What is the true meaning, and purpose, of Christmas? Is it true that Christ came to this world to cleanse us of our spiritual defilement, so we could go to heaven? Is there a difference between physical and spiritual defilement? What does it mean to be defiled spiritually, anyway? These questions, and more, are taken up by John and his uncle in the ensuing dialogue.
John: Uncle, perhaps we now can address some of the issues I raised with you some days ago, regarding the mission of Christ on earth.
Uncle: Very well, John. How do you suggest we proceed?
John: I would you to explain, once again, what you meant when you told me that the message of Christ was intended to save from further our spiritual defilement.
Uncle: Let us start form the meaning of the word ‘defilement’ itself. To defile something is to undermine its original state of purity, to contaminate it or make it unclean. Do you agree?
John: Yes, but the concept of ‘spiritual’ defilement is another matter, sir.
Uncle: Yes, but look at it this way. Once we act against the laws of God, we deviate from what is good for us and human souls who want to go to heaven. In fact, we can then be likened to a lamp whose light is dimmed because a veil has been cast over it.
John: Oh, I see! But how is that a form of defilement?
Uncle: Remember that we agreed that to defile something is “to undermine its original state of purity, to contaminate it or make it unclean.”?
John: Yes, we did.
Uncle: Good. Now, the human being can be described as defiled, or contaminated, spiritually when something that detracts from its original nature is associated with it.
John: I am not quite sure I understand you clearly here, sir. Perhaps you can link what you just said to what a preacher said at a recent wedding party I attended. He gave a quotation from the bible(the 11th verse of the 15thchapter of the book of Matthew), where Christ was reported to have said to some Scribes and Pharisees: “It is not what goeth into the mouth that defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the man…”
Uncle: Well, what of it?
John: A man who drinks dirty water will become sick. “My question now is: How could it possibly be true that it is only what comes out of a man that can cause defilement?” The entire thing contradicts common sense and I do not know what to make of it.
Uncle: If a human being is just the physical body we see every day walking the streets, then whatever harmful, or unclean, substance we put into the body has defiled the complete human being. But if our relationship with the body is like that between a driver and his car, then it would be not be correct to say that we are defiled simply because our body has been contaminated.
John: Hmmm. But someone who falls sick from drinking contaminated water has suffered defilement of some sort, wouldn’t you say?
John: Yes, he has, indeed. But he has only suffered ‘physical’ defilement.
John: Physical defilement?
Uncle: Yes. For instance, your clothes may be soiled, for one reason or the other, while you are in excellent health.
John: Hmmm, this is all sounding a bit peculiar; I must say.
Uncle: We cannot say that someone is sick because his clothes are unclean. We also cannot say that a driver is sick because his car, which is an instrument designed to carry him from one place to another, is not functioning properly.
John: I think I can see all that quite clearly now. but does this have nay bearing on our discussion?
Uncle: Yes, it does. Only spiritual defilement can be described as true defilement of the real human being. So, to defile the body is not quite the same thing as to defile the man.
John: From the analogy of the dress and its owner I think your point is easy to see,
Uncle. Uncle: Now, going back to the Mission of Christ, the priests, Sadducees and the Pharisees he met in Israel focused more on physical cleanliness and ignored the things that could lead us astray.
John: And what are those things, if I may ask?
Uncle: They include disobedience to the commandments of the Almighty. That is why He urged the children of Israel to focus on what really mattered and be saved from spiritual death.
John: I still don’t quite get it.
Uncle: It is what we think, what we say and what we do that could bring us good or bad karma. They are like seeds we sow into creation, with each seed producing its kind and returning it to the sower.
John: Sorry, Uncle, could you explain the sowing and reaping part again. I want to know what this has to do with all we are trying to say about what defiles a man, please.
Uncle: If you annoy someone and he gives you a slap, you have sown and reaped something unpleasant.
John: Yes.
Uncle: If you drink a glass of poison, it will kill the cells of your body and the body will stop working, leading to physical death, right?
