A Look at Unity's Christmas Past—and It's Christmas Future
Hi Friends -
Imagine a journey to Unity’s Christmas past. What I have this morning is an hour long recording of Silent Unity celebrating Christmas in 1982. Side one of the cassette has 30 minutes of Jim Freeman describing, in his best poetic and mystical way, what we once had in Unity. Side two is a 30 minute Christmas service. The entire hour is segmented in 25 clips with a transcript and a playlist. You can, in one hour, learn how Unity celebrated Christmas over forty years ago and get a feel for the experience.
Don’t let this distract you from friends and family. But if you have some time and you are curious or maybe a bit lonesome or jaded, do yourself a favor. Get warm, silence the phone, light a candle and read the transcript while the playlist rolls. I believe you’ll find yourself in a more joyful place. It certainly did for me in putting it together for Internet delivery.
Why should we revisit the past? Because it helps us know where we are today and it helps us imagine where we might be in the future.
Imagine where we might be today if Unity had not abandoned the Correspondence School Course in the mid 1970s, which for more than 50 years was Unity’s foundational training for spiritual seekers and prospective Unity ministers.
Imagine where we might be today if Unity had not abandoned its historic Statement of Faith, originally published in 1924 and last published in 1982, in which Charles Fillmore declared “We believe all the doctrines of Christianity spiritually interpreted.”
Imagine where we might be today if Jack Boland, Chair of the Association of Unity Churches (AUC, legal name of Unity Worldwide Ministries), had not written in 1979 to Unity school it was “concerned about the question of conflict of interest” on the part of the shareholders of the [Unity School] corporation, questioning the integrity of James Dillet Freeman, director of Silent Unity, and Charles R. Fillmore, grandson of the Fillmores and leader of Unity School.
Imagine where we might be today if the AUC in the early 1980s had understood the underlying cause for Rev. Ruth Moseley’s request to establish an “urban schol” in Detroit so that Blacks would have a place in Unity where they would feel welcome and supported.
Imagine where we might be today if the Unity establishment in Kansas City had embraced Rev. Greg Netler’s (ordained in 1982) vision of purchasing and restoring it’s original facilties at 9th and Tracy in Kansas City.
If we were to use our power of imagination we might have a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Future and, like Ebenezer Scrooge, we might be transformed in some way to a kinder, more inclusive spiritual community. It isn’t hard to do (if you try).
I imagine letting go of Unity’s fixation on the Metaphysics books, written in the early 1990s by Ed Rabel and Marvin Anderson, and restoring mystical experience as Unity’s foundational teaching, religious authority, and standard for leadership.
I imagine revising and reintroducing Unity’s Statement of Faith, not as a doctrine of faith, but as an ideal for faith, restoring Fillmore writings as our foundational teaching, giving privilige to long forgotten Unity ideals of spiritual healing, redemption of the body, life everlasting, sexual responsibility, compassionate eating, and ethical treatment of all sentient life.
I imagine a new direction for Unity World Headquarters focused on Fillmore ideals and working in partnership with Unity Worldwide Ministries in promoting Fillmore values articulated in the new, revised Statement of Faith.
I imagine Unity leading Christianity in articulating a way to bridge our cultural and political divisions so we may move forward on race, gender, compassion and climate.
I imagine a campus on 9th and Tracy, with restored facilities, a museum, and an events center named for and honoring the life work of Rev. Greg Neteler.
The point I am making is that the decisions we make today will shape what Unity will be in forty years, just as the five decisions made in the 1970s and 1980 have shaped where we are now. We need to think long term and we need Fillmore values to guide our decisions. What would the Fillmores say about walking out of Christianity?
Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas,
Christmas Eve, December 24, 2023
Download MP3 file Silent Unity 1982 Christmas Introduction and Service
Read the Transcript and Listen to the Clips
01 Christmas in Silent Unity
Christmas is a very wonderful time In Silent Unity. It has always been Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, who founded Silent Unity, loved Christmas. I have had more than 50 Christmases in Silent Unity and all of them, whatever have been the experiences in my own life or in the world, have been beautiful celebrations.
