My pastor described Herod as a man who wanted to hear the wailing and crying of his people at his own funeral; of course, he wanted to hear this before he died. Imagine someone so selfish to bring such misery to his own people for his own pleasure and security in power. We have seen them before: Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin....
In contrast, the Feast of the Epiphany brings us the Magi, the scholars who searched the Heavens for God. They were drawn the follow the star. Their arrival to Christ marked a significant dimension to God's love and the salvation Christ brings to us. That is, Christ was (and is) meant for the entire world, not just the Hebrew nation, which had been prepared to receive the Messiah yet woefully had fallen into despair, Herod's kingship a clear indication of this.
The story of the Magi is a beautiful and awe inspiring story. Yet there is one more issue that I heard addressed the other day by a Sacred Heart priest--The Magi's science and astrology did NOT get it right. These methods brought them to Herod, not to Christ Himself. And this mistake led to a grave sacrifice and suffering--the slaughter of The Holy Innocents, all the baby boys under the age of two. I can only imagine the grief of the mothers and fathers as they watched in horror as their children were murdered before their eyes. Herod certainly must have been filled with evil happiness over the wailing and crying.
When I heard this, my first thought was, Don't we do this, too? In our earnest efforts to seek Christ, don't we sometimes apply worldly ways to the answers we seek? Even in their human frailties (wrought with mistakes) the three men were able to cast their eyes upon the Divine Christ, and their desire to serve Him led to their willingness to follow the instructions they received from God's messanger, to take another route home in order to avoid Herod.
Well, Dear Reader, my real intention today is to share with you Father Barron's homily on The Feast of the Epiphany. He has many beautiful insights. Please share this with your children, particularly your teenagers. Please click here. You can also enjoy his website, Word On Fire.
God bless and Happy Epiphany!
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