Joseph Sabino Mistick: Follow the star — we need light now more than ever

It looks like the Star of Bethlehem may arrive just in time this year. The story of the three wise men following a mysterious star to the manger where Jesus had just been born is familiar to everyone. We cannot imagine that story without the light of that star.

Some scientists think we will get to see a repeat of that light on Dec. 21 with what astronomers call the “great conjunction” of Saturn and Jupiter. The planets have not been this close — so close that they could have created enough light to guide the wise men — since 1623, and not this easily seen since 1226.

Light has always played a big part in our celebrations, and electricity has led to neighborhood competitions for the brightest and most imaginative displays. In “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” bumbling dad Clark Griswold covers his house with 25,000 Italian twinkle lights for a “fun, old-fashioned family Christmas,” blowing out power for the whole town.

We can chuckle at the Griswolds, but there are times when a light is more than just a light. This past year, we have needed a light to show us the way. Light means hope, light means life. And it is universal.

In Venice, Italy, they decided to hang the holiday lights around the Piazza San Marco even without the holiday tourists who would normally jam the shopping district this time of year. Lighted angels are projected onto the arches of the Rialto Bridge, and a golden digital Christmas tree glows at the edge of the Grand Lagoon.

Fabrizio Plessi, the artist who created the light installations, said, “It is a message of hope. We have this problem like other people all around the world, but I strongly believe in positivity.”

In Pittsburgh, 75 vehicles with lighted menorahs mounted on them paraded through the East End last Tuesday in celebration of Hanukkah. In keeping with pandemic restrictions, the traditional lighting ceremony of a large menorah at the end of the parade was canceled, but this was not the year to skip the parade.

As reported by the Trib’s JoAnne Klimovich Harrop, Rabbi Yisroel Altein of Chabad of Squirrel Hill, the parade organizer, said, “The parade is about more than a procession of cars. It is about bringing the light to the people of Pittsburgh.”

And Rabbi Eli Wilansky said, “Our menorahs bring light to the darkness, and we’ve had a lot of darkness in 2020. Hanukkah is the festival of lights and it is so needed this time of year.”

According to the Rev. Nick Vaskov, pastor of several Pittsburgh churches, “Just as the light from the Star of Bethlehem led the way for the wise men, light is still a symbol of the virtue of hope in perilous times, shattering the deepest darkness.”

Considering the isolation that has been required this past year for safety’s sake and the worries we all share for our friends and family members, it is even more wonderful this year to see those holiday lights.

And if we have not decorated yet, we should do this: Light a light. Even just one. Maybe just a candle. There is hope now.