Article December 23, 1985 Issue

The daystar and peace

ELVEY WILLIAM ALFRED BARTON

The discussions of the military defense system called "star wars" have caused me to think more deeply about the meaning of a particular star—the star associated with the Prince of Peace. This star of Bethlehem announced the arrival of the one who would show the world the true basis of defense as well as of peace.

Alluding to his coming, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, poses a question in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "Led by a solitary star amid the darkness, the Magi of old foretold the Messiahship of Truth. Is the wise man of to-day believed, when he beholds the light which heralds Christ's eternal dawn and describes its effulgence?"^{Science and Health, p. 95.}

The vital message of peace that the star announced and Christ Jesus brought was that God's kingdom is at hand. Jesus proved this fact by healing the sick and the sinner and raising the dead. These demonstrations of God's power showed unmistakably that God's creation is not destructible or finite; it is eternal and completely spiritual. But we see this fact only in the degree that we awake to and follow divine Spirit's leading—as the wise men saw the star and followed it.

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