“ … 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. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 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.”
Matthew 2:9-11
I hope you got to see “The Christmas Star” this Monday, December 21. The 2020 great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is the closest they have come to one another since 1623. Because is it occurring in an evening sky, it is the first conjunction observable since 1226. Coming closer and closer each evening, with the crescent moon to their east, the two bright planets have been inviting us to their beautiful finale. They did not disappoint! Their light was dazzling—even though because of late afternoon clouds in Austin I observed it (gratefully) on the McDonald Observatory’s livestream. This exceptional sight was even more captivating because it occurred on the evening of the winter solstice – the day celebrated for ages as the return of the light.
In the narrative of Jesus’ birth, the Star was the guiding light that the Wise Men followed to the Christ Child. In us the Star is the light of our soul’s purpose. The Wise Men are that in us which is courageous enough to follow it. We may sometimes feel that we don’t know what our soul’s purpose is or that we don’t have the inner resources to follow it. But notice that the Wise Men were rich with gifts and they gave them with joy. This Christmas let us celebrate this creative time in which we are living, the turning of human consciousness toward Christ light. Though the challenges are many, we each embody a rich, courageous, and undefeatable soul. Let the 2020 Christmas Star inspire us to let our Light shine!
May Your Christmas Be Blessed with the Love and Light of the Christ,
Rev. Anna
