“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’” Luke 2:10
“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” Matthew 2:9
There are so many things about the Christmas story that are mysteries. The biggest mystery is how God could possibly fit all His glory and majesty into one newborn babe. But then there are the less important mysteries, like how many wise men were really there, and did Mary have a donkey to ride or did she walk the whole way? One that has always confounded me is the star. I love stars. In fact, I just love watching the sky. I’ve seen some pretty bright stars, especially when I’m away from all human made lights. But I’ve never seen one that I could say is directly over a single place, especially one particular building. How did God do that?! How did He use a star in the sky to lead the Magi to the exact place where Jesus was?
It’s as if this star was telling these wise men from a far-away place that they needed to realize that the Savior of the world, even their world, was coming to a specific place. And that place was a tiny town called Bethlehem in the back-water country of Israel. I wonder if people in other countries could see that star. Did the people in what we now call Europe see it and wonder about it? I wonder if it was visible in North America. If they could see it, how many realized that it was pointing to a specific place in our world, at a specific time in our history? The God of the universe and of all history had entered this world. He had chosen to confine Himself to a human body and all the limitations that placed on Him. And He had come at a specific time when He would neither take part in the discoveries of the Bronze Age, nor have the benefits of the modern era. He was a Jew who lived in first century Palestine. And God called those Magi to that place in that time to let them, and the rest of the world, know that salvation comes through His people, the Jews.
Then we have the shepherds who had probably never left the region, let alone the country. They were Jews and would have been praying for a savior. Like other Jews of their time, they probably prayed for a savior to save the Jewish people from their Roman oppressors. God told them to look outside their limited realm of experience. The angel tells them that this is not just a Jewish savior. This is a Savior who happens to be Jewish, but He is for all people. God focuses the foreign Magi on this specific place in Israel and He asks the Jewish shepherds to open their eyes to the rest of the world. Isn’t that just like our God? Whatever our mindset, He wants us to see more. Whatever viewpoint we have, His is bigger and better. We may have a wrong idea that He needs to change. Or maybe our viewpoint isn’t wrong. It’s just not big enough. Either way, let’s open ourselves up to what God wants to show us and teach us. Let’s not lose ourselves in the demands and pressures of life so that we miss the simplicity of the Babe in the manger, nor the greatness of our God.