Holiday, Divine Order, & Important Contributions to the Liturgy

I believe that Unity and Spiritual Life Center have made several really important additions to the liturgy. I see several other denominations and places picking up on our contributions.

Please step back for a moment and take a broad look at this progression of holidays. We first start out with Halloween, which may seem to some like all costumes, candy, and a boatload of fun — which it is. But there is also a very important spiritual component to Halloween. It is a reminder of the importance of doing our shadow work, and facing ghosties and goblins that still lurk inside of us. It is a time to uncover what we have swept under the rug.

Then comes one of my all time favorite holidays: Thanksgiving. It is a time where we can count our many blessings and remember to live in an attitude of gratitude. Yes, it is also a time of food, folks, and fun.

But then comes the blockbuster of holidays: CHRISTMAS! Recently, I wrote about the dramatic growth of Halloween in our society. But economically Halloween is still measured in billions of dollars. Meanwhile, in terms of business, Christmas is measured in trillions of dollars.

At Unity and SLC, we try to remember the real reason for the season. We point to Christmas as being the rebirth of the Christ within.

Yes, this is sort of like the rising and the setting of the sun. Of course, we know that the sun is not really rising or setting, and that it is the Earth rotating on its axis that produces the illusion. Similarly it is not the divine spark which is inside of us that dies because it is always there. But many of us through the course of the year can let our connection with the Christ within become musty, dusty, and rusty. For many, Christmas can be that re-awakening of our relationship with the Divine.

So let’s say Christmas has come, and we have had that Cosmic jolt — or some might say today that ‘multiverse magic’. What next? Well, Unity points the way on that.

There is a wonderful story in the Gospel of Luke that shows us what is possible. So Jesus is coming through Jericho and a big crowd is lining the streets. In Jericho there is this short man named Zacchaeus. Most people hate him because he is a tax collector. Remember that back then tax collectors were more like the mafia. Zacchaeus had the reputation of being a little immoral Napoleon.

Zacchaeus was so short that he knew he would not see Jesus over the crowd, so he climbed up a Sycamore tree. As Jesus was passing, he looked up at Zacchaeus and said, “Climb down because I want to spend the night at your house.”

Many in the crowd thought, “What kind of holy man could this Jesus be if he’s willing to spend the night with this disreputable character?”

That night, Jesus made no demands on his host. He didn’t tell him that he was a rotten sinner. Instead, Jesus was just Jesus.

As a result of all this, Zacchaeus had his own Christmas experience. In the morning, the tax collector came to Jesus and said that he wanted to clean up his life and make restitutions for the harm he had caused.

The BURNING BOWL RITUAL — which will be held at SLC on Sunday, December 28th — in many ways is a Zacchaeus-like experience. With the rebirth of the Christ within, many of us want to clean up our act. We first write down what is no longer serving us, and we literally burn the paper in a bowl. Then we write a letter to our Higher Power about our dreams, hopes, and visions. Unity has created a very practical “first steps” for after Christmas and cleaning up our act.

But this is not the end of the story, because many of us find something else after the rebirth of the Christ within on Christmas. Yes, many of us face a similar situation to what the Apostle Paul experienced when he told the Romans, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do.” (Romans 7:15)

For many of us, this central issue is about power and we discover that, despite our best efforts, our frail and flimsy egos are not going to get the ball into the metaphysical endzone.

This is why Unity’s WHITE STONE CEREMONY— which will be celebrated by at SLC on Sunday, January 4th — is so important. Spirit knows that our egos can’t do it. But that is also why we are so much more than our egos.

In the Book of Revelation we are promised that if we make a sincere effort, Spirit will give us a white stone with a new name on it, and this Word will give us the power to do what we could not have done alone. I have seen how important the WHITE STONE CEREMONY can be for so many people. It can help give people the power and get-up-and-go to do what needs to be done.

But once again, this is not the end of the story. In Unity, we say that we honor all paths that lead to spiritual enlightenment. We don’t believe that anybody has a monopoly on truth. That is why on Sunday January 11th, our service will be a BLESSING OF THE WORLD RELIGIONS. Through meditation and prayer, we will honor the major religions, reciting their prayers for peace, love, and wholeness.

So Unity and SLC have made some really important contributions to the liturgy — with the Burning Bowl, White Stone Ceremony, and the Blessing of the World Religions. I believe these additions can really help you to kickstart your spiritual walk.

Happy holidays and may you experience real joy and growth in the coming year.

Many blessings,

Rev. Rick