I am deeply grateful that I have had so many Christmases as part of Silent Unity for I don’t believe that anywhere in the world is Christmas celebrated in a way truer to the spirit of Christ. In a world where there is so much that is alien to the Christmas spirit, Silent Unity has cherished it from year to year. We keep it not only for ourselves, but for all those who cannot keep it. When we keep Christmas, we are keeping a light alive, a spiritual light that must never be allowed to go out.
Celebrated at the year’s ebb, in winter’s darkest days, Christmas is man’s answer to all darkness, his jubilant, triumphant answer. Christmas in Silent Unity proves that it’s not the outward forms, but the inward spirit that counts. For in this, in the Christmas spirit, Silent Unity abounds. Many young people come to serve in Silent Unity, and often it’s their first time away from home. As Christmas approaches, they may feel a little sad, but over and over again when Christmas has passed, we have heard these young people say, “This was the most wonderful Christmas I ever had.”
Most of the time on Christmas, it does not snow in Missouri. The decorations in the Silent Unity building are certainly not elaborate. We’re not given expensive Christmas gifts. The work goes right on day and night, if anything more diligently than at other times. So many of you write to us at Christmastime. You purchased magazines and books as gifts for friends, or you want to order our calendar for the new year, or perhaps you somehow sense what a special time Christmas is for Silent Unity and you want to partake of it. Yet nowhere in the wide world is Christmas, happier, holier, or more beautiful than it is in Silent Unity.
02 Joy and singing
Just what is Christmas in Silent Unity? First of all, it’s a time of joy. Charles Fillmore, Unity’s founder, once said, “When Joy is put back into religion, there will be more religion in the world.” In Unity, we put joy into our religion. We believe the Creator meant his world to be a happy place. It is the good work of a good God. At Unity Village, we love speakers who make us laugh. We love to have meetings where we sing. We love to gather around the desk of a fellow worker and bless him.
So, Christmas you can imagine is a wonderful time for us. For Christmastime is a happy time. It’s a time when we can sing joy to the world as lustily as is in our power as you can hear us doing on the other side of this cassette. Joy can come out of the simplest things. For instance, we exchange gifts among ourselves in a way that many big families do.
About a week before Christmas, each of us draws the name of a fellow worker. This is the one we are to give our gift to. We do not reveal ourselves to him until the day before Christmas. Then, we gather round a Christmas tree, we receive our gift, and we find out who has had our name. We spend an amazingly small amount on our gifts, but those who spend $10,000 could get no more joy out of their giving.
For all during the week, we have been writing notes to the co-worker whose name we drew. We have been sending him blessings, praying for him in our meetings, pouring forth love and imagination in such a foaming zest of blessing that the whole place is bubbling with mirth and goodwill. Because Christmas in Silent Unity is a time of joy it is, of course a time of carols. Through the year, song is an important part of our meetings.
Sometimes we turn our prayer services into song services singing a healing song over and over. At Christmastime, we never tire of the Christmas songs. We listen to them on the organ and piano. We have the best voices among us sing them to us. Above all, we all join in singing them together. As you may have thought after listening to us singing on the other side of this cassette, we are not professional singers.
No singers put more of their heart into their songs than we do when we sing these loved carols. Singing together, joining in harmony, lifting our voices in the old familiar words and notes. We weave around the wonder story of the birth of Jesus, the golden tissue of music, that concord of sweet sounds that draws the heart out of itself and into the heart of the divine mystery that all the forms and even the story of Christmas are but the symbol of.
03 Meetings and stories
Usually we begin to celebrate Christmas shortly after Thanksgiving. We always have a special meeting where we think about the work we will be doing during the Christmas season and the people we will be serving. We usually have had printed a special Christmas card or booklet or letterhead to send to our correspondents. At this meeting, these are passed out to our workers. In turn, every member of Silent Unity, from the newest worker to those like myself who have served here for many years, we all bless this material. We will be sending to our friends like this cassette that you are listening to now, and we give the blessing of our prayer to all who will receive it.
