"The Usual Suspects"

"The Usual Suspects" - The Star

‘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.’ Matthew 2:9-11[a]

As we have seen in an earlier post re the wise men, the magi were priests who paid particular attention to the stars, gaining an international reputation for astrology, which at that time highly regarded as a science. So the fact that they were following a star or a comet was not an unusual or unexpected thing for them to do. In fact they were simply doing what most of us do every day, going about their work, following their vocation. And in following that vocation they were fulfilled, had a sense of purpose, that they were doing that which they were meant to do. It was the mundane, a normal experience in their lives. Did they know where it was going to lead them in Matthew’s gospel? Not likely! They set off just doing their job, and ended up somewhere they had no expectation of being.

Our star is that which leads us to our understanding or discovery of the holy in our lives.

it doesn’t have to something unusual or esoteric. indeed I suspect it seldom is either of these. Instead it is part of our daily routine and existence which beckons us to go farther, to take risks, and to end up somewhere we had no intention of going when we started out. Along with the wise men, we also have our gifts to give when we arrive. Again things that are common in our lives but have meaning and exact a cost for us. Perhaps it is a gift of our uninterrupted time. Perhaps it is the gift of being good listener, one who can listen without trying to fix the problem. Perhaps it is the gift of knowledge and insight. Whatever our gift is, we are called to offer it.

People are often encouraged in today’s world to find their ministry. Often this is thought of as something difficult, something apart, something we need to search for. But what if we are like the wise men? What if our ministry is that which we have been doing every day? I truly believe living each day to its fullest, doing that which I feel called to do and that which is put in my path is the way I will discover and honour the holy in my life.

So the star in our Christmas pageant will have two sides. On one side will be a calendar telling how we spend our time and on the other will be a bank statement saying where our money goes.

What star are you following this Christmastide?

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