IN TOUCH WITH: The Star of Bethlehem

By Betty Miller Buttram
Of Fort Wayne Ink Spot

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel which being interpreted is, God is with us.

Matthew 1:23

We will be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ during this pandemic. It will not be easy, but we will endure for we have our Faith, our Hope, and our Joy in the Savior.

In some of the traditional Christmas hymns, there is rejoicing. Listen to “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” the hosts of Angels woke up the shepherds and frightened them. The African American hymn, “Rise Up Shepherd and Follow,” tells the shepherds to leave their sheep and follow the Star of Bethlehem to the stable where they would find Jesus in a manger.“ O Holy Night,” tells the story of the Savior’s birth and that there will be hope and the weary world would rejoice.

Joseph, The Wise Men, and the Shepherds are a part of this biblical story and within that story is the love that Joseph had for Mary.

Joseph did what he had to do for the love of Mary and for his love of God. God entrusted Joseph to keep Mary and the baby safe on their journey to Bethlehem and, later, on their flight to Egypt. Joseph was obedient to the will of God. He placed the very pregnant Mary upon a donkey and set out for Bethlehem as a responsible citizen to be counted in the census. He knew the way to Bethlehem and God was with him. Joseph started his journey with Faith.

A star shone brightly in the night and got the attention of three astrologers; otherwise known as the Three Wise Men from the east. They followed the Star from the east to Jerusalem and held court with King Herod. They asked the king where the newborn King of the Jews was because they had seen His star in the east and had come to worship him. The priests and scribes of the people told the Three Wise Men that it was written by the prophets that the child would be born in Bethlehem. The Wise Men set out again following the Star to Bethlehem. They were seeking the child with Hope in their hearts.

It was a quiet night, and the Shepherds were attending to their sheep when the silence of that night was broken when a host of Angels came upon them singing about the birth of the Savior. That woke them up, frightened them and probably the sheep, too. The Angels calmed the Shepherds, and the Shepherds probably had to calm their sheep while the Angels told them of the good news.

Listen to “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” because when the instruments play and the people sing it, it is resoundingly joyful. God always blesses us with great songwriters who put lyrics to beautiful music. The Shepherds followed the Star of Bethlehem and found Jesus in the manger in the stable. They rejoiced with Joy in their hearts.

There will be little holiday shopping this year and some of us will miss the physical contact of good cheer and good wishes at our family and friendship gatherings. The commercial part of this holiday season will find less of us at the stores but online and even that is not working out too well. Fed Ex, UPS and the U.S. Post Office are busy delivering vaccine packages that will delay the gifts that we are mailing or have mailed.

Some of our church buildings are closed, but the buildings only house the people. The spirit of our faith is within us for we are the church wherever we go.

Our Faith, our Hope and Our Joy will be with us during this spiritual celebration of Jesus’ birth for God is with us. May you have these gifts of His love for always.