Thoughts on the Bethlehem Star

About ten years ago, for some reason, I got to thinking about the star the wise men of the East would have identified as signifying the birth of the King of the Jews. It struck me as being odd that something as spectacular as it must have been didn’t get more coverage in the historical record. But, then again, the wise me were astrologers, not just smart fellows who admired the stars. Astrologers don’t watch for cosmic marvels: they watch for astral movement that most of us don’t pay any attention to. What if the star they were following was one only an astrologer would notice? And what if they followed it, not by dead reckoning, but by observing its movements, doing whatever calculations an astrologer does, and figuring out where to go from the results? It would sure spoil a lot of thrilling Christmas illustrations, but it did seem plausible.

Was I surprised when, a couple of weeks later, an article appeared in New Scientist Magazine1, suggesting the same thing. According to the article*, Michael Molnar, an astronomer formerly associated with Rutgers University, had discovered a reference to the star in a 4th-century manuscript written by the Roman astrologer Firmicus Maternus. Evidently, he described an astrological event involving an eclipse of Jupiter by the Moon in Aries in 6 B.C., and said that it signified the birth of a divine king. Apparently, the early Christians were aware of the celestial event, but didn’t advertise it, in order to avoid the appearance of approving of astrology. The theory hasn’t had much promotion, but scholars quoted in the article think it has merit.

Regardless of the circumstances, though, the story of the wise men is a great illustration of how God reveals Himself to people who wouldn’t ordinarily go looking for Him. The rabbis advising King Herod knew the Hebrew scriptures well enough to tell him the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2 and Matthew 2:6), but God didn’t require the wise men to have such background. God got their attention through what they did know: the stars. They still had to act upon their revelation (they still had to go look for that King the star indicated), but they didn’t have to change their studies in order to receive that revelation. And so it is even today, for us wise men and women. We’ll still have to follow up, but, if we really want to know God, He’ll point us in the right direction, using stars that may mean nothing to anyone but us.

I hope you'll see, and recognize, God's hand in your life today!

*Chown, Marcus. Early Christians hid the origins of the Bethlehem star : New Scientist [Web Page]. December 21, 2001; Accessed 12-7-2011. Available at:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1713-early-christians-hid-the-origins-of-the-bethlehem-star.html

December and the Birth of Jesus

It was while I was in third grade, I think, that I first heard the idea that Jesus Christ wasn’t born in December. The reasoning was that, in December, the shepherds wouldn’t have been in the fields with the sheep. Besides, the tribes in Europe all had festivals that fell at the end of the year, and the early missionaries tied a celebration of the birth of Jesus to those festivals to make Christianity more appealing to them. I never gave it much thought: after all – December, September, or April – the important thing was that He was born.

A couple of years ago, though, I got to thinking about the early Church and those early missionaries, and realized that the idea of their adapting the tribal festivals did them a great disservice. At that time, the Christians were still being persecuted, they were still convinced of the truth of their faith, and were not so spiritually pusillanimous to compromise with the pagans. The early Church must have had some good reason for giving a December date to the birth of Jesus.

It turns out, the answer comes from the Gospel of Luke. Let’s look at the chronology of events in the first two chapters.

In Chapter 1, Zacharias (the soon-to-be father of John the Baptist) is taking his turn to work at the Temple. He is selected to enter the Temple and burn incense, while the congregation prays outside. The fact that he is entering alone (v. 21), while the congregation prays outside (v. 10), has led some commentators to believe that he must have been entering the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement (see the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus, verse 17 in particular). The Day of Atonement takes place around the end of September or beginning of October. In 2003, for instance, it was October 6, with Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) coming about a week before (September 27).

While Zacharias is there, an angel appears and tells him that he and his wife Elizabeth are going to have a son. After a little unpleasantness, he goes home, and before long, Elizabeth is pregnant. Judging from the story of the birth of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:19-20) and of Isaac (Genesis 18:14), when an angel states one will have a child, he means now. So John the Baptist would have been conceived about the end of September/beginning of October.

