As the celebration of Christmas grows near, so too do the signs of the Wonder of Christmas; lights, nativity scenes, shopping and wrapping of special gifts, trimming of trees, and the look of wonder in the eyes of children. It is, as the song suggests, “the most wonderful time of the year.” Until it isn’t.
A day meant to fill our hearts with joy, and hope often gets lost in the stress of meeting expectations, our own and those of the world around us. For some, the day itself may be associated with painful memories or the loss of loved ones. “Where is the wonder?” Your heart may ask.
The Wonder can still be found. It lies in a deeper and richer understanding of the nativity story itself, one that goes beyond the words transcribed on the page. Historians and Bible scholars debate the facts and authenticity of the story. Dates and times do not align with the scarce bits of recorded history from the time. The story seems to be purposeful in connecting Jesus to the lineage of the House of David, which causes some to speculate its intention. But the Wonder is not to be found in aligning historical facts or scriptural prophecies. It is found in the deeper meaning of a story rich with symbolism.
Jesus taught through parables, stories that symbolized elements of the human experience, its challenges, endeavors, and divine potential. His followers would have done the same. They would have incorporated this compelling, symbolic story-telling into their work and embedded it in the most magnificent parable of all, the birth, life, and death of their Master and Way-shower, Jesus.
What then, are the characters and elements of the nativity story trying to tell us? Could each of them be an aspect of our own consciousness giving birth to an expression of God? Could they represent a recognition of ourselves as both fully human and fully divine? Could they describe the seeking of something greater, of hope and faith and joy, found not in a stable but in a humble place within the human heart?
Most of this spectacular story is found in the Gospel of Luke. But an additional, wonder-filled story is relayed in the second chapter of Matthew, where we find wise ones from the east following a star to an unknown place in the west. A songwriter calls it the Star of Wonder. And no doubt it was a wonder.
Imagine what kind of star or sign would cause you to embark on a lengthy and dangerous journey wrought with spitting camels, narrow mountain passages, desert storms, thieves, and a dubious, deceitful king. It would have to be a great sign, a wonder on par with perhaps the Seven Wonders of the World. Bigger than life. Awe-inspiring. Overwhelming. Beautiful. Perhaps an inkling of something wonderful being born, leading you to a place of perfect peace, hope, and wholeness.
This awe-inspiring light, one that would encourage you to traverse all obstacles to discover its source lies within you. The star represents a glimmer of light, an inspiring thought that stimulates the wise ones, the Power of Wisdom within you that sometimes lies dormant. The Star of Wonder is the great light of Spiritual Understanding, offering clarity and guidance.
Where there is light, we can see what we could not see in the darkness. Our way is made clear. This Light of Understanding within you continually guides the wisdom in you through the challenges and difficulties of human life to a place where you can lay down the worldly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh in exchange for the spiritualized gifts of Infinite Abundance, Divine Love, and a recognition of the eternal nature of the Essence of Life in you and all around you.
The gifts of the wise ones represent capacities that are always within you but are spiritualized or spiritually empowered when brought under the direction of the Christ or Higher-self. These wonders within you are most accessible when you make the journey from your head to your heart, where the Christ of you is continuously born anew and awaits your return in consciousness.
The Wonder of Christmas is not lost. The Wonder is you. You, as an expression of the eternal, all-pervading Essence of Life. Now that is a Wonder that can never be lost, only hidden. Breathe in the glow of the inner star and be guided in all that you do to the peaceful place of absolute wholeness with you.
Have a Wonder-filled Christmas, and enjoy a spectacular new You.
© 2019. Rev. Eileen Patra.
Eileen Patra is an ordained Unity Minister and the author of The Mystical Ark: A Vessel of Blessings. She is currently serving as co-minister at the Spiritual Life Center in Troy, Michigan and guest speaking at a variety of Unity churches. She is currently working on her second book, Living as the Ark. Learn more about The Mystical Ark at themysticalark.com
GRATITUDE is the miraculous awareness that one is surrounded and supported by Divine Love; that a need or desire has been anticipated and met. GRATITUDE is a universal feeling, a miraculous state of being with the power to open our entire being to a receptive state of consciousness. When we are in GRATITUDE we are in alignment with our higher self and with the Source of our being. GRATITUDE and miracles are synonymous, for it is GRATITUDE that opens the door to the experience of all that is miraculous. As I look for miracles in everyday life, I find that I look for those things I feel most grateful for. GRATITUDE is a feeling, an energy, a vibration and a portal to the miraculous. As I recognize and appreciate the many gifts of life my awareness expands, and my eyes are open to even more. GRATITUDE has the capacity to open the heart, relax tightened muscles and release feelings of fear, anger and separation. One cannot be grateful and angry simultaneously. One cannot be grateful and fearful at once. GRATITUDE is the recognition of God-ness in expression as miracles, large and small, dancing in the rhythm of Life.
COINS, flat metal discs that symbolize a measure of abundance have two distinct sides, typically called heads and tails. The heads side alone is not the COIN. The tails side alone is not the COIN. The COIN is a multi-dimensional object representing at least two distinct sides to one idea. In our lives there are a variety of thoughts, ideas and feelings. Each have more than one side, more than one perspective. The idea of abundance for instance has two sides; giving and receiving. They are equally important. One cannot fully exist without the other. If there is no receiving, nothing has truly been given. If there is no giving, nothing is received. The space in which we live fully in the abundance of God lies in the balance between the two sides of the abundance COIN. What idea, feeling or emotion is tugging at your consciousness today? How many sides does it have? Is it like a COIN with two distinct sides; each having equal importance? And where is the point of balance between the two? How can you move yourself into that place of balance and experience what is whole? Could a simple flip of the COIN be the miracle in your life today?
GRAVITY is a wondrous law of physics that miraculously holds us to an orb spinning through space at a relative speed of 516 miles per second. And this very momentum that seems like it should send us flying through space ourselves is what holds us to the planet. Physics aside, what a miracle it is that we have been gifted with this life-sustaining planet and the ability to cling to it. We don’t fall off the planet, yet we are free to move about it. Through human ingenuity we even find ways to transcend the law of GRAVITY and fly through the skies to arrive at our destinations more quickly. We break through the law of GRAVITY and explore worlds far beyond our own. Yet GRAVITY affords us the gift of being grounded to a common base making our oneness indisputable. Here’s to the miracle of GRAVITY for reminding us that we are one people with one home to love, cherish and protect. 
WATERMELON. A juicy, delightful miracle of fruit. I recall watermelon as the highlight of picnic lunches and family reunions as a child. It was not an everyday occurrence so it seemed extravagant and especially exciting to see those juicy red slabs ringed with white then green, dotted here and there with large, inedible seeds. Today I think about the relatively small size of those seeds and how they contrast with the enormous fruit that stems from them. It is miraculous to me that one small seed can produce so much fruit, juice, excitement, and joy. As I ponder what my next thought might be I consider how like the watermelon seed my thoughts are. One small seed can produce a day filled with joy and glory. And one small seed can, if I allow it, produce a day of challenge and struggle. The WATERMELON is a delightful miracle of pink pulp, sweet juice and seeds. My thoughts are also a miracle producing experiences enfolded within their nature. And even more miraculous is my ability to witness and choose the thoughts I hold in mind. I can see them crop up and choose to plant only the ones that will produce what is joyful, enormous, fruitful, delightful, sweet, and extravagant. Planting delightful WATERMELON seeds in my mind and in the world today. Affirming the same for you.
Eileen Patra 