Today’s Gospel Text:
Now
when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Where is he who has been
born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to
worship him." 3 When Herod the king heard this,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief
priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to
be born. 5 They told him, "In
Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 6 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the
land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you
shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'"
7 Then Herod summoned the wise
men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; 8 and he sent them to Bethlehem,
saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found
him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9 When they had heard the king
they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went
before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they
rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11 and going into the house they
saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then,
opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and
myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not
to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. Matt 2:1-12
Reflection: Was not Herod an
evil king who wanted to kill Jesus, who was born as king of Israel?
In
order to achieve his plan, he first makes sure that what he has heard from the
wise men is true, otherwise he would not have wanted to kill Jesus.
We
find that it was not only Herod who seemed trouble but the whole of
Jerusalem who were also troubled along with him.
Why do people in power, who have all the luxuries and wealth of life, feel troubled and also the many others associated with them?
When one is so attached
to power and looks at power as a privilege to indulge in the accolades of peoples along
with the praise and attention given by people, the security and the comfort of
such a life and the eternal perspective in every human being to make a name for
themselves for posterity, and continue to enjoy the privileges of such power and wealth are some of the reasons why one would feel troubled.
The others around also
feel troubled, even though they were not directly under the threat, unlike
Herod the king. This was so because they were comfortable with the “known devil
rather than work with an unknown devil’besides the other benefits of being associated with such men in power.
Such is the nature of insecurity
that one would not want to see the others rise and even do better?
Why such
jealousy, envy and competitive spirit by those who boss?
This is only a
manifestation of the sinful nature of man without the living God to animate his
life.
If only people who have
others working under them were to recognize that there is a God above who watches
over all things and what is more, he, the righteous, also needs to be given that authority over
ourselves as the real Lord and master then such things would never happen.
To be Christian in name
is not enough but what is required of us is to be a Christian attuned to the
Lord and Master; He, the shepherd, wants to lead us and he never leads us into wrong paths.
Prayer: Lead
me lord, besides still waters so that my soul shall be secure only in your
presence and your power manifest in my life.
DD = Dedicated
Discipleship: Come grow
in the Lord with us
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