Now, continuing from the last episode where we discussed the themes of ‘light’ and ‘fire’ being symbols of wisdom and enlightenment, it comes to no coincidence that this episode is posting just after the winter solstice—the darkest day of the year. And while December as a whole, next to January, is the darkest month, it remains the most joyous, nonetheless. We celebrate the darkest month of the year by shrouding the night with endless light. Like the stubborn creatures we are, when darkness calls, we scream at it with Christmas lights. Christmas, is of course, the conjoining of the pagan winter solstice celebration and the birth of Christ. That is, we have symbolized the days beginning to become longer and brighter with God coming to Earth.
To wish you a proper ‘Merry Christmas’, it seems only right that I should lay out the reason why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. Some sources say that Christ’s birth was placed on the 25th of December to more or less replace the winter solstice celebration. The first written source which dates his birth come from a segment of the Roman Calendar of Filocalus written around AD 336. This calendar placed Jesus’ birthday on the same day as the birthday of ‘Sol Invictus’, which is the name of the Roman Sun God meaning ‘Invincible Sun’. December 25th was the official date of the Winter solstice for the Roman Empire, and it was likewise the day in which they had their ‘Dies Natalis Solis Invicti’ festival which celebrated the birth of Sol Invictus.
To add to this, there is a long standing history of the human race where we love celebrating our winter solstices. For instance, ancient Egyptians celebrated the rebirth of the sun god Ra during the solstice. The Persians likewise had a festival called ‘Yalda’, which was celebrated on the winter solstice to commemorate the prevailing of light over darkness.
Now, some Christians would argue that Christmas is on the 25th because this is exactly 9 months after they believe Mary conceived via the Holy Spirit, that is, March 25th. Although, this would then lead one to wonder how they came up with this date? Most sources indicate that the date was chosen by early church fathers almost arbitrarily—though keep in mind that they placed his death on the same day as his conception; this was likely meant to symbolize the duality of birth and death. Though, the date itself isn’t arbitrary since March 25th directly coincides with the Roman calendar’s spring equinox. With that said, there isn’t much room to argue against the claim that December 25th was chosen specifically to coincide with the winter solstice. After all, it is fitting that God is conceived when the world begins to bloom. March is, after all, a very common mating season for animals in the northern hemisphere. The snow melts, the world becomes warmer, and life is ready to beget new life.
To add to this, his death being the same day as his conception isn’t because of the death, but rather because of the resurrection. Jesus is reborn as a god amongst men. For there are two births: one as a man on Christmas, and another as a god on Easter; he becomes a legend which transcends human flesh.
Now, since the Bible does not explicitly say when Jesus was born or when he died, this indicates that the dates were specifically selected to correspond with the Roman winter solstice and spring equinox. All in all, Christmas isn’t necessarily the birthday of Jesus, but rather the celebration of his birth—placed there to replace the Roman celebration that honored the birth of their sun god. One could call this ‘Christianization’ of paganism, which it very well is, but do keep in mind that the ruling religion of a society will always take over the celebrations of that society. With this, many of the same traditions of pagan winter solstice festivals were carried into Christmas. These traditions accumulated overtime as Christianity spread, such as putting ornaments on trees, burning the yule log, and the deep roots of Santa Clause type myths throughout ancient history. As a side note, Santa Clause is an interesting symbolism, as it is almost obvious, especially when you watch the film Polar Express, that Santa Clause is often a metaphor for God. Like God who resides in Heaven, Santa resides in the North Pole. Like God who is all-knowing of every good and bad deed humans partake in, Santa keeps a list of all children of the world and checks off ‘Naughty’ or ‘Nice’. Like God who gives his gift to humanity, Santa delivers presents all over the world. Santa is the mythical ‘sun’ of Christmas for all the children who believe in him.
And like the sun who brings warmth and life to this Earth, to Christians, Christ does the very same. It is as such, that Christmas seems to merely be the celebration of the winter solstice, but with a new god—that is, the God of the Christians. Again, we have symbolized the days growing longer and brighter with God coming to Earth.
In the Abrahamic faiths, light is almost inseparable from images of God. Light is the highest form of being. It is, ultimately, the symbol for good, just as darkness is symbolic of evil. After all, the tree in the garden is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And if you recall from the last episode, Zoroastrianism places the good in direct connection to light, hence their place of worship being called ‘fire temples’. This is of course the reason why Nietzsche used Zarathustra as the mouth-piece for his philosophy—Zarathustra practically invented western morality, and Nietzsche seeks to go beyond the good and the evil.
