A Star Walked in the Sky: the 1st Sunday of Epiphany 2023
Heavenly Star, Chapelle Notre Dame de Grace, Villeneuve-sur-Lot, France
The first Sunday of Epiphany 2023
Included in this post are 4 sections:
Reflection
Scripture passage
A collection of art to deepen your experience
Prayer
Reflection
Matthew 2:10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
“A star walked in the sky,” a traditional Swedish hymn recounts. A burning ball of gas and light spinning in outer space plotted the wise men’s steps. The star acted as both guide and hope. They knew they would find a promised Messiah, but whatever their astronomic imaginings of what he would be like were surely not on a scale of what they found.
Another kind of “with us”
What they didn't know (but couldn’t have missed when they met the holy family) was the fact that this king was different. Jesus possessed no visible royalty, might, or strength, but instead, vulnerability. This babbling babe was himself the Bright and Morning Star. The light for all the nations.
This realization would have carried a great tension into the Magi’s worlds of distinctions and hierarchy, honor and shame, and fear and violence.
Instead, the star stops over the place where the family resides: refugees with an unconventional start to their family filled with angels and dreams, a cave-like birthing room, and a wild escape in the dark of night.
This is the Light of the world? Yes! This is the wonder, the other-worldliness, holiness breaking in, upending their conceptions. They probably have no idea what this all means fully and yet, they say yes.
They bow, worship, and adore.
They trust.
A joy of relief and questions
The star invites us too to stop over the place where Jesus dwells, which happens to be right where you and I sit today in our very daily, earthly lives. Jesus comes as light, wonder, and miracle, not in the way we expect. God does not automatically eradicate our hardships or journeys, worries and chronic needs. He enters the homes of our hearts and says, “I am with you.” God with us---in whatever we are going through.
Light does not always make life easier. Instead, it pierces with a clarity that shows things for what they are, which might be painful, uncomfortable, even disturbing. I imagine the Magi responding in joy, which was mostly relief. Thank God we made it! they must have thought. They had traveled years, following a star, of all the crazy things! The climax was so different than what they must have envisioned. And I’m sure they left with more questions than answers.
Learning to be human
Christ comes into our lives as light itself, without fanfare: quietly, unexpectedly, in weakness, right into our disarray. As we come to terms with that kind of love, it's tempting to rush on with our lives as though nothing has changed. But something has.
Light has come into our humanity, showing us a new way to be human. This revelation can unsettle us. Everything has changed, and so should we. The powers of this world are turned upside down, and God has joined us to himself, including pagan astrologers and rough-shod shepherds.
Christ didn’t show humanity the fullness of his light for another 30+ years. They watched and waited. They followed with their baggage, hesitations, and questions. So, too, we watch and wait. We follow the Star walking in the sky. And we begin to listen to the invitation to join with his life.
The challenge before us now: we are to not only follow the light; we are to become light.
Scripture for Meditation
Full text available from the Revised Common Lectionary*
Isaiah 60:1-3
60:1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
60:2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.
60:3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Matthew 2:1-12
2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2:2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."
2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;
2:4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
2:5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
2:6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
2:7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.
2:8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."
2:9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.
2:10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
2:11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.*
Art to deepen your experience
The Three Wise Men by W.H. Auden
The weather has been awful,
The countryside is dreary,
Marsh, jungle, rock; and echoes mock,
Calling our hope unlawful;
But a silly song can help along
Yours ever and sincerely:
At least we know for certain that we are three old sinners,
That this journey is much too long, that we want our dinners,
And miss our wives, our books, our dogs,
But have only the vaguest idea why we are what we are.
To discover how to be human now
Is the reason we follow this star.**
“A Star Walked in the Sky,” Swedish hymn
English translation:
1. A star appeared in the sky,
Hallelujah!
For the sage of the East, wonderful.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
2. Then they noticed that the king,
Hallelujah!
Was come down from the sky.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
3. For they came to Bethlehem,
Hallelujah!
That divine light shone upon them.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
4. Gold, incense, myrrh they bore,
Hallelujah!
And rejoiced to see Christ.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
5. We Christians should do the same,
Hallelujah!
To the Lord offer everlasting praise.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
6. Praise be to God the Father and his Son
Hallelujah!
And Helge And on the highest throne!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
7. Praise be to God's mercy,
Hallelujah!
Now and forever!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!***
I highly recommend this curated art and scripture presentation from Vanderbilt University’s online lectionary library.
Prayer
In the work of Your creation, Almighty God,
You commanded the Light to shine out of the darkness:
Grant that the light of the gospel of Christ may shine into the hearts of all,
dispelling the darkness of unbelief, and revealing Your glory in the world.****
*Reprinted from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, copyright © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts.
**Auden, W.H. "The Three Wise Men." Quoted in “Three Poems in Lieu of a Proper Sermon for Epiphany 2018” by David Bruce-Bryant Scott, The Island Parson, January 9, 2018, https://theislandparson.com/2018/01/09/three-poems-in-lieu-of-a-proper-sermon-for-epiphany-2018/comment-page-1/.
***Reprinted from “A star walked in the sky,” Wikisource, https://sv.wikisource.org/wiki/En_stj%C3%A4rna_gick_p%C3%A5_himlen_fram.
****Benson, Robert. Venite: A Book of Daily Prayer. (Abingdon Press: Nashville), 2017, p. 25.