Christmas in Silent Unity is a time of many meetings. We meet to sing, we meet to pray. We meet to talk. We meet just to meet in Christmas love and joy, and this is part of the magic of Christmas. At Christmas, we have more meetings than at other times. We have longer meetings, yet we answer more letters, we accomplish more work. Somehow, there just seems to be more time at this time of the year.
Perhaps in one meeting, some of our members present a Christmas playlet. Someone may read one of the well-known Christmas tales, or we may listen to Christmas poetry. Some member of Silent Unity may explain the meaning of the Christmas symbols and tell us of the druid magic in the mistletoe or what Kris Kringle really stands for. The Bible story of the birth of Jesus is told and told again. We hear many times, but never tire of hearing of the starlit, silent night of Mary and Joseph, of the stable by the inn, of the shepherds and the wise men and the angels, and of the birth of the child. This is what Christmas is most of all. It is the Christmas story.
Christmas is the birth of Christ, and the birth of Christ is the birth of humanity’s best dream and highest hope. It tells how God may be born in human form. Because there was no room at the inn, God was born in a stable. There Mary, the mother, bent over the manger watching her baby asleep in the hay. The beasts in the stalls, were they wiser than men? Knelt down, says the legend, and worshiped Lord Jesus. Shepherds came from the fields round about. They left their flocks and lambs to tend the Lamb of God. Wise men came from lands far away. They followed the brightest star that has ever shone in earth’s night. Angels sang in the skies by the stable, though only the shepherds paused to hear. They sang of peace to an earth without peace. They sang of goodwill to humankind. Take time to read the story again, as we so often do in Silent Unity, and you may catch the wonder of which the angels sang.
There are many kinds of meetings in the weeks before Christmas in Silent Unity. Some of them joyous and noisy and full of song and laughter. Some of them hushed and holy and filled with the mystical presence. But at each one, we relight the taper of our spirit at the never failing flame of Christ.
04 Candle lighting
Christmas in Silent Unity is a time of candle lighting. Every year we have a candle lighting service to remind us once again of the light that shines within. It’s a simple service. Symbols and outer forms have never meant much to Silent Unity, but the symbols and forms of Christmas are especially beautiful ones. I believe that of all the meetings we have at Christmastime, this is the one most of us love best. Have you ever been to a Unity candle lighting service? It’s the very last meeting we have here at Unity School before we go home for Christmas Day. We’ve had a wonderful work time and blessed a tremendous number of people, and we end our work time here at Unity School and begin our holiday in this very traditional and beautiful way.
At our candle lighting service, each of us, when he enters, receives a small candle with a printed blessing wrapped around it. This blessing is for us. I’ve received these blessings for many years. I keep them. They’re very special to me, just as I pray that this Christmas cassette will be a special blessing for you. At our candle lighting, at the head of the hall, there is a tall, white candle representing the Christ. This candle is lit before we come in. That is to tell us that the Christ light is always shining and it is His light we can light our own light by. As we gaze at this Christ candle, we realize that Christ is the light that overcomes the dark. Around the Christ candle, there are 12 red candles that we light. Each of these represents one of Jesus’ apostles and one of the divine faculties in us.
Also, we light some special candles. We light one for the children of the world, and we know that millions of persons all over the world are praying with us, so we light one for all of you. Also, this year we will light a candle for peace. Then after we have lit the 12 candles for the Apostles and the special candles, the time has come for each of us to light his own candle. This we do from the Christ candle. Then each of us for a moment looks at the light of his own little candle. I imagine there are times when all of us feel we are only a very small candle. But then we all raise our candles up and we look around us and we see how much light, our little light, when we all let it shine, casts on the world.
05 Prayer
Everyone loves to turn on lights at Christmas. Is it because Christmas is the time when God turned on his light for us?
Christmas in Silent Unity is a time of lights. At Unity Village, we string lights from the buildings and on the evergreens. From the top of the tower, we hang a wreath of light for travelers to see as they go by. But of all the bright and beautiful lights that bloom at this happy season, none speaks so clearly or cheerly of the true meaning of Christmas as the light that shines in the window where Silent Unity's vigil of prayer is kept.
