Once upon a time there were three people who loved stars. They loved to study which stars shown brightest and which stars moved where. They understood the stars to have a language, to be telling them messages, about great movements and future occurrences.

Because God loved these three people and knew they would be looking for messages in the stars, God aligned the stars to bring them a very special message. God would be coming to earth. The greatest power there ever was, entering humanity in the way all humans do – a baby from a mother’s womb.

The star-loving message readers got the message…somewhat: Jewish. King. Baby. Now. Go.

With great hope, they saw a future that was brighter, different, better than before. They saw a new, brighter star. They traveled from their homes to see this message in reality. They followed that star.

But their travels were long, and sometimes they struggled to see the star. They lost a lot along the way, and many times it just felt like too much. There were new practices they had to follow, and work-loads much more than they had before. They weren’t able to celebrate the holidays the way they used to. They weren’t able to eat the same foods, and talk to the same people, and they certainly missed it a lot. But with the light of the star to guide them, they kept going, holding on to that vision of the future and the message they had received from the stars.

At one point they arrived in a new land where they heard they might find a Jewish king. They asked around for a king, and were directed to the Roman leader of the area, who was called King. They told him of the message they had received, and asked him where they might find the baby. The officials there pointed the star-lovers in the direction of a very old small town, where once an ancient King had ruled. They felt all mixed up, not sure if this was good news or bad. But they muddled through the confusion of government policies, checks and balances, sorting through the news and relying on the experts, and continued on their way, ever holding to the message – and to the star.

The star shown brightly on that last leg of the journey. Each day it was clearer and clearer that they were going in the right direction, and that they would reach their destination soon. The journey was still hard, with new challenges along the way, but they held tighter and tighter to their hope.

And they made it. In the end, they found God on earth, in the form of a Jewish baby, a king, born of a mother’s womb.

 

We too, will make it. If we just keep following the star.

 

Jocelyn Wildhack is our Chaplain and Camp Director. She is soon to be ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).