THE Bible records that soon after the birth of Jesus Christ, men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews? We saw His star when it came up in the East, and we have come to worship Him.”

On their way to Bethlehem, after their encounter with Herod, who was visibly worried about the news of a new born king of the Jews when they told him, “the exact time the star had appeared”, the Magi representing the great human races of Shem, Cham and Japheth, the offspring of Noah (See the Christian Community Bible with an imprimatur by the Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines) “saw the same star they had seen in the East.” The Bible further records that “when they saw the star, they were filled with joy.”

The star “went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.”

When the Magi, whom St. Augustine described as “the first fruits of the Gentiles” went into the house, they saw the manifestation of God in a human baby, “clothed in majesty and glory, wrapped in a robe of light” with his mother Mary and gave Him (symbolic) gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. “They knelt down and worshipped Him” just as the Psalmist had foretold: “All nations shall prostrate before you O Lord.”

St Bernard of Clairvaux describes the joyful discovery (by the Magi who made a 750 miles journey from their distant land in Persia) this way: “They fall on their faces, they revere Him as King, they worshipped Him as God. He who led them has instructed them too. He who urged them on by means of the star has himself taught them in their inmost heart.” The star of Jesus was revealed as “a light of revelation to the Gentiles” as Simeon opined in his Benedictus.

Ever since the appearance of this star over the skies of Jerusalem and Bethlehem (5 miles South of Jerusalem), believers, scoffers and the curious alike have wondered at the biblical account of the Christmas Star or Star of Bethlehem. For many doubters, the account of the star is easily dismissed as myth because the Bible recorded that “the star guided them to Bethlehem and went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was,” a behaviour that is not common with stars, except in a science fiction or fairy tale. For many believers, it is a mystery accepted by faith, as it is more of a revelation of God’s omnipotence and omniscience.

Astronomers have continued to be puzzled and have been unable to unravel the mystery. They debate whether the Star of Bethlehem is a legend created by the early church or a miracle that marked the advent of Christ as predicted many centuries ago by Balaam, a sorcerer and diviner: “I look into the future and I see the nation of Israel. A king like a bright star will arise in that nation. Like a comet he will come from Israel.” Is it true that the star was a real historical and astronomical event, a real celestial occurrence or just an optical illusion?

What then was the star of Bethlehem that has no less puzzled astronomers? Was it a Supernova? Halley’s Comet? A constellation of asteroids? A rare conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars? A meteor? A heliocentric occurrence or an aerial phenomenon? Or astral phenomenon? Or was it an Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to the sun.