Today's Star

It was dark the night He came, so dark in fact, that the very sky seemed to hold its breath in waiting. Nestled in the hills, Bethlehem lay asleep; and out in those hills, shepherds sensed a feeling of excitement in the air. Something was about to happen. 

Then, it did. A radiant beam of light appeared, and angels descended from Heaven. The shepherds were frightened. What was this brilliant light? Was it the angels? Why had they come?

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings.” -Luke 2

When I was little, I thought the angels that flew from Heaven were so radiant that they made a new star: the Christmas Star. I used to think they stayed here, hovering over the place where Jesus lay to guide the Wisemen to Him. 

“As he watched, behold, a spark was born out of the darkness, rounding itself with purple splendours to a crimson sphere, and spiralling upwards through rays of saffron and orange into a point of white radiance. Tiny and infinitely remote, yet perfect in every part, it pulsated in the enormous vault of the heavens.” 

These are the words Amelia is speaking in our school’s Christmas program. I don’t know if that’s truly how the Star appeared in the sky, or if the author was feeling particularly poetic when he wrote them. After hearing these words, I began to think. I wanted to know more about what the Christmas Star actually was.

Modern astronomers believe the Christmas Star we read of in Matthew was most likely a conjunction of three great celestial bodies in the night sky: Jupiter, Venus, and Regulus. Some speculate it may have been a comet or a meteor. Others have suggested it was a supernova: the explosion of a star that happens at the end of its life. I don’t know what it was. Maybe it was simply a special kind of miracle.

On that dark night so long ago, that Star broke through the blackness and guided the seeking souls to where Baby Jesus lay. They had been watching and waiting, eager to go to Him. That Star, their guiding light, led them to the place where He rested. And I began to wonder: where is the Christmas Star today? 

There are still those who seek. There are still those who hope and long to find Him. Where is their map? Where is their guiding light? Where is their Star? How can they know where to find Jesus?

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."-Isaiah 9:2

Could it be that we, as followers of God, are the Christmas Star of today? Could we serve as the map, the guiding light, leading the way to the manger? You and I have been there. We have knelt at the manger and offered Jesus the gift of our hearts. We know the path. Maybe, just maybe, in someone's darkest night, the light shining through you and me can help guide them in their search for the Christ-child. 

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

-Matthew 5:14