The birth of Christ represents the ultimate good coming to Earth in the form of man. This ultimate good is all-loving, all-forgiving, and all-healing. Though, what is this ultimate good in which the Christians speak of when referring to Jesus? We discussed the Gospel of Thomas in a previous episode, and for a Gnostic view of Christianity, I highly recommend you check it out. However, in the spirit of Christmas, I think a discussion of the canon Christian mythology is necessary. With that, I want to divulge into the Sermon on the Mount. Although the story of the crucifixion and resurrection are more important in the religion and its symbols, the Sermon on the Mount includes the explicit teachings of Jesus according to the Bible. The sermon spans from Matthew’s 5 through 7 and gives a philosophy ingrained in generosity, restraint, non-judgement, and love. As such, it is perfect for Christmas. Afterall, how many times have you asked yourself what the philosophy of Christmas is?
Now, just as the Buddha teaches to “not fight hatred with hatred”, Jesus teaches to love your enemies.
In Matthew 5:43 through 48, he says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
This paragraph is perhaps the single most important paragraph—philosophically—within the entire New Testament. It lies at the bedrock of the Christian moral structure. To love one’s enemy is how one can forgive them. Likewise, the paragraph tells one to act as God would act. That is, “make your sun rise on the evil and the good”. Though, I think it would be best to start from the beginning of the sermon.
The Sermon begins on chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel of Matthew is the first gospel of the New Testament, which begins with Jesus’ birth, goes through his baptism and the ‘Holy Spirit descending upon him like a dove’, his trials with Satan, the start of his ministry, then finally where we are at: the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus begins his sermon with ‘The Beatitudes’. These are a series of blessings which can be interpreted as prophecies, prayers, philosophical sayings, or merely giving the crowd hope. However, for the most part, I believe he is simply getting the crowd’s attention; whether prophetic or philosophical, he is giving them hope.
He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be fulfilled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Again, he is gathering the crowd’s attention by wishing them hope. He is appealing to the individuals in the crowd who are depressed, mournful, and powerless, by wishing them happiness, comfort, and power, respectively. I’m sure many of you have heard ‘the meek shall inherit the Earth’ quoted in pop culture. Now, I do think this is true from a philosophical point of view. After all, the ‘meek’ consist of the herds: the working class and the slaves. Most people find themselves in a position where they own little and work much. We inherit the Earth, for it is us who populate most of it. Even Nietzsche would agree on this. Though, in the context of this speech, prophecy is not the purpose of saying this. He says it specifically to wish power and dominion over the Earth to those who are meek, i.e. powerless and owning nothing—not even themselves. He is giving them hope that their meekness shall end. In that way, they shall inherit the Earth not through their meekness, but through their strength. Afterall, to bless someone is to give them strength. And as a series of blessings, the beatitudes are likewise Jesus’s way of empowering the crowd. He then says that those who feel they are unrighteous will be granted righteousness. This, here, I believe, is a call to action. For one must ask themselves: “But how? How do I become righteous?” Well, perhaps one way is being merciful. And those who are merciful, he wishes them mercy. Then he states, “Blessed are the pure in Heart, for they will see God.” And notice that everything he says is followed by an opposite or something which satisfies the initial condition. If one is pure in heart, they will see God? Why? Because God is pure, and holds within himself the purest form of love—hence, pure in heart. It is important that he says this because it is the first time in the speech that he mentions God. He mentions him not as one giving commandments nor condemning sinners, but as one who the individual, pure in heart, can see. You can see it. Not just read about it. Not just hear about. Not just be told about it. But see it. He is giving individual access to the divine—or at least, showing them how to access it.
He continues, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Now, here, the footnote says the original Greek meant sons or daughters. From that, one could say ‘children’ of God. Since Jesus is considered the ‘son’ of God in orthodox Christianity, one would argue that he is more or less naming the peacemakers equal to him. Jesus, after all, is a peacemaker. One only has to read the ‘love your enemies’ bit from above to deduce that. By making peace, one can walk in the path of the great man who stands before them. From this he continues to say that those who are persecuted, reviled, and insulted on his account will be rewarded greatly, for all the prophets that came before Jesus were likewise persecuted, reviled, and insulted. But now, such prophets are remembered, loved, and worshipped for what they said. I am reminded here of Nietzsche when he said that, if he were to have any fame, it would come post-houmously. That is, after his death. Often times, new ideas are rejected at first, and it takes many years before they are accepted and finally loved and worshipped. In many ways, he is telling the crowd to not be afraid of persecution—to not be afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Those who do stand up and fight for what they believe, they are, after all, the ones we speak of in the history books.
