Today we celebrate the birth of 

the unknown,

Who came to earth as all men of a 

mother born,

He proclaimed himself unique coming

to atone,

For the sins of all mankind

so forlorn.

Such pain he took upon himself,

his body,

Suffering death for a truth he

proclaimed,

Crucified as a criminal by the Romans, 

so haughty,

His body nailed to wood, bleeding

and maimed.

He died, a sacrifice it is said to 

human sin,

A mysterious, magical concept hard 

to assess,

Another miracle—he rose from the dead to 

live again,

That’s what other’s saw–me? I’m not 

a witness.

An executed criminal: that’s whose life we 

honor today,

A rabbi, a teacher, though a carpenter

by trade,

Arrogant of his powers, though humble in the

words he would say,

Words and deeds remembered—an organized religion he

has made.

His words naked and without ceremony,

all alone–

Read them without interference of priest

and feel;

I see the truth in what he said, a trust he 

must have known

Words about the state of man, words that are

so real.

He speaks in different ways, to each

one unique,

His message can’t be made a

formula,

He speaks to those who know, 

those who seek, 

A personal truth, neither belief, creed,

nor dogma.

To the rich, whether in power, wealth, 

or fame,

He says: Become poor, not in goods but

in spirit,

Poverty is poverty, whether for gold or glory is 

the same, 

Poverty is humility, he says to those who

can hear it.

Love your neighbor is a difficult rule to

follow,

Listen with your heart, the meaning 

is so clear, 

To give gifts to another, that’s superficial, 

that’s hollow,

Love means to look into the eyes of another

without fear.

To turn the other cheek seems the same as 

to love,

What if you’re slapped? Who can but

attack?

He means but this: keep not a wolf but

a dove,

To learn how not to be slapped–that is 

the knack.

Do unto others, as you would have them do

unto you,

In our age of long lines and traffic?

C’mon, that: so absurd!

All it takes is forbearance—if you want more,

take a few,

And patience: time is a gift to all,

Equally endured.

Look within yourself, he says, see who you 

truly are,

To put on airs, to become something more, is plain

imbecility,

A man doesn’t make a god, nor a star-beam a

shining star,

Who shall inherit the kingdom? Those

with humility.

Break down the barriers,

give in to love,

Put trust in what you feel, what’s in

your soul,

It’s not going to come from God, from

heaven above,

Body and mind combine, from parts forge

a whole.

Faith is not simply a belief in Jesus,

the Lord,

It comes not from the Other, rather inside, 

the “I”,

Oneself is the wellspring, from which to go

toward,

Not others–humans, or the divine, 

most high.

The Bible is a good source to

go within,

Religion is to recognize whence

blessings flow,

Happiness is within—to reject it 

is to sin,

Peruse the pages of your soul—  

you will know…..

The contentment within your soul.