Holy Night 12
January 4-5 – Sagittarius
During the 12th night the crowns won are placed at the feet of the divine, because we have struggled against ourselves, but what we have wrung from it is grace, is the law of the spirit. Because grace is a stream from a source that a human being cannot reach with human power. Now is the start and end of a spaceless time – timeless space. Now everything is eternal and holy! Sagittarius’ power striving towards the goal must be directed in this way, so that it can take up the spiritual Good it receives.
We must now take on into our lives what we have recognised and received in the twelve holy nights, and spiritualise matter and the soul.
Rudolf Steiner’s indications for the Holy Nights given to Herbert Hahn
Translation from German by Laura Zanutto 2015 and Mark Willan 2016
12. Heilige Nacht
4./5. Januar – Schütze
In der 12. Nacht wird die errungene Krone zu Füssen des Göttlichen niedergelegt, denn wir haben sie zwar selbst erkämpft, aber daß wir sie erringen durften ist Gnade, ist Gesetz des Geistigen. Denn Gnade ist Zustrom aus einer Quelle, die der Mensch mit menschlicher Kraft nicht zu erreichen vermag. Nun wird Anfang und Ende eines, raumlose Zeit – zeitloser Raum. Alles ist ewiges, heiliges Jetzt! Die zielstrebigen Kräfte des Schützen müssen so eingesetzt werden, daß er geistiges Gut in Empfang nehmen kann.
Das, was wir in den zwölf Heiligen Nächten erkannt und empfangen haben, müssen wir nun in das Leben hineintragen und die Materie und das Seelische durchgeistigen. R. Steiner
Contemplation 12: Kristina Kaine
At the end of the Holy Nights we can look back and see that a transformation takes place step by step. What is transformed? To answer this question we can ask ourselves what has changed in us through these nights. Are we different? How can we tell?
It is so simple: do we love more? Do we look upon everything we see in a more loving way? Can we see that imperfections are a step on the road to perfection?
The idea of placing the crowns won at the feet of the divine reminds us of the foot washing prior to the last supper. Why foot washing? Don’t we usually wash our hands before we eat? To wash the feet of another person is a loving act. It is an eternal act of love, once performed it is there forever. “I come not to be served but to serve,” Jesus said. We considered several different ways we can serve through these nights.
At the core of it all is the fact that we are not yet fully human. We are a work in progress. What we must understand is that we cannot become fully human without Christ. This is why he came to this earth and this is why Jesus was prepared since the beginning of time.
Too many people reject Christ, or don’t know what to make of him, yet we cannot say that we are working on our spiritual development if we exclude Christ and Jesus. When we discover the real Christ and the real Jesus we will truly love.
Christ is not a sentimental, mystical figure, he is frightening! He appears as a blinding penetrating light. St Paul knew this firsthand (see Acts 9). He was blind for three days and was put off his food.
This is not a meeting we want to have unprepared. But how do we prepare? The best possible way is to develop a love for Christ. Not a mushy, mystical love, but a rigorous, thoughtful love. We do this by discovering the facts about the two Jesus’, the baptism, the three year journey to the crucifixion, and the details of the resurrection. Most of all, understanding the resurrection brings us face to face with Christ in this world and in our lives, today.
“When we permeate our knowledge with the experience of love, then our knowledge can approach the mystery of Golgotha” Rudolf Steiner 18 February 1923
Thank you for walking with me through these nights and I hope you will revisit each night through the months of the year ahead.
I highly recommend two books by Prokofieff which explore the deeper secrets of Rudolf Steiner’s Christology
The Mystery of the Resurrection
Image: At The Threshold by Iris Yve
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