Now, in my perspective, keep in mind that I do not believe in a literal ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ or ‘Hell’—or at least I am agnostic to such things. Instead, I think the kingdom of heaven is a state of mind. It is the serenity, peace, and joy that we find within. And likewise, so too is Hell the depression, anger, and suffering found within. Recall the Gospel of Thomas quote when Jesus said: “If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.” As we continue to go through the sermon, remember this quote. Jesus speaks much about how we project our inner states into the world around us. When he refers to God, he speaks mainly of love and goodness. When he mentions heaven, he speaks of inner bliss.
As I go through, I won’t read everything; I will leave that for you. But I will read most of it. A paragraph after the Beatitudes, he says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” This is a sentiment expressed in most kinds of mysticism—whether it be in the west or the east. Everyone has a gift in this world, and it’s our responsibility to give that gift. We have light within, and we must let it shine. If we are to repress our gifts and let them be wasted, we will feel dark, cold, and empty."
Now, as we move down a few more paragraphs, Jesus really begins to divulge into how our thoughts affect our deeds—how what we think can be projected into the world we live in. Also keep in mind that, like Nietzsche, Jesus is responding to previous moral claims and beliefs and revising them or totally reconstructing them. He says, “You have heard that it was said” then goes on to say the old prophecy only to then rewrite it. He destroys the old values and creates new ones.
With that, on the subject of anger, he says, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” Now, remember from the last episode the 3 pillars of Zoroastrianism: that is, good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. Jesus is saying much the same here. A deed begins with a thought, for our thoughts manifest our reality. Therefore, if you are angry, the seeds of murder have already been planted within your mind.
He follows this with a similar sentiment on lust: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[e] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Again, he is trying to nail it into the audience's heads that our thoughts manifest reality. If one thinks lustfully, they are bound to act lustfully. A bad thought leads to bad deeds, which he expresses as a metaphor to bad body parts. That is, deal with the problem at its source. While the old testament says to not commit adultery, Jesus is asking one to consider why they would even commit adultery in the first place. That is, because they have thought about it; they've committed adultery within their own minds. And that is the root of the issue. He continues this by speaking about divorce as an act of adultery. Indeed, if we are to separate ourselves from our lifelong partner, it means that we have already committed adultery in our minds. Faithfulness to ones spouse is to be kept in our minds, words, and deeds. Likewise, if we decide to divorce someone, there must have been root causes present in the relationship itself to have led down such a path. Rather than facing these issues, we run from them. He does mention that there are extraneous circumstances for which divorce is warranted, but otherwise should be avoided.
Following the topic of divorce, he moves onto Oaths. This is fitting, since a marriage is an oath to be committed to each other. He says, 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Often times, we will do something bad and try to make some promise to fix it or to be a better person. We’ll say, “I swear to God I didn’t do it!” Or “I swear that I won’t do it again!” But just as we can’t change who God is, or who the president of the United States is, or change our black hairs white, neither can we convince another person who we are, what we did or didn’t do, or what we will or won’t become or do. Rather than reassuring someone and giving some long drawn out explanation, we can simply say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. The desire to explain ourselves comes from the selfish desire to be liked and to prove to the other person we can be trusted. But rather than telling them you can be trusted, Jesus is saying to show them. Say yes or no, then follow through with that. Without action, words are meaningless.
Now, what follows this is quite important. One of the first official set of laws created in the west was Hammurabi’s Code which touted an ‘eye for an eye’. Rob and you will be robbed. Kill and you will be killed. Jesus defies this code with, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[h] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” We see this lesson taught in many pop culture stories. In Harry Potter, for instance, Harry never uses the killing curse, ‘Avada Kadavra’, and instead uses non-lethal spells. To defeat Voldemort—a man who has killed many people—he uses the disarming spell. That is, he stripped away from Voldemort the very thing that allows him to kill. Likewise, in Aang, the Last Airbender, Aang is tasked with having to kill Firelord Ozai. However, no matter how many people tell him that killing Ozai is the only way to defeat him, he remains determined to find another way. As such, he learns a way to take Ozai’s fire bending away, thus stripping him of his power without killing him. Even Batman has it has his single most important rule that he does not kill—even when it comes to psychopaths like Joker who are willing to kill anyone. One should not fight evil with evil. After all, fighting fire with fire only makes a larger fire. To 'turn the other cheek' is to take evil's power away. I am reminded of what my friend Fletcher said in the episode on the Gospel of Thomas. That is, “your means are your ends.” What we do in order to achieve something will become what we achieve. If we wage war to create peace, we will only bring on more wars. If we commit evil acts for the greater good, we will only be creating a greater evil.
