Home for the Holidays 25

Written on December 25, 2014.

Jesse Tree

Day 25 – December 25

A STAR

Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:26

The wise men arrived in Bethlehem shortly before Joseph was given the dream to move to Egypt. They came laden with gifts and treasure and incredible faith, which was the greatest gift they carried. For to make a journey like theirs, they had to believe they would find what they dedicated several years of their lives to look for.

The magi were not hobbyists who just happened upon a star and decided to pursue it. These men had been trained in the school that Daniel had overseen years before. Their training was not that of simply mapping the stars. They were taught their names, meanings and significance to the overall story written in the Heavens.

Each one would have delved deeply into prophecies of old and been taught to recognize the signs given, wrapped in light, dangling so they could be seen and revealed.

One day, pouring over their charts and maps, a star peeked from its hiding place, shimmering and shining to catch their eye. In that moment, their spirits knew, recognized what hung like a promise kept before them.

Yielded vessels embarked on a journey. They followed a star, full and flowing with its meaning, unable to be distracted, detained or deceived from its truth and the full discovery of it.

The past weeks, we have journeyed together in celebration of what is real to us, what means the most to our hearts and in pursuit of deeper of the One we cannot live without. Like the Wise Men, we travel onward, forward, looking up to the One who wrote the story and allows us to add paragraphs, poem and prose.

Each step of the adventure whispers, “Look up. Read what is written.” As I thought of this I was struck by a star that cries out to us, in our now. In the month of Tevet, in the Tabernacle of “The Sacrifice” a glowing star dwells. It isn’t very bright with its red hue. But it sings loudly a word. It’s name, which is “red colored” and is from the same root as the scarlet cord that hung from Rahab’s window. It’s name, it’s full name is ‘tiqvah’ and means HOPE.

And that is our truth. Christ came to bring hope to a world that had begun looking down. In the days of His birth, the invitation was what it always has been. Look up. Hope. Dream. Live.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. Psalms 33:6