Trusting in Stars

“…and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.” Matthew 2:9


Over 2000 years ago some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. They inquired, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” So reads the second chapter of St. Matthew.

Herod was King then. He summoned these wise men to his palace to interrogate them about the star. A summons by him was not necessarily for a banquet. Word is he had gallows installed next to his throne for entertainment value. The story ends after these wise men follow the star to Jesus and depart to their homeland by the back door.

I walked into Ronne’s, a village gift shop, looking for a Christmas present. On a rack by the door small towels with epigrams and witticisms hung limply. One in particular caught my eye. It read, “Three wise men? Really?” Obviously someone of the gentler gender conjured up this wisecrack.

The Greek word for “wise men” is magoi. It’s derived from a Persian word for “men expert in the study of the stars.” (Ladies, I’m sorry, but there’s no mention of wise-women star experts.) The word is transliterated into the English word ‘magi, which means ‘a sorcerer.’ Its proximity to the word magic or magician is too close for comfort.

Yet we read that they followed a star to find Jesus. Can your imagination reach into the heavens? Then imagine an American President summoning some star-gazers to the White House to inquire where jobs can be found, or where all the money went? Oops, I recall that Nancy Reagan was a star-gazer. She found direction in astrological signs. Which might tend to support the idea of ‘wise men.’ Just saying…..

Stars cruise the heavens, shining like gold clusters. They create recognizable patterns called constellations. They’re named after their apparent forms or identified with mythological figures. In the black sky they change location but have provided guidance systems for centuries. Even Columbus used celestial navigation.

I have a friend in Atlanta who once lived in a high rise condo. He had a telescope and an intense interest in stars. Unfortunately, bright city lights blocked out most of the stars. Undeterred, he took to studying other heavenly bodies in the windows of neighboring condo towers. His study of celestial shapes came to an abrupt conclusion one evening by a knock on his door. It remains a low point in his study of stars.

We no longer need to circumnavigate the globe by dead reckoning or by celestial navigation. Airline pilots and mariners have faith in its accuracy. We’ve made our own stars, called satellites. They’re easily seen as the brightest lights in the nighttime sky. GPS is the star that now leads us to destinations.

Stars are ubiquitous. Hollywood, Nashville, New York, Washington, South Beach. Movie stars, music stars, rock stars, rising political stars, financial stars…you-name-it. We follow these stars to their places and worship them. We often follow them to their funerals. They shine briefly like beacons, then dim and finally fade into the blackness of night like burned-out supernovas.

Today’s WSJ had a picture of Kim Jong Il resting comfortably in a glass-entombed crypt. Behind him an armed guard stood beside the North Korean flag. The flag’s symbol? Why, a star, of course.

Former Chairman Mao Zedong lies in state in a similar glass crypt in Beijing. His lifeless corpse is transported to Moscow annually for re-cosmeticization. He never ages, but gets younger. In the room with him is also a flag. Its symbol? Why, a star, of course. He won’t rise. China may.

Today it would be lunacy to admit to anyone that we anticipate following a moving star to some undisclosed destination. Although many believe that their star leads them to the proverbial pot of gold promised by the Lottery. Some of these people are Dawg fans.

But let’s return to the Sages of Scripture. They had faith. They trusted a star. It led them to Jesus. Upon what or who is our faith centered in this period of history? Which stars are we following?

At night I sit looking at the lights and stars on our Christmas tree. An angel is perched on top. I join with the magi, as Scripture says: “When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.”

Do stars still guide us to places where significant happenings are being born? I ponder this question, yet I already know….Jesus is just not that hard to find!


Merry Christmas

Bud Hearn
December 23, 2011