Pastor’sPage

Volume 12 Week 50 December 10, 2006

What's Up With That Christmas Star?

The World Needs More Stars Like The Star Of Bethlehem; Let It Shine!

I definitely do not know the answer to this one, but I’ll certainly pose the question. What’s up with that star in the Christmas story?

Technically, it’s the Epiphany story. We don’t know exactly when the Wise Men arrived. The Gospel of Matthew mentions the star three times. The Magi came to Herod in Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him?” (Matthew 2:2). After Herod finds out when the star appeared and he consults the scholars and sends them to Bethlehem, we read, “The star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed” (2:9-10).

Don’t ask me to give any more details. We don’t have any. There are many theories, some quite scientific, some quite sublime, some a combination of the handiwork of God through nature and the handiwork of God who loves to bend His own rules of star and light. We don’t know and it’s not appropriate to say that we know just what happened.

The writers and producers of the new movie, “The Nativity Story” had to take a stab at an answer. When I saw it earlier this week, I thought, “Okay, not bad!” When you put words to pictures, you have to make a guess, I guess. I won’t tell you what they did, but I will encourage you to take a look. The movie, by the way, is quite well done.

Here’s what we do know about the star. There was a group of people, at least two, maybe three, maybe more, who were watching, looking paying attention. Somehow, (possibly by study of the Bible and of the stars; again we don’t know,) they were led to believe that the sign that they witnessed in the sky was an indication that the prophecies of a Messiah/King from among the children of Abraham were being fulfilled.

We know that the star was enough of an indicator to bring them to Jerusalem and to inquire about those prophecies. We do know that the Bible scholars of the time were familiar enough with those prophecies to point the searchers to Bethlehem, the ancestral home of the kings of Judah, the family line of King David.

And we know that this star was precise and clear enough in its guidance to lead them to the exact address in Bethlehem where they could meet the holy family, see the child, and offer Him gifts worthy of a King. Did it happen on Christmas Eve? That’s unlikely. Had Joseph procured better quarters for his family than a place with the animals? Probably. Did the star bring the seekers face to face with Jesus? Absolutely. Did God touch their hearts with the gift of faith to believe they had met the Savior of the world? “They saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. They opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of frankincense and of myrrh” (2:11). Sounds like it.

Christmas Stars!

Stars make good cookies. It’s like permission to play with your food, because you can’t eat a star cookie any other way than by biting off the points, one at a time.

Stars make good lawn ornaments and tree decorations. They take very naturally to lots of lights, the best part of Christmas decorations in these short, dark days of early winter.

A star on top of a Christmas tree is an excellent witness to Jesus. The treetop star reminds us that the focus of our joy is not the packages under the tree, but the little package the Magi found at the end of the star, the Child of Bethlehem, the Son of Mary, the Son of God, Jesus Christ the Lord.

We have plenty of Santas, plenty of silver bells and probably far more lights than we need. Just ask the Griswalds. But we’ll never have too many Christmas stars. We need more Christmas stars.

In “The Nativity Story,” there’s a scene of the Wise Men trekking through the desert that’s very reminiscent of Peter O’Toole in “Lawrence of Arabia.” It looks like a scene that is heading for disaster. Trudging through endless miles of Middle Eastern wilderness without highway, markers, or maps looks pretty frightening, like a tragedy unfolding for the wanderers. But there is a sense that these determined and dedicated souls are being guided, by a passion to reach the destination, certainly, but more than that: they are not wandering aimlessly at all. They are guided by the star. They’ve been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to see something that will change them forever.

We need more Christmas stars.

Someone you know is lost. Someone you know is spending the Christmas season lost and wandering from Target to the Gap to the office Christmas party trying to make sense of the meaning of life. The Bible warns us that in these last days, people would try to find fulfillment in their shopping lists and in their guilty pleasures, but would be left empty and wandering, lost in darkness, without the hope that comes from heaven in the Light of life that shines on us who have faith in Jesus.

Someone you know needs a Christmas star, someone to point the way to the manger in Bethlehem, to join with shepherds and Wise Men and you and me and the little drummer boy, kneeling in worship of Jesus who came that we might have life, and the meaning of life, and life everlasting.

Shine Like Stars!

Paul wrote his friends in Corinth, “For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (1 Corinthians 4:6). We are stars, filled with the light of knowing Jesus and what He has done for us.

Here’s a simple plan for pointing someone you know and care for to the manger in Bethlehem:

First, pick one or two people that you will have an opportunity to invite to join you for worship this Christmas and pray for them every day. Pray for God’s will to be done in their life, that they would come to know the peace of faith in Jesus as their Savior, just as you do. Pray also for the opportunity, the passion, the wisdom and the words to offer an invitation to join you for worship. And pray that Christ is proclaimed loud and clear in our worship this season.

Second, commit to attending the Christmas Eve or Christmas Day worship service that best fits your friend’s schedule and preference, not your own. Remember that Christmas is the number one most likely time for a person to say yes to an invitation to church all year. Make it easy on your friend by letting them choose the time they prefer.

And finally, make the invitation. Use one of our Advent services as a conversation starter, or our uniquely designed decorations, or a song you can’t get out of your head, or the movie, or anything. Let your light shine. Six out of ten people without a church say they would accept an invitation to worship if someone only asked. I think the number is higher at Christmas.

Be a star. The world needs more Christmas stars.