This light shines day and night throughout the year, not at Christmas only. But especially on a snowy winter night, we are warmed and cheered when we look up and see the light shining. In the room behind this gleaming square, there are people praying, loving, consecrated faith-filled people praying in the name of Jesus Christ.
We know that we have only to call and they will pray with us. Somehow when we turn away and go on about our business in the night, we feel closer to God, more aware of his infinite, enfolding outstretched love.
Christmas in Silent Unity is a time of prayer. We don't pray more at Christmas than at other times of the year, our prayer meetings are always consecrated periods, but at Christmas, we look forward to them even more.
Every day, Silent Unity has a special prayer meeting when the specific needs of those who call us and write to us are taken up. Strangers are never allowed in this meeting. Even those who serve in Silent Unity are invited to attend only when the director of Silent Unity feels that they are ready to take part.
But at Christmas, these meetings are opened to all who serve in Silent Unity, and the new worker who has just come may bring such a spirit of consecration and devotion that the worker of 50 years' service feels lifted up and inspired by it.
We all get to these meetings very, very early, we file in quietly and sink quietly into our seat. Oh, Christ is close at Christmas time, our minds are as a manger to cradle his divinity, our hearts are as a humble birthplace to hold our newborn Lord. There is a special holiness that hallows all our lives.
06 Holiness
Christmas in Silent Unity is a time of holiness. There’s always a sense of holiness about Silent Unity. There has to be holiness where there is so much prayer. People who visit Unity remark on this feeling, although they usually don’t call it holiness. Sometimes they say, “Beauty.” “This is such a beautiful place,” they say. Holiness is a sense of the presence of God. Those who serve in Silent Unity practice the presence of God. Every moment of the day and night, someone is at prayer here and those who work in other departments of Unity School, those who come to Unity for study, for retreats, or for spiritual help, these pray much, too. They too practice the presence. But especially at Christmas, there is a sense of holiness, as again and again in word and song, we tell the story of the holy infant and dwell in thought on the Christ. Some of the beauty and joy and wonder and love cannot help but spill over.
As we walk through the halls and enter into the meetings, the beauty of holiness and the holiness of beauty that are at the heart of Christmas fill our heart. Christmas in Silent Unity is a time for the birth of Christ. We give much thought to the birth of the babe in Bethlehem, but above all, we seek to become more aware of the birth of the Christ in our own heart. For Christ was born in vain 2,000 years ago if he is not born in us today.
There’s a very ancient rhyme, I think it came out of the Middle Ages, that says, “Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, if he is not born in thee, thy soul is all forlorn.” And isn’t that true? So all the meetings and all the prayers and all the songs and all the talks have only one purpose, to bring us to an awareness of Christ in us. Again and again, we think on these words, Christ is born in us today. Hallowed is His presence within us. Christ is born in us as faith. Christ is born in us as love. Christ is born in us as the power to help others. It is Christ in us who does the work of Unity. It is through him that prayers are answered. It is through him that you are blessed.
07 Blessing
Christmas in Silent Unity is a time for blessing you. Sometimes we wish that everyone who writes to us through the year would write to us again at Christmas so that we could send him our Christmas blessing. You are warm and close to us at Christmas. As we go into our meetings, especially as we go to pray, it is as if you were at our side. As we think of you, and speak your name, and take your need to God, we do not reach across the miles, but only from heart to heart, so we say to you, God bless your Christmas. God bless you with health.
We see your mind and body radiant with the vitality of Christ. We see life pouring through you. We see you whole and strong. God bless you with prosperity. God fill all your needs and such of your desires as will make this the happiest Christmas you ever have had. God give you the thoughts, and energy, and order you need to have success in whatever you are undertaking. God bless you with harmony. God give you the capacity to love others and make you the kind of person who draws love to you. God give you a happy spirit.
God fill your world and all our human world with peace. It was of peace the angels sang on the first Christmas. It is peace that is the gift Christ gives to anyone who lets him into his heart. This is the peace of prayer. This is the peace of God. God bless your Christmas with a sense of your oneness with him. May you rise on Christmas morning and on every day of the year and say from your deep heart’s deepest core, “Christ is born in me today. Hallowed is his presence within me.”
