Advent calendar 2020

Advent 23 - Monday 21st December 2020

Guided by starlight!

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’
(Matthew 2:1-2)

Today is the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year. It is the point in which the sun is at the lowest point in the sky. Sunrise in Aberdeen is 08.46 and sunset 15.26, which means there is a mere 6 hours, forty minutes and 33 seconds of sunlight.’ To make things a little complicated ‘night’ ended at 6.17 am, followed by Astro twilling from 6.17 to 7.04, Nautical twilight from 7.04 to 7.56, Civil twilight from 7.56 to 8.45 and finally daylight from 8.45 onwards. Tomorrow will have an additional 5 seconds of day light – barely noticeable but as days slip pass, we will become aware of the mornings getting brighter and the afternoons ‘pulling out’.

Of course, living so far north does have its positives and negatives. On the positive side when the conditions are right, we occasionally get some awesome displays of the Northern Lights. On the negative side the days can feel short, especially when there is thick, low cloud. On these occasions even the middle of the day light levels can appear low. This lack of light can contribute to people feeling depressed and gloomy.

The night sky is an important feature of the Christmas story. On the eve of Jesus’ birth, the night sky outside Bethlehem was lit up by the glory of God, with massed choirs of angels making the hillside resonate to sound of praise. Just as amazing as the nocturnal appearance of Angels to startled shepherds, is the story of the wise men or Magi. There is no certainty as to who these mysterious visitors from the East were. We do not even know where they came from. We don’t even how many there were – although traditionally we associate the three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh with three individuals.

Another intriguing puzzle is how the wise men were guided and what was the star from East. Usual explanations include a comet, a supernova, or a conjunction of planets. At the present time there is viable for the first time if eight hundred years a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. These two massive planets or gas giants are set to align over Britain's skies. If the sky is clear, they can be viewed at about one hour after sunset, very low down in the South West. Interesting, the German astronomer, Johannes Kepler, wrote in 1614 that he believed the 'star of Bethlehem' in the Nativity story could have been a conjunction of these planets.

Whilst there are many myths and traditions and possible explanations around the events and characters of Jesus’ birth, there are many questions that can only be perceived by the eyes of faith. For example, how did God squeeze himself in the tiny body of a squealing infant? And how did God and humanity becoming fully joined together so that Jesus remained fully God and fully human at the very same time? Who were the wise men and where did they come from? How many angels were in the heavenly choir and what does the sound of ‘angel’s singing’ sound like? There are things in this life we will never know.
But one thing we can know and encounter and experience – the reality of Jesus presence in our hearts!

Rev Sean Swindells
Cruden Parish Church

This was the moment when Before
Turned into After, and the future’s
Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.
This was the moment when nothing
Happened. Only dull peace
Sprawled boringly over the earth.
This was the moment when even energetic Romans
Could find nothing better to do
Than counting heads in remote provinces.
And this was the moment
When a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect
Walked haphazard by starlight straight
Into the kingdom of heaven.

Prayer
May your Christmas be filled with starlight
and may the Christ-child ‘bring you home.’
The wait is almost over.
Very soon Christmas will be here.
God is with us.
Amen

(Paul G. Janssen)

Other days in the Advent Calendar