The Star of Bethelem

The three wise men only found Jesus through the star of Bethelem - it was their only guide to our Savior. We all know their story since childhood, but what's so great about these Magi?

It's simple: faith. "After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed" (Mtt 2: 9-10). Well, they saw a star and chose to follow it, and kept on following until the end. It surely wasn't an easy trip, they came from far away lands on the Orient and back in the time that the Middle East didn't have all those airline companies. It's quite a lesson on faith. Think about the possibilities; if nowadays we spot a great shining star, how would we react? I would probably just take a picture and post it somewhere; some might just assume it's a shooting star and make a wish, others might as well go telling everyone they saw an UFO. But the Magi had faith, they listened to God and knew the star would led them to the Messiah, so they followed until the end.

"And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route" (Mtt 2: 11). Matthew finishes this chapter with another great lesson of the wise men. They were warned in dream and, once again, listened to God, so they came back home by another route. I'm sure it was a longer route. I'm sure it had much more difficulties. But it was God's choice for them and they did it.

But how about us? The star of Bethelem led the Magi to Jesus, and what is our star? The Church is our star. It's always pointing God and it's our only guide to the celestial Bethelem - Heaven. Jesus is our source of light and life, Jesus is our sun. And if at night we somehow can't see our sun, the Church's star is always there to show us the way. And no matter what, we must always follow it, and sometimes take the longest way, why not? And if, during the path, we find some Herode trying to mislead us, we've got to listen to God instead. He's always the best plans for us. Following His paths, we will always be rewarded.