08 Nativity passage 1
In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered and she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7)
09 Minister’s message 1
In these times when questions about the economy have resounded in nearly everyone’s mind, pausing to remember the Christmas story can bring us a lift. The purpose of Joseph and Mary’s arduous journey to Bethlehem was to be placed on the census rolls so they could be taxed. The events of the first Christmas indicate that Mary and Joseph were having somewhat of a prosperity challenge themselves. You see, in those days, people of means would send a harbinger ahead to prepare food and lodging. As Mary was with child, they certainly would have arranged for lodging in advance if they could have afforded it. However, as we are well aware, they had to set out on their journey without being able to send a messenger ahead.
Of course, they had to spend the night in a stable where Jesus was born. The one who is hailed as Messiah, Savior, and King spent his first night in a feeding trough in a stable. By the world’s standards, this was a terrible birthing place for royalty. But by God’s standards, this was the exact place and time and circumstance. How different and how much less meaningful it would’ve been for Mary to have given birth to Jesus in a royal palace, with silk sheets on the beds, physicians attending, and scores of servants around to answer every beck and call.
Yes, Jesus’ birth itself foretold His prosperity message that was delivered nearly 30 years later, seek first His kingdom and righteousness and all these things shall be yours as well. This Christmas, perhaps we wish for greater prosperity in our lives. We may have felt that we were deserted in our moment of need, but if we seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, even within the dark stable of an earthly experience, we can find the radiant, prosperous, uplifting Christ Child lying in the manger of our soul, as did the wise man of old.
10 Silent Night
Silent night! holiest night!
All is dark save the light.
Yonder where they sweet vigil keep
O'er the Babe, who in silent sleep,
Rests in heavenly peace,
Rests in heavenly peace.
Silent night! holiest night!
Darkness flies, all is light;
Shepherds hear the angels sing;
"alleluia! hail the King!
Christ the Savior is here,
Jesus the Savior is here."
11 Nativity passage 2
And in that region, there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy, which will come to all the people. For to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among men.” (Luke 2:8-14)
12 Minister’s message 2
And on earth peace among men. Abraham Lincoln in an important speech quoted Jesus Christ when he said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” While Lincoln was speaking about this country in particular, Jesus’ message is universal. Jesus taught a message of one house, God’s house, and of one family, the family of humankind. There are many challenges facing our world today. A great many of these cannot be overcome by one nation alone, but they can all be overcome as our one household of faith pulls together in peace. The movement of universal peace cannot be legislated, cannot be won militarily, or brought about by threats of force. Universal peace begins with love in your heart and my heart. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.”
We can make peace by following the example of the Prince of Peace, in loving our fellow inhabitants of earth. We can make a beginning in bringing about peace by starting with the little things. We can be peacemakers at home in family gatherings by resolving to remain calm and gracious. We can share love at worship services by lending a helping hand, and by reaching out to visitors, we can be a real blessing on the highways by being tolerant and helpful toward others who are just as busy as we are. It may seem like too big a challenge to bring peace to the whole world, but Jesus has shown that just one person who will choose to be peaceful, kind, generous and loving in all situations can make a difference. You and I can choose to make a difference. In celebrating this Christmas, let us honor the birth of Jesus Christ by living in peace and love with each other.
13 Nativity passage 3
Behold wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, “Where is he, who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. And lo the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was.” When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. (Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11)
14 Minister’s message 3
What parent has not looked at the face of a newborn child and seen all the possibilities of greatness in him? We see in a child the potential for love and wisdom, and strength and joy. The birth of a child is a cause for rejoicing. On this special birthday, we remember some more of the wisdom shared by our honoree when he became a man. Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. The master teacher shared many lessons with us about the nature of God, the nature of man, and the kingdom of heaven. To enter the kingdom of heaven, we must become as little children. Specifically, we must be humble, receptive, and teachable. This innocence of youth is sometimes compared to the innocence of a lamb. Jesus is called the Lamb of God and the mystic poet William Blake penned a verse using this symbolism. It’s called simply The Lamb.