The narrative then turns to Mary. In the sixth month, an angel tells her that she will bear a son, and that her cousin Elizabeth is six months pregnant. If the months are counted from Rosh Hashanah, and if Zacharias received his annunciation on the Day of Atonement, this Annunciation would have taken place about March. She goes to visit Elizabeth, who recognizes that Mary is carrying Jesus*. Human reproduction being what it is, nine months later, she would have given birth. Nine months from March is December.

Now, this isn’t to say that Jesus wasn’t born in September or April, and I don’t know why the shepherds might have been in the fields in cold weather, either.  (Well, yes I do know:  if the town is full of tax collectors, and if flocks are considered as wealth, it would make sense for people to hide their assets out of town.  But be that as it may.) But we can see that, when the early Church set Jesus’s birth at the end of December, it wouldn’t have been as a concession to the pagans they were trying to reach, but because they had reason to believe it was true. Happily, it appears to be much easier to put a date on the Resurrection.

(*Incidentally, this part of the story (Luke 1:39-44), also makes a pretty good argument for when life begins. It says Mary left "with haste" to see Elizabeth, and when she arrived, Elizabeth exclaims that blessed is the fruit of her womb. Mary couldn’t have been more than a couple of weeks pregnant, yet the fetus is recognized as being Elizabeth’s "Lord".)

When the Legends Can't Die, the Dreams Never End. . .

At a recent press conference for some new Star Wars initiative, I heard one of the actors, one who has been associated with the movies since filming began in 1976, described as a "legend" In itself, this identification is not startling: he is frequently described as a legend elsewhere, and deserves the compliment. He has achieved, and helped in the achievement of, things that, if someone had predicted them in 1977, no one would have believed them possible. But this time, it occurred to me that "legend" is a past-tense word. A legend is something – admittedly, a marvelous something – that is remembered with reverence. A legend lives in memory, not in reality.

Recently, my family visited the Crazy Horse Memorial project in South Dakota (  www.crazyhorsememorial.org ) I call it a "project" because the sculpture – a mountain-sized image of Chief Crazy Horse – is still under construction. The sculptor for this incredible project, Korczak Ziolkowski, once said in an interview that part of what motivated him in his work was something a wise Indian had said: "When the legends die, the dreams end. And when the dreams end, there is no more greatness."† Part of what Korczak wanted to do through this sculpture was to remind Native Americans, of all tribes, of the brave men who had gone before them; to inspire them to their own excellence.

Remind and Remember.

A legend must live in memory, it must move in imagination. When the memory fails, imagination become barren, and deeds become feral. Some may believe legends are fictions; some legends may be. But in order to live and inspire, legends must flourish in our memory.

A few years ago, when the Star Wars in Concert tour visited in Chicago, I recall having seen pictures of some of the production memorabilia that had been on display. One of the items was the Threepio costume. It looked as splendid as ever in its showcase, but, seeing it there, lifeless but beautiful, reminded me of Snow White in her glass casket. Only, for him, it hit me, no charming princess or friendly Artoo unit would ever awaken him – because he never really existed . That empty costume was a reminder that Threepio was nothing more than a make-believe character of fiction, with no real existence beyond fiction. And that thought was worse than seeing him dead.

My thought turned to the man who has played him so well for so long, not without uneasiness. So much of Threepio has become entwined with that man. Each of his performances is a delight, and it will be a sad day when he decides he can no longer play the role. But, as a mortal man, that day must come – as it must to all of us. Will someone else be able to assume the character, or will the costume in the glass casket remain forever still, much as the Kuklapolitan Players never performed again after Burr Tillstrom died?‡

When the dreams end, there is no more greatness

But then I saw my mistake, and the mistake of so many others, who would call the actor who plays Threepio a legend. That actor's life is remarkable, with many inspiring elements, but he isn't the legend: Threepio is. What has made him a legend is not the durability of the character, but the character of the character. He represents that spirit of civility in a chaotic world; he is that fictional upright Everyman, trying to bring real order out of obvious anarchy. He is Chesterton's "greenhorn."§ Because he isn't real, he cannot die; because he is a creature of imagination, he is at home in the world of memory. He is the living legend, living in the minds of those who honor all he stands for. He is the legend that can not die, the dream that need not end. And those who follow the example of his finest qualities do achieve real greatness.

