At the End of the Rainbow
Year
B, Epiphany
There are a couple of negative
aspects of my commute across the HRBT (which I affectionately call
Herbert). However, there are a lot of
beautiful things as well. There have
been amazing sunsets and sunrises. There
have been helicopters hovering with men suspended in the air below. But by far, my favorite thing is the
rainbows. I have seen two and they have
been spectacular. This last one was so
vivid that it seemed as though I could see where it ended. It appeared to be right on the edge of Ocean
View, which is on my route home. I know
there is no pot of gold nor leprechauns (those are all in Ireland). However, I was giddy at the prospect of
seeing the end of the rainbow. But as I
drove on, it seemed as though it was moving and when I got to the place where
it should have ended, the rainbow was no longer visible. I know it sounds a bit foolish for an adult
to think she could find the end of the rainbow, but in that moment, it seemed
possible.
I imagine it would sound just as
crazy if I told you that I was trying to follow a star and messages that came
to me in a dream. Anyone who followed a
star or messages sent to them in a dream would be considered a little odd today. Yet we never question this story in the
Gospel about wise men from the East. There
was a recent study by the Pew Research forum.
Adults were asked about their beliefs and feelings related to
Christmas. 75% of those questioned
believed that there were wise men who followed a star and brought gifts to
Jesus.[1] Given the overwhelming skepticism of
religious beliefs today, I find this absolutely astounding.
So who were these wise men foolish
enough to follow a star? The Greek word that is translated to wise men is
magi. That word can be interpreted in
several ways, but the most viable translation is astrologer. They were experts in the stars…interpreters
of the night sky. They observed this
rising star and they followed it. I bet
even in that time when following dreams and stars was a lot more common, this
was probably rather risky.
We cannot be certain what the
meaning of the star was for the magi, because we know so little about them.
Something must have motivated them to take such a journey. It is evident that
they were from a foreign land and were not familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures
or traditions. So that was not what was
guiding them. A popular belief in the
Gentile world at the time was that each person was represented by a star which
appeared at his or her birth.[2] Another belief was that stars could be
counterparts or angels of great men.[3] These wise men, these experts of the stars
knew that this star was special, that this star represented no ordinary
man. This star was so magnificent, so
unique, that it must have represented someone special enough to be worthy of a
long and potentially dangerous journey into a foreign land.
However, it is not the motivation
that baffles me as much as the actual logistics. One of the things I have always wondered about
this story of the wise men and the star is how you follow a star. I don’t know a lot about astronomy but it
seems as though that would be difficult.
Usually when this story is depicted in movies, the star is simply
brighter than the rest and it shines directly like a spotlight onto the
nativity scene. But there is no
indication that this is true. What was
unique about this star was that it seemed to move. Stars rise and set just as we see the sun rise
and set. Yet this star never set. The texts says that it went ahead of them and
then stopped.
There have been a lot of theories about
this star over the years. Some people
have hypothesized that it might have been Hailey’s Comet or a close alignment
of Jupiter and Saturn which would have caused a bright light to appear for a
short time and then disappear. Yet none
of that fits with what the text says.
They couldn’t have followed a comet.
Camels don’t move that fast.
This star was guiding them. It was almost a companion with them on this
journey. They knew that their journey
was complete when it stopped. That was where
they found Mary and the baby Jesus. Now, if I was in that group, I would have
been a little perplexed, maybe even disappointed. This long trip in search of a great man, and
this is where it ended. It ended over a
peasant family in the middle of an utterly unremarkable place. They were more open-minded than I would have
been. They were simply overwhelmed with
joy and they entered the home and knelt before this seemingly ordinary family.
Then they presented precious gifts that were gifts worthy of a king.
What was it that gave them the
assurance that this was truly where the star had led them? How did they know that this child would be a
king? We can never be sure of those answers, but I have a theory. They had followed this star for a very long
time. They had put their faith and trust in this star. They were able to do that because of their
knowledge of stars and their commitment to the stars. We no longer follow the stars. Yet we do follow a great light and that is
the light of Jesus Christ. We are
followers of Jesus Christ. As we move
through this journey that is our life, that light should be a constant
companion. There might be times when it will seem to be farther away than we
would like. Or it will seem so dim that
we will wonder if it is really there anymore.
Yet the more committed we are to that light and following that light,
the more we will realize that it is not the light that dims, but our own vision
because we have let other things get in the way of that view. We have stopped trying to see and search. We
have stopped trying.
Recently, I did a little reading
about rainbows. Apparently, there is no
way to find the end of a rainbow, because it is actually a circle. As long as you are on the ground, the end
will always be just ahead of you. In a
way, I find that very annoying. I mean,
we all want to find the end and now that is impossible. It seems that we are kind of preoccupied with
endings or beginnings, when what is really important is the quest. It’s the search and the journey.
We follow Jesus not because he will lead
us to the end of life, but because he leads us on a journey that never truly
ends. That means that we can never get
too comfortable or too sure of ourselves.
Like the wise men and their assurance of the star, we can only be sure
of Jesus Christ. The moment we think we
have it all figured out—that we have all the answers is the moment when we are the
most lost. Really, it is not the end, the beginning, or
even the journey that is the most important.
The most important part is who is at the center of that glorious circle. Who is at the center of your life? That –that determines everything.
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