When reading the Bible, we should always keep in mind the many layers of meaning.
In addition to a basic retelling of events, the Bible also provides for us images and symbols that can help us draw closer to God.
One example is the star that the magi followed, as St. Matthew narrates in his Gospel:
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
The star has a variety of spiritual interpretations that we can meditate on, especially at Epiphany.
Desire for God
St. John Paul II reflected on the symbolism of the star in a homily he gave for the feast of Epiphany in 2002:
How striking is the symbol of the star that recurs in all the images of Christmas and Epiphany! It still gives rise to deep feelings although, as with so many other sacred signs, it risks becoming common place because of its commercial overuse. Restored to its original context, the star we contemplate over the crib also speaks to the mind and heart of the man of the third millennium. It speaks to secularized man, awakening in him the nostalgia of his condition as pilgrim in search of the truth with a deep desire for the absolute.
The magi were moved by a desire to see the newborn king and to pay him homage.
Whether we realize it or not, we too desire to have an encounter with God and to be guided to him.
St. John Paul II further explains how even the word "desire" is connected to a star:
The etymology of the word "desire" reminds us of the experience of sailors who find their way at night by observing the stars, called in Latin the "sidera".
We should be able to identify most especially with the magi. However, do we act like the magi? Do we follow the star in order to pay homage to the newborn king?
Only God can fill the deepest desires of our heart. It is up to us to let God into our lives and to actively puruse God in our everyday lives.