Following this paragraph is the ‘Love Your Enemies’ bit I shared at the beginning, which I will skip over.
At this point we reach chapter 6. Between Matthew’s 6:1-6:18, Jesus talks about the importance of goodness for the sake of goodness. In my opinion, it follows perfectly from the last section on not being evil towards evil and instead loving your enemies. Again, the means are the ends. We create a peaceful world through peace.
Matthew’s 6:1 – 6:4 read “When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” That is, if you do something nice for someone, you don’t need to post all over social media what you did. If you do something good only to receive something in return, such as praise, did you really do a good thing? Or more so, did you do it for a good reason? After all, if your reasons, i.e. your thoughts, are unjust, then doesn’t it then follow that your actions are too? In the modern day, public relations have become the number one motto of capitalism. Not only do corporations have PR committees, but the individual itself is expected to have PR manifestations of themselves on social media platforms. It is just as Mark Fisher said in ‘Capitalist Realism’—everything in the modern world has melted into PR. The only thing that matters is perception. And if perception is all that matters, then what you actually do slowly becomes meaningless. As such, Jesus is telling us to be humble in what we do for others. The only person that needs to know we did a good thing is ourselves.
He says the same thing about fasting between 6:16 and 6:18, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Again, the only person that needs to know you are fasting is you. Jesus is telling the audience that they themselves have a personal relationship with God—with love, goodness, and the highest ideal imaginable. And so do not force others to feel bad for you when you fast. Don't do it for attention. Don't wish that others put pity on you. Merely do it, and the rewards will come in secret. After all, how many times have you heard someone complain about how they quit smoking, or drinking, or eating unhealthy? How many times have you heard someone go on and on about they used to be an addict? How many times have you yourself quit a vice then went on campaigning about how hard it was? We don’t need to show others that we are strong. We don’t need to prove anything to anyone.
Now, before this segment on fasting, Jesus talks about prayer from Matthew’s 6:5-6:15. More or less, he says the same thing. One does not need to pray in public, shouting about their love of God and all their virtue. They don’t need to tell everyone how often they go to Church. They don’t need to put a Jesus fish bumper sticker on their car. Again, one is a good person through action. One shows their belief in God through their belief alone—not by telling people about their belief. That is, he says to pray because you truly believe, not because you want to be seen believing. Pray so that God can see you pray, not so man can.
He speaks the following prayer:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11
Give us today our daily bread.
12
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13
And lead us not into temptation,[j]
but deliver us from the evil one.”
Simply put, the prayer acknowledges and accepts the will of God as it is, asks only to be fed, asks for forgiveness on the condition that they themselves forgive, and finally asks for the wisdom to be righteous. It is simple and straightforward—asking only for life and righteousness and accepting the world the way it is. He follows this with, “14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Now, part of this appears karmatic. Although, I also have to wonder, if we are to believe the Gospel of Thomas truly came from Jesus, then I think he is speaking of projections here. If we forgive the world, we are free to forgive ourselves, and vice versa. But it is more important that we know that we forgive than it is for others to know it. We may say, “I forgive you,” but it might be a lie. True forgiveness starts within. If we cannot forgive, how can we expect to be forgiven?
From this, he further speaks of one’s inner state with “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” He is being anti-materialistic here. By ‘Heaven’, he means the mind. Indeed, isn’t the mind at the top of the body? Store treasures in your mind, for that cannot be robbed. In Viktor Frankl's 'A Man's Search for Meaning', he writes "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." A man might spend his life building an empire. Let’s say he succeeds and conquers the entire world. Everything in the world is now his. But if he is unhappy, if he is unfulfilled, if he has nothing within his mind to look upon as a treasure, then what does he have? When the next conqueror comes along and takes everything away from him, what is he left with? We can have everything in the whole world, but even the whole world can be taken away. What can’t be taken away is our spirit. The treasures of the mind are protected by a lock that only we have the key to.
