Put
a Star by It
“Of
course, you can get directions from the stars at night, as navigators have done
for millennia. Less literally, the star is a spiritual light telling us how we
might find the place, the Bethlehem of our individual destiny, where our
spiritual-self will manifest.”
Thomas
Moore (The Soul of Christmas, p.52; Franciscan Media, 2016)
There’s
a big argument about literal vs. metaphorical interpretation of Bible stories.
I won’t wade into that debate, but the nativity star is an interesting detail
in the story of Jesus’ birth that deserves a closer look. Most scientists say
that the only super-nova of that time, recorded by Chinese astronomers, occurred in AD 185.
And people around the world have been using stars for navigation since there have
been ships on the seas. The Magi would have been astronomers as well. The
ancients probably knew the placement of constellations better than we do simply
because they depended on them—stars were the GPS of early travelers. But all of
that is beside the point if you can look at the story metaphorically.
I don’t
know about you, but when I read a book—especially a non-fiction one—I underling
things that I want to go back to. I also put a star in the margins when I want
to use that phrase or sentence in a future blog or presentation. The star means
“this is particularly relevant—pay attention to this.” All my books are
star-laden.
When I
want to remember a date on the calendar because something special is happening,
I put a star beside it. That draws my attention to the date every time I look
at the calendar, so I’m less likely to forget it. When something special and unusual
happens, or a milestone is reached, we often give it a star to celebrate that
accomplishment. Remember in elementary school when we got stars for good work,
or for doing our chores in the classroom. As a nation, we placed another star on
the flag each time a new state was added to the original 13. Perhaps the star
appears in the story of Jesus’ birth to indicate that something special was
being added to the world—it marks the time and place as especially important.
If I
were looking at a timeline of my personal life, I would remember certain events
as “game-changers.” When I left home for college, the first marriage, the
second divorce, the launching of my sons, and so forth. Some events changed me
forever—those I give a star.
Jesus’ entry into 1st
century Palestine changed the world forever. He brought a new level of consciousness,
and a new understanding of how we should live our lives. He taught that we can
be in communion with the Holy of Holies without a mediator. He connected the
old with the new—he was the chain link that pulled it all together. Of course his birth was marked by a star!
Once we understand that
there is a steady movement forward in human evolution, we can see that humans went from
believing in animal deities, to human-like deities, to spirit-like deities. We
are now moving toward the universality of all spiritual beliefs. There is a new
understanding that we are all related, we are all connected, and that all humans
are inherently spiritual. Our species has the capacity for understanding what
cannot be seen, what cannot be described, what can only be known through
experience. Spiritually, we are evolving. Let’s put a star by that.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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