A STAR, A STAR ...
		 
In recent years during the holiday season, there is an advertisement for a gift for the person who 
has everything—A STAR.  No, not a star that you can own, but rather a star that is named for 
you.  Supposedly, for a certain price you can have a star "officially" named after a loved one 
with official documents verifying the name and charts showing the exact location of your star in 
the sky.  While I guess I wouldn't turn down a gift of a star, I'd rather have a gift certificate from 
Home Depot or Lowes.
	
A star might make a nice conversation piece, but its use would end there.  Not so with a star that 
appeared some two thousand years ago.  While that star never had a name, it reminds the world 
of the most precious name of all—JESUS!
	
The story is found in the second chapter of Matthew.  The apostle writes, "	After Jesus was born 
in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 
and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east 
and have come to worship him'" (Matthew. 2:1-2).  Questions abound regarding this star of the 
east—Where did it come from?  How bright was it?  Was it a comet?  Was it a special alignment 
of the planets?  How long did it last?  What eventually happened to it?  The queries go on and 
on.
	
Little more is said about this special star— "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.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed" (Matthew 2:9-10).  The joy 
of the Magi, however, was not so much over seeing the star, but over seeing the one to whom the 
star pointed—the baby Jesus!  Interestingly, the star fulfilled its role in announcing the birth of 
the Messiah and then promptly disappeared into the night sky.
	
Why a star?  Why did God choose to announce His son's birth with a star?  Perhaps to fulfill the 
prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24:17— "A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of 
Israel."  Perhaps to communicate with Gentile astrologers in ways they could understand.  Perhaps 
just to give songwriters a theme around which to write Christmas carols.  I'm just glad that everytime 
we look at the stars, we're reminded of the birth of the Savior.

Leslie S. Chapman