---------------------

†It is possibly a paraphrase of a Shawnee proverb, or a quotation of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tecumseh

‡Although the article – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr_Tillstrom – does not mention it, Burr Tillstrom's puppets, at his request, have been fitted with stands that prevent anyone else from ever putting their hands in them again.

§Chesterton, G.K.. The Fairy Pickwick. http://www.archive.org/details/thoughts00chesuoft – search for the word "Greenhorn."
The key portion says:
"Pickwick goes through life with that godlike gulli- bility which is the key to all adventures. The green- horn is the ultimate victor in everything; it is he that gets the most out of life. Because Pickwick is led away by J ingle, he will be led to the White Hart Inn, and see the only Weller cleaning boots in the courtyard. Because he is bamboozled by Dodson and Fogg, he will enter the prison house like a paladin, and rescue the man and the woman who have wronged him most. His soul will never starve for exploits or excitements who is wise enough to be made a fool of. He will make himself happy in the traps that have been laid for him; he will roll in their nets and sleep. All doors will fly open to him who has a mildness more defiant than mere courage. The whole is unerringly expressed in one fortunate phrase-he will be always 'taken in. J To be taken in everywhere is to see the inside of every- thing. It is the hospitality of circwnstance. With torches and trumpets, like a guest, the greenhorn is taken in by Life. And the sceptic is cast out by it."

Yoda's Theme, Circa 1942

Sometimes, while sitting in the pew, my mind does wander. Have you ever noticed that music is frequently more than background prettiness Sometimes it can manipulate emotions. Smooth jazz, for instance, has always sounded to me as if it were transcribed emotion rather than melody. Some of Palestrina's compositions resonate so with a listener that, instead of feeling his emotions change with the music, he can feel the music itself changing his emotions Listen sometime to the music used at memorial services: the finest compositions will match the feelings of the listener, support the feeling, and, essentially, carry the weight of the hearer's grief. In short, music has meaning beyond reason. Certain melodies will convey certain feelings or abstract ideas, regardless of where they are placed. For instance, if one listens closely to the defiant sneer of John Williams' Imperial March, from the score for the film The Empire Strikes Back, he would detect transpositions of that venerable childhood taunt "Nyah Nyah Na-Na-Nyah!"

One reason my thoughts have wandered to the music of Star Wars is because, along with the (at this time) upcoming Blu-Ray release of the films of the saga, some unreleased material, and new interviews, are to be included. One leaked interview has featured composer John Williams talking about

Yoda's theme. In that clip, he describes the melody as reflecting the dignity and simplicity of true wisdom. ( http://www.play.com/Campaign.html?campaign=9190&cid=2024469 )

While I've always liked Yoda's theme, I've never thought it fit the character. The tune is entirely too domestic for so mystic a presence. In fact, the first time I heard the composition apart from the film, the picture it conjured in my mind was of Luke Skywalker and some girl drifting in a boat on a lake. Luke's imagination also drifts to a vision of the future: of himself cheerfully working around a comfortable homestead. During the second strain, he sees the droids and a couple of children doing their part. Finally, we see the girl, now a contented mother and homemaker of this happy family The vision gradually fades, and the scene returns to the couple tranquilly floating on the lake. Perhaps it's a silly fancy, but it's what I heard in that music.

