Scripture: Matthew 2:1-2; Matthew 2:1-12; Genesis 15:5; Psalm 8:3; Acts 8:9-20; Matthew 7:7; Psalm 72:11 Series: 2021
Opening the Advent series ‘Star of Wonder’ on Matthew 2:1-12, this sermon (Matthew 2:1-2) reflects on the Magi seeking the star. Pruitt surveys astrology’s ancient and persistent place in human society, weighs theories about the Christmas star (supernova, comet, planetary conjunction per Raymond Brown), and clarifies that ‘star’ anciently meant any object in the sky, so the text isn’t disproven. The heart of the sermon is that we all seek signs and seek the light; the call is to seek Jesus, the true light offered to all nations, while discerning true light from false lights like Simon Magus, Gnosticism, and self-salvation. It closes urging active seeking through love, study, and discernment, journeying toward the savior in Bethlehem rather than Herod.
Illustrations: family-zodiac-signs, st-pauls-1804-attendance, crowley-occult-revival, dark-skies-fort-davis, astronomers-practiced-astrology, raymond-brown-conjunction, pediatric-growth-chart, simon-magus-simony, andrew-of-crete-quote, pascal-wager-and-jesus
November 28
The Star
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.” Matthew 2:1-2
I am a Libra. Ephraim is a Libra too, because we have the same birthday. Dominic is a Scorpio. Alina is a Virgo. Okay. Last month we had a sermon series on betting and gambling called The Wager on Pascal’s wager. Today, we’re talking about astrology. Now, astrology in the ancient world had some common characteristics with astrology today. There were constellations which represented certain characteristics. There were people who claimed to see things in the stars. Astrology has never really gone away from our society. One of the important things you realize when you study history is that there is no historical advancement from a so-called primitive culture to what we have now. In 1804, St. Paul’s cathedral in London had four people in attendance for Christmas Eve services. In 1904, there were a lot of people who believed in astrology and tarot card readings and fortune-telling, even more than there are today. The stories of Rasputin and theosophy, Aleister Crowley who influences L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology and inspired an Ozzy Osborne song, mMr. Crowley. The ancient world had a much deeper relationship to the stars. For one thing, there were a lot more of them. There was so little light pollution before electrification that from almost any place in the world, you could see the sky as you do in Fort Davis or Big Bend. We all seek signs in our life. Signs to let us know the direction our life is going. Signs to let us know where we are right now. We all seek confirmation about who we think we are. We seek something of our future. We all seek the light, Whether you are a Christian or not, you seek the light.
My friends, we are starting a new sermon series for the season of advent called Star of Wonder. In this series, we will focus on a part of scripture that is often sung about, but not often preached about in Advent and Christmas: Matthew 2:1-12. We’re going to go through this passage very slowly. As far as the timeline of Jesus’s life happens, it takes place after his birth. And yet in the seeking of the Magi, we see how we should not just wait passively for Jesus, we need to seek God wherever the star leads. It’s not only about getting ready for the baby Jesus or getting ready for gifts. It is about seeking the truth, seeking the light, following that star, whatever it takes us. Today, we are focused on the star.
Our scripture is just Matthew 2:1-2, that the magi who go to seek the star, they come from the East. Magi in Greek is hoi magoi. It is often translated as wise men or kings but originally just refers to both wisdom and magic. A few hundred years after Jesus, some thought them as kings after Psalm 72:11, which says, “May all kings fall down before him.” By the 8th century, they are going to go from plural to three and are given the names Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar. Balthasar is usually the king of Arabia, Melchior the king of Persia, and Gaspar the king of India.
The East is a term which could be basically anywhere east of here. For instance, east of where we are could mean Lakeway or dripping Springs or Austin or New York city. There’s a wide breadth of what the east could be. Scholars think it was probably somewhere in either Persia or around that area. They came from the east, whether three or thirty, seeking a star. They were not Jewish so they came to Jerusalem to ask questions about the star and what it could mean. Now, like I said at the beginning, astrology has been a part of human society. It’s probably the oldest science in general that people have studied and talked about and shared about since 2,000 BC or so. As well, star charts were necessary for sailing, for the navigation of the seas. Sailors had to memorize the night sky to know where they were and where they were going and where they had been. As astrologers discovered the patterns to the stars, they also thought that there could be patterns to their lives. Thus throughout most of Christian history, there have been Christians focused on the stars. Galileo, Kepler, and Tycho Brahe, all practiced astrology even as they led advancements in telescopes and methods that led to modern astronomy.1 Many people over the years have asked this question, what was the star at Christmas? Which one? Which star would be bright enough that it would gather people to come to Jerusalem? One modern theory is that there was a supernova that a star was exploding, but there aren’t any records of supernovas during this period. Another theory is that there was a comet over the sky at that time. Again, the dating of it doesn’t quite fit. We have good dates for comets and for when they would have been seen in the ancient world again, like kept really good records. These are not exhaustive. There are other theories. The third theory is that there was a planetary conjuncture going on, and this is as Raymond Brown points out in his great book, The Birth of the Messiah , He thinks that this is most likely what was taking place. It was extra bright in the sky. It might have been the conjuncture of Jupiter, Saturn, the moon, and the Sun, or another between Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and the constellation Pisces. A planetary conjuncture would not make the New Testament wrong, for star did not mean “an astronomical object consisting of a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its own gravity,” as stars are defined today. A star was an object in the sky. Planets and stars were similar in that way. They were up there. They were far away. The stars were signs throughout the Scriptures. God speaks of stars that they speak of God, setting the stars in the sky. “Then he brought Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars if you think you can count them.” He continued, “This is how many children you will have.”” Genesis 15:5 CEB
or “When I look up at your skies, at what your fingers made— the moon and the stars that you set firmly in place—” Psalms 8:3 CEB
Just to clarify, I don’t give a lot of credence to modern astrology in that kind of sense. Our ultimate truth is not found there. And our future is not predictable in astrology or a fortune teller kind of way. We know our ultimate end in God, but the proximate end is unclear, for Jesus will come like a thief in the night. When we look to often to the future we forget God’s actions here and now. And yet we still look for signs to see if we are on the right path.