Jesus continues with, “22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[l] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[m] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
By eyes here, he means perception. If our perception of reality is healthy, than we will be healthy. If we perceive the world as good, then we too will be good. Additionally, if we refuse to see goodness in the world, then we will not have any goodness within us. As above so below. This, is of course followed by yet another anti-materialistic point “you cannot serve both God and money.” Serve one thing. Better it is to serve love and the ultimate good than it is to serve anything else. If we serve goodness and righteousness, then we will act out of goodness and righteousness. If we serve money, then we will do things only out of greed. But again, it comes down to perception. If we see the world in terms of money, then we will be greedy. If we see the world in terms of hatred, then we will be hateful. But if we see the world in terms of love, then we will be loving.
What he says next really is extremely relevant in the modern world. Constantly, we are worried about things. Our calendars are filled out until next year with plan after plan. We worry about every moment, day, week, and month. We worry about every person we see and everything we do and say. He speaks the following: “25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[n]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
We are mortal. We all die. We worry about what we will eat and drink, and therefore we store our food and water in barns and wells. Yet, wild animals don’t do this, and they still get to eat. Early humans survived hundreds of thousands of years without farming, simply eating whatever they could find. If you don't find food or water today, you might find it tomorrow. If you don't find it tomorrow, you might find it the next day. And if days and months pass still without food or water and you die, recall too that all things die. That 'God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow thrown in the fire.' Whether food, water, or clothes are present is irrelevant, for inner joy is always accessible.
I cannot help but to think about the Garden of Eden here. Prior to eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed, nor did they worry about eating or drinking. But a soon as they ate the fruit, they became ashamed of their nakedness, hungry for food, and afraid for their survival. Yet, the only thing that changed was their minds. At this point, they still resided in the garden. Always, the Garden is accessible to us; it is merely a matter of perception. In Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, a book about a fictionalized Buddha, Siddhartha repeatedly says the mantra, “I can think. I can wait. I can fast.” He claims that with these skills, nothing can bring him down. If one is unable has a problem, then they must learn to think. If one cannot act, then they must learn to wait. If food is not available, then one must simply learn to fast.
Now, I am sure you have all heard the phrase, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” This is Matthews 7:1. Before judging others, judge yourself. After all, our judgement of others is often a projection of our judgment towards ourselves. Clean your own room first before cleaning others. Now, I can’t tell you how many times I have judged others for eating something unhealthy. This stems from my own self-conscious judgement of myself and my body. I judge others for what they eat yet I drink alcohol and I drink way too much coffee. Just because I’m fit doesn’t give me the right to judge others, especially when I myself partake in equally harmful vices. When we judge others before looking within ourselves, we are unable to see clearly and mistake our own ailments for another’s.
After this, Matthews 7:7-7:12 gives the following: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Again, what lies within manifests what lies outside of us. If we think we are unconfident, then we won’t go looking for opportunities to build confidence. If we look for opportunities to improve and grow, then we will find opportunities to improve and grow. Don't be afraid to ask for things. Don't be afraid to look for opportunities. Thoughts manifest reality, and we make our own realities come to life through our thoughts, words, and deeds. Also, I think it is important that he says, “How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” and he compares it to the individual giving good gifts to their children. He reinstills the sense of acting as God would act. Acting as Jesus would act.
The remainder of the Sermon, he continues to reinstill the sentiment that action speaks louder than words. This path of taking action towards goodness is a narrow one, but a necessary path towards righteousness. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” One can say that they follow Jesus and God, but if they do not act as such, then their words mean nothing. Their life is built on a foundation made of sand that can be stripped away at any moment. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Thus is the philosophy of Jesus Christ, the man whose birth is celebrated on Christmas day. Like the sun God we celebrated before him, he is the star which lights many people’s skies. After all, it is said that a star led the wisemen to Jesus at his birth.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again and again: stars were the original gods of humankind. Humanity has been guided by the stars not only in where to go, but how to live for eons. We have worshipped the cosmos since we were able to worship things. As such, we have allowed the heavens to shape our perception of reality and have utilized them to predict our futures. We have built monuments to allow us to tell when important dates such as the solstices and equinoxes occur. And we have created entire mythologies around our place within the cosmos. It seems fitting, then, that the largest religion in the world celebrates the birth of their God on the winter solstice rather than an arbitrary date chosen by some priest.
