By Cathy Hird
On clear mornings before dawn with the moon a tiny crescent, the planets shine bright in the indigo sky. A few stars twinkle as the sky slowly brightens on these long nights. We are told that there is a one-time visitor in the dawn sky, the comet Catalina, an icy object knocked from the Oort Cloud to descend in a parabolic orbit around the sun.
Astronomers suggest we find the comet by locating Venus and the blue star Spica. In my head, I know that the object is not passing anywhere near that planet and star, but what I know and what I see are different. These lights seem very close together.
I know that the universe is vast. I know that where I trace the patterns of the dipper and Orion, those suns are lightyears apart from each other. But still, in the dome of our sky, they appear near to each other and to us.
Given how much I love the night sky, it isn't surprising that the piece of the Christmas story that draws me most strongly is the star. Sure, I more often preach about the unmarried pregnant woman and the family who has no home to bear their child: these summon us to compassion. But the story that draws me tells of the men from Persia, modern day Iraq. These were scientists who tried to understand the construction of the dome above the earth. They were also astrologers, people who sought messages in the heavens about the movement of history on earth.
As the story goes, they saw a star in the sky and as they studied it, they came to believe that a new king had been born, a king of promise, a king of peace. This message so inspired them that they left home and made the arduous journey west.
(Modern astronomers state that none of the stars they see was born 2000 years ago. They cannot trace a super nova to the period of 4 BCE to 4 CE. Some people conclude that makes the story impossible. But it is a story. Even Matthew who tells it does not say that it was a brand new star. He simply claims that these people from ancient Iraq read a message from God in the sky.)
The three travelers, likely with a caravan of helpers, came to the capital and to the palace. The iron fisted Herod greeted them with suspicion and caution. No baby had been born in his palace. He demanded from the scribes where such a king might be found. "In Bethlehem," they said.
Bethlehem. The birthplace of David, the king of a golden age in the land, a king who brought stability. So a new king who would restore the land, who would push aside the empire that currently threatened the land, such a king should be born in Bethlehem.
Herod sent the Magi on, but also made the visitors promise to come back through Jerusalem to tell him where the child was. He claimed he would honour the child.
Now Matthew says that star moved to stand right over the house where the child was. Did it move before? If so, it seems that the Magi did not notice this. They went directly to the capital and the palace. They assumed that was where a baby prince would be. Once they left the capitol, they noticed the star move. They came to the house where Jesus was now a toddler.
Cathy Hird is a farmer, minister and writer living near Walters Falls.