For us this day, what are the signs we are looking for in our life?
We look for signs in our own life. We look for signs about our bank account, our home, our vacations, our car, our spouses, our children, our grandchildren. We look for signs of our life. Am I living a life that is good or not? We look for signs that our kids are having a life that is good. What are they doing? What is healthy? We go to a pediatrician’s office and see the chart of their height and weight which shows what percentile they are for their age. This is a sign. When they apply for colleges, that’s another. What are the signs we are looking for? What are the signs of love we are looking for? What are we looking for in a partner? What are the signs in our spouse that we look for to show us they still love us?
What are the signs of God we are looking for? If you are not looking for Jesus, you are not going to find him. But there are also a lot of false lights out there that claim to be true. False lights that tell you want you want to hear. In Acts 8, Simon Magus appears. Acts says, “He claimed to be a great person. Everyone, from the least to the greatest, gave him their undivided attention and referred to him as “the power of God called Great.” He had their attention because he had baffled them with sorcery for a long time.” And yet he sees the power of the gospel.
“When Simon perceived that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money. He said, “Give me this authority too so that anyone on whom I lay my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter responded, “May your money be condemned to hell along with you because you believed you could buy God’s gift with money!”
The sin of simony comes from that, the idea you can purchase God’s grace. Other false lights were soon around like the Gnostics who claimed God had a secret message for them. Everyone else was wrong but they were right. Other False lights said Jesus wasn’t God. Others said that Jesus wasn’t human. Others said Christians were atheists because they didn’t worship the Roman Gods. There are false lights today that say you can save yourself. There are false lights that say you can manifest new realities with your mind on your own.
And yet, if you are looking for the true light, as Pascal said through the mouth of Jesus, “you would not seek me. If you had not already found me.” As Jesus did say, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”2 Like the magi, God’s light is not limited to us or those who already know him. God’s light is offered for all, no matter who they are or where they are from or where they are going. If you have received light, share it. Do not hide, seek it. Offer it. Offer light in your life. Offer the way to the baby Jesus because the light has been offered to you. In this season of Advent, take an opportunity to seek the star of life. That is Jesus Christ. It is an opportunity to seek the light of life. That is Jesus Christ, the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it. My brothers and sisters, there are times when it feels like the dark. Not just because the sun is going down earlier in the afternoons. There are times when life can feel dark and we need to look for the light. We need to look for the light that gave light to that star 2000 years ago.
as Andrew of Crete said He is coming who is everywhere present and pervades all things; he is coming to achieve in you his work of salvation. He is coming who came to call to repentance not the righteous but sinners, coming to recall those who have strayed into sin. Do not be afraid, then: God is in the midst of you, and you shall not be shaken.
What kind of light is this? It is that which enlightens every man coming into the world. It is the everlasting light, the timeless light revealed in time, the light manifested in the flesh although hidden by nature, the light that shone round the shepherds and guided the Magi. It is the light that was in the world from the beginning, through which the world was made
May we seek this light this Advent season. If we wish to understand the star or the stars, may we seek the light. May we live in the light by loving our neighbors, by giving of ourselves. May we study. May we discern the true light from the false light. May we not rush to Herod but we journey together towards our savior in Bethlehem.
Let us pray. Heavenly father, we seek you as the magi saw the star. We seek you in this season. Have mercy on us for the ways we have strayed to false lights, and let us return to you. In this season of advent, may we go deeper in faith, hope, and love, as we prepare for the birth of your son. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Footnotes
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An article from ten years ago comparing astrology and astronomy defines astrology in the following way:The influence of celestial bodies on Earth has several obvious manifestations: life on Earth depends on the Sun, seasons are linked to its position in the sky (due to the non-perpendicularity of the Earth’s rotation axis with respect to the ecliptic plane), ocean tides are controlled by the position of the Moon (via its differential gravitation) and of the Sun, and eclipses are due to Sun–Moon–Earth alignments. Astrology extrapolates these factual influences by postulating that the positions of the Sun, Moon and 8 planets other than Earth…with respect to the sky background, as well as with respect to each other, influence terrestrial events and human psychology and destiny.(fn) ↩
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Matthew 7:7. ↩