But Williams is partially right. Originally, the passage we now recognize as Yoda's Theme did speak of dignity and wisdom, but, above all, it conveyed a sense of fulfillment. It had first appeared thirty-eight years earlier in the 1942 Columbia film Talk of the Town http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035417/ (Directed by George Stevens, Score by Fredrich Hollander http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006130/ ) To digress, the film is one that every lover of liberty should see: it follows the jail break of an independent freedom-lover (Cary Grant) who was framed for arson and murder. The story shows how sometimes the letter of misused law must be broken in order to vindicate the spirit of the True Law. Anyway, one of the characters who helps exonerate Grant's character is the dean of a prestigious law school, who was unexpectedly in town at the time. About 41 minutes into the film, the dean (Ronald Colman) learns that he has been nominated for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. ( http://youtu.be/PIOWxTuLmpY ) This Supreme Court theme is the opening phrase of Yoda's theme. Throughout the film, we hear it change key and pitch, but the phrase remains plainly recognizable. Occasionally, it has been whispered that John Williams sometimes works the music of other composers into his own. It's possible John Williams was unaware of this unattributed musical quotation, but considering how famous The Talk of the Town is, I would be greatly surprised if he had not heard it.

But this could hardly be called plaigarism. He took what was probably a five-measure phrase and wove it into a whole tone poem; much as a writer can take a quotation and make it into an essay. Who remembered that little old musical theme with possibilities; and who now doesn't know Yoda's Theme? In a sense, Williams rescued that melody from oblivion. Williams' acknowledgment may not be considered scholarly, but this melody, certainly, should be grateful that it has been immortalized as an important parts of Star Wars.

The choice of that phrase, philosophically, was brilliantly appropriate; not because it spoke of wisdom, but of completion. As one watches The Talk of the Town, it becomes obvious that the appointment of Colman's Professor Lightcap to the Supreme Court was the fulfillment of his heart's desire, just as Luke's studies under Yoda were apparently the fulfillment of his destiny. And, to my own amazement, I realized even my impression of Luke's domestic dream was also one of fulfillment. It intrigued me that John Williams could have been so right about the choice of music, yet not recognize the obvious reason why.

The Parable of the Mother and the Cookie Jar

This story has been useful in our Sunday School class to illustrate the presence of pain in the presence of a good God and faithful followers.

Once there was a mother who had three young sons. She also had a particularly beautiful cookie jar. It was not only a pleasure to look at, but was always filled with delicious cookies. Her sons liked to look at the cookie jar, and were always eager for the cookies it contained. The mother was generous with them, but the cookies remained a special treat. But the mother knew that too many cookies, or cookies at the wrong time, would not be healthy for them. If the children could take cookies whenever they liked, she knew they would not eat the healthy food they needed, and the cookies would cease to be a treat for them. Also, the jar, though beautiful, was fragile. Rough handling, typical to young boys, would break it. So, to protect the jar and her children, the mother kept the cookie jar on a high shelf in the kitchen. On that shelf, the children could still enjoy the jar,, but it was out of their reach. Their mother, however, could still reach it easily. And when the time was right, she would take it off the shelf, and everyone could enjoy the cookies inside.

One day, one of the sons wanted cookies. He knew his mother would not give him any, because it was not the time when her children were allowed to have them. So, he decided to get some himself. He told one of his brothers about his plans, then went to the cupboard. He climbed up on the shelves, and stretched for the jar. He could not get a grip on the jar, so he slid it toward the edge of the shelf where he could reach it. As he did, his other brother, who knew nothing about he cook raid, walked by. The boy on the cupboard slid the jar a little too close to the edge. It toppled off the shelf, hit the boy walking by, and shattered to pieces on the floor.

