St. Francis of Assisi found the perfect way to dramatize the Christmas Story—the story of how the Light overcame the Darkness by becoming flesh and dwelling among us. (John 1:5,14). He gave us the Nativity Scene.

His Vision of the Nativity is simple. A tiny baby. A loving mother. A faithful husband. A homeless family. A humble stable. Lowly shepherds. Lordly kings. Bleating sheep. Singing angels.

Yet his Vision of the Nativity is profound. God is with us, even when we are poor and homeless, even when we find ourselves in “humbling places.” The lowliest family is blessed. Poor people worship God. Rich people worship God. Nature worships God. Heaven worships God.

His Vision of the Nativity is profoundly simple.

Yet, his Vision of the Nativity gives Joy and Peace to all Humanity in the Way of Jesus.

His Vision of the Nativity is not a perfect representation of historical facts. For example, the Magi were not there on the night Jesus was born. (Matthew 2:1-2).

Yet, his Vision of the Nativity is a perfect representation of spiritual realities.

For example, meditate upon the Magi.

The Magi were as much different from the shepherds as imaginable.

The shepherds lived near Bethlehem. Angels told them how to find Baby Jesus. The shepherds hurried off to find the baby born that day and returned home that same day, glorifying and praising God.

Also, the shepherds were poor. They dressed poorly. They smelled poorly.

The Magi were rich. They dressed in expensive clothes. They could afford three expensive gifts for Baby Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh. They could afford an expensive caravan to bring them from a distant place.

Yet the Magi shared one key thing in common with the shepherds. They all found Baby Jesus and found new lives that they enjoyed to the full. (John 10:10).

It’s hard to say whose adventures were more miraculous. It’s pretty hard to think of anything more miraculous than an angel telling you how to find Baby Jesus. But the Magi were miraculously guided by the Star of Bethlehem!

No one is even sure what the Star of Bethlehem was.

There are several ideas. It might be a comet. It might be a star that blew up millennia earlier, but whose light was only just reaching Earth.

I prefer the idea that the Star of Bethlehem was an astrological event—most likely a conjunction of planets that appeared in a particular sign of the zodiac. This fits well with the assumption that the Magi were astrologers.

Be that as it may, this is another one of those times when I think the uncertainty about the historical facts helps us to discern deeper spiritual realities.

In our lives, what will lead us to find Baby Jesus?  Awe at naturally occurring events in nature? Or spiritual insights from many possible sources—even from the wrong religion such as astrology.

And remember, whatever the Star of David was—whatever starts us on our spiritual journey toward Baby Jesus—may well send us to the wrong place.

The first stop of the Magi on their search for Baby Jesus was the palace of a rich and powerful man—evil King Herod. He wanted clues so he could find poor, weak Baby Jesus and kill him!

Yet, even this mistake by the Magi gave them a key clue to finding Baby Jesus. They found out that, according to the Bible, they would find Baby Jesus in Bethlehem, the hometown of Israel’s great King David.

The Star of Bethlehem reappeared! With help from the Bible, this time the Star led them to Bethlehem where they found Baby Jesus.

At some point in your spiritual journey, you need to search the Bible diligently to learn more about the Way of Jesus. That way, when the “Star of Bethlehem” appears again on your spiritual journey, you will be able to discern the Way of Jesus.

What is the Way of Jesus?

By studying the Bible and encountering Baby Jesus, you will learn to love the one LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 22:36-38).

You will learn that nothing should be more important in your life than loving the one LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7 & 6:4-5; Matthew 6:24; 22:36-40).

You will learn that you should love others as much as you love yourself—loving them so much that you do to them what you want them to do to you. (Matthew 7:12; 22:36-40; Leviticus 19:18).

You will realize that the Light overcame the Darkness by becoming Baby Jesus. (John 1:4-5,14).

You will realize that you can overcome the Darkness with the Light of your good deeds (Matthew 5:16), by loving the LORD your God—and by loving each other—with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

You will never go the Way of Herod again.

You will go the Way of Jesus, enjoying life to the full by giving Joy and Peace to all Humanity.

Merry Christmas!

READ MORE

To read more about the Magi and the Star of Bethlehem, please read my blog “The Star of Bethlehem Was a ‘Can of Tuna Fish’”.

To read more about St. Francis of Assisi, please read my blogs: “St. Francis of Assisi Made the Way of Jesus Great Again”, “St. Francis of Assisi’s Vision of the Nativity”, “The Nativity Scene: Baby Jesus”,    “The Nativity Scene: Mary”, “The Nativity Scene: Joseph”, “The Nativity Scene: The Homeless Family”, “The Nativity Scene: The Humble Stable”, “The Nativity Scene: The Shepherds”; “The Nativity Scene: The Sheep”, and “The Nativity Scene: The Angels”; and by reading the chapter “Relying on the Lunar Module” in my book Visions of the Church (published with my book Visions of America), at pages 181-185.

The chapter about St. Francis of Assisi refers to the Lunar Module because I use the flawed—yet triumphant—flight of Apollo 13 as my narrative thread to give an overview of 2,000 years of Church history in only 60 pages.

To read more about the Nativity, please read my book Hoping in the LORD, at pages 12-46, including the chapter “The Magi Follow the Star”, at pages 37-46.