For all who wonder how to make sense of Divine birth the rest of the year. With a little help from my favorite depth psychologists: Søren Kierkegaard and C.G. Jung (and a dash of Rumi)
I too cherish the vision of Mary nurturing "the word" every day as Meister Eckhart wrote that we must "birth Christ" everyday. I can see how some might think that Mary might need Joseph's " wisdom to temper her ego but I have always thought of her as strong in her knowledge of what she needed to do. I always think of her as a the first 'warrior" of social justice. Her Magnificat gives me shivers when I hear it or read it. Hmm... maybe I think of her as a "sister" not a mother?
I really have not given much interest in Joseph at all but now that you have opened it up I will have to give it thought.
You are so right about it, Melodie, and thank you for your intriguing response! You know these inner readings make only sense when we read them as inner readings. It does not mean a woman needs a men to do her task. It means I myself need wisdom in order to temper my ego impulses. I am Mary and I am also Joseph. It is like in dream work. We are usually all figures of the dream. They express aspects of our selves, some overdeveloped some underdeveloped. Does that make sense?
Completely. We have to read them as inner, eventually to be whole. My first response was of course my over developed side. But, I still want to flesh out Joseph. Enjoying reading your work.
I have long cherished the knowledge of nurturing within my being the presence of God , of my somehow bringing forth the Divine in this place, of nurturing its growth through my presence . Images of Mary tendering her child were such healing ones for me - for the way in which she cherishes the precious in them.
What is striking for me in this reading is the presence of Joseph , clearly a figure in the background , if not completely absent, for me until now. As I sit with this awareness I wonder what safeguarding, steady wisdom I might need to bring forth in myself in order to more fully make space for Love to truly blossom in me.
Vicky, thank you so much for your kind reply. Yes, Joseph has not gotten much press, yet, didn’t he? So we try since some years to ponder him, too, when we do our 12 days of Christmas. This time I learned something new form Hildegard of Bingen looking at Joseph as wisdom who guards our spiritual pregnancy and delivery. You can find it here: https://almutfurchert.substack.com/p/the-third-day-of-christmas-learning
Happy birthday, Almut! My mother used to remind us of an old saying that what you do on your birthday foretells your actions for the rest of the year. Today on your birthday you bless all of us with beautiful words- thank you! A wonderful year lies ahead.
I love the Jungian look at the holy family. It reminds me of Meister Eckart preaching that we must all become pregnant with the Christ child. Where could I read more of Jung's thought on this topic?
Thank you, Todd, and thanks for being here! Yes, I did not give the source, didn’t I? I have written this essay first quite a while ago so I will need to look it up. Meister Eckhart, yes. Another allegorical reading of Christmas. I also like his take on virginity as exactly that being open to walk pregnant with the Divine. I really like that.
I too cherish the vision of Mary nurturing "the word" every day as Meister Eckhart wrote that we must "birth Christ" everyday. I can see how some might think that Mary might need Joseph's " wisdom to temper her ego but I have always thought of her as strong in her knowledge of what she needed to do. I always think of her as a the first 'warrior" of social justice. Her Magnificat gives me shivers when I hear it or read it. Hmm... maybe I think of her as a "sister" not a mother?
I really have not given much interest in Joseph at all but now that you have opened it up I will have to give it thought.
You are so right about it, Melodie, and thank you for your intriguing response! You know these inner readings make only sense when we read them as inner readings. It does not mean a woman needs a men to do her task. It means I myself need wisdom in order to temper my ego impulses. I am Mary and I am also Joseph. It is like in dream work. We are usually all figures of the dream. They express aspects of our selves, some overdeveloped some underdeveloped. Does that make sense?
Completely. We have to read them as inner, eventually to be whole. My first response was of course my over developed side. But, I still want to flesh out Joseph. Enjoying reading your work.
I have long cherished the knowledge of nurturing within my being the presence of God , of my somehow bringing forth the Divine in this place, of nurturing its growth through my presence . Images of Mary tendering her child were such healing ones for me - for the way in which she cherishes the precious in them.
What is striking for me in this reading is the presence of Joseph , clearly a figure in the background , if not completely absent, for me until now. As I sit with this awareness I wonder what safeguarding, steady wisdom I might need to bring forth in myself in order to more fully make space for Love to truly blossom in me.
Vicky, thank you so much for your kind reply. Yes, Joseph has not gotten much press, yet, didn’t he? So we try since some years to ponder him, too, when we do our 12 days of Christmas. This time I learned something new form Hildegard of Bingen looking at Joseph as wisdom who guards our spiritual pregnancy and delivery. You can find it here: https://almutfurchert.substack.com/p/the-third-day-of-christmas-learning
Brilliant!! A riveting new take on the holy family and what they can reveal to us and in us!
Wow, Thank you, Christine! Sometimes old wisdom reads like brand new 😇
Dear Almut,
happy birthday! Have a day of joy and rich moments to take with you in the whole coming year.
Thank you for the beautiful music and the dense thoughts of the soul, wisdom and divine child in us!
It seems to be easier to look inside, but...
Vielen lieben Dank!
Happy birthday, Almut.
I am
New to your message, finding it so thought provoking and meaningful. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Sue, and welcome here at my cloister of the heart ❤️. Thought provoking and meaningful is a great compliment. So good to hear. 🙏
Happy birthday, Almut! My mother used to remind us of an old saying that what you do on your birthday foretells your actions for the rest of the year. Today on your birthday you bless all of us with beautiful words- thank you! A wonderful year lies ahead.
Oh, thank you so much, Eva. And bless you for sharing your wise mother’s words. I will ponder them in my heart 😇
I love the Jungian look at the holy family. It reminds me of Meister Eckart preaching that we must all become pregnant with the Christ child. Where could I read more of Jung's thought on this topic?
Thank you, Todd, and thanks for being here! Yes, I did not give the source, didn’t I? I have written this essay first quite a while ago so I will need to look it up. Meister Eckhart, yes. Another allegorical reading of Christmas. I also like his take on virginity as exactly that being open to walk pregnant with the Divine. I really like that.