MY STAR…
We don’t know how many stars are in the sky, maybe billions. When I was a young boy, I dreamt of counting the stars, I dreamt of catching a star and place each star in my transparent cookie jar. Then keep them under my bed, watch them exude their brightness when I turn off the lights in my room. Or sometimes, mix them with my fireflies in the transparent cookie jars. The child in me beckons me to come back – on those starry nights when the wind was sweeter, it seems, or maybe because my life was not as complicated as it is now. I used to look for my star at night. When I grew up, I lost track of my star, not that it stopped sending its brightness, well may be yes, but, the reason was that there were other stars in my life that came – the busyness of adults would rob us of stargazing, of star-counting, of cookie jars and of catching fireflies.
Today we celebrate Epiphany Sunday. The word 'epiphany' comes from Greek and it means a 'showing' or 'manifestation'. We usually call this day “Three Kings Sunday” . We might be concerned to know if the story did happen. But a story, especially a biblical story, is concerned with meaning. Instead of asking of the hard facts, we should reflect on its meaning in our lives. But let us see how this wonderful story unfolded…
So the wise men or magi were associated with the interpretation of dreams, Zoroastrianism, astrology and fortune-telling. We are not told what their names were or how many were the kings or the wise men who visited Jesus. The number 3 must be based on the kinds of gifts they brought. And they were also given names -- Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior. Caspar was represented as black and thus they were understood to represent the whole non-Jewish, Gentile world which came to Christ. We are told, too, that they came "from the east" or any distant place. But the fact remains that they were guided by this mysterious star – that they believe would point them to the place of the child. In fact, there were dangers around them – they will be traveling in a faraway place – there were robbers who might stop them or kill them or wild animals to eat them or any danger that went with distant travels. But because they knew the star, they knew the “why?”, they will bear all the “hows”. Despite the human danger from Herod and his men, when they saw the Child, they made a decision not to go back to the same path. When they saw the Child, their dream was fulfilled.
Who is or what is the star in our lives – that despite the dangers, despite the uncertainty, we are willing to give our all – just to reach that star. When Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and philosopher who was detained in a concentration camp in Auschwitz during the Nazi rule, in his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning”, was asked how he was able to survive under the grueling conditions in the concentration camp, said, “He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how.”
His “why” is his star – that despite the dangers he was facing and the pain he was feeling, he was focused on his star- to survive! I think, we could reflect on this and ask ourselves today about our “whys” in our lives – our guiding stars - that despite the possible consequences, we are ready to face them – all the “hows” can be transcended and endured because we know the star in our lives…
Ask ourselves today - how and to what is God calling me? Where does he want me to find him, to serve and follow him? We may have our priorities already fixed and so have stopped or have never even started to look for the real priorities, the God-sent stars in our lives. This very day, let us stop in our tracks- in our journeys in the road called Life. At this stage, there are many things which, for better or worse, we may not or cannot change, some decisions, right or wrong, which cannot now be undone. But it is not too late to look for our star and begin following it from where we are now.
The wise men did not know where the star would lead them. They just followed the star until it brought them to Bethlehem -- and to Jesus. They did not, I am sure, regret their decision. If we can only have the courage and the trust to follow their example, I doubt if we will have regrets either. If we have not already done so, today is the day to make that start. Follow your star! If you know your “why” in life, all the “hows” will be endured and transcended. This is what it means to celebrate Epiphany – it is not in the falling but in the rising after a fall!
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