Little lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life and bid thee feed. By the stream and o’er the mead; gave thee clothing of delight, softest clothing wooly bright; gave thee such a tender voice, making all the vales rejoice. Little lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Little lamb, I’ll tell thee. Little lamb, I’ll tell thee. He is called by thy name, for he calls himself a lamb. He is meek & he is mild, he became a little child. I a child and thou a lamb, we are called by his name. Little lamb, God bless thee. Little lamb, God bless thee.
Yes, the truly wise person who worships the birth of the Christ is one who is gentle, humble, and receptive to God’s truth. He is open to learn, to listen, and to accept inspiration. God cannot illuminate a closed mind. The wise man of the Christmas story bowed before a baby. They recognized the greatness of the infant Jesus. But in Bible symbolism, they pointed the way to the kingdom of God. To become as little children, we must be seekers of truth, learners of wisdom, and followers of the Christ to enter God’s kingdom.
15 O Little Town of Bethlehem
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
16 Call to prayer
Christmas is a time of wonder, of joy, of prayer. The birth of the baby, Jesus Christ, so long ago brought a sense of peace and awe to the world. Christmas is not just something that happened long ago and far away. It is an event that happens in the heart of each of us.
We are uplifted. We are inspired. We are transformed in thinking and feeling as we join in the celebration of the return to awareness that God is ever with His human children. We are not alone. We are never alone. God’s own perfect idea of us supports and sustains us. The living Christ indwells us as surely as it did that beloved babe in a manger so many years ago.
As we enter now into a time of prayer together, let us tune into that presence of God surrounding, uplifting, and sustaining us. We are divinely guided, divinely healed, divinely prospered. Everything good and holy about life becomes real for us now as we celebrate the rebirth of the Christ in consciousness.
17 The light of Christ fills my mind
For a few moments, still your busy thinking. Quietly let everything that worries or concerns you recede into the back of your mind. Take some time to become aware of the divinity of this moment. You are never separated from the holy place of prayer. The secret place of the most high is within you, the source of all strength, wisdom, love, and joy. Turn now to that center of truth within and we will base our time of prayer on a series of statements affirming our oneness with God. The light of Christ fills my mind.
The light of Christ fills my mind.
The light of Christ wells up within me to guide and direct my every step in perfect harmony with my world. No matter what puzzling circumstance may confront me, I know that through the divine light of Christ within, every decision is made perfectly clear. I trust divine guidance to show me the way. What is true for me is true for others also. I think now of my loved ones, family, and friends, and know the truth that each of them is divinely guided in all his actions. The light of Christ fills your mind.
The light of Christ fills your mind.
18 The life of Christ fills my body
Just as my mind is filled with the divine light of Christ, so my body is filled with the healing, renewing, vitalizing energy of Christ. I can know this truth for myself. The life of Christ fills my body.
The life of Christ fills my body.
Every atom, every cell, every organ of my being is filled to overflowing with the healing life of Christ. All aspects of my physical being are brought into perfect balance now. I feel youthful, healthy, and energetic. All imperfection, disease, and disorder are now released. I am one with the all-powerful, all-restoring life of Christ. I turn my thought now to my friends and loved ones, and indeed to anyone in the world who has a healing need. I call these friends to mind and speak the healing word for them with feeling and power. The life of Christ fills your body.
The life of Christ fills your body.
19 The love of Christ fills my heart
I relax now knowing that God’s perfect life does its restoring work quickly and surely. The light of Christ guides me. The life of Christ heals me, and the love of Christ brings harmony and order into every aspect of my life. The love of Christ fills My heart.
The love of Christ fills my heart.
The love of Christ shines through me to bless every person I meet, every situation I face, or think about. I am a blessing to the world as I allow the beautiful, harmonious love of Christ to express its perfect activity in and through me. By knowing love, feeling love, and seeking love in every person and every situation, I bring perfect harmony into my own mind and heart. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I see God’s love indwelling me, and I see it indwelling my friends, loved ones, and national and international leaders. The love of Christ working in and through all God’s children brings peace and harmony to the world. I speak the word now for others. The love of Christ fills Your heart.
