Anthroposophy NYC

Holy Nights 2020-2021

Holy Night 8: December 31, 2020 — January 1, 2021

“The cross on the hilt of the sword. Sacrifice. The man with the Christ Sword of Power that cannot hurt, speaks the language of the truth. It is the night of fear and horror.

The Mystery: A Knight with the Spear of the Will and the Sword of Knowledge has a dog beside him, as a symbol of obedience. Behind him are death and the devil. At a certain level of knowledge, a mistake or a wrong move can quickly lead to perdition. Victory is achieved by the fullness of divinity, with a consciousness of responsibility, and an unfailing loyalty to the tasks ahead in life.”

~ From indications given by Rudolf Steiner to Herbert Hahn

Eighth Contemplation:

“In the eighth Holy Night, we stand on the precipice between two rounds of time [with the transition into a New Year]. There has to be a crucifixion. All that has served our growth during the past year must now be crucified, it must die. Imagine the consequences if Jesus had not been crucified?

All our precious thoughts, feelings, and actions that have brought us this far can be put to rest. As we step over the threshold into the New Year, we can raise them to a new level. When we sacrifice all that is precious in our soul, that served us throughout the year, we can put it to service for others. The depth of feeling that we experienced for spiritual truth can become compassion for the misfortune of others. Not just, “I’m sorry,” but a real experience of the crushing sorrow that is felt by them.

The new thoughts that we were able to think in our soul because we understood some spiritual truth now paves the way for living Inspiration in our spirit. Even though that spiritual truth was like gold for us we must loosen our grip on it. We can never possess spiritual truth; it belongs to the universe. If we let it go, it will come back to us when we need it. If we hang onto it, we may not be able to find it when we need it.

The new actions that we were proud to put in place during the year must also be crucified. To hang onto them proudly is egotistical. Through our will we reveal who we really are; we allow others to know us and we can know them. To try to know others without revealing anything of ourselves is destructive for all concerned.

As we take this next step, we are reassured by the presence of Christ Jesus who took it before us.” ~ Herbert Hahn

Christianity as Mystical Fact and the Mysteries of Antiquity (GA 8) is a series of 12 lectures given by Rudolf Steiner in the fall and winter 1901-1902 in the library of Count and Countess Brockdorff. These lectures were rewritten and issued in a book format in the summer of 1902.

Chapter 9: “The Apocalypse of St. John”

Read by Dale Brunsvold (from 1961 edition by Rudolf Steiner Publications, Inc.)

Click here or on the image to listen to the recording.