This past weekend was the feast of Epiphany… you know what that means! “Father, was the star real?” This topic has been addressed numerous times on this blog and other social media forums, so I will refrain from the regular intellectual contortions about whether it was an historical event or not. Instead, I want to explore a slightly more interesting question (at least to me). Why does it seem that Herod struggled to see the star?
As the classic Christmas passage goes the Magi from the east encounter Herod and tell him about the star. If Christmas cards are accurate, we presume the star was some type of ancient flood light in the sky leading the Magi. This past week, for example, many of us got to enjoy the conjunction of the crescent Moon and Saturn. In the twilight, the close proximity of these two bright objects was stunning! If this conjunction were an accurate parallel to the Star of Bethlehem, I think it safe to say Herod would have seen the star too. He might not know what it symbolized, but it would have been rather self evident to everyone, including him. Yet, Herod’s awareness of the star in Scripture communicates, at best, a vagueness of this event. So… Why couldn’t Herod see something that should have been rather obvious?
As I’ve shared in the past, the function of stars in the Bible are not to point out zodiacal events, but stars often signify people or angels. There’s a level of playfulness in how stars are presented in the Bible. The Magi from the East were most likely members of mystery religions that did find meaning for their lives in the close attentiveness to the movements of the stars. With this as a presumption, I’ve often wondered if part of the authorship of the story of the Magi was for missiological reasons or for the purpose of mission to those that represent the East. Could it be a story to the mystery religions that communicates, “You seek truth in the stars, but we see the light you seek as a person, an infant, a priest, a prophet and king.”
So why couldn’t Herod easily identify the star? Perhaps it wasn’t because of his ignorance of star charts, but the story may provide a metaphor for his disregard to any truth outside of maintaining his sense of power. Perhaps the blindness to the star is that he saw the “light in the darkness” of Jesus Christ not as something to celebrate, but a threat to his power and an enemy. And if there is one thing that people who have power fear more than anything its losing power. With the blinders of power, prestige and wealth upon him, Herod lived with his spiritual eyes in the fog, unable to see the light of truth even as it lay in a manger in Bethlehem.
If we take this approach to the star, we can begin to see that all of us, myself included, can fall into the trap of the “blindness of Herod.” All of us can allow the trappings of power, prestige and wealth to dim our vision and make seeking the truth of Christ difficult or borderline impossible. Therefore, the core of the Star of Bethlehem might be a call to detachment from the distractions we spiritually trip upon in the darkness and allow the illuminating light of faith, hope and love to illuminate our very being.
So, how do we see with the eyes of faith? St. Ignatius would speak of a disposition of heart called spiritual indifference. What this means is that we are to be indifferent to all things in life except for those that draw us closer to Christ. This presumes a time of reflection to become aware of the things that do draw us closer to Christ and things that can distract us.
For a meditation on the Star of Bethlehem, I would encourage you to reflect on the things in your life that draw you closer to God and those things that draw you away from God. Pray to be detached from the things that distract and embrace the things that draw you closer to the Divine. Pray to keep you heart far away from the trappings of Herod and bow in humble adoration to the Infant King we celebrate during this Christmas Season.
Here’s arguable the best image I’ve ever taken of the Orion and Running Man Nebulae. I’ll explain how I captured this image and others in my next post. Until then, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
