Where Are the Stars?

As Jesus sits atop the mountain, His disciples come close, and ask for a sign by which they might know when His apocalyptic predictions will soon take place.¹ In His answer, Jesus notes: as the Son of Man draws near, sun and moon will lose their light, and the stars above shall fall.²

Now, I make no claim to be Prophet, Seer, or Revelator of the last things. “…about that day or hour no one knows.”³ But as I gaze out upon an urban night sky, I see few stars. Those who have seen modern cities know well: our electric lights render many stars invisible.⁴ Is this not an apt picture of the modern project, which so often blinds us to patterns of meaning from above?

And what have we replaced them with? What—or who—are the “stars,” by whose guiding light we navigate the world? The entertainers.⁵ For in a world stripped of meaning, all we have left is pursuit of pleasure.⁶ 

Let us eat and drink, 

for tomorrow we die!⁷

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Where are the stars? 

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Notes

1. Mark 13:3–4.

2. Mark 13:24–26; cf. Isaiah 14:12–20; Daniel 8:9–10; Revelation 12:4. 

3. Mark 13:32a NIV

4. On light pollution, see e.g., Wesołowski, M. (2019). Impact of light pollution on the visibility of astronomical objects in medium-sized cities in Central Europe on the example of the city of Rzeszów, Poland. Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy 40:20. 

5. See Garber, M. (February 24, 2017). Why Do We Call Celebrities “Stars”? An Investigation. The Atlantic. Retrieved December 5, 2021.

6. See Postman, 2010 [1985], p. 87; Taylor, 2007 (Kindle),  p. 552. 

7. Isaiah 22:13b=1 Corinthians 15:32b; cf. Luke 12:19–20.