The Stars in the Bright Sky

This address - 11 days after Christmas - commences with readings of the familiar Christmas Story in St Matthew's Gospel written for Jews by St Matthew, a Jewish convert to a "blasphemous, breakaway Jewish sect calling themselves Christians" and the rather more succinct account of Jesus' arrival in St John's Gospel as "The Word made Flesh". There is also a brief account of "the Commercial Christmas" narrative that has insinuated itself into the spirit of Christmas, globally and terminally.
The use of the Jewish didactic convention of the Midrash in St Matthew's account - saw the creation of a narrative on a human scale that has stirred the imagination of Christian artists, musicians, writers and poets for over two millennia. However, today's address soon takes listeners away from the familiar mythology of the Nativity to focus instead on the Christmas Stars that prompted that Magi to commence their journey in search of stable, manger and Jesus. The serenity and turmoil to be found in Nature and the Cosmos beyond, provides insights into ourselves and the natural world and suggests new stories and understandings shaped by Science.