Today's Scripture Reading (December 24, 2020): Luke 21
For as long as I can remember, I have been intrigued
by the Christmas Star, although probably not in the way that you might think.
My obsession began in trying to identify it. I mean, what was that light in the
sky that led the Magi to the Baby Jesus. Was it a comet or a supernova or some
other stellar phenomenon? Three days ago, on December 21, 2020, if you had looked
up into the sky, you might have observed a celestial event that we call “The
Christmas Star,” although it isn’t really a star at all. On December 21, 2020,
Jupiter and Saturn, the two largest planets in our solar system, aligned to
become a double planet and a bright light in the sky. Not only did the planets
align, but they also did so closer to us than usual, a phenomenon that hasn’t
happened since the 1200s. Could this convergence of worlds be the biblical
Christmas Star? Maybe, but that is also unlikely.
When you read the story of the birth of Christ,
you quickly realize that there is something wrong with the way that we have
interpreted the Christmas Star. For starters, why would the Magi follow the
Christmas Star to Jerusalem and the palace of King Herod if they were being led
by a light in the sky that would eventually stand over the place where the baby
lay. And if the star was leading them, why would they need the input of Herod’s
experts to tell them that the King would be born in Bethlehem. We also know
that stars don’t work that way. The closest heavenly body to the earth is the
moon, and if I asked you to go and stand under it, you would find that that
would take you to a reasonably large area, not a specific location, like a stable.
It is doubtful that the Christmas Star was a
star that went and stayed physically over a particular place. It is much more
likely that the magi were astrologers who were reading the earth's story in the
stars. And something happened in the sky, likely the sudden appearance of a
wandering star through a known constellation that the magi associated with
Israel. Because of the story, read in the stars, they believed that a king had
been born. The Magi went to Jerusalem because that is where you would expect to
find a newborn King of the Jews. And with this reading available in the stars,
the Christian Era began.
Jesus taught that there would be signs in the
sun, moon, and stars at the end. Part of the argument is what exactly
constitutes the end. For some, the described end is the end of the Second
Temple period, an era that ended in 70 C.E. with the destruction of Herod’s
Temple and Israel's removal as a nation. For others, it is the end of all
things and all nations, a point that we have yet to reach. The argument used
against Jesus meaning the end of the Second Temple Period is that there was no
great catastrophe observed in the heavens; nothing significant happened in the
sun, moon, and stars as the Temple was destroyed.
But this may be a similar misunderstanding to the
one we have regarding the Christmas Star. As Jesus is born, the event was so
big that the story was written in the stars. And when we get to the end of all
things, it will be written in the stars again, for those who know how to read
the message.
For Christians, that shouldn’t be us. We don’t
need the stars to tell us the story. What we need is a trust in the author of
the story, and like the shepherds of the Christmas story, we will already know
the tale, told to us by God’s prophets and angels, long before the future Magi
read the story in the stars.
Have a great Christmas Eve.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Matthew 26
No comments:
Post a Comment