“Wise Women also came” by Jan Richardson (purchased download from https://janrichardsonimages.com)
“Be the womb. Become Bethlehem... ”
Friends and fellow travelers,
Tired but gratefully cradling hope (and all of you) we arrive at Epiphany Eve, another threshold night on our 12 Days of Christmas journey. We have come a long way. Starting at the manger in a humble stable, probably more humble than usual in this age and time, we walked through desert and plains, pausing at the threshold between the years and from there back one more time to the manger scene.
This year, “God with us” is more real to us than ever before. Touchable, kissable, holdable. Our little daughter reminds us every day of the Divine life breathed in each of us (even or may be especially when she keeps us up at night…), the face of God in every child.
With her we have walked, slowly and mostly peacefully on our pilgrimage together, looking at our Christmas symbols anew through the eyes of a child. And as many households this year also ours was riven by fresh grief having lost a parent this Advent season. So we walked slower than usual, holding our hearts and each other more than usual, celebrating life more than usual.
When little one kept me awake this night deciding to nurse I gazed upon her anew: Only Divine Wisdom could have come up with the story of Divine birth. No braggadocio. No display of worldly power. Just a mother, father and child on their journey together through time, earthly, embodied, interdependent, incarnate.
Walking with Hildegard of Bingen to the stable
In her Christmas homilies the medieval Abbess Hildegard of Bingen invites us to translate the Epiphany story (when the three kings arrive at the manger, and mad King Herod fears the “newborn king” might get all the attention…, Matthew 2,1-12) into the soul’s journey towards new life. Without questioning the historic validity of the story Hildegard invites us here to read the text almost like a dream or fairytale, in order to unpack the rich symbolism it holds. The three kings, says Hildegard (and I now translate freely and into modern language), symbolize the well educated mind, filled with all sorts of worldly wisdom and knowledge. But then a star in the East arises, just where the sun awakens, like a guide from beyond, pulling them on a journey towards their "heart's knowledge."
Following the promise of this star led them away from all the cherished stars they held before, even away from their own stardom. This star "which went before them in upright perception and wisdom," led them to "God's grace" swaddled in the clothes of an innocent child. They found Divine gifts in this little child, gifts which would frighten rulers and threaten their worldly powers. Their heart's knowledge enabled them to see the Divine gifts and to follow the star. When they found the "new king," surprised by the sight of a newborn, they rejoiced in the wisdom of the Divine knowledge. "Their souls tasted heavenly things."
Though arriving in Bethlehem at the scene of the birth the three seekers also arrive in that innermost “chamber,”… “where the sinner lets go of sins and holiness arises,” as Hildegard has it in her allegorical language. Overcome by that very moment they open their heart and offer their innermost riches (again in my own words): gold, the beginning of Divine knowledge, frankincense, the becoming transparent to our shortcomings, myrrh, the deepening of the self.
Dear fellow traveler, let me try a modern interpretation here coming from Hildegard’s dense (and difficult…) read:
The Journey of the three kings - our inner pilgrimage
Hildegard helps us to see that we have, all along, already been traveling with the wise (wo)men on their journey. This is the journey of the heart cradling hope we have walked on these 12 days of Christmas, to the place where Divine wisdom dwells, away from what we considered urgent and important and towards the living light, who wants to dwell in us. It is a journey from “dead” knowledge to “living” knowledge, when the eternal spirit becomes alive in the human heart.
The little child - birthing hope and grace
So who is the new king? A little tender child, symbol for peaceful innocence (or as the German theologian Paul Tillich has it: “dreaming innocence”) cradled by Mary, mother of all wisdom. There is no doubt in Hildegard’s reading that this child is to be born in each of us, the spark of hope and peace, kindled by eternity.
This inner child is not childish, but offers childlike innocence, as when Jesus calls us to become childlike. This may be what Kierkegaard called the second immediacy, an innocence one re-kindles only after having grown out of initial childhood. The child becomes the “savior” / healer, when it becomes the inborn child, birthing grace and hope into the pilgrim’s heart.
The evil king Herod - the shadow self’s deceptions
But wait. I guess what you want to say. You know exactly who that evil king Herod is who plays nice to the faithful just to trick them into worshipping him instead of the Divine child. We know exactly who that proud man looks like, killing the innocent children of the land. Well, I am sure the story translates just as well into our public sphere today.
But this is not where Hildegard’s interpretation is leading us. Hildegard works in the long monastic tradition of inner movements, in the same way we today think of working with dreams: all the figures in our dream belong to our inner workings and are part of our own inner self.
So sorry to say, Herod is within us, too. We might understand him as the shadow or false self, the deceptive part of the ego who does not want to let go of its own importance, silencing any Divine spark calling to us from the deeper self.
To Bethlehem - our heart’s heart
The King’s journey to Bethlehem becomes the interior pilgrimage to our heart’s heart, shedding all excess baggage and ballast, and revealing our innermost being. It is here where we find our true self, not as something waiting to be picked up but as our heart’s maturing on the way.
Thus, our 12 Days of Christmas journey does not come in pre-packed wisdom bits and pieces, but instead becomes a laborious gathering up, walking, and deepening every year anew guided by a star from beyond…
Friends, here is the good news. We are all Bethlehem. We are all vessels of the Almighty. We are all Mary. We are all the womb able to deliver the good news into our time. We are also the wise (wo)men on the way. At Christmas and beyond.
And may
Divine grace and
hope
be born in us and
dwell in us
anew
Amen
This post has been part of our 12 Days of Christmas Series 2020/21: Cradling Hope, a Contemplative Journey towards the heart of Christmas. To access our 12 Days archive click here. To share your thoughts with us, write us here or comment below. Also, make sure to get on our newsletter below (or use the pop up window) to be updated about our next projects. Thank you.
Peace and Blessings, Almut & Chuck
PS: For a more scholarly read (and use) on Hildegard you can download my entry for The Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Religion, John Wiley & Sons, 2021.
