BRIGHT MORNING STAR
Revelation
22:16 “It
is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I
am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” [Revelation 2.28 To the one who conquers, I will also give the morning star.]
2 Peter
1:17-19 For he received honour and glory
from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory,
saying, ‘This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ We ourselves
heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. So, we have
the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to
this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning
star rises in your hearts.
Venus
is very visible in the night sky at present. It is the bright unwavering star
which can be seen in the south-western quadrant of the sky. Four days ago, it
seemed quite close to the moon. Tonight, on a cold clear night walk around the
woods, it and the moon have parted company – the moon being higher in the sky
and Venus in the lowest segment. Yesterday evening, a friend told how Venus had
guided her home on her journey out of the city on the Hagley Road which heads
south west. Venus is perhaps best-known as the Morning Star.
Joe
Rao, a writer for online astronomy blog space.com, has written a helpful column
about the interesting phenomena of the Morning Star (and, no, this is not the
communist morning newspaper which still has a niche readership in the UK). This
is what he says:
Originally, the terms "morning star" and "evening
star" applied only to the brightest planet of all, Venus. Far more dazzling than any
of the actual stars in the sky, Venus does not appear to twinkle, but instead
glows with a steady, silvery light. The fact that Venus was a "wandering
star" soon became obvious to ancient skywatchers, who noticed its motion
relative to the background stars, going from the eastern sky in the morning to
the western sky in the early evening. Nicolas Camille Flammarion, a noted
French astronomer in the late 19th and early 20th century, referred to Venus as
"The Shepherd's Star." I myself like to refer to Venus as the
"night light of the sky." So, it's easier to understand the origin of
the terms "evening star" and "morning star" if we only
considered Venus.
I
think that is a really interesting name for Venus, the ‘Shepherd’s star’.
Particularly in relation to the two verses, from Revelation and 2 Peter. Jesus
is identified as the Bright Morning Star. We also know him as the Good Shepherd. What is interesting is how Venus does
not twinkle but glows very steadily. And it is this feature which draws the
human eye to it.
The
promise in Revelation is that Jesus is this unwavering light. And this
unwavering light is given to all who ‘conquer’. This phrase, those who ‘conquer’
is reserved in Revelation for those who stay firm in their faith, who do not
give up even in the face of persecution and terrible opposition. Unwavering is
a fantastic description for the kind of faith which we find so very attractive
in others. It does not mean something mechanistic or blind, it is the very
opposite. It means something true, clear, flowing, moving not static, bright
and inspiring – like the Morning Star, whose light glows before the sun has
crested the horizon.
In
2 Peter, we are taken up the mount of transfiguration in the memory of Peter
who, with John and James, had the huge privilege of hearing God speak out of
the cloud of glory about Jesus. Peter speaks of a morning star which can rise
in the hearts of those who believe, even when facing the darkest night. It is
as if the silent choreography of the stars, which move relentlessly in their
orbits, is akin to the beauty of faithful hearts who are drawn into the
gravitational pull of God’s love even when suffering darkness. Before the sun
rises, the Bright Morning Star is at work. Jesus, who was transfigured by the
glorious light of God on the mountain, is that Bright Morning Star for us:
unwavering, a light that will not be extinguished.
Jesus the morning star. The morning star is Venus ; the star that brings the promise of a new dawn, a new future, better one. Our promise of a better future lies in Jesus. We don't need to go elsewhere in search of it. At Stonehenge, I read old ways of sun worship are being revived. It brought to mind the Israelites who forsook God despite everything He had done for them . I wonder if it is that what we are familiar with becomes old and stale, and we look for what is new and unknown. John urges us to keep our faith to the end.
ReplyDeleteIsaiah' s reference to the morning star is the name of Satan. (Isaiah 14: 12) Jesus shares his name with a being whom we would rather have nothing to do with. Jesus tells us to beware those people or situations that lead us away from the truth. It is a challenge for us to remain faithful to ourselves and God. Just because someone appears to be good or ideas or words seem right, they aren't necessarily so.
My daughter was horrified that the psalm she loves to sing is the one that Satan quoted to Jesus. I had to point out that just because Satan used the words, they did not become unholy. It was how he used them. In the same way, the very things that build up our lives can also be used to tear them down.
Some of the answer to discernment lies in integrity as the Psalmist says ,
"The integrity of the wise upholds them. " Ps 11: 3
and,
"May integrity and uprightness protect me,because my hope,Lord, is in you . Ps 25: 21
And as the author of Hebrews instructs,
"Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith..".
He shines brightly as the morning star.