The love of Christ fills your heart.
20 The substance of Christ fills my affairs
God’s world is a world of abundance. My own inner Christ is the source of ideas that I use to create prosperity in my life. The substance of Christ fills my affairs.
The substance of Christ fills my affairs.
For every need in my life, the right and perfect fulfillment comes to me through the working of my own inner Christ. There is a river of prosperity flowing through me. I catch the idea of divine substance as the source of everything good in my life, and I bless people and organizations as channels of that good. I see abundance everywhere, and I am in tune with financial, physical, and mental prosperity. In God’s world of abundance, there can be no lack. This is true for myself as well as my loved ones. The truth for others is this, the substance of Christ fills your affairs.
The substance of Christ fills your affairs.
21 The beauty of Christ shines forth through me
My life is abundantly blessed with the riches of spirit. The gifts of spirit are mine when I allow them to express themselves through me. The beauty of Christ shines forth through me as faith and freedom, joy and courage, power and peace. The beauty of Christ shines forth through me as faith and freedom, joy and courage, power and peace.
The beauty of Christ shines forth through me as faith and freedom, joy and courage, power and peace.
I am one with all that is good and true in my life, the world, and the universe. As I lift up my thoughts above the tiresome, troublesome parts of life, I begin to express more and more of God’s perfection. I see myself as a divine being, one with God. This is the truth for me, and it is the truth for others. The beauty of Christ shines forth through you as faith and freedom, joy and courage, power and peace.
The beauty of Christ shines forth through you as faith and freedom, joy and courage, power and peace.
22 Christ is made manifest in me
All the goodness of God becomes real for me as the indwelling Christ. The Christ is my connection with God, the source of everything true, beautiful, and wonderful in the world. My life is filled with blessings as I allow the fullness of the Christ to be made manifest in me. This is my prayer of fulfillment. Christ is made manifest in me.
Christ is made manifest in me.
The birth of the Christ Child long ago set the stage for all of humankind to become aware of its true nature. I know that I am a spiritual being. I believe in the indwelling Christ. My fulfillment is accomplished through the activity of God within. Christ is my fulfillment, and Christ is the fulfillment of my human brothers and sisters everywhere. I expand my thought now to include all members of this divine human race, and I speak these words with belief, trust, and power. Christ is made manifest in you.
Christ is made manifest in you.
23 The Prince of Peace reigns in every heart
Even as the golden flames of our Christmas candles burn brightly, so does our zeal for you rise high and strong within us, oh, Christ. Burning steadfastly in our souls, lighting our way, and shining through us to illumine every darkened corner in the world.
For to us, a child is born. To us, a son is given. The government will be up on his shoulder and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus Christ came to show us that nothing the world offers can prevail against the person with the heart of perfect peace. Jesus Christ’s trust in God was so great that nothing shook him, nothing disturbed him, nothing could distract him from his mission. There was a great need for peace in the world during his time, just as there is a great need for peace in the world now.
Peace is not a decision of nations. It is not something that can be brought about on a national level, so long as there are disquiet, unrest, and hatred dwelling within the people of that nation. Peace is an individual responsibility, yours and mine. Maybe you and I will never discuss world peace with national leaders. Maybe we will never tell them directly that we want peace instead of war, life instead of death, love instead of hatred. But we can send them messages of peace, which will reach them even more surely than a registered letter or a telephone call. We send out messages of peace when we establish the consciousness of peace within ourselves. Peace in the world begins with a peaceful heart. The Prince of Peace reigns in every heart. His influence is felt in all nations, and love is born anew among men.
The Prince of Peace reigns in every heart. His influence is felt in all nations, and love is born anew among men.
24 The Prayer for Protection
In this joyous season, let our final prayer for ourselves and for our world be the unity prayer for protection.
The light of God surrounds us. The love of God enfolds us. The power of God protects us. The presence of God watches over us. Wherever we are, God is.
25 Joy To the World
Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n and heav'n and nature sing.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders of His love.