So: is the mother to blame fo the other boy being injured by the falling cookie jar? Of course not. She had put it securely on a high shelf, where it could not be accidentally knocked off. Did the son walking by do anything to deserve getting hit by the cookie jar? Of course not; he knew nothing about his brother's plot, and had no reason to expect the jar to fall. Sometimes, the wrongs people commit do not injure them, but innocent bystanders.
Was the first son wrong to want cookies/ No: they were not completely forbidden or excessively limited, only at that time of day, and when the mother gave them to the boys. Was the son who knew about the his brother's plans guiltless in this affair? No; he knew what his brother was doing was wrong, and did nothing to stop him, or warn someone in authority of his planned disobedience. Instead, he agreed with that rebellion with his silence. Will they suffer for their decisions? Yes: they will be punished, if not directly or immediately by their mother, with the loss of pleasure of the lovely cookie jar and the chance to enjoy the cookies inside. Will they be punished immediately upon the shattering of the cookie jar? No: the mother has to take care of the injured boy and the broken jar first. Will they be punished? Yes.

Can the mother put everything back the way it was? No: the jar is shattered, the cookies are spoiled, and the innocent son is hurt. Can she take away the innocent's son's injury? Ho. The cookie jar hit him as it fell. The best she can do is to comfort the wounded boy, and clean up the mess. A great mistake people make in the midst of trouble is to blame God for the trouble, when, in fact, He is not in the trouble, any more than he was in the storm Elijah experienced when he saw God (I Kings 19;12-13)Then, god was in the stillness. Likewise, God is in the comfort kind people offer to those who are in trouble.

Should the mother have known her sons might try to raid the cookie jar? She did know: that's why the jar was kept on a high shelf. She had made obedience easy: the sons could have cookies at the appropriate time, and, in the meantime, they could enjoy looking at the beautiful jar. Th boys had the choice of honoring her and protecting themselves from overeating from [something] by obeying her. Did the mother have a plan if the sons did disobey? Yes; she was prepared to comfort the injured, clean up the broken jar, and punish the guilty, She could also find a new jar, and make more cookies, but it would not be the same as the original one. We misunderstand God's omniscience sometimes. He doesn't just know what will be, but what might be; and have a plan for handling the variables. In order for people to have the free will to obey Hm, He must have a plan for when people obey Him, and when they disobey as well. He will not undo the past, but will bring comfort and healing to those who suffer fo the disobedience of others.

Schrader Memorial Service on April 9

For those of you curious about the memorial arrangements for Harold and Mary Schrader, here are the plans, as reported by Carol Lee Cole:

Hello, Friends and Relatives, 

    When last I dopped you a note about the death of my parents I did not know when the Memorial Service was to be held.  We have finalized the time -  Saturday,  April 9, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. at the Calvary E. C. Church in the small town of Hooppole, IL.  The church is the first church building west of the Route 78 and Main Street intersection in Hooppole.  It has a white steeple.  There will be a luncheon afterwards.  For those who are interested there will be a short interment ceremony at the Wheatland Cemetery in Naperville (south of town on 104th Street between Book Road and Naperville/Plainfield  just north of the DuPage River). This will be around 3:30 p.m. (it takes about 2 and a half hours to drive there from Hooppole.).  A group from the Naperville Municiple Band will be playing at the eleven o'clock service in honor of Dad being a life member of that organization.  There will also be a short Rebekah service in honor of Mother being at least a 60 year member of that organization. The funeral director said he would put a reminder in the obituary section of the paper to help friends and relatives remember.  I know this will reach many who will not be able to attend but I did want you to know athe plans and feel you are apart of our lives.  Bob and I and our families thank you for your cards of sympathy and for your prayers.  We are humbled by the friendship being shown to us at this time. 

 

We do appreciate all your concern.  Their obituaries can be found here;

Harold Schrader;  http://legacy.suburbanchicagonews.com/obituaries/stng-napervillesun/obituary.aspx?n=harold-schrader&pid=149364038

 

Mary Schrader:  http://legacy.suburbanchicagonews.com/obituaries/stng-napervillesun/obituary.aspx?n=mary-schrader&pid=149214838