The true U.N. began 2,021 years ago
20th January 2015 · 0 Comments
By Fr. Jerome LeDoux
Contributing Columnist
Some 2,021 years ago – give cash advance celina oh or take a half dozen years or so – a child was born whose very name meant “God saves.” Comprising the true United Nations, Isaiah 60 describes the birth of the great King, “Caravans of camels shall cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Epha. All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and heralding the praises of the Lord.”
That was the first bookend of the redemption of the Gentiles. Although the unthinkable that came to pass early that first Christmas morning was uniquely a Jewish event, the Gentiles were quickly brought into the picture by divine messaging through an event of the planets. An undetermined number of astronomers/astrologers called Magi, or wise people, divined from the conformation of planets that a new King was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea.
This would have to have been an alignment of planets, because stars are so many light years away that drawings of the stars by Babylonian astronomers in 5,000 B.C. show no change from then until now. Planets, however, do align at various times down through the millennia. In recent years, the most spectacular alignment of Venus, Jupiter and Mars occurred on Christmas Eve of 1969. Prevented from viewing it because of crowded ice crystals in the atmosphere of the 13-degree temperature in Stoneboro, Pennsylvania, I could only call a friend in Mississippi.
Running down to the nearby beach in Bay St. Louis, she stood on the sand and was transfixed by the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle of Venus, Jupiter and Mars so aligned that they had the appearance and brightness of a small moon. It was so spectacular that she stayed a few hours. Could that conjunction of planets have been the famed Christmas “star” of Bethlehem?
Yet, though a star is mentioned, there could hardly have been a star involved, since even the closest star is but a point of light that is several loan approval center light years away and does not appear to change its position in the sky, not even after many millennia. Planets, however, which are much nearer to us and even visible in their form, movement and color, do align sometimes with the background of a particular constellation, but that is less breathtaking. Much more spectacularly, planets have aligned with each other in varying formats from time to time over the millennia.
Matthew 2 reports, “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.’” Greatly troubled, Herod assembled all the chief priests and scribes to learn where the Messiah was to be born.
“In Bethlehem of Judea!” they said, “for thus it is written through the prophet: ‘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.’”
Known for his murderous savagery, Herod called a secret meeting with the magi and, feigning genuine interest in the birth of the new king, questioned his guests about the time of the star’s appearance. They replied that they had been tracking the star for two years. So he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”
Providentially for Jesus and our salvation history, an angel of God intervened, directing the magi away from Herod back to their home. By the way, tracking the “star” for two years does not necessarily mean that they were on the road for two years. More than likely, it means that they as astronomers were plotting the paths of top 10 unsecured loan companies the planets, but traveled perhaps a few months.
It is really a shame that the feast of the Epiphany is not only just so misunderstood, but that it is hardly even thought of, let alone commemorated. Yet, it was the introduction of Christmas to us, the Gentiles – literally, the nations. It is our Christmas! Despite the fact that millions of Christmas trees are discarded or put away for a year the day after Christmas, that Christmas music was stilled at the stroke of midnight or earlier, our Christmas is now! And the feckless 133-member U.N. drones on blithely in ignorance of the Epiphany’s news of salvation!
Circa 33 years after that first bookend, the all-time epic birth that heralded the birth of the salvation and redemption of all the nations – the real U.N. – to eternal life, a Pentecostal event shook time and eternity early Sunday morning, the 50th day after the resurrection of Jesus.
That was the birthday of the Church – the other bookend of the salvation of the Gentiles, as reported in Acts 2: “When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they (about 120 souls) were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong, driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”
The real U.N. said, “We are Parthians, Medes and Elamites… of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia , Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene, Rome, Cretans, Arabs.”
This article originally published in the January 19, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