John: Yes.
Uncle: But since the body is only a covering for your spirit here on earth, the way a shirt is a covering for your physical body. So, the death of the body is not the end of the real you, the soul, is it?
John: No, it is not! Even from your earlier analogy, the destruction of a shirt does not mean that the person wearing it is destroyed.
Uncle: Precisely! The thoughts, words and actions of a human being that can create bad karma for him are things that “proceed out of him.” Sin undermines the spirit, hangs on it like an external, inferior or inappropriate attachment that is not original to its true nature. This is the defilement I mean that Christ came to save us from.
John: But how do I ensure that that I do not reap what someone else has sown? There are no policemen in these things; and I don’t really understand how it works.
Uncle: Let me explain it with an example. If you make a hole in the ground and put one grain of corn, one bean seed and one grain of rice into this single hole and water them, they will all sprout and grow according to their kind, will they not?
John: Of course, they will!
Uncle: Christ came with a Message of Salvation, to guide us away from thoughts, words and actions that could bring us negative spiritual consequences.
John: Oh, I see. But, sorry to take us back, I cannot see where these laws of nature you mentioned are written down.
Uncle: It is Nature’s decree, for instance, that whoever breathes in must breathe out. You cannot wake up one morning and say that you will not obey this law, even though it is not written down anywhere. Would you like to try, perhaps?
John: Oh, I beg your pardon; uncle! Okay, there are laws we don’t know about in life until we try to disobey them. But what if someone dodges the returning evil results of another person’s actions and it hits someone else and brings the unfortunate victim some ill fortune? Some smart people may escape this whole thing.
Uncle: That is not possible. Think of the three different seeds sown into in the same the same hole. It is in the same way that various seeds take only what they need from the same soil that good and bad volitions develop and bring their fruits to the originators.
John: So, you are saying that there cannot be any mistakes in such things?
Uncle: No, there can be no mistakes.
John: You are saying that spiritual defilement cannot occur unless a man’s heart sends out evil thoughts, words and actions that then draws bad currents to him?
Uncle: That is an absolute miracle of a summary by you, John! Yes, that is what I am saying.
John: But I would still plead that you still simplify it further with yet another example.
Uncle: If you go to a restaurant and request for a plate of food and it is given to you, surely, we can say that you asked for the food you got, right?
John: Of course!
Uncle: If what you ordered leads to you having a sour taste in your mouth, we can say that it was you who asked for what brought the sour taste into your mouth?
John: Well yes, we can say that.
Uncle: Just as nothing in a hotel kitchen will come to your table and enter your mouth, except you ask for it, so will no radiation in Creation approach you without you first giving cause for it.
John: You are saying, sir, that it is just our only actions and decisions, rather than our circumstances, which determine our spiritual welfare?
Uncle: That is correct. That is also why the celebration of Christmas should really be a festival of thanksgiving to the Almighty for sending One who could show us the way to the right type of thoughts, words and actions.
John: But, Uncle, have you considered that poverty could drive people into doing all sorts of things? Surely hunger can make a man to steal or become an outright criminal! Can we not excuse such a person?
Uncle: It is not hunger that leads a man to steal, but an act of his will, a decision. It is not just the world around us that makes us to commit murder, but our rejection of the commandments of the Almighty and our decision to operate as renegades in Creation. It is not desperation that pushes people to deeds of madness, but the condition of the core of their spiritual being.
John: That sounds rather harsh, sir! Surely some excuse can be found for many wrong things that people do.
Uncle: That excuse is usually invented by people who are dishonest with themselves. It is best to always think over everything before we speak or act. Following the teachings of Christ is a strong help in that regard and an antidote to spiritual defilement. That is what we should celebrate this Christmas season: commitment to that antidote to spiritual defilement and eternal damnation that Christ brought.
John: I am most grateful for the explanations and your time, Uncle.
Uncle: You are most welcome, John.