No morning star this morning, it was too cloudy. A reminder perhaps that sometimes our vision is clouded over and we don’t see the light of Jesus, the Morning Star, however bright he may be at the time. Many things can cloud our vision of Jesus, prejudice, materialism, envy, selfishness, lack of compassion ... (add your own favourite faults to the list). Too many mornings prove to be cloudy, I fear.
ReplyDeleteIn his hymn of 1848, Oliver Wendell Holmes starts ‘Lord of all being, throned afar, Thy glory flames from sun and star’. Holmes was a medical doctor, professor, author and poet who lived in Boston, USA; he coined the term ‘anaesthesia’ and invented a 3D viewer for photographs, among much else. This hymn is in his book ‘The Professor at the Breakfast Table’, where he describes the lines as “A Sunday hymn to the source of the light we all need to lead us, and the warmth which alone can make us brothers”. This is a favourite hymn of mine, particularly when sung to ‘Ombersley’ which, in ‘Fellowship Hymnbook’, rises majestically to F sharp like the morning star itself! It captures the essence of Jesus as morning star, shedding radiance after the darkness of night, but it has one line that reminds us that we don’t always see it shining, ‘All, save the clouds of sin, are Thine’.
It is significant that the morning star is identified as Venus, the Roman goddess of love. As such, she is usually portrayed in a human sexual context, representing the forces of desire and female beauty; but she is also portrayed as inspiring a turning from vice to virtue. Jesus, as Venus, the Morning Star, represents a similar change from vice to virtue, but much more powerfully in the context of God’s love expressed in our lives. He shines through ‘the clouds of sin’ and brings light to our being. He could be said to elevate the morning star from the Roman understanding of Venus to a new truth about love – its essential nature in the way of life he showed to us. It is a love that is kindly, compassionate, out-reaching and reflecting of the God’s love for us.
The light we see radiating from Venus is not its own light, but a reflection of the light from the Sun (as with our Moon). In the darkness of the night sky, we see this morning star before we see the Sun itself. Jesus, as Morning Star, is reflecting the light and warmth of God into the darkness our lives, cutting through the clouds, transforming us from vice to virtue, preparing us for the light of the Sun that follows, the uncreated light of God himself.
Let’s round off with another favourite hymn, this time by Thomas Binney, the only one of his still widely sung, ‘Eternal Light! Eternal Light!’. The last three verses speak of the light of God striking the dark world and the dark soul, and being bearable through the sacrifice of Jesus and the advocacy of the Holy Spirit:
“O how shall I, whose native sphere
Is dark, whose mind is dim,
Before the Ineffable appear,
And on my naked spirit bear
The uncreated beam?
“There is a way for man to rise
To that sublime abode:
An offering and a sacrifice,
A Holy Spirit’s energies
An advocate with God;
“These, these prepare us for the sight
Of holiness above:
The sons of ignorance and night
May dwell in the eternal Light,
Through the eternal Love.”
What reassurance the Morning Star heralds!
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany remembering how the magi followed a star to Bethlehem, so it's very appropriate to reflect on Jesus as the bright Morning Star. Jesus, who was found by following a star, is himself the brightest star. And his light is for all peoples of every nation and race. I looked in a newly published book called "Winter" and found this poem called "New Roads" by Ruth Burgess:
ReplyDeleteWhen the star had stopped
and they had seen the baby
they took a new road.
When the decorations come down
and we have heard the story
we can take a new road.
New roads can be scary.
New roads are exciting.
New roads are risky.
It is time to go.
Star-maker,
Light-bringer,
Holy Spirit of adventure,
come with us this morning/evening on our road. Amen
This reminded me that the magi had to find another, new road to return home to avoid Herod. It also makes me think of those who are on new roads they'd rather not be on, new roads not of their choosing. As the poem acknowledges, with honesty, some new roads are scary. For some the bright Morning Star may well be covered in thick clouds. They may not even know it is there. They may have never been told about it. So how do those of us who believe in the Star's "unwavering light" begin to speak of it or point towards it? How do we, who find great strength and comfort in knowing Jesus' faithful presence, begin to share our faith without sounding patronising or judgmental? Our efforts to "hold the Christ-light for you in the night time of your fear" can seem so feeble compared to the brightness of Jesus the bright Morning Star. But thank God for all who do hold that light for us.
So I'm left wondering whether perhaps a conversation about venus could be a starting point? I had never been told or learnt that venus is called the Morning Star, so thank you bloggers for teaching me that. I've certainly enjoyed admiring its recent light in the night sky. Maybe pointing to the stars, as the magi did, could indeed be a way to finding Jesus, the true light. I'll give it a try!
The name bright Morning Star is full of hope and speaks to me of resurrection life and unfailing light. It is a name that I haven't used in prayer before but today have already found it to be a helpful way into praise of the one who is light and life, and to intercessory prayer for those who sight is clouded.