The Star Still Shines

 Focus Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

January 7, 2024 – Epiphany Sunday

The Star Still Shines

The world can be a very dark place. In places torn by war and other conflicts, there is darkness. In times throughout history when strongmen ruled, there was darkness. When people are marginalized, victimized, and squeezed for every penny the have in our consumerist culture, there is darkness. And even in Jesus’s time, when the Light of the World had entered the world, there was darkness. Yet, the star still shines.

Matthew’s gospel brings us forward from where we were over the last two weeks – at the manger and in the temple to dedicate Jesus to God, to a time as long as two years after Jesus’s birth. The choir of angels is gone, the quiet of the silent night is a memory, and the joy Simeon and Anna expressed as in the past.

Like so many scenarios we read about in the Gospels, there is tension in this one to balance with the joy. We have the joy of the visiting magi. The tension is from the darkness of the human heart, Herod’s, who is threatened by a young child in his land who was born King of the Jews. He learns this, of course, from the magi, the people from the East who have come to Jerusalem to find and honor the child.

One might think that the appearance of the magi would bring joy and wonder to the people of Jerusalem. After all, the Jewish people were waiting for Messiah, but that was not the reaction. Instead, the magi cause fear in the heart of Herod and that of the people of Jerusalem (v.3). A child called “King of the Jews” can only be viewed as a threat to the power of Herod, so he creates a plan. Just go find the child, he directs, so I can pay homage, too. Sure.

To be blunt, Herod recognized this threat that God’s plan, one predicted in the Hebrew Bible, posed to him. He loved his place of power, and he would do everything he could to keep it. It also shows that he did not understand the mission that Jesus was on. He did not know what he was up against.

We do not need to look too far to find people in our current time lusting for power. This could be power that comes with money or position or family status; all of it is to be protected, whatever the cost. This lust for power comes from a place of darkness. We see it all around us as people lie and cheat to grab and hold power, people who will leave all morals and ethical behavior behind. There are companies that victimize the poor, payday lenders and credit card issuers that put the unwitting and unsophisticated on a treadmill of endless debt. Squeeze us for every penny. More money. More power. The ends justify the means, right? It is no wonder that Jesus said that people cannot love both God and money. Yet, the star still shines.

This star God put in front of us is, as it was two thousand years ago, the light of Christ. God’s grace shines in the darkness, exposing the hearts and actions of people, and showing us that God has a better plan for us than the one the world has.

In the Matthew gospel, God’s grace is obvious in the way God uses and guides the magi. We should understand why they are so special, and why they illustrate that Jesus came for all, to save all.

Historians and theologist believe that the magi, their number unknown, came from Persia, modern day Iran. (The number three is common as there were three gifts. I’m guessing there was an entourage.) They likely became aware of the prophet’s words and the messianic promise while there was intermingling of the two peoples when the Jews were in exile. And because they were astrologers, they new something incredible was happening when they saw that star. It was different.

Consider for a moment the idea that God’s plan included using the Magi, pagans and magicians (you can see the root word) to further announce the birth of the king to the world. And they were honored to do it. They understood the significance. We are told by Matthew that they were “overwhelmed with joy” when they followed the star to Bethlehem and found the child. The light of God’s grace shone through that star.

The star shines still. God is working in and through each of us as we follow that shining star to love God and love neighbor. Because God loved us first, we want to please God and do God’s work. When we work to overcome injustice, when we welcome the stranger, when we avoid judging and ostracizing lest we be judged and cast out, we are recognizing that the star still shines.

And the star still shines for all of us because God uses all of us and cares about all of us. Consider all that we have shared and read over the past weeks. God used Mary, a single teenager, to bring Jesus into the world. God used Elizabeth, and older woman past childbearing years, to give birth to John, who would prepare the way for the Lord. God announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds in the field – shepherds! – because God knew that they would tell the story, they would go tell it on the mountain. They told everyone.

God used Simeon and Anna to profess the arrival of the Messiah in the temple that day. Anna, especially, was noted for telling all who were there about what had just happened. And today, we read of the stargazers from the East who brings gifts for a king.

The good news today is this: Jesus Christ was born to save all of us, and God is working through all of us to build God’s kingdom here on earth. God is working in and through us to transform the world. In every act of kindness and mercy, in every act of piety and personal holiness, we see anew that the star still shines. When we welcome the stranger, when we include all in this community we call church, we know that the star still shines. When we work to overcome injustices in society, we know that the star still shines.

Let us pray that God would use us all – embolden us, equip us, inspire us – to make that star just a little bit brighter and a lot less distant for those in darkness. And may God keep us on the path that keeps us following that still shining star. Amen.