A month ago, I was lucky enough to travel to the Tulum ruins in Mexico. There is a temple there called the ‘Temple of the Descending God’, in which the sun shines through a narrow window during the spring equinox. That is, God descends once days become longer than nights.
The patterns of the night sky have been the exact same for eons. Our monuments exist as a testament to how small and short our lives are in comparison to the Heavens and the Earth. It comes then as no question to me as to why so many of our religions, beliefs, and festivals are built around the cosmos. For it is in the cosmos for which we find when to sew our seeds, water our plants, and cultivate our crops. It is in the sun from which we gain our life, for without it, our food would not grow, and this world would be cold, desolate, and void of life.
Humankind has always been obsessed with light. This was our first experience of art. For is it not the case that fire, stars, and the sun are the god’s most gracious work of art? “Let there be light!” the brush by which God paints the universe—thus is the nature of light. With sight, man touches innumerable worlds all connected by infinitely many waves of light. We envision past and future by emulating the frequencies of these waves within our minds. Worlds beyond this one exist as patterns of light waves inside our brains.
Yet, what we see of the world is enhanced, changed, and contorted based on what we know and believe of the world. We can only see “blue” if there’s a word to describe it, otherwise we only see a shade of green. Indeed, long ago, before man had words to speak and think, the world was all one. Our language differentiates all things.
Fire came forth long ago, and so too was it worshipped higher than all natural elements—just as the sun is worshipped above all stars. Fire and light are gifts from the gods. At least…that’s what the ancients believed. One’s life could be traced out from the stars—their destiny and the Earth’s acquired through shapes formed from objects eons away. When the sun fell, the gods rose.
Yet, as time moved forward, man became less interested in the gods above and replaced their interest with machines and knowledge. Edison single-handedly stripped the stars from the skies. “Night is dead, and we killed him!” one might say. And now we live an endless day in a godless world.
So naturally, this is when I must once more bring up Zarathustra. Several times, Nietzsche calls him, “Zarathustra, the Godless”. Indeed, one of the most important ways to conceptualize Thus Spoke Zarathustra, is by recognizing that the story takes place in the aftermath of what Nietzsche refers to as ‘the death of God’. That is, man’s loss of faith in God. Thus Spoke Zarathustra places the reader in a post-apocalyptic world where meaning, faith, religion, and culture have all been destroyed by science, knowledge, and modernity—something which rings even truer today where every tradition is hijacked by consumerism. A testament to this is the fact that one of the most important Christian holidays, namely, Christmas, is likewise the most capitalized.
But of course, I don’t want to spoil your Christmas with Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Nietzsche’s claim that “God is dead!” For surely, this would imply that “Christmas is dead!” As such, if it is true that Christmas is dead, and we killed it, let it also be true that Christmas can live again, and we can resurrect it.
Although, I will mention that Zarathustra aims to bring humanity to a new era with a whole new set of values. One of these values is what he refers to as “the gift giving virtue”, which he deems as the highest virtue. “Gold-like gleam the eyes of the giver,” he writes, “this is your thirst: to become sacrifices and gifts yourselves; and that is why you thirst to pile up all the riches in your soul. Insatiably, your soul strives for treasures and gems, because your future is insatiable in wanting to give.” Several times in the book, he refers to the sun as the ultimate gift giver. “From the sun, I learned this: when he goes down, over rich, he pours gold into the sea out of inexhaustible riches so that even the poorest fisherman still rows with golden oars.” Anyhow, we’ll save Zarathustra for next time.
Until then, let your sun rise on both the evil and the good, and may this light be your gift and your virtue. With that, I wish you all a Merry Christmas.
Sources
The Sermon on the Mount - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205-7&version=NIV
History of Christmas - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#cite_note-Forsythe-27
Other Winter Solstice festivals - https://www.amli.com/blog/7-ways-the-winter-solstice-is-celebrated-in-the-wo#:~:text=This%20Incan%20celebration%20of%20the,Soyal
Other theories - https://www.youthpastortheologian.com/blog/why-do-we-celebrate-christmas-on-december-25th
The Gospel of Thomas - https://www.marquette.edu/maqom/Gospel%20of%20Thomas%20Lambdin.pdf
Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Viktor Frankl’s A Man’s Search for Meaning
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