We are left to ponder, why would God send a sign to practitioners of divination, when magic is forbidden in the holy laws? Why call upon these foriegners after centuries of cultivating a chosen people? Does the miracle of the star validate contemporary astrology and witchcraft? It is my belief that God is reaching out to all people of the world in all cultures, through whatever forms are meaningful to them, to call us to peace on Earth and goodwill (grace) to all. If anything we are being called out of our old ways, into a new life with Christ, unmediated by any rituals or occult practices. We all have the opportunity to come to the Lord- shepherds, kings, magi from afar.
I wanted to have a working theory about the Star, so I have adopted, for the sake of telling this story, the hypothesis that the phenomenon is explained by the retrograde motion of the planets and a conjunction of Jupiter (the king planet) and Venus (the mother planet) as popularized by Rick Larson’s 2007 documentary The Star of Bethlehem, based on computer modeling of the position of heavenly bodies at the possible time of Christ’s birth. I recommend watching this fascinating reconstruction of a scientifically plausible rationale that is consistent with faith traditions and readings of ancient texts. I am sure there is significant debate on the issues, but for the purpose of putting together the story, this seems ideal.
I include only one reference to Old Testament prophecy, Micah 5:2, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (KJV). This verse is referenced in Star of Wonder. It is possible that magi, or Zoroastrian sages, or other mystics may have studied scrolls of prophecy, perhaps brought to the east when Israel and Judah were taken captive and citizens were exiled to Babylon. Alexander the Great’s empire extended into India, so it would have been possible even at the time of Christ for a diligent sage to gather information and travel on research all the way from the far east.
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