Stars abound

“See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory.”  (Isaiah 60:2)

Sounds like the world today, doesn’t it?  There’s so much darkness in our world –the ongoing pandemic, wars, hunger, homelessness, sex-trafficking, divorce, suicide, child and elder abuse . . .  the list goes on and on.  The news doesn’t help.  Rather than show inspirational stories, they seem to dig up the worst to show us.  I rarely watch the news anymore because it’s so depressing.

Astronomers tell us that there are some 300 billion galaxies in the universe comprised of trillions of stars.  Our closest star, the Sun, provides heat, energy and lights our way.  When I was a kid in the Boy Scouts and ‘sleeping under the stars’, I loved to watch for shooting stars (actually meteors.)  When I saw one, it felt like I was especially blessed.

In addition to these celestial bodies, we also call some of our leading actors and some professional sports figures “stars”.  That’s exactly our role as disciples of Jesus, to be a star.  Like the Sun we’re to be a light in a dark place.  By our attitude and generosity, we can bring blessings to others.  Like the star in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 2:1-12), we have the opportunity to use our talents to point people to Jesus.

The Magi represent us all.  I heard a sermon on Epiphany once when the priest asked, "What made the wise men wise?”  He followed that up with his answer, “They looked up!"  In other words, they were looking, watching for their star.  Stars abound.  

God has a way of leading, guiding and speaking to us through the fine arts, poetry, novels, creation, people, and music.  I have always been spellbound by Franco Zeffirelli’s TV mini-series “Jesus of Nazareth”.  The same is true of a new production on the New Testament called “The Chosen”.  Both of those series have helped me grow closer to Jesus.  Stars abound.

We celebrate light on Epiphany.  Even though darkness covers the earth we can rise because our light has come.  Our world is full of stars.  Epiphany tells us that we can expect new stars, new manifestations of God’s grace that will lead us to Jesus.  We live in a world of stars and Epiphany invites us to "look up!"

I’m reminded of Luke’s story about the birth of Jesus.  A slice of Luke’s nativity version describes how God reached out to shepherds to announce the birth of the divine Son.  "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them…"  (Luke 2:8-20).  In Matthew’s Gospel, God attracts the attention of astrologers by the movement of a star. "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem."  Luke’s story reminds us that God’s kingdom included the Jewish poor, the neglected, and those who were not usually welcomed at the local synagogue or at the table where important decisions were decided.  Matthew, in using a different story, reminds us that God’s kingdom includes within its boundaries those even who are outside “my” religion or “my” society or “my” culture.  In God’s Kingdom, revealed by Jesus Christ, all people are included.  “All nations”, according to Isaiah, “will come proclaiming the praises of the Lord." (Isaiah 60:1-6)

God’s love is universal; there are no outsiders, no foreigners; no one is excluded from God’s Kingdom.  We can all pray "Our Father" and claim the same inheritance.  Since God is Father of every single human person, then all people on this planet we call Earth are our brothers and sisters.

Jesus gives us the hope and courage we need to help change the darkness about us.  We’re His hands and feet today.  We can share the good news.  We can let the light shine through us to make a difference.  As 2021 begins, let’s open our hearts once again to the Lord’s will for our lives.  Let’s say “Yes!” to spending time with Jesus each day so that He can direct our steps and we can all help usher in the Kingdom here and now.