The Sufi Poet Rumi wrote,
“The Body is Like Mary
The body is like Mary, and each of us has a Jesus inside.
Who is not in labour, holy labour? Every creature is.
See the value of true art, when the earth or a soul is in
the mood to create beauty;
For the witness might then for a moment know, beyond
Any doubt, God is really there within,
So innocently drawing life from us with Her umbilical
Universe – infinite existence …
Though also needing to be born. Yes, God also needs
To be born!
Birth from a hand’s loving touch. Birth from a song,
From a dance, breathing life into this world.
The body is like Mary, and each of us, each of us has
A Christ within.”[i]
There is so much beauty within this poem and it speaks for itself. When I first came across the words, my first thought was, “Why have I not run across this before?” Well, good reason, it was in its original language until Daniel Ladinsky translated it for his book, The Purity of Desire.
The words so aptly describe the feel of the holiday season. Each year at this time, I am invited to go within and recognize that I AM the body of Mary, and I choose whether to allow my inner Christ to be born or not.
I hope you will meditate on these words and be moved by them. God Bless you on your journey. Amen.
[i] Translated by Daniel Ladinsky in his book, ‘The Purity of Desire’.