St. Joseph of the Lakes

      The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)

In the story of the Magi the announcement of Psalm 19:1 comes to a living reality. They arrive in Jerusalem and ask: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”  No one in Jerusalem seems to have the same awareness. The story tells us that King Herod and all of Jerusalem become troubled. Their chief priests and the scribes of the people had enough knowledge to quote the prophet Micah: “and you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” (Micah 5:1) yet they have missed the star that the Magi have been responding to. The Magi leave Herod and begin their way to Bethlehem. It was a five and half mile downhill journey to get there. As they leave Herod “behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.”

God has made possible for all people to know His glory through all of creation. It requires a sensitivity and awareness that ordinary busy-ness tends to overshadow. St. Augustine marvels in his book “The Confessions” that there are those who can predict to the day and the hour when and where an eclipse will occur. (he wrote this in the years of 397-400) To derive this knowledge requires patient awareness and a willingness to listen to other’s experiences within this created world. Isn’t it amazing to realize that God speaks through this and in so many more ways?  To hear Him speak in almost every manifestation requires that we quiet our inner voices enough to hear Him speak.