Commit to being a star this year

The beginning of the season of Epiphany is a signal for many families that it is time to take down the Christmas tree. I am always curious whether families place a star or an angel at the top of their tree. Since I was a child, a star has always adorned the top of my family’s tree. It’s probably the reason that every year during Epiphany, as I dwell in the story of the Magi, my imagination is always drawn to the star.

The Magi fix their gaze on the star illuminating the night sky and they are led to Jesus. In my heart, that star is an agent of the divine, an active participant urging the Magi forward through the darkness. I can imagine that as they travelled, these men experienced a range of emotions – excitement and anticipation, and perhaps anxiety.

When they arrive in Bethlehem, the Magi pay homage to Jesus, and they are filled with peace and joy and gratitude. They give tribute to an infant whose life and ministry would offer the world an alternative way of life. As an agent of God, the star illuminates the way to new life.

This Epiphany season is the perfect time for us to reflect on the followers of Jesus serving as the star, as agents of God illuminating a different path for the world to follow, an alternative path that the world desperately needs.

We are living in a difficult and challenging time in history. Our communities are facing a complex web of interconnected crises: homelessness, addictions, food insecurity and poor access to healthcare, to name just a few. Layered on top of these crises are decreasing environmental protections, extreme weather and the climate crisis. And add an additional layer of war, increasing hate and the largest refugee crisis and displacement of people the world has ever faced.

In his recent article “Calling a Different World into Being,” Walter Brueggemann describes this moment as a world living in “fear, scarcity, hostility, revenge and violence” that leaves us exhausted and always needing to be on alert and on guard.

Many people are afraid of what the future holds. Many people have lost confidence in the ability and willingness of political and government institutions to enact policies and programs that will make people’s lives better and heal the planet. You may be one of those people. And while Christians are not immune to fear, we are called not to let it control us. As Jesus commands us – be not afraid.

Be not afraid because we know there is an alternative way. Be not afraid so that we can be the star that leads the world to the way – to a culture of care grounded in Christ. A culture in which we care for people who are marginalized, for victims of violence and hatred, and for a planet in peril. A culture in which it is safe to bring one’s worries and lamentations. A culture in which hope, real hope, is the cornerstone.

Real hope, Christian hope, deep and abiding hope, is grounded in our relationship with Jesus. It is hard and gritty and it does not make the hard stuff go away, but it gives us courage, as followers of Jesus, to persevere as we do the work we are called to do – to live in communion with creation, to feed the hungry, to give water to the thirsty, to welcome the stranger, to give clothing to the naked, to heal the sick and visit those in prison, to love our neighbours and our enemies. This is the alternative way that Jesus commands us to choose.

This is our daily choice – a choice to live in God’s reality in which all of creation is loved and cared for and in which abundant hope is real. It is a choice not to be complicit in a culture of destruction, exploitation, violence and hatred. It is the choice the Magi make after their time with Jesus. Rather than follow the path home offered by Herod, they heed the warning and choose a different path. They choose to not be complicit and used as instruments of Herod’s destruction.

The planet needs the followers of Jesus to be the star. As you place your Christmas tree in a box or at the curb, commit to being a star and an agent of God’s care in the world.