The Wild Star

St John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church in White Bear Lake is the recipient of a grant from the Lilly Foundation and Phillips Theological Seminary to create pieces of art as part of the Imaging and Imagining God liturgical installation series. Our church created a Wild Star, inspired by the star that guided the Magi.
 

Each beam of the Wild Star was designed by a different young artist. It reminds us to keep our eyes, hearts, and minds open since God’s light is everywhere.
 

I love how our Rising Generations Minister, Maggie Howe, guided the children using adult mentors. They imagined what the star the shepherds and Magi saw might look like. I love the way their individual creations are connected to the star.
 

I walked into the nave of St. John’s as the star was being assembled. My initial reaction was “wow”! This star is going to be fabulous. To see it suspended above the chancel while the story of the birth of Christ was told, really made me think and wonder. I wonder what the shepherds and Magi thought as they saw the magnificent star in the east inviting them to behold the Christ child. I wonder if they were awed by the brightness and extravagance of the star. I wonder if they felt the wildness and craziness of the promise of the new, liberating life God brings to people everywhere through Jesus’ birth. I wonder if, like the shepherds and Magi, I can follow that bright star wherever it takes me.
 

Maggie Howe writes, “during the season of Advent, we remembered that we exist in time bound between the first and second incarnations of Christ. Through that thread of time, the light of God has been a constant. It shone in Jesus and it shines within all beings. It is a prismatic light that includes every hue imaginable. It is completely familiar, yet unlike any other light that we could ever imagine. It is soft in a way that comforts and bright in a way that offends. Warming us, connecting us, and showing us The Way. What a Wild Light it is!”
 

The Wild Star. It wasn't on any of their Magi’s star maps. It didn't stay put. They decided to follow it to see where it was going and what it wanted to show them. Imagine what you would do if you saw a Wild Star!