Day 36

A few weeks ago, a celestial phenomenon known as the great conjunction occurred. This is when the two largest planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, come close enough to each other that they seem like one object in the sky. This event occurs about every 20 years. What made it seem so special this year is that it has been almost 400 years since they have been this close to each other and nearly 800 years since it occurred at night, when they could be seen. They were their brightest on December 21st. This has led many to talk about this phenomenon as the “Christmas Star” or the star of Bethlehem, that we see in the Icons of the Nativity and read about is scripture.

It is often the case that we, as humans, try to find ways to “prove” the things we believe. Scripture is no different. We long for archeologists to find the remains of Noah’s Ark. We look for “proof” in the dead sea scrolls. We point to the shroud of Turin as if to say: “See!” But all of this desire to prove what we believe, what we know to be true, leaves out the most important aspect Orthodoxy…faith. We will come back to faith tomorrow but for today, let us look at what St. John Chrysostom says about the star of Bethlehem. He gives us four reasons why the Star of Bethlehem was not am astronomical phenomenon, but something divine, something heavenly:

  1. The star was not a normal star. We can see this most clearly in that it traveled from north to south, from Persia to Palestine. All other stars, ALL OF THEM, move east to west.
  2. The star of Bethlehem appeared during the day, midday, leading the wise men. No other star can outshine the sun and appear at midday.
  3. The star of Bethlehem led the wise men to Jerusalem, disappearing for a short time, and then appeared to them again to lead them to safety.
  4. The star of Bethlehem did not just lead the wise men to Jerusalem, it led them right to the manger where the Christ-child lay. It did not remain high in the sky over Jerusalem, but it came down and pointed out the manger

In these words of St. John Chrysostom we see the star of Bethlehem as a manifestation of God Himself. Much like the cloud and pillar of fire in the book of Exodus and when Christ Transfigured on Mount Tabor and shown brighter than the sun.

There is no need for us to find physical proof of the things in Scripture. These are matters of faith. And we will discuss more about this faith tomorrow.

In Christ

Fr. David