Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Is there anyone who hasn't stood in the night, looking up to the expanse above, and wondered? How I wonder what you are.... The Christmas season reminds us of the star of Bethlehem. The bright, incomparable star that was a map for Magi. The star that led the way for traveling wise men in search of a king. Wise men who had studied the heavens, astronomers, who had seen changes and knew something extraordinary was happening. Intelligent men who plotted the paths of stars when my Anglo ancestors were still nomadic because they had not learned how to store food. Men looking for answers. There has been rampant speculation for hundreds of years about the source of the star. Some believe an alignment of planets. Others think it was a comet or supernova. Why is it so hard for some to believe that the star was created specifically for the glorious birth of the Savior? Could the King of glory become human and live among us without 'stirring up' all creation? And God said...

We wait in lines, at work, at school, in traffic. Always waiting, our vaporous time on this earth dictated by clocks, buzzers, lights, ringing. Life around us constantly flowing, everyone about their business, everyone running and waiting, hurry up and wait. Isaiah waited for a Savior while preaching of His majesty, His healing. David waited as he sang psalms and adored the one he had not seen with fleshly eyes. They knew the promise.  The Messiah was coming. We celebrate the Advent, this season of anticipation, and we tend the sheep in cold silence, wonder about the star in the east, wonder when this promise will walk among us. The Word, which always was, took on flesh, flesh that laughed and cried, flesh that needed food and water, flesh that felt cold and heat. Flesh that awoke, worked, rested, slept. Flesh that walked among us. Divine flesh that died for our redemption.                       ...

We wait in lines, at work, at school, in traffic. Always waiting, our vaporous time on this earth dictated by clocks, buzzers, lights, ringing. Life around us constantly flowing, everyone about their business, everyone running and waiting, hurry up and wait. Isaiah waited for a Savior while preaching of His majesty, His healing. David waited as he sang psalms and adored the one he had not seen with fleshly eyes. They knew the promise.  The Messiah was coming. We celebrate the Advent, this season of anticipation, and we imagine as we are tending sheep in cold silence, wondering about the star in the east, wondering when this promise will walk among us. The Word, which always was, took on flesh, flesh that laughed and cried, flesh that needed food and water, flesh that felt cold and heat. Flesh that awoke, worked, rested, slept. Flesh that walked among us. Divine flesh that died for our redemption.                 ...

We wait in lines, at work, at school, in traffic. Always waiting, our vaporous time on this earth dictated by clocks, buzzers, lights, ringing. Life around us constantly flowing, everyone about their business, everyone running and waiting. Isaiah waited for a Savior while preaching of His majesty, His healing. David waited as he sang psalms and adored the one he had not seen with fleshly eyes. They knew the promise. The Messiah was coming. We celebrate the Advent, this season of anticipation, and we imagine that we are tending sheep in cold silence, wondering about the star in the east, wondering when this promise will walk among us. The Word, which always was, took on flesh, flesh that laughed and cried, flesh that needed food and water, flesh that felt cold and heat. Flesh that awoke, worked, rested, slept. Flesh that walked among us. Divine flesh that died for our redemption. Two thousand years later, we wait. We know the promise. The Messiah is coming...