Editorial December 22, 1917 Issue

The Star in the West

William D. McCrackan

When Jesus was born, certain wise men came to search for him in Jerusalem. They had "seen his star in the east,"—but they traveled west. Thus was started that Westward Ho! of spiritual progress which has carried Christianity steadily forward until the setting sun has become the rising sun, and East and West are united in one eternal day. Westward from Palestine did the advancing thought of humanity take its way, by states and stages across Europe to the Atlantic Ocean. At the water's edge the advancing host made sail and landed on the Western Hemisphere to further the gospel announced to the wise men and the shepherds, and on the American continent came the discovery of Christian Science by Mary Baker Eddy. "The star of Bethlehem is the star of Boston," Mrs. Eddy writes on page 320 of "Miscellaneous Writings," "high in the zenith of Truth's domain, that looketh down on the long night of human beliefs, to pierce the darkness and melt into dawn." To uphold the star of Bethlehem and Boston is to uphold the standard of the flag of righteousness. The star in the East has become the star in the West.

In the Western world the star and the eagle symbolize the most exalted ideals of men. As the eagle perched upon a rock looks out, penetrating the distant view with a shining, alert, and keen eye, so does the star gleam out of the dark night and brighten the highway. The tireless flight of the eagle typifies the aspiration of man for freedom, whereby his superior qualities rise above the lower elements and he soars into the upper airs of God which are free from the inharmonies of the flesh. This spiritual soaring brings the blessing contained in the psalmist's words, "Thy youth is renewed like the eagle's."

The star in the West guides the men who are upholding the starry standard of freedom with the spiritual sight of the eagle soaring overhead, guiding the higher motives of men to the goal of one country, God's country; one land, heaven on earth; one sea, the heavenly sea of harmony; one man, God's image and likeness; one God, unchangeable Principle, governing the universe. The star in the West also records the discovery of Christian Science and the labors of love of its Founder, Mary Baker Eddy. It typifies the purity of her motive, the brilliancy of her diction, the clearness of her logic. It sets forth the jewel nature of her gift to the world, and points to a new world of regenerated lives. In "Christ and Christmas" we read:—

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