A star goes before us

 “…When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.” (Matt 2:10)

 

Isaiah 60:1-6

Psalm 72:1-15

Ephesians 3:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

 

(Year B: Epiphany, 6^rd January 2021)

.. There was a Birth, certainly
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

(from The Journey of the Magi by T.S. Eliot)

‘Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you’. (Isaiah 60:1).  ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’. (John 1:5)

These two verses seem very appropriate for all of us at the start of 2021 even if it might seem that our world is sunk in darkness and this darkness has conquered the light for a time in the middle of our Northern winter. 

The 6^th of January marks the feast of the ‘epiphany’ – at least in some churches. The word epiphany comes from the Greek word, theophaneia, meaning the appearance of God to human beings. 

The story of the first ‘epiphany’ is rich in symbolism and we need to hear and read it in this light without trying to fill in all the gaps. Let’s go with the flow and the larger story which the author of the gospel of Matthew is trying to convey. This requires some imagination on our part.

The journey of the wise ones (the magi as they are called) was not without danger and toil. To make a journey in such circumstances took incredible stamina, hope and trust that something was worth travelling for to meet, see and behold.  As in today’s world, there is much danger and threat from power brokers who play with people’s lives and practice deceit and oppression. The pilgrims from the east had to use discretion, courage and perseverance to circumvent Herodian scheming.

Astrology was a popular pastime in ancient times (and is still today among the gullible) and provides a focus for people in search of meaning, assurance and progress through life’s ways. The star that guided, pulled and filled the wise pilgrims was of another kind. It was like an inner star or magnetic force that led strangers over 100s of kilometres of barren desert to a humble place where they found something that exceeded their expectations. They were not just surprised by joy but they were ‘overwhelmed’ with joy, according to Matthew (verse 10). We may note that they travelled not alone but together. On coming to a place of rest where the star shone they joined Joseph, Mary and Jesus.  Where two or three are gathered there was the messiah of Israel among them. 

Three ‘stars’, not one, guided them….

1   The star within of love seeking love
2. The star over and beyond their immediate situation and place
3. The star at the end of their journey in Bethlehem.

It was when these three ‘stars’ aligned that the pilgrims were ‘overwhelmed with joy’ (verse 10).

The alignment of stars took, in all likelihood, years, trial, error, re-trial and more years.  But, they got there and it didn’t finish there.  Their discovery took them back to where they came to continue their quest. How many stories were told and lives touched by the witness of their journey when they got back home? The magi could make of their own the words of David in  Psalm 63:1-4:

O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

Or, they might have anticipated the declaration of Saint Augustine of Hippo centuries after the manifestation of God:

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. Saint Augustine Confessions, 10.27

The story of the epiphany is a story of hope. Let this new calendar year be one of hope and a new beginning for each one of us. Even if we might feel that we are ‘with an alien people clutching their gods’ as T.S. Eliot wrote, we can take courage from the following truth that is as true today as 2,000 years ago and will still be true in years to come when 2021 will be a distant memory:

‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’. (John 1:5)