The Salty Peanut Gallery

Every New Year’s Eve millions of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. USA.gov has come up with a list of Popular New Year’s Resolutions. Here are some of the things that Americans will resolve to do in 2008:

* Lose Weight
* Pay Off Debt
* Save Money
* Get a Better Job
* Get Fit
* Eat Right
* Get a Better Education
* Drink Less
* Quit Smoking
* Reduce Stress

Unfortunately, this yearly ritual has come to be viewed by some as a bit of a joke mainly because most New Year’s resolutions turn out to be fruitless. Many charge out of the gates spurred by good intentions, but fade down the stretch losing their resolve. As a result some believe that New Year’s resolutions are a waist of time and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Making New Year’s resolutions doesn’t have to be an exercise in futility, however. When you think about it, it’s really a matter of priorities. King Solomon put it this way:

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun— all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10).

I have a good friend that sums it up this way: “Love God and eat pizza.” For about four years now I’ve been embroiled in what has been the most difficult crisis of my entire life. Only recently has the crisis sufficiently subsided allowing life to return to some degree of normalcy. The problem for me now is in remembering just what it’s like to live a normal life again. After devoting so much time and effort into managing a crisis, who could have imagined how challenging it would be to resume life after the crisis? That’s where the wisdom of Solomon comes in.

So here’s my New Year’s resolution for 2008: Enjoy the life that God has given me and serve God with all my heart. That’s it. Now I’m not talking about hedonism. But what I am talking about is making the most of every opportunity that God gives me to truly live. Carpe diem, baby! Love God and eat pizza!

After two years of research Notre Dame astrophysicist, Grant Mathews, thinks he has uncovered the most likely identity of the Bethlehem star. For hundreds of years astronomers, theologians and historians have theorized about the star that led Wise Men from the east. Without any real accurate documentation on the exact time of Jesus birth, it is impossible to say with absolute certainty what caused this heavenly occurrence. However, with modern day access to NASA’s databases Mathews has made an attempt that he feels is “as good as you can do for now.”

Mathews has identified a handful of possibilities that include supernovas, novas and planetary alignments. He believes the most likely candidate, though, is a planetary alignment which took place April 17, 6 B.C. in which “the sun, Jupiter, the moon and Saturn aligned in the constellation Aries while Venus and Mars were in neighboring constellations.” He attributes this conclusion not only to the timing of the event, but also the astrological implications which would have signified to the Magi the birth of a powerful leader.

And who am I to argue with an astrophysicist of Mathews’ caliber? But I’m wondering if maybe this isn’t less of an astrological issue and more a theological issue. Follow me on this one. In Matthew 2:1-2 & 9 we read:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” … When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

Notice that they initially saw the star “in the East”, but later on, after leaving Jerusalem, the star “went before them and stood” over where the Christ Child was. Now I ask you, does that sound at all like the characteristics of a natural astrological occurrence to you? Can we really hazard a plausible scientific explanation for this?

Or might there be a more biblical explanation? Are there any other instances in scripture that resemble this phenomenon? How about Exodus 13:21 when the Lord led the children of Israel through the wilderness “by day in a pillar of cloud…and by night in a pillar of fire.” God radiated His Shekinah glory in the form of light that was indescribable. Isn’t it more likely that this was what the Magi saw?

I find it interesting this insatiable need that we have to find scientific explanations for everything in scripture. Is it really that difficult for us to acknowledge God’s inscrutable and incomprehensible nature? Can’t we just admit that there are certain things about who He is and what He does that are far beyond our ability to understand? The Bethlehem star appeared to the Magi for no other reason then this: God spoke it into existence, just like every other star in the heavens. What’s so difficult about that?

James Taylor’s “At Christmas” has become one of my favorite Christmas albums ever, ranking right up there with the Carpenters “Christmas Portrait” as one the greatest holiday recordings of all time. Follow the link to a really cool version of a Christmas classic. Here’s James Taylor singing “Jingle Bells”.

Did you catch it? (subliminal message) If someone hadn’t pointed it out I’d have missed it completely. (totally bogus) It’s a cross. (it’s bologna) That’s right. And I should know. I live in Charlottesville, Virginia, home of the University of Virginia Cavaliers (go Hoos!) and Mr. Dial-A-Quote himself, Larry J. Sabato, (full of mud) director of the UVA Center for Politics. (big head) The Wall Street Journal calls Sabito “the most-quoted college professor in the land”. (get a life) And if Larry says that without question Huckabees add has a subliminal cross, (talking head) well you can pretty well bank on it. (ya, right) Larry was seen on FOXNews, Fox & Friends this morning explaining that the ad was specifically designed to appeal to the Christian base which makes up a substantial percentage of Republican voters in Iowa. (slam dunk) Me, I still say it’s just a bookshelf. But what do I know?