Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:10
I have been a stargazer all my adult life. Years ago, instead of a Red Ryder BB gun like Ralphie’s in the movie “A Christmas Story,” I asked Santa Claus for a telescope. However, being a rank amateur, I did not pay as much attention to detail as Ralphie and later found out that the telescope Santa left under the tree was a refracting scope whose optical physics present images upside down. No matter, Jupiter and the rings of Saturn look the same upside down or right side up. And the craters on the moon mostly look the same. Just ask Kamala.
We didn’t have a white Christmas in Knoxville this year because the temperature was 70 degrees on Christmas Day. But that’s OK because I’m already sick of winter. I’m tired of watching the sun sink lower and lower in the southern sky and daylight hours becoming shorter and shorter. So, I celebrated as the winter solstice passed on December 21, and I welcomed a “return of the sun” as did ancient stargazers.
And more than just longer days, my hope is that the darkness in America has begun to recede. I claim this metaphor of hope with the coming of Christ and the prospects of a new Great Awakening in America, which will defeat the darkness.
I think the pseudo-science of astrology is voodoo and has little relationship to the real science of astronomy. The thought that celestial objects or circumstances determine your Earthly destiny or behavior is unscientific and illogical. Ancient stargazers did not understand celestial objects or the vastness of space. They called any celestial object a star, whether they were planets, meteorites, comets or actual stars.
Two millennia ago, the birth of Jesus changed the world. Even atheists can’t deny that fact. In the second chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we learn of Jesus’ birth, which was announced to local shepherds by heralding angels. A recent Kevin Costner docudrama of the Christmas story depicted the sky roiling like Northern Lights and replete with star-like angelic hosts. Costner followed the traditional composite storyline showing the Magi arriving sometime later to worship the Christ child, no longer in a manger but in a house, as revealed in the 2nd chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.
We know little about the shepherds or the Magi (aka Wise Men) who were probably from Mesopotamia (in current-day Iraq). Tradition holds that there were three Magi because the text says there were three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. These travelers were stargazers and probably astrologers of the pagan religion of Zoroastrianism. Since not all the Hebrews returned to Israel after the Babylonian captivity, these educated Magi undoubtedly knew of the ancient Hebrew prophecy of the Messiah, even admitting to King Herod that they sought the newly born King of the Jews.
In the King James version, Matthew writes, “we [the Wise Men] have seen his star in the east.” But how can this be when Jerusalem is to the west of Babylon? The answer is in the phrasing, which is clarified in the NIV (New International Version), which reads, “we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” In other words, the Magi resided “in the east,” and it was there they observed the Natal Star.
So, what did they see? In the ancient world, comets and eclipses were feared portents, yet there is no description of such by locals in Jerusalem. Perhaps the Wise Men saw something that others overlooked.
In 1604, the light of an exploding star millions of light years from Earth suddenly became visible to millions across Europe. The supernova’s explosion was so powerful that the bright star was visible in the noon sunlight. Today, astronomers observe the Crab Nebula as the explosion’s remnant. At the time of Jesus’ birth, there is no description of such a momentous celestial event. In fact, no one in Jerusalem was aware of Christ’s birth until the Magi arrived looking for him.
The science of astronomy has meticulously observed and plotted the orbits of the planets in our solar system. And with computer analysis, astronomers can predict future and past positions of planetary bodies. Interestingly, about two millennia ago, there was an unusual conjunction (grouping) of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, which occurred in the constellation Pisces that is associated with the house of Hebrews. The Wise Men knew the ancient Hebrew scriptures predicting the Messiah, so when they saw this celestial event, which only occurs once in every 800 years and would never have been recognized before, they knew something magnificent was happening. So, they journeyed for months and hundreds of miles to seek the Christ Child.
Forgive me if I challenge anyone’s notion of the events surrounding the Messiah’s birth. I am a Christian and a man of both faith and science. In the 21st century, we know more than we once did, but this should not lead to hubris (arrogant pride). There is more than we currently know or may ever know this side of eternity. Humans were created in God’s image and imbued with reason and curiosity. These are the talents given to us, which we should use to explore, but not to become arrogant.
The fact that Emmanuel came to us is far more important than any scientific or logical explanation for the Natal Star or angelic hosts in the sky. Albert Einstein once said, “Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.” I agree with Einstein.
Like the professor, I am a man of science and of God. Why should I choose either when I am both?
