical gospels, we are told that Mary’s story begins when she was described as a virgin - a young girl before her marriage. She would have been betrothed around the age of puberty and would have been living in an extended family living 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 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. 

Your Spiritual Journey

“The real story today is to define what it means to be spiritual. This is the biggest story - of the century.”  Bill Moyers

We are all brought up with some kind of spiritual understanding, but how many give this topic much thought? We accept what we are told and yet, it governs our lives, and is the most important aspect of our lives. We make outer journeys everyday, but the inner journey is the most vital!

Even those who practice a religion are often not considering their spiritual path. What could this path be? Mainly it is doing what is right and having empathy with others, but how do we know how best to walk this path of righteousness and wisdom?

The Advent Moon - A Poem

“The Advent moon shines bright and clear; my soul waits -

These Advent nights are very long;

Our lamps have burned year after year,

And still their flame is strong.

‘Watchman, what of the night?’ we cry,

Heartsick with hope deferred:

‘No speaking signs are in the sky’,

Is still the watchman’s word.

One to another hear them speak,

The patient virgins wise:

Surely He is not far to seek,

All night we watch and rise.

The days are evil looking back,

The coming days are dim,

Yet count we not His promise slack,

But watch and wait for Him.

Weeping we hold him fast tonight,

We will not let Him go

Till daybreak smite our wearied sight,

And summer smite the snow:

Then figs shall bud, and dove with dove

Shall coo the livelong day;

Then He shall say ‘Arise, my love,

My fair one, come away!’

The Advent moon shines cold and clear.

We watch and wait.”

“The Advent Moon Shines Cold and Clear” by Christina Rossetti

Elegy - A Poem

                 The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,

         The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea,

The plowman homeward plods his weary way,

         And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

Now fades the glimm'ring landscape on the sight,

         And all the air a solemn stillness holds,

Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight,

         And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds;

Grandmother - Advice

 Advice from the Grandmother 

Cure yourself, with the light of the Sun and the rays of the Moon.

With the Sound of the river and the waterfall.

With the swaying of the Sea and the fluttering of birds.

Heal yourself, with the mint and mint leaves,

with neem and eucalyptus.

Sweeten yourself with lavender, rosemary, and chamomile.

Hug yourself with the cocoa bean and a touch of cinnamon.

Put Love in tea instead of sugar

And take it looking at the Stars

Heal yourself with the kisses that the wind gives you and the hugs of the rain.

Get strong with bare feet on the ground and with everything that is born from it.

Get smarter every day by listening to your intuition, looking at the world with the Eye of your forehead.

Jump, Dance, Sing, so that you live happier.

Heal yourself, with beautiful Love,

and always remember.. You are the Medicine. "

Winter's Cloak - A Poem

Winter’s Cloak by Joyce Rupp

This year I do not want the dark to leave me. 
I need its wrap of silent stillness, 
its cloak of long lasting embrace. 
Too much light has pulled me away 
from the chamber of gestation.