What does it mean to bring the Christ spirit? This is the Christmas season, celebrating the birth of a particular child, someone whose life was dedicated to allowing the spirit of Christ to be manifest and expressed through the human experience. We celebrate it because Jesus’ life was a reminder that this is what we are designed to do. He did not declare it was his alone. His consistent message was of invitation, of welcome, a reminder of what is possible. And when I woke up the other day I was thinking about not only the celebration of his birth but the longing I felt for him to know his heart’s desire, that his prayer would be answered. It is evident how much he had prayed and asked for friends to do this with him. Constantly the invitation was “Do this with me.”

The message on this day is still “Do this with me.” Let us have a body of people revealing the Christ spirit together. That would be a victory and true honoring of the Christ spirit brought by Jesus. I have a very strong sense that I came to do this: to reveal the truth of who I am as part of a body of people.

I made a list this morning of some of the qualities of the Christ. We could think of the spirit of Christ coming through the individual human being named Jesus. He was a little Jewish boy, he visited the synagogue, he healed the sick, and he was crucified. We can think of all the stories. But what was his spirit?

Joy. His thrill to be alive and to serve.

Conscious Creating. He knew that his presence could create heaven on earth. Do you know that about yourself? Are you open to be the womb space where this energy can come from the invisible into the earth and create a living space of heaven on earth? That is the Christ spirit.

Pleasure. This is something you don’t read about much in the Bible or in his stories. “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) It is common in our culture, religious or otherwise, to think of pleasure as sinful, indulgent, self-centered. It is possibly that way because we think of pleasure as coming from outside ourselves, from our environment. That may include substances and/or other people. It may include the weather. I know pleasure when I have had a good meal on a sunny day with my best friend. That’s a triple pleasure from that perspective. The purest, most satisfying form of pleasure is to allow the kingdom to come in and be released, to allow your spirit to be released into your world. Allowing the revelation of yourself to be holy and wholesome, where everything you touch is magnified with joy, everything you do brings happiness, everything you say is a blessing. Is that not the pleasure of the kingdom coming through you, the Christ spirit?

Holiness and sacredness. Again, culture and religion have claimed these words and define them as something unique to people who follow certain criteria—people who obey the rules of a church are holy. When I am holding an infant in my arms, I am in awe of the sacredness I touch. It is a holy experience. There are no rules being followed. That babe is just being. I am touching the most primal spiritual reality. There is the Christ spirit unabashedly present. Let us not deny that it is still present in ourselves and we are capable of bringing the Christ spirit in our expression.

There is a passage in Matthew (18:3): “Except ye…become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” You want to know your true spirit? Come as a child. Forget what you have been taught by the religions and cultures of the world. You can know your own holiness and sacredness in this moment.

I invite you to be fully present in your body. Welcome the Christ spirit, welcome your spirit into your body. Feel the wholesomeness of this physical form you have, allow the expression of yourself, the Christ spirit, to come through you. Bring the tidings of great joy, declaring that you are here on earth to bring that spirit through you. Feel your sacredness in your body, in your heart, in your thoughts, in the ability you have to bless the world. Tidings of great joy are here because you are here. Say it with me—“Alleluia!” I am here!

We are present to bring the holy Word. Did you feel something in your body when you were saying that? You can do that anytime, any moment, because we are designed to let the Christ spirit be magnified, designed to do this together. The true second coming of the Christ happens when there is the substance of a body of people doing it together. The Comforter comes. There is joy in the world.

At this time of year we sing “Joy to the World!” Why? Because we remember something that happened a long time ago? Yes, there is an honoring of Jesus’ birth. And I say alleluia because we are alive and we can bring this together. Can you sustain it during the holiday season? How about for a day? How about the rest of your life? Most people will not own or sustain their ability to bring their greatness, their holiness into the world.

At Christmastime I see signs asking “Do you believe?” I’m sure the reference is to Santa Claus. How about “Do you believe you are holy and can bring the Christ spirit into the world?” Oh, the wonder of it all! This is true Christmas magic. This time of year we sing the Christmas carol “O Come, All Ye Faithful”—O come, those who are faithful to their own Christ spirit, faithful to the reality that they are built to do this. What Jesus, the man, did was remind you of who you are and why you are here. Be thankful. Be still. Be radiant.

Here are some of the other things that are of the Christ spirit: stillness, wisdom, vision, direction, passion, design. I am up for that! This is what I want to be doing for the rest of my living days. Bring direction and design and the passion of the joy of being alive. May Emmanuel be known because he comes through us. “O come, O come, Emmanuel”— the spirit of the living Christ in human form through us today.

For many years I have been aware that this is a time of year when people are touching their own generous spirit. I have been taught by people wiser than me that it is a good time to take advantage of bringing the Christ spirit, because when there are increased numbers of people being generous they are open to seeing something about themselves—not just about the gifts they are giving and the gifts they are receiving. They get to feel that spirit.

I remember, as a young girl, thinking things had to happen for me to get the Christmas spirit. We had to bake cookies; we had to put up the tree. How wonderful to be mature enough to know that this is available every moment of our lives. We can bring the Christ spirit now. Joy, ecstasy. Are you up for some ecstasy? To be a creator, to know unceasing pleasure?

It doesn’t mean that there isn’t discomfort in the transition from the way things are to the way things could be. But the pleasure of being part of a body of people bringing the Christ spirit is nourishing, nourishing to the individual and to the world. Bringing holiness and sacredness is basic to our nature. Wholesomeness, sacredness—it is who we are. Passion, blessed stillness, wisdom and vision from on high; direction, design, the revelation of light and love and life. Alleluia! Thank you for being here and bringing your Christ spirit on this day.