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The holy parents needed a place to birth the Divine. In the midst of the Mother, the earth, the straw, the sky, the animals, Mary accepted and fulfilled the humble act of a woman in sacrifice of self into the pain of childbirth. The sacred space was blessed and marked with the sign of the sky, a brilliant star.
The sacred space held elements that made it holy. It was marked by a sign of the star. Joseph had found the various things that were needed for it to be comfortable. There was a sense of a boundary in which Mary would have privacy. The natural instruments of cloth and water were available for delivery of this child.
With the birth, Mary and Joseph were joined by the community to praise God for this wonderful thing that had happened. The sacred space provided the opportunity for believers to gather. The sacred space held their intuitive attitude of faith. Their God-sense knew that this was a miraculous birth. The shepherds and the Wise[persons] found their way to sit at the feet of this duo of faithfulness. Gifts were left as expressions of adoration and respect. This sacred space allowed for God to be revealed in God’s way.
This birth prompted the expression of the Shadow. Herod’s power was threatened. He had all two-year-old babies killed. This birth could have put in jeopardy his own political power. Jesus was too threatening. Herod exposed the dilemma of the human psyche. We are in fear and threat of the potential of God in our lives and how our own plans may be altered because of God being revealed in God’s way. We allow the expression of the divine child within ourselves, and are led by spiritual power that is not our own. Yet, we are aware that the shadow of darkness in our personality could put out the Light of this continuous Birth. We attempt to name the sin and ask for God’s forgiveness and with that comes the washing away of the darkness for the Light to continue to manifest.
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We now allow this remembrance of the birth of the Christ to give us guidance for the creation of the sacred space in our own lives. The creation of a spot, a room, or a specific setting is an outward manifestation of behavior, which activates the finding of the holy space within ourselves. The quieting of our thoughts happens more easily in a space that has become familiar for the purpose of centering into the Heart of God. Like Joseph, we bring useful materials into this sacred space. These materials help to reacquaint us with the God reality. Our Bibles and other inspirational literature, our journals, our icons, and familiar things given by spiritual friends, who hold us accountable, are close by, helping to draw us into a spiritual consciousness that allows us to move into the Mystery of God so that more of God can be revealed to us. We make provision to move into God’s space within and without for God to be revealed in God’s way.
It is easy to see how Joseph’s efforts of creating the sacred space manifested in such a profound way. But, we wonder how our being in silence and waiting for God in our own holy spot can make any difference in our spiritual formation. We act in ritual by moving into a specific space that we have created, whether by an overt act of creation of the material elements, or by an intuitive decision to allow an environment or relationship to be that space for us. This ritual provides a safe way to connect with the numinosum, the transcendent energy of God. We come to the space to be open for God to do God’s work within us. We give God permission to do the work. We choose to be willing to give God our full attention. This creation of the sacred space requires self discipline, years of habit, and a willing heart to be available to God.
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