Roy Exum
There are some in the world who believe today will be remembered as The Second Coming of Jesus Christ. There are others who have long called 12-21-2020 as “The Great Conjunction,” this because astrologers have known for years that on this very night there will be a rare cosmic event that signals the dawn of the Age of Aquarius. Jupiter and Saturn are the largest planets in the solar system and tonight, according to our scientists, will be the first time these big boys have allegedly been this close since the year 1623.
Yes, those who love the zodiac are so giddy they can hardly stand still with their telescopes. And then there are those who shrug the shoulders, blink rapidly, and say, “You fool … it’s just the shortest day of the year.”
The reason I want to see the bright star created by the alignment of the planets is because some suggest this solar event occurred in the sky above Bethlehem and summoned some Wise Men, collectively referred to as The Magi for centuries since, to the manger where Christ was born. They brought the first Christmas presents, and some shepherds guarding “sheep in fields as they lay,” were beckoned by an angel to witness the awe.
Mary, heavy with child, and her husband Joseph, found there was no room in the inn – back then dirty and drafty places filled with bums – so Joseph went to a barn with the animals for the night. Among my first childhood memories were on my grandfather’s farm … my little boots leaving tracks in the heavy frost … and I’ll never forget the wave of warmth and the smell of sweet feed that met me at the door. God knew exactly what He was doing. He still does. He ain’t lost a bit of His shine!
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HOW CAN I SEE TONIGHT’S “GREAT CONJUNCTION”?
Every Christmas our eyes are focused in search of ‘the star’ and you can see the symbolic stars everywhere. We should be able to see a great one tonight. We had 75 percent cloud-cover last night but Accuweather tells us that tonight the sky will be crystal clear with temps around 40 degrees. More importantly, remember today is also the Solstice, our shortest day of the year. Sunrise in Chattanooga today was at 7:46 a.m. and, just nine hours and 48 minutes later, sunset will officially occur at 5:34 p.m.
Your best bet is to get out in some open area, on a golf course, a ball field or anywhere there is little artificial light. At 30 minutes after sunset, it should be dark enough for you to see the star and the earlier in the night sky, the better. You’ll need to identify which direction true north is from where you stand – a lot of cars and trucks have compasses – so if you look at the face of your wristwatch and designate "12" as north and do not move the watch, turn your attention towards the southwestern sky. Keep your watch pointed north by the “12,” and the southwestern sky will be located by looking at the sky towards “7” and “8” on the dial. Believe it or not, the best views can be easily seen by the naked eye – optics are even better. Get your children and friends to look on www.space.com or www.nasa.com for much more information.
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WHERE IN THE BIBLE CAN I READ ABOUT CHRIST’S BIRTH, THE WISE MEN & THE STAR?
The second chapter in the New Testament’s Book of Luke is the traditional favorite yet in the book of Matthew, chapter 1, verses 18-25, it is also found. Matthew 2:1 states that "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king." He also implies that Jesus could have been as much as two years old at the time of the visit of the Magi, because Herod ordered the murder of all boys up to the age of two years, "in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.” If you don’t have a Bible, simply google “The Birth of Christ” and you’ll be offered a treasure trove of information, stories, countless sermons, and the most varying array of “interpretations” you have ever seen.
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WHAT IS ‘THE AGE OF AQUARIUS’?
In the mid-1960s – this over a half-century or so ago – President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas (Nov. 22, 1963) and Lyndon Johnson (the president I have keenly disliked forever) drew the United States into the least popular war, the Viet Nam conflict. The draft preyed on guys like me to benefit the huge purveyors of war – like Raytheon, Lockheed-Martin, United Technologies, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Boeing – at the cost of 58,318 “killed in action,” 153,372 “wounded in action” and 1,586 “missing in action.” The USA won nothing…no surrender, victory or “good reason.”
So, the hippies emerged on the west coast, free love, poppies, and pomegranates. About this time a singer deep into the love of people hooked a cab ride in New York City and lost his wallet in the cab. The next guy in the cab found the wallet, promptly returned it to Billy Williams and he so enjoyed Billy’s gratitude that he invited Billy’s singing group to a Broadway play that was enormously successful called “Hair.” So bedazzled, Billy and his pals morphed the opening notes of "Hair” into a featured song of what would be a hit album.
Billy’s group was The Fifth Dimension, and the resulting song, “Aquarius / Let the Sunshine” is today ranked No. 66 on Billboard’s Greatest hits of all time. No one … I am talking about absolutely not one soul, could have known back then the opening lyrics were about Dec. 21, 2020. Here’s the first verse of the 1968 hit, sung by Marilyn McCoo: (To listen to the Fifth Dimension’s blockbuster, CLICK HERE.)
LYRICS: “When the moon is in the seventh house
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
And peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
‘Aquarius … Aquarius!
Harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions, golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelations, and the mind's true liberations
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OH, BEAUTIFUL STAR OF BETHLEHEM
If you were to drive I-24 to Nashville, just about 10 miles this side of Murfreesboro, you will see what is known as the Buchanan Road exit. About three miles from there is where Robert Fisher Boyce raised a family on a small-herd dairy farm. Robert was a religious man and led the singing at the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church. In 1940 he was “led” to write a song he called, “Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem” but because he and his wife Cora had 11 kids, he composed it down in his barn, away from the racket, while milking his cows and getting a daughter to write down the words.
It is a Christmas song alright, and today it is one of the most beloved Christmas songs in Southern Appalachia. All manner of A-list singers have recorded it with good success … Neil Young, Patty Loveless, The Oak Ridge Boys, Sandy Patti, Reba McIntyre, the Gaithers, the Judds, Mother May Bell Carter, Ricky Skaggs … many, many quartets, dozens of orchestras … but Cia Cherryholmes with the Mark O’Conner Band lays it out better than most. CLICK HERE.
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“Of beautiful star of Bethlehem .. shine on.”
royexum@aol.com