In Advent’s darkness, listen for the stars to sing
I have to admit I’ve pretty much lost interest in “Dancing with the Stars.”
I remember when the show first came out, we watched it regularly and I became quite an expert on the paso doble, the jive and the waltz. Though I haven’t watched it this year, I guess Prince William did and even offered his comments.
I would gladly tune in again if they invite a preacher to try his ordained feet at a jitterbug, but then I remember someone asking, “Do Methodist preachers dance?” The answer is, “Some do, and some shouldn’t.”
Advent is a season of dancing and singing with the stars — star images, star stories, star songs and finally the Christmas star all play a role in the beauty of the season. One star image comes from an unlikely place, the Book of Job. In the midst of Job’s suffering, his wrestling with God and shaking his fist at God, God gets a bit feisty himself and responds with a rhetorical question:
“Hey, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, who measured the earth in the first place? Surely you must know, Mr. Smarty-pants! Who do you think laid the cornerstone? Who was there when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?” (My translation of Job 38:1-7)
I am not going to deal with the substance of Job’s complaint or God’s sarcastic retort. I just want to lift out the image: “When the morning stars sang together, and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy.”
What a beautiful vision in the face of Job’s agony. What a glorious poetic image for Advent 2025. Even in the midst of seemingly endless wars of aggression in Ukraine and oppression in Gaza, political turmoil and corruption at home, high anxiety and low expectations for the future, if you listen, you can almost hear the morning stars sing together and the heavens shout for joy.
The biblical story of the birth of Jesus begins with the ominous introduction, “In the days of King Herod …”
It was a dreadful, foreboding time with a corrupt, power-hungry king in place. Yet, in the midst of that darkness, the birth of a child brings hope and promise. A star guides the Wise Men on their journey. The heavenly beings sing to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night.
“The light shines in the darkness,” writes John, “and the darkness will never overcome it.”
Perhaps it’s trite but it’s true … the darker the night, the brighter the stars. On the darkest of nights when there is no moonlight filling the sky, the stars shine the brightest. They even seem to sing for joy.
In these dark days of Advent 2025, look and listen to see if you can hear the stars sing and the heavens shout for joy. Maybe we can all sing and dance with the stars.
Rev. John E. (Jack) Harnish lives, writes and sings (but doesn’t dance) in Benzie County. You can find his weekly “Monday Memo” at www.johneharnish.com.
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