Isaiah 60:1-6 Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
Matthew 2:1-12 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’"
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, 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. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Reflection When I came to the phrase in today’s gospel text describing the wise men as being, “overwhelmed with joy,” everything in me screeched to a halt. What happens in those moments when we are “overwhelmed with joy?” We stop, draw in our breath, and can almost hear the prophecy of Third Isaiah,
“Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, (nothing is left out) the wealth of the nations shall come to you. (there is no more to seek)”
A special kind of knowing accompanies being “overwhelmed with joy,” knowing that surpasses rational understanding. Knowing that is rich and ripe and radiant. When we let this radiant knowing enlighten us, like the wise men who are not duped by Herod’s plot to extinguish the light, we can turn our lives around to go a different way, a way illumined by the radiance of joy.
I believe joy is the Real Presence of God with us. In those moments when we are moved to pause, draw in our breath and taste the sublime perfection of joy, like the wise men we naturally open the treasure chests of our hearts to be and to give the very best of who we are. Here is the thing. We are the wise ones. We know the child of light and hope for all people has been born. We have seen the star and it has enlightened our minds. Now the question is, will we open the treasure chests of our hearts to be the radiant beings bearing gifts of joy for all humankind?
On December 21st low in the southwestern sky Saturn and Jupiter crossed paths, and for a moment they appeared as if one brilliant celestial body. Many wondered, “Could this be the second coming of the Star of Bethlehem?”
Contemporary theologians agree the two thousand year old story of the Star of Bethlehem is unlikely to have been an astronomical event because stars do not move from the east, turn left, drop to the south and stop over a particular dwelling. It is more likely the writer of Matthew’s gospel uses star as a metaphor (the only gospel in which it appears) to accentuate the importance of the birth of Jesus. Nonetheless, the celestial event on December 21st, 2020 was very exciting.
At the conclusion of a year fraught with every order of disease, disappointment and disaster the “Star of Bethlehem” beamed above us as a beacon of hope. This celestial event led us to stop whatever we were doing, go outside, be still, gaze into the night sky and allow our hearts and imaginations to soar. Again, as our prophet professes,
“Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
We “see” and we “be” radiant when like the wise men we stop our preoccupation with the myriad details of daily life, take the risk of walking into the uncertainty of darkness and make ourselves available to be “overwhelmed with joy.” Joy comes, not when we strive to contrive it, but when we show up and allow it to arise through us.
I have been reading a leadership book called “Flying Lead Change” that gleans its wisdom from the nature of horses and humans. Quoting one of her teachers the author, Kelly Wendorf writes, “Don’t let your dreams obscure the joy that is already here.” I love that counsel and pray we will all take it to heart. “Don’t let your dreams obscure the joy that is already here.”
We are meant not only to see but also to be the radiant star. Sometimes our dreams of what we think we want or need or must have are the very things that obscure the radiance of joy that is already here. As the prophet Isaiah reminds us,
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
That which we seek has already been born and is with us right now.
“because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, (nothing is missing)
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.” (we are already more than enough)
The call to action for 2021 is to be radiant, allowing joy to shine through us and enlighten the world. We are the radiance of the star. We are the vision of the wise ones. And we are the hope of the poor peasant child.
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