Advent-ure 2020 December 15: Our Hope (A Star in the Sky)

Our hope in the Lord, who is called our "living hope" in 1 Peter 1, can motivate us to act in obedience 
to Him and to love Him more deeply. In verse 3 of that chapter, we find these words:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...

Later in the chapter, we are told to...

13...gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

Hope results in action - the Wise Men saw a star in the heavens, concluded, based on their studies of the stars that it was a sign of the Messiah, and didn't just say to themselves, this is a nice star, wow, look at that star, isn't that something?  No, they set out on a long journey to find the Messiah.  They even brought gifts!  During this season, as we think about the coming of Christ, who is shining His light in this world, we can either look from afar or we can come closer and see Him more clearly.

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We are now on Day 15 of our 25-day Christmas Advent-ure from Faith Radio...our free Advent guide, entitled, Call His Name, is now available thorough our website.  It's also found in the latest edition of the Faith Radio Ministry Magazine.  

In what has been an unusually challenging year for so many people, there are several very important, spiritually-charged words that have been used - faith is one, hope is another.  In 1st Timothy chapter 1, 
Paul uses this passage to describe Jesus:
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,
2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

In verse 1, he refers to Jesus as "our hope."  Don't we need that today?  We know that Jesus offers us hope in our most desperate circumstances; in fact, He is the embodiment of the hope that God brings to fallen humanity.  

In Matthew chapter 2, a sign of hope was given to some learned men from the East, known as the Wise Men or the Magi in the Christmas narrative.  They recognized that a star in the sky was a sign of this hope that a Child, a King of the Jews, a Messiah, had been born.  This star is a symbol of hope used during the Christmas season.

Now, what that star actually was or may have been is certainly an interesting topic - it could have resulted from a natural phenomenon orchestrated by a supernatural God at precisely His appointed time, or He could have just placed it there by a sovereign act.  But, I will submit that the Wise Men were certainly knowledgeable about the significance of it and knew to follow it.

There has been quite a bit of anticipation about a celestial phenomenon that will occur next week. A Forbes article reports on a unique positioning of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, stating in its 
headline: "A Spectacularly Rare ‘Christmas Star’ Is Coming In December As Two Worlds Align After Sunset." The article notes that:

The rare celestial event will be observable anywhere on Earth where skies are clear. The planets will appear low in the western sky for about an hour after sunset as viewed from the northern hemisphere, and though they’ll be closest on December 21, 2020, you can look each evening that week.

It's been a while since this occurred - Patrick Hartigan, astronomer at Rice University, is quoted as saying, "You’d have to go all the way back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these objects visible in the night sky.”

The piece also says, 

It’s thought by some—including legendary German astronomer Johannes Kepler—that the “star of Bethlehem” in the story of the Magi or “three wise men” could have been a rare triple conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and Venus.

You certainly can't say for certain that was the case, and this phenomenon next week is not a recreation of the "Christmas Star," but it should be quite a sight. People may consider what the true "star" of Bethlehem might have been, and it may give an opportunity to think about the meaning of that star two thousand years ago and the hope that it communicated. 

This star was placed in the heavens as a sign and a guide for the Wise Men.  And, there is quite the progression here: the wise men saw the star with their eyes, they drew a conclusion with their minds, and they took action, perhaps fueled by a desire to actually experience history.  Out of that expectation, they brought gifts, and when they saw Jesus, they worshiped Him.

We can also process the data, the stimuli, that we accept into our senses.  And, there is plenty of it. Do we process what we see and hear with our spirits, with a renewed mind, or with human wisdom?  Using the Word of God as our filter and the discernment of the Spirit, we can choose to accept or reject the thoughts that come into our minds, and choose to act in obedience to God. 

Finally, a star in the heavens motivated the Wise Men to action - I would dare say they had a sense of expectation, perhaps even of hope.  Our hope in the Lord ideally should result in action for His glory.