Feast of the Epiphany

Growing up as an only child and the only grandchild on one side of the family for eleven years, I was always so excited when my cousins closest to my age came from Colorado back to Nebraska to visit at Christmas time.  For years we would put on little plays for everyone and one year it was the Nativity story.  I still remember as the narrator I pronounced Herod's name "Hair-odd" and my cousin correcting me on camera.  I blame my public schooling (they went to Catholic school).

As I was going through Lectio Divina on Sunday's familiar Gospel, King Herod was the one who stood out to me.  I did some research to find out more about him and why he reacted the way he did to the news from the Magi and it was fascinating to me.  According to Catholic Scripture Study International, Herod was not really a King of the Jews.  He was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau, which after his younger brother Jacob stole his birthright from him (Genesis 27), a rivalry persisted among their descendants with the Israelites.  In Numbers 24:17 & 19, the prophet Balaam predicts that "...a star shall come forth out of Jacob...Edom shall be dispossessed."  Herod already had a reputation for being a paranoid ruler, which helps to explain why he was so troubled by a newborn baby making this prophecy true and went to the extreme of ordering the slaughter of all the young boys in Bethlehem later on in Matthew 2 (which is commemorated as the Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28).

So how could I possibly connect with a man like this?  Because when I am struck with something troubling, I often react similarly in a scared, paranoid way.  When Herod got the news of the newborn king, he assembled all his experts, the chief priests and scribes.  What do I do? Go to Google, ask for advice on a Facebook group, text a friend, or call my mom.  Now none of these things are inherently wrong, but what's my motivation?  To get immediate wordly answers, instead of going to God in prayer or His Word first about how to best respond to the situation or discern what he is trying to teach me. 

What did Herod do next?  Ask the magi to do the work for him, find the Christ child then tell him where he is.  He manipulates and uses others to get them to meet his needs.  I know I've been guilty of that too.  Finally he's so desperate that he has all boys under two years old killed, an extreme act to control and preserve his security.  Unfortunately this is also a common way that I react to difficult situations, not in a violent way, but figuring out how I can take matters into my own hands instead of trusting in God's will and provision.

But in contrast, what do the magi do after their encounter with Jesus?  Obey the message from God in a dream not to return to Herod.  St. Joseph does this multiple times, in agreeing to take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:20), take their family to Egypt (Matthew 2:13), and then to return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:22).  So as I continue to reflect on this story from God's word, I will look to the example of the magi instead and continue on my journey to seek and adore Jesus instead of trying to take matters into my own hands.