On following the Star . . .

For you, dear friends, an offering from today's sermon on being wise and following the Star . . .
Faithfully,
Janet+

"How do you get the kind of faith my friend has? The answer is simple, but not easy: you follow the Star. No matter what. You follow the Star.

For most - I daresay for all - star-followers, following the Star is a choice which, even once you make it, isn’t easy to stick with. You have to wonder . . . the star the wise men followed was right up there in the sky. Herod saw it. His chief priests and scribes saw it. All the people could see it. If you had asked them, lots and lots of people would have even said that they thought the appearing of the star meant something. But in all of Scripture, we only have the story of these three wise men making the whole journey, getting all the way to Bethlehem to see for themselves. Why is that?! Because it's not easy, perhaps. And also because we can't do it on our own.

What star have you seen in the sky that you feel called to follow? Each and every one of us has a dream. Something we feel drawn, compelled to do, to be. For most of us, the distance between where we are and where we would be if we did as we were called is, as my Grandfather Cuff used to say, “a fer piece,” meaning a LONG way. Much too far away to get to without considerable determination.

'O Star of wonder . . . star of night . . . star with royal beauty bright;
Westward leading . . . still proceeding . . . guide us to thy perfect light.'"